How To Sell Your Art (pt1)

Introduction

For many years the only way to successfully sell your artwork was in art galleries, however with the rise in the Internet there are now numerous ways to sell your art. Deciding which of these techniques should be the first thing you do. You can of course do both, however your more likely to see faster sales on-line as many art galleries book their shows a year in advance and its hard to get an show if your unknown. There are many different ways to sell your artwork on-line. There are many sites set up for you to sell your artwork, you could set your own site up or you could sell your canvas on one of the auction sites.

Before you start this process, ask yourself the type of person you want to buy your artwork. Are you after an art connoisseur (usually a lot of money for a 1 off piece of art) or are you more interested in selling to the average person (less money, but you might sell a lot of the same image and make more money) ? If you want to sell the one off art to the connoisseur, look to a real world art gallery for that. If your more interested in selling as many copies of your art to the average person, look to get on-line.

You need to realise however, that selling on-line is not as easy as putting your art up and leaving it that and it will take some time to get your first sale. If you don't mind working hard at it, the rewards will be worth it.

A vital piece of information that you should live by is watermark your work. This will limit the chances of someone stealing your artwork, publishing it on another site and claiming the credit for themselves. Worse still, some will steal your art to make money off it themselves. DeviantART allows you add a Creative Commons License which adds a DeviantART watermark with your DeviantART URL. This is a simple yet effective way to watermark, yet why not make your own? image.

Art Galleries

Go to your nearest city or town and you'll see the amount of art galleries there are about. Art Galleries are the holy grail to an artist. Being able to watch people admire your work and give you instant feedback is amazing. Sadly only a small number of artists these days manage to exhibit in an Art Gallery.

So how do you go about getting exhibited in a gallery? Start with some research, find local galleries that work with your style and topic. It doesn't matter how amazing your art is, if your trying to sell stencil canvas art to a gallery that specialises in sculptures, your going to get a no straight away.

Its a good idea to go into the gallery before contacting them.Have a general chat with a member of staff about some of the art, get a feel for the gallery and staff. You need to be able to trust the gallery, and get on with them. If you get an appointment, be well prepared and dress smart. Always take a sample of your

work. If you produce large Canvas Prints, make some digital re-productions, as long as they are good quality and high resolution copies kept neat and tidy in a portfolio. Aim for a minimum of A2.

If you get an exhibition and some or all of your artwork sells, the gallery will take their commission. This varies from gallery to gallery, but I've organised and visited galleries and exhibitions in galleries taking as little as 20% going all the way up to 60%. this might seem like a lot, but small inner city galleries have huge overheads and can often only fit small numbers of images on the walls. Remember, there a business, not a charity so they are trying to make money.

The rest of this little 'How To' will follow, in three more parts so watch this space or feel free to subscribe - you can now even have email subscribtion to our News.

New Stencil and Street Art on Canvas

Artwork Update: [July 2008]

We are well into July now, and deep in the middle of this fluctuating seasonal summer of 2008, & we have a cheeky art update that might brighten up your day! We have just finished furnishing the site with load of brand new street inspired designs and prints which we are very happy with. Featuring a mixed of street art, from abstract macro cross sections of graffiti, to some hand produced pieces that have been put together in-house by some of our outstanding new artists.

The abstract selection of macro photographs, are all based on paying homage to the fantastic lines and shapes that make the art of graffiti something impressive to behold. We've really tried to capture the vibrancy & impact of what you get on the streets and translate it to something that can hang on your wall, without it looking too offensive.

The aptly named "Pollock Graff" is almost Jackson Pollock if he had taken to the streets with his brush and a few spray cans.. It is a real piece of graffiti, overlayed and built up over time to produce a really tidy piece of abstract modern art.

The "My name is..." is a good example of this urban linear art, taking just a small section of the colourful graffiti, and presenting it as an abstract piece of art. This kind of art will not suit every home, and is a bit more of a daring purchase. I wouldn't be looking at mixing with cream walls and leather sofas, these graffiti prints are going to sit well in an eclectic environment. We are not just talking urban flats & loft conversions, but any abode that dares to be different. This kind of modern art, call it urban, abstract, contemporary, it is all becoming very popular, certainly for us, as it is becoming fueled by a new generation of people that want something different & unique & are not happy with nipping to Ikea for a piece of generic, of the shelf art.

Moving on to the hand produced stencil art and what can I say? This selection is absolutely fantastic, the quality has exceeded our expectations. Originally produced for an exhibition at the D&G offices in London (which is still on), the artists in question here are Pegs, and Vic Mason.

Stand out designs here are "Panda Style" by Pegs, a very green piece of art. It has been produced from various layers of stencils, which have had his trademark surface scratching technique applied. Another stand out print from him is "Gee-raff" as simple, yet effective simple one colour stencil design over pastel tones which forms a subtle, light background.

The "Mexican Boston" by Vic Mason has a hand painted background, with sprayed and rolled top end, and represents a beautiful little Boston terrier dog. The fusion of browns, mustard's and burnt oranges will sit well on most walls, and the abstract nature of the print makes it pleasing on the eye. Reggie Jaxx pays homage to the Bull Terrier, king of dogs. This print has delicate pastel tones on top a linear floral pattern, and a combination of sprayed and rolled paint over the top.

If you want to see some more of these new pieces, we have been prototyping & showcasing a selection of them for the last couple of months at an exhibiton in London. The venue is: The D&G offices, which is The Media Village, based just North of Oxford Street. [131-151 Gt Titchfield Street, W1W 5BB.]

So that is it for now, stay tuned, we will have more updates. As usual, you can check all our canvas art from WHoArtNow, as well as subscribing to this feed for regular updates to our world of art!

2008 Interior Design Trends - 'Reinvent'

The 'Reinvent' theme is all about colour. Lots and lots of combinations of colour, some of which can be quite risky. The use of woods and greys combined with more retro colours like aqua blues, and bright pinks. The use of miss matched colours and items works wonders. You could even use 6 different chairs around a table, and it wouldn't look out of place.

Well used and worn furniture and fixings are king, where brand new and flat pack is far to clean and 'un-inviting'. the use of hand made accessories and furniture is King, and quirky is its Queen.
So where does it work, as with 'Optimism', it works well in most homes and rooms, yet its best to pick a feature wall to hold most of the colour, and soft shades of grey for the majority of the room. The bright colours need to be contrasted to bring the room into perspective. Flooring is a key factor, varnished hard wood flooring brings the natural and worn feeling in, yet solid more industrial floors work well too.

Avoid this in bedrooms and possibly living rooms too. Kitchens are perfect because the colours add to the social side of every kitchen. Furniture is best suited to masculine styles, flowers and hens on your chairs won't sit right, wood is great, but so is re used metal. Accessories need to be kept in control, and found and recycled items work brilliant.

If you like what you see, check out our Abstract canvas art section, where you will find a the designs featured in this article, and plenty more canvas prints.

An introduction into Street Art [Pt1]

Street Art is a growing trend in the 21st century. Wiki describes it as "art developed in public spaces". Yet I'd prefer to say its a modern artists means of creativeness. Yet its worth remembering, even as street art rises in popularity, the vast majority of work you see on the way to work is illegal.

Art, So what does "street Art" consist of? You maybe asking. Well, street art can be broken down in sub groups, Graffiti, Wheat-pasting, Stickers/Sticker Bombing, Poster Art, Video Projection and my favourite, Stencil Art.

"CeeThreePeeOhhhh" [right] by Frazier BOYD is a brand new piece, commissioned exclusively for WHoArtNow, due for release on the site in May 2008.

So why do people break the law for their artwork? Is it stupidity? or a true love for their art so strong their often willing to sacrifice their own freedom. Political opinions and moral objections are popular expressions on the streets. Going against the "system" is a big part of street art, so is humour.

The image on the left demonstrates the political and humorous side of street art, and also shows the use of a stencil. This image and many like it are fast and easy to post, making it a great way to get your work seen by more people and to limit the chance of getting caught.

Where are you likely to see street art? Well, due to the popularity of street art, you can see it everywhere. From capitol cities, to rural hamlets all over the world. If your in a city and looking for street art, there are some clues to the street art. Areas of increased foot traffic are key. Bridges, foot paths, train stations are all popular, but the best thing to do is keep your eyes open!

So how can I get some street art of my own? Well, many art supplies are picking up on the street art phenomenon and you can now get some great graffiti and stencil art on canvas, prints, even on 12" vinyl art!

If however you have a little bit of cash and want to splash out on something original, most graffiti artists can be commissioned for custom work. But as with all commission pieces, it can get very costly.