How to Build an Art Business That Fits Your Life

There are so many ways to sell your art…

You’ve been painting for awhile, and you really enjoy it. You’re taking classes and learning your craft, and practicing lots. The paintings are piling up, and you have friends and family asking you if your art is for sale. 

It might be time to think about selling your art with purpose! 

Or maybe you’ve been selling for awhile, and you’re looking for the next step (hint: It’s growing your email).

But how?

Where do you start? What do you need to do first? How do artists go from your stage to making a living from their art or scaling up their art sales?

We ALL start somewhere, most likely right where you are. Somewhere along the path we decide to get serious about art sales. 

The art sales landscape has changed dramatically from just a few years ago. Covid changed it too- just like so may other things. Coincident with the rise of online interaction, we became comfortable with engaging with others online over zoom, exposure to art and other things for sale through social media, online sales through websites and so on. Galleries were closing and opportunities to sell through the traditional gallery gatekeepers were getting fewer by the minute. 

That is still true today.

The internet has removed Galleries as gatekeepers. You no longer need to work with a gallery to sell your art. The world of art sales has widened and is no longer exclusive- anyone can sell their art in person and online. The only barrier is making the sale- the marketplace gives the approval, not galleries. 

The old way: sell at indoor or outdoor shows and festivals- local first, then regional, then national, and hope to attract a gallery to sell your work. Collect 50% of the sale price after the Gallery takes its commission.

The new, independent way: Get your art out there. Sell at indoor or outdoor shows and festivals- local first, then regional, then national, as your confidence and skills grow. While you do that, collect emails at every event.

Email them regularly and sell them things periodically. Set up a website to sell to your fans.

Sell directly through your email list, social media DMs, or a third party site that sells prints.

Diversify your income and sell your own prints and merch, and keep 100% of the profits.

Connect it all to your website (your most secure way to collect payment).

Approach a gallery or two if you want, and diversify your income streams if you can .

Put your art up in local businesses, tourist shops or small tourist galleries.

Focus on building a sizeable audience in emails using social media, in-person events and other outlets to get your work in front of new people. 

That’s it. Learn the business of selling Art. Build your biggest business asset- an email list- so you have direct access to your fans and collectors, and you can let them know where to buy or see your art. Keep as much of the profit for yourself as you can.

Diversify. Repeat.

Oh- and STAY THE COURSE. Sooooo much harder than you think it will be- we are all distracted by shiny things, and everyone is promoting their system or telling their story about how they made all kinds of money just by doing this one thing… and we all get excited, wondering what the secret sauce is.

The REAL secret? Staying with something long enough to see it work- I mean 2-5 years with your strategy. Not reorganizing every year with something new and different- the shiny thing you saw on IG. I mean sticking with the path that lets you live your life and have time left to make some new art. Tweaking is fine- let go of what doesn’t work and double down on what does.

ALWAYS focus on growing your audience and email list!