Hello from rural Southwest Georgia!
This post is geared more for artists. Right now I am bursting with excitement, gratitude and inspiration, which is a terrific way to feel as we begin a new year. I've just finished my second-best year ever for sales, thanks largely to the marvelous galleries I am privileged to work with. I basically sold as many paintings as I created, which is very satisfactory.
December’s sold paintings
If you are reading this as a collector, thank you so much for making what I do possible. If you are reading this as an artist, perhaps at an earlier stage in your career, and are wondering, “How did they become successful?”, I would like to answer that question.
Here's what has worked for me over a 30+-year career:
Consider art galleries. They have the customers, give you shows, and handle all the sales. If you make an effort to be easy to work with and give them plenty of your best work, sales will follow.
Pursue excellence. I see many artists focusing on getting other stuff: followers, fame, money, shows, the elusive “success.” If you pursue excellence in your work, everything will come to you.
Be pleasant to work with. In anyone's career there will be business interactions involving mistakes, poor communication, unwanted criticism, no replies to emails, etc. I have known artists who have reputations for being difficult, are unprofessional, and generally don't play well with others. That type of behavior will get you nowhere near your goals, because if you intend to sell your work, you will have to deal with people.
Do the work. Keep working and your work will get better. Keep working even when the work isn't selling. The world is full of talented artists who are busy doing other things, and when your work does sell well you will need to keep up.
Keep the ideas flowing. When I am not painting, I am at the computer looking at my reference photos, putting together combinations and developing ideas into working compositions for future paintings. A good time for me to get this sort of work done is when I'm ready to sit down (I stand when I paint) or after a walk/workout. No artist wants to finish something only to be faced with having no idea what they will create next, so keep plenty of possibilities in the pipeline.
I hope this helps you, and I wish you every success this year—feel free to ask me a question in the comments below.
Rani