How to sell your paintings
Are you an artist and would you like to sell your works? Here are some idea’s how you can do it!
The usual approach is to start small: low prices, small quantities of work, and so on. There will be times when sales don’t meet your expectations: you’ve produced a fine work of art, put your heart and soul into it, and you might think all you need to do is hang it in a gallery and it will surely get snapped up soon… But things don’t always go as smoothly as that. And even discounts and price reductions don’t always help. So what can you do to alter the situation?
1. Start painting interior paintings with a view to selling them. Interior paintings differ from other paintings in that they are an element of interior design, supporting it and complementing it. The painting might form the particular focus of an interior, it can be vibrant and expressive. Right now, there is a strong demand for paintings in the abstract and decorative art genres as part of the interior design of a home. Type ‘contemporary interior’ into your search engine and take a look at how a painting can constitute a key element of modern interiors. You can also ask the sales staff in galleries what kinds of paintings are in highest demand.
2. Paint your paintings in series, in other words paint groups of works consisting of 2, 3, 4 or more paintings, either in the same format or different formats, but in the same style, with the same colour-scheme and linked by a unity of concept and a thoughtful composition. They may be different versions of multi-panel canvases, when a single composition is divided into several different component parts. Alternatively, the works could constitute a pop-art concept, like the famous set of paintings featuring Marilyn Monroe. This involves the same image, produced in a variety of colour-schemes. A set of paintings could end up being a better solution for an interior than a one-off work.
3. Individuality, your own unique and instantly recognisable style, and sometimes even a whole concept. In other words, it is a matter of finding your own niche, one that does not yet exist, then developing it and serving it up to the public. Some artists find that this process comes naturally to them. Whatever they paint, you can instantly tell that the painting was by them just by looking at it. One doesn’t need to look very far to find examples of artists with a memorable, recognisable style whose works frequently fetch six-figure sums. A good example is the Dutch-Italian artist from Amsterdam – Selwyn Senatori.
4. High-quality materials. Quality canvases and paints. This point isn’t the ‘be all and end all’ for every buyer when they are choosing which paintings to buy, of course, but it will definitely come into play later on, when the buyer receives the work. The quality of the canvas itself is something he or she will undoubtedly notice, and this can have a positive impact, making purchasers feel more confident about their choice; they may well recommend you to a friend or come back for more of your work, having been satisfied by it in the past.
5. A good name. Notoriety. Popularity. This point here isn’t that you have to become a Bohemian star, but that it’s important to draw attention to your creative output and popularize it. The more well-known your oeuvre, the more interest there is in you as an artist, the more people know you, and the bigger the pool of people wanting to buy your paintings, the higher the demand will be, and, consequently, the higher the price that you can ask will be. Methods of popularizing your work include having your own page on social media, introducing various promotions and competitions, taking part in exhibitions (collective ones at first, then personal ones), and via publications in art magazines. Needless to say, if you want to have your work featured in art magazines articles, or indeed personal exhibitions, you need to have built up a body of work, to have developed a style of your own, a unique story, perhaps, and something that makes you stand out from the crowd.
We wish you the best of luck as you attempt to sell your paintings!
Believe in yourself and success will follow.