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– But who will do all this?
– Of course, you yourself!
And in conclusion. It pains me to see people seeking buyers for works of good craftsmanship. It pains me to see these identical posts asking for help in various groups. It pains me to read about how artists and their families have no money or how good paper is expensive."
I provide practical information for this purpose. And not only me, other artists too, thank them, participate in discussions, offer advice, share experiences. This is truly invaluable and worth a lot. A friendly atmosphere in our group. You're safe here. Take it. Ask questions. Inquire. Discuss.
So, I've written everything, what should I do next?
Actually, it's an interesting question. You need to show your work to dealers and galleries, as well as independently seek clients. Voice in the audience: "Bring valerian! The artist feels bad! Is there a doctor in the house?"
If you now ask where to find addresses, passwords, and secret signs, your diagnosis will be ready instantly. You don't know how to use search engines and navigate through the clutter of the internet to find the necessary information? You can't navigate among discussions where critics and art lovers gather in any form of representation? If you can't, then you're hopeless and useless. What about sales and profits?
If you understand that you'll have to hustle, that's already not bad. You can select suitable options based on the genre of your subjects and your execution technique. For example, there's no point in sending a realistic landscape or still life to groups, communities, or galleries focused on surrealism or figurative art. Got it? Well done.
After sending your portfolios to a dozen email addresses and not receiving a response, you can confidently send them anywhere. To all possible addresses related to art. Maybe your business card will finally appear, and you'll learn how to leave it in the hands of other people. And even take their business cards. However, sooner or later, the day when you receive positive feedback will come. Assuming you're smart and did everything right.
Stop taking failures so painfully.
About Prices for Paintings
The question of pricing is perhaps one of the most complex for artists. Always. Always! You'll hear polar opinions, from "why so expensive" to "why so cheap." And they'll add, in a friendly whisper: "Tell me, can you even paint?" I suggest we silence this whisper and sideline discussions about artistic and masterpiece value.
What determines the price? No matter how much you think and ask, the decision is ultimately yours. Accept it. You decide how much your work is worth and at what price to exhibit it on a specifically chosen platform for online art sales. In doing so, perhaps you consider several factors important to you personally.
For example, I'm amazed at the question of how much time I spent on a piece. But for some artists, this is important. Or what's difficult for one to draw might be easy for me. For instance. I also often browse what's being exhibited on sales websites and auctions. Sizes, levels, prices. And, most importantly, the level of name and career comparable to yours. Here's a quote from some comments directed at me personally as an author: "You're not La Fe!" Yes, I'm not La Fe, nor are many worthy masters of watercolor painting and drawing. And those masters aren't all architects. Get the idea?
Here's the thing. When you see a work and its selling price, make sure it's actually being bought. Because if what you see isn't selling, then the price means nothing. And another important point. Having low prices as an idea isn't good at all. Let me tell you a story.
I was browsing works for sale posted in one of the Facebook groups. There was a very decent copy of Shishkin's painting. The first thing that caught my eye was the price being too low. Very. You can't imagine how many questions it raised! And not from happy buyers, eagerly clutching money in their hands. But from specialists. And buyers read all these dialogues and discussions and draw their own conclusions. If you're tired of selling at reduced prices, then raise them urgently! There's a chance that sales will increase.
And I know what's happening. That nothing sells at your low prices. Why? That's a separate topic for another article. So you sit there with a pile of works and no profit. That's why it's become tiresome. Raise your prices.
For some reason, people usually take into account only time and materials. They take out a calculator, do some math. Look at the art market around them. And are surprised. Where's the artist's profit? Why don't you pay yourself? But you want the buyer to pay.
Another story. This time about my hand-painted T-shirts. I collected almost 1000 comments under a post on social media in one evening. On one hand, people started calculating the quality of the cotton in the T-shirt and its price. On the other, they showed comparisons and prices. I was amazed. Thankfully, they started calculating the paint consumption. Nobody thought about the artist's labor. To create a design and paint it personally. And when I looked at the examples they sent… when I subtracted the price of the finished T-shirt from the actual T-shirt price, it was sad – what's left for the artist?
Here's what I do. I have prices for each work. I change them periodically. It mainly depends on the presentation and the platform I exhibit on. I also consider the nomination. There's a difference between "decor" and "original by the author," after all. Plus, I know the shipping costs to different countries. And I always base my prices on my profit. What else, in my opinion, is important when I set the price? The price range from $30 to $300. So there's a choice. Besides, it's emotionally difficult to part with some artworks. It happens, yes. I have a whole folder in the closet called "not for sale." Thick.
Set a price that you're willing to part with, and it will cover your lost emotions. Not for 50, but for 370, okay, take it. Got it? Here's to good buyers lining up for your paintings! And to decent profits!
What prevents artists and sculptors from selling
Lack of truth. About themselves. About the level of their creativity. About the number of paintings and series. When you listen to an artist, they have paintings for museums. But when you look, they're just for a small kitchen wall.
Lack of truth about their work capacity and ability to see things through, to be consistent. Yes, discipline, that's the key. Most artists turn to painting due to social unrest. And they lack the skill to achieve goals. Suddenly, they won't emerge as artists from anywhere. If someone is a professional failure, they are a failure in all areas of business. The mess in the mind is inexhaustible. And denial of the actual situation is widespread.
The desire to shift responsibility onto others is common. With rare exceptions. Those exceptions manage to sell their paintings.
What needs to be done first? First, see and understand the starting point. What you actually have in terms of paintings and discipline. A honest audit, so to speak. And then think about what can be done about it. Understandably, you don't want to. Understandably, there are a hundred reasons why you're not doing it and there will be a hundred urgent tasks just to avoid doing it. Understandably, you lie to yourself about being active. I'm not talking about self-criticism right now. I'm talking about clear data analysis without exaggerated expectations. About facing the reality of the situation.
If you keep records and note the date and volume of series of paintings created. If you note how much time and money is spent. And keep records for at least a month, then the picture of activity looks completely different from the rosy brain of the artist. Very often, what he imagines and what actually happens don't match at all. What do you think? Write to me.
How to evaluate
How much does it cost? How to evaluate? What does "expensive" mean? Periodically, we discuss this topic in the group "How to sell your paintings?" Specifically, this means that the artist shares their work with a description, and fellow artists evaluate, discuss, and share their experiences.
It's easy to say, I smile. There's no abstract price or simple sale. Never. There's always a real, specific piece of work. And that's not enough. Because for each specific piece of work, there's a target audience. And that's still not enough. The main question: where are you selling your work, on which platform?
If we're talking about the internet, then through which website, platform? Specialized online galleries and auctions by style? Are there mixed platforms, marketplaces? Also, you can promote-advertise-sell through your profile and pages on social media and online. In this case, the price is influenced by your self-esteem, and the purchases are influenced by your influence and reputation as an artist. This is what it's all about. The mechanisms and justification of the price, as well as the amounts, are different. I can give you a real-life example from the realm of intimacy. There's no abstract intimacy, agree?
There's a moment between real, specific man and woman, in a specific time and space. And it's not "in general, overall" and "theoretically." Paintings are the same. I look at the maximum possible price in this location, platform, website. In real, as they say now, offline life. For one person, $5000 is nothing, while another lives on it for half a year. The value of the work. When you sell, you need to first show the value of your work. And the buyer puts forth the maximum amount they can afford. Only in this case can we say that the painting is expensive and valuable.
Yet the works deserve decent payment
Monday morning. Scrolling through my social media feed. I come across posts from an artist who has put their paintings up for sale. I read his comments about buyers, the artist's dialogue with the audience goes as follows:
– "People who have money are not very smart or decent."
– "Many are. Fortunately, there are exceptions."
– "All exceptions will soon go bankrupt."
While the mind despises affluent buyers (yes, probably not just buyers, and they can only be considered affluent from the artist's personal perspective), selling paintings is pointless. Perhaps it's cool in the author's eyes to flaunt contempt for people and arrogantly pride oneself on being broke. What a shame. His works are good.
The author doesn't consider it worthwhile for himself or his works to be paid decently. And he humiliates not only buyers but also his own creativity. The problem is that when such an artist comes to me saying, "Come on, Galina, what do I need to do to sell?" my communication with him makes no sense.
Because as long as there's stinking garbage in his mind, all technologies and methods are blocked. Do you think you must always be a martyr? Everything is very complicated? Do you enjoy the closed circle of suffering? That's not our way. Because my work is aimed at making people more prosperous and happy. Have you encountered such artists? How did you feel afterwards?
What do you expect from buyers?
Unfortunately, your expectations don't always align with reality. Among the people you interact with regarding sales, only about 10-20% are reasonable and adequate clients. Meanwhile, they browse, visit galleries and pages of other artists, hang out in art groups, and to some extent, understand the subject of discussion and selection.
Therefore, artists often immediately set a lower bar for clients. They lower prices "just to make a sale," cover shipping costs if not initially included in the price. "Oh, they bought it!," they say without requiring full payment upfront before sending the artwork. Sometimes, they even give 2-3 additional works instead of one. This used to be a trend.
But now let's break it down. Despite the majority constantly complaining about how and where to find clients, how to sell for decent money, what to do, they all buy only at reduced prices and very rarely. How do you even start sales?
Always. There are artists who are bought for decent sums, sums they set themselves, not just once, but many times over. Am I clear? And it's true, they buy 2-3-4 paintings at once, or collections, from both new and regular buyers, from art lovers and admirers of their work.
Now, pay attention. Do they buy the best art? The most skilled in composition, color, concept, and subject? The most original? No. The answer is very simple. These purchased artists behave naturally with buyers, both online and offline. They are authentic. They don't flirt or bend over backwards for customers. There are no hidden meanings and messages in their photos, videos, and texts. I've made videos about this, about impressions from profiles. They are confident that their art is needed both by themselves and by people. And it's these artists as personalities that clients choose.
What's really happening? Look. In reality, you're genuinely afraid of sales and clients. And to avoid this, you come up with high standards that, in your opinion, clients should meet to buy your artwork.
All these discussions about the level of clients' education, their popular preferences, the development of taste, you gobble them up with big spoons, even often initiating them yourselves. It feels like before buying, the client should personally pass exams on art history and at least on the basics of spatial composition. The same goes for texts about devaluing famous sales for fairly high amounts, devaluing notable works, and then, to top it off, devaluing the authors, your own colleagues.
In reality, you want to distance yourself from sales as much as possible. Your dream clients never show up. They're all simple, uneducated, want the same thing, not established, not well-off. But I'm a star. And they're not. That's why you don't have clients. It's a very convenient position.
Now look closely. The reason you don't have clients is not because you set such requirements for them. It's because you fundamentally have problems in building healthy relationships. It happens in life in different spheres and, of course, affects the sale of your paintings.
Many buyers try to find and buy paintings, but can't. For the same reason. They're afraid to communicate, discuss, make decisions, afraid of responsibility and commitments.
What should you do? Solve this problem. Stop being afraid of clients and all activities associated with them. Stop being afraid of people, deliveries, payment methods, price ranges, negotiations, gallery websites, and everything else. Then all bars will be removed, expectations will disappear. And you'll finally start showing your works and presenting yourself as you truly are. You'll say to me, "What's the point of discussing the price of your painting and delivery method if you're simply scared of clients and don't even show your face to them?"
Oh yes, I almost forgot, that clients simply lack taste and education to buy your painting. And those who are developed and have it, for some reason, don't have money. And they don't want it for free either. Where will this lead? It will lead to you starting to love your works first. And potential buyers will see you, you'll catch their eye. Then the most important thing: your works will captivate the viewer, and you as a person will interest them. And then it's just a matter of technique: negotiations, payment, delivery, and mutual happiness.
Think about why you need this
If you want to become the coolest artist in the world, collaborate exclusively for a couple hundred thousand dollars for a sketch, and hang out with celebrities, then it's better not to start.
If you've heard something about an artist who showcased controversial works or dreamt of museum fame, then it's better not to start. In short, if you want everything all at once, then it's better not to start.
You should only start in one case. If hundreds of fresh ideas are swirling in your head, itching to be unleashed onto paper no matter what. And if you're okay financially even without drawing.
The profession of an artist, in terms of prestige, income, and effort, holds a high position. But not for everyone. And not everywhere. Be prepared to hear "what's the big deal about waving a brush here" and "why get tired from just moving a pencil on paper," as well as the masterpiece "and you're asking for so much money for these three lines?"
You probably won't make huge amounts of money. But you'll definitely ruin your nervous system and all other aspects of your health. If you have a dog or a parrot, they'll die. Firstly, you won't have anything to feed them, and secondly, you simply won't have time. If that doesn't stop you, then keep reading. When an artist says they're an artist.
When an Artist Says They're an Artist
How can an artist attract clients without advertising? Let's start by understanding what advertising is. If an artist runs their blog, which automatically increases the site's ranking in search engine ratings and boosts traffic to the site, is that advertising?
And what if the artist writes a very useful post, providing valuable recommendations? And then they want as many people as possible to benefit from these recommendations? Because they're genuinely helpful. How should we perceive a request to share the post in a group with 100,000 followers?
Yes, undoubtedly, when an artist shouts about being the best among all artists, it doesn't look great, agreed. And if they further promote themselves in ads with a cry of "come to me, I'll draw everyone better than anyone!" I sense your smiles. But. If an artist knows how to, for example, decorate a living room or office, or how to draw an apple, or choose brushes, and they write a series of posts about it in their group or profile, why not share this useful series with people? They're not directly advertising themselves. They're not promoting their services overtly and with a shout. They're doing it much more delicately and effectively. They simply provide value in their posts and want as many people as possible to read them to genuinely help as many people as possible.
Thanks to these actions, on one hand, information about the artist spreads, and on the other hand, clients find them and place orders. Everyone reads tons of articles and posts on Facebook. Suddenly, they come across an article by an Artist. The reader likes it and subscribes to a series of similar posts. It's all ethical and beautiful, isn't it? Then the reader feels a connection with the Artist, resonates with something (or doesn't, everyone has their preferences), and reaches out to the artist to buy paintings. Here, too, everything is ethical.
How will you know if it worked?
In my opinion, knowing the answer to this question is very important. People come to me with the request "teach me how to draw." But how will you know when you're already capable and have learned?
Another request is "how to sell paintings?" How will you know when you're capable of selling your paintings? The question is not as simple as it seems at first glance. When I was learning, my teachers of drawing and painting often used to say a phrase for some reason: "Well, now you've learned how to do a job that puts bread and butter on the table." We didn't just draw or come up with ideas. We worked. We thought with our hands. This phrase was uttered every time we submitted our work. A special praise sounded like "This is already caviar on bread and butter." It might seem like a triviality… but you never know what might strike a chord with someone.
This was in the early 90s. Back then, there were no Lexuses, laptops, or iPhones. We used ink and a pen to show frost on bare tree branches. The quality of execution (not the idea or the flight of thought) was evaluated separately. Do you catch my drift? Why am I telling you this? I'm showing you an achievement. What I'm capable of. Doing. Such works and selling them. It hit me literally the other day. And how do you personally understand when you've achieved something?
Impressions from browsing an online gallery
Saturday night thoughts. Impressions from viewing a mass of artworks, more than 15,000 in a couple of days. I was looking in a popular online gallery, in the painting category.
And do you know what tired me out? What predominates in the mass of works?
From fashionable abstract portraits. Very colorful. I especially note the expressions on the faces, they are either frightened or angry mostly. And this combination of depression in emotion and vividness in presentation gives a dual feeling, unpleasant for me personally.
From smudges with dirty shades, a messy mishmash passed off as flights of fancy in abstraction. Well, of course, it's all abstraction. It's just widespread and mass trash. Where do artists get so much dirt in color, it's a mystery. Why they choose to make the size of the work bigger, that's also a mystery to me.
And the masterpieces. Human bodies with distorted proportions. No, it's not a technique working on the idea in a series of paintings. It's one leg longer than the other in mid-air. It's rubbery stretched arms that, if straightened alongside the body, reach the knees. And naked bodies fragmented, with a focus on the genitalia. You know, they depict something very strained, and with wild shades too.
What did the eyes find restful? On proper proportions. On skillful color solutions. On techniques that work for the idea and are fully justified. And on realism. Yes-yes. Among the fashionable abstractions, realistic works attract. This is what I wanted to look at, and I wanted to get to know the authors.
And it turns out that these authors not only have decent paintings. But also decent graphics and drawing. Even if they have different themes and genres and subjects and fantasies. I am all for good taste. In both abstraction and realism. And for respectful treatment of the human body. And you, as you browse through the works of other artists in large numbers, what do they exhibit? What are your overall impressions? Please share.
Communication in social media posts
Why do I ask for a description and make a request when posting your paintings as separate posts? Description in the post with the painting: it's the author, technique, size, year of creation, country (city), preferably the title. This description is also called "cataloging," meaning the method accepted in catalogs.
The rest is a request. What is a request? It's either a question or a plea. A question that can be answered and then discussed. A plea is similar. From the series: advise, help, what do you think, all questions go here. Responding to a post without a question is not a very good reaction. So, the artist wrote something. And? There's no question. Here are also the expectations from participants that they will write something about the painting, and then the complaints about not being recognized.
Firstly, these are your personal expectations from others. What are they based on? On your own individual reasons.
Secondly, you don't even voice your expectations and needs. What should people comment on in this case? No question, no answer. And that's it.
And a normal reaction would be to write without a question on another topic, if you feel like it, of course. Phrases without anything, just talking about everything and nothing, and then sighing that nobody responded to me, I'm so tired, I thought it would be different, and so on, are also in this category. And what do you think, colleagues?
Sell yourself, the rest will follow
Tell me, who do you usually trust 100%? That's right, people who are authorities to you. That's your brand. Let me explain. I build my image in such a way that people, seeing and hearing my name, know what to expect from me. It may seem impossible, but it's much simpler than you think.
You need to promote yourself everywhere and always. Promote yourself wisely and cleverly. And for this to work well, I try to showcase my skills in the field where I'm promoting myself. Choose what you like the most. Is there something that "hooks" you? Develop that theme.
So, how do things usually unfold? Here's the standard scenario of what I'm actually selling. Let's break it down step by step.
Firstly, why should I interact with people in real life, offline, if there are millions of potential clients on the Internet and ready-made websites-galleries?
After a month. If someone had told me about free advertising methods earlier. Oh, and by the way, can someone explain to me why advertise your website and page?
And another month later. Why am I even trying to sell my paintings independently? There must be another way! And what am I actually selling?
And after several months of such actions, I finally understand. Here's what I understand. Maybe the main product for sale is not the paintings? Not drawing lessons? Not courses on art history?
So here's the thing. I don't want you to spend half a year before you come to this rare thought.
My Most Important product is ME.
Your Most Important product is YOU.
Yes, many have heard about this. Few understand it, let alone apply it. You can clearly see in your genre's niche that there are artists who effortlessly sell a couple of works every day and even get commissions. And then there are those who can barely sell 1-2 paintings a month. Or there's a huge difference in the price of their work, hence the artist's profit. Why? My paintings are not bought because I have an incredible storyline or my watercolor is more "watercolorish" than other artists'. It's because they like me. So, the question is different. How do you establish yourself in the target market? How do you make clients come to you? It's a great question. And almost no one teaches the answer. Usually, they suggest painting more. How does all of this work on the Internet? Through content that meets the needs of your ideal clients. Start sharing experiences, cases.
I feel like many members of the group are tense right now, especially newcomers. I'm not commenting on the level of artistic mastery. In this group, I'm dealing with something else. Your education and biography interest me at the "who you are and what you do" stage as a fact.
But what really matters to me is what you create as an artist, what your art is about, and why you create it. I share the approach to painting, drawing as a profession from art therapy. The approach, attitude, and your subsequent actions matter. It's important. In short, a professional has ongoing development and continuation in the theme, technique. And discipline. If something needs to be done by a certain date, they will do it well and on time. They won't wait for inspiration and conditions. This is the approach to a profession.
Unexpected Moment
An unexpected moment you may not even be aware of when you want to sell your paintings. Any sale involves communication, interaction with the buyer or dealer. When you post your paintings in our group without any identifying text or request, it's your habit of communicating. And you're most likely behaving the same way elsewhere. What's wrong with this situation for you?
Well, you have a whole bag of problems. You don't want to read the group rules. So, you're not even interested in knowing where you've been accepted. You read how things are done here, but you don't care. You're special and unique. Who cares what anyone else says? So what if there are over 4000 other members in the group besides you? People? Who are they?
You think it's okay to steal other people's time and attention so they can look at your work without a description, questions, or relevant requests. You're incapable of learning because learning means reading, learning, and applying immediately. Everything else just flies over your head, connections, and money.
