Aug 15

Aug 15 Side hustle to rival main hustle?

Gabberish

Creative Therapy

Steve Leadbeater is Head of Craft at Clemenger BBDO and a celebrated independent Melbourne artist.

I wanted to show isolated people (and spirits) can still have a kind of collective joy in these difficult times.

Artwork title: Isolated together
Media: Ink on paper. Drawn by hand and then arranged together digitally.

I’m a graphic designer by day and an artist by night. That’s how it’s been for the last couple of decades. I make art for fun, but I make so much that selling it became a necessity because I had nowhere to put it all.

At first I worried about selling the work. I thought somehow the purity would be lost when filthy cash got involved. Then I realised most of the artists that I truly admire (Warhol, Kruger, Bacon, Rauschenberg, Basquiat, Olsen, Holzer, Gascoigne, Schringley, Haring...) made a living from their work. They monetised it. They managed to keep their creative integrity while generating an income.

Selling the work means that more people can enjoy it and share it.

I can better justify the time I put into it and can afford to buy art materials and have exhibitions. The audience’s response to the work is an important part of my process. I can’t control what they feel, but I’m definitely going for an emotional connection.

I was lucky enough to keep my job when COVID restrictions sent us all home. I continued creating from my home studio and I assumed art would be the last thing people would be buying. I was wrong. Maybe it’s because more people are stuck at home on instagram, but demand for my work has never been higher. One day my side hustle could become my main income, allowing me to deeply explore new creative territories.

If you want to reach more people with your personal work - now could be a good time to give it a go.

@Leadbeater

You can view more of Leadbeater’s work here or follow the artist on Instagram.