Art Business Mastery

While people past several tents of fine artists at art festivals, many people observe how the artwork looks in relation to the way the artist displays his or her work. Some artist go into length to have elaborate decorations around their tent while others put in little to no effort at all. They don’t hang their artwork and just leave it laying on the ground without any tender care. Many people at art shows observed these things and notice the value that the artist puts on his or her own work by their presentation and setup of the artwork. What I have noticed the most is that the way you setup your booth space says a lot about you and the value you have in your own art. To some artists it may not seem to be of much concern but it can be an asset or liability to your sales. When setting up your booth, table, or what whatever you are using you would want to put some thought into you presentation. Imagine you were going to a lovely banquet with your friends and when you got their the food was prepared on old beat up tables, the servers were dress in flip flops and drinking glasses were not all that clean. Would you enjoy the banquet? You may, but you would be thinking about the fact you got food off of old dirty table and drank from a half clean glass, if you got something to drink.

My point is this, the way you present your art at an art festival or private showing is very important because you want to present yourself as a reliable person and a professional artist. You want to make sure that when people see your work they see quality art from a quality artist.
Here are a few suggestions and tips that you may want to consider:

Tip1. Be Clean. Make sure your art is clean. Though some of your art may have been in the basement collecting dusk make sure it is clean before you display to potential buyers. Be sure you look well- groomed and professional as well. For me, I like a nice clean white shirt when presenting my art.

Tip2. De-clutter: Make sure your artwork is not all cluttered together, especially your small large pieces. You can get away with hanging small pieces in groups or even sporatically with other small inexpensive pieces.  Also make sure you have your tables setup nice and your boxes or crates hidden.

Tip3. Decor: One of the best things you can do when setting your booth up or area to sell your art is making it look inviting. I’ve seen artists use rugs, table clothes, plants, bowls of candy, candles and etc. Every time I see those booths that are decorated nice, I want to go in to look at their work because the space is so inviting and warm.
Think of your booth as your home or store and remember to keep you area clean, clutter free, and warm & inviting. You want to project the image of you work as having value and that your are of value as an artists.

I would like to know what you think so leave a comment by clicking on comment button above or below this post.

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 Selling art requires more than you sitting in a booth or having work displayed online or in a gallery. It requires you to talk a certain way, dress a certain way and even act a certain way. Selling art requires you to have a different mindset. A lot of artists are wondering why they are not making the money that they would like and the reason is that they don’t really know how to sell. You have to look at yourself not just as an artist but also your sales rep. You have to be two different people and know which situation will require which person. When I’m at home painting, I have old clothes on and the music blasting but when I am talking to a potential client or standing in my booth, I’m dressed nice and neat and I am listening to every word my customer is saying to help me make the sell. You see, if you have never been in sales you will have to step-out of your comfort zone, so to speak, and be someone else. Your mindset has to be on doing what it takes to make sales. You need to be able to comfortably talk to people, tell them about your art, and help them make a decision in buying a work of art from you.
You also need to set goals. Every successful person will tell you that in order for you to move forward you will have to set goals. Goals are the fuel for success. So if you want to be successful as an artist you have to set goals. Set your goals based on where you want to sell your art, how you want to sell your art, and also how much you want to make by selling your art. Write down how much you want to make each month. Make short-term goals and long-term goals. You need a clear vision of where you want to be so you should definitely start with making goals. Believe me this works. Having the right mindset can propel you and your career as an artist. Stop looking at yourself as a starving artist and start investing in yourself and do what it takes to began making some major sales.

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To ensure a good looking display for your artwork you need to properly think of how your art is going to hang your work. Whether it is in a home, an art show or art festival the first thing you should consider is having your painting at eye level. What I mean is that the center of your painting or artwork should be at eye level. No matter what size the painting you’re going to hang it should be hung at eye level. If the painting is too big you may have to find a larger space or hang a smaller work of art.      

Another way to make your space look aesthetically pleasing is grouping your artwork. If the space is large or you have a series of pieces grouping them will be excellent for your space. The unique thing about grouping is that it can work as one work of art or as different entities.

Thirdly, you want to think about the amount of space between your artwork and other objects. Sometimes when you have artwork close together it can look cluttered. No matter how much artwork you have you don’t want to have artwork hung close together just to save space because it will be hard to see the artwork on its own.

Lastly, you definitely want to use the proper tools to hang your work. If you are hanging a painting, please use the proper wiring on the back of the painting, especially if it is a heavy painting with a frame. Always have a strong wire on the back along with hard strong hooks so the wire can attach to it. There’s nothing worse than a painting falling or the wire coming a loose while on display.

Also check out How to Hang Your Art at Art Festivals

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