Do you love to draw and paint? Is it your passion? That’s awesome! You’re awesome! You may one day become a full time professional artist. Keeping creating!

Remember to work hard in all of your classes, especially in your art classes and any classes that have to do with communication. Successful artists don’t just create amazing work, they also need to be able to communicate effectively about that work in order to make a living. 

Pay attention to your teachers. Work hard. 

The following text talks about things you can do to develop as an artist. It will also show you what types of spaces are available for junior high school students to show their art and what spaces are NOT available at your level. 

I hope this is helpful to you. Many thoughtful readers read things like this two or more times to completely understand the text.

It’s probably a good idea to read this with your parents. They can help to fill in any gaps in understanding.

Who’s here to help you? 

• Your parents.
• Your grandparents.
• Your teachers.

Who will bend over backwards to help you? 

• People you know very well whom you’ve done a lot of things for. 
• People you’ve built a great relationship with by being amazing all the time and thinking of them and their needs, not your needs. 

Who’s NOT here to help you? 

• People you’ve never met. 
• People you don’t know.

Where do you get to exhibit? 

• In your art classes.
• Your art teachers will probably put on some quarterly or yearly art shows.
• Potentially at a coffee shop if you’re putting lots in of effort in and getting great results. 

Where do you NOT get to exhibit? 

• Most coffee shops. 
• Most wine bars. 
• Almost all art galleries.
• Fine art galleries. 
• Award-winning fine art galleries. 
• Local museums.
• The Smithsonian. 

Things You Can Do To Move Your Art Career To The Next Stage 

• Be nice to everyone. 
• Eat some vegetables. 
• Draw and paint as much as you can. 
• Take as many art classes as you can at school. 
• Work hard to get good grades in these classes. 
• Work hard to get good grades in other classes, too, especially communication classes. Artists need to know how to communicate clearly in writing and in conversation to succeed.
• Take an art class outside of school. 
• Start researching art. There’s lots of great stuff on the web. 
• Watch some cool movies about art and artists. 
• Choose a favorite artist and learn more about them. 
• Get out of the house. 
• You should be attending all First Fridays. It’s a great way to get to know the scene: the spaces, the artists, etc. 
• Get your parents to buy you a piece of art in a local gallery – if it’s a First Friday then you can also ask the artist questions. All artists looove to answer questions from people who actually purchase their work.
• Exercise regularly. 
• Be super nice to everyone. 
• Start checking into what Spokane Arts is up to. They often have opportunities for younger art producers.
• Have fun, but also realize that this is a career choice that requires a lot of hard work as well as time spent developing your “people skills”.

Lastly, as you read above, we do not exhibit junior high school students. There’s no use contacting us about a show. There are other places for you, however, so feel free to check out those places and contact them.