Howdy! My nephew recently reached out for any advice on selling art and I found I had a bit to say. I go through periods where I'm focused on creative growth and others where I'm focused on selling. The first is more rewarding and while the benefits are obvious in the long term, it's not financially responsible in the short term. For the last couple of years I've focused more on selling as a means of contributing to household finances, but when I first moved to Austin Texas, I enjoyed a long period of artistic growth, and for anyone with an interest in art, who is not yet obligated to prioritize their finances, I'd suggest they lean into experimentation and creating art for art's sake. Lean into that for as long as possible. The skills and styles thus gained can later be used for profit.
As far as practical thoughts on selling, durability is key. I wasn't one for varnishing before I picked up woodburning, and I'm not looking forward to inevitably varnishing over my vast multitude of oil paintings, but collectors want their art to last. Varnish is necessary in ensuring the longevity of paintings.
For some mixed media artists, ensuring durability is especially challenging. Oil paintings are sealed with an oil based varnish whereas acrylics use a plastic base, so when the under painting is acrylic, but the upper layers are oils (bearing in mind the opposite order would result in paint cracking), which varnish would the artist use? Oil based is the answer, but they'd have to be careful not to smudge the acrylic areas during the application. And the thicker the paint, the longer it takes to cure, and it shouldn't be varnished until fully cured. Ink is at greater risk of bleed during the varnishing process. Some varnishes yellow with age and while most don't, the artist needs to do their due diligence when making that purchase.
What about pastels? I've used Fixatif sprays in the past, for pastel and charcoal drawings, but found they remained smudgeable after. For these, I provide a glass front both to protect the art, and the clothing of anyone happening to lean too close.
Three dimensional elements require long term securing. Hot glue isn't that. Different materials have different needs, but nails or sewing might be better. I've seen artists use resin for this but speaking from experience, working with resin requires a wide clean space that ideally is well ventilated, and the pieces require anywhere from hours to days to dry, wherein that space must be kept pristine. Any pet hair in the air will be pet hair in the art.
Then there is the matter of display. When I showed at Art For The People Gallery in Austin Texas, they had standards regarding canvas thickness. Pieces were to be 12in square, minimum, and at least an inch thick, or they required framing. I've seen artists paint the edges of canvases to save on framing costs, which I fully support. The reason my canvases trend 3/4 inch thick is because I buy them in bulk and they've, thus far, been very reasonably priced at that size. If I can find bulk 1in thick canvases at standard width x heights equaling greater than 12x12in, I'll purchase them immediately. As it is, I've yet to find floater frames at 16x20in for less than $35, and that's while buying 4 at a time, to snag a deal. Art For The People Gallery encourages artists to have plastic coated wire attached to the back of wall art so the means of display is both hardy and obvious. Uncoated wire is at greater risk of tarnishing and breaking over time. For woodburnings, I screw in metal hooks.
Speaking of display, for 3D pieces, every angle the viewer will perceive, should be finished. The big take-away from my graphic design education, the first two years of which was more studio-art centered, was that every aspect must be intentional. That means that when planning, say, a hanging spiral staircase sculpture, the artist should take into account the appearance of each step from above as well as below. They should consider whether the piece is meant to hang indoors or outside. They've opted for outside, in order to engage in motion via wind. Is sound a feature? What material is light enough to hang and to be manipulated by the wind, but substantial enough to produce sound? How important is sound? Should there be a variety thereof, and must the notes play in a certain order? Volume? Etc. What protection from the elements must be applied to ensure the durability of the piece without damaging the appearance? Artists should always be thinking, even when experimenting, but once the goal is selling, planning becomes essential.
To sell art, the artist also must self-market, whether than be over social media or through word of mouth. I lean into both. While I'm very active on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, Twitter/X, Threads, Bluesky, and Clapper, I'm also always talking about my art, handing out business cards, even wearing artsy or literary gear because a friendly comment is an invitation to market my wares. One innovative method I've seen is hosting a free little gallery, much like the free little libraries so popular everywhere, only showcasing local art instead. On a grander scale, an artist could open their own gallery, but that's a massive investment. More feasible is applying to competitions and galleries. Seen art is great for building reputation and has the potential to sell. Applying to artist residencies is also ideal for networking, growing a following through word of mouth.
As for where to sell, there are many options. I prefer selling locally via gallery shows, street fairs, and festivals, but for artists willing to jump the shipping hurdle (which can be both expensive and unreliable so good luck!), online is an option. Facebook Marketplace, while it does have a shipping option, is more often utilized for delivery via local pickup, meaning the artist and collector meet at a public space wherein money and goods are traded in person. Police stations often have a designated area for these transactions in their parking lots. Once, Etsy had strict standards wherein products had to be handmade or vintage. Those days are long past and now it's mainly a hub of drop shippers, meaning that you risk accidentally buying AliExpress junk masquerading as handmade artwork when shopping there. Real handmade products are lost in a sea of the mass-produced. What's worse is I'm constantly seeing reports, over social media, of Etsy packages being lost in transit, and the artist being out both their art and the money. Technically Ebay, Poshmark, Amazon, and similar marketplaces, could suffice but collectors don't frequent there.
For digital art, there's Fine Artists of America, INPRNT, Redbubble, Threadless, Amazon Merch, Zazzle, etc. Redbubble shirts have diminished in quality and the more popular the site, the harder it is for you to accumulate an audience without active marketing.
Something a young person might not consider is how to receive payment. I have Paypal, Venmo, and Cashapp. For credit card payments, I offer the Square Reader which is a physical card scanner I attach to my phone. During in-person events I carry moderate sums of small bills in order to give change back. While I obviously have a bank account in my name wherein these deposits go, it's highly advisable to have a separate business account both for payments received, and from which business expenses should be paid. I track all business related profit and expenses in order to accurately file my taxes every year.
Anyway, I hope you find these thoughts helpful. I blog every Monday. Toodles!
Newsletter
Howdy! This past week I mainly focused on creating art, though I was off to a slow start. A recent painted woodburning project cracked after I'd finished it, which for obvious reasons, isn't great. It was part of a larger batch of wood and I feared the others might also be faulty so I soaked and allowed them to air dry. The majority cracked pretty dramatically, but it's way past the final date for allowable returns and while I left an informative review, I'm stuck with the lot. When it became obvious my wood stash is useless, I ordered more, but the new batch only just arrived on Saturday.
I did manage to knock out a single small woodburning, and begin a new larger piece, but largely, I planned future art projects.
While woodburning and painting, I listened to most of the free online author lectures I posted two weeks ago in Post 166. I'll continue adding to that list as I find more. I've continued with querying Soul Walker, my paranormal women's fiction novel. No bites yet but I'm fairly used to waiting months for a response.
I'm currently reading The Unbearable Lightness Of Being by Milan Kundera. It's a favorite novel of a friend, and from the title, I guessed it would offer themes of self empowerment like in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, or maybe The Alchemist. I'm 3/4 in and thus far the story is fast paced but there are low stakes and I'm not invested in a single character. The structure is unusual, in that the narrator comes off as a friend of the protagonists, while knowing personal details those characters would never have shared. Also, the story isn't just out of chronological order. It dwells on the same periods from multiple perspectives, which is popular for thrillers and higher stakes stories, but this isn't that.
Thanks for stopping by! I drop a newsletter every Monday! Toodles!
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