If you have some great original artwork that you are interested in selling, follow these simple steps.
Steps
Step 1. Try asking art stores near you to sell your work and offer to share your income with them
If you get famous, you could open your own small shop or sell directly from home.
Step 2. Contact galleries and dealers, who will support and promote your art while you produce it
Submit your works and interact with the galleries that you think are right for you.
Step 3. Work with an online gallery
Step 4. If you post your works online and are well known among the members of that art community, advertise there
Step 5. Go to some bars and restaurants near you that exhibit works by local artists; they are always happy to receive fresh and new artists
Step 6. Create an account on MySpace, Muse Refuge and similar sites
While there are tons of people on each of these sites, the artists quickly become famous. Be sure to post your works.
Step 7. Set up a counter to display your pieces at a flea market near you
Step 8. Churches, schools and municipal barracks hold art fairs, usually once a year
You will have to pay for a table to use as a point of sale, but your image will benefit greatly in the eyes of the community.
Step 9. Submit your name and slides with your artwork on it to any artist registries you can find
Step 10. Apply for grants and scholarships
This is a great way to make money without having to sell the original artwork.
Advice
- Create business cards with a hint of your work on them.
- Don't limit yourself to the galleries close to you; search far and wide for one that's really right for you.
- Persisting pays off. You should approach the same gallery owner several times over the course of a few years.
- Don't waste time developing a mailing list. Buy one from a serious retailer like Mailing Aide.
- Your portfolio determines the first impression people have of you and your work. If the images are not of high quality and / or the portfolio is not in perfect condition, it can adversely affect your image.
- Spend some money to have quality photos taken of your pieces.
- When presenting your art, have a record or portfolio with samples of your work; never show up empty-handed.
- Sell on eBay. You can usually make some money on sites like eBay!
- Try giving your work away as promotional material.
Warnings
- Do not post pictures of others on the Internet without their permission. Also, don't post jobs you intend to sell on the Internet; it becomes too easy for thieves to copy them. The only exception is for works that are commissioned to you, in which case wait until you have been paid before posting them. Either way, it would be better to disfigure the online version in some way, just to be safe.
- Always put your signature on your works!
- Remember that whenever you make money in Europe, the taxman expects you to pay them VAT. Check the regulations pertaining to the sale of artwork and how to declare your income. Remember that if you earn more than a certain limit and avoid declaring them, you can be charged with tax evasion. Be prepared to take on a new world of taxes.
- Don't devalue yourself. If you do, you will begin to walk a circle of devaluations that will never end.
- Do not show the price before you have some clue as to the customer's interest, otherwise you could be taken for arrogant.
