I’m learning a lot this year about how to SELL my paintings. Here are some of the things I’ve learned:

1) It’s all in your mind. For various reasons in the past several years, I haven’t had the right frame of mind. If you’ve read ‘The Secret’ or believe in positive visualization, then you know what I’m talking about. For you to sell paintings, you have to believe that your paintings have value, that they are worth the prices you set, and that there are people out there ready to buy them. You have to trust that they will be sold and see it happening in your mind.

For me, I used to say “I don’t really think I will sell paintings” or “I can’t imagine anyone spending this much money – I certainly wouldn’t”. That was definitely a losing attitude. At the same time, I knew my paintings were exceptionally valuable, and that one day they would sell for lots of money, I just couldn’t imagine it happening now, here, in the places I was showing. Once I realized and corrected this mistake, I found that paintings weren’t that hard to sell.

2) Be ready to let them go – and price accordingly. It was always hard for me to let a painting go – especially for a low sum like a few hundred dollars. I had wanted to save them until I was famous, and sell them for thousands of dollars; but it doesn’t work like that. Prices will be lower until you’re established. Keeping the prices high in the beginning doesn’t work for you; you need to sell in order to please galleries, to appear successful, and to make some money to keep going. You will always paint new stuff. Hold onto a few favorites if you must, but be ready and willing psychologically to part with a painting. Cut your emotional attachment.

3) Think like Google – it’s all about impressions. This isn’t about making a ‘good’ impression – it’s about making any impression, period. People need to see your name connected to your work, as much and as often as possible. If they see it 4 or 5 times in different places, and actually kind of ‘know who you are’, they might actually come to a show. The first time they hear of you, they’ll most likely

pass you by. Become recognized by showing a lot, all over, whenever you can, wherever you can.

4) Network. You cannot sell paintings without people working with you. Go to shows and openings. Meet other artists, curators and gallery owners. Never push your work, although you can say ‘I’m an artist’ and casually hand a business card. Never ask for help though. Network especially with other artists in your area – and give more than you receive! Let them know about exhibition opportunities or events, then they will do they same for you. I used to try and do everything on my own, but I was an outsider. Now, just by meeting a few people in my community who are also involved in the arts, doors are opening quickly.

5) Invest in yourself. You have a PRODUCT that you are trying to sell. Think like a business. Are you willing to spend $300 in advertising to sell a $500 painting? You should be! Don’t focus on making a profit – reinvest any income into your career. Advertise exhibitions or shows in the newspaper or local media. Spend more on nice fliers or putting together a mailing list. If you can spend $3000 on promotion and advertising, and sell 10 paintings for $500 each, you’ll still make a huge profit. Isn’t that better than just selling 1 or 2 paintings? Do things BIG, and well.

6) Do things the ‘right’ way. Get things right. Have prices, descriptions and sizes of all paintings handy. Have a pricelist/catalog made. Sell cheap posters or prints. You can make a considerable amount of money this way to offset spending. Learn how to talk about your paintings and present yourself.

7) Presentation – mix up sizes and prices. Space the big, expensive pieces with little, cheap ones. It’s visually more engaging (although counter-intuitive, I liked to group by size before) and it makes the cheap paintings seem very affordable. Make sure half of your paintings are simple and affordable – these are the ones that will sell, and keep your main ‘signature’ pieces big and expensive.

For many years I’ve refused to talk about what my paintings mean. I would get frustrated when people asked me. “It isn’t about ME – it’s about YOU: I just want you to react, to have your own personal relationship and response to the painting, leave me out of it!” My stance was based on Magritte’s definition of art as mystery, a little bit of interest in Zen philosophy, and a general dislike towards speaking and arguing with people.

I understand my previous opinion, and still support it – however I’ve learned that it just won’t work if I want to be a ‘real’ artist.

You HAVE to have something intelligent to say about each one of your paintings. Why you painted it, how you painted it, what for, what it means to you, how it makes you feel. Words are an integral part of human cognition and understanding. While they may feel an emotional response to a painting, it will only trigger their curiosity. They may want to know more about the piece, about the artist, about life in general.

I used to think a painting was a mountain scene to be awed by; or perhaps a smooth forest pond that gives the viewer a reflection of themselves.

It isn’t. Actually – it’s a window into the mind of the artist. It can either be a dirty window, that a viewer peers into fruitlessly and soon moves on, or it can be clean and shiny, full of fantastic and interesting things inside, that makes the viewer stay and look, fascinated.

Luckily, you have the power to create the scene the viewer sees. The painting is the window frame – the description of your paintings is the fanciful decoration and action taking place inside the frame.

I’m not a big talker, and I usually panic when someone asks me to explain “what it means” (something I’m obviously working to correct, because it is a necessary skill). However I like to write. Recently, the curator at my last exhibition printed out all of the comments and descriptions I’d written about my paintings – on Facebook, Flickr, and my website – and put them up next to the paintings.

It was amazing. At first I felt a little naked – I was really putting MYSELF out there now, all of my limited, opinionated, and controversial beliefs. But I noticed that the visitors spent much more time in the gallery, reading everything, and had a much deeper response and interaction with me and my work. Even better, I didn’t get harder any questions like “what does it mean/what are you trying to say” because it was all written down.

If you’re like me, you just like to paint and don’t really think about a specific ‘thing you’re trying to say’ with your paintings. But people will still want to know and you MUST be able to answer them. So tell them about yourself. Think about who you are, what you believe in, your hopes, dreams, fears, how you feel when you paint, what you want to do/discover/learn in your life – these are all things that may have influenced your work.

When talking about a specific painting, look at it for a while, drink a glass of wine ; how does it make YOU feel? What does it remind you of? A special time or place in your life? Something deeper?

Write it down if it helps. Practice saying it out loud. Post it on your website/printed materials. Be consistent, concise and eloquent… otherwise you end up stammering with your pants down.

Answer: show your work as much as you can, whenever you can, however you can.

This is not, by the way, what I used to believe. On my road to becoming a professional artist, I’ve always had my sights set on high-end galleries, with big spaces, white walls and high ceilings. Selling at a ‘crafts fair’ or art market seems cheap to me; yet here are a few reason to do so.

1) You can buy your way in. This is not true for any good gallery; you shouldn’t have to pay to exhibit in a gallery, nor should you have to pay for printing fliers, set up, opening night food, etc (although you might pay a little, especially in a newly-established place). Art fairs are great because ANYBODY can get in, and everybody knows it. This does not necessarily make you ‘cheap’ – in fact by having absolutely stunning work, professional prints and materials set up, you can make a great impression just by being ‘a cut above’ your neighbors.

2) Some art fairs have great reputations – but make sure you do your research. A local crafts fair may not be what you’re looking for. But the Art Fair San Francisco or Gesai Taiwan art fairs (the two I’m looking at for this year) are pretty reputable events that will attract not only lots of midrange buyers, but also some heavy hitters like curators and gallery reps.

Think of an Art Fair like a good advertisement: you’re paying for number of impressions. You may pay about $500 for a 1-day booth at a good art fair. Yes that’s a lot of money – but if you sell a couple paintings and lots of prints, you’ll make it back. Even better, you’ll get TONS of exposure.

Only YOU can make yourself look cheap – avoid that by being scrupulously well prepared and set up. All your work, printed materials, and everything should be super sharp, crisp, clean and professional. You are only as good as your own presentation. Make sure your paintings like amazing, however you display them.

As for galleries – yes, of course you should; unfortunately galleries often approach you – or else exhibitions work out via mutual acquaintances. Once you’re ‘plugged in’, attending the events in the area you wish to exhibit, meeting the right people, networking and making contacts, exhibitions should just sort of happen.