Getting Your First Job Or Commission As An Artist - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Practice Test Plus 1 Academic Listening Test 3 · Part 4 · Questions 31–40
Audio
Questions
Questions 31–31 Multiple Choice (One Answer)
Circle the correct letters A-C.
Questions 32–33 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Circle TWO letters A-E.
Questions 34–35 Multiple Choice (One Answer)
Circle the correct letters A-C.
Questions 36–40 Note Completion
Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Suggestions for Developing a Portfolio
Get some artwork printed in magazines by entering 36 .
Also you can 37 mock up book pages.
Make an effort to broaden your artistic 38 .
Aim for recognition by dividing work into distinct 39 .
Possibly use 40 .
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q31 | C | I was an enthusiastic student and I never found it difficult to find the incentive to paint. I think as a student you're pushed along by fellow students and tutors and the driving force is there. However, when you leave college you find yourself saying things like 'I'll have one more cup of coffee and then I'll sit down to work'. I hate to admit it but I say it myself. Suddenly it isn't finding the inspiration or getting the right paper that's a problem, it's you | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that teachers and friends help students feel ready and excited to work. However, once school is over, artists often find reasons to delay their work. Rebecca says the main difficulty is not the lack of ideas or materials, but the person's own struggle to get started. Answer Explanation: The answer means that people who have just finished their art studies often struggle to make themselves start working on their own. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because Rebecca mentions that while students have a 'driving force' or motivation from teachers and peers, this disappears after graduation. She explains that new graduates often make excuses, like needing another cup of coffee, instead of starting their work. By saying the problem is 'you,' she highlights that the struggle is internal—meaning it is hard for the artists to motivate themselves to begin without external pressure. The words 'incentive' and 'driving force' in the text are synonyms for motivation. |
| Q32 | — | — | |
| Q33 | A / D | It's a real challenge making a decent living as a new artist you have to find a market for your work, often you work freelance and need to take samples or portfolios of your work from place to place these experiences are common to a lot of professional people but artists also have to bare their souls to the world in a way more than anything they want praise if people don't like what they create then it can be a very emotional and upsetting experience hearing them say this |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that it is very hard for a new artist to earn enough money to live comfortably. It also explains that because artists show their inner feelings through their work, they feel very sad and hurt if people say they do not like what the artist has created. Answer Explanation: The answer identifies two main worries for new artists: not earning enough money to live on and receiving negative feedback or criticism about their artwork. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is supported by Rebecca’s description of the difficulties artists face when starting their careers. She explicitly mentions that 'making a decent living' (earning enough money) is a 'real challenge.' Additionally, she explains that artists deeply desire 'praise' and find it 'upsetting' if people 'don't like' what they make, which refers to having their work criticised. |
| Q34 | A | I was a painter but I started to dabble in illustration drawing pictures for books, cards and this offered me the opportunity to become more emotionally detached from my work. I was no longer producing images from the heart but developing images for a specified subject taking a more practical approach |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that Rebecca moved from painting to illustration to separate her feelings from her job. Instead of making art about her own emotions, she began making art for specific projects, which made the work feel more like a professional task. Answer Explanation: The answer means that Rebecca chose to do illustration because it helped her look at her work more like a business task rather than something very personal and emotional. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is A because Rebecca explains that as a fine art painter, it was hard for her to handle criticism because her art was very personal. She says that starting illustration allowed her to become 'emotionally detached' and take a 'practical approach' rather than working 'from the heart'. In English, being objective means making decisions based on facts and goals instead of personal feelings, which is exactly why she made the switch. |
| Q35 | B | I began to develop a collection of my illustrations which I put into a portfolio and started to carry around with me to show prospective clients and employers. But it was still tricky because publishers, for example, want to know that your drawings will reproduce well in a book, but without having had any work published, it's hard to prove this. Having a wonderful portfolio or collection of original artwork is, of course, a first step but what most potential clients would like to see is printed artwork and without this 'evidence' they tend to hold back still when it comes to offering a contract | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that having a portfolio was only a 'first step'. Publishers were still cautious because they wanted to see 'printed artwork' as proof of quality. Because they didn't have this proof, they continued to 'hold back', or be slow and careful, about giving her a contract. Answer Explanation: The answer means that publishers were still very careful and hesitant to hire Rebecca, even after she showed them her collection of drawings. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because the speaker mentions that even though she had a portfolio, getting work was 'still tricky'. Publishers were cautious (careful) because they wanted to see proof that her art would look good in a printed book. The phrase 'hold back still' in the transcript shows that their attitude of being careful didn't change just because she had a portfolio; they were still waiting for more evidence before giving her a contract. |
| Q36 | a competition / competitions / competition | The first way was by submitting my work for a competition, and the one I chose was for a horoscope design and was sponsored by a top women's magazine | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that Rebecca sent her art to a contest organized by a magazine as a way to get her work noticed. Answer Explanation: The answer means a contest where many people enter their work to try and win a prize or get noticed by others. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is correct because the speaker, Rebecca, explains that she solved the problem of not having printed work by entering a contest. She specifically mentions a contest run by a magazine. By 'submitting' her work to this 'competition', she could finally show potential clients her art in a printed format. |
| Q37 | design and print | The other approach I took was to design and print some mock-up pages of a book | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that Rebecca's second method for building her portfolio was to create the layouts and print out dummy book pages to demonstrate how her art works with text in a real book format. Answer Explanation: The answer means that an artist should create the visual layout and then produce physical or digital copies of sample book pages to show to clients. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is based on Rebecca's advice for new artists who need 'evidence' that their work looks good when published. She mentions that one 'approach' she used was to create 'mock-up pages'. To do this, she had to 'design' the pages (art next to text) and 'print' them. These two verbs describe the necessary steps to prepare those sample pages. |
| Q38 | style / technique | Perhaps I was lucky in that I had taken a degree that provided me with all-round creative skills so that I could vary my style and wasn't limited to a certain technique | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that the speaker values having many skills so she can change how her art looks (style) and how she makes it (technique). She thinks this variety is a key part of being an artist. Answer Explanation: The answer means that artists should try to use different ways of making art and different looks for their work, rather than doing everything the same way. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is based on the speaker's advice about being versatile. She mentions that her degree allowed her to 'vary my style' and ensured she 'wasn't limited to a certain technique.' She stresses that this variety is important because it prevents an artist from being stuck in one category (pigeon-holed), which can make it hard to change or grow later in their career. |
| Q39 | categories | One remedy for this is to separate your work into distinct categories | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that a good way to solve the problem of confusing people is to put your art into different, clear groups. Answer Explanation: The answer "categories" refers to separate groups of things that are sorted based on how they are similar to each other. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "categories" because the speaker advises artists to avoid confusing people in interviews by splitting their art into clear groups. She uses the word "separate," which is a synonym for "dividing" used in the task, and mentions that this should be done using "distinct categories." Doing this helps an artist show their different styles in an organized way. |
| Q40 | two names | Working under two names is also useful as it clarifies the different approaches and offers a distinction between them | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that using two different names is a good idea because it helps people understand the different styles an artist uses and keeps those styles separate. Answer Explanation: The answer means that an artist can use two different professional names for different types of work. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is based on the artist’s suggestion that having separate identities for different styles of art can be helpful. She explains that using more than one name makes it easier for clients to see the difference between various ways an artist works. This matches the final suggestion in the list about developing a portfolio. |
Transcript
Lecturer: I'd like to introduce Rebecca Bramwell, an artist and illustrator, who has come along today to talk to you all about getting your first job or commission as an artist ... Over to you Rebecca.
Rebecca: Thank you for inviting me. I remember when I graduated back in 1983, I was very excited about getting my first commission. My degree was in Fine Art and I'd worked long and hard to get it. I was an enthusiastic student and I never found it difficult to find the incentive to paint. I think as a student you're pushed along by fellow students and tutors and the driving force is there. However, when you leave college you find yourself saying things like 'I'll have one more cup of coffee and then I'll sit down to work'. I hate to admit it but I say it myself. Suddenly it isn't finding the inspiration or getting the right paper that's a problem, it's you.
In my view, there are a number of reasons why this happens. It's a real challenge making a decent living as a new artist ... you have to find a market for your work, often you work freelance and need to take samples or portfolios of your work from place to place ... these experiences are common to a lot of professional people ... but artists also have to bare their souls to the world in a way ... more than anything they want praise ... if people don't like what they create then it can be a very emotional and upsetting experience hearing them say this.
I began to realise that these problems were preventing me from having a career in art and so I decided to experiment. I was a painter but I started to dabble in illustration ... drawing pictures for books, cards ... and this offered me the opportunity to become more emotionally detached from my work. I was no longer producing images from the heart but developing images for a specified subject ... taking a more practical approach.
I began to develop a collection of my illustrations which I put into a portfolio and started to carry around with me to show prospective clients and employers. But it was still tricky because publishers, for example, want to know that your drawings will reproduce well in a book, but without having had any work published, it's hard to prove this. Having a wonderful portfolio or collection of original artwork is, of course, a first step but what most potential clients would like to see is printed artwork and without this 'evidence' they tend to hold back still when it comes to offering a contract.
Well, I overcame this problem in two ways. And I suppose this is my advice to you on preparing your portfolio of your best work. The first way was by submitting my work for a competition, and the one I chose was for a horoscope design and was sponsored by a top women's magazine. There are a few of these competitions each year and they offer new illustrators an opportunity to showcase their work. The other approach I took was to design and print some mock-up pages of a book. In other words, I placed some of my illustrations next to some text in order to demonstrate how my work would look when it was printed.
Perhaps I was lucky in that I had taken a degree that provided me with all-round creative skills so that I could vary my style and wasn't limited to a certain technique. I think that is important. The art world, and many other creative fields, do try to pigeon-hole people into snug boxes with an accompanying label. I think you should try to resist this if you feel it happening to you. If you don't, you'll find it difficult to have new work accepted if you try to develop your style at a later stage in your career.
Nevertheless, when you start out and particularly when you're going for an interview, it's important not to confuse people by having a lot of different examples in your portfolio. One remedy for this is to separate your work into distinct categories. In my case, I did this by dividing my design-inspired illustrations from my paintings. It is then easier to analyse the market suited to each portfolio; such as magazines, book jackets, CD covers etc. Working under two names is also useful as it clarifies the different approaches and offers a distinction between them.
I think it's been hard for artists to be recognised in anything other than the pigeon-holes that they have been placed in. Luckily these barriers are slowly being demolished ...