selling art

[SeCrEtMoDdEr]

sorry if someone asked this already summ time ago but,

what should i do if i want to sell art. im in grade 10. should i look for people in my school?or put something on ebay?or put up papers on lamp posts or something?

how do you guys get clients

[lemorris]

Since I wanted to sell car art I went looking for people who like to buy car art....CAR PEOPLE!!

In my town there are about 64 car clubs, all makes and models. I went to my local car dealers and asked if they had clubs that met there. I asked when, and if they had a contact number. I called the number and asked if I could come to a meeting and show my work. I went to many meetings and showed my pictures. I'm into shirts so I did some club shirts, and sold tons of one offs to individual members. (nice cheese)

I also go to a lot of car shows. I have some cards (cheap) with my web address and contact info, plus I carry a little photo book with little prints. I tell them who I am and what I do, and give them my info. Then I wait for the phone to ring.

Remember these are people who put a lot of $$ into their cars so charge them accordingly. You may want to charge less so you can get the work, but that's not good in the long run. If you sell yourself short, the clients will treat you that way. That's true in any business.

Also if you get a bad feeling about someone say NO!!! Saying "no" can be the hardest thing to learn, but it's a quality that all professionals have. As a matter of fact many people will treat you better after you tell them "no", whether you do business with them or not. Respect. You enjoy what you do, but you don't HAVE to do it for anybody.

Another great resource is "The artist market" it's a publication that lists all magazines, books, newspapers, and whatever. You can flip through find out who to contact, what to send, and how much they pay.

If you want to sell in school. See what clubs and organizations are in your school. I don't know how much $$ you can make, but it's worth a try.

Try some local t-shirt shops. see if they'll by your work, or give you a shot ata design or two. Once again don't be the cheapest. Your art is respectable and so are you. Make sure people respect both.

That's all I got for now.

Good luck.

-Lemorris

[lemorris]

p.s. I also set up my site then went and emailed about 900 car related organizations individually (personal touch). I asked them to check out my work and asked If I could do anything for them. I offer a 3 tier payment system for internet clients. They pay a $200 or so deposit up front. I do work. After the pencil work is approved, but before ink and film they pay again. I receive next payment after they recieve the goods. This way we both have to trust at some point, and everything can be kept above board.

Get a pay-pal account, and make them get one too. That way all $$ transfers are secure, and you can worry about how to get 36 perfect spokes as opposed to how to cash a no-good out of state check.

-Lemorris

p.p.s. Jump in here Bonzelite!! I value your input in these matters.

[SeCrEtMoDdEr]

thats very informative, my brother is part of a car club so i guess i'll start there. thanks a lot!!!

oh, and where can i get this artists market thing? is it a magazine or is there an online version?

what about portraits, what would be a good place to go to for drawing people.

[HighOctaneNOSUser]

I beter stay tuned for this one, I have got to make some money (dunn0 why:P) Anyone heard of World of Wheels? I think I will see if I can show of my work there...First...

[mike@af]

Get a real job...

[SeCrEtMoDdEr]

haha, i plan on doing that

this is on the side

SUCKA

[lemorris]

The artist market is a book. They print it out every year. Here's the 2004 edition

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

I'm not too sure on portraits. That kind of stuff seems tough to sell unless you're really really good, and have some gallery support. (opinion).

Mike said get a real job.

Trust me art is a real job. As a working graphic artist I deal with people not understanding creativity as work all the time. The fact of the matter is being an artist is a very hard thing to do professionally, and it takes a dedication to your craft on a more than professional level. I work with software engineers and when they go home they don't work. When I go home I'm still an artist.

We who choose this life just are. It's beautifully tragic, and rewarding all the same.

-Lemorris

[lemorris]

oh HONU,

World of Wheels is like a huge car show. They have it everywhere. If you want to try to work for them I don't know how to get you in, but to be a vendor you have to pay some fee, then set up at the show and try to sell. I haven't had much luck at car shows selling art as I'm not an airbrush guy, and I don't stock up on prints or giclee's. If I was to do a world of wheels show I would take my little photo portfolio and some cards and try to talk to the owners of the cars. Chances are they or an organization they are in might be interested.

In my opinion most people pay the entrance fee to look at cars, not buy art, but most of the people who have egos and wallets big enough to have a car in the show have egos and wallets big enough to buy art of the car.

Target your market and jump in. It takes time to establish a foot hold, but stick with it. The worst that will happen is they will tell you no, and you keep trying and they say no, and you keep trying. Eventually you'll look up and be good, and someone will say yes......then to quote South Park....It's on!

-Lemorris

[bonzelite]

you are in "grade 10." ok. the first thing you need to do is get really good at drawing cars so word spreads when the friends of the guy who bought your picture see it. word of mouth testimonials are the keenest selling device.

start there.

and whatever lemorris is saying.

[bonzelite]

oh. also, all these cheapskate motherfu#ck'rs who devalue art can all just go jump off a cliff. those are not the people you need to 'change.' f#ck them. move on. and don't take it personally.

like lemorris is saying, target the crowd.

believe it or not, i started by drawing people's cars for ten bucks at car shows. instead of the "characature" portrait of family, i did/do car drawings in charcoal on the spot. bring a can of fixative.

typically, i'm so busy all day i cannot see the car show. and i must turn work down. no joke. try it. you will also get really good at drawing from life, quickly, and on-the-spot. at this point, money is not the main idea here.

listen to me: you CANNOT use any excuse like "it is too hot out here." or "it is too noisy." or "i cannot work like this." --TOO BAD. TOUGH SH!T for you. you must be able to draw ANYTHING, ANYWHERE, SUDDENLY. with QUALITY BEYOND THE NORM. you must do a $100 level drawing and charge $10 maybe $20.

then hand out the cards. use the ten dollar sketch as an extension of your business card. they may ask you, "wow. this *sketch for ten bucks* is so great, can you do it in color?" and say "yes, i can do a finished car rendering for $400."

"oh."

[bonzelite]

and if they don't want it, then who cares. move on.

and if they do, you better give them a $1000-level rendering and blow them away.

the choice you must make is "can i really pull this off?"

if you doubt it, then you will not do anything at all. and you will be a dreamer and a wanna-be and go nowhere.

you will end up doing graphic design for a local dairy company or something. or waiting tables or becoming an alcoholic.

[Ra_15]

How about an advertisement in a local mag? Because I live in a small town in the UK. nuff said.

[bonzelite]

Originally Posted by Ra_15

How about an advertisement in a local mag? Because I live in a small town in the UK. nuff said.

a car mag, yes. those ads are at least USD$300 for a postage stamp sized ad for a single issue. but, hey, look around. the smaller the mag, the cheaper the ad.

join the SCCA or whatever equivalent that is in the UK and put an ad in their 'zine. i've seen such ads.

[bonzelite]

lemorris, for the record, vendor booths at major car shows, like a NOPI or SEMA, are about $2000 per day for a 15x15 foot space. not including labor costs/hour to set up your booth (they won't let you do it), nor lighting.