Guideline on how and where to sell your paintings online
We live in a digital era and technology is connected to almost every aspect of our existence. Internet is overtaking our everyday life and is affecting every possible human activity.
Art makes no exception in all of its forms. If you are a painter or an illustrator and you are used to the “old school” way of promoting and selling your artworks you should take time to reconsider. The virtual space is breaking the boundaries and is giving unlimited opportunities to artists to share their creations with the entire world.
As the Jamaican-American author, Nicola Yoon says: “You don’t exist if no one can see you.”
There are some basic steps you need to take in order to start promoting your pieces of art and yourself as an artist. I would recommend beginning with choosing between 5 and 8 pieces you would like to present - this way you will create a base that you can later build upon. The process can be summarized in a few main groups of activities:
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1.Writing preparation
• Artist statement - this is one of the most important things to prepare. It is literally a written description of your work and your personal point of view, and it should be giving the viewer some depth in understanding your art. Here are 4 tips by Eli Hill for Artsy on how to write the perfect artist statement - https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-4-tips-writing-good-artist-statement
• Artist biography - this should provide the viewer with a captivating and summarized information on your story as an artist. You can mention your years of experience, your career credentials and should connect you as an artist to your artwork. Here is an article by Artwork Archive on how to write an attractive bio - https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/how-to-write-an-appealing-artist-biography
• Artwork descriptions - you will need to write detailed descriptions of your paintings. Here is a useful article on the topic by Saatchi Art - https://support.saatchiart.com/hc/en-us/articles/206523237-How-Do-I-Write-An-Artwork-Description-https://support.saatchiart.com/hc/en-us/articles/206523237-How-Do-I-Write-An-Artwork-Description-
• Exhibition history - in this part you can share information about all of the exhibitions you have participated in. It is important to note the name of the gallery, the location, the year and the name of the exhibition + was it a shared one or a solo. In this article from Agora Gallery, there is a section with useful information on how to write your exhibition history professionally - https://www.agora-gallery.com/advice/blog/2018/07/16/the-artist-cv/
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- Photography - You should take high-quality photographs of your paintings. If you can not afford to hire a professional you can make the photos by yourself. As digital photography is not expensive, I would suggest taking as many photos as you can so you can have enough later to choose from. It is good to make a variety of photos from the front and the backside of your paintings as well. There are many things you have to consider when doing this such as lighting, composition and even camera settings.
Here is a helpful and detailed article by Janet Dwyer from Expert Photography on the topic - https://expertphotography.com/photographing-artwork-tips/
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3.Math - you should probably already made up your mind on the prices of your paintings but this is not the only calculations you need to make. As you will be selling to people that might not live in your country, you should make a precise calculation on the delivery fee that the potential buyer will be paying. Important things to consider are the weight of your painting and its size. Also, you should make a research on the prices and the delivery time of different companies, as well as how are they charging their delivery for different countries in the world.
Here is a useful guide from one of the biggest package delivery companies in the world UPS - https://www.ups.com/us/en/services/knowledge-center/article.page?kid=art16661d4e63a
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4.Choosing your placement - There are many websites created especially for selling art online and they function as “online galleries”. It is extremely important to make the research in advance because different platforms and website have different policies and charging fees. Some of them charge you fo per painting, some of them have requirements for additional information about your work and it can be quite frustrating when you have no experience with that and you have dive in deep.
Here is a list in alphabetical order of websites that are absolutely free to register:
Saatchi - https://www.saatchiart.com/ - You can both buy and sell pieces of art there. When you register you have to create a listing with your paintings in order to be approved and you have to present some background information about yourself in order to be researched. They charge 30% commission fee per sale so you should consider that and maybe add that 30 % to the price of your painting.
Absolute Arts - https://www.absolutearts.com - They offer a variety of services and they have a huge database with over 150 000 pieces of art. You can choose between different packages - the free package has a 35% commission fee and the paid ones have between 20% and 25%.
Abstract Art Gallery - http://www.abstractart.gallery - This is an online gallery for abstract art. It allows registered artists to connect with collectors from all over the world. Their commission fee is 20% per sale and every artist gets a page for their portfolio.
Artavita - https://artavita.com/ - You get to exhibit your work and share the latest news about yourself with gallery owners and other artists from all over the world. They offer every artist a free profile page where you can display your portfolio of unlimited artworks and collections
Art Boost - https://artboost.com - The website is selling original pieces from artists and it is allowing personal contact between the artist and the buyer. You have integrated Facebook and all of the sales are executed through PayPal which is a good security option. They charge a 15% commission fee from the final price of the painting.
Art Discover - http://www.artdiscover.com - The website is like a display window for art. It completely free and you can even showcase an entire exhibition. You will not be able to sell directly there but you can link it to your official website or to another place where you have your portfolio.
Arte Net - https://artenet.es/en/ - You can promote and sell your art here without paying. They accept paintings, sketches, illustrations, sculptures, and others. You can register, create a professional profile and get contacted by buyers but you can not sell directly through the website itself.
Art Fido - http://www.artfido.com - This is a global market where artists and galleries can showcase and sell their pieces of art. They have a 10% commission fee per sale.
Artist - https://artist.com/ - You can contact buyers and sell your artwork here absolutely for free.
Artist Be - https://www.artistbe.com - The artists can upload their paintings in order to create their own personal page/gallery on the website. For original art, the commission fee is 30% and for reproductions is 15%.
Art Majeur - https://www.artmajeur.com - Here you can connect with buyers directly and it is also absolutely free of charge.
Art Pal - https://www.artpal.com - Another free website which is open for a variety of art such as jewelry, photography, fine art, crafts, sculptures, paintings and more.
Art Quid - http://www.artquid.com - This website is as well a free marketplace but the perk here is that you can also sell prints of your work.
Art Wanted - http://www.artwanted.com - They can be considered more like a community for promoting artists but are also completely free.
Fine Art America - https://fineartamerica.com - This is probably the largest platform in the world and it is free to register. You can turn your art into different types of products such as shirts, tote bags, yoga mats and many more. They have a detailed with what they charge and what you want to win from sale depending on the product.
Found Myself - https://www.foundmyself.com/ - Again a website that is free to register and has an interesting honor/rating system.
Global Art Exchange - https://www.global-art-exchange.com - This website is also free but in order to start selling you first have to submit your art for an approval.
Got Artwork - http://gotartwork.com/ - This is another free website.
Harn Gallery - http://www.harngallery.com/ - This is also a website that is free of charge.
Orangenius / Artrepreneur - https://orangenius.com - They are also free and they have many useful tools, insights, and resources that can help you to to manage your profile and listings.
The Commissioned - https://www.thecommissioned.com - Here you can promote and sell your art and also build relationships with your potential clients.
So you just have to start somewhere, be motivated and persistent and success will come. As mentioned earlier, the Internet is unraveling new horizons in front of nowaday artists and you should better use them. After all, you never know who is the person sitting on the other side of the computer. It might be a collector and that painting of yours might be the beginning of his new collection...
(Source: Pexels)
(As already mentioned in the article, all of the photos are with royalty free rights and they are downloaded from Pexels.com)