Very frustrated as an artist...

[Brazoo]

^Just recently joined Facebook...I've been on DeviantArt for several years, and even had a commissions page on the Shadowland Magazine website back when I was doing covers.

Didn't get a single inquiry in three years.

I've done a couple shows here and there...nothing really came of them either.

For Facebook do you just have a personal page, or did you set up a business page?

I honestly think you should try Twitter too and post stuff at least once a week. Even old stuff. Use hashtags too.

DeviantArt is too passive - you set up a page and it just sits there. Twitter and Facebook will widen your network. You can also use them to reach out to people. You should also use DeviantArt to link people to Facebook and Twitter and vice versa.

[Brazoo]

To clarify - when I say business page I really mean artist page. Once you have a personal account look at the list on the left side of FB. Look for "Create Page" and there you can make an artist page. Gives you slightly different options then just having a personal page and it helps if you want to keep a personal page strictly for friends and family.

[Hector]

But I don't want people to associate my art with bad food and diarrhea...

...

[rykerw1701]

I have a friend who is a remarkable artist, and gets by doing freelance graphic arts for a living. He's frustrated. Sometimes I'm quite grateful to be the talentless hack I am.

[Mikey]

To get noticed maybe go the other route like the Andre The Giant artist and just spam everything in sight with your work.

[Brazoo]

To get noticed maybe go the other route like the Andre The Giant artist and just spam everything in sight with your work.

Shepard Fairey? I think he's a solid graphic artist who did an amazing job of promoting and branding himself. Started as a guy who loved skateboard culture and just wanted to work in that small niche. I think the Andre thing started as stickers, and skateboard dudes started posting them up everywhere. The mainstream public was curious about the image and his career and recognition basically grew from there.

[jacoblb]

I can relate. The canvas painting and garage kits I've seen you build are fantastic. I'm in no position to offer advice as I'm not a professional artist, but I'm certainly aware that life, particularly when it comes to employment, it's always about who you know and not whatcha know. I look at the world around me and I'm constantly seeing incompetent people in job roles they aren't qualified for, it's not fair.
There's no question that you're better than some people who are getting paid gigs.
As others have recommended I'd try to align the works online you have complete and showcase them to people who might be in a position to offer work. I believe you've done works based on classic monsters so someone like, say, Steve Niles in the comic book industry might be someone who'd benefit from seeing your work. But that's mainly comic book work and there's not much money in it save for the few. I don't think you draw sequential art so it's even more competitive to shoot for gigs solely painting covers, but it can be done. But again you will be competing with Adam Hughes, Art Adams and other greats. How much have you shopped your work around? I realize that's money going out, but sending a bubble mailer with your business card, cover letter, and examples of your non-published and published work to publishers who accept unsolicited art might help. Magazines are a dying breed so I wouldn't know where to direct you and to who. Also, someone else mentioned that offering your work for free for exposure is a big no-no especially since you're not some inexperienced kid right out of high school, I've read many a blog from the likes of professional artists like Colleen Doran or writers like Mark Evanier and they distinctly state the aforementioned way better than I could express.
Don't give up. Also networking in artists alleys at various conventions will be a help. You might not sell art (and again it's money going out and not necessarily in) but you might connect with a hiring editor or someone else who knows someone else. And don't worry, even established professional artists and writers complain about the sort of thing you're struggling with. Harlan Ellison comes to mind, because some publishers or studio execs always want to print his stories or essays or have him offer commentary on a dvd and (incompetent) folks who don't know better think that's not worth a cent and should be free.

As age 44 is creeping up on me...I've all but given up any hope of ever realizing my dream as a professional artist. I've spent years honing my craft...drawing, painting portraits and model kits...sometimes putting in hundreds of hours into a single effort, and never really getting any recognition. Well, I shouldn't really say that...I get a lot of compliments, but you can't live off compliments.

I've supplied art for magazine covers, model kit boxes and even posters for free, all in hopes it would eventually lead to something and never been paid a dime while others profited off my work. I've listed my paintings on Ebay and they go unsold...or I get some ridiculous offer of $50 for something that took 40 hours to complete...it's very disheartening, not to mention insulting.
Meanwhile, I see art that honestly looks like crap or photoshopped stuff everywhere in comics, magazines and posters. I just don't understand it.

Sorry...just needed to vent.

[hobub]

So much wonderful advice in this thread and I can really relate because I too was once aspiring. I just eventually threw my hands up and walked away and started focusing on building my collection as a creative outlet. There are jobs doing art out there that you can get but do not expect to do the type of work you want to do and to not expect to get rich doing it. But Keep doing your work and please share some links here. I've only seen bits and pieces here and there. I don't spend too much time digging through all the threads and conversations, I just sometimes get involved because something like this really strikes me. The key is to not ever give up. And thanks for the advice here guys it is solid and helps for all artists.

In the 90s the thing to do was to join the graphic artists guild or something similar. But social media, deviant art, facebook and such do seem to be your best bets.

[kingdom warrior]

You need to hit social media....and expose your art. The more you expose your art the better chance you have at getting paying clients. Find the kind of audience that likes what you paint and stick by them.

Instagram is actually one of the better ways to expose your art to a large audience and gain followers quickly. Hashtags gets your work out to millions instantly who are searching for particular work.
Facebook is a slow way of exposing your work....a fan page works but FB has millions of people on it, that's why they have a small fee to boost your work so others can see.
If you don't like using FB pay a teenager to run it for you....don't just say no to the idea. The page may take awhile to take off but at least it's out there adding hashtags also helps expose your work to others

Twitter is a waste of time....but if you dig that platform go for it.

[TrekStar]

It takes real talent to become an artist, like learning a instrument, no matter how old you get, never give up on your deam
unless the gal you love marries someone else. I went to a trade high school for photography and advertising art, doing neither cause I couldn't draw unless I traced. My friend can draw and play multiple instruments and my love is screen writing, so we're deciding to start a comic book story, drawing art by him and story line by me, I'm approaching the half century mark, and I feel like a kid with this idea.

[Brazoo]

Twitter is a waste of time....but if you dig that platform go for it.

Well, I disagree with you here. I don't see how it takes much time to post a pic and hashtag. People like getting art updates in their feed. There's tons of high profile users, and the networks work a bit differently. As a free resource I don't see the downside.

Instagram and Pinterest are good too. The important thing is to post links to your other sites so people on Facebook can find you on Twitter or wherever.

It really doesn't have to be difficult. Like anything you need some luck, but you can cast a very wide net for 10 min. it takes to post a pic and hashtag a week, if that. You can even use tools so that if you post on all your social media at once.