Ever wonder why there are many “starving artists”? For many, creating art is
the easy part; the difficulty lies in selling their art creations. Learn
five ways artists can find the market for their art creations.
by Jenny Fulbright
Contributing Author
Ever wonder why there are many “starving artists”? For many,
creating art is the easy part; the difficulty lies in selling
their art creations. As a result, a lot of artists toil in their
studios or garage with their heretofore “creative geniuses”
remaining unknown.
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Art that sells are seen as artfully rendered and impactful
works. However, many artists need help in bringing their work in
front of their market. Here are five ways artists can find the
market for their art creations:
1. Sell yourself.
You can sell a finished piece at a show, at a gallery, or out of
your studio. To get buyers to your sales venue, however, you
must first learn how to sell yourself. The key is confidence and
preparation. You must believe in yourself and be confident about
what you do and your work. That confidence can serve you in good
stead as you enter a gallery; introduce yourself and discuss
opportunities for you to show your work.
2. Find Commission Work.
Commission work entails the creation of a work of art based on a
client’s specification. The main difference is that you are
creating an artwork, not for yourself, but for someone. Hence,
the success of a commission work depends on the quality of your
relationship with the client: you succeed when you respond
effectively to the other party's concerns, requests, and needs.
Commissions may involve painting someone's portrait, creating a
painting or sculpture to decorate a home or public building, or
completing a certain number of works for a gallery to sell.
3. Participate in Shows and
Exhibition
.
Showing your works and participating in trade shows can open
your art to a great pool of interested art buyers. For one, the
amount of traffic in one weekend show can greatly outnumber the
number of foot traffic in a gallery. Art buyers including
galleries carefully scout trade shows for emerging and cutting
edge artists that they can feature in their exhibits.
Key cities often hold some of the most popular fine art trade
shows such as ArtExpo Atlanta, Art Miami, International Art Expo
New York, Boston International Fine Art Show, and others.
Outside of the United States, some of the important art shows
include the Art Ireland Exhibitions and the International Fine
Art and Antiques Fair in Maastricht, The Netherlands.
4. Donate artwork to high-traffic or
high profile areas.
For free advertisement, nothing beats donating your work to
high-traffic establishment such as hospitals or office
buildings. If your yard is filled with your work, try to donate
some of your artwork to foundations or other areas that you
think could increase your cache as an artist and your visibility
as well. Oftentimes, such placements can yield high-profile
commissions.
5. Employ proven marketing
techniques
.
Many artists are now turning to proven techniques to market
themselves and their artwork. One of these strategies includes
the creation of in-depth websites. Your Web site can be the
showcase of your work, as well as the venue for educating your
patrons. It can also be used to collect information from
interested art buyers, as well as keep potential customers
you’ve met in art shows and gallery shows updated with your
latest work. While participating in trade shows or gallery
exhibits, you can refer interested parties to your Web site,
even requesting them to give you their email address to more
easily keep them abreast of your work and news about you. Those
who have already seen your work in person and talked to you are
more likely to want to own your artwork.
Other strategies that you can employ include the printing of
brochures, organizing mailing lists, and creating biographical
CDs for distribution to potential collectors. Others also sell
on alternative distribution channels such as online auctions and
flea markets.
For many artists, the most important sales weapon is
education. Particularly if you are creating unique,
one-of-a-kind work, you must be able to talk to your client
about your work, what it is about and how it is created. Buyers
tend to respond to an artwork more if they know something about
the artist, the media and the artwork’s creation. Art is just
like any other product: you need to educate your clientele – and
convince them that you work is worth having.
