Artists are being driven to the wall
LIKE many people in these financially challenging times, professional artists and artisans are suffering — especially those, like me, who rely mostly on galleries and exhibitions to show and sell their work.
As artworks are considered luxury items, the cost-of-living crisis combined with the after-effects of Covid lockdowns has meant the living we earn from these pursuits has dwindled to practically zero.
My art is all I have to help me pay bills and rent — and with the massive hikes in utility prices, I now have more money going out than coming in, as I am otherwise dependent on a paltry state pension.
Age is no barrier to talent, of course, and artists, like writers, don’t generally retire while we retain our creative energy. But I wish those who appreciate genuine artworks would step back into galleries or visit exhibitions and invest in bona fide pieces. Paintings and sculptures can appreciate in value, enrich homes, be given as gifts or even in time become family heirlooms.
I feel very privileged to have won five awards for my paintings in the past few years, but of late this hasn’t translated into sales or commissions, so I am struggling to survive in a profession I love. To reinvest in art materials, which are very expensive, artists need to sell their work. Although I am a member of the prestigious Royal Society of Marine Artists, I am having to delve into my meagre and rapidly diminishing savings to enter paintings into London exhibitions this year. Otherwise, I might just as well throw in the towel — which would be the last devastating straw after the recognition I’ve received, the support from fellow artists and the appreciation of clients. It is soul-destroying for artists to find that their work now seems to account for little.
Let’s hope those patrons who enjoy exhibitions return soon. For where will we be without unique pieces of beauty and interest adorning our homes and workplaces?
JENNY MORGAN, Sutton on Sea, Lincs.