The Business of Art ...A Great Resource for Artists

'A Welcome Change'          9x12         pastel       ©Karen Margulis
painting available at Daily Paintworks $125

I remember my very first art sale. It was a small painting that I auctioned on Ebay. I believe I sold it for $25. I was thrilled. I didn't really intend to make a living with my art but it I thought it would be nice to sell a few paintings here and there to help with the cost of supplies and classes.

That was a few years ago. Since then I have retired from my in-home childcare business to paint and teach full time. I have found many other outlets for promoting my work besides ebay and I am always learning how to best market my art and my classes. It can be overwhelming!  It is a challenge to balance painting time with business/marketing time. If you are new to selling your art it is hard to know where to begin! I am always learning something new about the business side of art so this weekly blog topic will focus on ways to help you with balancing business with creating. Here are two great resources to get you started.

•  When I decided to focus on my art full time the best thing I did was read Alyson Stanfield's book 'I'd Rather be in the Studio'.  She does a wonderful job breaking down the essentials of taking charge of your art career. I highly recommend it! I also came across another great resource for artists.

•  I'd like to share a website I discovered.  I was happy to be introduced to this site  Artpromotivate.com   I am still going through the archives but it is filled with articles designed to help artists promote themselves and stay inspired. I found one post that I'd like to share. It is filled with great information. The post lists the most FAQ dealing with a wide range of artist issues such as selling online, preventing creative block, taking photos of your work. Check it out here.

close up of 'A Welcome Change'

 Today's painting was unearthed from a pile of unfinished work. It was started in a workshop with Ann Templeton but it was lacking something. I decided to add some iridescent pastel to the grasses. You can see them better in this close up shot. I like the subtle shimmer these pastels added to the painting.