01/09/2026
I went to the monthly meeting of the Markham Group of Artists on Wednesday and I want to use this opportunity to comment on the guest speaker Angela Lane's presentation on the business of art. Everything that she outlined in her discussion was pretty much what my life was like between 2000 to 2011. I was an artist aspiring to to make a living doing my own personal art after graduating from OCAD in 1995 and briefly working as a children's book illustrator until 1999. When I made that decision in 2000, I outlined my goals, built a body of work and by 2003 I had my first solo show at a public gallery in Kitchener. By 2006, I was a member of at least half a dozen different art organizations, had done over a dozen juried competitions winning several awards including a Best in Show for the Markham Group in 2004. I also was teaching many classes and workshops for the Varley Gallery, Durham College, Koffler Centre and many others. Starting in 2006, I started to participate in every outdoor art fair that Angela mentioned, from the Riverdale Art Walk, Cabbagetown, Queen West Art Crawl, Distillery, Junction Arts Festival, McMichael Autumn Art Sale, The Toronto Art Expo and more. If there was an outdoor art fair in the GTA I did it except the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition at Nathan Phillips Square where I was rejected 6 times. I also had 3 galleries representing my work up until 2011. These shows were wonderful experiences. I met many great artists and created several close friendships. What I learned from doing these shows that she really didn't get into is that it's a real hustle trying to build a clientel that become collectors of your work. You do get a very clear idea of who the art buying public is and how your art fits into that, which you don't get from doing small community shows. As a business, she was right when she said it can be a lot of work that can supercede the amount of time you actually spend on creating artwork. Like any creative endeavor, it comes down to the level of commitment your willing to put in and how much time you want to dedicate to it. From my experience, I do have a lot to say on the matter so if you want to discuss, DM me! Thanks!
