How Do You Know When It’s Time To Become An Artist?

Have you always wanted to be an artist, but you're waiting for the right time? Maybe you intend to become an artist when you feel you are good enough, or when you're in a better financial position, or when your kids have grown up and left home. When will that be? 5 years? 10 years? 20?

Let me tell you, if you're waiting for the perfect conditions before you can become an artist, you will be waiting a long time. The right time never comes, and there will always be some condition that is not quite right, and you'll have to wait a bit longer, then a bit longer, and a bit longer still. Before you know it you'll be retired. Maybe then you can be an artist.

If you don't feel like waiting that long, then you need to take action now. That doesn't mean you should necessarily quit your job today, but you definitely need to start taking steps towards your creative career, or it will never happen. Nobody is going to come to you one day and say "Ok, conditions are perfect now, you may be an artist." What you need to do is accept that there will be obstacles, and then do the best you can to overcome them.

So How Do I Do It?

The fact is I can't give you a step-by-step guide to making the transition to a creative career, because everyone's situation is different, so everyone will have different obstacles to overcome.

What I can do is tell you about my own creative journey, and give you some guidelines to point you in the right direction.

Disclaimer: My journey towards the Abundant Artist Lifestyle has only recently begun, so some of you may be way ahead of me here. But I know there will be people reading this who are in the same place I was in a few months ago, so if I can help those people to take the first steps on their creative career path, then that's good enough for me.

So here are the factors I considered when deciding to become an artist.

Recognizing The Need For Change

The first thing that happened for me, was that the dissatisfaction with my current situation began to outweigh the benefits of having a regular job.

I had been employed as a web designer for around four years, but I had never really been passionate about it. Eventually my dissatisfaction grew to a point where a regular monthly income was not enough for me, and I started to think seriously about making a change.

There will always be voices in the back of your mind telling you you'd be crazy to give up a paying job for the uncertainty of an art career. Those voices never really go away (and some of them are actually the voices of real people.)

But when these doubts start to overwhelm me, I can always rely on 3 simple words to get me focused again: "Life's too short!"

Life is too short to put off doing what you really know you should be doing. It's a cliché, but it's true. Steve Jobs used to get up every morning, look in the mirror and ask himself "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer had been "No" for too many days in a row, he knew he needed to change something.

So ask yourself the same question. Maybe it's time for a change.

Assessing Your Financial Needs

Obviously, we all need enough income to buy food to eat and pay the mortgage, rent, bills etc. so you need to think about how you will make money as an artist.

Personally, I was fortunate enough to have saved up some money to ease me through the transitional period, but not everyone will have this luxury, so you may need to do things differently.

Maybe you already have people lined up waiting for you to put your artwork on sale, or to start taking commissions. If so, that's great, you can start earning money from your art straight away.

But it's more likely that you'll have to build up sales gradually, do some self-promotion, and work hard at finding your target audience and getting your work in front of them. So you may need an additional source of income to begin with, until you are more established.

You could potentially keep your current job, but go part-time, or find another part-time job that is in a more creative field. There are plenty of ways to earn money from your artwork too, so with a bit of hard work you should be able to find a way to support yourself.

When I first left my job, I didn't fully commit to working as an artist at first. I decided I would work as a freelance web designer, but specializing in building websites for artists. That way I figured I could continue to earn a decent income, while starting to work in the artistic community.

I only did this for a few weeks before I decided now was as good a time as any to put all my efforts into my artwork. So I hung up my web designer hat, and officially declared myself an artist.

Now I'm primarily earning money from art commissions, which I get through my art portfolio site. I have had that site online for several years now, so I already have a decent sized audience who I can sell to.

If you don't already have one, the best thing you can do to start earning money from your art is to get started creating your own art website.

Assessing Your Ability

Another thing you need in order to succeed as an artist is some level of artistic ability.

That's not to say that you need to be a master painter with a fine art degree. In fact you don't really need any formal qualifications to make a living as an artist. But you do need enough skill to produce consistently high quality work, and to have the confidence in your own work to be able to sell it.

If you don't feel like you're at that level yet, then you may need to get some more training.

This is why I am currently taking an online course in classical drawing and painting. I have a fair amount of experience in both drawing and painting, but I felt like my lack of any proper instruction was holding me back. I didn't have the confidence I needed to sell my work, particularly with painting, so I decided to improve my skills.

One important thing to note, is that just because you are still learning, that doesn't mean that you can't be earning at the same time. An artist never stops learning. You will never reach a point where you have nothing left to learn, so you don't need to wait until you are an 'expert' before you can make money from your art.

I have sold art in the past that wasn't as good as the art I sell today, and the art I sell today won't be as good as the art I sell in 5 years time. We are constantly growing as artists, and that growth will be reflected in your work. But as long as there is someone out there who values your current artwork enough to pay for it, then you can start earning money straight away.

The Right Time Is Now

So that was about the extent of the process I went through to get where I am today. To recap:

• Acknowledge the need to make a change in your current situation.
• Figure out how you will make enough money as an artist.
• Determine whether you need any additional training to increase your confidence.
• Take action!

Sounds pretty simple when you break it down like that, doesn't it? As I mentioned, everyone's situation will be different, and there may be other obstacles you will encounter, but this is a good starting point for you to consider today.

There's an ancient Chinese proverb that says "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

So stop waiting for that mythical 'right time', and do something today to get your art career started.

What is Abstract Art?

Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866-1944). Picture with a Circle (Bild mit Kreis), 1911. Oil on canvas. 54 11/16 x 43 11/16 in. (139 x 111 cm). Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi.  © 2009 Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

Definition:

( noun ) -  Abstract art can be a painting or sculpture (including assemblage ) that does not depict a person, place or thing in the natural world -- even in an extremely distorted or exaggerated way. Therefore, the subject of the work is based on what you see: color, shapes, brushstrokes, size, scale and, in some cases, the process (see action painting). Abstract art began in 1911 with such works as Picture with a Circle (1911) by the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944). 

Kandinsky believed that colors provoke emotions. Red was lively and confident; Green was peaceful with inner strength; Blue was deep and supernatural; Yellow could be warm, exciting, disturbing or totally bonkers; and White seemed silent but full of possibilities. He also assigned instrument tones to go with each color: Red sounded like a trumpet; Green sounded like a middle-position violin; Light Blue sounded like flute; Dark Blue sounded like a cello, Yellow sounded like a fanfare of trumpets; and White sounded like the pause in a harmonious melody.

These analogies to sounds came from Kandinsky's appreciation for music, especially that by the contemporary Viennese composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951). Kandinsky's titles often refer to the colors in the composition or to music, for example "improvisation."

The French artist Robert Delaunay (1885-1941) belonged to Kandinsky's Blue Rider (Die Blaue Reiter) group, and with his wife, Russian-born Sonia Delaunay-Turk (1885-1979), they both gravitated toward abstraction in their own movement Orphism or Orphic Cubism.

What Makes Art Remarkable?

What’s the secret behind creating art that inspires interest, excitement and conversation?

                                              “Paranoia” 20″×26″ Pastel, 2009 by artist Barbara Rachko

In my everyday work, I’m exposed to a lot of work that artists are currently making. And in looking at artwork every day, I see a lot of sameness. Similar subject matter, similar styles and themes. It can become a blur after a while. Yet many artists want their work to be memorable, to shine – and to stand out from the pack.

What gives art that “Wow factor” that causes your audience to sit up and take notice? What is that elusive quality that transcends the usual and makes your work truly remarkable? Seth Godin defines remarkable as being "beyond the edge". Would you agree?

Does your work elicit remarks, and start conversations? Consider these artists, whose work is noteworthy:

                 “Dance, Macaw Flight” (award to Tony) Blue and gold Macaw feather, 14″ x 11″ by artist Chris Maynard

Element of Surprise

Chris Maynard's work is remarkable in large part because of the unusual material he works with – feathers. Add to this the complexity of working at a very small scale. Using eye surgery tools to cut and manipulate each element, he creates scenes depicting birds, often with a theme of transformation echoing the way he has transformed the feathers themselves.

Glen Kessler's paintings are remarkable because they are not what they appear to be at first glance. Every abstract landscape turns out to be a closeup of a computer motherboard. His body of work makes a statement about technology integrating into every aspect of our lives.

                                  "City of Orlando" sculpture relief 48" x 31" x 3" by artist Bobbi Mastrangelo

Finding a Niche

Artist Bobbi Mastrangelo has created her own remarkable body of work based on sewers and drains, which are not popular subjects with artists. She has unswervingly devoted her career to recognizing the unseen beauty in grates, manhole covers and other mundane parts of publicity utility infrastructure. Her work has garnered an audience in that niche, and also landed her art in several museums devoted to the industry.

Mark Schwartz paints watercolors of high heels, and is widely known not only because his work appeals to shoe lovers, but his background as a shoe designer fits in perfectly with his theme. He has broadened his audience by doing what he does very well, understanding why his work is loved, and why it sells.

                                                           “Island Summer” by artist Janice Schoultz Mudd

Signature Style

Memorable artists often exhibit a highly recognizable style which is theirs alone, and produce a considerable body of work in that style for greater impact. View artist Barbara Rachko's colorful and vibrant Latin-inspired emotionally charged images and you'll know that when you see her work again, you will recognize it.

Janice Shoultz-Mudd paints serene aerial landscapes, remarkable not only for their beauty, but the concept that inspired them – the earth as viewed on Google maps and from the Hubble Telescope. This style not only appeals to the art lover, but those left-brained potential collectors who can see how she transcends the mundane map and makes it into art.

                                                         Artist Roger Wood with one of his large scale clocks.

Power of Personality

Katwise

Free spirit Kat O'Sullivan of Katwise has a huge fan base for her popular handmade capes and costumes, and a backstory that draws in followers. As a world-traveling hitchhiker who once drifted from one Grateful Dead concert to the next and now owns a rainbow house, her story is an integral part of the purchase of her work.

Roger Wood

Humble and unassuming, artist Roger Wood expresses an irresistible eccentricity in his work. His love of old gears, clocks and gadgets inspires him to create fantasy assemblages that resonate with fans. Roger's public persona is that of a mad inventor with a sense of childlike wonder.

Remarkable art may have any or all of these characteristics, or others. It may be connected to a cause, be monumental in size, or the result of an innovative technique invented by the artist. Remarkable art works on several levels, with a concept that is deeper and more meaningful than what initially meets the eye.

Top Traits of Successful Artists

What's the secret of success? Here are some traits of artists who know.

They have a plan. Successful people in any business, including artists, have a game plan which they have thought through carefully, and they act on that plan. Some artists say they want to become successful, and actually float along without really having a goal and a strategy. But without a vision and a plan to achieve it, success cannot follow.

They have a mature body of work. To stand out from the crowd, artists need a well-executed, recognizable portfolio in their own style – not something derivative, or work that was created to try to fit into a trend or to please everybody – which ends up pleasing nobody. Successful artists spend hundreds of hours in the studio, developing their natural signature style which expresses their authentic personality.

They create a network. Many times it's the people you know who can help you succeed rather than how talented you are. Successful artists seek out beneficial relationships and build on them by following through, and by giving – referrals, feedback, friendship. And, they are open to receiving as well. Connecting with a mentor, a supportive peer group, potential collectors, gallery owners, and others, is easier when you take a genuine interest in them and in their businesses. What goes around comes around.

They act professionally. Successful artists know they are in business, and act accordingly. They invest time, money and effort in getting the best possible photography to present their work. They have a thoughtful, well-designed website to show their portfolio to its best advantage. They show up on time, and do what they say they will do. Their business etiquette is well-honed, and they communicate well with customers.

They go the extra mile. It's one thing to seek business, but sometimes it doesn't work out. That's just a speed bump to artists who are in a success mindset. They think of ways to take advantage of opportunities in any situation, and take bold steps to get back on track.

They manage their time effectively. It's easy to get distracted, but successful business people avoid this by prioritizing, and focusing on their most important tasks. They learn to delegate smaller duties, and to schedule themselves. And they know that a regular, consistent studio practice is crucial to success, as is creating a work/life balance.

They don't give up. Highly focused and set on their goals, artists who are successful stay the course even during tough times. They know that they need to be consistent and persistent to gain traction, and start selling.

Record-breaking year for contemporary art

US artist Jeff Koons poses next to his sculpture 'Balloon Dog' during an exhibition preview at the Fondation Beyeler

Paris (AFP) - The contemporary art market, buoyed by high demand and massive growth in China, smashed through the $2-billion mark for the first time in a record-breaking 2013/14, according to new figures released on Tuesday.

In the year from July 2013, sales of contemporary art at public auctions reached $2.046 billion dollars, up 40 percent on the previous year, according to Artprice, a Paris-based organisation which keeps the world's biggest database on the contemporary art market.

This growth, despite a gloomy global economic climate, came as China pushed past America to top the world market by raking in 40 percent of auction earnings.

"As many pieces are being sold in China as in the United States, United Kingdom and France together," said Artprice in its annual report.

China now boasts sales worth $811 million compared to $752 million for the US.

Both nations held 33.7 percent of the market last year.

"Demand has increased significantly," said Artprice president and founder Thierry Ehrmann, adding that five times more works were being sold today than a decade ago.

"We have passed from 500,000 large-scale collectors after the war to 70 million art consumers, amateurs and collectors."

Thirteen pieces alone fetched more than 10 million euros ($12.8 million) each, compared with four in the previous year.

US artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, who died in 1988, Jeff Koons and Christopher Wool remain the market's biggest stars accounting for auction sales of 339 million euros.

Pop artist Koons, the subject of a major retrospective due to be held at Paris's Pompidou Centre at the end of November, currently holds the record for the most expensive work of art by a living artist ever sold at auction.

His "Balloon Dog" went under the hammer in November 2013 at Christie's in New York, for a record $58.4 million.

The rest of Artprice's top ten is made up -- in order -- of Zeng Fanzhi (China), Peter Doig (Britain), Richard Prince (US), Martin Kippenberger (Germany) who died in 1997, and three more Chinese artists -- Luo Zhongli, Chen Yifei and Zhang Xiaogang.

Zeng Fanzhi's 2001 painting "The Last Supper" was sold at auction in Hong Kong last year for $23 million.

Despite the presence of Basquiat and Kippenberger in Artprice's top rankings, the body's president and founder Thierry Ehrmann told AFP "the old adage that 'a good artist is a dead artist' was changing".

"For the first time, young artists voluntarily want to start on the second market," he said referring to auctions, as opposed to galleries, which are known in the art world as the first market.

"It's a real revolution. The two markets are in the process of merging."

Of the three top-selling contemporary artists, defined as artists born after 1945, Basquiat maintained his lead in 2013/14 with sales worth around 162 million euros while Koons and Wool clocked up 115 million euros and 61 million euros ($78 million) respectively.

Google Glass Art Project

From the moment it launched, I've been trying to figure out what the Google Art Project would look like in real life, what the relationship is between the physical world we inhabit and the spaces and objects we encounter and the digitized pano simulacrum of Google Street View.

What would these blurred Picassos at MoMA look like IRL? Or these pano-distorted Kellys, or this blur-encased Noguchi table in Chicago? Or this clock, or table, or borrowed bust at the Getty?

Though a few slipped in at the beginning, even a year ago Google seemed conscientious about avoiding or removing images of its Street View crews at work. In the Spring, the Google camera cart and its operator were still being blurred out of panos at the Getty.

Well, now I wonder if Google's wondering about itself. This morning Google Art Project tweeted these panosfrom the Votive Hall of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, and I swear, I've never seen a more Google Mapsian space in my life.

The lighting, the reflectivity, perspectival polygons in the air, the glass vitrines with text stenciled on them, little placards floating on wiry stands, the crispy way these matte-finish urns get backlit by the vitrines and end up looking like digital renders of themselves. And then holy crap, what is this thing in the doorway? Now it's like they're just trolling us. Us and Dan Graham.

Google Maps is not hiding anymore; it's taking selfies. And it's remaking the world in its own image. Googleforming.

Click the arrow, come on in.

Turn around, look back, see where we were. Where you were. Where we were.

Getty Museum View, or Seeing Google Seeing
Man With A Pano Camera

Should You Quit Your Day Job?

It partly depends on your personality. Does facing a challenge, like coming up with next month’s rent through sales of your work, energize and motivate you? Or does it throw you into sudden panic and possibly an anxiety attack? Only you can tell what your comfort level is here. But, you can overcome some of the stress by putting a plan into place that works on multiple levels to bring in the income you will need when you quit that day job.

Develop a business concept and understand how you will sell. What is special about your art? Why should people buy from you? Do you have a complete story, a brand, and a concept that intrigues potential buyers and pulls them in? Does your work fit into a niche? Have you built a system for cultivating and closing sales? If you aren’t confident that you can sell your work, do this planning while you are still employed elsewhere, and before you go it alone.

Multiply the ways you will earn. Having more than one source of income, which are complementary to each other, can stabilize your business. Selling wholesale and also exhibiting at retail fairs is a good combination that I recommend (it’s how I built my own studio into a six-figure business.)

But you may not want or be able to produce items that sell wholesale. So, would you license your art? Sell your work online? Solicit commissions? Sell to the corporate art market, seeking out designers, architects and building managers? Would you teach classes or give workshops? Do you plan to write a book about your technique?

There are many ways to earn money as a self-employed artist. Just be sure that you understand clearly that as an entrepreneur, you are in sales, plain and simple. Be prepared to devote a significant amount of time to marketing, following up and closing. Is this currently a challenge for you? Marketing and selling are activities that you must embrace if you want to be self-employed. But, I can guarantee that making regular sales of your work is fun. It’s satisfying, motivating and validating. You might even start wondering why you ever thought you didn’t like the idea of sales in the first place.

Creating income streams where you have repeat sales puts you in the position of doing business with regular customers, which is far easier than always seeking new customers who are “cold.” There are ways for artists to build this component into their business. The aforementioned wholesale model is a perfect example, but you might cultivate strategic alliances with businesses who send you regular referrals in return for a percentage, or for a return referral.

Maybe local funeral homes recommend your handmade custom urns for families who want to honor their loved ones in a special way. Perhaps you have an ongoing arrangement with a restaurant to make custom ceramic mugs with their logo. Or you regularly provide stock photos for a service. Get creative here – there are a million ways to connect with repeat customers. Come up with ideas and be prepared to flesh out this model, and to make a presentation to build those partnerships.

Know what you will do during the rough patches. Is January a tough time for your art business? Unless ski resorts are your best market, or you live in a tropical resort area, this might be true. Regardless of whenever you hit a slow sales period, you will need to plan ahead. Those multiple streams can smooth over the hard times by adding income when another earning method has dried up. Giving a workshop in January might be your solution to having no retail fairs in your area, if you don’t want to travel south for the snowbirds.

Have a money plan.  If you have no other income, such as social security, investment income, or a spouse’s salary, and you have to earn every cent through your own art sales, you will need a multi-pronged plan before you leap into action. Do you have savings that will help you through the transition to quitting your day job? Do you have a good grip on the costs of being self-employed, including taxes, and expenses? Is your work priced correctly to produce profit on every sale?

Ultimately, there comes a time when you will have to quit that day job if you want to work full-time in your art business. If you decide that having that day job (either full or part-time) is a lifeline you don’t want to give up, that is a perfectly sound decision, too. Everyone has a different vision of their ideal work situation, and different needs. Find the perfect balance that works for you.

Why is art so expensive?

While the world economy languishes, paintings and sculpture continue to command dizzying prices. Georgina Adam explains how competitive billionaires, new wealth and the fashions of the super-rich keep values sky high.    

               Imagine Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn’s horror when, seven years ago, he accidentally put his elbow through Picasso’s painting Le Rêve (The Dream), just as he was about to sell it for an eye-popping $139m.

The painting is one of a series of sensuous portraits of the artist’s young mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter, painted in 1932 during their torrid affair. Such works are among the most desirable by Picasso and the price would have set a new high for the artist – but with the painting punctured, the buyer, billionaire hedge fund mogul Steve Cohen, called off the deal.

Now, after a skillful repair, the sale has finally gone through, but this time for $150m, setting a new record for Picasso as well as being the highest price any American collector has ever paid for a work of art. This was a private sale, and at auction records are also being shattered: last year in New York, Edvard Munch’s The Scream made almost $120m.

While much of the world is mired in economic gloom, the art market – which regularly sees multi-million prices set for paintings and sculpture – seems to be living in a parallel universe. Le Rêve just one example of how values are spiralling upwards, driven by new money, newly emerged economies, speculation and a fashion for art that overlaps with lifestyle choices and the luxury goods industry.

The seemingly gravity-defying art market also reflects the nature of wealth today. The sheer amount of money in private hands allows billionaires – and there are, at the last count according to Forbes, 1,426 of them spread throughout the world – to indulge in a highly competitive sport to bag the best artworks. And after all, if you can spend nearly $1bn on a yacht, as the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is supposed to have spent on his floating palace Eclipse, another few millions for a trophy picture is not that much.

And while you can build another yacht, you can’t get a top Manet, Cézanne or Raphael made for you – you have to vie with other collectors when one appears on the market.

A changing picture

This is a market which has, over the last 25 years, seen a massive growth in size. According to art economist Dr Clare McAndrew, in a report published in 2012, about $27.2bn worth of art was sold through dealers and auction houses in 1990. By 2007, at the peak of the last boom, this figure had almost tripled, to $65.8bn. In 2012, according to her latest findings, it was still worth a stunning $56bn, despite shrinking slightly compared to the previous year.

As well as expanding, the business of selling art has been profoundly modified by the arrival of new economies. This is now a global market, no longer dominated by the US and Europe and by American and European artists. Just two years ago, in the grip of sometimes extravagant spending on art in mainland China – and probably aided by some optimistic reporting – China leapfrogged into the top position, with the highest total in this field. While it has now fallen back to the number two slot, China and Hong Kong still represent 25% of art sales, with only the US ahead, with 33%.

Works of art have been sold in China at levels that used to be reserved for the top Western names. For instance an 11th century calligraphy scroll by Huang Tingjian sold recently for a stunning $63.8m in Beijing.

The fashion for private and indeed state-sponsored museums has also been driving the top end of the market - Gulf states, particularly Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, have been eagerly acquiring works of art for ambitious museum programmes. The Qatari royal family, notably Sheikha Mayassa Al Thani, daughter of the Emir, has been extremely active, and is thought to be the biggest buyer in the world today. What does she buy? Mainly modern and contemporary art, and Qatar is generally thought to have paid the highest price ever for an artwork – $250m in 2011 for Cézanne’s The Card Players.

Disparity in fortunes

Buying art, for many of today’s newly wealthy, also gives access to a glamorous lifestyle. There is an endless round of art fairs, biennales, auctions and events all over the world to attend, where galleries and auction houses put on the most glittering parties. Fashion magazines, luxury goods and watch companies pile in, as well as banks, who are increasingly watching art as a new asset class. In some countries such as China or India, art buying is considered first and foremost for investment, rather than for passion or as a hobby.

The flip side of all this is polarisation, with a small crust of very rich people driving the market, pushing up prices for a handful of ’blue-chip’ artists and enriching a few big galleries and a few auction houses. Further down the scale, however, the middle and lower ends of the market are far less buoyant. So while the overall picture seems rosy, in fact it disguises increasing disparity in fortunes.

Particularly in the mid-market, some galleries are closing, and many are having a hard time. The London gallery Hotel, despite its high reputation as a cutting-edge space, went into liquidation last year. More recently, gallerists Nicole Klagsbrun in New York and Jérôme de Noirmont have started to work differently and have abandoned their showrooms.

Art, sadly, seems to have become much more of a rich man’s game. And while the appetite for big names such as Picasso and works like Le Rêve seems unquenchable for the moment, things are not necessarily so dreamy for younger and lesser-known artists.

Visit To Picasso: Paul Haesaerts

Visite Picasso is a classic documentary by dir. Paul Haesaerts which features the frequently used footage of Picasso painting on glass while a camera films him from the other side. The trick of filming thru glass allows the viewer to witness Picasso’s true genius as he paints his famous Torros with just a few well-placed brushstrokes. Shot in beautiful black and white in Picasso’s home in Vallauris, the film is a poetic treatment of the master-painter. (from DocsOnline)

Two-Handed Painting Demo

Tom Mosser explains his two-handed painting technique on the fly. He calls it Ambidextrous Impressionism. He is working on a follow-up painting to the viral "A Golden Retriever at the Museum" painting in this.

Why People Buy Art

Artwork doesn’t sell itself. That is a common misperception, usually resulting in low sales volume. So, what is the magic that will cause buyers to commit?

I recently had a conversation with Ashwin Muthiah, CEO and co-founder of art website Easely about motivating buyers to make a purchase of your work.

“Quite often, making an art purchase makes people feel ‘cultured.’ They love the idea of acquiring art, and even becoming an art collector,” he says, “But intrinsic to the sale is understanding the story behind the artist and the work. Customers are not just buying something that looks good (although that’s naturally still important.) They are buying an experience, and that experience involves feeling that they understand and connect to the artist.”

“Furthermore, many times people don’t truly know what they want, and they appreciate receiving recommendations,” he adds. “We have found this to be key in driving sales. Our team of five artist/curators ensures that art on Easely is of high quality, and our artists know that their work is shown in an elegant context, unlike unfiltered sites that sell art. It’s much easier to be directed to a particular work or section on a page rather than just having to browse everything. Our curating team reviews collectors’ preferences and makes suggestions tailored to their interests.”

Being consultative is also a powerful way for artists who are selling directly to customers. After all, you are the expert on your work, and customers will appreciate your input on their selection. That conversation also indicates your interest in them, and your concern for the buyer’s wants and needs.

Is price the deciding factor when buying art? Actually, no. People who only care about price can simply buy wall décor at a discount store. However, it’s a good idea to spread your price points to appeal to a wider audience. This allows prospective customers to “buy in” and start acquiring your work at a more reasonable cost if they simply don’t have the budget to start purchasing your higher-priced art.

Then, keep those customers and build your art business by encouraging repeat sales. Those important names should stay on your list, and receive news about your new work and your events frequently.

Make the whole process of acquiring your artwork a very special event for your new purchaser by including extras that add value to the experience.

“Making buyers feel valued turns them into repeat customers,” says Muthiah. “If the experience of opening the package and seeing the artwork seems special, they are much more likely to make other purchases because they feel good about collecting your works. A letter to your new ‘collector’ with a Certificate of Authenticity, along with your artist statement, goes a long way towards making an acquisition of your art a memorable experience.”

How to Write an Amazing Artist Statement

Do you dread writing your artist statement? You know you have to write one, but are frustrated because time is scarce and your internal voice screams, “I’m an artist expressing myself visually – why do I have to write about my work?” You’re not alone. We want to flip that frustration to motivation by providing a step-by-step process to getting it done so your artist statement can win you more opportunities.

The reason to have a genuine, well written artist statement is because you want to provide insight for your viewers into who you are as an artist, your motivations and process – it’s a chance to tell the unique story behind your work that will set you apart from the rest. It’s an opportunity to instill trust in your audience and allow them to have an intimate conversation with you since you’re not there in person.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing your artist statement:

• The ideal length is one to three paragraphs.
• It should be in first-person.
• You should not tell your audience how to feel or what to look at.
• You want to inform your viewer but not overly explain things – leave room for the viewer to make his or her own connections.
• Ask yourself: Is this writing specific to my work or can it be about anyone’s?
• Don’t use phrases like: I hope, My work aspires to, My goal is, The Viewer will, These paintings (do something).

Here are steps to help you write a clear, concise artist statement:

Remember: The key to an amazing statement is to write A LOT, then edit, edit, edit. You should go through at least 3 drafts. This is not something you can do in an evening – it’s going to take time, so find the best time of day that works for you to write, such as over morning coffee. Write in a way that feels comfortable – type or write long hand.

• To begin, set a timer for 1 hour and answer these questions in great detail:
  • What does your work look like?
  • How do you make your work (process, medium, materials, how much time does it take, where do you make it, how it exists in space)?
  • List your inspirations (art historical, personal, current events, motivating factors…anything!)
  • Why do you make this work?
  • When did you start making this work?
  • Who is your ideal audience?
  • What makes the work unique (is there a central idea or theme)?
• Take a break. It could be a lunch break or you may need to sleep on it. Trust your instincts, but don’t leave too much time between writing sessions.
• Next, set aside 1-2 hours, have beverages and snacks close by so you don’t distract yourself. Set a timer and use your notes from the questions above to start writing. Write your first draft until you feel like you have written everything you can about your work. Remember not to edit yourself or write in “art jargon.” Be silly, write in run on sentences, don’t worry about organization and just write. Push yourself even if it feels hard. Be yourself and don’t worry, no one will see this draft.
• Print out your first draft and sleep on it.
• Congratulations! You accomplished the hard part. Now read through your first draft several times and highlight parts that truly represent you and your work. Spend no more an than hour doing this. Remember if anything is confusing to you, it will be confusing to your readers. Look for moments of clarity.
• Next, transfer the highlighted parts of your first draft and copy them into a new digital document. It’s time to refine. Keep refining until you have something you’re happy with that includes a strong first paragraph. This may take two more drafts with breaks in between.
• Read it aloud to yourself. Does it read clearly? If so, send it to trusted friends for some honest feedback. Give them a deadline of 1-2 days. Keep your momentum.
• The final step will be to ask someone else to edit your statement for spelling and grammar.

Once it’s finished:

• Once your statement is done, you need a shortened version of 30-50 words to include in some applications, on your website, or for interviews.
• You should have a statement for each project or body of work in addition to an overall artist statement. These will come in handy when applying to different opportunities.
• Update it on your website and elsewhere!

We hope these suggestions will help you write a strong, genuine artist statement. If you’re still struggling with writing about your work or want expert feedback and guidance about how to best communicate what you do online, in writing and in person, check out the DELVE Toolkit. Good luck!

Is Your Certificate of Authenticity Worth the Paper It's Printed On?

Related Topic: Art Provenance: What It Is and How to Verify It

Are you an artist who wants to include COAs with your art? Are you a collector who has questions about a COA? I regularly consult about all aspects of COAs. Email me at alanb@artbusiness.com or give me a call at 415.931.7875 to make an appointment.

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Q: Should a collector get a certificate of authenticity (COA) when he buys a piece of art? Or should the certificate be sent separately after buying the art? Who generates these certificates and what makes them valid? The reason I'm asking is that I bought two limited edition prints from an online art gallery and I expected that the gallery would provide certificates of authenticity with the art. In both cases, they shipped the art but no certificates. The gallery said they would mail certificates to me, but I have yet to receive them. So please help me understand certificates of authenticity.

A: To begin with, you really have to understand what a legitimate Certificate of Authenticity or COA consists of because plenty of problem COAs are floating around out there, especially at online auctions like eBay. Unless a certificate of authenticity originates from and is signed by either the artist who created the art, the publisher of the art (in the case of limited editions), a confirmed established dealer or agent of the artist (not a casual third party or reseller), or an acknowledged expert on the artist, that certificate is pretty much meaningless. A legitimate COA must contain specific details about the art such as what the medium is (painting, sculpture, digital print, etc.), the name of the artist or publisher (or both), the art's exact title, dimensions, details of the edition size if it is a limited edition, and when applicable, the names of reference books or other resources that contain either specific or related information about either that work of art or the artist who produced it. The title and qualifications of the individual or entity that authored the certificate should also be included, as well as their contact information, and both contact information and qualifications must be verifiable.

A formal certificate of authenticity is not necessarily required to prove that a work of art is genuine. Any valid receipt, bill of sale, or proof of purchase either directly from the artist or from a confirmed and established dealer, reseller, publisher, or agent of the artist will do. An appraisal from a recognized authority on the artist which includes a statement or guarantee of authenticity is also acceptable. Whenever authenticity is at issue, only conclusive statements of authorship from QUALIFIED experts on the art or artist in question are acceptable, not informal statements, opinions or offhand price estimates from people who happen to buy or sell or appraise occasional works by the artist in question.

You can never be too careful here. Certificates of authenticity can be problematic; some are just plain worthless and some even fraudulent. Unfortunately, most people believe that art with a COA is automatically genuine, but that is absolutely not the case. To begin with, no laws govern who is or is not qualified to write certificates of authenticity except in rare instances. Nor is there any standardization with respect to what types of statements, information or documentation a COA must include. In other words, anyone can write a COA whether they're qualified to or not. As if that's not bad enough, unscrupulous sellers sometimes forge official looking certificates of authenticity and use them to either sell outright fakes or to misrepresent existing works of art as being more important or valuable than they actually are. And to make matters even worse, meaningless or bogus COA's have been issued for decades, so don't automatically assume that a COA dated 1955, for example, is genuine simply because it's old.

Your particular situation is troublesome because the seller says the art has certificates of authenticity, but has neither shown them nor sent them. At this point, trying to get your money back is probably the wisest course of action, and from now on, make sure you see all information a seller claims to have BEFORE buying the art. Keep in mind that if a work of art supposedly comes with a certificate of authenticity, not only should you be able to inspect it ahead of time and read and review and corroborate the full text, but it should also accompany the art when you receive it. Never simply accept a seller's claims as true without first seeing the evidence.

Below are some additional pointers to keep in mind when you are told that a work of art has a certificate of authenticity:

* First and foremost: Always see read, understand, and substantiate the full text of any certificate of authenticity BEFORE you buy the art.

* All certificates of authenticity must be original documents, hand-signed by the authenticators-- NOT photocopies. Unscrupulous sellers have been known to take legitimate certificates, doctor them in various ways, photocopy them, and then use them to "authenticate" works of art that they were never intended to authenticate.

* A legitimate certificate of authenticity must fully and accurately describe the work of art which it is authenticating, including but not limited to size, medium (painting, watercolor, limited edition print, etc.), date, title, edition size and so on. There should be no doubt that the COA describes one and only one work of art-- the one you are considering buying.

* If the art is for sale online, request and review the complete COA and not just a portion of it. Either have the seller scan or FAX it to you or email clear, legible, and complete digital images.

* Any conditional statements found in a certificate of authenticity such as "in our considered opinion..." or "we believe that..." are warning signs that at best, the art is only attributed to the artist (which is not a COA) and at worst, that the art may a forgery. The only valid COA is one stating conclusively that the art is by the artist whose signature it bears.

* A valid certificate of authenticity should contain verifiable documented proof or evidence of why the art is genuine.

* If you have any questions about a certificate of authenticity, contact the individual who authored it and get the answers BEFORE you buy the art.

* When the contact information on a certificate of authenticity is no longer valid or is out-of-date, contact a current authority or expert on the artist. If however, the certificate was authored by a legitimate authority on the artist (living or otherwise), it is very likely adequate proof that the art is genuine no matter how long ago it was written.

* A statement that a work of art is genuine is NOT valid proof of authenticity unless made by an established and respected authority on the artist. That authority's qualifications should be stated on the certificate, or be otherwise easily accessible and verifiable.

* A certificate with inadequate contact information for the person or company making the statements, or with only an unidentifiable or illegible signature is not valid. Illegible signatures or incomplete contact information are not acceptable. The source of a COA must be traceable.

* Certificates for art by famous artists such as Warhol, Picasso, Chagall, and Miro should include the exact titles of the art, names of reference books that list the art, dates the art was produced, names of publishers (for limited editions), edition sizes (for limited editions), and exact dimensions of the art. Also good to have are names of previous owners, names of dealers or galleries that have sold the art, information about auctions where the art was sold, and any other relevant information that speaks to the art's history and authenticity.

* ALL limited edition prints by Warhol, Picasso, Chagall, Miro, and many other well-known artists are documented in books called catalogues raisonne. If a catalogue raisonne exists for an artist, the corresponding catalogue number or entry for the work art in question MUST be noted on the certificate of authenticity.

* Anytime a certificate of authenticity does not satisfy all of the above requirements, consider yourself at risk if you buy the art.

Painting Purple Irises with Nancy Medina

For more of Nancy's work check out her site http://nancymedina.com/