How Much?

I should’ve thought this through beforehand.

Last month, I had some work (an unimaginable amount of hours in hand embroidery) accepted for a group show a few hundred miles away. A very expensive train journey involving three changes, not possible to do in a singe day on the coach. After much deliberation, I decided not to take part.

Because money.

The price I put on the artwork was £675 (How much?).

The gallery takes 35% (not complaining), which leaves £438.75.

The submission cost was £15, leaving £423.75.

The framing was £145.04 (again, not complaining), leaving £278.71.

The fare to the framer’s was £15.20 (£3.80 x 4), leaving £263.51.

The fare to drop the work at the exhibition (and come home again) would be £140, leaving £123.51.

So, best case scenario, my work sells (the stats say it won’t) and I make £123.51 for a piece of work that was years in the making.

A more likely outcome is I make a loss of £280 in train fares, and valuable time, after collecting the piece when the exhibition finishes. The only upside is I would’ve met some new artists, who may have become friends, which is, of course, priceless.

The exhibition organisers were lovely and went out of their way to try and make this work for me, but in the end it just didn’t add up.

Don't Feel Bad, Joe

I have been applying to be part of the Royal Academy Summer Show, on and off, for 30 years. I have never been accepted, and this year was no different.

Last year, I was on a telly programme, presented by Joe Lycett, which documented the highs and lows of a group of artists who were hoping to be chosen. Joe referred to me as Queen of the Rejected, in a nice way. I had entered RA Bastard Shites, a piece about being rejected from said exhibition. I was asked to cover the title.

The process starts in February, when you pay the fee (now £38), fill in the online application form and upload your photos. The first round results arrive by email towards the end of March. If you are successful the RA judges give your work ‘careful consideration’ upon its delivery to the Academy at the beginning of May. Results of the second round are announced later that month, at which point you will either collect your work or leave it for the exhibition. There’s still a chance you could rejected, they always take more than they need.

Today is Varnishing Day. So called because the likes of Turner would varnish work after it was on the wall. It’s full of pomp and ritual. The artists go to a church service at St. James’s, then stop traffic on Piccadilly as they march to the RA, where they finally see their work on display. Some complain that it is too high or low. BFF* Joe had his sculpture, Chris, accepted one year. It was displayed on the floor, in the corner, butted up against the skirting board.

Joe got accepted, for a second time, this year. Although he is prolific on social media, he just announced it a few hours ago. He has known for a while.

This is what I’m thinking. Joe is a nice person. He feels a bit bad that he got accepted on account of all the people who got rejected. I don’t want anyone to feel bad on my account. I see it in other artists, too. They get accepted, but don’t like to say so, for fear of making the rejectees sad. It makes me feel way sadder than getting rejected ever could.**

Artists, please share your good news. The majority of us are happy for you. Screw the others. They need to work on themselves.

And on that note, I have two RA rejected artworks available as limited edition prints. This year’s rejection Exile Textile 3, and last year’s rejection RA Bastard Shites.

Alison

*To whom it may concern - I know Joe Lycett isn’t really my friend, but thanks for telling me repeatedly.

**Of course I could be over-thinking the whole thing and JL gave it no thought at all.

Photo by Phil Shelly for Klein Imaging.

Profit

I am 56 and this year (tax year 22/23) I made a profit from my art for the very first time. The sum of £893.76 is not to be sniffed at, but hardly enough to live on. I have always had a day-job.

Before this, 21/22 had been my best financial year. I made a loss of £375.92.

In 2016 (based on 2015 data) Arts Council England published the Livelihood of Visual Artists Report, finding most artists earned less than £5,000 from their art* that year. These artists are either rich, being supported by someone else, or had other forms of income. There’s not enough honesty about this. According to the report, 7% of artists earned more than £20,000, and 2% more than £50,000. The average art practice income was £6,000. I can’t find a more recent ACE study, they don’t do these things very often, although it may have been updated slightly in 2018.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (Ben Quinn for the Guardian) found that the number of working class people in the arts has shrunk by half since the 1970s. Don’t get me started.

I’m writing from a place of privilege. For a brief period in history the door was opened and the likes of me walked straight through. They’ve closed the door now. Someone from my background would not be able to go to art college today.

This is why 5% of my sales go to Arts Emergency.

*In this context, making ‘a living from your art’ means money made from selling an actual piece of art. Teaching, workshops and non-original prints (not printmaking/etching as this IS art) are considered ‘other sources of income’.