Creating multiple streams of income with your own art

For those that are interested in the business side of art and making a living doing what you love, from home,  I've been working diligently on creating multiple streams of income from my own art ever since I found out that it was possible to do so!

The journey
It's been a journey rooted in curiosity and intrigue. Creativity knows no boundaries when it comes to the marketing and procuring of sales of unique and much sought after art styles.  There is so much information available for free online to get you to where you want to go with your art and making money online from it. Along with the fun of creating something new comes the fun of realizing, hey I can do this and people will buy it! Yes, so you can make money with shear determination and hard work. Try new things! Start with what you know best and go from there. maybe you might want to try to screen print something on fabric and create a whole line of stamped ribbon. Or, maybe try to create photographs and design digital inspirational posters from them.

Online income streams to start with


Etsy.com - I have been selling my original artwork on Etsy.com for more than 4 years now. It has never let me down. It is constantly a source of ways to sell my art online. I have gotten emails for commissions from people all over the world to paint for them. My original paintings are a great source of income along with selling my digital prints in many different sizes.

Licensing your art - Once you create a large portfolio of digital artwork, you will have the ability to align yourself with large, huge companies who want to do business with you because they love your artwork and designs. Some of my work is available at Image Conscious where they sell home decor art prints. These in turn are available to other vendors who are associated with them. Royalties are residual income for you and you will receive a check in the mail just for allowing the licensing company to use your contracted artwork. Although it sounds easy to do, there is a lot of ground you'll need to cover before it actually happens. You can take a look at the wonderful blog of Joan Beiriger, who has created a fabulous art licensing blog to die for! You also have to check out the wealth of information and websites of Tara Reed, who has many ebooks and information to get you started on your way to making money with your art and having your own business.

Fine Art America - FineArtAmerica.com has revolutionized the way that artwork is bought and sold around the world.   With a few clicks, artists and photographers can upload their images to FineArtAmerica.com, set their prices, and instantly sell prints to a global audience of art collectors.   Fine Art America fulfills each order on behalf of the artists - taking care of the printing, framing, matting, packaging, shipping, collecting payments from the buyers, and sending profits to the artists.   


Card Gnome - Make a new portfolio of fun and innovative designs. Your own artwork and designs are placed on greeting cards and you will be able to offer your cards for sale on this site for free. Royalties are sent to you once a sale is made. Best to make a lot of designs to make the most of your card portfolio here! You can create this portfolio to be used on other online websites as well to sell various other products.  I just started my shop here.


Zazzle - This is a great site for creating income while you sleep! There are hundreds of products waiting for you to place your art and designs on in your own shop for free. Royalties are earned from sales of all of your personalized items. Cell phone cases, t-shirts, postcards, mugs, etc. This is a great site for making fun products to sell online. The items are printed at Zazzle and then shipped out to your buyers. 


This is a good start to get you on your way to starting your home-based business as an artist. I wish you well!