Taylan Fidan 20 Mar 2017

I Have Nearly 1 Billion Visitors to My Site...But '0' sells Here..fair World*

Vincent von Frese 11 Apr 2017

More exposure may not be the key to more art sales after reading Taylan has over a billion hits for his art.

Selling art is no measure of success in artistic ability in my opinion. Selling art is a good measure of success as a business person maybe. Selling requires painstaking work and lots of money and has actually reduced my ability to make art because of that.

I have tried selling to the local public face to face more than online and have made a few sales and commissions. But setting up a tent and paying an entrance fee is expensive and tiring. Rewards are good usually and one can write off these expenses during tax time.

Yury Yanin 15 Apr 2017

Hi Vince, You are as usual… I mean you always have deep thoughts, which provoke me for long speeches… You say sales are not a measure of success… Yes… May be… for me, probably for you, but not for everyone. A lot of artists earn their living by selling art and heavily depend on sales. Among GREAT ARTISTS were some commercially successful and rich during their life, while others were poor and were recognized as GRE#AT ones after their death only… I can not say who of them were GREATER , and who were better or worse in business… What were their personal measures of success – more money, a greater art, or a good dinner? Who knows… probably everyone had his own opinion about his success if he though about that at all… Outside of any thoughts ART can be kind of a heavy illness, you know – successful or not, thinking about art or feeling hunger, a real ARTIST can not stop to create his ART weather he can sell it or not, as if he can not cure his illness. What is a measure of success for me? Self satisfaction first of all, I think. The secondary measure of success for me is probably my ability to show my art, to share my artistic vision with many people all over the world. I love to feel understanding of public and popularity of my art. May be all that is really secondary, not compulsory… just very pleasant. Usually I can judge about the popularity of my art mostly by comments and number of visits to my portfolio. To say the truth, it is not a reliable way, especially in the current AW situation. For example, last month I received up to 60 visits to each of my artworks in a couple of days, this month I have 0 visits at all yet. That is why I say that number of visits is kinda self deception at Aw and no more then a mere fun. And still I do not feel much contradiction between self satisfaction, popularity of my art, my self deception and sales. I sale some art from time and may be even receive some very little money for it. Sometimes it is also a fun. Once I earned 87 cents for my art in… Australia. Imagine how they tried to decide how to send that sum to Russia, were we do not use change (cents) at all! And still sales have their own meaning for me. Sales are a more reliable sign of popularity then any stats. No one will pay his own money for art, which he dislikes. Here we have another problem though – weather AW makes any sales at all, or not? I also think that all above may be fair for us both, but not so correct for AW as a business and artistic web site. For AW sales should have a primary importance, if we want this site to live long. Sales are surely signs of success for this site, they should be shown to public and used as an effective promotion tool. Big sales should attract more good artists, increase their activity, attract more public and would be buyers, more sales, more money, etc… Pardon me, but I even tell you as a secret my opinion that AW can show fake sales for a beginning if it lucks real ones right now….

Vincent von Frese 17 Apr 2017

Sales of prints are good signs of success of one's art weather it be great or not. Sales is always better than no sales. I meant to point out that making art just for sales as the motivation can be frustrating. We know that film industry sales are necessary for the studio)Paramount) to keep it's doors open but the sales are not part of the actors and craftsmen involved's concern.

A completely alone artist working alone without exposure to the public may not require any sales for their own success because practicing business marketing is very time consuming. I'll bet 60/40 per cent with the higher number in marketing and public relations. I always feel great when I sold some work but I never make that the measure of my success because many works sold are my least successful works.

Commissions are my bread and butter. I use contracts to get the funds. Here is a plaster version of a small bronze sculpture. A contract for $1200.00 provided a deposit for foundry work and modeling so it was financially painless. But to just make a horse and hope someone will buy it for $1200.00 never worked for me.

Yury Yanin 18 Apr 2017

Excellent hose, Vince! Hope someone is gonna to buy it.

You are right as usual. I understand you. As a professional artist you need sales and money, but, being first of all the ARTIST, you try not to let your financial needs to govern your ART. It is a hard and honest position, deserving my utmost respect. I know, it is not easy to keep in that position. We know too many so called “artists” who are ready to do any bull…… for money. While the ART must be a function of soul, I’d call their technologicaly refined senseless mass production “prostitution of soul”, and I despise that as you do. The real ART should invoke people emotionaly upwards, while such art prostitution throws public deep down in their aesthetics and morality.

Fortunately for me, being an amateur, I seldom think about sales and just enjoy trying to make some art. For example, yesterday I found one of my old experimental digital artworks and entertained myself, trying to improve that picture once more with more digital tools. I am not sure yet is there anything good in the resulting image or not, but I surely liked the process.

Adelle John 19 Apr 2017

I do end up selling a lot of my artwork, but truthfully, I have only sold a couple pieces totally online (two) since 2003, with the exception of a time I decided to auction off a bunch of paintings that had not over time sold on eBay and all of those paintings sold but at low prices but it was a good way to get them out of my house and into other homes and I just made sure the shipping was paid over the auction cost so if a piece sold for $30 I got the $30 and didnt spend it on shipping. So I dont count the eBay sales as my regular online sales as the prices I got were rather low.... But I do sell art and my website here is very helping in selling it but it is not the end in itself for sales...sales might start here but they finish at home. What I do is I give out my website address here to people who are likely to buy (mostly members of my Synagogue or other Jews I meet or know) and they will go to my website from time to time and check out my newest works and if they are interested in a work they never click on it and buy it from the website they are more likely to call me at home and ask to come see my painting or paintings and when they come that is when I make a sale. Most all my sales are made person to person. People like that in that they see what they are getting before the commit the dollars...where as online purchasers pay and then it is shipped to them but sometimes with good editing programs paintings look better on the page than in real life and other times, with poor lighting as we photograph or poor photography skills, our paintings look better in real life than on the page....either can be true. So it is actually better to come look at a painting to get a real idea of what it looks like and I find people are more willing to buy that way. At least that is how it has worked for me. And I am about to sell one that the lady has bought it before it is done...so sold before the paint is dry even lol...that feels kinda weird. Not great I like to sit back and look at my new paintings for awhile before they sell and I wont be able to with this one. I feel like she is going to snatch my baby away right after I give it birth lol....

jennifer blenkinsopp 20 Apr 2017

I have came back on the site to upgrade my portfolio, I have sold nothing here on Aw, but have on other art sites and through bricks and mortar . I have been away for a few years and recently started with mosaics so thought I would give these exposure too :) .

Adelle John 20 Apr 2017

Hi Jennifer, I remember you from before I left and now I am back, too. I quit doing art for awhile due to poor health but I am now experiencing a comeback in both health and painting. Which feels really good. I wanted to add something I think I will try. In a few months I will have space at my new Shul's (Synagogue's) gift shop...the Shul is not finished but will be so before the end of our year and hopefully before High Holidays. I will be alllowed to show some of my artwork and products (mostly cards which sell very well). I wondered about having ArtWanted do some art products ahead (my paying for them I notice I can do that without paying myself a fee and the price looks good to me for most things). So like I might have ArtWanted print a few mouse pads, some cards, a TeeShirt or two, and see if these sell themselves in the Gift Shop...I believe they will now especially with me able to postition the pic how I please. So I am talking about it mostly to let anyone here realize that you can do that...just find a way to show your art in real life someplace whether it is your church or local Art guild, bank etc...then offer other products besides art at the same time. Some people who are less likely to buy an oringal painting are more likely to buy a tee shirt or mouse pad or even low priced print. Others will buy a very expensive print or an original and might be interested in cards that matched their purchase so they can show it off to their friends everywhere and say...I bought this original painting..it is on my wall! Just an idea. I believe it will work for me...perhaps you as well.

jennifer blenkinsopp 21 Apr 2017

jennifer blenkinsopp Just now

Hi lovely to see you again, do you have to pay for the print option, ? I have placed one or two for sale but cannot find the print option, I have sold quite a few on Zazzle. Plus originals on three sites , Where about s are you Adelle. This is weird just placed a button mosaic on. Inspired by Klimt, Portrait of Adele . . Just going to view your paintings Adelle

Tatiana Iliina 21 Apr 2017

I just joined here a year just under a year ago, I understood that I came around just after the site went through a major overhaul, so I thought things might take a while to get going...

Meanwhile, I haven't paid too much attention to it, so thought I would come back and see what's happening. I do sell elsewhere on the internet. Wouldn't have expected any sales here based on my low activity, but interested to see how others have done.

Yury Yanin 21 Apr 2017

Hi Tania! I am impressed by your portfolio, feel the solid SPB artistic school! Everywhere some people have a nostalgie for the art of this quality, I am sure you will sell a lot. It is a pity that you did not show one of your artworks here as we did above. Could you show us your painting "Old Ferryman" for this discussion? You can attach your file clicking first "reply" and then at the bottom of the text box.

Adelle John 21 Apr 2017

Jennifer--not sure but I think you need to be premium member to sell prints. I would not recommend becoming premium just for selling, as I dont see a lot of sales happening here at least that is what I am hearing. But I went ahead and became premium so I can make prints from the site and sell them at the gift store of my Shul....I live in Bellingham WA and I moslty sell the Jewish community in Whatcom, County and nearby Counties too as there is only the one Shul for 100 miles to the south and then next nearest one is in Vancouver BC so all Jews in this area congregate here for like HIgh Holidays and other important events. We have a few artists amongst us but for the most part we each do different types of art, so there is not a lot of competition and we all get along quite well. Several times a year the community hosts a sale and we put up tables and all sell our art and crafts and that is a big money making event for us. All the congregants come and get their gifts or special items, Jewish Cards etc. I sell a lot of cards, my art seems very well suited to greeting cards. I hope to expand my greeting cards in the future. Thus I felt that premium membership might be good for me to work on that angle, as I can print off large amounts of cards for a relatively cheap price, then sell them individually at these sales and I have done this with other printing companies and made quite a good profit.

jennifer blenkinsopp 21 Apr 2017

That is great Adele, Zazzle is a good site for cards prints mugs ushions ect ect and it's free to sell. I like the community on artwanted. That's why I mainly came back. There used to be a critic section years ago seems that is not on now. Keep painting Adelle .

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