Should Artists Work For Free ?

When you're starting out as an artist, you're going to get people asking you to do work for free for “exposure”. But is that the right thing to do? How do you know if working for free will actually help you in the long run, or if someone is just taking advantage of you? This week on Thriving Women Artists, Ping, Sarah, and Dorien will help you navigate those tricky questions and make sure you know when you should be getting paid for your time. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Ping, Sarah, and Dorien are working for free on this podcast, but see it as investing. Investing their knowledge in you and in themselves. There may be a time when they can make money from it, but right now it's something designed to help you. 
• It feels like a catch 22 situation sometimes. You feel you need to be published already for other publishers to actually publish you.  
• It can be a little awkward doing work for free for friends and family. We want to help them out but when they come to you with feedback it can be so frustrating and leave a sour taste. 
• If someone does want you to do work for free, it's worthwhile getting a contract anyway. Make sure you're getting what you need out of it, for example have it in writing where your art will appear and how many times. That way you know what the gain will be from your time. 
• Your enjoyment and desire to work on your art can diminish quicker if you're not getting any reward for your time. 
• If you are doing some work for someone for free, you need to make sure they know the value of the work you're doing. For example you can send them an invoice with the regular price displayed but with a 100% discount applied. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Exposure is not going to pay your bills' 

‘It's that she doesn't value my time, it's disrespectful I think' 

‘As a creative it is important that you invest' 

‘You have the power to say yes and say no'

EPISODE RESOURCES 

Article on Julia Child

Julia Child - “Julia” on HBO max  https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/julia-child-hbo-cast-the-french-chef-obama-netflix-our-great-national-

parkshttps://juliachildfoundation.org/

ABOUT THE PODCAST 

A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam.  This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people.

www.thrivingwomenartists.com

www.instagram.com/twapodcast

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Ping He 

Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. 

www.pinghe.art

info@pinghe.art

www.instagram.com/pinghe.art

Sarah van Dongen 

Sarah is a children's book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life.

www.sarahvandongen.com

sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com

www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations

Dorien Bellaar:

Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. 

www.dorienbellaar.nl

hello@dorienbellaar.nl 

www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

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