Paint it and they will come...........No, not really.  Being a masterful artist does not guarantee success.  A successful artist must also be a masterful salesman.  Like other products art sales depend greatly on promotion.

Selling is a skill acquired through practice.  Speaking,  presenting and discussing the art work is a necessary skill which successful gallery owners and artist have developed.  Practice and confidence are necessary for successful sales.

Networking is as valuable to an artist as it is to a business executive or real estate agent.  Art buyers want to know that they have purchased a piece that has value, one that people will be impressed with.  As your name recognition increases so may demand for your work as well as sales, gallery representations and the momentum will continue to grow.

Luck as well as skillful conversation can play a huge roll in successful networking.  You never know when you may meet your next client,  so interact with as many gallery owners, fellow artists and art buyers as possible.  Attend shows, art walks, join online art groups ( which will increase your market beyond your community) and talk to everyone you can.  The more people you meet the greater the odds that one or more will be the person who helps move your career to the next level. Dress for success this doesn't mean dressing like a banker all the time, but be sure to dress for the occasion.  Paint smeared jeans and a tattered shirt are fine to paint in the privacy of your studio, but first impressions can play a significant roll in successful sales.

Project a sense of commitment and pride in your work and the level you have attained in your career.

Talking to people about what they like and what you were thinking when you were working on a piece will  help to pique interest and create  an emotional attachment to the art piece.

Every conversation regarding your art you have is an opportunity to make a lasting impression.  Get to know gallery owners preferences, when opportunity presents its self take it.

Comments (8)

Brian Converse said:

... Some tips on sending announcements to the media. 1. Send the announcement as plain text. The media can't copy and paste text in an image. I know if I can't copy and paste it goes to the back of the line. 2. Don't send multimegabit attachments. Online media does not need any graphic bigger than about 75k. 3. If you have a website. Please put some info about your event on it before you send out the announcement. 4. Tell the announcement in natural language like you were talking to someone. A one line email with time and date will probably get trashed. Media are a lazy bunch because of time. If you have given them all they need to post it quickly, it probably will. If they have to work to make it fit, it probably will get left behind.

December 09, 2008

Wore said:

... Okay I am new to Arkansas and the tax codes governing sale of art work in the state. To sale art do I need to get a state license and form a limited libility corp.? Any advice as to where to begin? Also if I want a resource for getting my work made into glacee prints who would you suggest? Warren

December 14, 2008

Brian Converse said:

... For $3000 I will sell you a 52" Colorspan printer with server and ink. Then you can print your own and sell to others. But on another note, having good original digitals is very important. High resolution crap will look just like that. Member jerico, Jerry Colburn, and I were discussing this yesterday. You might drop him a message at his profile.

December 15, 2008

rhonda said:

... Wore, Each city is different some require a business license and others not so, your best bet is to contact an accountant and he can tell you what is required for your area. Basically it's better to be safe than sorry, usually if you sell in different locations you have to calculate each city, county tax accordingly of course state stays the same. Internet sales to out of state do not require sales tax but in state do. Good luck. rhonda

December 16, 2008

Stormcrow said:

... Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but...if you are selling only via a gallery then they will handle all sales tax and reporting. You will still have to report your portion of the proceeds on your personal income tax returns but you won't have to deal with sales taxes.

December 17, 2008

rhonda said:

... I was addressing personal sales. If you are selling through a gallery only then they should be handling all the paper work and taxes depending on the contract/ agreement with the gallery. If you're selling direct then you would have to, it would be on a case by case basis. That is why I would suggest using an accountant. Any accountants in the group here?

December 18, 2008

Stormcrow said:

... Ok, my wife used to do bookkeeping and has filed LOTS of sales taxes...but in Maryland. However, I talked her into looking up some of this info. Caveat!!! Some of this is a bit of a hodgepodge of what she learned in the AR guidelines as well as how it was filed in MD so you should still consult with someone else, she recommended just calling the state revenue office. First off, you do not need to be an LLC. You can file for a state tax ID as a sole proprietorship: Mr. So and So doing business as Wore Art Workshops (or some such). In MD, you don't need any local business licenses for doing business in this manner just something from the state and I can't imagine AR with it's typically more lax regulations would be more arduous. I'd imagine the licenses are really only required if you're operating a true business location and not something out of your home, which I presume is what you're intending to do. Now with that tax ID in hand, you will need to document all of your sales and the location in which the sale was made. If you're running the business out of your house and shipping pieces around the state, you will need to record each and every location to which you've shipped a piece. Each quarter, you will need to fill out a form available from the state revenue office to document gross sales in EACH location! You will have a form for EVERY municipality in which you've sold or to which you've shipped. For instance, if you live in Cabot and ship 5 pieces to Fayetteville, you will document those sales in Fayetteville. Cabot will not get any of the monies from those sales. If everyone to whom you sell drives to your house to pick up their pieces then you will only fill out one form for your home municipality. Remember that AR has sales tax on 3 levels: state, county, and municipality. The form should walk you through all of those. My wife suggested filing quarterly. If you file sales tax in Fayetteville, you have to keep filing in Fayetteville each and every quarter even if you shipped no pieces there in that quarter. In MD, the revenue offices would pick up on that and send letters directing the business to file annually. I would expect AR revenue offices to do the same. Now, if you make a sale in another state and ship out of state, you have to file with that state and not AR! It's a lot of bookkeeping but shouldn't be horribly unmanageable. Since I don't need to make a living from art and I'm really just starting out, it makes the most sense for me to let a gallery handle all of that and not fly solo. I'll gladly part with 20% or so in order to take that load off of me. Now..if only could get into more locations! lol If you plan on going solo, you really should at the very least contact the state department of finance. Here's the website with all of the data. There's contact information also but it's under the "overview" page. http://www.arkansas.gov/dfa/ex...index.html

December 18, 2008

rhonda said:

... I still feel the best, easiest and possibly least expensive way is to let an accountant or cpa handle your books. They will usually tell you and answer questions at the initial meeting what license and etc are required. rhonda

December 18, 2008