Are you an artist who has been moderately successful selling your originals, but have trouble making enough money to go full time?
Have you decided that you want to make a living from your artistic passion, but wonder how you can get the best start?
Maybe you are selling well, but are growing frustrated that people will not pay more for your work, and what was once a passion seems more like a job - cranking out one original after another with little time for rest?
Keep reading! I want to give you a little insight into some alternatives to selling your originals. Yes, I am treading on thin ice with some purist fine artists, but the truth is, using some method of reproducing your work gives you a lot more product to sell for a lot less work. And unless you look to the highest echelon of artists who sell originals for many tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, today's most successful artists sell a variety of product.
Once again, this is a simple business principle: offer your customers a wide variety of pricing, and your target market greatly increases.
If you have done any exhibiting whatsoever, whether in galleries or in open air festivals, you will doubtless have had numerous compliments about your work, but many fewer sales. So many people love your work, why aren't they buying? The most likely reason is that they can not afford it. Most people like art of one kind or another. Most people own art of one kind or another. Most people do not buy original art. They buy reproductions.
Even a small original priced very modestly at $200 is out of range for most of the population. The average person walking past your booth or display will more likely fork out for a piece of your work priced at $5-$50. And those sales add up. These are the types of sales that will allow you to continue participating in art shows and festivals. There is a far smaller chance of going home empty handed (or walleted) when you have a broad price range for your products. Having only original work and high-end giclee prints available leaves you prone to zero income for any given show. Yes, you might sell that one piece for $10,000, but what if you don't?
So, what are your options for selling your work in other ways? And of course, how much will it cost?
There are many different options, too many to go over in great detail here (I will do a complete article on that subject in a future post). I am going to focus on selling your work in print form, and show you the most popular and smartest ways to go about doing this.
Make Your Own Prints
If you are up to speed with computers, have a decent digital camera, and a quality color inkjet printer, you can start right now with your own prints. I will do a full article on this topic in the future, but the best way to learn is to give it a try. Make sure your art is well lit before photographing it, or scan it at a copy center if it isn't too big. The great advantage of this method is that you reap all the profit. No middle man involved. Therefore you can provide the best prices to your customers. Plus, you can really get some beautiful results this way. You can make a whole series of small open edition prints of your work. And if you sell from the web, you don't need to spend a penny until somebody places an order. One word of advice: make sure to provide these small prints in a standard size so that they can be framed easily and affordably. Figure your costs, down to the penny, then sell them from $5-30 depending on the price. Make sure to include your contact info and/or website on the print in a subtle place. Remember, every piece you sell is a little more publicity....take full advantage of that!
The down side of this method is that if you're not a big computer fan, getting your print quality and color correctness right can be a BIG headache. You can waste a lot of expensive ink and paper this way so be careful.
Lithographs and Posters
If you have a painting or photograph that you know will sell well and that you can distribute effectively, a lithograph is certainly something to consider. The big down side to this method is that you really need to have 500 or more prints made to get a good cost per print. High quality results can be achieved, and if you limit the edition and print on quality paper stock you can charge good prices for these. Alternatively, you can create an open edition poster and sell at competitive prices. If you go with a run size of 1000-1500, you can get costs down to less than $2 per print. Still, you're looking at a $1500-$3000 investment up front. You better know how you're going to sell these prior to making them.
Giclee Prints
This is a rather heavily debated topic these days among artists due to the mass proliferation of these types of prints. There is no question that if you can find a reliable and QUALITY giclee printer in your area, you will not achieve a print that comes closer to your original than a giclee. The massive advantage of the giclee is being able to print only a small run at a time, even as little as one print. Plus, you can print a variety of sizes as needed. Therefore, you can print a couple for a show, and not be spending too much out of pocket. These can also be printed on canvas and coated with varnish to give a really nice look to the final piece.
The up front cost with a giclee is in capturing a digital image of the artwork, and color correction of the digital image. Once these are done, currently you can expect to pay anywhere between $0.10 and $0.12 per sq. inch for a print. Giclees typically retail at a higher price than other prints, but will give you access to yet another target audience.
A note of warning: You can market giclees as "as close to the original as you'll get" but some die-hard collectors hate this medium, and would rather a limited production lithograph or an original. I think this stems from the ease at which giclees can be reprinted in a wide variety of editions and sizes for any given image, making it harder to truly "limit" an edition. Decide on your sizes, editions, etc before selling giclees and stick to them religiously for any given image. You do not want to be seen as unscrupulous.
Okay, this has already turned into a rather lengthy post, I will continue on the same topic in the near future. As always, your constructive feedback (postive and negative), and your opinions are welcomed. Please feel free to share your own experiences in this area. Thanks for reading!
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