Researching Art Sales

Why should someone buy my art?  

I have spent so much time just drawing for myself, that the question never occurred to me.  Oddly, the question must have been asked in that abyss we call the subconscious mind.   It's amazing what can surface from that darkness.

I Googled the question.

Ink Study on paper
Early 2000

There are a lot of writings on the subject available.  Too much to read in a lifetime.  Almost all of the writers I looked at were marketers.   In fact, I don't remember reading anything from the artist's point of view.  I don't trust marketing writers.  Probably a bit paranoid on my part; but, why would someone tell me how to do what they get paid to do?  

So, let's start with the following question:  Why do I buy art?  That is easier for me to answer.

• Because I like the piece.
• Because I can afford the price.
• Because I have room for it.

After I display a piece,  the art affects the room I am in.  I can't help but to notice that.  It has not lead to a planned interior design, mainly because I kind of like how things develop over time without planning.  

There are people who plan every detail of their lives.  I don't understand the impulse, but they get real frustrated when things don't go as planned.

Abstract Oil Painting
2020

That suggests to me that there may be more to that than meets the eye.  If one of those people buys my art, it's because something in my art fits their plan for a room, house, or even their life.   Not really a collector, but a decorator or designer.

Some people are not as concerned about an orderly life.  One collector, an owner of a famous art gallery in NY City, would just fill a room with purchased art, no plan.  Everything was just stacked in, like a chaotic warehouse.  Yet, his business thrived.  He just purchased pieces that caught his eye. 

I have no idea what would appeal to this type of collector, no idea how to get my work in front of one, and no idea if that would be worth the effort..

I have used two very broad terms for describing people who buy art:

Designer:  The plan drives the art.

Collector:  The art drives the plan, if there is a plan.

Are such labels really necessary?  Well, yes if you want to understand something.  Besides, they are more of spectrum than set definitions.  Most people are not so extreme.

So a designer can be a professional decorator or a licensed designer, a D.I.Y. junkie etc.  The difference lies in training and legal definitions for licensing.  Corporations who collect art, well invest in art, on a regular basis fit into the designer category by using professional curators to evaluate art in terms of corporate image and monetary value.    

A collector can be anyone.  They may or may not have guidelines.  They may or may not display their collection.   They may be looking for the latest thing, for a certain style, for historical period, or what ever catches their eye.  

So how is this analysis applied?  It's no good unless some action is applied.

First decide who you want to appeal to.   Adjust your sales pitch to their needs.  More research will be needed.

Don't change your work to fit them, just the sales pitch.   Your art is your art.

Second  Research how people purchase art.  Professional designers have markets that cater to them which are different from DIY markets.  While a collector might need a more personal approach.

Of course, this is just me trying to grapple with the issues.  It's a work in progress.   There will be a lot left out of this article, but one thing is certain, you have to put in the effort.  

 

Artist: JMW Turner
Landscape with Water

Now what makes a painting attractive?  

If we are were talking about flies, then the answer is scent.  

My silly friend, we are discussing people.  Specifically, people who want to purchase our paintings.   

Ah, yes, my print of the Turner I keep on the wall.  The original is worth a lot of money these days.  I'm glad the museum has not sold it.  Prints are good, but nothing replaces being in front of the it.

Did you know he actually made a living as an artist?  He was not wealthy, but his works supported him.

He had patrons who supported his career by collecting and commissioning works.  And, he worked his way through his education employed by architects and artists.  Remember, he did not live in our world. Having a patron was being employed in those days.

His painting were popular, even the ones that approached abstraction, like the print on the wall.

A good start for our subject.

Apparently he was reclusive, and the following puzzles me, did not really care about about how long his pigments would retain their color.   His work faded quickly, a fact the critic Ruskin complained about in his writings.

A clue of sorts..

John Ruskin was the critic of his time.  If Ruskin was writing about your work, those who read articles by art critics would take the time to see your work.  Generally, this was middle class to wealthy people who were not working 12 hours a day, seven days a week.  To get noticed by Ruskin, you had to have your work accepted in the salons and shows of the age.

For this to work you had to have talent.  You had to hone that talent.  You had to put your work into the public eye for Art Critics to see.

So, you really didn't need to be an extroverted showman.  JMW Turner certainly wasn't that.

Today's world is a lot different.

For starters, our poor has the time to appreciate art, if they so desire.  There are a huge number of industries that employ artists.  It is possible to survive without selling one's own art.  

Oh, Patrons still exist, but they are not as prominent as they were in the 18th and 19th centuries.

No one has to leave their house and go to a gallery to see new art.  That is an option.  We have the internet, thus the world.  For all practical purposes, Turner was limited to London, and the European wealthy classes.

The world's population is what, around 8 billion right now.  Let's say 7 billion are not, for whatever reason, not interested in purchasing art.  That leaves 1 billion potential customers.  Say two artists for every customer.  That is two billion artists competing for attention.

Exactly how should I comprehend those numbers?

I can't.

We, my silly friend, are looking at this wrong.

Okay.  Okay.  

A bowl of cat food is set on the floor; and, Alex's patience pays off.   Her artist limps toward a camera tripod and he ends the video feed, called Alex vs Alex.   It's time for him to paint.