the painting

Now  in Art Career Experts we do not critique anyone’s art not judge it. That’s not our job.   In fact it is a chapter unto itself in our audio Art For Sale-Getting a Paycheck from your Art!

The controversy over  “What is Art” will continue, unsolved, as long as there are artists!   Our job at ACE is twofold. If you are NOT the artist whose work is collected or commissioned by a celebrity,  why would you spend valuable time on art sites blasting away at that artist’s work? You need to delve deeper into what is really bothering you about the whole thing  .

And if you ARE the artist whose work is being collected, good for you! Part of our job at ACE is to encourage an artist whose commissions seem to spark a certain envy from other artists to simply ignore the negative people and concentrate on who is writing the check!

“David Nordahl, who painted the angel painting titled ‘Michael’ and many others for Jackson upon demand, said that the King of Pop “thought it was great with a little ‘tongue-in-cheek’ flavor,” according to The New York Post.  Other paintings that Nordahl did cast Jackson in the light of Peter Pan, King Arthur and a superhero.”

In other words, “Damn the torpedoes, Full Steam ahead” is a great motto for the financially successful artist who is surrounded by envious artists.  This  particular painting was  obviously a private commission and its unveiling was not predicted. Some very famous nudes (ie: Obliesque)  in the museums were also part of private 18th and 19th century  collections and were never meant to be displayed in a public setting. So art is truly in the eye of the beholder!

If you are fortunate enough to have a wealthy benefactor, celebrity or not, deposit as many checks as you can and enjoy the ride! Accept your position with grace and forebearance.  I have no doubt that Thomas Kincaid could care less what the negative artists say about his work! The public loves his work just as the public loved Norman Rockwell and there’s a lesson to be learned in that!

Most artists have fallen victim to the 20th century adversion to “selling one’s art” .   But the  expansion of the Internet, ease of accessibility, moderate pricing and a new generation of users (who can use a computer from the cradle) has added a new dimension and opened endless possibilities to the 21st century artist!

So why is there still such a hesitancy among many artists in regards to the words “selling or marketing?” It takes as much effort to sell trash as it does treasure!

Below is an excerpt from another Board that I peruse and I loved it!

I read a brilliant quote / analogy to the artist vs salesman aspect of life.. And it is something that I see in websites every day..

That little bit brought a lot of life in to focus for me.. Many people say that Rachel Rae can’t cook, yet she can “sell” what she does.. Always strive to be the best you can be at what you do, for me it’s jewelry, but never forget that you still have to “sell” to be successful..

For some artists such as Thomas Kincaid, (an example of brilliant marketing to the masses), a professional marketer took the artist by the hand.  For other artists, it may be the use of an Art Gallery. For others still, a concentrated effort on word of mouth.

Regardless of HOW you decide to sell your art product, your website needs to be more than a brochure. It needs to have art that can be purchased online in some format.  Take the time to visit merchant accounts online and learn how to offer this to your clients.  We like to use Paypal and the merchant store format that goes along with it!