I've had some busy days doing other stuff than making art.
Hopefully things will settle down so I can play with my colors again. I've looked into the possibillities of making prints of my art, but have a hard time to decide what to do.
What I ask myself is this:
Do I really want to reduce the value of my originals by selling it as prints?
I know I'm not excactly a Picasso, but still.
Should prints be made by professionals or would it be good enough to make them at home?
This is a question of quality and price. I would love to let a future customer know he/she has bought quality above low price only. I appreciate quality in all aspects of life, and I'm sure there is a
REASON we have professionals.
How many prints from one original?
If I end up making prints, I'm sure I'll set some limitations. Would 10 pieces be fine as a standard?
Should the originals be sold as well?
Yes, I see no point in collecting my own work, except perhaps some rare ones that's hard to live without.
If you read this post, please let me know your thoughts about this issue. How do you do it, and what's your experience? Oh my, there's so many questions to be answered, and I don't have them all.
I've been urged to do commissions and put my art into the world, but I'm not quite sure I have the confidence needed.
Art in thos post made using watercolor pencils, before and after background.
Oh, Laila, your art is definitely good enough. You should be confident about it. I have sold prints of my work and I have sold originals...but I always keep good photos of everything I make. That way even if I sold an original I can still sell prints of it. I don't set a limit as to how many prints I can make or sell. I have sold prints that I printed at home but I've also sold prints that have been done elsewhere. The ones I do at home are not as good as the ones I have done in a shop.
ReplyDeleteHi Laila, I toyed with these exact questions 2 weeks ago. And here is what I decided to do:
ReplyDelete1. All originals sold as originals will never be sold as prints. As a customer of fine art I would be appalled if what I just bought was made into a print and sold to someone else. If it's really really good then generations after me can print them up and sell them at all the museum shops (you know, like VanGogh lol). I guess you could ask your customers if they have a problem with that.
2. Those paintings I sell as prints I keep track of in my spreadsheet that I created just for that purpose. I also keep track of my originals in the same spreadsheet. I organize all the paintings by medium - and topic. Watercolor paint, WC Pencils, mixed media, oil, acrylic, etc.
3. I sell and number my prints in pencil on the fronts and backs: "Print #1 of 50". I decide how many prints I will sell and let the customer know what the limit is at the same time. I keep track of this in my spreadsheet too. That way, if Society6 sells a print, I can number it in my database and ensure that not more than what I wanted to sell are sold. I'll remove the listing once I reach that #.
3. For those requests for prints I give them an option - I can have it printed professionally (the cost easily doubles to do this) and archival quality is about 150 years. Or I can print it for substantially less and the quality of pigment ink is only about 50 years. The customer knows what they are buying when they send in an order. I also have my Society6 shop that prints and sells for a certain price.
4. I've only sold 4 paintings altogether and the first one (of course) wanted one of my favorites that I had no intention of selling. So I asked her if she would be willing for me to paint her another exactly like it and she said yes. So that was more of a commissioned piece of art. So that is another way you can handle it.
I also had the hard decisions to make but now that they are made, I feel comfortable with the approach. One of the things you might also think about is how much you want to be involved in managing your art. So uploading your art onto Fine Art of America or something like it in Europe (you're in Norway, right?) might be the answer for you - you can sell your originals or prints there but have none of the hassle of managing it. Just receive the money when the time comes and spend your time on the creative endeavors at hand. Whew! Sorry for the long-winded answer. I wrote earlier but when I got home I see that my comment did not post - so hopefully you'll get this one. You can also write to me at telva@chasenetwork.com at anytime to discuss further details if you'd like. I agree with Janet - your art is beautiful - you are miles ahead of me - but we have different styles - and different people like different things. I think you will be surprised by how much you will sell. I was quite taken aback by someone asking about buying a piece. I didn't think I was good enough either. Good luck to you making up your own rules and decisions! xx
I too have been pondering these exact same questions the big one is where I am going to sell my art and how much to charge if I decide to sell
ReplyDeleteI think you should sell your art. Either prints or originals. There is so much ugly art on the market and your art is beautiful and should absolutely be there. Prints should be made by professionals in my opinion because they can really do a lot more and make your artworkprint look really good. Also I do not think that you reduce the value of your paintings if you sell prints. The value is the pleasure you give to people with your art an for example I do not have enough money to buy a RENOIR but I love his art and so I'm really happy that there are prints available I can pay for. I would also buy prints from your art :)
ReplyDelete