Mark E Shellshear.

Buyers prejudice is one of the most difficult things that we have to deal with when selling Art or anything really. We all have it and it comes from upbringing, parents, friends and experience. One of the great lessons I had of this was as a young man, a friend wanted to buy a refrigerator and asked me to go with him to purchase it. I went we walked all around the store I thought looking for the best bargain. I found a big Westinghouse refrigerator in his price range that I thought was great value for money. Brand did not make a difference to me it was all about value for money, my prejudice. I showed my friend and as the salesperson talked to him about it I saw he was not comfortable at all and he finally said it wasn’t what he wanted. We walked around some more and he found a Kelvinator Refrigerator and as the salesperson talked about it to him I saw he was happy and ready to buy. Now for me the Westinghouse was bigger and not as much money and great value. The Kelvina...

The old way of selling Art was to put your painting in the Gallery and the Gallery then sold it. Then the Gallery would contact you to get another painting, one similar to the one that sold because it is now a good seller. This is how Artists can slowly fall into the habit of becoming a factory worker, keep repeating the best sellers over and over again. We all want Artists to sell their paintings and prosper off their Art, but not to just keep reproducing the same or similar paintings over and over again, year after year, that is factory work and not the work of an Artist. We want to see growth in the Artists paintings and an evolution of their original, organic style. The paintings must grow and change with the Artist as they grow, we should be able to see the growth of the Artist and the maturing of their work over the years. Paintings are the story of the Artist’s life and each painting identifies a certain place and time in that story of the Artists life, as their l...

There are some Artists I know who make a reasonable living by selling paintings on the street, some do very well in Galleries, some excel in Art Fairs and others in weekend markets, all these Artists in their varied ways are putting their Art out there in the market place and selling it. Unfortunately there are those who are not working hard at selling their Art and they always seem to find fault with the market, but that is like finding fault with oxygen when it’s all you have got to breath. Complaining and criticising fixes nothing and it only reveals our inner self. The best thing to do is learn all you can about the Art market where you live and make the part of the Art world a better place because you are in it. Don't just find fault, find a way to do it better and strive for excellence. So many Artists are complainers and believe that they have a right to prosper because they are Artists. Well you don't have any more right to prosper than any one else...

If you do not need to sell paintings to live, then don't sell them any more, paint because you love to paint and give them all away, the best reason to paint and to be a blessing to others. So many Artists just do not comprehend what happens when you start to price your work. People go from wonderful givers of their Art work to disappointed, bitter sellers of their work. High prices paid for a painting does not make it good. It just means the market was prepared to pay that much for it. Selling a painting does not validate you as an Artist. Sales can never validate you, because you paint paintings that what makes you an Artist and validates you, not sales. Sales just mean the market is prepared to buy those paintings. It does not make them good or better than another Artists work. Not selling a painting does not mean the painting is no good. It just means that the market was not prepared to buy them today but may change it’s mind next week or next month. Th...

Saving money takes a long time to accumulate, it’s slow and hard. Debt accumulates quickly and is easy to get and will smother you if left unchecked. Selling is hard, that’s why people make excuses not to do it. Learning a new skill is hard, that’s why so few learn new skills. The majority want it to be easy and comfortable and believe in the it will all work good and that winning lotto will make them happy, it will not and most who win usually after some time end up right back where they started. Money like success, only stays with those who are prepared, it might visit the unprepared but it does not stay long. What if you could spend six months learning a new skill that would start you on the road to your fortune, wouldn’t you do it? Six months of reading all the books, doing all the free tutorials on You Tube and listening to all the mp3’s available for free, if that would change your life forever for good, wouldn’t that be worth doing? I think it is so intere...

To follow your Artistic dreams and be a successful Artist besides creating your Art, the most important skill you can learn is how to sell your art. Yes many Artists believe that it is the responsibility of the Galleries to sell their Art, but there are not enough Galleries to serve all Artists so you must sell your Art. So you must be prepared to suffer through the pain of no sales until you learn to sell or give up. You must prepare to sacrifice your time to learn the skill of selling. You must deal with the “thief” and self doubt as well as the critics and the haters. The good news is once you learn to sell your own Art and you start selling, you get to keep all the money and you will be a successful selling Artist. Wow, that would make all the pain of learning the new skill of selling worthwhile. Short term pain for long term rewards.

I was asked th is question by an Artist who is work ing full time outside the Art industry, when is the right time to give up their day job and paint for a living. I do believe that every Artist is capable of earning a good living from their Art, but I also believe that you should not be in a hurry to give up your day job. Painting part time knowing you are paying your daily bills is less stressful than having to sell your paintings every week to meet your needs. Paintings do not sell every week and you can have lean times. Of course family and friends will say you are a talented Artist and love receiving your paintings as gifts, but that does not mean in the future they will buy all your paintings when they are for sale . You need to remember that it is strangers who have to buy your paintings to sustain your future income, so you will need to build up a network of strangers that will become your collectors and are prepared to support your Art. Y ou ne...