Reddit reviews ART/WORK: Everything You Need to Know (and Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career
We found 8 Reddit comments about ART/WORK: Everything You Need to Know (and Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Size 30" x 40"
> possible gallery commissions: 25%
I see your point. Unfortunately you must see this from the buyer's (and the market's) point of view: your art has a price in the marketplace regardless of whether it was sold directly by you or via a gallery.
So, it's a matter of you pricing your work. When making that decision take into consideration that you'd be selling using an intermediary (e.g.: a gallerist) and that their commission will be the standard 50% of the selling price.
Think about it this way: as you progress and become more famous, at some point in time a gallerist will represent you, well your prices can't double overnight.
Look at it a different way. A gallerist provides a service (marketing, sales, support etc....), if you're not using a gallerist you are the ones providing yourself those services so you should compensate yourself for those services as well.
Lastly I personally don't believe in the time+material formula, your art has a market price that depends on your brand name.
A couple of resources for you:
I'd strongly recommend the book Art/Work, it's one of my textbooks for a portfolio presentation class I'm taking and it's a really good guide for artists and designers looking to enter the professional world
https://www.amazon.com/ART-WORK-Everything-Pursue-Career/dp/1416572333
There's a book called ART/WORK it covers everything... Everything... On the business side of art. It has been an invaluable resource for me. I have always had a problem with motivation, sadly book doesn't help with that, but baby makes it soooo much worse.
> Any and all advice would be amazing.
read this book
https://www.amazon.com/ART-WORK-Everything-Pursue-Career/dp/1416572333
read the business of art here
https://abj.artrepreneur.com/
keep your overhead low, as low as possible
you might have to get a job or something to support yourself and your art while you ramp up, it will be like having 2 jobs
be ready for the long term
If you're able to find out what brand of watercolors and/or pencils she uses, and what colors she uses most often, that might be helpful.
If she's serious about pursuing a professional career as an artist, Art/Work is a really valuable reference for navigating the business side of the industry.
Who is her favorite artist? You may be able to find a nice catalog of their work on AbeBooks or Amazon.
Simple and in broad stroke:
Of course it's simple but not that easy. Keep on trying.
This is an ok book, not great but some https://www.amazon.com/ART-WORK-Everything-Pursue-Career/dp/1416572333
Also check out Clara Lieu AMA on Reddit https://claralieu.wordpress.com/2016/05/12/ama-ask-me-anything-on-reddit/
no problem. if youre in classes, schedule some office hours and have a serious conversation with your instructors. if they cant offer direct advice, they should at least be able to refer you to someone.
You can also call local photographers/businesses and ask for quotes on hypothetical jobs
Art/Work is a pretty great book to give you a framework to pursue the business of art making. Lots of great advice from professionals.
If you arent already, please start keeping a log of your expenses. I always have a notebook to record exposure values and other notes - keeping a ledger of price of items purchased, time committed and so on will help you adjust your final asking prices. It also makes taxes crazy easier/not terrifying. Good organization is key. Have a nice accordion folio with 12+ folders to store monthly receipts. put it all into excel pages for easy book keeping.
just be aware that depending upon your business type... it is very difficult to raise prices on existing clients. Bigger clients wont be bothered as long as your work warrants it and you arent raising above market/competitor value. Better to negotiate higher rates from the get go and YOU spend more of YOUR time to making a project as polished as possible. Over time youre learn your trade and work faster, thus making more money
edit: also. never accept a gallery to frame your work for you. its a con. the gallery will charge you above material cost if your work doesnt move. there are several "gallery" frame shops in town who do this. dont just throw your work up anywhere. visit the place and be sure theyre trying to move your work.
rather than hang in local businesses (and relegate your work to "art object"), spend your time applying to exhibitions/contest/artist calls/shows/etc. if your into editorial work, try to partner with local aspiring journalists or even product designers. group up with them to complete a project. or even just start your own project and publish it online