Let me explain what's going on here. Sometimes, due to their narrow-mindedness, the artist thinks they're the smartest. They believe that they've come from scratch and are already a master of selling art, while the art dealer just came to stroll around the art business territory. And the artist decides that they'll negotiate a high price with the art dealer, and the art dealer will exhibit the paintings on good platforms at a decent price. And not just publish them for sale but also promote them. And they'll also set the price, write descriptions for each piece, and find the top tags themselves, which they'll add to the title and all the texts.
And the artist will show links to lots and listings, and quietly offer to buy directly from them at a low price. Then they'll come with complaints that they were bought directly from them, but not from the dealer. They'll shift the responsibility and present themselves as innocent fluffy bunnies. Ignoring prices and backstage games. Well, what can I say. It's interesting how some people's brains work.
That's why the art dealer takes money for everything, including the mere fact of publication. And adds their commission to all of that. Artists, blinded by their uniqueness and incomparability, overlook the most important thing. The art dealer has plenty of artists to choose from. Pick any. And the customer base also belongs to the dealer.
Many artists, especially beginners, look at this ideal contract and say, "Yuck, I don't want that. I want to be a star of auction houses, I want to focus on creativity!" And then they list a dozen objections and grievances. Because they're attracted not by real professional activities but by external romanticized attributes.
And you forget or don't suspect because of your naivety, stereotypes, or the illusion of genius. You don't know that along with creativity, you need to apply skills in effective communication. The ability to persuade and influence. Sales and promotion skills. The ability to organize people and situations. You asked for it harshly, without reverence. But it clears out the garbage from your brain. What do you think?
After 3 Years, But for Sure, Good?
An art dealer, whose situation is the opposite. Conversation with a Familiar Artist:
– Darling, you've been trying to sell your paintings for three years now and you're diligently doing nothing for it. And I thought, maybe I'll pay you from my own pocket? After all, you need to buy paints again and pay for a place on marketplaces.
– Galina, you can see for yourself that I don't want to create series of works and improve my skills. And I've long forgotten about good photos, target audience, and tags, so don't worry. And where do you have extra money to support me?
– Well, yes, that's also true.
– Galina, let's revisit this conversation in a couple of years…
– After 3 years, but for sure, good?
How can an artist survive criticism?
No way. There's no way to survive. The best and most correct way to participate in discussions: not to participate and not engage in the discussion. I'm talking about artistic groups now. When works are exhibited for display, that's when it starts! I sense the smiles of the artists. And I'm feeling the same. Look at what's happening. And why. Dominance is shown in the amount of text, the number of comments, and the direction of the text.
I recently saw when the author of the post suggested to a lady in such a role to switch positions. It looked like "show me your work and I'll advise you, I can do that too." The lady burst into personal insults. I think you understand why. There are also comments like "why do I see this for the third day in a row in my feed, get out of my friends, I don't want to see this!" And often those who demand to remove the post comment under every word. They are outraged that this post is shown at the top of their feed. It's a pity that nobody is outraged by their own infantilism.
What do commentators do? They fantasize and write a response to their fantasy in their heads. The author's goal of the post is clear only if they voiced it. Let me explain. When there's a question about the quality of the work, a request for criticism and tips, then it's a different story about responding to requests. During heated discussions, they usually write off-topic, voicing their fears, pains, what bothers them in real life, what they suppress deep down, and that's what they write about.
Let me give you a vivid example, when a painting with nudity is exhibited. Usually, the plot and presentation tear apart the consciousness of many viewers. Immediately there are options like "you shouldn't paint like this, look how it should be done, you shouldn't paint this topic, you should paint something else, you shouldn't show your works." Artists, those who are reading me now, you see these discussions in bundles. I feel your smiles. Moreover, pay attention, the authors of the posts are different, the paintings are different, and the commentators change, but the texts are almost identical. Be curious, read with thought, and compare. Enjoy.
If your goal is to pour out your negativity and pain, attract attention, then go ahead into a heated discussion, get involved in every statement. Yes, and the risk of encountering trolls is maximum. They love to humiliate, know how to, practice with pleasure and cynicism. If your goal is just to exhibit, and you didn't expect a heated debate, or you're testing the market, or analyzing the reaction to your works or the target audience of the group, then it's reasonable to take the position of an observer.
Abstract yourself from the discussion and the post. You have a ticket in the audience, not an engagement as an actor in a theatrical troupe. Respond to a comment only if you were asked a question. Specifically asked, with a tag on your name, or addressing you directly as the author. And only if you want to or feel it's necessary to answer.
Because if you were asked, it doesn't mean you have to drop everything and run to argue and justify. The responsibility for the other's reaction lies on their territory, not yours. In all other cases, keep silent. You're not being asked, so keep silent. keep silent. keep silent. If you're asked directly, think whether you need to answer at all.
Isn't the mechanism clear? Well, they want to pour out their inner turmoil. Why on you? And what's your role here? Let them choose someone else and pour out their song further. I'll repeat. If you're not asked, keep silent. If you're asked directly, think whether you need to answer at all.
What else affects the price of a painting?
What does the artist usually do? Looks at price calculators, prices for analogs on websites, from colleagues, calculates expenses, the list goes on. I've already written enough about this and discussed it in groups and on training courses. Now I'll show you another aspect of the commercial aspect of pricing. Tell me, how many paintings have you sold? And how many are on sale? What is the ratio of views to sales?
Most people can't answer these questions. Most can't say how many works they have in total. And how many of them are for sale. And they don't keep track of sold works by clients, prices, or quantity. Moreover, most don't even consider the ratio of exhibited to sold.
Here's how it's calculated. For example, you have 27 works in the gallery, and only one was sold. (1/27) x 100% = 3.7%. Or you have 115 works, of which 34 were sold. (34/115) x 100% = 29.56%, or out of 5, 3 were sold. (3/5) x 100% = 60%.
I'm drawing your attention not to the quantity of sold works, but to the sales conversion rate, in percentage terms. And now why you need to know the sales conversion of your paintings. Pay close attention. Let me give you an example. You've already bought materials: brushes, paints, paper, canvases. That is, you've invested financially. You've painted 30 paintings.
Published and exhibited them. And only 2 were sold.
Then you bought paper, paints, canvases again and again. On average, out of 30 works, 2 are bought.