Being an artist myself, I know how hard it can be to sell your art in the real world that is one reason you might what to try to sell your art online. A few years ago I decided to start selling my art online and Iâm glad I did. Now, Iâm not getting rich doing this, but I have made more sells online than I ever did in the real world. Plus I donât have schlep my artwork from place to place.
Lets just take a look at some reasons you should consider selling your art online.
Convenience
In the real world you have to sale your art in galleries, art festivals, fairs, libraries or any place that will allow you to place your art and sell it. Now consider you have to pack up your artwork and carry it to these places and in some of cases hung the work yourself. Also consider that the pieces that donât sale you have to take them down, pack them up and carry them back to your home or studio
However, when you sell your art online you just put up some photos of your artwork on a website with some information on the size, medium and price and depending on where you put it you may be able to keep your artwork there indefinitely. Even if the artwork doesnât sale on a site where it has to be removed, all you have to remove is a photo and some information. No packing and no carrying bulky paintings back and forth.
You Have Total Control
By selling your art online you take over total control of your art career. No more middlemen telling you how much to price your art for and then taking a cut of your money when the art sells. Galleries will take anywhere from a 40 to 50% cut of your art sales. Art Festivals will charge any where from $200 to $500 fees just to be in the festival and demand that you have a certain amount of inventory, which you have to pay for. If you donât sell anything at the festival you are just out all of that money.
If you sell your art online you can decide when where and how long you have your art up on a website and although there are some sites that may charge you to have your art on them, most of the places are free and the ones that do charge itâs usually a very small amount. Also most places where you can sell your art online will let you set your own price and wonât charge you a commission. So you can keep 100% of your art sells. Also on most places that allow you to put art on their sites, you can put up as many or as little as you want.
A Worldwide Customer Base
When selling your art in the real world your art sales are usually limited to the place where your art is at the moment. If you are exhibiting at a gallery your art sales are limited to that gallery and the people that come into that gallery. If your art is being shown at a fair your art sales are limited to the people that see your art at that fair. I think you get the picture. For the must part in the real world your art sales is going to be limited to local or regional sales.
On the Internet you have a worldwide audience to market your art to. Because of selling my art online I now have my artwork in Japan, France, Great Britain, Canada and other places that I would not have been able to reach in the real world. It doesnât matter where you are in the world you will be able to reach people from different countries. An artist in Italy can sell a piece of art to a buyer Russia or an artist in India can sell a painting to a buyer in the United States. Your online presence is your art gallery to the world.
Iâm not saying not to sell your art in the real world, but as you can see by opting to sell your art online you have more control and a wider buyer reach. However thereâs no reason you canât do both.
Difference between Commission Portrait Artists and other artists
Portrait commission can be done if you want to turn your favorite photographs into charismatic oil paintings. By commissioning a portrait, you can capture your beautiful memories in the most colorful manner, for a lifetime.
However, not all artists can create equally beautiful and elegant portraits from photographs. The commission portrait artists are the most suitable ones for creating portraits from photographs. The portraits created by them have a completely different look from the ones created by other artists. The commission portrait artists specialize in their field and know how to use each and every color, brush stroke and other painting techniques, to make the portraits look like a complete copy of the photographs.
While commissioning a portrait, the commission portrait artists give emphasis to even the minutest detail, which the other artists might simply miss out. This characteristic distinguishes portrait paintings created by them from the paintings created by other artists.
If you want to commission a portrait and are looking for a talented and experienced commission portrait artist, you can contact www.portrayers.com for further details.
In the past, when photography was not popular, oil paintingwas one of the most popular means for family portraits, used to preserve images of their near and dear ones for future generations.
Oil painting portraitswere not only popular because it was used for making personal images but also because it was used as a decorative medium to decorate homes and offices. Mona Lisa, made by the Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci long back in the early 1500s, is most probably the most famous oil painting portrait.
Oil Painting Portraits, which were made centuries back are so beautiful that they continue to amaze us even today. At present times, oil painting portraits have become affordable. Therefore, you can buy them to either gift it to someone or simply decorate your home and office with it. You can also get an oil painting portrait of your choice made by an artist. The artist will require a few weeks time to complete your portrait of oil painting and deliver it to you.
An artist’s background is important and definitely impacts on
the value of their artworks. Most of us understand that an
artwork by an established or accomplished artist is worth more
than that of an lesser known artist. An investment quality
contemporary artwork is usually made by an artist who has
specific art education, who has successfully exhibited his or
her works and has some gallery placements. Like all material
investments, artworks represent both intrinsic value and
expected return. For art collectors and investors, knowledge of
the artist’s educational background and exhibition history gives
clues about the success and future success of an artist. To be a
successful art investor doesn’t require an extensive knowledge
or a great eye for art but it will help you to understand in
your choices if you are aware of some indicators of an
advantageous investment artist.
In term of education, mastering art technical skills and
knowledge is currently a desirable educational stepping stone
for successful artists. Many aspiring artists acquire an MFA
(Master of Fine Arts) degree. In earning an advanced degree,
students make artwork under the tutelage of working artists who
teach both skills and ideas. Formal education in art exposes
aspiring artists to peer criticisms and guidance, helps them
build connections and relationships that assist them to have
their work exhibited as well as having other advantages both for
the practical act of making art and in having the skills and
forming the relationships to promote that art.
Artists build their careers over time. For any artist to become
successful it is necessary to promote their artwork and this is
generally done through exhibits. An artist who may be a worthy
investment has a mixture of solo or two artist exhibitions
roughly every two years in notable galleries. Most favourable
artists will also have their art hung in museum exhibitions. A
placement of an artwork with a museum is considered a
significant achievement. In most cases, particularly with
emerging artists – if their education and exhibition history
indications are favourable and the artwork is aesthetically
pleasing to you, then it is a good investment. Depending on what
stage of their career an artist is currently. It may also be
informative to look at the auction results of their artworks to
see if the value of their artwork is steadily increasing. As a
tangible investment, artworks represent both intrinsic value and
expected return. As a final rule remember to buy only what you
love as every art investment is always going to be partly
ornamental and partly investment.
Please accept my invitation to visit
http://www.smartartinvestments.com.au to view some fine
Australian investment art and learn more about the art of
investment.
Everyone feels that the artist life is glamorous and easy, but that’s the furthest from the truth. The number of artists making their living from their art is small and those who do have a sustainable business work very hard splitting their lives between creativity and business.
If you want to create an “art business” the four pillars of success are: vision; challenge; perseverance and motivation. Developing actions surrounding the four pillars will give you a giant leap from “Starving Artist” to “Successful Artist”.
VisionAs artists we have over developed right hemispheres of our brain so creativity is not in short supply. The interesting thing is that we don’t use that creativity as it pertains to our business. Having a vision for your business will enable you to begin a different type of portfolio, a business portfolio.
Take the time to be specific about how you want your art to serve in your life. If your art is your bread and butter then you must treat it that way, with respect and lots of elbow grease. If your art is an avocation, then what do you want to accomplish and by when.
It’s important to develop the road map to success or you’ll wander aimlessly, you’ll become discouraged and you’ll put out the fire better known as your dream. Set an intention and once you’ve set the intention build upon that intention. Each action you take should support your vision, shoring up the first pillar of success.
ChallengeIf the business of art were easy then every artist would be successful. When we challenge ourselves creatively we are looking for new ways to express ourselves. The same is true in our business, the challenge is to show potential buyers that you wear more than one hat and you do it with conviction.
One of the key challenges for artists is not confidence in their work, but in how they present their work to the world. Artists are notorious for engaging in conversations from a one down position. We feel as if there is a caste system and we struggle to be taken seriously as an entrepreneur. Standing in the role of entrepreneur takes practice. It takes support from others and encouragement from peers. When you take yourself seriously as an “artrepreneur” others will follow suit.
PerseveranceI’ve heard it said that it takes three years to become an overnight sensation. I believe that to be true and I see it as I attend gallery openings, poetry readings and other venues of artistic expression. Those who have separated themselves from the pack have one thing in common, perseverance.
The successful artist has to be focused and find renewable sources of energy to keep moving forward on the journey. The primary factor that hinders perseverance is isolation. When artists have a support system they are more inclined to stay the course toward their vision. They are able to unload the emotional detours that arise from not getting selected for a show or not getting a call back for an audition. We gain strength by the cheerleading squad we’ve assembled in our lives. Create a success team to help you navigate your unchartered waters and you’ll be amazed at the results.
MotivationYou would think creating beautiful work would be enough motivation, but that is the external motivating factor. How do you keep the internal flames that propel you forward burning bright? Reward yourself! We all love rewards and by creating our own incentive program keeps us in the game.
Having mile markers along the way that show your success in measurable outcomes is essential for maintaining motivation. Ever wonder why nonprofit organizations or religious institutions create a huge thermometer during their fundraising drives? It’s to show the public the progression of their mission. As they get closer to the top it draws others who want to be a part of putting the organization over the top. Create your own gauge and make it visible so it stays in your consciousness. When you hit the top of the gauge be sure and shout it from the rooftops because you’ve shown that motivation yields results and that is evident by your success, both personal and professional.
Greg Katz is a national juried artist and the owner of the Artist Success Studio, a virtual artist community that transforms “Successful Artist’ from oxymoron to declarative fact.
Image taken on 2006-05-13 04:34:49 by Marcome : Ambient New Age Music.
Image taken on 2007-01-07 14:46:17 by Marcome : Ambient New Age Music.
A tribute to Baha’i artists around the world … Bahai artists music Baha’i
Image taken on 2007-04-27 09:38:21 by Marcome : Ambient New Age Music.
