Stephen Ormerod: Links

Artists Network Magazine.

Through advocacy and information and from the perspective of artists, a-n's mission is to stimulate and support contemporary visual arts practice and affirm the value of artists in society.

Profile 2016.

I'm 49 and have lived and worked as a professional artist in the Burnley area of Lancashire now for 28 years, probably eight of those as a full time artist. It's 2016 I haven't updated my profile for some time, it's been an interesting few years with lots of ups and downs. I want to share some of the mechanics of what I do, I hope this gives you more of an understanding of what I do. When you choose Art as a career you have tough choices to make, I’m not sure I've made the right ones yet. We all need to earn money in today's society, I find this the most distracting element of what we do, It sends me in directions I don't want to go.

I've done a lot over the last three years to address both being creative and guarantee an income. I set up my own gallery to create and sell my work, this also gave me a base to develop other areas of income. I also scan and print other artists work which is quite specialised and for one to two days a week generates 50% of my current income. Unlike selling Art printing is an essential part of other artists income and so doesn't fall into the luxury item context. Even in January I find I'm busy with artists replenishing stock, as artists we all need to find that area that gives a bread and butter income that's constant. The other area I use as regular income is teaching. I teach three to four hours a week in my own studio no paperwork just passing on my own experience to others. I sacrifice about one third of my week to keep a stable money stream coming in.

The last three years I've found I'm still distracted from creating my own work an as a result this is the lowest source of income for me. This is frustrating but on a positive note the best position to be in as I can now concentrate on the most important of what I do. I recently started to use an Apple air tablet which has become my mobile office. Using the tasks app I'm organising my week a lot better giving me time to paint. This year I will be trying new methods to focus on creating new work and most importantly selling it. We can all create vast amount of Art it's selling it that's always the stumbling block, I will try and share as much as I can of my own experiences in my blogs. If you’re an artist yourself reading this good luck in 2016, if your looking for Art I hope I have something that excites you.

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