One school of thought suggests that a great artist shouldn’t worry about everyday things like paying the rent and feeding the family. But when we think of art and money, we generally turn (enviously) to artists whose work sells for millions. In reality, affording a modestly comfortable lifestyle is success for most career artists. As inspiration, we take a look at what’s behind some of the successful artists to do it. How much money is the art market worth? In 2022, the art market was worth $30 billion in the U.S. and nearly $68 billion in global art sales, a 3% year-over-year increa ..read more

Whether in person or online, making an art sale is only half the battle. Next is processing the payment—and if done right, it can drive more sales. Most art payments are done online, using platforms such as Shopify. But there are many options for processing your sales that could better suit your business needs.   Photo by Adobe Stock Paying online is the most common way to make sales. Online art payments: things to consider Is it easy? Don’t give your buyer time to change their mind with a complicated checkout process. You can monitor your checkout method through the number of abandoned ..read more

The art world is filled with inspiring stories about art movements, artist colonies and groups whose members found enormous success. Some were accidental, others were purposely created. So what are the pros and cons to being part of an art group? Being part of an art movement Artists can be singular creatures, slogging away in a studio unaware of the goings-on around them. But many of us choose a more collaborative approach through an artist group or even a movement. Western art has plenty of art movement success stories. Chief among these movements were: Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Exp ..read more

For centuries, landscape painters have immersed themselves in their subjects by painting outdoors The art of painting “en plein air” means to paint “in the open” (or outdoors) and has become synonymous with the French impressionist painters like Monet. This style could also be seen as painting “in the moment” because it requires some quick decisions and mark-making. What is en plein air painting? The purpose of plein air is to capture more than just the view. Art critics and art tutors will argue they can tell the difference between someone painting from a photograph or memory and those painte ..read more

In the early 20th century, household paint (or interior paint) inspired a whole art movement: abstract expressionism. The enormous canvases favored by artists like Jackson Pollock would have made using traditional tubes of paint prohibitively expensive. More poetically, Pollock—one of the first artists to use household paints—describes his use of them as “a natural growth out of a need.” Had he known his works would sell for large sums of money—his work No. 5, 1948 was sold for a record $140 million in 2006—he might have chosen to work with a more expensive product. But the need to w ..read more

There are increasing ways to connect with fans of your artwork and create a potentially regular income. One such way is Patreon, which offers visual artists a chance to earn money from followers through patronage. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the site has raised more than $2 billion for creators. But before you take in the impressive numbers (250,000 visual artists and 6 million patrons) and decide you are missing out, it’s not a one-size-fits-all platform, and your art may not lend itself to this kind of fan base. Visual artists who love it tend to be in certain categories lik ..read more

One of the signs that you have truly made it as an artist is when people commission your artwork—but how do you get there? The first thing is to let people know you accept commissions. Shout it loud on social media, your website and any other forum you are a member of. Someone might like your work, but want it bigger, smaller, brighter, darker. They might assume you only offer completed works for sale like in most other selling markets. If you create portraiture, commissions are likely to be a big part of your success, while landscape artists may find themselves being asked to capture a favor ..read more

The run-up to Christmas is the busiest time for artists and makers, with some estimating Christmas art sales are worth more than the rest of the year put together. Small businesses typically bring in at least 20% of total yearly revenue during the final weeks of the year. As an artist, you can maximize your Christmas sales this year by creating a marketing plan and implementing a few festive selling tips. And the good news it doesn’t have to cost anything or require any special skills. Photo by Adobe Stock Gifts on a wooden background. Holiday concept, christmas.Is your work festive enough? A ..read more

A palette knife have become a vital part of the painter’s arsenal. Promoted from life as a lowly paint mixer, it has become more commonly associated with oil painters looking to increase the texture and marks of paintings. Types of palette knives The original palette knife resembled the larger one you find in your kitchen drawer. The palette knife has a flat blade that is curved at the end for artists to mix oil paint on a palette. The small trowel-shaped knife often called a palette knife is actually a painting knife. It’s designed to smear paint across a canvas without getting your hand ..read more

Following art trends should not be about constantly adapting your work to what’s in vogue in hopes of landing more sales. Instead, understanding trends can help you make smart tweaks to your art business practice to ensure your success. What is an art trend? A trend in the art world is the same as a trend in any other industry. Growing awareness and availability creates more demand. That demand creates a trend, and a trend creates even more demand. For artists, this creates opportunities for marketing and selling work. Luckily, art trends can be predicted to an extent. For example, exhibitions ..read more