From Starving Artist to Millionaire Artist

I was just thinking about many of the great or famous artists that we know today, and how many of them began their art careers in poverty, desperately poor, living hand to mouth, struggling to just get by each day, struggling to sell their artwork. Yes, many of them eventually became rich and famous later on in their life or their art career, but many of them never became achieved success or fame in their lifetime, and they struggled through their whole life as artists, never finding the success that they craved.

Even Picasso, who became an insanely rich artist while he was alive, had humble beginnings in the poor district of Montmartre in Paris, and perhaps sometimes did not know where his next meal would come from. It’s even said that he sometimes paid for his food by drawing a sketch which he exchanged for food, because he had no actual money.

Usually, when we think about these types of world-famous artists and their expensive lavish lifestyles, we forget their humble beginnings. Often times, many of us artists today go through periods in our life where we struggle to survive in society, sometimes desperately poor, but holding onto the dream that someday, if we’re persistent with our art career, we too may be blessed to live a life of wealth and luxury, while still being able to maintain our integrity as artists, and continuing to produce artwork into our old age, like Picasso did, for example. Or even if we never become rich and famous artists, we still hope that we can live a modest (or even luxury) lifestyle sustained by our passion for art.

Some of us artists might start out poor, or go through hard times, but it does not mean that it always has to be that way. By holding onto our dreams as artists, and developing higher levels of skill in business (because a successful art career is really a business anyway), and believing in ourselves even when no one else does, there is a decent chance that we can carve out a highly successful life or career as an artist, and (if the stars and planets are aligned) even become a millionaire. Who knows? Anything is possible when we passionately follow our dreams.

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of this topic, and whether you aspire to become a millionaire artist yourself.
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I'll see you again in the next blog post my friend ...

Chris Zanetti.
Full-time prolific working artist.