How to sell your art (pt4)

Interview with a man in the business

I spoke with Andy Harper, from WHoArtNow, producers of bespoke modern art for some tips and advice:-

What would you advise someone to do if they were looking to promote and sell their art?

Well first thing to do is get a website to showcase your art, a CV of what you can do. I get 20 emails a week from artists and designers who are looking to do business and it amazes me some of them don't have a web page of sorts. If there's a website, I'll always have a look, you never know what you might be missing out on!

Does it matter if its not a website but a portfolio site?

No it doesn't have to be your own website. I'm an active member on DeviantART and FlickR so even if we don't do business, you might find me becoming your friend so I can keep track of your art. I might be a businessman, but my love is still for the art.

Can anyone sell their artwork?

In theory yes, I do think you need to get some feedback off people before you start approaching companies. Plus, look at your work from the point of view of business, is it commercial enough? I see a lot of very good art, but only about 5% of it would be commercially viable enough for our site. Be positive about your work, but accept criticism well. The companies you'd be looking at contacting are busy places, and sometimes emails can slip through the cracks, so follow up with them by phone. Don't over do it though, leave it a week first.

Any other tips?

Yeah, agencies can be brilliant. I worked for Saatchi and Saatchi in London a few years ago and remember seeing these massive files of people's art. They'd be sent in on the hope of getting work, and if they liked your style, they'd keep a record of you. When they got new contracts they'd flick through the files to see if anyone fitted certain criteria and then they'd give them a call.

Conclusion

Art is everywhere these days. Art which once would have been refereed to as non-commercial is now becoming over commercial. Working in the art industry is great, finding new and unheard of artists gives me such a buzz. I love the strange and bizarre art, something which will blow my mind is always good. The thing is, without all the people out there creating this art, marketing this art, I would never find any of it.

Treat your art and your talent as your product. In this world of the Internet, everything is a business, so treat it like one. Never take rejection personally. Have faith, and some confidence. Be patient. The more you put into your art and marketing your art, the more you will get out of it. Most importantly though, love you art, and have fun with your art.

Introducing Framed Art From WHoArtNow

Here at WHoArtNow we are always designing now artwork to add to our catalogue. Now were into 2009 we've launched framed art.

Taking some of our most popular images, we print them on Hahnemuhle textured 320gsm Acid Free Archive Museum paper which is one of the highest quality paper available. Many regard this as the best printing paper you can buy today.

To launch this range, we've chosen 3 frames that best suit our current style. The Gold Leaf Fame (see right) is the over the top frame. It's bold and ornate and works perfectly with out 2009 Interior Trend Prediction Timeless Curve. These frames are made from Fir-Wood with a Red-wood face and a MDF backing.


Next up is the Matt Black frame. This is the generic black faced MDF backed frame. It might be popular but that's only because of just how many different styles of artwork work in this frame.

The black frame is a solid 2" wide all the way round, Images come with a range of border sizes depending on the base colours of the images. The Manga image (left) is a dark image so has a small white border.

The Matt Black Frame works well in Timeless Curve, but can also work with Let's Play depending on your choice of colours. It's worth noting that the black frame does not work with all colours, browns clash.


Last but by no means least is the Solid Oak Frame. This 2" wide solid oak frame has no MDF backing, it's the real deal. Each frame is unique because of differences in grain, and of course knots!

This classic frame works well with organic images, especially photographs. Designing an interior around our 2009 Interior Trend Homemade? Well this is the frame for you as you can see by the sunflower photo (right)

All frames use real glass to help keep your image from UV fade and to help with keeping it looking clean.

At present, we have a small selection of our artwork in the Framed Art Prints section, this will grow over time. If you like an image off the website, but you don't see it in the framed section, give us a call and we'd be happy to print and frame any image. We are also accepting custom image commissions for framed art.