Making a Living as an Artist can be a Dream Come True. Here’s What I’ve learned on my Journey
August 2022, Nocturne 818 Gallery, Dive Deep Mentorship Exhibit Opening
Be careful of gallery dealers that want you to keep churning out the same kind of painting year to year. This can be soul-killing. You want to make sure who you choose to show with, will support your growth over time as an artist. The extra time you put into this will be worth it! I have had many relationships over the years with the galleries that turned out to be not the best fit- for either of us. Like all relationships, sometimes we just don’t know, and sometimes it’s we choose to not be aware. I noticed the time I either did not listen to my gut, or I pushed ahead because I wanted to be represented by whoever would take me. Gallery dealers and artists are all about building symbiotic relationships. You want to make sure you enter the right one.
Relationships might end with gallery dealers for an array of reasons. Admittedly, learning to not take it so personally has been a struggle for me. The emotional temperament of creating is different from the business of art. I have sometimes forgotten this when engrossed in the process of exhibiting and selling. The point being, don’t take it personally.
The most important thing you can do is to make bodies of work. This doesn’t mean putting everything you create on your website. You want to show your best face. So what if you have been painting for five years and now you have a stack of paintings? Do you need those early works on your site? I have an array of years on my website, but I have been painting for twenty-nine years. I don’t even have a quarter of what I have produced or displayed, and that includes works sold and exhibits. What I explain to my Dive Deep Mentorship students is to start with five to ten paintings of your best work. Then edit again from there.
Now, getting into some more practical aspects of sharing your work, here are some notes on pricing. You want to keep your prices consistent. Don’t start too high because you cannot go backward. Study where your peers are at. If you are showing in coffee shops, what are the prices of other painters you like that are showing in coffee shops? Do not change your pricing from show to show. Keep it consistent and grow it in small increments.
Have any questions? Leave them in the comments.
Thank you!
Mixed Media, oil on panel, 48 x 40, 2022