How do i gain confidence in to sell or display my artwork?

Question

I am told i have a talent but can't seem to take that first step and get my work out there

Answer 1

Firstly, to protect your copyright ask an agency to display your work for you. this gives you the chance to sell your work without you losing your rights for the work you gave done. Ie postcards etc. (contact me and I will pass on the very limted information I have)

Go to exhibitions and fairs and speak to other artists. They started somewhere and they will be more than willing to share their experiences with you.

In a nutshell efore you go out there and try to sell your work - learn how to sell yourself

Answer 2

Did you know that no picture painted by Van Gogh was ever sold during his life time? He did not become famous until after he died.

And Adolph Hitler did not seem to have very much talent and had to resort to drawing and selling his small Post Cards to pay for his food and clothing when he was in Vienna but after he died - his paintings sold for and are still selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars and are in great demand.

Learn to Paint or do what ever type of artwork you do for the fun of it without worrying whether or not you can sell it or if anyone tells you it is great or likes it!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - A well worn out cliche - so if you can see the beauty in your work - that is the only thing that should matter to you!

And why worry about what other people say?

If you think that you are a great artist - whatever the venue - YOU ARE!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

I was in your shoes two years ago and here is what i did. First i did some paintings that i felt would best show case my talent. I then took pictures put together a portfolio of my work and using my computer i designed and printed my business cards. That was the easy part. What happen next i guess one can say was a matter of luck, and what artist doesn't need it. I started introducing myself as an artist at every opportunity and met someone looking for an artist to paint something for them. He saw my portfolio, liked my style, and that was how i got to do my first commission. Was it scary? Hell yea! I didn't give myself a chance to get scared enough to back out when he told me what he wanted done, i just blurted out '' Sure i can do that, no problem''. He liked the finished work and is now one of my regular customers. My work is posted and can bee seen at hellosanantonio.com under artist name ''Guerro''.

Answer 4

It's difficult to gain confidence in yourself and in your work if you do not show your work, but of course it's difficult to show your work in you are lacking the confidence to do so. My advice is to utilize the internet. You can publish your own art blog, or join an online art community like www.deviantart.com.

I'm not sure what type of art you make, but if it's not digital, all you need is access to a camera to begin publishing your work. Then build some relationships with other artists online by commenting on their pieces. People usually enjoy responses, and will reply in kind.

This is a great way to begin building confidence and your portfolio so that when you feel comfortable enough with yourself and your work, you can show in galleries or similar places.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Try taking your items to Small town Art festivals...You dont have to claim it as yours until you see the publics reaction...smaller towns can slowly build your confidence if people like it... after that try sending some of your art work via email with a few sample pictures to some larger galleries. Email is great you dont have to personally feel the rejection IF there is any. But you get your art out there.. Post it to your profile with a link to view all your art name your folder "all art for sale" everyday traffic will see your art too... compliments start with friends and it just goes up from there! GOOD LUCK!

Answer 6

First of all, stop being so bloody precious about it. For every one person who actually gets a place in a good art college, there are about a thousand talented people who do not. They do not get for many reasons, bad choice of portfolio material, they cannot demonstrate the ability to write well, or they do not have to ability to express themselves well - which is vital in today's highly competitive cutthroat art market.

Secondly, all you have is talent. That has to be developed in order to turn into something which may, with dedication and application, turn into something that will sell. In order to make something of this, you need to develop your skills and your mind. On top of this, you need to develop the necessary business strategy to actually get people interested enough to go and look at your work, and of 100 people who look at your work, 1 person might buy.

It's a hard ******* life, kid, but that's the way it is. And if you don't want to make something of it, there are 100 people out there who do. So now you have a choice - either crawl back into your cocoon and go back to sleep, or get your **** in gear and get on the phone to anyplace you think might be interested in displaying art you produce.

Answer 7

You have To Believe In Yourself And Have Confidence So Nobody Can Tell U How 2 Feel About Your Self But I Say I Think u Can Do It If You Really Wanted It....

Answer 8

enter yer stuff in a local arts competition. my hometown has a arts festival every summer, and part of that is a judged competition for amateurs. or seek out an established artist in yer area and ask them to critique yer work. step 1, tho, is u gotta get up the nuts to try. step 2, accept rejection if necessary. step 3, accept creative criticism if necessary. step 4, accept praise if necessary. good luck.

Answer 9

If you're nervous about being good enough, don't be. There is no good and bad in art, people just have different styles/preferences. I think putting it out there anonymously is a really good way to do it if you still don't feel comfortable enough to do it. Then if you see everyone gooing over your art, you'll have confidence. If not, you're probably already prepared to improve.

Answer 10

stroke of luck seeing your question at the top of the pile.

personally i dont think my artwork is good enough to sell(or commercial enough) but i achieved top grades in further education.

oh yeah, your question lol..

...my local city gallery in leicester, the city gallery, runs an annual open competition(you can submit up to three pieces of art for a small fee, and then have to place a price on them-then a panel decide if any of your pieces are, in their eyes, good enough)-you could try looking in your local area for the same kind of event.its normally very competitive, but my local gallery certainly packs alot in, but the really good pieces stand out a mile(try googling the city gallery, leicester?)(email your local council aswell)

hope this helps, and good luck