I'm an artist who's never sold any of my art. I am determined to make a living at it. How do I...?

Question

I have paintings/pastels/drawings, (most approx. 8"x12" to 12"x18") that I think would make great copies, even in larger sizes, I think; (I also make individual greeting cards, and unique metal figurines.) ?Can anybody givee me some basis for a plan or course of action, as well as best places to sell to? Want to place high quality prints in governmental departments across country, galleries, I wanna go everywhere I can. Also I have no idea what to charge per hi-qual. copy, or what kinds of hi-qual. prints are recommended. Going back to school is a ways off for me at this time, but I am hell-bent on making this work somehow.
Help, please! and thanks for serious answers.

Answer 1

actually i've seen many artists promoting their work on myspace. they have their work up their galleries and they sell them online. look at this profile www.myspace.com/wogbarbi <--- she sells her paintings online.

Answer 2

Well I would think that you price it according to what the market will bear - a lot of artists sell on ebay, try searching on there and seeing what prices pieces are fetching at auction. Compare the quality of what you see there to your own work and price accordingly. You might even want to try selling on there yourself - some seem to do well there. Good luck! Edit- not sure I agree with the person who said anything under £100 is too cheap - I have bought some nice bits of original art on ebay for less than £50, it's up to the individual artist to decide what a piece is worth. I personally couldn't afford £100 paintings right now, so I go for the cheaper work.

Answer 3

Divide and conquer.
Divide your time between the three points you have made.
Your artwork first,as well as working in the mediums it is important to have the work you do critiqued. Not criticized, but critiqued in a way that can teach you what is wrong, and what is right. To do this it is important for you to socialize with like minded men and women. Artists who are successful,or are working towards that goal.Pick up serious books on your trade.Learn from these two sources if you cannot go back to school.
Second; Research through all of your sources the methods of printings,the business involved, the funds required, and what quality to expect.Try a part time job with a small printing company just to learn how it is done.Make sure the job is in the shop and not the office.If you know that you are there to learn the ways of the trade then your ego should not get in the way. Joe jobs in the shop is a good place to pick up a vast amount of knowledge in printing.Working with the printers you can get answers the public service can't give you. And you can pick up a few dollars for learning what you need to know in order to gain the confidence of selling the printed piece.
Three; to get into the offices of the governments and corporations then you have to find who the purchasing agents are. Every corporation and every branch of government,(municipal,and county, as well as state, and federal) will have an agent somewhere within the structure for purchasing public art. Find out who they are and where they are and start a relationship with them all! Yep a relationship. If you don't know them then you can not sell them.
As for the price? You have to account for the cost at your end, and what will cover your costs as well as returning a profit. There is no fixed price on your work, it will fluctuate.
Taking account of these matters will help you come to a reasonable pricing. Your time, the cost: cost of supplies, your paints,papers,pencils,oils,stamps,envelopes,printers cost,cost of stock,shipping and packaging,transit,hours in transit,and a whole host of miscellaneous costs you cannot see until it comes to your desk.
If you divide your attention to these three aspects then eventually you will conquer the problem of making a living off of your artwork. Do not expect a living profit for a very long time.Art is a luxury to any company or corporation. When it comes time for a company to tighten up their corparate belt?......art is the first thing to go. When it is time to feed the family,pay the rent/mortgage,and clothe the children?.....art is the last thing on the list of what to get.
On a personal note; beware of the galleries. They take a huge percent in fees. Usually between forty to sixty percent! I find that greedy for a salesman/saleswoman.
They rarely take less than forty percent and every damn one of them have great apologies for their excorbitant fees. I disagree with all of their excuses. However it is the individual artist that will accept or reject their reasoning. So it is up to you if you want to deal with the galleries. Just know that they will want about a half of your dollar or more.
I hope this helps and I hope you fly hell-bent or not.

Answer 4

Built a strong portfolio, that resembles your unique style.
- Artist Statement (in first person), explain how your
different from other
artists/ syles and what
your passions are.
- Biography (in second person)
- Artist Resume / CV (your education, exhibits,
donations, awards...ect.)
- CD, or photos, or prints, or slides of your art work
(label them with #, artist, date, title, medium)
- Business Card (with email, website, location,...ect.)

The portfolio is basically a book or folder resembiling & incorparate your style and personality. Gallery owners will go nuts over you, in a good way, if you make your portfolio differntly than other artist portfilios. Be creative. The portfolio should resemble you, and you alone!
A website, with a video tour of your studio/work place helps too. Include your website address on your business card.
You can also make a digital portfolio.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prints should be a quater of the price of your originals paintings.
(Charge original painting $100.00, a Print is $25.00)

If your selling in multiple galleries, make sure the end/total price is the same from gallery to gallery. Galleries will charge different percentages(40-60% split, or 50-50% split). They charge your to sell your art in there gallery. You can also sell from your website and your own home. Selling from your home or website is the most profitable becuase you an't charged a percentage. It is called selling direct from artist to client. Your both benifit. When your sell direct, you try to price your art in the middle of the difference your sell in galleries.

example: You go to gallery and you want $1200.00.
They charge 40%. That means 40% of the price your
asking is added on top of your price. This is the
difference. If you sell direct sell in the middle of this
difference.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pricing your art

Formula: Cost of materials + time & wage + utilities +
transportation + profit = your price for individual
artwork (original artwork)

Paints/canvas = $300,.. $12 an hour for 10 hrs.,.. lighting $5,.. $40 gas,.. $300 profit = $765.00 for original painting.
(just an example, you can adjust)

You go gallery (consignment) ----You say you want $765.00 for your painting. They say, OK. They display your work and add %40 on top of your price. They add another $306.00 on top of your
price and sell in the gallery for $1701.00.

Remember your prints should a quater of the price.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apply for government grants and schollarships. It is easer to recieve a great if you belong to a studio/group of artists. If your in a group of artists, make sure they work in different meduims than you do (sculpture, jewlery, ceremics, textile,..ect), every meduim except for painting & drawing. It is better for business.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Be aware some people (rare) will try to rip you off. Mainly I found this in private commitions (portaits ect.), so I charge %25 down payment before I begin on those things. Most people won't rip you off, not to worry. But have things in place to gaurd you. Remember this is business and you need to make a living at all costs.