How to sell my work

January 3, 2007 3:29 PM

How to get my artwork in a gallery?

Hi,
I'm taking up painting again after a lapse of years. I never made any money before and never tried (although I won an honourable mention at a show back in the eighties when I was a kid).

I think my work could be sellable, but I don't know where to begin. I don't know other artists, have no acquaintance with rich people who might become clients, lack connections with galleries in town, etc.

Where do I begin? I wouldn't say no to selling myself online from my own site, if there was any kind of a chance of wide exposure from it. But nowadays it seems like everybody's a JAFA (just another f*cking artist), and the competition must be incredible...ideas?

posted by frosty_hut to media & arts (10 comments total)

Wetcanvas seems to be pretty cool and filled with artists. Perhaps they would have some advice for you. Try the Art Business forum.
posted by b33j at 3:40 PM on January 3, 2007

See if there's an artist's association in your town/city. We have one here that will sell gallery space for a small fee if you are accepted into the association.
posted by SBMike at 3:43 PM on January 3, 2007

Read this book (or another one like it): Taking the Leap. This will tell you how to go the gallery route as well as smaller avenues like artwork for bank lobbies and restaurants.

Apply to group shows (click on "Opportunities"). There are regular online shows at Projekt30 too.

Go to the websites for the galleries in your town; they will usually have a section on the format they prefer for unsolicited work. If there are galleries in your town, there may be an art association you can join. There may be open studios nights and show openings where you can go and talk about your work.

You should have an "elevator statement" about your work: a short sentence you can use to tell people that informs them: the medium you use (including size if it's relevant), what it's about, and basically what it looks like. For example, "I do large-scale oil paintings about the apocalypse. They're vibrant and scary with dramatic brush strokes." Or, "I make documentary photographs in black and white of Muslim immigrant children in the Midwest as they go about their school days."

You should have a simple website (yourname.com if possible) that has images of your work up, along with a statement about the work. This is a good idea even if you're not selling via your own site. It's just so people can find you and look at what you've done (once you've enticed them with your elevator statement).

You could also apply to get an MFA in your discipline. Some people consider that to be a shortcut to getting the right contacts and attention.
posted by xo at 3:51 PM on January 3, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

My friend in Houston has shown some of his photos in smaller venues like cafes and bars. The way he gets gigs is by simply asking the owner if they'd be interested in showing his work. It's a good (and easy) place to start.
posted by Brittanie at 4:01 PM on January 3, 2007

Oh, and the Saatchi Gallery just started a service where individuals can upload work and make connections. You can find an article about it in a NY Times back issue.
posted by xo at 5:04 PM on January 3, 2007

Projekt30 is an online gallery that offers website hosting for a reasonable fee. They have publicly juried exhibitions online every month, which if you are chosen for, they do a lot of legwork for you in terms of announcing the artists to other galleries - both on and offline. I have a site with them and have nothing but positive experiences with it (though admittedly, I haven't sold anything this way... yet).

I believe Saatchi's site (mentioned above) is specifically designed for students.

In terms of brick-and-mortar galleries, the best thing to do is to find galleries in your area and visit to see if you think your work would fit with what they're showing. If you think you might be a match, call the director and ask about their selection process and see where things go from there. It's a long process usually - I started applying for a show at a local gallery last spring and my opening is this March. A year's wait is typical in the art world.

Good luck!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:43 PM on January 3, 2007

try the saatchi gallery site. very popular.
posted by londongeezer at 10:13 PM on January 3, 2007

http://www.etsy.com is a site where you can sell your art for a very low cost. I recommend it highly. I have had some friends do very well there.

Like Brittanie said, a good way to get your foot in the door offline is to get a show at a cafe or restaurant. They are a lot more likely to take a chance on newcomer, and once you get a couple of shows like this you will be able to list them on your artist's statement/resume/CV thingie.

I sold my paintings on ebay for a couple of years but I stopped when I moved to Canada and just never started again. I was sick of the whole ebay scene, and the money is not as good because there are so many sellers. But I still do have online artist friends who do well there so it's worth checking out.

One thing I used to do when I was really actively painting/selling was to have a 4x6 photo album with photos of my paintings that I kept in my purse, so that when people asked me about my art and seemed really interested, I'd take the little book out of my purse and let them look through it. I sold several paintings that way.

Good luck with your art.
posted by Melsky at 5:04 AM on January 4, 2007

xo's advice is great. The only thing I'd add to it is network, network, network. Call the local arts council if there is one (and there probably is) and get on their mailing list. Go to openings. Introduce yourself. Volunteer at the local art museum. Meet the director. And, of course, trot your stuff around from gallery to gallery to gallery, leaving a CD and an SASE behind you everywhere.

You also want to make sure that the images on your CD are really good. That may mean hiring a real photographer for a couple of hours but it's an investment that you won't regret.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:56 AM on January 4, 2007

Wow, thank you all so much for these super helpful ideas. Great information. :)
posted by frosty_hut at 8:55 AM on January 4, 2007