What Does It Take to Become a Professional Artist? – Part 1: The Foundation

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These days, we can see so many artists through social media, right? If you post drawings on Instagram and immediately write “artist” in your profile, does that make you a professional artist? Well, there’s nothing wrong with that in itself. But becoming a professional artist is a different story, isn’t it?

Just because you sing well at karaoke doesn’t make you a singer. Similarly, just because you like drawing and making something doesn’t make you all professional artists.

The art world is peculiar. There’s no license like doctors or lawyers have, and there’s no exam to take either. Just say “I’m an artist” and that’s it. But have you ever thought about what it takes to become a real professional as an artist?

Let’s start with the official criteria

The Canada Council for the Arts provides a definition for this. They say that a professional artist is someone who has received professional training (not necessarily academic), is recognized by peers, devotes significant time to their work (when financially possible), and has a history of public presentation or publication. I think this is also a strong and essential foundation.

But don’t these seem somewhat unclear? Let’s talk about more visible and clear conditions, shall we?

First, let me break down what I think are the conditions for a real professional artist more specifically:

1. You need to have a proper website

Not Instagram or a portfolio app, but a real website. Not just a simple social media feed or portfolio app, but a space where your work, exhibition history, and artist statements are properly curated.

Why? Because a website is the first place curators and gallery people look to see if they take you seriously. Social media is too volatile. A website is a place that shows not only professionalism but also intention and permanence, saying “I’m going to do this for a long time.” Don’t forget that it’s the place curators, buyers, and collaborators look to when they want to know how seriously a particular artist takes their art.

2. You need to have your own style or theme

Not following trends, but having something that ties all your works together. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same style, but some consistent something that makes people say “Oh, this is their work.” In other words, it doesn’t mean it never changes, but it means developing a visual language or conceptual flow that ties the artist’s entire body of work together.

This is evidence that you’ve thought beyond just “drawing prettily” to “why am I making this?” In other words, it means you know what art historical context your work comes from and what story you want to tell.

3. You need to exhibit and sell

The days of artists drawing in their own rooms are over. You need to put your work out into the world. Whether it’s galleries, pop-ups, or online, you need to make it visible to people.

And honestly speaking… you need to sell. The word “professional” is connected to money. Someone wanting to pay money for your work means they think it’s really valuable. Whether it’s direct sales, commissions, or grants, it doesn’t matter.

I’m not trying to be a gatekeeper

I’m not saying who shouldn’t call themselves an artist. I just want to clarify the difference between doing it as a hobby and living as a professional.

Becoming a professional means showing up consistently, clearly, and with dedication.

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What do you think?

How would you define a professional artist? If there’s something I missed, please tell me.

Oh, and if you’re thinking “I have a website though…”… Good! But that’s not everything.

I’m planning to cover each of the three conditions I think are necessary for a professional artist in depth. First, I’m going to talk about what a really good artist website is. Not just something that’s pretty, but a website that works hard for you. As a product designer and web specialist, I’ll tell you everything I’ve seen while working – what works well and what fails. Check our official design studio at www.saylizard.com

Having a website and having a website that actually helps you are completely different skills! Look forward to the next episode.

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