Artist Life and Suffering

I have to get something out of my system here. It’s the unspeakable experiences I made with an Agency in the UK in the last 6 weeks of 2021. Before this, I had an encounter with “Apple Jack” (notorious in the illustrator branch), which I thought was the worst. I was wrong. It got worse after. After I get this down here, I will start a whole new chapter on anything related to my work. In the years before that last, I have been literally robbed by agents. One of them “P” agency, the famous LR and my old agent, who is not working in this field any more, which is a blessing for everyone.

So last year, I had though to start over again, with a new brand, so I was applying and hoping. I applied to „A“ and they were holding me in the line and hope for weeks, only to in the end tell me, that I’m not the right one for them, but maybe for one of their 7 sub agencies,”C”. I was super excited, because they have some of my dream clients ( dream clients up to the experience 😵‍💫) soon after I was told I was accepted for “C” and silly me thought, I finally made it somehow.

Not long after getting accepted, an agent reached out to ask me, if I can do a book illustration for someone who dropped out. Part one of that book was already on the market, so they were planning part 2. The original artist was no longer available so they were looking for someone to EXACTLY COPY their style. The style was simple, unsophisticated and very basic. I had never thought of me needing to copy others style for work, as I do believe, that everyone should be working in his own. But I’m naive to this business still obviously. The schedule was very tight and basically over the Christmas Holidays, with a deadline in early January. It would have been 6 weeks, but I thought, that I can do it because it was so simple and basic. Now in retrospect, I could slap myself for even agreeing, but they told me in was “a foot in the door”

also they asked me for proof, that I can copy the style and I sent a lot of them ( 2 days work) and they said it was perfect. Now you should think, that I was starting to work on the job but no. For 3 weeks, despite tight schedule, they were keeping me in line, (not approved yet) and the let down around December 10th. “Sorry the project cannot be financed” No pay for the samples I made “we didn’t know you want to be paid for samples”

Next I got an other agent from “C” reach out to me. An other book project, again original artist dropped out, again copying the style exactly, this time more demanding and difficult, more complicated. Schedule even tighter, with approaching Christmas. Payment: 8£ !!!per hour!! No advance. Again samples needed, no payment for samples.

I looked up what people in the UK are earning per hour for stocking shelves in the supermarket. It was around 12£, while they were offering me 8£ for demanding tight schedule illustration work over the Christmas Holidays. The client was PB.

I sent K., the agent, a list of payments for simple undemanding work, that was paid way above what they offered, and asked her if she was trying to insult me. She: „sorry, this is how we work, the client PB doesn’t pay much, they don’t do advances. I did not know that you want to be paid for samples too. 😵‍💫Next time we have such an offer, we will not approach you any more“

needless to say that they have not approached me ever since. Because all they have is crappy underpaid jobs, that are an insult to everyone.

Thus consciously feeding and capitalizing on the despair and false hope among poor artists trying to get work.

We are the clear victim of this ruthless industry and this has to stop!!!

I have learned quite a lesson here.

Seriously meanwhile I hate and abhor these people from the bottom of my heart. The ordeal I have been going through was for many years and despite the many publications and even „fame“ I had for a couple of years, I was treated like crap by the agents I was dealing with. And I’m now at the end of the line with it.

I’d rather stock shelf's in the supermarket than ever give any of them the opportunity to treat me like this again.

End of story.

#Artistlife