Need business-minded advice about specializing in 2 artistic mediums

December 12, 2014 8:32 AM

I do both analogue photography and watercolor paintings; very different mediums! I have a webpage for my photography which currently has a menu tab for my artwork, though it doesn't fit in at all with my photography or the theme of the webpage. Should I make a separate webpage for my artwork? I also sell my photography on Etsy, and would like to start selling art prints. Should I make a separate Etsy shop for my artwork? Pros and cons of keeping 2 different mediums of work together vs. separating them? Opinions or anything else I should consider?
posted by tenaciousmoon to Media & Arts (2 answers total)

I would do two separate parts of your site, one for photographs and one for paintings. I look at a lot of comic illustrators' websites (who tend to also do storyboards, or concept art, or poster design, or other types of illustration work), and that seems to be the prevailing SOP when you want the public at large to know that you do two somewhat unrelated types of art.

I would make separate Etsy shops, though, since I think Etsy is more brand-sensitive and you may not reach your separate markets as well with one catch-all Etsy shop.
posted by Sara C. at 8:45 AM on December 12, 2014

I think it would be easier for you to have one Etsy shop rather than two, in terms of time spent and recordkeeping. (I'm not on Etsy, so this is just a guess). Perhaps you could link your shop from both of two separate webpages. That way they can be conceptually separate but financially together.
posted by Beethoven's Sith at 8:46 AM on December 12, 2014