Hey y’all, it’s been a minute!
This is a recap of the 7th, 8th, and 9th month in my (failed) challenge to take art from hobby to full time in one year, and an explanation of why I’m no longer pursuing being a full time artist.
This doesn’t mean I’m giving up on Green Velvet, and it DEFINITELY doesn’t mean I’m giving up on being an artist. But as someone who does not have another means of full financial support and craves consistency, stability, and the ability to plan ahead, self-employment caused me more stress than it was worth.
Does this mean I’ll never pursue being a full-time artist? Honestly, probably… yeah. This challenge gave me such an incredible gift, and that was the chance to test out self-employment without having to risk anything except a few months where I was already between jobs. And I’m so glad I know that I don’t enjoy being self-employed BEFORE I spent years working toward it.
Never say never, who knows what will happen in the future, especially with all the changes we’re seeing right now with AI and a failing economy and mass layoffs in so many industries. But if it was up to me, I hope to always have a traditional job and keep art as something on the side that brings me purpose, creative freedom, enjoyment, and (as an added bonus) some extra income..
That being said, my plan for 2026 is to plan, prepare, test, and more importantly create more, slow down, and get back to the reasons I wanted to be an artist in the first place.
Fine Art Prints 🖋️
https://www.greenvelvetcreative.studi…
Custom Architectural Drawings🏛️
https://www.greenvelvetcreative.studi…
Apparel & Home Goods 🏷️
https://www.greenvelvetcreative.studi…
Collector’s Club 📦
https://www.greenvelvetcreative.studi…
Etsy (Mostly Pet Portraits) 🛒
https://greenvelvetgoods.etsy.com
Letters from The Studio ✉️
https://www.greenvelvetcreative.studi…
Socials 📇
https://www.instagram.com/greenvelvet…
00:00 Preview
00:14 Intro
02:02 Timeline
04:50 Why I gave up
10:30 Q3 Recap
11:15 Benchmarks
11:50 Future plans
#finelineart #vintage #antiqueinspired #victorianera #penandink #engravingstyle #localartist #smallbusiness #illustration #fables #folklore #studioart #smallbusinessideas #creativebusiness #sidehustle
Video Source
