Reddit reviews "Starving" to Successful | The Fine Artist's Guide to Getting Into Galleries and Selling More Art

Getting into galleries is not easy. They are usually looking for several specific things. You might want to have him read this book to give him a sense of what galleries want.

A few things that I notice is that there is a somewhat similar style, but the subject matter is all over the place with nothing that seems to connect it too well. Just look at your favorite compared to the majority of his work on his site. I think he would probably have the best chance with his dreamscapes, specifically #2, #3, and #5. If he started doing more like that, more consistently, he might have a solid portfolio to take to galleries. The other thing is that his oil techniques need improvement. They just look a little amateurish. You might have him look into taking workshops or classes with artists whose technique he admires.

He should keep doing the descriptions of his work, however. The message in his work is a little hard to understand without it, so it's important that he explains it. An example is your favorite piece. One might think that it's promoting Marxism (which would turn away a lot of people who could afford his work), but upon reading the description, one would understand that it's not the case.

I think he has talent and I think that with more work on his style and technique, he could do quite well for himself. It just seems that it may be a few years until he reaches that level.

That said, galleries may not be the best option for him anyway. If he's good at self-promotion and marketing, he could do it all without galleries and sell directly to buyers. Then he could paint however he wants, as long as he makes up for his weaknesses in marketing strength. I've seen plenty of artists that weren't gallery material do quite well for themselves.