Fur In The Paint

As artists we all are desperate to sell our work or have it validated in some way. This allows us to fall prey to certain myths that draw us in and in the end may only leave us feeling frustrated and insecure.

I will post the two most common art myths. The Exposure myth and the Build It and They Will Come myth. These myths tend to have their basis in fact which is why the remain.

Artist Myth #1
Exposing my work to as many people as possible will help me to “make” it.

I can hear some of you already ”But Mona . . . How can exposure be a myth. I can’t sell my work unless it gets seen.”

Yes, artwork must be seen by someone to be sold. But what you need to think about is who are you exposing your work to. I think of this as Qualifying. A subway station (airport, bus station, etc,) may get thousands of people through in a day, but are they going to buy artwork? Probably not. Most are in a hurry to get where their going on time. You are getting your work exposed, but not to the right crowd.

I would think that you will need to find out what works best for you through trial and error. Some non-traditional venues are great and some art shows are . . . not so much. Personally what has worked best for me, is to place my art where people are going to “buy” art. Art fairs (for me in my area) are where that happens. I’ve done all sorts of non-traditional venues, like trendy cafes, Barnes & Noble bookstore, horse expos & zoo conferences, libraries. Most of them were beneficial in one way or the other, but not always financially.

If you have limited time and resources and want to get a monetary return for time and effort invested, you need to qualify whatever event you are thinking about. Heres a few thing to think about:

• Are the people in this location going to be interested in what you do?
• Is it a financially upscale area, where people have disposable income?
• Does the event (store, organization etc.) have a vested interest in your success?
• Are they promoting the event or your artwork, or are sales dependent on passive selling. (someone just happens to see it and want it, though they are there for unrelated reasons)
• What are the risks? Do they have insurance against damage or theft? If your outdoors, will weather be a factor?
• Exactly how many people are we talking about? If the event is promising exposure find out how many. I’ve been approached by events that think 2,500 is a great number. In general I rarely consider anything less than 30,000 people (for a weekend) and thats at an event where they are coming to “buy” art. That being said, I am at a place where my time is at a premium and I do so many events, that unless there is an almost guaranteed payoff, I’ll pass.

In general if some events, cafes, bookstores (insert your non-traditional venue here) use exposure as the major reason why you should participate in their gig, you should perhaps give it more thought. It doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing. But you should be clear in your expectations for it and have a firm grasp on what you want to achieve by participating.

On a Personal Note: I apologize for not being my usual perky, (umm. . . no) bubbly, (huh-uh) spunky, charming, chipper? . . .Oh heck lets just say my usual snarkiness. I am feeling a bit over-worked, over-stressed and just in general a malaise. I’m sure I’ll be back to my usual self in a day or two. So please bear (bare?) oh geez . . . have patience.

Tags: business

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