RESOURCES | 10 THINGS WE'VE SEEN REALLY SUCCESSFUL ARTISTS DO
As creators ourselves we have experienced and understand firsthand the challenges artists face when pursuing a creative career. Over the last 3 years we have met a huge number of artists, each trying to develop their style and maintain a full time career in the art world. We've carefully distilled what we have learned into 10 things our most successful Artists have done to create their exhibitions at Sixteen Gallery, which we hope you can use in your own artistic journey.
NUMBER 7: SELL LESS FOR MORE
Choose a limited number of favourite and most accomplished pieces
Most exhibitors over the last few years have taken over the gallery and filled the space with as many pieces as possible creating a space that feels like a mini RA Summer Exhibition. What we have learned is that will often leave Artists dissatisfied by how much they have sold, leading them to panic and start dropping their prices before the week has even finished, desperate for a sale.
We soon started to notice that Artists who chose a limited number of their favourite and most accomplished pieces ended up selling more work and for more money in the end.
Although the art world has gained a reputation for being elitist, it's because discerning customers want to buy something that feels special. They are willing to pay more money for something that no one else has and that everyone else wants.
If you completely fill a space with beautifully painted work that must have taken hours and hours, it sends the signal to your customers that if you have this much on display you must never sell any! If you carefully curate an exhibition with the best of the best and put a higher price on each piece it makes each of the works far more attractive. Similarly, your time with your audience is always better spent trying to sell one piece for £750 than trying to sell 10 for £75.
Pricing is a hard thing to master. Many Artists struggle because they still haven't taken "Step 1" yet and started taking themselves seriously. It's often about growing your prices over time, as you prove to your audience through their numerous interactions with you that, not only what you are creating is getting better with each show but that you're selecting the best work to make available at each exhibition.
Previous tip: #6 Get themselves seen Next tip: #8 Finish their work properly
Did you know: These tips can be found as a handy free PDF download for you to keep. Grab your copy here.