Ask A Gallery Owner | To sign or not to sign . . . that is the question
In the following email exchange, I answer an artist’s question about visible signatures on art – what’s your opinion? Post in the comments. Jason, I’m so glad you were a…
What to Say When Clients Want to Know if Art Is a Good Investment
Not too long ago I received the following question from gallery owner Steve Harrison:
I had a visitor in my gallery yesterday and asked, “Now because this is original art it won’t depreciate will it?” How does one answer that question. I spend a lot of my time trying to figure out an answer to that question. Of course, a person should buy what they like and no one should ever bank on an “investment” whatever that might be. Still when a person is spending gallery prices for original art, the question “Will this painting retain its value” is a question that deserves an answer. How do other people answer it?
AI is coming for your job: artists need not apply
I read several recent articles about OpenAI’s DALL-E 2, an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can create realistic images and art from a text description prompt. Example images are stunning….
What Kind of Artwork Sells Best?
I’m often asked what kind of artwork sells best – traditional or contemporary, paintings or sculpture, large or small works? On its face, this is a pretty easy question to answer – all I have to do is look over my sales records to see which media and subjects have been selling the best. We’re constantly looking at this kind of information in the gallery to get a sense of where our sales are coming from. I’m hesitant to share this information, however, because I’m not certain how helpful it is for artists who read the blog.
The problem with this kind of data is that we are in such a small industry that it’s very, very difficult to draw truly useful information from these kinds of statistics. Sales can fluctuate dramatically from month to month, and what’s selling today, may not be selling tomorrow. I wouldn’t want an artist to change direction or think that what he or she is creating can’t sell because it’s not what’s “hot” at the moment.
Video: Ask a Gallery Owner | Is it okay to sell prints and merchandise of my art?
Leanne from Minnesota asks: “Is it frowned upon by gallery owners for artists to sell prints of their work at fairs and online, or to be represented by a gallery?…
Ask a Gallery Owner | Should Artists Seek an Agent to Represent Them?
I recently received the following email asking about artists’ agents: Dear Jason, I have joined a discussion line on LinkedIn and we are discussing the pros and cons of hiring…
How are you making money from your art?
As a gallery owner, my attention is focused on generating sales in our galleries, and helping artists learn how to get into galleries and build great relationships with gallery owners….
Henri Matisse
“Creativity takes courage.” Henri Matisse Henri Matisse was born on December 31, 1869, in the small town of Le Cateau-Cambrésis in northern France. His father was a grain merchant, and…
Protecting Creativity: A Story of Art and Copyright Infringement
As the owner of Xanadu Gallery, I often come across stories of artists facing challenges in their creative journeys. We represent one such artist at Xanadu Gallery, Elisabeth Ladwig, whose…
The Biggest Challenges Facing Successful Artists
Many artists struggle to generate reliable sales. Many of my posts here are about how to begin creating more robust, more consistent sales by increasing your exposure and optimizing your…