Want to make art your career? 🎨 Why style is SUPER important!
A lot of artists ask me for career advice. One of the first things I usually do is ask them to show me their work. When I ask to see their art, often they're expecting me to critique it like in art school. Critique the colors, the technique, the composition of individual pieces. But that's not what I do. I look at all their work as one body of work. What I'm looking for is simple - can I tell all this art was made by the same artist? If the answer is "No" - that's not good.
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This is a hard pill to swallow for a lot of artists - what your style is, is really not that important - what's important is that you have one! When you're trying to sell art, long term, it's really important to have a style people can recognize without even needing to see your signature - a signature style. If you're making art in different styles, and always trying new things, you'll have a hard time developing a signature style. That signature style is SUPER important - I can't stress that enough. If you want to earn a living as an artist, you're going to have to narrow down a style, at least until you're making a living full time.
You don't have to create the same thing over and over - that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is, in your unique way, make a thread that somehow connects all your art. It can be as simple as sticking to portraits, or landscapes. It can be as simple as "why does she always have that weird red blob in all of them?" You can try different mediums for sure - just don't forget that red blob. If you're painting landscapes one day, and portraits the next, then trying different styles of abstracts, it can confuse the viewer AKA the potential art collector. You don't want to do that.
The truth is, in the art business (and it is a business) generally 80% of your sales of original art will come from 20-30% of your clients - the ones who collect your art. Art collectors generally won't admit it directly to you,but, when they buy your art, they hope it will increase in value. If they're presented with a jumbled mishmash of different styles from the get go, they won't know which one to invest in, they won't know which one you'll be best known for in 10-15-20 years. And instead of buying a lot of your different art, they'll buy none and find an artist with a signature style.
Another reason is simple - they want things that match. In interior design, matching design elements are important. If you develop a style, you might sell 7-8 pieces at once! I have. It also makes it a lot easier to get into those ever elusive reputable galleries.
Galleries understand the art business - or they go out of business. So, they almost always stick to showing artists who have a style. Just like individual artists, galleries make the majority of their sales to a relatively smaller % of their clientele. Art gallery clients usually don't want a deal - they want a good investment. If you don't have enough art in one style to fill the walls in a gallery, they're not very likely to give your hodgepodge of work their valuable space and resources to set up a showing of your work. Because their clients won't know what style to invest in, and they won't buy anything anyway.
This is why it's important to create what you love! If you're having fun making art, then you'll create more of it,and have more chances to really develop that special thing that uniquely defines your art. If you simply can't have fun without doing radically different things, then you can make different styles to your hearts content - just don't share them with people, stick to sharing one style for your "career" art.
Want an in depth consultation about what you can do to make art your career? I offer a 90 minute consultation to help you figure out style, pricing, how to attract collectors, how to earn residual income from your art and more. Book your consultation here - https://www.nexusvisions.com/product-page/book-90-minute-consultation -Adam
Very useful info! So, i realize why i cannot sell my mandalas. No integrated style and no signature. Style of my paintings is not a big problem, but signature...I tried many times to write a good signature but i failed every time. In addition, i spoiled my paintings with ugly signature. What can i do? How can i make a good logo or signature? Other problem is the title, too difficult for me to give a title, or, if i give a title, i change it later.
When I say a signature style, I don't mean the style of your actual signature. A signature style means a style that is so obviously consistent that a viewer doesn't even need to see a signature to know who the painter is. I sign mine on the back so the only way you'll see my actual signature is if you take a painting off the wall. Maybe you could do the same thing,sign them on the back?
For your actual signature, a signature doesn't have to be fancy, but it does have to be easily legible. You don't want people to struggle to read it. For a logo, that's another story. It's not REALLY 100% necessary. For me I knew I wanted to have products with my designs so, a logo helps with branding those. For a logo, if you don't already have some ideas, you might want to go on Fiver (or even on Steemit maybe there's someone?) and have some graphic designers who make logos all day show you some samples as ideas to give you inspiration. A logo should be pretty simple, and convey some idea about your brand/image.
For your question about titles, I wrote a post about that a while ago - here's the link to it! :) https://steemit.com/art/@adammillwardart/do-you-give-your-art-a-title-art-selling-tip
Thank you! I'll try it!
Make your signature a letter or piled on letters like those old Japanese wood block prints. Look at your art and name it the first thing that comes to mind or don’t name it. Not all artworks are titled. Also, if you use geometric shapes name your art based on the geometric shapes you see. I don’t know, just an idea. Anyhow, good post.
Thank you! I'll use ancient runic writing i think!
That's not necessarily the best idea, you want people to remember your name. Your signature should be your name. Your logo can be runic writing.
Here's why work should be signed and titled - imagine 2 identical artworks next to each other at a gallery. One has a title, and a signature. The other, has neither. Which piece is worth more? The one with the title and signature, it can give the viewer/collector more information. It's a lot easier to search up an artist if you know their name right? It might be tempting to think the one without the information is more mysterious or something - but, it's not. In the art business, it's like buying stock in a mystery company - it just doesn't really happen. UNLESS - you've spent years working in a signature style.
But even then - unsigned work can only be sold at auction or by a serious gallery as "attributed to ______" unless there's other undeniable proof (called "provenance") like a picture of the artist in his/her studio creating it - which means it's a more risky investment. Basic lesson is long term - you want to make your art attractive to art collectors, who are almost always really secretly art investors. Art investors love supporting artists, they get a good feeling from it that they can never get from buying a stock or a bar of gold. They are real art lovers too, just, discerning ones.
Great idea! When I said The way Japanese signed their wood block prints, I didn’t mean to use Japanese letters I meant the style.
Love your art man! Just got the stickers!! Fully supporting you! Steem on!
Thank you, stoked they got there finally! Steem on indeed, it ain't McDonalds but I'm lovin it!
Have you been looking at my blog recently? ;D
Great advice here.
Oh wow I just went to check, I actually hadn't seen that before I wrote the post, at least not consciously! lol I;ve been experiencing a ton of synchronicities on here, I usually take them as a good sign that things are aligning and moving forward!
Thanks so much for writing this. I'm just starting out in art. Don't know if I'll ever develop a consistent style.
Most welcome :) I suggest new artists create 100 imperfect paintings in a year instead of spending a year trying to get one painting just right. When you create a lot of art, you'll start to get an idea of what style you enjoy and what makes your art stand out compared to others. But you won't get that perspective from 3-4 paintings, you might start to get an idea after 30-40 paintings. ;)
I have a long way to go. My goal is to finish what I start and keep going. I do it for the love. If a profession is to follow it will.
Excellent article Adam.
It will be lifesaver for many
I hope it helps a few people. There's not all that many resources on the business side of art.
Thank you for posting your opinion. The first thing that came to mind when I was reading this post is Pablo Picasso, who seemed to have several different styles over the years. I suppose this does not contradict what you are saying because even in these different styles one can always see that it was made by Picasso. Just trying to say that I think that that weird red blob is a simplification.
Pablo Picasso already had a name for himself as an artist too. Once you're living from your art and have collectors supporting you, then it's a whole new game. But to get to that point, takes a certain focus.
Definitely something to that, a signature style makes the identity of the artist. I am myself an illustrator struggling with finding my identity and I keep changing style and technique all the time. It's quite confusing and stressful. I wish I could land on something soon. :)
Stick with one thing for a while and see what happens :) YOu can always play around in your studio with other styles and just not show those ones to people as much
Thanks for the tip... I'll try it out, I do have some techniques and ideas that I can stick with :)
It worked for me. Once I was earning my living full time from my art for a couple of years, I started creating art in a new style too. But only once I had that full time art career going already.
Sounds like you made your dream come true earning your living from your art! That is what I hope for one day as well. Need to get that career going! Thanks for motivation :)
So glad it motivates you! :D That's the best feedback I can get. Well, 2nd best - the best is if you read my art biz advice posts and tell me later that they helped you turn your passion into a career lol ;) Sounds like you obviously have the desire, get the practical art biz side down and you'll be unstoppable :)
Good advice man.
Thank you for this post :) i love it ♡