Did you know that every time you buy something from a maker or an artist you know, or have met at an art show, it's highly likely that they do multiple cartwheels and flip-flops inside?

 

 

I know this because I just did a few cartwheels!  My gladness might be slightly influenced by the fact that I just survived my first colonoscopy, and it came out normal, and that I finally got to eat something other than Jello, Gatorade, or Swanson chicken broth.  Regardless of all that, I would still be doing cartwheels.

 

WHY THE CARTWHEELS?  BECAUSE I SOLD A THING!

And guess what?  The thing I sold is just a small thing....I sold a sticker on RedBubble. 

 

I EARNED 20 PENNIES

The excitement is still the same!  I am still flattered that people love my art, and are willing to spend their hard earned money on anything I create, even a little sticker! 

 

 

HERE'S THE THING:  

Mystery dog art lover loves sticker....mystery dog art lover buys sticker....I do nothing....aside from making the original art....BOOM... I earn 20 pennies of passive income.

 

 

  

 

  

   

 

  

 

SO HERE'S THE OTHER THING:

20 pennies might only be a drop in the bucket of life expenses, but....this image is available on 50+  other items...all of which I, as an artist, can earn passive income on.  And that idea that, once it catches on, can be a game changer for an artist!

 

    

 

FIND ALL THE THINGS

 

So thank you, mystery person, out in the internet cosmos, for purchasing my little german shepherd sticker to adorn your laptop, or your notebook, or wherever you decide to stick it!  I hope that every time you see this sticker, it brings you a little joy, sparks a memory, or reminds you that you made an artist's day! 

 

  

 

 

A PENNY EARNED IS A PENNY EARNED

All the little royalties I earn might be little, but for an artist, they are like little dividends, or interest earned on an investment that was time spent creating.  Each little royalty adds up, and hopefully,  throughout what I hope to be a long career, those little drops in the bucket will help me help my children, and others enjoy their lives.

 

  

 

IT ALL ADDS UP

Even if I only earn 20 cents on a sticker, or a few bucks here or there on other items, these little drips of income will add up over time, and are a passive income for artists.  Passive income that can be used for things we purchase for our kids, like school orchestra trips, sports, private music lessons, vacations, all those little extra things that help make life a little more exciting!

 

 

AN ANALOGY IF YOU WILL

Visual artists are no different than musical artists when it comes to royalties.  A musician spends a lot of time and energy creating a song, the song gets produced, an album is made, the song hits the air waves, Youtube, gets used in commercials, sold on itunes, on records, and cds....then, said musical artist hopefully earns a royalty every time that song is played.  The royalty thing works similarly for me as a visual artist.

 

SEE MORE PRODUCTS I EARN ROYALTIES ON

 

 

SO DON'T FEEL BAD!

Many of my fans may think, why should I buy anything if the artist doesn't earn much from each sale? The way I look at it as an artist, the more my art gets in the hands of my fans, the more publicity I gain.  The more items I can put my art on, the more those little pennies will add up!  

 

THANKS FOR READING, FELLOW ART LOVING FRIENDS!

  I hope I have enlightened you a bit on the topic of cartwheels!  And the next time you #findyourthing , that thing you love, with some art printed on that thing by an indy artist, go for it, add it to your cart, and enjoy that thing, and the knowledge that you just added a few more pennies to an artist's bucket of livelyhood!

 

Oh!!  And knowing that you made an artist do cartwheels should

 

make you feel pretty warm and fuzzy too!