How to become a Fine artist — courses and qualifications

Day-to-day tasks

As a fine artist, you'llcreate artworks from your own ideas, or commissions from an individual or an organisation; promote and sell your work through an agent, or through galleries, exhibitions, shops or online; research subject matter, materials and new artistic techniques; develop your expertise in one or more media; network with agents, dealers, gallery owners and other artists; attend exhibitions and join artists’ groups

You might also:

work as ‘artist in residence’ – running classes and workshops in places like schools, prisons or hospitals
teach art classes privately, in colleges or community learning centres
run local art projects

Skills needed

knowledge of the fine arts
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
the ability to work well with your hands
design skills and knowledge
to be flexible and open to change
the ability to learn through your work
the ability to use your initiative
the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

How to get into this role

You can get into this job through:

a university course
a college course
self-teaching

Career progression

With experience, you could move into areas like:

art therapy
set design
art conservation
gallery management
valuation and sales

You could also combine working as an artist with teaching.