“You teach best what you most need to learn.” ~Richard Bach

I might be showing my age a bit when I admit that Bob Ross was a part of my childhood. Bob Ross was an oil painter who had a PBS show called “The Joy of Painting.” The show was simple. Bob would stand on a stark set with just his palette and his easel painting, explaining every detail of the process as he went. He had a unique look and a unique sound that made him PBS’s biggest celebrity that did not live on Sesame Street. Say what you will about Mr. Ross and his work, but know that his originals are nearly impossible to acquire. It is estimated that he painted thousands of originals over the course of the television show yet they are extremely rare. I spent some time researching and trying to locate one myself and all I could find was other people looking for one. There is one listing on eBay at the moment with a starting price set at $2800.00 and no bids with 6 days left. I’ll be curious to see what it goes for because I’ve also had trouble finding out about the value of a Bob Ross original. But with all the demand and all the scarcity there is I imagine it will go for a bit more, we will see.

I bring up Bob Ross to demonstrate the value of teaching for an artist. (And for a bit of nostalgia.) It is valuable for a couple of reasons. First it brings in cash. Remember the goal is to be a working artist. When needed this can include forms of your art as a service. Teaching is a natural service to offer for an artist. And at little cost to you. Depending on what you are comfortable with you can do one on one teaching in your studio or even in your student’s home. Or if you have the space offer a class and teach a few people at a time. Teaching a class of 6 people for an hour at $50 a head equals $300 an hour. Not bad supplemental income. Charge more for one on one instruction. This allows you to create cash flow within the realm of your art. Better to teach a class for an hour than to work at McDonald’s for week. No?

Offering classes will also increase your fan base and elevate your artist status within your community. Your classes become networking vehicles by getting you and your work in front of more people. And this is why I started off this article with Bob Ross. The fact that he taught art increased the value of his art. Now I know he did teach on national television and that had something to do with it. But every community, no matter how small it is, has a stage that you can put yourself on and increase your visibility and your reputation. And now thanks to the internet and the ease at which you can produce content you can have a global television show.

Think about it. You could create a separate page on your website or a separate site all together that focuses on instruction in your given craft. You could offer videos, one page reports, ebooks, MP3s, and in some cases over the phone instruction. This way you can reach a much bigger audience and also generate more income. (Yes you want to charge for these instructions.)

I know teaching is not for everyone. But I wanted to mention it just in case you have not thought about it. Keep looking for ways to bring in income while still working within your craft. I’d love to hear about any experiences artists have had with teaching art. Was it good? Bad? Worth it? Let me know.

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2. Art Reality Show Being Produced By Bravo