r/ArtMarketingTalk

Commissions can be a tough spot for many artists and often I see things nobody enjoys bringing up when it comes to the reality of getting commissions.
To preface: I have done many commissions and used to do it full time which paid for my monthly living and then some.

1. Beginners. Beginner art and not knowing the fundamentals. Many people question why they don't get commission but when looking at their portfolio their skill is very beginner. With a saturated market you need to have somewhat strong fundamentals and level in art to be appealing. You are simply not ready to take commissions. Nobody wants to be the bad guy and straight up say this.

2. Pricing. Pricing is always a painful point because you want to pay what's fair to yourself but also be marketable. Here's the truth of pricing.

• Skill: If you are are newer artist then you cannot charge professional rates. Sure, an art piece might take you a long time but the quality needs to be realistic for the price.
• Influence: If you do not get commissions and do not have a large audience then you may need to lower your prices to built yourself up. Many big follower count artists charge higher because of the demand. It's demand vs pricing in many regards, not just skill level.
• Yes-manning. Stop telling newer artists to raise their prices. It's unrealistic and just leads to them not getting any commissions because they've jacked up their prices because people said "No, you're art is so good, you should definitely charge $100!". Be kind but be realistic.

3. Marketing. This is a big one. In this day and age if you don't know how to use social media and market yourself you're not getting many commissions. Sure, you may despise a website but that website might be what you need to grow and market yourself. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone to grow.

4. Spam and Unrelated Content. Artists, stop posting your portfolios on "looking for artists" when you do not fit what the client wants. SO many times I've seen people look for a realistic style and then an anime artist throws their link in. If you do not fit what the client wants then you're throwing a line with no lure on it hoping a fish will come. Apply to what fits you and what you can actually offer.

5. Guilt Tripping. I see many artists advertise their commissions with a message saying "I need to be able to eat food, please commission me". Listen, I'm not saying people don't have it hard, it's tough out here. But it's incredibly unprofessional to try and built yourself up on sympathy and guilt tripping. You want clients to buy from you for your services, not because they feel obligated to keep your lights on.

Thank you for coming to my Art Talk.

My first experience working with a gallery lasted about 24 hours, and I’m still trying to make sense of it.

A gallery owner in a small tourist town outside a large city in the Midwest loved my oil paintings and invited me to bring work for a weekend festival that draws over 50,000 visitors. I brought 16 framed originals on Friday, as requested, with the understanding that they would be displayed during the festival.

Several things immediately made me uncomfortable. She asked me to remove my contact information and certificates of authenticity, saying she wanted only my first name attached to the work because she didn’t want customers finding me or buying directly from me. She also dismissed my interest in maintaining relationships with collectors and notifying them about limited-edition prints.

I have an established art business, regular commissions, and collectors around the country, but this was my first gallery experience. I questioned whether these practices were normal, even though they felt wrong.

She also spoke negatively about another artist who was leaving because they didn’t trust her. Then she took my paintings without documenting what I had left. I photographed everything and emailed her an inventory afterward.

I accepted her 50% commission and offered to direct inquiries about those paintings through the gallery. I also promoted the festival and gallery to my people, and three people told me they planned to come buy my work.

When my husband and I stopped in the next day, none of my paintings were displayed. She said they were piled in the back because she hadn’t gotten around to them, despite her promise to include them in the festival.

At that point, I decided to retrieve my work. She let me take it without much resistance.

While I was loading the paintings into my car, a waitress from the restaurant next door stopped to look and bought one on the spot. She asked whether my work was in the gallery. When I explained that I had just pulled it out, she said, “You dodged a bullet.”

I guess I would like feedback to what I may have done wrong… it just feels weird.