Where Can I Sell My Artwork and Make Money From My Art?

WHAT DOOR SHOULD YOU TAKE?

No-one is going to pretend making a good living as an artist is easy, but there are two things that dictate your income above all else:
1/ Your talent
2/ Your ability to promote or capture the imagination of the public with your work. (i.e. create an X Factor, or Unique viewpoint.)

One of the biggest reasons for failure as an artist is not due to lack of talent, but due to lack of basic self promotion and business strategy. (I cover this aspect in more detail at the bottom of this lens.)

This lens looks at a variety of ways an artist can boost income potential, - from selling your art online, to getting your work published as fine art prints.

Artists often struggle to make money and exploit their talent. Even well established artists have struggled and taken years to start getting a decent income from their art.

However, there are a good many ways to capitalize on your abilities and make money from your art. First we must view this as a Profession. You need to see it as a business - if you want a decent income from your art.

whether your involvement is spare-time - or full time, I hope you find some useful pointers towards earning income and promoting your artwork.

Recommended eBook: How to Make More Money Painting
How to Make More Money Painting.

(reviewed at the bottom of this lens.)

I have a book on my bookshelf called "Becoming a Successful Artist", by Lewiis Lehrman. I bought it about 10 years ago, and one fact struck me after reading it that I found quite disconcerting. Almost all of the artists featured had coped with very significant hardships and struggle early in their career as an artist. Adversity seems to be a common theme. NO INSTANT SUCCESS... I was quite shocked!

After all, this book is a compilation of interviews with some of the cream of American painting talent of the late twentieth century! (Some 21 artists, - including Harley Brown, Paul Strisik, Frank Webb, Nita Engle, Charles Sovek, Zoltan Szabo etc,)

I would have expected that at least some of these artists would have found success quite easily

All eventually found success, but each individual story demonstrates how most had to dig deep and be very persistant and never give up.

This book is published by North Light Books, but probably only available nowadays second hand, but a very worthwhile read if you can get a copy.

The Interviews:
In each of the 21 chapters, the Author asks each artist a variety of important and probing questions relating to how they got started, the difficulties they encountered,
and how they eventually managed to make it, and also asks what advice they would give to todays aspiring artists.

The tips and advice each artist generously gives is invaluable, and is the sum total of many years of combined experience through thick and thin.

21 inspiring tales from accomplished artists - including 120 samples of their art - offering valuable insights on how to find success as an artist.

Sell your art through a gallery. Fancy seeing your work in the window of a High Street Gallery? This is the most obvious place to sell, but there's more to this than meets the eye.

How do you get in? How do you sell? and for how much? who will buy it? The main option is to sell through a local gallery, or galleries in your area. Allowing for commission + tax, you will normally end up with about 50% of the retail selling price. But of course the gallery can ask a far higher price than you normally would, given their prestige and setting. Building a good rapport with a gallery owner is key, and together you can hopefully make things happen. You might also progress to do solo exhibitions. Choose your gallery wisely, if you are just starting out, you may need to try less prestigeous galleries to begin with, and gain a foot-hold first.

Earn from Commissions. To get started you can advertise locally, or online, and work to your customers requirements. Offer your services in a specific niche. Specializing can be helpful, and Property Portraits can be lucrative. I've found that many customers have gone on to commission further works if delighted with the first, so remember you can get more than one sale per customer, and these customers also have friends and neighbours! Show a few examples at first contact. Keep your pitch focused on what the customer wants. Pitch a strong price at first and see what the response is. People don't normally expect to commission an artwork for peanuts. You can always negotiate from that high point, and throw in some sweeteners, such as a special deal on framing etc. Some of my customers lived in wealthy areas, with a Bentley in the drive, so it would be silly to charge a low price. They would think there was something wrong, or that I must be an amateur! The same applies to Portraits, below.

Portraiture. The portrait business can be very lucrative, - if you have a talent in this area. Portraits: People will pay good money for beautiful portraits of their loved ones. Personal contact is recommended. Online business is possible, but there seems to be a lot of cheap competition, and the buyer is taking a pretty big chance not knowing the artist personally or seeing the work in the flesh.. Online portraits usually means working from photographs, which can be very difficult, especially if the photo is dire! Your best advertising is often word of mouth recommendations. And personal contact is a big plus for this type of work. Taking some photo's of the sitter yourself is far better, and essential for obtaining good results, when a series of personal sittings is not practical.

Paint Pet Portraits. Another spin on the above, but people love their pets, and dogs etc can make for good art. (Bonhams for instance dedicate Specialist Auction Sales to Dog Pictures!) If you have a skill in this area, dont overlook this as a great way to make money. Obviously a love of animals is quite essential..

Painting Local Scenes. If you live in a prime area, with a lot of seasonal visitors, there is a ready-made hungry market, and this is obviously something easily exploited by the savvy artist, and most artists throughout history have earned money from this old chestnut. Well you have to pay the bills... and eat!. However, don't fall into the trap of producing virtual picture postcard scenes,. Instead I would suggest painting local related stuff and local images of interest that take your fancy. Two markets normally exist: A/ Local people who proudly love their locality. and B/ Visitors touring the area, especially those who return again and again. Prints of these can also be sold, - and be very lucrative, - if demand looks good. (See below for options)

Publish Your Art as Prints! (Self-publishing) Yes, with the advent of new Giclee Printing technology, you can get your art privately printed far cheaper than previously possible. You can do very small limited runs, then sell to local galleries etc, and keep all the profits. In effect, you become a wholesaler for your own Fine Art products. Galleries will often handle the framing. If you wish you can produce (signed) "Limited Editions" to add further to collectability of your prints, and add further perceived value.Seek Giclee printing sevices in your local area. Get quotes. But be sure there's a market for your work first. If originals don't sell, then prints may not. Conversely if demand for originals is good, then prints should be viable and profitable.

Get Your Art Published! (Via a Print Publisher) Art Publishers are always looking out for new talent and opportunities. Once you become more established and enjoy some success, you are in a good position to approach print publishing companies.

Even if you haven't had any significant success, you have little to lose by approaching them on the off chance that they like your style, and they see significant potential. It's a throw of the dice.

Publishers are always on the look out for new artistic talent. Simply get in touch by post or email, providing some good photo's of your best work. But only if you believe it is truly commercial and similar in substance or approximate style to works they already promote and sell. Search the internet for Publishers and also Art Market Magazines. Only approach Publishers that generally suit your work and content. Shop around. Royalties vary, as does the amount of promotion given to new emerging artists. Needless to say, if you get lucky your work will be sold by the thousands.

Sell your artwork online: There are many good ways to sell art online, ie on the internet. A good variety of online galleries exist which will sell your art for you. Some charge listing fees, others charge commission on work sold, others a variety of the two. Nevertheless, they normally offer you the chance of selling work at minimal outlay.

Remember, selling through most high street galleries costs you 40% or more from each sale. So there are always costs involved when selling. Get used to it.

Obviously we want to minimize cost where possible,especially when starting out. So shop around, and find the online gallery that suits your particular requirements.

My personal favourite is Yessy.com which I feature below in some considerable detail. There is a link if you wish to visit or join, or better still, enjoy a free trial.

Another option for selling art online is to try Online Auction sites. Some are dedicated to selling artwork exclusively, others, like EBAY, (which I cover in detail later) have a section for selling art from "self representing" artists.

Teach Art to Others. Many, (if not most) Professional artists earn money by teaching others. Most enjoy passing on what they have learned, and helping others enjoy learning a new skill and getting into something new. Whether you consider offering Private tuition, or perhaps can obtain an opening within your local community, you may get an opportunity to teach. This can be very rewarding, and not just in terms of money..

Writing About Art: Most successful (current day)artists you could name have probably written a book or two on art, or at least earned money from contributing articles to Art Magazines, etc. Well if you have the knowledge and some reasonable talent,- (Not all Artist Authors do!) This could one day be an option. Find a niche angle and write about something not yet available or too ubiquitous, along with works at various stages (well photographed) to demonstrate each topic you cover. Approach a Publisher, or many. Don't hold breath. With persistance you may get lucky. Tip: First Build your reputation submitting good articles. Later consider a Book. Promote yourself in various other ways perhaps with squidoo etc and via online galleries such as Yessy. Such writing can earn you money, but also quickly magnify your fame or public recognitionand - and will also act as a showcase for your art to be seen in hundreds of book stores! ( Priceless advertising for your brand!).

Have you ever visited an amateur painting exhibition? The most common problem with amateur paintings is the lack of visual appeal. Something is lacking. This is often due to not understanding basic core principals of painting, such as design, perspective, colour, tone and visual harmony, etc..

If only these artists were given some help from an established professional, they may be able to capitalize on their artistic ability. Without it, they may get no further than amateur art exhibitions.... Stuck at the bottom rung forever.

Common Features of Paintings that sell well:

EMPLOY ILLUSION

The painting makes you feel something.
(You have an emotional response to the
painting.) Hopefully uplifted.

The painting shows you how beautiful
some object, person, or scene is, that you
had barely noticed before.

Your mind starts to daydream or imagine stories behind the
painting. You get mesmerized.

Common Symptoms of Paintings that don't sell::

LACK ILLUSION

You feel nothing when looking at the
painting. It just leaves you emotionally
detatched.

You see a "nice" picture, but nothing specific captures your
attention in the painting.

You cannot tell what interested the artist.
Nothing but recorded facts.

The colors look "wrong" or ugly.

Human figures or animals look unreal or out of
proportion.

Something does not feel "right" or look
real. creating visual discomfort.

It looks a bit like a child's painting.

The abstract shapes look awkward and don't bring to mind
any real sense of landscape, place, or object.

In short, it has all the hallmarks of the amateur.

This is just an outline of "amateurism" and problems that render paintings difficult to sell in any serious way... And sales may possibly be restricted to close relatives only!

Shockingly I have met some very keen artists with ambition to sell their work yet they have never bothered to invest in some decent books on the subject! No wonder they stay at the same level and are going nowhere.

Conversely, I notice most successful and professional artists will usually have heaps of art books, and treasure them for life.

Avoiding the look - and label - of "AMATEUR" is probably the most urgent and important task if you want success as an artist..

eBay is a huge virtual gallery or marketplace for your art. Your art can be seen in all four corners of the globe. For a small fee you can offer your art for sale.

To start you need to;

1/ Sign up for an eBay account. (If not already a member) This is simply a matter of filling out a short registration form. Await confirmation.
2/ Click on "sell" to get started.
3/ Upload a good digital image of your art.
4/ Write a headline and an interesting ad or description giving basic details, size, medium etc, and any personal information you may wish to add.. Give the work a title, to imply professionalism. (It may be wise to copy somewhat from successful artists listings, to ensure you have covered all the essentials.)
5/ Insert a starting price, or "Buy it Now" price. (optional) and postage cost.
6/ When the item is sold, you will receive payment by Paypal, - if you set up an account, (Highly recommended to encourage easy care-free payment method) - or by cheque/postal order.
7/ You then post out your artwork within next few days.

Click the eBay logo link below to sign up today.

With eBay, You happily have a ready-made online outlet. Simply photograph your work, and list it.

What's stopping you?

Scared to get started? Fear of failure or falling flat on your face? Thats no problem. If you wish, you can paint and sell your work under a different name! Use an alias. OR, pretend you are selling someone elses work if you wish. That way it's easier to lavish a bit of praise on the work. Don't worry, you are quite free to call yourself anything you please. Most Pop Stars do! This is about market testing. (Testing the water)

Note: In the past there were many artists using two or even more names. For example (in Britain), they might paint their Scottish landscapes with a Scottish sounding surname attached, to appear more authentic to the subject matter, and gain some extra kudos with wealthy patrons. Using another name in the South of England when painting the South coast region.

SOME TIPS FOR SELLING ON EBAY:
1/ Research the market and competition to assess if your art might fit the bill. (i.e. sell well.) to do this simply go to ART, then (Self Representing) Artists, then click "completed listings". This means recently ended or sold, but many with a set price may remain unsold, as you will notice. (you need to sign in for this, so must be a member of ebay) Then choose from drop down menu... to obtain "Highest price" data. This will then show list of the artists work that attained the highest prices in decending order.
2/ Study why these works might do so well. It could be due to building a significant reputation over many years, or just due to subject-matter.
3/ Visit Google search to see if they are well esablished artists, or quite new.
4/ What media is selling well? oils waterclour, acrylic?
5/ Check out works that are akin to your own.
6/ You can also go to an individual artist's Feedback data, which will show how many sales he/she has made in any given period.
If nothing else, this exercise can provide a lot of encouragement, and indicate trends etc. Likewise, if you check what doesn't sell well, you will also have some useful market research to help with any plans you may have for selling art on eBay.

Another great research tip is to find works similar to your own artwork, (or subject matter of similar variety), and press the "WATCH THIS ITEM" button at the top of its eBay page. You can then see the works progress and finally see if it actually sells, and what it eventually makes.

STRATEGY?
You will notice two basic approaches to selling:
(A) Auction listing - with a low starting price, hoping for bids.
(B) Fixed Price "Buy it Now" strategy.
Of these it is up to you to decide which is most appropriate, but having a fixed price, (optiion B) is usually preferred by established artists who are confident of eventually getting a sale. But this may take time, and costs more in eBay listing fees if it takes weeks to sell. (or fails to sell at all) However a good compromise often employed by successful sellers is to use BOTH approaches at the same time. Some with fixed price. (your very best work) and some using auction listing, started at a very modest price.It's your call.

As a general rule, the secret to success on ebay is to establish yourself within a certain niche, and become known for a certain subject and style. AND; Be distinctive!

Your art will be seen often, but may easily be overlooked unless you have a distinctive style, and tend to stick to a certain type of subject. Remember, this "Gallery" contains thousands of competing pictures!

Earning money from your art could change your life. However, to make significant money from your art requires something akin to a professional standard. If your work falls short of that level, then galleries and buyers may decline your work, or politely refer you to try somewhere else.

The good news is that with the right coaching, your work could soon improve enough to reach a "tipping point" and then be seen to be of significant merit, and desirable.

Do you ever look at works you did a few years ago and cringe!? If so, the reason is because you have "moved on" and learned more about your craft. You now see the flaws, - warts and all. But how will you view todays work in a few years time???

Most successful artists aren't perfect, but they do the basics right. Amateurs often display minor defects due to lacking a fundimental undrestanding of those same basic triied and tested principals.

As an art dealer who buys art at antiques fairs and auctions etc, I can assure you that I can easily discriminate between a good professional work, and a work by a "talented amateur" - as they say in the trade. I don't need to see a signature. How? because I know all the main techniques and basic rules employed by trained artists, - and even self taught artists of significance.

Obviously amateurish paintings will rarely be very saleable. Naive type art can be very successful in some cases, but there is usually a very knowledgable highly trained artist behind the brush employing all the essential elements of composition, perspective, tone, shapes, etc, to make it highly appealing and a delight to the eye. Example; L.S. Lowry.

So if you need to move your art to the next level you might want to consider lessons to master the basics and finer points before you commit to a new career. Investment in lessons - if available in your area, may pay off big. Lessons can be costly however, especially if on a limited budget.

Evening classes can be fun, but with lessons typically around once or twice per week it could take a long time to make the serious progress you might desire, and you may be moving at the pace of the least able painters. For this reason, look for intermediate level lessons, or higher.

We all live around people who tell us how great our art is, but selling it on the open market is another ball game. Fortunately there are many great books on the market to help refine our techniques. This is investment in yourself and potential career.

Once you have acquired the know-how and can see big improvements, you will have far more confidence to approach galleries. With enthusiasm, instead of dread.

Watercolor Masterclass Click Here!

Painting Lessons on CD and DVD Click Here!

TIPS FOR STARVING ARTISTS

One option most artists don't consider is selling through a local auction. However, for the broke artist this can have some
attractive advantages: I have done this a number of times, and managed to make some decent money over the years.

The main concept (for the non-famous artist) is to make a few desirable "furnishing paintings" of a type that normally sell well, and desirable in todays market. The safest type would be "evergreen" subjects, or good copies of earlier works of a type in demand. (Long out of copyright) Avoid anything too obvious, where prints of the work are ubiquitous and people are sick of seeing them.

Attend regular local art auctions to discover what's popular in your area.

Needless to say, a good level of skill and ability is essential to guaratee this tactic is profitable. Paint what you tend to be good at. Popular subjects well painted cannot fail, such as wildlife, big cats etc. Marine subjects also do well. Dogs are very popular if done to a good standard. Venice scenes are very saleable. Modern and abstract might do okay, but depends on quality.

The only difficulty might be if the auctioneer doesn't rate it of significant enough value. So don't bother with Sotheby's or Christie's (at this stage) but rather, try an auction near the bottom of the food chain to be more likely to get in. Taking a number of items of reasonable value may ensure your acceptance for inclusion. Alternatively try a pair of pictures. All things being equal, a large painting will be seen to have far more saleability about it.

You only need two people who love the picture, and you make some money.

To produce your masterpieces, you may even buy up used or vintage frames and supports. This saves money, and also makes the work look more apt for the auction room. (where most stock is house clearence etc)

Sign it. (With whatever name enters your head)

P.S. Avoid famous names. Prison food is awful!

As reported widely, British artist Damien Hirst recently made a huge fortune from selling his work through auction.

The BBC reported "An auction of art works by Damien Hirst has smashed top estimates to bring in a record total of £70.5m ($125m), with still more works for sale.

The British artist has abandoned the traditional method of selling through dealers and galleries, going straight to the auction house Sotheby's instead."

According to The Sun: "The top-priced item in the two-day auction was 'The Golden Calf,' one of the artist's notorious works featuring pickled animals. It went for £10.3 million [$18.4 million], the highest price paid to date for a Hirst at auction.

A dead tiger shark in a tank called 'The Kingdom' sold for £9.5 million [almost $17 million]....And even 'The Abyss' - a collection of [cigarette] butts - fetched £1.8 million [$3.2 million].".

(Holy cow!!!)

This was despite being a two day sale starting on "Black Monday" whereby the World was in financial freefall and in a very deep cricis.

In fact it is suggested that the affect of the collapse of confidence in the financial institutions has meant people choosing to invest in other areas, such as gold, AND ART.

Another stunning result at auction was seen in the recent issue of INTERNATIONAL ARTIST MAGAZINE, (No 69) where an article shows an artwork being made by ZHUO S. LIANG. The work is large and depicts early American traders titled "Painted Robe for Powder and Ball, Musselshell Valley, Montana, 1840." which sold at auction for US $345,000. (With the paint barely dry) other works by this artist were also sold. (Coer d' Alene Art Auction in Reno, Nevada, July 2009.)

This shows how some savvy artists are obtaining maximum money from the collectors. Having wealthy collectors of your work is obviously key.

Auction commission is normally 15% - 20% at most. Whereas most galleries charge at least 40% - 50%. So obviously there is a big advantage for artists that can command good bidding.

SAY YES TO YESSY:
There are many good online Art Gallery Websites especially designed to enable you to display your work, and even sell it direct. My personal favourite is called YESSY.

There are 2 HOT reasons for an artist to use Yessy:

A/ To sell your artwork direct.

B/ To promote your art and establish an online presence at minimal cost.

Sell Art
Browse thousands of paintings, photography, sculpture, drawings, digital art, mixed media, glass, ceramics, jewelry, and much more. Create your own free trial art gallery today!

At Yessy you will find that listing you art, downloading images etc is extremely easy and very well designed for both simplicity and convenience to the user. Yessy is popular and well established so you can expect a very significant amount of traffic, and your art will be seen by literally THOUSANDS across the Globe.

Tip: Space out your listings. List new artwork every few days, rather than all in one go. This means your art is put into the prominent newly listed / first page position, and this leads to people clicking through to your Yessy page/gallery each time, (Seeing all your work) rather than just once, as likely if listed all on the same day in a cluster. Then update with new work on a regular basis.

STATS: WATCH YOUR PROGRESS; including... unique visitors, what visitors looked at, thumbnail or full size, your most popular art listed in order of popularity, (as viewed) - and even the location and country of your various visitors! What better feedback to know which of your works is most desirable and popular? And which isn't.

Believe it or not, the amount of art you can list is UNLIMITED!

And no listing fees!

Plus, Yessy is not limited to paintings, but you are free to offer any of the following:

* Paintings & Prints
* Sculptures & Carvings
* Drawings & Illustrations
* Glass
* Textile & Apparel
* Antiques & Collectibles
* Photography
* Ceramics & Pottery
* Computer & Digital Art
* Jewelry
* Furniture
* Crafts & Other Art

Start promoting your art today.

Check it out below, Get 14 day FREE TRIAL.

Sell Art at the Yessy.com Art Gallery

After your free trial, your annual fee is only $59, which equates to only $5 a month! ($1.15 per week)

For just £5.00 per month, you - in effect - have your very own Online Gallery, or website, with unlimited pages to professionally show your art to the World. You are free to include any artwork or craftwork you wish, including OTHER PEOPLES if you want.

Hint: This means you can easily arrange to informally share your Yessy Gallery with someone else if you wish to reduce cost if on a very limited budget. The point being that you are not limited to your own art only.

Another Tip: Some artists work a system whereby they list works on ebay, but also feature it on Yessy, with a link to the eBay auction so as to maximize their exposure and potential bids.

*You earn 100% of your sales! Yessy does not charge a sales commission.

*If a buyer chooses to pay through the Yessy ordering system, then a 10% payment processing fee applies. This covers credit card transaction fees, escrow service, and related payment processing costs. If you handle your own payments, then the 10% payment processing fee does not apply.

*No other fees, no obligation, and you can cancel at anytime.

*Simply cancel before your 14-day free trial ends and owe nothing!



YESSY UPDATE:
New features and improvements:

Print on Demand; Yessy will also soon be able to print your art on various materials and ship your art for you.

Enhanced Statistics. View detailed statistics for each of your items, view a list of your most popular art, get details on who viewed your art and which items they viewed. You can also view where the visitor came from (e.g. how they found your art). You'll discover that these are the most advanced and useful statistics available anywhere.

New "Make Offer" feature. Visitors can send you offers for your art through a quick and easy online form. If they really want an item you're selling but can't afford the full price, they can make an offer which you can then accept, decline, or counter-offer to come to an agreeable price. You also have the ability to disable this feature if you do not wish to receive offers. This feature allows you to reach many more buyers.

Sell Art at the Yessy.com Art Gallery

Upload multiple images for each item. Display multiple images per item to show various angles, close-ups, etc. Available now by editing your items in Power Edit.

Link to other websites as well as exchange links to increase your traffic now. You can put links anywhere in your item descriptions or biography. (It appears you can now potentially link to your Squidoo lenses or other websites!) very useful!

These are just a few of the exciting, new features available now and coming to Yessy in the months ahead that will provide you with even more opportunities to sell your art. We appreciate having you as a part of Yessy and we look forward to continuing to promote you and your artwork!

Buy & Sell Art
Browse thousands of paintings, photography, sculpture, drawings, digital art, mixed media, glass, ceramics, jewelry, and much more. Create your own free trial art gallery today!

Good question. But my research leads me to understand that according to various gallery owners, the consensus seems to be that larger size paintings will normaly tend to sell better than small ones. It is also the case that it's easier to ask decent money for a big painting, - if not an outrageous price, - due to the extra perceived value, and actual impact of a larger work.

"AS A GENERAL RULE, LARGER PAINTINGS ARE EASIER TO SELL, AND CAN OBVIOUSLY COMMAND FAR MORE MONEY."

(Obviously a well established artist can often sell small works for decent money, due to reputation, and because some buyers /admirers cannot afford to buy the artist's larger works, which might be very expensive.)

Otherwise... It has been suggested, (not scientific you understand) that most buyers can be tempted to purchase something in the realm of about say 20 x 30 inches, just right for going over the mantlepiece in the living room or lounge. This is true of the UK, but the US market may prefer larger works than this, given the average home is significantly larger, as a general rule. But I believe the general principal is probably true.

Depending on the artists style of working, sometimes a larger painting doent always take much more actual time or effort that a little one. In fact some find small paintings more difficult. So another good reason to work bigger, if it suits you of course.

Obviously small paintings that are modestly priced can sell ok, and I wouldn't want to suggest they arent worthwhile. But on balance, all things being equal, working larger has significant advantage.

Note: If shipping your work. Posting larger paintings can be much more of a bind, especially for those without experience. So for selling on eBay etc, it makes sense to keep works at a smaller size that you can cope with, - and send without catastrophe. ( Until you have gained some experience, and access to ideal materials for shipping art of significant size).

Alongside the "Top 10" listed, we must'nt forget the most basic of selling methods experienced by most artists. Personal sales.

Please note: The new eBook by Richard Robinson (illustrated opposite) is featured at the bottom of this lens, and is full of great information for the budding professional artist. >>>
How to Make More Money Painting.

Personal Sales:
This is where people you might frequently meet or be in contact with, get to know of you and your work on a personal level, and as a result they grow to like what you do. This is where being "personable" or likable, or at least interesting as an "enigma", comes into play, and in effect, people buy into your personality to a large degree. Given there are no gallery fees etc, you can normally haggle on price, and encourage further purchases by keeping things enticingly affordable.

However, beware of blatently under-cutting any galleries you sell through, as they will take a very dim view of that practice. So if you sell through galleries you cannot afford to openly do that. But, the occasional "cash in hand" deal hush hush style, will not hurt anybody, provided it's kept private, and under the table, as it were.

Such customers often become personal friends and consider themselves as a collector or supporter of your art. As a result these "personal patrons" will commonly buy on a regular basis, and want to see your collection of work from time to time. Of course you can also count on plenty of "word of mouth" advertising from these people.

In case you haven't heared, the internet is very much about Niche Marketing, (i.e. finding a small niche to tap into, rather that going after a huge market with huge competition to match.)

Smart artists have a great opportunity to exploit this concept, and will likely find success quicker if focusing on a specific niche subject, rather than a wide variety of subject.

Of course this is only one suggested route to finding a market, but nevertheless its one that can get good results,. You can go from mediocrity to a noted artist, once you are linked to a specialist field.

Become a specialist, and you can soon improve due to focus on one field of excellence. This will pay off financially.

Plus there is less competition. For example; If you paint horse pictures, your buyers would be horse lovers, and your competition is only really other horse painters. (as a general rule)

All true experts are specialists.

By specialising, you become expert.

Want professional guidance on how to make a serious income from selling your paintings?

AT LAST...
A brand new unique eBook has just been released called "How to Make More Money Painting" by Richard Robinson.

This may be the information you have been waiting a very long time to come along.

How to Make More Money Painting.

Lets face it... copying photographs can be disasterous, - if done too religeously.

However, using photo reference is a well used technique employed by many leading artists. And with the development of digital cameras and computers, the scope for creating exciting new works has never been as easy.
Tip...
Borrow from films and TV;
Nowadays you can save to dvd, or PAUSE AND SHOOT: Simply photograph stills from anything you choose to record. Horse racing, yachting, wildlife, etc etc. Most cameras can do this quite easily, but it takes practice, and its wise to take several shots to ensure a useable result. No, the photo wont always be superb, but its the "concept" that can be so very useful, and as I say, we don't normally want to copy anything in great detail.

(With the latest digital tv's / recorders / dvds etc, now available, the above becomes much easier. and you can also employ your PC.)

Copyright: Always avoid any exact copying of images you might find useful, as you will be breaking copyright law. However you can borrow from the general concept, or elements thereof. For example, you could freeze and save an image of a charging elephant, and use it to produce something pretty similar, - but sufficiently different so as to not be obviously identical or "ripped off".

Tip...
Even if you don't have a high powered zoom... once you get the digital image on your computer you do!! You can use the fax viewer to view your images and this can zoom in on any area of the photo. Sometimes an un-promising photo can become a great one when you zoom in and crop to discover an exciting new composition.

If you enjoy photography, and would like to enjoy a decent secondary income from your creative activities, then you may want to consider Microstock Photography.

Did you know there is a ready market for good digital photos? And some are earning Hundreds of dollars per month for a single photo! Many are literally earning THOUSANDS per month from a reasonable portfolio of images.

Could you take a shot like this one? ===>>

I have dedicated another lens to this subject. Selling Stock Photography with Microstock which you might find interesting. It shows PROOF of earning potential, as provided by ABC News on this topic. (You'll be amazed!)