That's pretty awesome. I only know a few people who have managed to make any money at all on art, and very few who have regular buyers. Art these days has become so cheap and commodified. Even if you don't break even getting to travel on it and 'break even' is worth it.
The questions is how did you arrive where you did? Did you paint for years without any return and then found patrons who buy your works regularly? Did you market and advertise? Did someone you knew send buyers your way?
There are a trillion people on youtube trying to make money selling art, and feeding themselves on other things. There are a much smaller number regularly selling physical paintings.
At the high end you relentlessly self-promote until a gallery takes you on in expectation of profiting from your work. You can make a lot of money at the high end - five, six, or seven figures for each item - but it's insanely hard to get into.
Mid-end you need to find a niche and possibly a physical location. I know one artist who combined demo/live painting sessions for customers.
The work took minutes, but it was cheerful holiday art sold in a tourist location by someone with a good line in friendly and engaging self-promotion, and he could clear four figures a day during the tourist season.
If you're selling online - that's a much tougher sell, and you'll need to create some kind of social media scene for yourself that isn't just "Here's me and my brushes".
I think you misunderstood my post. I understand the idea of hustling/advertising/etc to get social media following or a gallery spot or whatever. I also understand the art class/demo scene. None of that is interesting and it's a harder hustle than being an engineer for less in return. 99% of the people doing those will not succeed at making a living doing them, and those activities need huge time investments to see any sales at all.
It also means you're trying to sell a particular kind of art. Galleries want a particular kind of art. Tourists want a particular kind of art. Art you can make in demo/classes is very limited.
I don't have any interest in hawking my wares to tourists (because it limits you greatly on what you can offer, and how long you can spend on a painting), running classes (of which there are a million more qualified artists doing the same, all with competitive social media already), or praying that some art gallery will find my paintings interesting.
This person said they have regular buyers (what I call patrons) for their choice of exotic beach landscapes, to the point that it subsidizes travel to exotic beaches. How did this person get patrons for their niche without the rest of it?
That's what I want to know. Not generic ways of selling art. Are they selling to rich buddies? Is their mom really wealthy and supporting their hobby?
I think its awesome they are doing what they love and it sort of pays for itself, I wish I could do the same, but there's a huge leap from 'I paint exotic beaches' to 'I have patrons for my exotic beach landscapes'.
The questions is how did you arrive where you did? Did you paint for years without any return and then found patrons who buy your works regularly? Did you market and advertise? Did someone you knew send buyers your way?
There are a trillion people on youtube trying to make money selling art, and feeding themselves on other things. There are a much smaller number regularly selling physical paintings.