Ask any artists and they’re quick to tell you it’s not easy to make a living. At least one that will provide an income to pay the bills and afford a certain lifestyle.
It’s possible to be a professional artist living in the Monadnock Region. Many have done it, but as Karin Wells of Peterborough puts it “it’s iffy to make a living in the arts.”
Wells has spent her entire career as an artist, but not in the traditional sense. For many years she illustrated and designed book covers and was a sign painter. She enjoyed each one and it allowed her that creative outlet, but it wasn’t exactly what she expected to be doing.
“What I really wanted to do was just paint,” Wells said.
She began studying portraiture with the likes of Shirley and Numael Pulido of Hancock, who have both been career painters, and said her career blossomed “almost by accident.”
She won first prize in the 1997 portrait competition put on by the American Society of Portrait Artists and instantly made a name for herself.
“All of a sudden I found myself on a national and somewhat international stage,” Wells said.
From there, she didn’t have to do a whole lot to have a steady stream of work.
“The work usually found me,” she said. “And it has paid well.”
That is until three years ago she was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and left unable to paint. It has forced her to turn down many commissions – more than she’d care to think about.
For Hal and Barbara Danser of Jaffrey, their art makes up about 25 percent of their income. They supplement by teaching and also previously held “real jobs,” Hal in marketing consulting and Barbara as an interior designer.
But for the last 30 years, Barbara has focused on her art – sculpture and painting. She depends on sales from exhibits, but with many galleries she worked with over the years now closed, the opportunities aren’t as often. She gets a lot of repeat customers, although it’s not all about making a living.
“You’re creating something that people really like and at the same time it’s bringing in an income,” she said.
They both participate in the Monadnock Art Tour, which happens next weekend, but Hal has cast a far-reaching net in order to sell his glasswork, having his creations in galleries, shops and museums as far as Mexico.
“He has to reach out across the country to sell his goods,” Barbara said.
It’s hard to tell when the next sale will come.
“It just depends on when the shows are and when the tours are,” Barbara said. “It would be nice to have it consistent.”
Kathy Manfre of Peterborough has never made enough from her acting career to sustain an income that would allow her to live independently.
She could have stayed in New York City and pounded the pavement looking for work with all the other actors sharing a similar goal, but that’s not the life Manfre wanted.
“I actually felt I was working more steadily up here,” she said. “And I’ve had the best of both worlds.”
She was fortunate to have the support of her husband Brian – both professionally and financially – to pursue her dream. After acting for most her life, Manfre said last year was her best one yet in terms of income, collecting about $9,000 in seven weeks after a show at the Northern Stage in Vermont was picked up for Off-Broadway.
Manfre said she does anywhere from two to four shows a year and has acted at theaters all over New England. She is best known in this area for her work at the Peterborough Players, but she performed at the New London Barn Playhouse and The Barnstormers Theatre, as well as Boston and New York.
“And it’s all stuff I would pick and choose,” Manfre said. “And then sometimes things lead to other opportunities.”
She always stayed within the performing arts, teaching at ConVal, Franklin Pierce and Keene State, as well as doing artist-in-residency programs at local elementary schools.
Manfre thinks it’s possible for an actor to lead a successful career from the Monadnock Region with all the theaters regionally and the close proximity to the two major Northeast cities.
“I always wanted to be a working actor,” Manfre said. “But I also wanted a life for my family that wasn’t going to be in the city.”
She receives a small pension as part of Actors’ Equity, the union representing the world of live theatrical performance, and would like to get into voiceover work.
David Dodge didn’t dive into his art until the last five or ten years after a long career in promotion, advertising and graphic design, through his own business, Dodge Design Associates. It’s not just a retirement thing for Dodge, but the Peterborough artist wouldn’t be able to sustain a life with what he makes.
Dodge estimates he makes about 20 to 25 percent of what he made during his career, but add in the joy of being outside creating and it’s worth it. Plus he can afford to do with what he invested and saved
“I love it. I’ve always wanted to do it,” Dodge said. “But soon after you dive into it, you realize it’s financial suicide.”
As clients dropped off from his business, Dodge didn’t seek replacing his availability with a secondary career in art in mind.
Dodge did a show at Fry Fine Art when it first opened and participates in the Monadnock Art Tour. He sells his work in the range of $400 to $5,000 depending on the size.
One day Dodge would like to make more money, but understands there are only a small number of artists who make a living from their vocation.
“There’s only a few in that stratosphere and the rest of us are down here hoping to get there,” Dodge said.