25 Artists and Their Day Jobs Before Making It Big

There is no one way to become an artist. If there was, achieving it would mean something much different than it does in today's culture. Some of your favorite artists truly started at the bottom (no shots at Drake), whether they drove taxis, were cooks, or were museum guards. Some dabbled in modeling, and others had day jobs that helped their eventual practice, such as furniture construction and layout making. In all cases, the journeys are interesting and admirable. See what we mean with these 25 Artists and Their Day Jobs Before Making it Big, and realize that it's a long yet rewarding ride to the top of the art game.

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Day Job: Puppet Designer

Todd James, also known as REAS, was the puppet designer for Crank Yankers on Comedy Central during his rising career as graffiti artist. He is now a successful painter using his legal name, and he no longer makes puppets for television.

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Day Job: Commercial Illustrator and Graphic Designer

After a stint in art school and releasing his now cult-classic graphic novel, David Choe became a graphic designer and illustrator. Following his commercial success, Choe decided that he would focus on his own art and murals.

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Day Job: Handyman

In his late teens, Ron English had a job putting up plasterboard in housing projects. His co-workers would see his drawings on the walls and encouraged him to enroll in college, where he began his billboard "modification."

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Day Job: Circus Assistant and Model

Ellen Von Unwerth has had an interesting life. She was a circus assistant shortly after graduating high school, and at age 20, she was scouted on the street and moved to Paris to pursue a modelling career. She was unsatisfied with being behind the lens all the time and transitioned into the role of photographer.

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Day Job: Freelance Animator

Brian Donnelly, better known as KAWS, has lived on the edge of two worlds for most of his life, balancing his graffiti work with college at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Upon graduation, he worked as an animator for several notable film projects, including Doug, Daria and 101 Dalmatians.

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Day Job: Teacher, Installer, Curator, Administrator, and Museum Guard

While studying performance art and dance at SUNY Purchase, Fred Wilson was also a security guard at the campus' Neuberger Museum. In the '70s, Wilson worked as an art installer, curator, freelance teacher, administrator, and guard at some of the city's major museums. These jobs allowed him to see what wasn't being shown to the public, which inspired his later works.

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Day Job: Model

Matthew Barney paid his way through college as a model represented by the Click modeling agency. After graduating from Yale, he moved to New York to begin his art career.

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Day Job: Furniture Fabricator and Lighting Designer

Before Tom Sachs became known for his sculptures, he learned the word "knolling" from his days working in Frank Gehry's furniture shop in L.A. After moving to New York, he participated in installing lighting displays for Barneys New York, including the 1994 Christmas project Hello Kitty Nativity.

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Day Job: Elementary School Teacher

Mark Rothko taught children at the Center Academy, Brooklyn Jewish Center until 1952, while simultaneously becoming one of the greatest abstract painters in history.

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Day Job: Museum Guard

Guyton's first job after moving to NYC was as a security guard at the Dia Center for the Arts. He clearly took the job lightly, stating, "I stood around all day guarding art." Soon after, he began experimenting with flatbed scanners, leading to his successful exhibitions at museums like The Whitney.

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Day Job: Fashion Designer

Yayoi Kusama began merging her art with dresses in the 1960s when she lived in New York, pioneering the Japanese avant-garde fashion aesthetic. She also launched her own fashion label in 1968.

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Day Job: Commercial Illustrator and Graphic Designer

Before his success as a pop artist, Warhol was doing drawings for Glamour as an illustrator. He also drew advertisements for various magazines, including Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, in addition to book jackets and holiday greeting cards.

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Day Job: Stockbroker

Following his mother's death in 1867 and his release from the merchant marine, Gauguin became a stockbroker, with the help of a businessman who was his legal guardian.

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Day Job: Babysitter

When he was 18, Pollock moved to New York to live with his brother, and he soon became a babysitter for the children of his brother's art teacher, painter Thomas Hart Benton.

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Day Job: Layout Artist

In 1960, Ed Ruscha began working full-time as a layout artist at the Carson-Roberts Advertising Agency in Los Angeles. A year later, he traveled extensively throughout Europe, and his experieces there inspired his future artworks.

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Day Job: Furniture Maker

Late to begin creating art, Richard Artschwager's work evolved from his first career as a furniture maker, after being encouraged to follow his passions by his wife. Clearly this helped him make the work he's famous for today.

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Day Job: Waitress

Mickalene Thomas moved to Portland at age 18 and began waitressing at coffeehouses. There, she met friends who encouraged her to try painting and drawing. She then returned to Brooklyn to attend Pratt and pursue her art career, the results of which can be seen at exhibitions across the country.

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Day Job: Messenger, Shipping Clerk, Used Bookstore Clerk

While in New York, Johns held several jobs, first as a messenger and then as a shipping clerk. Finally, after entering college for just one day, he got a job as a clerk in the Marlboro College Bookstore. His humble beginnings are no indication of the great art career that was soon to follow.

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Day Job: Busboy

Before becoming the iconic artist we know him as today, Keith Haring worked as a busboy at Danceteria, the same place where Madonna worked as a coat-check girl in the early '80s.

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Day Job: Dishwasher and Short-Order Cook

During his independent study at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Julian Schnabel worked as a dishwasher and short-order cook to support himself. The efforts paid off; two years later, he had his first show at Houston's Museum of Contemporary Art.

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Day Job: Plumber and Taxi Driver

Throughout his career as a composer and artist, Glass continued to work as a taxi driver and plumber. On one occassion, he was installing a dishwasher in a SoHo home. He soon found out it was the home of Robert Hughes, the art critic of Time magazine, who exclaimed, "But you're Philip Glass! What are you doing here?" to which Glass replied that he was an artist, but that he was sometimes a plumber, as well, and that he needed to finish his work.

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Day Job: Wall Street Commodities Broker

Before his work was selling for millions at Christie's auctions, Jeff Koons was a commodities broker, using his day job to finance his art projects.

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Day Job: Graphic Designer at Condé Nast

After dropping out of college at Syracuse, Barbara Kruger got a job as a graphic designer at Condé Nast. She later transitioned into a fine art career, applying much of what she learned from juxtaposing text and image at magazines to her work.

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Day Job: Carpenter, Blackjack Player, and House Painter

Following his time at Parsons, Ai Weiwei worked a series of odd jobs, from being a professional blackjack player, carpenter, and house painter. Obviously, this was just the beginning for the artist, who soon returned home to become one of China's most outspoken artists and political activists.

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Day Job: Skateboard Shop Employee and Screenprinter

During his time at RISD, Fairey worked at a skateboard shop selling T-shirts and decks, many of which he designed himself. He ran his screenprinting business for a few years post-graduation, eventually starting a design firm with friends.

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