Artists: How Can You Make Money with Your Art?



artwork of N!Satterifield

 Most artists that I know tend to produce a lot of artwork - beautiful pieces. But when it comes to marketing, selling, and actually making a living, they really don't know where to start. Here are a few tips on making money from your artwork. First of all, you have to work hard. Just like any other job, you have to put in full time hours and really plan to work. You must finish what you start before moving on to the next idea. Create, create, create! That's what you're good at.

Okay, now that you are viewing your artwork as your job, do you have enough quality pieces to sell at an art or craft fair? If you do, great! Now get out there and start attending some arts and crafts fairs. If you cannot afford to rent a booth by yourself, then split one two or three ways with other artists. At the same time, check online. There are several good online art galleries and online art auctions that want to work with you to help you sell your art, crafts, and jewelry.

Investigate your local artist groups. Many times if you are a member of your local arts league, you get discount or free artist booths at their events. Plus you can make a lot of great contacts and get first hand information on upcoming events and art shows. Being involved with a community of other artists is both rewarding and inspiring. So get out there and meet other artists!

The next important point is offering affordable artwork to your audience. If you have created beautiful, high priced paintings, then you're probably going to have to consider creating affordable matted prints, greeting cards, and other print materials in order to fund your business. These are items that you can print for yourself from home or you can find an affordable printer either locally or online to do the printing for you. If your artwork lends itself to the media, then consider also T-shirts, stickers, magnets, and calendars. Again, these can be ordered online quite affordably and will also lend themselves to online as well as event sales.