How to sell your paintings?

How everything is arranged here

You're an artist or a sculptor who sells their works online. Whether you have a professional education or not doesn't matter. What matters is that you persist and continue.

Perhaps you'll recognize yourself or your colleagues here:

– I'm an amateur, without any artistic education.

– I no longer believe that you can sell a painting for a decent price…

– My personal comparison with the works of other artists.

– I can't determine the price range for this type of artwork.

– There are few criteria to base my prices on.

– I live in a small town, what about you…

– It's difficult to evaluate myself and my work.

– I don't understand? What else should be added to the price besides the cost of materials?

– Artistic value. Does it exist or not?

– Just so they won't ask questions!

– I have my own technique, unique handmade paintings.

– The problem is with the buyers – they always want it twice as cheap!

– It's scary to ask for too much.

– Can I somehow get a percentage of the sales?

– Will my paintings sell?

– Is there demand for pastels?

– It's frustrating to ask too little for a large amount of invested effort. Maybe I'm overestimating or underestimating. Am I overpriced or underpriced?

– I'm a beginner artist. I'm afraid of competition with the pros.

– What's trendy to paint nowadays?

– I don't have a painting education, but I do have complexes and insecurities.

– I'm hesitant to name a price, I'm not a professional.

– I don't consider myself a professional.

– Buyers say my paintings are too expensive.

– How to send a package with a painting?

Selling your paintings online, sooner or later, you'll figure out all the technical aspects. And you'll get tired of the endless number of websites, galleries, promises, and offers. But you won't get answers to your questions about what to do in your specific situation. And how it relates to you personally often remains unclear. It's discouraging, isn't it?

That's exactly what this collection of posts from the group and articles from the blog is about. The most popular and discussed ones from 2018-2021. It all happened in a closed community to support artists and sculptors, on a popular network. The main topic of discussion in this group since 2017 has been the online sale of paintings and sculptures on various platforms and social networks.

It includes answers to questions, my reactions from working with artists as authors, action recommendations, impressions from viewing works, and my personal stories. Yes, all at once, just like in real life. This is a fresh look from the other side of the screen. You've already seen the name of the group above, in the "Acknowledgments" chapter. You read it, didn't just scroll past quickly, right? Smiling.

You can read the chapters in any order. Each chapter is one post. The first words of the post are usually taken as the title. Scroll, review the content fully, stopping at what catches your attention immediately. The style of the text allows you to immediately understand the meaning of what's written. The original spelling is preserved in the comments.

Let's get acquainted. My name is Galina. And what's your name? Very nice to meet you. You'll learn more about me in the following chapters, a little later.

What's necessary for selling your paintings?

You need brains. And an endless number of different attempts and failures. Time and money spent. Being able to read and write in basic English or being able to use a translator. Can't do it? I sympathize. And banging your head against the wall with questions: "How do I do this specifically for me? What works specifically for me? Why?" after another attempt to do so.

They also say you need to learn. For perpetual students, this is sheer beauty. They study without a break. And they think that because they study, they'll make money. But that's not true. You don't study, you acquire information. Those who immediately take action and do things learn. Then they do it again and again. Then finally understand how and why it's done. And do it again.

Smoothly transitioning to my favorite point: self-discipline. Consistency and discipline. If you don't have that, you have serious problems. Discipline and consistency have nothing to do with your temperament, mood, the color of the walls in the room, marital status, or waist size. No self-discipline? You have problems. And you shouldn't even start a business.

What's quality education? It's acquiring skills. Creating a biography, a package of photographs, videos, tags, and more. Skills can be learned.

Discipline and motivation. And it already comes from within you. It's not treated or learned until you're pushed against the wall so hard it's impossible not to do it the way you should and want to. Almost all artists start thinking and doing only when they're really pressed to avoid disaster and have something at least. So on all sorts of training for the trained, they scare them and shove their noses into what's been done. I hope this isn't about you.

And only a very small fraction of artists think and do, even when they're doing well. To make it even better and even more. Preferably not just for themselves, but for others, and even strangers. That's why they are their own motivation, happiness, and joy. That's about me. Maybe it's about you too.

You need to be able to take photos of paintings, write descriptions, choose tags again and again. You can redo them endlessly. Quickly compose and type texts, watch successful masters, set prices, communicate with curators and clients. Know how to attract and retain attention. Monitor exhibitions and galleries. Understand how customer flows on websites work.

If you come up with the bright idea to hire a specialist and you don't understand the essence of the process, you'll just quickly throw away your money. So you'll have to figure it out yourself. Even if you're one of those who say, "I'm an artist, a creative person, I'm a girl." Constantly do this. Do and analyze. And do it again. You need to be able to ask the right questions. And be honest with yourself.

As you can see, there's nothing complicated about selling your paintings. And also, for those who haven't been scared off, offended, or run away so far. Business isn't about "learning," and it's not about "how to sell 10 paintings in a month" and not about "believe in yourself and positive thinking." It's about putting everything through your actions, drawing conclusions, engaging your brains, and applying it to yourself.

Portrait of a Successful Artist

When I'm asked how to become a highly sought-after artist, I say that it's difficult. And it really is very tough. It will take the perseverance of a hereditary librarian and the ability to draw on demand. And in terms of stress tolerance, you must confidently compete with the potholes that drivers curse on the roads every day.

A successful artist is a hardworking, persistent person. Ready for constant improvement and endless criticism from colleagues. Very hardworking. Extremely persistent. And the brighter you are, the deeper the criticism. If you want to avoid all of this on your way to fame and wealth, then you're out of luck. You'd better go look for oil.

Ideal Collaboration

The ideal contract between an art dealer, let's call them a savvy producer, seller, manager, or curator, and an artist looks something like this.

The art dealer says, and the artist does quickly and correctly, on time. Without disputes and ambitions, but by enhancing the proposed. With all their novelties at the level of good nonsense, they first come to the art dealer. Often these are quite workable ideas. The themes, style, technique, and other attributes of the works are monitored by the art dealer. What and how to present to the public is also up to them. Prices too. And now the most interesting part. In case of attempted dumping and cheating on the part of the artist, draconian fines and penalties come into play.

Let me explain what's going on here. Sometimes, due to their narrow-mindedness, the artist thinks they're the smartest. They believe that they've come from scratch and are already a master of selling art, while the art dealer just came to stroll around the art business territory. And the artist decides that they'll negotiate a high price with the art dealer, and the art dealer will exhibit the paintings on good platforms at a decent price. And not just publish them for sale but also promote them. And they'll also set the price, write descriptions for each piece, and find the top tags themselves, which they'll add to the title and all the texts.

And the artist will show links to lots and listings, and quietly offer to buy directly from them at a low price. Then they'll come with complaints that they were bought directly from them, but not from the dealer. They'll shift the responsibility and present themselves as innocent fluffy bunnies. Ignoring prices and backstage games. Well, what can I say. It's interesting how some people's brains work.

That's why the art dealer takes money for everything, including the mere fact of publication. And adds their commission to all of that. Artists, blinded by their uniqueness and incomparability, overlook the most important thing. The art dealer has plenty of artists to choose from. Pick any. And the customer base also belongs to the dealer.

Many artists, especially beginners, look at this ideal contract and say, "Yuck, I don't want that. I want to be a star of auction houses, I want to focus on creativity!" And then they list a dozen objections and grievances. Because they're attracted not by real professional activities but by external romanticized attributes.

And you forget or don't suspect because of your naivety, stereotypes, or the illusion of genius. You don't know that along with creativity, you need to apply skills in effective communication. The ability to persuade and influence. Sales and promotion skills. The ability to organize people and situations. You asked for it harshly, without reverence. But it clears out the garbage from your brain. What do you think?

After 3 Years, But for Sure, Good?

An art dealer, whose situation is the opposite. Conversation with a Familiar Artist:

– Darling, you've been trying to sell your paintings for three years now and you're diligently doing nothing for it. And I thought, maybe I'll pay you from my own pocket? After all, you need to buy paints again and pay for a place on marketplaces.

– Galina, you can see for yourself that I don't want to create series of works and improve my skills. And I've long forgotten about good photos, target audience, and tags, so don't worry. And where do you have extra money to support me?

– Well, yes, that's also true.

– Galina, let's revisit this conversation in a couple of years…

– After 3 years, but for sure, good?

How can an artist survive criticism?

No way. There's no way to survive. The best and most correct way to participate in discussions: not to participate and not engage in the discussion. I'm talking about artistic groups now. When works are exhibited for display, that's when it starts! I sense the smiles of the artists. And I'm feeling the same. Look at what's happening. And why. Dominance is shown in the amount of text, the number of comments, and the direction of the text.

I recently saw when the author of the post suggested to a lady in such a role to switch positions. It looked like "show me your work and I'll advise you, I can do that too." The lady burst into personal insults. I think you understand why. There are also comments like "why do I see this for the third day in a row in my feed, get out of my friends, I don't want to see this!" And often those who demand to remove the post comment under every word. They are outraged that this post is shown at the top of their feed. It's a pity that nobody is outraged by their own infantilism.

What do commentators do? They fantasize and write a response to their fantasy in their heads. The author's goal of the post is clear only if they voiced it. Let me explain. When there's a question about the quality of the work, a request for criticism and tips, then it's a different story about responding to requests. During heated discussions, they usually write off-topic, voicing their fears, pains, what bothers them in real life, what they suppress deep down, and that's what they write about.

Let me give you a vivid example, when a painting with nudity is exhibited. Usually, the plot and presentation tear apart the consciousness of many viewers. Immediately there are options like "you shouldn't paint like this, look how it should be done, you shouldn't paint this topic, you should paint something else, you shouldn't show your works." Artists, those who are reading me now, you see these discussions in bundles. I feel your smiles. Moreover, pay attention, the authors of the posts are different, the paintings are different, and the commentators change, but the texts are almost identical. Be curious, read with thought, and compare. Enjoy.

If your goal is to pour out your negativity and pain, attract attention, then go ahead into a heated discussion, get involved in every statement. Yes, and the risk of encountering trolls is maximum. They love to humiliate, know how to, practice with pleasure and cynicism. If your goal is just to exhibit, and you didn't expect a heated debate, or you're testing the market, or analyzing the reaction to your works or the target audience of the group, then it's reasonable to take the position of an observer.

Abstract yourself from the discussion and the post. You have a ticket in the audience, not an engagement as an actor in a theatrical troupe. Respond to a comment only if you were asked a question. Specifically asked, with a tag on your name, or addressing you directly as the author. And only if you want to or feel it's necessary to answer.

Because if you were asked, it doesn't mean you have to drop everything and run to argue and justify. The responsibility for the other's reaction lies on their territory, not yours. In all other cases, keep silent. You're not being asked, so keep silent. keep silent. keep silent. If you're asked directly, think whether you need to answer at all.

Isn't the mechanism clear? Well, they want to pour out their inner turmoil. Why on you? And what's your role here? Let them choose someone else and pour out their song further. I'll repeat. If you're not asked, keep silent. If you're asked directly, think whether you need to answer at all.

What else affects the price of a painting?

What does the artist usually do? Looks at price calculators, prices for analogs on websites, from colleagues, calculates expenses, the list goes on. I've already written enough about this and discussed it in groups and on training courses. Now I'll show you another aspect of the commercial aspect of pricing. Tell me, how many paintings have you sold? And how many are on sale? What is the ratio of views to sales?

Most people can't answer these questions. Most can't say how many works they have in total. And how many of them are for sale. And they don't keep track of sold works by clients, prices, or quantity. Moreover, most don't even consider the ratio of exhibited to sold.

Here's how it's calculated. For example, you have 27 works in the gallery, and only one was sold. (1/27) x 100% = 3.7%. Or you have 115 works, of which 34 were sold. (34/115) x 100% = 29.56%, or out of 5, 3 were sold. (3/5) x 100% = 60%.

I'm drawing your attention not to the quantity of sold works, but to the sales conversion rate, in percentage terms. And now why you need to know the sales conversion of your paintings. Pay close attention. Let me give you an example. You've already bought materials: brushes, paints, paper, canvases. That is, you've invested financially. You've painted 30 paintings.

Published and exhibited them. And only 2 were sold.

Then you bought paper, paints, canvases again and again. On average, out of 30 works, 2 are bought. So, these two sold paintings should cover the costs of creating 30. And so on in a circle. That's your price for one painting. At least at the level of covering the costs of materials and maintenance (storage). Rent for the studio, exhibitions, and everything else goes here too.

An example for a series of 12 watercolor works. Let's say you decided to create a collection of landscapes, still lifes, portraits, abstractions. And you start from scratch. Calculate the costs of materials to paint them (prices are conditional for example): 3 brushes, flat and two round, thick and thin, all for $30. A set of 24 colors in pans for $40.

Cotton paper with a density of 300, 3 sheets 56x76 cm for $14. A glass for water, paper towels, another $1. A simple pencil, eraser, tape, another $1. Let's say you learned from free videos, you draw at home, you have a table, a chair, cardboard, and glass under the sheet, water from the tap, and sunlight from the window flooding the room.

Oh, and one more important point. You draw without preliminary sketches, directly on a clean sheet and with an expected result. That means there's no stack of paper for sketches. Total $85. At first glance, it's logical to divide $85 by 12 and done! A clear price of $7.1 each! I smile.

This is only at first glance. Out of 12, only 1-2 will be bought. Two. So, divide $85 by 2 to get $42.5 for one work. $42.5 for one work and that's only material costs! And now add your expected profit, and you'll come to a price starting from $100 for a 30x40 cm painting. Plus, add the complexity of the subject, the presence of a story, and the degree of your fame as an artist. The price starts from 200 coins if there's anything to add, of course. The logic is clear enough? Attention question: "Does your level of mastery reach these prices?" No? Then grab a pencil. And learn. What happens next? With a competent sales system, the ratio increases. And you keep the same price or increase it. Thus, you achieve increasing profits from your creativity and become a commercial artist.

How decisions about purchases are made

Usually, when it comes to sales, people hear and see only themselves as sellers. Today, I want to draw your attention to how you buy and how. I'll give an example, the price is hypothetical. And you track your feelings and situations.Take two books on the same topic, with the same volume. One costs 5 coins. Reaction: normal, probably interesting, should buy. The second one costs 50. Reaction: how much? And what could be in it? Yes, for that money, I can find all this for free on YouTube. It's clear it's just nonsense and money-making scheme.

Take two dresses of the same model and size. The first one costs 100 coins. Reaction: normal, worth trying on, should buy. The second one costs 1000 coins. Reaction: how much? And what could be there? Yes, for that money, I can buy 10 in the neighboring store. Look, it's not even a very original design, fabric with synthetic additives. And look, the seam is crooked, obviously sewn in a small atelier. It's clear it's just nonsense and money-making scheme.

Educational courses. I smile. Shall I continue? Take two courses on the same topic. The first one costs $25. Reaction: normal, something interesting, should buy. The second one costs $1250. Reaction: how much? And what could be in it? Yes, for that money, I can find everything for free on YouTube. It's clear it's just nonsense and money-making scheme.

There's another way of making decisions. When you have 120 coins in your wallet, and you buy a dress for 10, and spend the rest of the money on cafes and movies. I smile. Tell me, who has been in similar situations, no matter from which side? What do you think this mindset is called? Why does it arise? What feelings are actually involved?

Here's the translation of the second part of the text:

Geniuses, Dilettantes, and Professionals

Now let's talk about those who declare in their creative endeavors the idea of 'I'm an artist, this is how I see it.' I'm also an artist. I also see. And here's what I see. All discussions and critiques of the works of novice artists are dedicated to. I smile.

Genius

It's unique and inexplicable from the point of view of logic and the set of your knowledge and experience data to date. They are bright. They are easily recognizable. What's the complexity here? You can't replicate their path. Copying their actions will yield the opposite effect or zero at best. Therefore, it makes no sense by definition to repeat the path of a genius. Even if you do the same thing, just green or with pearl buttons, it won't be interesting to viewers and buyers. I'll repeat. it won't be interesting. Because viewers have already seen it from someone else.

Why should they watch the same thing again, now from you? Let's say you like the creativity of Lev Leshchenko. And you are offered to listen to songs of his clones instead of him or after him. How do you feel about such a situation? Another Salvador Dali. Another Van Gogh and Picasso. Have you grasped the idea, yes? Then let's move on. If suddenly you're not a Genius (for example, I'm not a genius), then you have 2 options left: dilettante or professional. It's going to get tough now.

Dilettante

To loudly declare "I'm an artist, this is how I see it" and simultaneously demand recognition and income, you need to have basic settings. First, learn to draw properly, and then create works with your own vision, handwriting, and style. And you can learn to draw properly and become a professional.

And what is a good work? There is an opinion that a good work = an inspired work, done with love. After all, the main thing is love. Very ambiguous. Not a fact. Therefore, I have a number of questions. Inspired by whom? With what love? To whom? To what? The main thing is where, in what, when, for whom. In what time frame and space? How will you understand that this is love? And how does the viewer consider it?

In reality, this is an excuse for not wanting to learn and a demand to become a mommy for the author of the masterpiece, admiring and sighing with each curl and spot. I've already mentioned a couple of times about the requirements for the quality of execution, in the context of watercolor. A good work equals productivity plus quality. This is closer to me, of course. I don't discuss the quality criterion by default.

But what about productivity? Well, the main glitch of the dilettante is a fairly large number of works, all of the same level. There are many of them, and they are not needed by anyone, primarily by themselves. And at this stage, I usually hear that you just need to draw a lot, and then… Who gives these pieces of advice and why? It's a mystery to me. Then it will never happen. There's a joke. When a person is asked at an interview how many characters per minute he types. And the answer is 2500 characters, but it turns out to be complete nonsense.

So it is in creativity. The process of drawing itself is not an end in itself. It should result in a clear and high-quality work. It's very desirable that it reflects the original and nature. And it's very desirable that it reflects as accurately and without errors as possible. And not just me doodling here. A lot of low-quality work is meaningless. Accept it as a fact. This is the stage of the dilettante. And we smoothly move on.

Professional

An artist who produces and creates quality works. And this can be learned at any age. I'm very glad about this and I know a lot of inspiring examples of wonderful artists. This is the artist's labor.