Q: How do I know when it's time to quit my day job and pursue my art career full-time? I'm thinking about moving out of the city to a place in the country where the cost of living is less and making my living as an artist will be easier. If my current sales remain the same or improve, this new life will work. I figure I'll be able to sell locally as well as long distance.

A: Seriously consider several points before making this change. First of all, you'd better have a good, solid, established, and trustworthy gallery or sales network in place at your current location before you move. Trying to maintain sales over long distances can mean problems especially with regards to collecting money, maintaining the personal relationships that are necessary to produce consistent sales, expanding your collector base, and keeping your present collectors happy. For example, collectors often prefer to buy art by local or regional artists whose work they can identify with, which means that you may lose a certain number of sales if you move too far away (unless you're nationally known and your collectors don't care where you live).

With respect to your move, keep in mind that you'll most likely have to reduce prices on all art that you sell at at your new country location-- assuming that you can sell any art at all. The cost of living may be less in the country, but so is the cost everything else, including art. Furthermore, the local art market in the area where you're thinking about settling down may be weak or nonexistent. Research that market thoroughly before you leave the city so that you have a reasonably accurate idea of what to expect in terms of sales. Don't assume that, in a place where few people know you, you'll have no problems building an entirely new collector base similar to the one that you're leaving behind.

Another point to keep in mind is that you'll be experiencing a level of culture-shock as well as a level of isolation that you don't currently experience in the city. Once again, know what to expect before you make your decision to permanently leave the city. Imagining what you're new life will be like is nothing like actually living it. If you haven't done so already, spend at least a month or two in this country setting and get an idea of what your daily routine will be like. Note what you enjoy and what you miss. Hopefully, the positives will outweigh the negatives.