How to sell your paintings?
Art Galina
Selling your paintings online, sooner or later, you will figure out all the technical aspects. And you will get tired of the endless number of websites, theories, reviews, articles, galleries, promises, and offers. But you won't get answers to your questions about what to do in your specific situation. And how it relates personally to you. It's discouraging, isn't it? That's exactly what this collection of the most popular posts from an art dealer during 2017-2021 in a closed community for supporting artists and sculptors is about. The main topic of discussion in this group, starting with online sales of paintings and sculptures. Impressions, stories, reflections, comments. Chapters can be read in any order. The complete updated version based on "How to Sell Paintings – 1" and "How to Sell Paintings – 2".
Art Galina
How to sell your paintings?
How everything is arranged here
You're an artist or a sculptor who sells their works online. Whether you have a professional education or not doesn't matter. What matters is that you persist and continue.
Perhaps you'll recognize yourself or your colleagues here:
– I'm an amateur, without any artistic education.
– I no longer believe that you can sell a painting for a decent price…
– My personal comparison with the works of other artists.
– I can't determine the price range for this type of artwork.
– There are few criteria to base my prices on.
– I live in a small town, what about you…
– It's difficult to evaluate myself and my work.
– I don't understand? What else should be added to the price besides the cost of materials?
– Artistic value. Does it exist or not?
– Just so they won't ask questions!
– I have my own technique, unique handmade paintings.
– The problem is with the buyers – they always want it twice as cheap!
– It's scary to ask for too much.
– Can I somehow get a percentage of the sales?
– Will my paintings sell?
– Is there demand for pastels?
– It's frustrating to ask too little for a large amount of invested effort. Maybe I'm overestimating or underestimating. Am I overpriced or underpriced?
– I'm a beginner artist. I'm afraid of competition with the pros.
– What's trendy to paint nowadays?
– I don't have a painting education, but I do have complexes and insecurities.
– I'm hesitant to name a price, I'm not a professional.
– I don't consider myself a professional.
– Buyers say my paintings are too expensive.
– How to send a package with a painting?
Selling your paintings online, sooner or later, you'll figure out all the technical aspects. And you'll get tired of the endless number of websites, galleries, promises, and offers. But you won't get answers to your questions about what to do in your specific situation. And how it relates to you personally often remains unclear. It's discouraging, isn't it?
That's exactly what this collection of posts from the group and articles from the blog is about. The most popular and discussed ones from 2018-2021. It all happened in a closed community to support artists and sculptors, on a popular network. The main topic of discussion in this group since 2017 has been the online sale of paintings and sculptures on various platforms and social networks.
It includes answers to questions, my reactions from working with artists as authors, action recommendations, impressions from viewing works, and my personal stories. Yes, all at once, just like in real life. This is a fresh look from the other side of the screen. You've already seen the name of the group above, in the "Acknowledgments" chapter. You read it, didn't just scroll past quickly, right? Smiling.
You can read the chapters in any order. Each chapter is one post. The first words of the post are usually taken as the title. Scroll, review the content fully, stopping at what catches your attention immediately. The style of the text allows you to immediately understand the meaning of what's written. The original spelling is preserved in the comments.
Let's get acquainted. My name is Galina. And what's your name? Very nice to meet you. You'll learn more about me in the following chapters, a little later.
What's necessary for selling your paintings?
You need brains. And an endless number of different attempts and failures. Time and money spent. Being able to read and write in basic English or being able to use a translator. Can't do it? I sympathize. And banging your head against the wall with questions: "How do I do this specifically for me? What works specifically for me? Why?" after another attempt to do so.
They also say you need to learn. For perpetual students, this is sheer beauty. They study without a break. And they think that because they study, they'll make money. But that's not true. You don't study, you acquire information. Those who immediately take action and do things learn. Then they do it again and again. Then finally understand how and why it's done. And do it again.
Smoothly transitioning to my favorite point: self-discipline. Consistency and discipline. If you don't have that, you have serious problems. Discipline and consistency have nothing to do with your temperament, mood, the color of the walls in the room, marital status, or waist size. No self-discipline? You have problems. And you shouldn't even start a business.
What's quality education? It's acquiring skills. Creating a biography, a package of photographs, videos, tags, and more. Skills can be learned.
Discipline and motivation. And it already comes from within you. It's not treated or learned until you're pushed against the wall so hard it's impossible not to do it the way you should and want to. Almost all artists start thinking and doing only when they're really pressed to avoid disaster and have something at least. So on all sorts of training for the trained, they scare them and shove their noses into what's been done. I hope this isn't about you.
And only a very small fraction of artists think and do, even when they're doing well. To make it even better and even more. Preferably not just for themselves, but for others, and even strangers. That's why they are their own motivation, happiness, and joy. That's about me. Maybe it's about you too.
You need to be able to take photos of paintings, write descriptions, choose tags again and again. You can redo them endlessly. Quickly compose and type texts, watch successful masters, set prices, communicate with curators and clients. Know how to attract and retain attention. Monitor exhibitions and galleries. Understand how customer flows on websites work.
If you come up with the bright idea to hire a specialist and you don't understand the essence of the process, you'll just quickly throw away your money. So you'll have to figure it out yourself. Even if you're one of those who say, "I'm an artist, a creative person, I'm a girl." Constantly do this. Do and analyze. And do it again. You need to be able to ask the right questions. And be honest with yourself.
As you can see, there's nothing complicated about selling your paintings. And also, for those who haven't been scared off, offended, or run away so far. Business isn't about "learning," and it's not about "how to sell 10 paintings in a month" and not about "believe in yourself and positive thinking." It's about putting everything through your actions, drawing conclusions, engaging your brains, and applying it to yourself.
Portrait of a Successful Artist
When I'm asked how to become a highly sought-after artist, I say that it's difficult. And it really is very tough. It will take the perseverance of a hereditary librarian and the ability to draw on demand. And in terms of stress tolerance, you must confidently compete with the potholes that drivers curse on the roads every day.
A successful artist is a hardworking, persistent person. Ready for constant improvement and endless criticism from colleagues. Very hardworking. Extremely persistent. And the brighter you are, the deeper the criticism. If you want to avoid all of this on your way to fame and wealth, then you're out of luck. You'd better go look for oil.
Ideal Collaboration
The ideal contract between an art dealer, let's call them a savvy producer, seller, manager, or curator, and an artist looks something like this.
The art dealer says, and the artist does quickly and correctly, on time. Without disputes and ambitions, but by enhancing the proposed. With all their novelties at the level of good nonsense, they first come to the art dealer. Often these are quite workable ideas. The themes, style, technique, and other attributes of the works are monitored by the art dealer. What and how to present to the public is also up to them. Prices too. And now the most interesting part. In case of attempted dumping and cheating on the part of the artist, draconian fines and penalties come into play.
Let me explain what's going on here. Sometimes, due to their narrow-mindedness, the artist thinks they're the smartest. They believe that they've come from scratch and are already a master of selling art, while the art dealer just came to stroll around the art business territory. And the artist decides that they'll negotiate a high price with the art dealer, and the art dealer will exhibit the paintings on good platforms at a decent price. And not just publish them for sale but also promote them. And they'll also set the price, write descriptions for each piece, and find the top tags themselves, which they'll add to the title and all the texts.
And the artist will show links to lots and listings, and quietly offer to buy directly from them at a low price. Then they'll come with complaints that they were bought directly from them, but not from the dealer. They'll shift the responsibility and present themselves as innocent fluffy bunnies. Ignoring prices and backstage games. Well, what can I say. It's interesting how some people's brains work.
That's why the art dealer takes money for everything, including the mere fact of publication. And adds their commission to all of that. Artists, blinded by their uniqueness and incomparability, overlook the most important thing. The art dealer has plenty of artists to choose from. Pick any. And the customer base also belongs to the dealer.
Many artists, especially beginners, look at this ideal contract and say, "Yuck, I don't want that. I want to be a star of auction houses, I want to focus on creativity!" And then they list a dozen objections and grievances. Because they're attracted not by real professional activities but by external romanticized attributes.
And you forget or don't suspect because of your naivety, stereotypes, or the illusion of genius. You don't know that along with creativity, you need to apply skills in effective communication. The ability to persuade and influence. Sales and promotion skills. The ability to organize people and situations. You asked for it harshly, without reverence. But it clears out the garbage from your brain. What do you think?
After 3 Years, But for Sure, Good?
An art dealer, whose situation is the opposite. Conversation with a Familiar Artist:
– Darling, you've been trying to sell your paintings for three years now and you're diligently doing nothing for it. And I thought, maybe I'll pay you from my own pocket? After all, you need to buy paints again and pay for a place on marketplaces.
– Galina, you can see for yourself that I don't want to create series of works and improve my skills. And I've long forgotten about good photos, target audience, and tags, so don't worry. And where do you have extra money to support me?
– Well, yes, that's also true.
– Galina, let's revisit this conversation in a couple of years…
– After 3 years, but for sure, good?
How can an artist survive criticism?
No way. There's no way to survive. The best and most correct way to participate in discussions: not to participate and not engage in the discussion. I'm talking about artistic groups now. When works are exhibited for display, that's when it starts! I sense the smiles of the artists. And I'm feeling the same. Look at what's happening. And why. Dominance is shown in the amount of text, the number of comments, and the direction of the text.
I recently saw when the author of the post suggested to a lady in such a role to switch positions. It looked like "show me your work and I'll advise you, I can do that too." The lady burst into personal insults. I think you understand why. There are also comments like "why do I see this for the third day in a row in my feed, get out of my friends, I don't want to see this!" And often those who demand to remove the post comment under every word. They are outraged that this post is shown at the top of their feed. It's a pity that nobody is outraged by their own infantilism.
What do commentators do? They fantasize and write a response to their fantasy in their heads. The author's goal of the post is clear only if they voiced it. Let me explain. When there's a question about the quality of the work, a request for criticism and tips, then it's a different story about responding to requests. During heated discussions, they usually write off-topic, voicing their fears, pains, what bothers them in real life, what they suppress deep down, and that's what they write about.
Let me give you a vivid example, when a painting with nudity is exhibited. Usually, the plot and presentation tear apart the consciousness of many viewers. Immediately there are options like "you shouldn't paint like this, look how it should be done, you shouldn't paint this topic, you should paint something else, you shouldn't show your works." Artists, those who are reading me now, you see these discussions in bundles. I feel your smiles. Moreover, pay attention, the authors of the posts are different, the paintings are different, and the commentators change, but the texts are almost identical. Be curious, read with thought, and compare. Enjoy.
If your goal is to pour out your negativity and pain, attract attention, then go ahead into a heated discussion, get involved in every statement. Yes, and the risk of encountering trolls is maximum. They love to humiliate, know how to, practice with pleasure and cynicism. If your goal is just to exhibit, and you didn't expect a heated debate, or you're testing the market, or analyzing the reaction to your works or the target audience of the group, then it's reasonable to take the position of an observer.
Abstract yourself from the discussion and the post. You have a ticket in the audience, not an engagement as an actor in a theatrical troupe. Respond to a comment only if you were asked a question. Specifically asked, with a tag on your name, or addressing you directly as the author. And only if you want to or feel it's necessary to answer.
Because if you were asked, it doesn't mean you have to drop everything and run to argue and justify. The responsibility for the other's reaction lies on their territory, not yours. In all other cases, keep silent. You're not being asked, so keep silent. keep silent. keep silent. If you're asked directly, think whether you need to answer at all.
Isn't the mechanism clear? Well, they want to pour out their inner turmoil. Why on you? And what's your role here? Let them choose someone else and pour out their song further. I'll repeat. If you're not asked, keep silent. If you're asked directly, think whether you need to answer at all.
What else affects the price of a painting?
What does the artist usually do? Looks at price calculators, prices for analogs on websites, from colleagues, calculates expenses, the list goes on. I've already written enough about this and discussed it in groups and on training courses. Now I'll show you another aspect of the commercial aspect of pricing. Tell me, how many paintings have you sold? And how many are on sale? What is the ratio of views to sales?
Most people can't answer these questions. Most can't say how many works they have in total. And how many of them are for sale. And they don't keep track of sold works by clients, prices, or quantity. Moreover, most don't even consider the ratio of exhibited to sold.
Here's how it's calculated. For example, you have 27 works in the gallery, and only one was sold. (1/27) x 100% = 3.7%. Or you have 115 works, of which 34 were sold. (34/115) x 100% = 29.56%, or out of 5, 3 were sold. (3/5) x 100% = 60%.
I'm drawing your attention not to the quantity of sold works, but to the sales conversion rate, in percentage terms. And now why you need to know the sales conversion of your paintings. Pay close attention. Let me give you an example. You've already bought materials: brushes, paints, paper, canvases. That is, you've invested financially. You've painted 30 paintings.
Published and exhibited them. And only 2 were sold.
Then you bought paper, paints, canvases again and again. On average, out of 30 works, 2 are bought. So, these two sold paintings should cover the costs of creating 30. And so on in a circle. That's your price for one painting. At least at the level of covering the costs of materials and maintenance (storage). Rent for the studio, exhibitions, and everything else goes here too.
An example for a series of 12 watercolor works. Let's say you decided to create a collection of landscapes, still lifes, portraits, abstractions. And you start from scratch. Calculate the costs of materials to paint them (prices are conditional for example): 3 brushes, flat and two round, thick and thin, all for $30. A set of 24 colors in pans for $40.
Cotton paper with a density of 300, 3 sheets 56x76 cm for $14. A glass for water, paper towels, another $1. A simple pencil, eraser, tape, another $1. Let's say you learned from free videos, you draw at home, you have a table, a chair, cardboard, and glass under the sheet, water from the tap, and sunlight from the window flooding the room.
Oh, and one more important point. You draw without preliminary sketches, directly on a clean sheet and with an expected result. That means there's no stack of paper for sketches. Total $85. At first glance, it's logical to divide $85 by 12 and done! A clear price of $7.1 each! I smile.
This is only at first glance. Out of 12, only 1-2 will be bought. Two. So, divide $85 by 2 to get $42.5 for one work. $42.5 for one work and that's only material costs! And now add your expected profit, and you'll come to a price starting from $100 for a 30x40 cm painting. Plus, add the complexity of the subject, the presence of a story, and the degree of your fame as an artist. The price starts from 200 coins if there's anything to add, of course. The logic is clear enough? Attention question: "Does your level of mastery reach these prices?" No? Then grab a pencil. And learn. What happens next? With a competent sales system, the ratio increases. And you keep the same price or increase it. Thus, you achieve increasing profits from your creativity and become a commercial artist.
How decisions about purchases are made
Usually, when it comes to sales, people hear and see only themselves as sellers. Today, I want to draw your attention to how you buy and how. I'll give an example, the price is hypothetical. And you track your feelings and situations.Take two books on the same topic, with the same volume. One costs 5 coins. Reaction: normal, probably interesting, should buy. The second one costs 50. Reaction: how much? And what could be in it? Yes, for that money, I can find all this for free on YouTube. It's clear it's just nonsense and money-making scheme.
Take two dresses of the same model and size. The first one costs 100 coins. Reaction: normal, worth trying on, should buy. The second one costs 1000 coins. Reaction: how much? And what could be there? Yes, for that money, I can buy 10 in the neighboring store. Look, it's not even a very original design, fabric with synthetic additives. And look, the seam is crooked, obviously sewn in a small atelier. It's clear it's just nonsense and money-making scheme.
Educational courses. I smile. Shall I continue? Take two courses on the same topic. The first one costs $25. Reaction: normal, something interesting, should buy. The second one costs $1250. Reaction: how much? And what could be in it? Yes, for that money, I can find everything for free on YouTube. It's clear it's just nonsense and money-making scheme.
There's another way of making decisions. When you have 120 coins in your wallet, and you buy a dress for 10, and spend the rest of the money on cafes and movies. I smile. Tell me, who has been in similar situations, no matter from which side? What do you think this mindset is called? Why does it arise? What feelings are actually involved?
Here's the translation of the second part of the text:
Geniuses, Dilettantes, and Professionals
Now let's talk about those who declare in their creative endeavors the idea of 'I'm an artist, this is how I see it.' I'm also an artist. I also see. And here's what I see. All discussions and critiques of the works of novice artists are dedicated to. I smile.
Genius
It's unique and inexplicable from the point of view of logic and the set of your knowledge and experience data to date. They are bright. They are easily recognizable. What's the complexity here? You can't replicate their path. Copying their actions will yield the opposite effect or zero at best. Therefore, it makes no sense by definition to repeat the path of a genius. Even if you do the same thing, just green or with pearl buttons, it won't be interesting to viewers and buyers. I'll repeat. it won't be interesting. Because viewers have already seen it from someone else.
Why should they watch the same thing again, now from you? Let's say you like the creativity of Lev Leshchenko. And you are offered to listen to songs of his clones instead of him or after him. How do you feel about such a situation? Another Salvador Dali. Another Van Gogh and Picasso. Have you grasped the idea, yes? Then let's move on. If suddenly you're not a Genius (for example, I'm not a genius), then you have 2 options left: dilettante or professional. It's going to get tough now.
Dilettante
To loudly declare "I'm an artist, this is how I see it" and simultaneously demand recognition and income, you need to have basic settings. First, learn to draw properly, and then create works with your own vision, handwriting, and style. And you can learn to draw properly and become a professional.
And what is a good work? There is an opinion that a good work = an inspired work, done with love. After all, the main thing is love. Very ambiguous. Not a fact. Therefore, I have a number of questions. Inspired by whom? With what love? To whom? To what? The main thing is where, in what, when, for whom. In what time frame and space? How will you understand that this is love? And how does the viewer consider it?
In reality, this is an excuse for not wanting to learn and a demand to become a mommy for the author of the masterpiece, admiring and sighing with each curl and spot. I've already mentioned a couple of times about the requirements for the quality of execution, in the context of watercolor. A good work equals productivity plus quality. This is closer to me, of course. I don't discuss the quality criterion by default.
But what about productivity? Well, the main glitch of the dilettante is a fairly large number of works, all of the same level. There are many of them, and they are not needed by anyone, primarily by themselves. And at this stage, I usually hear that you just need to draw a lot, and then… Who gives these pieces of advice and why? It's a mystery to me. Then it will never happen. There's a joke. When a person is asked at an interview how many characters per minute he types. And the answer is 2500 characters, but it turns out to be complete nonsense.
So it is in creativity. The process of drawing itself is not an end in itself. It should result in a clear and high-quality work. It's very desirable that it reflects the original and nature. And it's very desirable that it reflects as accurately and without errors as possible. And not just me doodling here. A lot of low-quality work is meaningless. Accept it as a fact. This is the stage of the dilettante. And we smoothly move on.
Professional
An artist who produces and creates quality works. And this can be learned at any age. I'm very glad about this and I know a lot of inspiring examples of wonderful artists. This is the artist's labor.
Artist, Give Me a Discount
"Give me a discount." This topic is as old as life itself. Our song is good, let's start over. And what's there to draw, think of a brush on paper. And why are you tired, just give me a discount. And why not draw with a pencil, it won't cost you anything. Do you recognize it?
Usually, I joke it off. Of course, I'll give you a discount, and you'll come to my house and do the dishes and clean up. Or yes, sure, here's a stack of my bills, go to the bank and please pay them. It's a great idea to suggest they buy groceries for me at the store and bring them home for me. They might as well cook while they're at it.
– "Give me a discount!"
– "Of course, I'll give you one. Will you pay my bills, at least for the phone or gas? Would you like that?"
Oh, and this phrase works! Try it! Or answer like this:
– "Of course, I'll give you a discount. When's payday? I'll come by, and you'll give me a portion of your salary."
– "Why is that?"
– "Because my profit is included in the price of the painting. If I share my profit with you, then you'll share your salary with me."
Clients quickly come to their senses. Tested. You can add: will you buy medicine for my mom, here's the prescription, and also the bill from the clinic.
Sometimes they argue that someone else is giving a discount. And what's that got to do with me? Why should I do what they're trying to impose on me? I work for money. The watercolor is fantastic, the price is excellent.
Here's where attention comes in. For some reason, this client came to me instead of staying with someone else. Why? There are clients who try to bend you to their will. So what? That's their problem, not yours. Usually, they just don't want to pay for your work. They value their own. Art is not milk or bread, or medicine.
The client is a specialist in their field, and I am in mine. For those who have their own website or paintings published on social media profiles with prices, it's convenient to do the same. I ask: "Have you seen all my works? Have you checked the prices? So you're aware of the prices, right?"
Here's another one of my stories. When a lady tried to explain to me that the price was too high. And the arguments: "As if anyone buys this. Look at the painting by a famous artist, his winter landscape costs several times less! Who is he, and who are you! Is this what you have? Watercolor?? A painting, miss (she addressed me), is done in oils, but yours is who knows what!" In general, she came to me with these texts for a week. Just a common troll. Clearly not my client.
Remembered another case.
– "Gal, draw me 5 pictures, I really need them!"
– "What? About what? (I look) I understand, it will cost (I name the price), it'll be ready tomorrow."
– "Are you kidding me? Do you really think I can't find someone else to do it?"
A week passes, she appears with a stack of drawings and throws them on my desk:
– "Look, here they are! Tanya made them for me! And not with a pencil, but with a pen!"
– "How much did you pay Tanya?"
– "Me? Pay? Oh, she did it for me for free, unlike you!"
Normal, right? In reality, it's Tanya's personal business how much she charges for her work. What's that got to do with me? Why should I spend my resources just because someone wants something for free? When they approach me like this (asking for a discount), I can suggest negotiating. Yes, suggest your options, let's discuss. Respect yourself and others, value your work and time.
Learn to sell your paintings, and you'll get both money and pleasure.
Where should I start?
– Hello, Galina. Where should I start selling paintings?
– Hello. Start with studying the materials in our group and in the educational courses. There are videos and texts on many topics, so take advantage and get started.
Dear artists, I don't know your specific situation and requests. But I know for sure that my methods are applicable to you too. I'm sure that among all the materials you will find what suits you personally. It's proven. Imagine you're at a buffet, choosing what you want from a fully laid table. Convenient, isn't it?
I can't give you a detailed personal answer just based on the request "Hello, Galina. Where should I start selling paintings?" because I'm not a fortune-teller, and I'm not a telepath to provide recommendations without knowing the artist, their work, and the situation. Moreover, I don't engage in personal chats. Here are some possible responses to your question:
– I don't know where you should start personally.
– Maybe you need to continue what you were doing.
– Or something else, there are plenty of options.
– What have you been doing before this, where, when?
– What results have you achieved?
– And now, what are you expecting to achieve?
– Publish a post in the group with your question to have a useful discussion for everyone. If you want something specific for you, come for a paid consultation, we'll analyze your case, and you'll get a personalized step-by-step action plan.
Cheatsheet for Online Communication
There's a wonderful way to ruin your page. Sending spam. These are messages with unsolicited information, flooding the inbox or private messages of other users in the network. Remember, there's always a *report spam* button or its equivalent. You could get banned, have your account deleted, or blocked. Or you might get dragged into arguments about whose art is more artistic, or whose watercolor is more watercolor-y. I've experienced both ends of that spectrum pretty quickly. And I learned my lessons fast. So, how should you properly communicate in social networks?
1. Politeness. Set up *Thank you* responses after someone adds you as a friend. Or initiate the contact yourself. Make it a habit to address people by their names.
2. Avoid being a bore. When someone only talks about themselves, it gives off an air of indifference to the other person. What does this look like? Messages solely about paintings, invitations, advertisements, and messages that are only interesting to you.
3. Entertainment. Why do people hang out here? Drop a funny line, share a humorous picture—there are plenty out there. Any video that interests you. Your personal opinion. When you share information, explain why you liked it, why it caught your attention. The phrase *I liked it because* works wonders; it introduces you as a person. Or describe your emotions: "Oh, what a seaside! Lovely flowers! Beautiful view. Unusual voice for the singer," and so on. Such messages often get retweeted, shared, reposted.
4. Interest, retweets, likes, shares. Visit your colleagues/friends' profiles and generously share information from there. You'll get noticed and remembered. Comments in interest groups work the best, and they should be well-argued, including posts. Again, express your emotions.
5. Events. You have a workshop, a new painting, a new series of works— it's appropriate to talk about and invite people to them. Events in your life, where you've been, what you saw. Then write about how everything went and add photos; it'll make for good post promotion.
6. Posts from your blog. Set up automatic posting of blog messages to your page. This is important. Don't know how to do it? Either add them manually or ask me. There are special services and search engines for this.
7. Tell about yourself. But be careful. Very careful. There are boundaries to communication and to your territory. Only you decide where they lie. How is it done? In different ways. Talk about others.
8. Share links from other sites. Information from other pages. Read an article? Watched a video? Something interesting happened to a friend? Then give it a like! Repost!
9. Propose a discussion topic. Ask questions, respond to comments. Organize contests, polls. Help solve other people's problems. And to do that, you have to respond to messages. Gradually, you'll attract regular readers who are interested in what you write and find you interesting as a person. So, write and behave in a way that makes you interesting to others, and they will read you, even if it's not reciprocal.
What's the main mistake people make? The simplest one. They only talk about themselves and their paintings. Solely "I'm an artist" and "buy my paintings." It's a good theme. It's a shame it's only interesting to the author.
For some reason, it's believed that everyone is ecstatic and should immediately want to buy something. Do you seriously think people are seeing and hearing about your profession as an artist or the opportunity to buy paintings for the first time? Do you really think so? Think again. And now, let's think together—why do people come to the network? Are you personally interested in reading only ads? How many *likes* and shares does such information get? Go in, look, think, compare. And what do you yourself read? What do you share? The conclusion is obvious.
It's like a soccer comment. The pass was good and strong! It's a pity the field suddenly ended! I wish you only make passes on the field and score goals!
To the Artist, Everyone Owes Something
What's also astonishing is the belief that everyone owes something to the artist. Especially striking is the audacity of statements like, 'Galina, you know how to sell paintings. So sell mine for a percentage of the sales.' Yes, I do know how to sell. But why should I do it for you? And do you know what they say to me afterward? 'But I've been told by internet experts that la la la.' Well, if they said so, let them sell it themselves. And when I ask for specifics, it's either silence or 'Galina, you don't understand. Internet experts have valued my works at …' Well, good for them. Let them buy or sell independently.
What's my role in all of this? And here's where the plot thickens even further. Because nobody owes anything to the artist. And fundamentally, with his deep inner world and everything he wanted to express, he's not particularly interesting to anyone either. I know it sounds harsh. And it's only after realizing these fundamental positions that movement towards sales, money, and recognition begins."
Customer Questionnaire
1. Why do you think you're losing customers?
2. What do you believe could be the reason for the low conversion rate between viewers and sales?
3. What methods do you use to attract customers?
4. Do you think it's necessary to ask questions before offering products or services?
5. What criteria do you use to identify customer needs?
6. What are your thoughts on which questions should be asked before offering products or services?
7. What are your preferences in terms of art style, direction, and color palette?
8. What criteria do you use when selecting artwork for your collection or gifts?
9. How do you typically go about purchasing artwork: do you plan in advance or make spontaneous decisions?
10. How often do you purchase artwork for your home or office?
11. How familiar are you with the specific artist's work?
12. What criteria do you consider crucial when evaluating the quality of artwork?
13. How do you ensure that you're viewing original pieces of art?
14. How many pieces of artwork do you typically have in your home?
15. What are your expectations when purchasing artwork?
Feel free to add to the list.
About money for artists
Why is it necessary to know your painting buyers? Why is it necessary to understand how customer flows are organized towards your paintings? Why is it necessary to pay attention to and assign tags? Because money doesn't come from nowhere, from nothing. Usually, money before becoming yours belonged to someone, belonged to someone. And money always comes to us from people.
Please pay attention to my words. All this means that you somehow motivate other people to give you money. Think. What is there in your paintings that other people are willing to give you money for? What is there that your customers bring you money for?
Quality of Creativity
Sales, especially at the stage of your professional development, have nothing to do with pure and noble creativity, if you thought otherwise.
Creativity. Wildly complex activity that will require significant effort from your brain.
Imagine that you have a bag of parts weighing two and a half tons, from which you need to manually assemble a car. That's what awaits you. Do you really think you can just sit down with your muse and quickly paint a top masterpiece for the last 2,000 years and the next 5?
If you've never drawn before, it might take you several weeks to create a decent landscape, still life, or portrait. And all because you'll have to pay attention to the quality of the watercolor drawing, think about accents and lines, follow the rhythm, composition, light, and air, and maintain the viewer's interest. It's not as simple as it may seem. And if you make a mistake somewhere, it will be noticeable right away, not only to an experienced artist but to anyone who has heard of watercolor. Approach it like your favorite job.
For those whose results don't match their expectations
For those who are afraid to start and take action. I did and redid. Corrected, changed. I never looked at stores and galleries and thought, "That's it, perfect forever." No. There were 6 websites. I left 2 of them. And constantly adjusted one according to the buyers and readers. Of the planned and proposed courses, only half "worked." From this half, only a few survived. The rest fell apart into pieces and will be incorporated into future projects.
And that's normal. Testing your ideas and gradually mastering the skill of articulating ideas clearly for others. And bringing them to fruition as a complete project cycle. And tons of texts, videos, different forms, and so on. Because. When you start, especially when you start, you almost always do things wrong, or slowly. Or you get something completely different.
The secret is that if you don't start, nothing will happen. At the beginning, you don't really know yourself and your paintings. And what you want from whom, you imagine in a fog. Especially by what means. Hence the mistakes and hesitation. It's like in intimate relationships. The better you know yourself and your desires, hear your feelings and your partner, the more often you engage, the more pleasure and orgasms you get. What do you think?
What to do if you have a closet full of paintings
And buyers have disappeared forever beyond the horizon?
Start crying and don't stop! And then buyers will surely come to the miserable, feeble-minded artist. To paint a fence and quietly haul away the paintings.
Start pitying yourself and looking for flaws! And then buyers will definitely notice you, curators will come running. To paint a fence and quietly haul away the paintings. In general, no matter what you do, the result is the same. So it's time to prepare for a sad outcome in obscurity and poverty.
But what if you look at it from a different angle? Maybe while you're still alive and have a collection of paintings, everything is just beginning? Maybe it's time to move forward and finally break free from whining? Start enjoying life, relaxing, having fun, eating delicious food, sleeping sweetly, creating a new series of works? Well, of course, you won't enjoy it for long. Because buyers will quickly come rushing in, start making noise, giving gifts, being happy, buying, bringing friends, and distracting you from the creative process.
And then it will all start over again.
Can someone explain the logic of exhibition organizers?
The condition for delivering the painting is only EMS without specifying the value of the work. At the same time, the exhibition is positioned as a sales exhibition, participation is paid, and the delivery is at the expense of the artist. Organizers bear no responsibility for the safety of the painting, so you need to insure it. Usually, when sending by mail, the full value is indicated for this, because in case of problems, the post office compensates with money.
Actually, this is insurance. And it is included in the cost of postal services. Well, let's say I send the paintings there, everything arrives safely. How will they be sent back? Also, without specifying the value? And what if there is force majeure? What then? Where do I look for my work in case of loss, delay, and who will pay compensation? And what if I prefer DHL? Who has encountered similar conditions, share your experience or how to deal with them?
The problem with most artists
Now I'll tell you what the problem is. The problem with artists. The problem with the majority of artists who want to sell their paintings. The problem is that they are superficial. They don't want to delve into things. They don't want to think. They don't want to apply themselves. And through application, gain skills and results. You see how simple it all is.
Because in order to take the time to look into a group, read posts, contemplate why we're all here and how it's organized, you need to allocate time and pay attention. And instead, artists often continue to post poorly photographed paintings without descriptions. They persist in posting despite comments. The problem is not only that these posts are in groups where there are no buyers. And I'm sure that similar posts are in other groups where there are no buyers (I've seen it myself). The problem is that the artist, apart from themselves, sees and hears no one. No feedback on their posts, no buyers, no one.
But why? I'm an artist, I'm a star. What happens next? And then it gets more fun and interesting. Later, they write to me:
– Galina, how do I sell paintings?
– How good it is to know how to read. Open the documents in our group, the posts and videos.
– But who will do all this?
– Of course, you yourself!
And in conclusion. It pains me to see people seeking buyers for works of good craftsmanship. It pains me to see these identical posts asking for help in various groups. It pains me to read about how artists and their families have no money or how good paper is expensive."
I provide practical information for this purpose. And not only me, other artists too, thank them, participate in discussions, offer advice, share experiences. This is truly invaluable and worth a lot. A friendly atmosphere in our group. You're safe here. Take it. Ask questions. Inquire. Discuss.
So, I've written everything, what should I do next?
Actually, it's an interesting question. You need to show your work to dealers and galleries, as well as independently seek clients. Voice in the audience: "Bring valerian! The artist feels bad! Is there a doctor in the house?"
If you now ask where to find addresses, passwords, and secret signs, your diagnosis will be ready instantly. You don't know how to use search engines and navigate through the clutter of the internet to find the necessary information? You can't navigate among discussions where critics and art lovers gather in any form of representation? If you can't, then you're hopeless and useless. What about sales and profits?
If you understand that you'll have to hustle, that's already not bad. You can select suitable options based on the genre of your subjects and your execution technique. For example, there's no point in sending a realistic landscape or still life to groups, communities, or galleries focused on surrealism or figurative art. Got it? Well done.
After sending your portfolios to a dozen email addresses and not receiving a response, you can confidently send them anywhere. To all possible addresses related to art. Maybe your business card will finally appear, and you'll learn how to leave it in the hands of other people. And even take their business cards. However, sooner or later, the day when you receive positive feedback will come. Assuming you're smart and did everything right.
Stop taking failures so painfully.
About Prices for Paintings
The question of pricing is perhaps one of the most complex for artists. Always. Always! You'll hear polar opinions, from "why so expensive" to "why so cheap." And they'll add, in a friendly whisper: "Tell me, can you even paint?" I suggest we silence this whisper and sideline discussions about artistic and masterpiece value.
What determines the price? No matter how much you think and ask, the decision is ultimately yours. Accept it. You decide how much your work is worth and at what price to exhibit it on a specifically chosen platform for online art sales. In doing so, perhaps you consider several factors important to you personally.
For example, I'm amazed at the question of how much time I spent on a piece. But for some artists, this is important. Or what's difficult for one to draw might be easy for me. For instance. I also often browse what's being exhibited on sales websites and auctions. Sizes, levels, prices. And, most importantly, the level of name and career comparable to yours. Here's a quote from some comments directed at me personally as an author: "You're not La Fe!" Yes, I'm not La Fe, nor are many worthy masters of watercolor painting and drawing. And those masters aren't all architects. Get the idea?
Here's the thing. When you see a work and its selling price, make sure it's actually being bought. Because if what you see isn't selling, then the price means nothing. And another important point. Having low prices as an idea isn't good at all. Let me tell you a story.
I was browsing works for sale posted in one of the Facebook groups. There was a very decent copy of Shishkin's painting. The first thing that caught my eye was the price being too low. Very. You can't imagine how many questions it raised! And not from happy buyers, eagerly clutching money in their hands. But from specialists. And buyers read all these dialogues and discussions and draw their own conclusions. If you're tired of selling at reduced prices, then raise them urgently! There's a chance that sales will increase.
And I know what's happening. That nothing sells at your low prices. Why? That's a separate topic for another article. So you sit there with a pile of works and no profit. That's why it's become tiresome. Raise your prices.
For some reason, people usually take into account only time and materials. They take out a calculator, do some math. Look at the art market around them. And are surprised. Where's the artist's profit? Why don't you pay yourself? But you want the buyer to pay.
Another story. This time about my hand-painted T-shirts. I collected almost 1000 comments under a post on social media in one evening. On one hand, people started calculating the quality of the cotton in the T-shirt and its price. On the other, they showed comparisons and prices. I was amazed. Thankfully, they started calculating the paint consumption. Nobody thought about the artist's labor. To create a design and paint it personally. And when I looked at the examples they sent… when I subtracted the price of the finished T-shirt from the actual T-shirt price, it was sad – what's left for the artist?
Here's what I do. I have prices for each work. I change them periodically. It mainly depends on the presentation and the platform I exhibit on. I also consider the nomination. There's a difference between "decor" and "original by the author," after all. Plus, I know the shipping costs to different countries. And I always base my prices on my profit. What else, in my opinion, is important when I set the price? The price range from $30 to $300. So there's a choice. Besides, it's emotionally difficult to part with some artworks. It happens, yes. I have a whole folder in the closet called "not for sale." Thick.
Set a price that you're willing to part with, and it will cover your lost emotions. Not for 50, but for 370, okay, take it. Got it? Here's to good buyers lining up for your paintings! And to decent profits!
What prevents artists and sculptors from selling
Lack of truth. About themselves. About the level of their creativity. About the number of paintings and series. When you listen to an artist, they have paintings for museums. But when you look, they're just for a small kitchen wall.
Lack of truth about their work capacity and ability to see things through, to be consistent. Yes, discipline, that's the key. Most artists turn to painting due to social unrest. And they lack the skill to achieve goals. Suddenly, they won't emerge as artists from anywhere. If someone is a professional failure, they are a failure in all areas of business. The mess in the mind is inexhaustible. And denial of the actual situation is widespread.
The desire to shift responsibility onto others is common. With rare exceptions. Those exceptions manage to sell their paintings.
What needs to be done first? First, see and understand the starting point. What you actually have in terms of paintings and discipline. A honest audit, so to speak. And then think about what can be done about it. Understandably, you don't want to. Understandably, there are a hundred reasons why you're not doing it and there will be a hundred urgent tasks just to avoid doing it. Understandably, you lie to yourself about being active. I'm not talking about self-criticism right now. I'm talking about clear data analysis without exaggerated expectations. About facing the reality of the situation.
If you keep records and note the date and volume of series of paintings created. If you note how much time and money is spent. And keep records for at least a month, then the picture of activity looks completely different from the rosy brain of the artist. Very often, what he imagines and what actually happens don't match at all. What do you think? Write to me.
How to evaluate
How much does it cost? How to evaluate? What does "expensive" mean? Periodically, we discuss this topic in the group "How to sell your paintings?" Specifically, this means that the artist shares their work with a description, and fellow artists evaluate, discuss, and share their experiences.
It's easy to say, I smile. There's no abstract price or simple sale. Never. There's always a real, specific piece of work. And that's not enough. Because for each specific piece of work, there's a target audience. And that's still not enough. The main question: where are you selling your work, on which platform?
If we're talking about the internet, then through which website, platform? Specialized online galleries and auctions by style? Are there mixed platforms, marketplaces? Also, you can promote-advertise-sell through your profile and pages on social media and online. In this case, the price is influenced by your self-esteem, and the purchases are influenced by your influence and reputation as an artist. This is what it's all about. The mechanisms and justification of the price, as well as the amounts, are different. I can give you a real-life example from the realm of intimacy. There's no abstract intimacy, agree?
There's a moment between real, specific man and woman, in a specific time and space. And it's not "in general, overall" and "theoretically." Paintings are the same. I look at the maximum possible price in this location, platform, website. In real, as they say now, offline life. For one person, $5000 is nothing, while another lives on it for half a year. The value of the work. When you sell, you need to first show the value of your work. And the buyer puts forth the maximum amount they can afford. Only in this case can we say that the painting is expensive and valuable.
Yet the works deserve decent payment
Monday morning. Scrolling through my social media feed. I come across posts from an artist who has put their paintings up for sale. I read his comments about buyers, the artist's dialogue with the audience goes as follows:
– "People who have money are not very smart or decent."
– "Many are. Fortunately, there are exceptions."
– "All exceptions will soon go bankrupt."
While the mind despises affluent buyers (yes, probably not just buyers, and they can only be considered affluent from the artist's personal perspective), selling paintings is pointless. Perhaps it's cool in the author's eyes to flaunt contempt for people and arrogantly pride oneself on being broke. What a shame. His works are good.
The author doesn't consider it worthwhile for himself or his works to be paid decently. And he humiliates not only buyers but also his own creativity. The problem is that when such an artist comes to me saying, "Come on, Galina, what do I need to do to sell?" my communication with him makes no sense.
Because as long as there's stinking garbage in his mind, all technologies and methods are blocked. Do you think you must always be a martyr? Everything is very complicated? Do you enjoy the closed circle of suffering? That's not our way. Because my work is aimed at making people more prosperous and happy. Have you encountered such artists? How did you feel afterwards?
What do you expect from buyers?
Unfortunately, your expectations don't always align with reality. Among the people you interact with regarding sales, only about 10-20% are reasonable and adequate clients. Meanwhile, they browse, visit galleries and pages of other artists, hang out in art groups, and to some extent, understand the subject of discussion and selection.
Therefore, artists often immediately set a lower bar for clients. They lower prices "just to make a sale," cover shipping costs if not initially included in the price. "Oh, they bought it!," they say without requiring full payment upfront before sending the artwork. Sometimes, they even give 2-3 additional works instead of one. This used to be a trend.
But now let's break it down. Despite the majority constantly complaining about how and where to find clients, how to sell for decent money, what to do, they all buy only at reduced prices and very rarely. How do you even start sales?
Always. There are artists who are bought for decent sums, sums they set themselves, not just once, but many times over. Am I clear? And it's true, they buy 2-3-4 paintings at once, or collections, from both new and regular buyers, from art lovers and admirers of their work.
Now, pay attention. Do they buy the best art? The most skilled in composition, color, concept, and subject? The most original? No. The answer is very simple. These purchased artists behave naturally with buyers, both online and offline. They are authentic. They don't flirt or bend over backwards for customers. There are no hidden meanings and messages in their photos, videos, and texts. I've made videos about this, about impressions from profiles. They are confident that their art is needed both by themselves and by people. And it's these artists as personalities that clients choose.
What's really happening? Look. In reality, you're genuinely afraid of sales and clients. And to avoid this, you come up with high standards that, in your opinion, clients should meet to buy your artwork.
All these discussions about the level of clients' education, their popular preferences, the development of taste, you gobble them up with big spoons, even often initiating them yourselves. It feels like before buying, the client should personally pass exams on art history and at least on the basics of spatial composition. The same goes for texts about devaluing famous sales for fairly high amounts, devaluing notable works, and then, to top it off, devaluing the authors, your own colleagues.
In reality, you want to distance yourself from sales as much as possible. Your dream clients never show up. They're all simple, uneducated, want the same thing, not established, not well-off. But I'm a star. And they're not. That's why you don't have clients. It's a very convenient position.
Now look closely. The reason you don't have clients is not because you set such requirements for them. It's because you fundamentally have problems in building healthy relationships. It happens in life in different spheres and, of course, affects the sale of your paintings.
Many buyers try to find and buy paintings, but can't. For the same reason. They're afraid to communicate, discuss, make decisions, afraid of responsibility and commitments.
What should you do? Solve this problem. Stop being afraid of clients and all activities associated with them. Stop being afraid of people, deliveries, payment methods, price ranges, negotiations, gallery websites, and everything else. Then all bars will be removed, expectations will disappear. And you'll finally start showing your works and presenting yourself as you truly are. You'll say to me, "What's the point of discussing the price of your painting and delivery method if you're simply scared of clients and don't even show your face to them?"
Oh yes, I almost forgot, that clients simply lack taste and education to buy your painting. And those who are developed and have it, for some reason, don't have money. And they don't want it for free either. Where will this lead? It will lead to you starting to love your works first. And potential buyers will see you, you'll catch their eye. Then the most important thing: your works will captivate the viewer, and you as a person will interest them. And then it's just a matter of technique: negotiations, payment, delivery, and mutual happiness.
Think about why you need this
If you want to become the coolest artist in the world, collaborate exclusively for a couple hundred thousand dollars for a sketch, and hang out with celebrities, then it's better not to start.
If you've heard something about an artist who showcased controversial works or dreamt of museum fame, then it's better not to start. In short, if you want everything all at once, then it's better not to start.
You should only start in one case. If hundreds of fresh ideas are swirling in your head, itching to be unleashed onto paper no matter what. And if you're okay financially even without drawing.
The profession of an artist, in terms of prestige, income, and effort, holds a high position. But not for everyone. And not everywhere. Be prepared to hear "what's the big deal about waving a brush here" and "why get tired from just moving a pencil on paper," as well as the masterpiece "and you're asking for so much money for these three lines?"
You probably won't make huge amounts of money. But you'll definitely ruin your nervous system and all other aspects of your health. If you have a dog or a parrot, they'll die. Firstly, you won't have anything to feed them, and secondly, you simply won't have time. If that doesn't stop you, then keep reading. When an artist says they're an artist.
When an Artist Says They're an Artist
How can an artist attract clients without advertising? Let's start by understanding what advertising is. If an artist runs their blog, which automatically increases the site's ranking in search engine ratings and boosts traffic to the site, is that advertising?
And what if the artist writes a very useful post, providing valuable recommendations? And then they want as many people as possible to benefit from these recommendations? Because they're genuinely helpful. How should we perceive a request to share the post in a group with 100,000 followers?
Yes, undoubtedly, when an artist shouts about being the best among all artists, it doesn't look great, agreed. And if they further promote themselves in ads with a cry of "come to me, I'll draw everyone better than anyone!" I sense your smiles. But. If an artist knows how to, for example, decorate a living room or office, or how to draw an apple, or choose brushes, and they write a series of posts about it in their group or profile, why not share this useful series with people? They're not directly advertising themselves. They're not promoting their services overtly and with a shout. They're doing it much more delicately and effectively. They simply provide value in their posts and want as many people as possible to read them to genuinely help as many people as possible.
Thanks to these actions, on one hand, information about the artist spreads, and on the other hand, clients find them and place orders. Everyone reads tons of articles and posts on Facebook. Suddenly, they come across an article by an Artist. The reader likes it and subscribes to a series of similar posts. It's all ethical and beautiful, isn't it? Then the reader feels a connection with the Artist, resonates with something (or doesn't, everyone has their preferences), and reaches out to the artist to buy paintings. Here, too, everything is ethical.
How will you know if it worked?
In my opinion, knowing the answer to this question is very important. People come to me with the request "teach me how to draw." But how will you know when you're already capable and have learned?
Another request is "how to sell paintings?" How will you know when you're capable of selling your paintings? The question is not as simple as it seems at first glance. When I was learning, my teachers of drawing and painting often used to say a phrase for some reason: "Well, now you've learned how to do a job that puts bread and butter on the table." We didn't just draw or come up with ideas. We worked. We thought with our hands. This phrase was uttered every time we submitted our work. A special praise sounded like "This is already caviar on bread and butter." It might seem like a triviality… but you never know what might strike a chord with someone.
This was in the early 90s. Back then, there were no Lexuses, laptops, or iPhones. We used ink and a pen to show frost on bare tree branches. The quality of execution (not the idea or the flight of thought) was evaluated separately. Do you catch my drift? Why am I telling you this? I'm showing you an achievement. What I'm capable of. Doing. Such works and selling them. It hit me literally the other day. And how do you personally understand when you've achieved something?
Impressions from browsing an online gallery
Saturday night thoughts. Impressions from viewing a mass of artworks, more than 15,000 in a couple of days. I was looking in a popular online gallery, in the painting category.
And do you know what tired me out? What predominates in the mass of works?
From fashionable abstract portraits. Very colorful. I especially note the expressions on the faces, they are either frightened or angry mostly. And this combination of depression in emotion and vividness in presentation gives a dual feeling, unpleasant for me personally.
From smudges with dirty shades, a messy mishmash passed off as flights of fancy in abstraction. Well, of course, it's all abstraction. It's just widespread and mass trash. Where do artists get so much dirt in color, it's a mystery. Why they choose to make the size of the work bigger, that's also a mystery to me.
And the masterpieces. Human bodies with distorted proportions. No, it's not a technique working on the idea in a series of paintings. It's one leg longer than the other in mid-air. It's rubbery stretched arms that, if straightened alongside the body, reach the knees. And naked bodies fragmented, with a focus on the genitalia. You know, they depict something very strained, and with wild shades too.
What did the eyes find restful? On proper proportions. On skillful color solutions. On techniques that work for the idea and are fully justified. And on realism. Yes-yes. Among the fashionable abstractions, realistic works attract. This is what I wanted to look at, and I wanted to get to know the authors.
And it turns out that these authors not only have decent paintings. But also decent graphics and drawing. Even if they have different themes and genres and subjects and fantasies. I am all for good taste. In both abstraction and realism. And for respectful treatment of the human body. And you, as you browse through the works of other artists in large numbers, what do they exhibit? What are your overall impressions? Please share.
Communication in social media posts
Why do I ask for a description and make a request when posting your paintings as separate posts? Description in the post with the painting: it's the author, technique, size, year of creation, country (city), preferably the title. This description is also called "cataloging," meaning the method accepted in catalogs.
The rest is a request. What is a request? It's either a question or a plea. A question that can be answered and then discussed. A plea is similar. From the series: advise, help, what do you think, all questions go here. Responding to a post without a question is not a very good reaction. So, the artist wrote something. And? There's no question. Here are also the expectations from participants that they will write something about the painting, and then the complaints about not being recognized.
Firstly, these are your personal expectations from others. What are they based on? On your own individual reasons.
Secondly, you don't even voice your expectations and needs. What should people comment on in this case? No question, no answer. And that's it.
And a normal reaction would be to write without a question on another topic, if you feel like it, of course. Phrases without anything, just talking about everything and nothing, and then sighing that nobody responded to me, I'm so tired, I thought it would be different, and so on, are also in this category. And what do you think, colleagues?
Sell yourself, the rest will follow
Tell me, who do you usually trust 100%? That's right, people who are authorities to you. That's your brand. Let me explain. I build my image in such a way that people, seeing and hearing my name, know what to expect from me. It may seem impossible, but it's much simpler than you think.
You need to promote yourself everywhere and always. Promote yourself wisely and cleverly. And for this to work well, I try to showcase my skills in the field where I'm promoting myself. Choose what you like the most. Is there something that "hooks" you? Develop that theme.
So, how do things usually unfold? Here's the standard scenario of what I'm actually selling. Let's break it down step by step.
Firstly, why should I interact with people in real life, offline, if there are millions of potential clients on the Internet and ready-made websites-galleries?
After a month. If someone had told me about free advertising methods earlier. Oh, and by the way, can someone explain to me why advertise your website and page?
And another month later. Why am I even trying to sell my paintings independently? There must be another way! And what am I actually selling?
And after several months of such actions, I finally understand. Here's what I understand. Maybe the main product for sale is not the paintings? Not drawing lessons? Not courses on art history?
So here's the thing. I don't want you to spend half a year before you come to this rare thought.
My Most Important product is ME.
Your Most Important product is YOU.
Yes, many have heard about this. Few understand it, let alone apply it. You can clearly see in your genre's niche that there are artists who effortlessly sell a couple of works every day and even get commissions. And then there are those who can barely sell 1-2 paintings a month. Or there's a huge difference in the price of their work, hence the artist's profit. Why? My paintings are not bought because I have an incredible storyline or my watercolor is more "watercolorish" than other artists'. It's because they like me. So, the question is different. How do you establish yourself in the target market? How do you make clients come to you? It's a great question. And almost no one teaches the answer. Usually, they suggest painting more. How does all of this work on the Internet? Through content that meets the needs of your ideal clients. Start sharing experiences, cases.
I feel like many members of the group are tense right now, especially newcomers. I'm not commenting on the level of artistic mastery. In this group, I'm dealing with something else. Your education and biography interest me at the "who you are and what you do" stage as a fact.
But what really matters to me is what you create as an artist, what your art is about, and why you create it. I share the approach to painting, drawing as a profession from art therapy. The approach, attitude, and your subsequent actions matter. It's important. In short, a professional has ongoing development and continuation in the theme, technique. And discipline. If something needs to be done by a certain date, they will do it well and on time. They won't wait for inspiration and conditions. This is the approach to a profession.
Unexpected Moment
An unexpected moment you may not even be aware of when you want to sell your paintings. Any sale involves communication, interaction with the buyer or dealer. When you post your paintings in our group without any identifying text or request, it's your habit of communicating. And you're most likely behaving the same way elsewhere. What's wrong with this situation for you?
Well, you have a whole bag of problems. You don't want to read the group rules. So, you're not even interested in knowing where you've been accepted. You read how things are done here, but you don't care. You're special and unique. Who cares what anyone else says? So what if there are over 4000 other members in the group besides you? People? Who are they?
You think it's okay to steal other people's time and attention so they can look at your work without a description, questions, or relevant requests. You're incapable of learning because learning means reading, learning, and applying immediately. Everything else just flies over your head, connections, and money.
Selling paintings requires learning a lot of things. And applying them immediately with manic persistence. That's when you're really learning, not just consuming information like popcorn at the movies, and there's a chance you'll meet at least 30% of your expectations and ambitions. If it's 50%, even better. Then you're being bought on a regular basis.
If you lack brains and respect, that's your problem. Admins delete silently and immediately. Start with the fact that you and your paintings are unknown to anyone in general. And people generally don't care what streams of consciousness you poured onto canvas and paper. Harsh? Offensive? Your problems.
When you come to a popular online store, a platform with services, a website, and a gallery for selling paintings, you have to abide by the established rules. Rules that the platform operates on. Rules set by others long before you decided to come and bless everyone with your ingenious, unique, and incomparable paintings in your signature technique with a masterful composition. You'll have to consider that there are people around you. Surprising, isn't it? But you're not just interested in everyone, not just anyone, agree.
You need those who have resources that you don't: knowledge, practical experience, money, time. Because you want something in return for your publication. An opinion, consultation, advice, problem-solving. And here's more bad news for you. There's always a queue for such people. Always. There's a big crowd of people like you, wanting to get something. And you're one of them. Unpleasant? Your problems.
And now the question. One you'll definitely encounter when showing your work to buyers, viewers, dealers, curators, producers, patrons. And you'll have to answer it. Why should time be spent on you as an artist and your work?
When does good art become great?
Good art becomes great only when it creates a unique and personal connection between the artist and their audience.
This statement comes from a famous art fair that recently generated significant revenue and entered the top 20 leading global platforms of contemporary art. And they are right. Why? Because you create art objects – paintings, sculptures. You embody your feelings on paper, canvas. You pour out your imagination in creative realization.
This is a rare gift. A sparkling gem. Have you ever wondered why these ideas, feelings, thoughts, desires come to your mind? Have you ever thought that the painting, sculpture, photograph you create is just an intermediate step? Not the final result of creativity? Have you ever thought that you create art not to hide it, but to act? To show, demonstrate, share, talk about it. As soon as you start to act, opportunities for promoting and selling your paintings come to you.
And the next series of ideas and feelings come wave after wave straight into your hands. This is my favorite involvement. Interaction. Between you as artists and viewers. You and buyers. Between you as a person and your feelings, desires, thoughts. From which you create art.
And all this comes to you to become accessible to others. Present your creativity. Reveal yourself to others. Publish. Share. Sell. Act. Otherwise, this gift goes away with the opportunities. And you are left with nothing. Good art becomes great only when it creates a unique and personal connection between the artist and their audience.
Artists on Results
These are reviews and some results from artists who have benefited from thematic learning and the application of recommendations from posts in the general group, starting from 2017. We continue to collaborate closely to this day.
When did it all happen? In late July and early August 2018. It was a small real-time experiment, lasting 2 weeks, at the request of the artist Alexander H. The format of communication was video, live streams, and posts. Each time a separate theme and homework. Sometimes such a format is called a marathon. Then the analysis of the completed task and again a new topic. Finally, feedback. Often they ask, "But how many paintings did he sell?"
See the message from the messenger after some time:
"Galina, hello! Do you remember me? Last summer, I painted one picture, large and quickly. Recorded a video process. Did it in 2 days. No more. And left it to finish later, if necessary. Well, those are the details. In short, I put it up for sale on the Masters Fair. I priced it at 34 thousand rubles. It seemed excessive to me. And what? It was bought. First. Just like that. Much of it is your support and knowledge. So thank you for explaining the inexplicable nature of the buyer and the inexplicable pricing! In short, you have to work hard to understand them! And that's heartening!"
Alexander H.
Two weeks Galina taught me how to sell my paintings. Selling them online, and that's important. I tried. And here, briefly, what I learned for myself. Look. Two weeks ago (July-August 2018), we organized an experiment. It was organized by Galina, she created the group "How to sell your paintings?" I found it interesting, and she invited me to participate in this experiment.
And the essence is this. She gives me recommendations, I follow them, and I must have a result. 2 weeks have passed, and I am giving feedback on what I learned and what it gave me. And generally, what I came up with myself, what I learned from her, and how useful it was for me.
What did I learn? First. When Galina started looking at me on the internet, looked at my profile online, she said that I have about 200 friends, which is very few.
This surprised me. This amazed me. Because I thought that friends are those friends who are actually friends. And I thought, "Wow, 200 friends – that's a lot!" But it turns out that on the internet, friends, online friends, or somewhere online – these are not friends. They are not really friends.
It may sound cynical, but it's Target Audience. And you need your friends to turn into your Target Audience. And what is Target Audience? These are the people who are your potential buyers. Well, how can you sell a painting if you don't have buyers? You can't. So you need to work on this target audience, you need to find those people who can buy this painting.
What friends did I have? I looked, found artists I liked, and added them as friends. I liked what they did, and maybe they liked what I did. But it's hard to imagine that an artist will buy from another artist. And indeed, why would I buy a painting from my colleague?
I realized that something needed to change. There should be many, very many of these "friends." And the quality of these friends is also important. That is, these should be potential buyers who are interested in painting, interested in pictures, they are busy with something: perhaps repairs, construction. Interior decoration, and much more.
You need to understand who needs this. And you need to spend time finding them. It won't just happen. Spend time finding them. And take it seriously. Imagine sitting in your studio, painting a picture and thinking that you're a great artist, and when you paint it, everyone will come to see it.
No. Actually, no one knows about this workshop, about you. And actually, you're not needed by anyone. Because there are plenty of paintings! And no one will remember you or think about you if you don't announce yourself! Now – how to do it? How to announce yourself? I'm not talking about how to paint a picture, everyone can do that themselves, and it's completely uninteresting now.
Because there are many artists, and each one thinks they're a genius, and let them think so. It's very good. As soon as you paint a picture, it turns out that it's not even the middle of the process. It's not even half, what you painted. I've come up with a formula for myself: anyone can paint. But try to sell it. Try to find that person who needs it. And here the artist is at a loss. There are people who from birth, besides drawing, can sell themselves and successfully do it.
And most artists don't know how to do that. So you need to learn. There's one more thing. How does the internet differ advantageously from a store? The store's premises cost money. And every picture displayed there can hang there for months, years, who knows when they'll buy it, and it also costs money. And on the internet, it can hang and eventually it will definitely sell.
To live by painting, you need to paint many pictures and know how to present them. And attract as much audience to your store as possible. And then there will be success. That's what I understood for myself. And I am very grateful to Galina for this information.
I started painting pictures for this purpose. And Galina taught me how to do it. And that's all correct. She told me what texts to write. She told me how to shoot videos. You need to show that what you're drawing is not just copied, but you painted your own picture. You need to try to make this content, in addition to pictures. Write interesting texts and engage people. Because they won't buy right away, but they'll want, hypothetically, to come to your studio and see who you are. And if they find it interesting, they'll buy this picture from you. And if it's not interesting, then goodbye. That's it, I guess. That's all.
Pavel S.
Participation in this project brought me not only pleasure but quiet joy and happiness. The most challenging aspect for me was to not get distracted from completing the tasks. My mind constantly wandered back to my usual rhythm of life. I came to the conclusion that the proposed interaction scheme and method of systematization are extremely optimal for me.
Diligence, ambition, and concentration began to develop. I started to understand the correctness of actions and the reasons why they need to be done this way. The information published by Galina began to be perceived clearly and comprehensibly, something in the world has changed or within me… in a local sense, yes, it would be nice, and in a global sense.
The most difficult part for me was to recall all the pleasant and unpleasant moments from my creative work. I was really torn after I chose paintings for sale and began systematically completing subsequent tasks. What struck me was that it's impossible to engage in creativity and sell paintings while compromising your soul in any way. I felt and still feel naked and transparent during my participation in the project.
The project was given to me with titanic efforts, and a breakthrough came after the start of the tag phase. It was also easy for me to start. But the gap between, how Galina managed to so accurately predict the question that was right for me – I don't know. The gap between choosing paintings and starting to perform tasks on tags was comparable to the Second World War with all its horrors and the joys of victory, inside me.
And now I'll add from myself (Art Galina). In selling paintings, there are technical and personal aspects. Personal ones are the most difficult. First of all, the relationship with oneself. I am grateful to Pavel for his openness in expressing feelings and sincerity, for his trust. He has good dynamics because there was a dialogue between us. We talked, talked, talked for a month. And all the ideas that came to him during our communication within the project are his ideas and thoughts. And all the achievements, results, successes, defeats that will come after the project is completed also belong to him.
Liliya V.
Good day, friends. I wanted to write a few words of thanks to Galina for the advanced, intensive courses on selling paintings. Excellent presentation of information, even the busiest person will be able to master and understand everything. Alongside the classes, participants develop their own thoughts and ideas.
And everyone knows that when you are in a creative flow, you progress towards your goal much faster. Bravo, Master! Perhaps, as of today, this is the best course! I am very satisfied with the results. I am a graduate of the first stream of the "How to sell your paintings" school.
What did learning give me? First of all, liberation from my fears, uncertainties, and limitations in terms of online communication, I also acquired amazing skills in sales practice.
Result: 30 paintings sold in six months.
I have an art dealer who actively promotes my works in virtual galleries, I have been accepted into the Professional Union of Abstractionists of Russia. And most importantly: my perception of life has changed. Now you also have the unique opportunity to take a course at the School from a real Professional in the field of painting sales, Galina. Create! Learn! Teach! Friends! Listen to me carefully, please! I have been trained by Galina and continue to do so.
Result: 100 paintings sold in a year! Different formats and prices. I can say that every word of hers is worth its weight in gold, believe me. Just try to do everything she says! There are no analogs at the moment.
Irina B.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I could only watch some of the videos. And I only completed the first part of the tasks. But I thank you, Galina, for the work done and the experience you shared with us.
Svetlana B.
Dear Galina! Thanks to your advice, publications, and, of course, lessons, I revised both my attitude towards work and made adjustments to the content on the website. It took a lot of time. But at the same time, I continue systematic work on the painting. Then I start writing a series of paintings, albeit small for now. But we'll see how it goes.
I want to boast. As a result of correcting texts, headlines, and other tricks according to your advice (they are suitable not only for one gallery, if anything). Here are my results for low-frequency keywords: my work is in the second row, a girl in a colored scarf. My website is only a few weeks old. (screenshot from the search results).
Nataly Ut.
Hello, artists! Good evening, colleagues. I want to reveal a secret and lift the veil of mystery. Yes, yes. Interested? Well, okay, I'll tell you.
The thing is, I've already completed the course "How to sell paintings" with Galina. The training was in a group. I changed a lot since the beginning of the classes, I was my own artist, and I became… well, I'm not very well-known and not mega-selling like a modern artist. But I will be. It's all in progress. It depends on me, of course, not the mentor. The teacher did everything she could, and the support in the group from classmates was colossal. That's the kind of collaboration with Galina. Everything happened over the internet, and it's interesting, modern, and… difficult. To overcome your laziness, for example.
Now I'm watching what happens with Alexander H, and it's also instructive, I'll tell you, even incredible! An artist, an adult, and how he struggles, and the rearrangement, the restructuring of thoughts and insights. If you haven't experienced this, you may not understand. Sometimes we narrow our focus, focusing on quick results. Success to all goal-oriented and creative individuals! And have a good time of day!
Irina B.
I came to the course late, having lingered in the group "How to sell your paintings," which was created and led by Galina. I didn't realize that the enrollment for the course on my hot request "how to systematically build marketing for your creativity without a marketer and art agent" was ending. My lateness turned out to be fortunate. I appreciate the concentrated delivery of material, everything at once and in one place.
Now I know that potential buyers can be divided into four groups. And selling your creativity should be done in four different ways. However, there's also a fifth way: do nothing. But, that's the wrong way.
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