Once upon a time, I was an artist who paid my bills by selling artwork on the sidewalk. It was for less than 18 months, but I did it. Starving artist? Yeah, I was all about that life.
Most of my art was just pictures I saw in magazines and put my own spin on them, usually in in,k or charcoal, or if I was feeling really adventurous, in Cra Pas.
Sometimes, the pieces I drew took me hours and hours to do. 15 hours or 20 or 30 hours. But I loved drawing, so the time was well spent for me.
Now, when I first sold my art on the street, there was no “artist’s guide on how much new artists should charge for their blood sweat and tears,” so I wasn’t really sure how much to charge, or how much I could get away with charging.
But eventually the streets taught me a lesson, and I did learn a very important lesson.
One day I put up a black and white drawing. It was a headshot of a woman. I decided that it took me 15 hours to complete it, plus the cost of paper, charcoal and a frame. My asking price was $150.
Now you gotta remember, I had never done this before. I ended up selling art on the streets of downtown Boston because I made a hasty, not very well thought out move to “live my dream” after college. I got a place to stay, but lied to my landlord about being employed. I needed money (a lot of it) and I needed it fast, and I was beyond desperate.
So my first piece I sold ........
All kinds of people were giving me advice on how to price my artwork. Some people were telling me to give it away, so that if word spread on what a great artist I was, it would help me set up “a name” for myself. Others were telling me that if I was asking $150 and someone offered me $10, then I should just take that and be happy: “at least you aren’t giving it away for free,” they reasoned.
So just to recap: my choices were to seek $150, a fair price for my art, or give it away, or accept a fraction of what I knew my work was worth.
Well, that first day was EXTREMELY skressful for me. I’m getting palpitations just thinking about it. But in the end, I decided to hold firm at $150. Even though I was fully expecting failure, I committed to myself that either I was going to make $150 on that first piece, or I was going to go home broke. In other words, I decided to vote on myself and believe in my talents.
Cut to chase: my very first piece sold in less than 30 minutes. And the person who bought it thought my sign said $1,500 and was prepared to pay that for it, until they repeatedly asked me what my sign said.
I quickly jacked up my prices, although I never did work up the cajones to ask for more than $1,000 per piece. Rent and utilities were never a problem for me after that.
It’s a bit of a plot twist, but the moral of my story is this: ASK FOR MORE. DEMAND BETTER.
The worst someone can say is no, but you might be surprised.
Whenever I hear centrist Dems saying that voters should be happy with literally anyone because, “Any Democratic candidate is better than Trump,” it reminds me of the people who told me, “getting $10 or $15 is better than giving it away for free.”
They were wrong. My artwork was worth more than that. Contrary to what they were saying, I didn’t need to settle for less.
“Better than Trump” is such a low bar. Especially right now, even before the primaries have even begun.
Think of ALL the people you know, or have ever met in your life before. They’re literally ALL “better than Trump”. All of them. Does that mean they deserve your commitment? Are they presidential material?
“Better than Trump” is such a low bar. I’M better than Trump, and I can promise you, I wouldn’t make a good president. The Democratic leadership has convinced centrists that the *only* bar to clear is “better than Trump,” and not a candidate’s political policies.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND: Not all Democrats are progressive.
The primaries haven’t even started yet.
RIGHT NOW is *precisely* when we should be asking for more from our would-be political leaders. We need the courage to demand better.
If we settle for less now, less is exactly what we will get. Demand honest-to-God progressive Democrats in the primaries. Progressives with a rock solid record of progressivism.
