What’s with all the advice from “gurus” who aren’t artists, or artists who aren’t actually able to sell their own work…?!
Where do Artists acquire their Marketing Skills?!
If you ask 100 artists where they got their ideas about selling art…
- Guesswork
- Rumor
- Conjecture
- Locker room tips
- and a swamp of bad 3 am advice on the internet.
And most artists, like these pimply faced teens, are pretty sure they’re not quite getting it right.
Results thus far are extremely underwhelming.
And I suppose it’s not really their fault; an artist can go through a whole four years of university and not get EVEN ONE class on marketing!
In fact, the whole art establishment seems to think itself being “above selling art”.
They’d have us all believe that art and commerce aren’t supposed to go together. They snort derisively and insist that introducing any sort of marketing, ruins the validity the of the art.
They seem to forget that the Sistine Chapel was a gig!
Yup. This was ‘work for hire’…
I guess we’re just supposed to sit in squalor, eating the bark off of trees, while we create things and let them pile up to the ceiling because somehow, at any minute, somebody with a purse of gold is going to burst through the door and WILL be so overcome with your artistic vision that they bury you under an avalanche of cash, and launch your career by introducing you to all their equally rich and oddly art-starved high-society friends, and all your problems will magically disappear FOREVER!
Oh brother.
I gotta tell you, hope and crossed fingers are a pretty lousy business plan.
Most artists understand that intuitively, and would love to have a nice tidy career selling their art to a group of enthusiastic buyers.
And it’s a lovely thought, but how do they go about that?!
- “How do I sell more art?”
- “How can I find my target market?”
- “I can’t get into any galleries!”
- “I don’t have any connections!”
- “People around here don’t appreciate art!”
- “I have a website but no one’s buying!”
- “Where are these mythical collectors?”
- “I have a ton of likes and followers but no customers!”
How do you DO it?”
Yeah, it’s no secret that there’s a frustrating lack of down-to-earth, practical, and proven methods of selling art. Lots of snake oil, rumors, bad advice, and fast-talk, but not much useful stuff.
Maybe that’s just as well, because almost everything being taught about selling art or being a professional artist is either outdated or just plain wrong!
“Well who are you, and what makes you an expert in this?”
My name is Owen Garratt, but you might know me as The Pencilneck ®
- Rock and TV star Gene Simmons
- Supermodel Kathy Ireland
- ‘Ironman’ Cal Ripken Jr
- Country star John Rich
- Best-selling author Mark Victor Hansen
- Comedienne Joan Rivers
- TV’s original Batman Adam West
- Barbara Corcoran from TV’s “Shark Tank”
- NFL Superstar Emmitt Smith
- Heavyweight champ George Foreman
- Entertainment Icon William Shatner
- Oscar Winning Producer Peter Guber
- Penn Jillette from Penn and Teller
- Rick Harrison from TV’s “Pawn Stars”
It’s about living the way you want to live
I sell my own artwork, and in over 20 years I’ve learned a ton, and I’m ready to share what I’ve learned with other artists
