Who really buys original art?
Win 95 User
Jenny Hamilton wrote:
>
> -They say, the famous THEY, to sell you must identify your market. If
> anyone knows who buys original art please share the info-
> thanks
Are there any art buyers who are seriously ready to cut a check for an
original piece out there? Do you follow links? Are you waiting for it
to be thrust in front of your face? Or is a gallery your only serious
source?
Wynn Kramarsky
In article <01bc75e9$722cce20$2b3836d1@default>, "Jenny Hamilton"
<blac...@cetlink.net> wrote:
> -They say, the famous THEY, to sell you must identify your market. If
> anyone knows who buys original art please share the info-
> thanks
The famous "they" rarely buy anything, but indiviuals do, Original art is
not easily sold in cyber-form. If you exhibit in a website you might get
an inquiry but that is a remote possibility. Real buyers of original art
want to see the object, understand its intent, study itsscale and imagine
it in their home; that is not possible in a computer enviroment. It is
however a good idea to use the nets to find exhibition
opportunities...they exist and may bring you success. Good luck!
Stanley Beck
Win 95 User wrote:
>
> Jenny Hamilton wrote:
> >
> > -They say, the famous THEY, to sell you must identify your market. If
> > anyone knows who buys original art please share the info-
> > thanks
>
> original piece out there? Do you follow links? Are you waiting for it
> to be thrust in front of your face? Or is a gallery your only serious
> source?
The above seems, to me, a bit confusing. However, I have tracked my
customers over the last 30 years, and I have identified my market. (And
they pay with real, hard cash - not monopoly money)
--
Regards,
Stanley Beck
New Orleans LA --> http://neworleans.miningco.com
Online Gallery --> http://members.aol.com/sbeckart/index.htm
Info --> mailto:sbec...@aol.com, mailto:sbec...@earthlink.net
John F. Kuenzig
Win 95 User wrote:
>
> Jenny Hamilton wrote:
> >
> > -They say, the famous THEY, to sell you must identify your market. If
> > anyone knows who buys original art please share the info-
> > thanks
>
> Are there any art buyers who are seriously ready to cut a check for an
> original piece out there? Do you follow links? Are you waiting for it
> to be thrust in front of your face? Or is a gallery your only serious
> source?
To whomever is interested (apologies for the cross-posting, just
replying to the original message, interested in the discussion
as well):
Didn't see the original post this is referring to, but I have
purchased several originals, both science fiction and fantasy
genre. "Seriously ready" to cut a check for me depends on
the image, it's appeal to me, and how much the piece is...
as well as the reputation of the artist. I am most likely
motivated to purchase a book showing a particular artists
work, and if sufficiently enthralled, pursue an original
from there (or limited edition prints, etc), at which point
I am actively searching for that artist, or particular image.
The internet isn't well organized currently for following links
as near as I can tell - it appears to be improving in some areas,
(booksellers is one example that shows some promise)
but I haven't pursued artwork much, perhaps because it is hard
to experience the impact of any image on the computer screen.
The exception is where I know the name and artist for sale, and
have reference material I can use to examine the image.
What it amounts to for me is an opportunity to "view" the image
is paramount to the decision to purchase, and the computer screen
just doesn't do a very good job of presenting most works. If there
are other sources or methods of examining the image, that helps
a lot. Dealing with reputable persons is key as well.
Image appeal aside, if the piece is by a well known artist, and
the price is very right, I may buy it on speculation - any
Frazetta originals out there cheap? ;) I also enjoy early
paperback cover artwork.
Not sure if this helps, just my 2 cents. I hope the internet
community can find a good method of sharing images for sale, so
that finding nice pieces is easier.
Sincerely,
John Kuenzig
j...@netsleuth.com
Bookseller
Science fiction and fantasy paperbacks, hardcoveres and artbook
wantlists? Send to d...@bkwks.mv.com. Over 12,000 titles in stock
at Intergalactic Book Works
Miles Smith
"Jenny Hamilton" <blac...@cetlink.net> writes:
>
> -They say, the famous THEY, to sell you must identify your market. If
> anyone knows who buys original art please share the info-
> thanks
demand for some of this or that. A market is served by the producer.
A market for translates into : Food, Clothing, And Shelter- then perhaps
transportation. Is there a market for entertainment? Is there people looking for
some thing to do this week-in? There is a market for skiing. The passion to
get at those ski slopes, or fast food restaurants is the indicator of a market. Are people
waiting in line to:
do what? Like I haven't find people standing in line to get at art.
I'm a potter and have for many years sold at the Pike Place Market
in Seattle WA. There, each day hundreds of tourist file by the sellers tables
and out of the many thousands of these peoples, I have meet
a hand full who own art collections. The tens of thousands of sales
that I have made are to people who were in the need of some
pottery that fit with their idea of themselves (filled their need for a color or
utility in there lives). I found few who could understand the art of the
article. There was a common trait; they wanted to take home a thing of beauty and
brag about what money they did not give to its' maker.
Hey You!
"Jenny Hamilton" <blac...@cetlink.net> wrote:
>-They say, the famous THEY, to sell you must identify your market. If
>anyone knows who buys original art please share the info-
>thanks
If you're in art to sell, then why bother? It won't mean as much. If
you're in art for yourself, the final result will be better and more
likely to "sell". Also, YOU, as the artist, does not need to know your
market, unless you are in the commercial art industry to begin with
(ie, advertising, publishing, doing carcicatures at the fair). That's
why there are gallery owners/curators. Their job is to market YOUR
WORK.
I generally don't worry about WHO the artist is and I don't buy for
investment value. I buy art if it moves me.
Robert J. Fusillo
Miles Smith (mgs...@gte.net) wrote:
: "Jenny Hamilton" <blac...@cetlink.net> writes:
: >
: > -They say, the famous THEY, to sell you must identify your market. If
: > anyone knows who buys original art please share the info-
: > thanks
: demand for some of this or that. A market is served by the producer.
Smith contends that there are no lines of people waiting to
buy art. There are rarely lines of people waiting to buy cars either.
I have, however, twice seen lines ( short) of people waiting their turn
to see the work of a particular artist.
To say that people don't buy art is silly the art market is one
of the biggest money-makers in New York city. The typical Madison
Avenue gallery has to sell upwards of ten thousand dollars worth of art
per week ust to break even. Thousands of works of art -- moderately
expensive stuff -- sells in NY every week. And in London, and Paris,
and other places to a lesser extent.
I collect. I have been in debt for a work of art for all but
seven months since 1956. But, I don't buy anything until I am intimately
familiar with the artist's work over a period of time. There are two
values to a work of art -- its artistic value and its ( often related)
market value: I need to be sure that the two relate, I need to be sure
that the latter value will be likely to continue: I am not, therefore,
going to spend ten thousand or so dollars on an artist that does not
have a track record for both artistic value and market value.
I am also interested in artists who are innovators, who are
doing work that, if not cutting edge, is involved with the issues
of the day, who are speaking the language and arguing the issues that
make up the creative side of the language. To find such artists,
and, agin, to see if they are going to be real players and not
just flashes, takes time.
I don't buy unknowns -- on my schoolteacher's salary, I can't
afford it. Ten thousand on a well known artist with an international
market is money fairly safe; five hundred on an unknown is a gamble I
can
't afford.
There are two pages of listings of art gallery shows in
today's paper ( Atlanta). 99% of the arists in the shows are local:
talented, generally skilled, turning out attractive work -- and all in
competition with each other. And they are all so much alike it is
impossible to remember who was who the next day. They all grumble
that no one buys their work.
The fact is that lots of people buy art -- but not enough of them
to supposrt anybody with a paintbrush. They are selective. If you want
to sell, you have to be selectible. And that means dealing with the market
as it really exists. As Truman said, if you can't stand the heat, get out
of the kitchen. But don't grumble if some people are willing to sweat, and
reap the rewards.
rjf
Karen Jacobs
> I haven't found there to be a market for art. A Market is defined as the
> demand for some of this or that. A market is served by the producer.
> transportation. Is there a market for entertainment? Is there people looking for
> some thing to do this week-in? There is a market for skiing. The passion to
> get at those ski slopes, or fast food restaurants is the indicator of a market. Are people
> waiting in line to:
> do what? Like I haven't find people standing in line to get at art.
>
Ummmm... the "art" line isn't as noticible as some others, but it's
there. I've personally known galleries that cater to their clientel by
allowing them advanced viewing of a popular artist's show, resulting in
a number of 'red dots' at the time of the opening. New professional
buildings... banks, hotels, corporate offices... usually expect to
purchase paintings, etc. and their decorators are constantly on the
prowl for suitable works. And some of the most exciting works around
can be found in these locations... as well as some of the worst, but the
same can be said of museums. These remarks do not refer to high-end
collectors, either.
.....Karen Jacobs.....
http://members.aol.com/kajojacobs/index.htm
Rob Underwood
> -They say, the famous THEY, to sell you must identify your market. If
> anyone knows who buys original art please share the info-
> thanks
The market for art is the people with money. It's that simple. Not
necessarily lots of money, but at least upwardly mobile. The way you can
find YOUR market is to put YOURSELF on a catagory and the people who like
the type of stuff you do will buy your stuff. It's a very commercial way
of going about it, but if it is important to you to make your living as an
artist, you have to be somewhat commercial. Otherwise, get a day job and
make your art on your own time, hoping that opportunity knocks. For
myself, it is more important to me to do the work than to sell it, but who
doesn't want to sell their work? And get to be rich and famous. I do. And
don't price your stuff too high. My formula is to decide what the maximum
amount is that I can expect and the minimum amount someone would have to
pay me to get me to turn the piece loose forever, and then I average them
both out. It usually comes up to be a number that satisfies me.
Rob
Stanley Beck
Hey You! wrote:
>
>
> If you're in art to sell, then why bother? It won't mean as much. If
> you're in art for yourself, the final result will be better and more
> likely to "sell". Also, YOU, as the artist, does not need to know your
> market, unless you are in the commercial art industry to begin with
> (ie, advertising, publishing, doing carcicatures at the fair). That's
> why there are gallery owners/curators. Their job is to market YOUR
> WORK.
>
> I generally don't worry about WHO the artist is and I don't buy for
> investment value. I buy art if it moves me.
The biggest mistake that artists have made is to trust their entire
career and future on the marketing of others. You might try being an
artist, and test your theory yourself, first hand.
Larry Seiler
Jenny Hamilton wrote:
>
> -They say, the famous THEY, to sell you must identify your market. If
> anyone knows who buys original art please share the info-
> thanks
I am a professional outdoors/wildlife artist. Oh..I like doing
portraits and do my share of them, I like other things too..however, the
market has opened and locked my reputation in this one particular genre.
It is funny how that works. I always feared going into print, for
example, because I knew that a recognized style would "cast" the artist.
If you are familiar with Terry Redlin...the guy is probably
aesthetically groping for a chance to do an outdoor scene in overcast
naturally light....but unless he creates a pseudoname forget it. Though
he makes 5-6 figure digits per original.
At any rate..another friend and I were at a show which was literally
going nowhere. A jeweler came over and chided us into having fun by
increasing the sales price of all our work. He told us that working as
hard as we did and being honest with our work was typical of artists,
but that we were mistaken to assume that most people with affluence
likewise earned it. Much of the wealth is handed to them, and they only
understand the value of a price or effective marketing.
Well...with only 2 hours left in the show, we stuck a "1" in front of
every larger painting. If it was $750...the painting became, $1750.. a
$2,000 painting became $12,000 and so forth.
Did we create a stir! This was in a mall...and people went to the
opposite end of the mall to grab relatives to bring them all the way
back to point out the prices. Believe it or not, we started selling our
small pieces with prices unaltered. Some left thinking we were really
somebody!
I know it is a little like Charlie Brown and Linus sitting at a coolaid
stand with a sign saying "Koolaid $5 per glass!"
I have learned however, that I would rather put everything I have into
one piece that would take the time that it would take to make 5-10
pieces..and charge higher for it. I won't sell as many, but I probably
sell just enough that it balances out what others earn cranking out
works that epresent less than their capabilities.
In the process and over many years, the eye trains..the hand develops,
and now what used to take me 80-100 hours to paint takes me about 15-20
hours.
One can always make prints or resin castings to produce affordable works
for those with less money or interest. The main thing is that by
producing excellence and establishing a price for excellence, we are
little by little raising the estimation and value of art and artists in
the public eye. The only resentment I come across is when someone is so
poorly trained that they cannot literally tell the difference between
something done well or not. Well...they aren't going to buy anyway!
When we sell ourselves "cheaply" we establish and support a public
notion that other artists likewise should be cheap..or if they are not
are "shisters". If your quality and experience is becoming apparent,
the price ought to reflect your abilities, prowess, and reknown.
I know we need to survive. And it is tough..and no I am not "making
it!" For most, the arts are very tough to survive in....but again, I
believe it is because we have for so long made cheap art..and now we
bear the burden of it because there is a desensitized society less
capable of appreciating the arts..and less discerning of talent. When
bad art and good art were no longer judged in the public schools among
students..but grades were given out just for participating, it developed
a number of generations that had very little serious regard for the
arts. Now we are producing "trinkets" to try and market to that group.
Again....it is possible to market excellent works to the affluent, but
not as easy to market obviously poor art..less they are effectively
duped by its marketing! You can always produce some works that are
smaller or reproduced and because you have established a "name" for
yourself will see the less affluent interested in those.
If we want real talent once again esteemed in this society..we cannot do
it by selling ourselves cheaply. There is generally no real respect for
"prostitutes!" Of course if you stick high prices on work that is not
worthy of it..you insult other artists and embarrass yourself. Thus
developing yourself and compensating by prices that represent that
growth go hand-in-hand.
This jeweler in the art's fair at the mall saw back in those years two
younger artists that were underselling their talent. I don't think he
made his rounds and told everyone to do that...!
There comes a period when you will sense the tension of needing to break
from the crowd that carries $20 in their pockets. You have developed a
pattern of producing works that appeals to that market..but you are
tiring of having to make a "gazillion" pieces and attend way too many
weekend shows. Inside, the artist wishes to develop.
I am not a Marxist, but..Karl Marx did point out in our society that a
time would come when there would be the very wealthy and the very poor
with fewer and fewer in the middle class. When it comes to selling art,
we are enslaved to develop no further than the group we attempt to
market to.
I guess the real question is, how good do you want to become as an
artist and do you want to simply "give" those works away? Or, do you
wish to remain forever locked-in and stifled, limited and defined by a
culture that appears to be valuing art less and less with every thinner
and thinner dime they are making these days?
It is apparent and amazing that economics is our greatest barrier to
realizing our own excellence. However, when excellence is attained, it
brings with it its rewards. You just pay long and hard dues until you
get there!!! There is until then solace in faith and "the blues!"
Larry Seiler
hefty
coming from impoverished Brixton in London, UK, and speaking as an
artist who regularly sells his work I reckon I can answer this question
with a few variations on the theme:
1. Original art sells less in its original form - the buyer likes to
think he has the only one
2. Original art sells well in print - the artist keeps the copyright
even if he sells the original, but he could sell the copyright as well
presumably if the buyer wants to market prints
3. Prints take numerous forms - not least of which is the Greetings
Card - I sold a watercolor painting for $100 (US Dollars) last year and
have since sold about 300 prints of the painting in the form of a
Greetings Card for £2 (British pounds) each and still selling - basic
mathematics rules.
4. Exhibitions of originals should give the artist a good idea of which
pictures will sell in other cheaper print forms - the prints are priced
very much cheaper, but they sell in greater quantities.
5. Marketing originals as prints is a cost-effective way of spreading
the word - make your work known and widely available then you will find
demand for originals in original form.
I hope this contributes constructively to the ongoing discussion.
Kind Regards
Hefty
he...@thehefty.com
Win 95 User
Robert J. Fusillo wrote:
As Truman said, if you can't stand the heat, get out
> of the kitchen. But don't grumble if some people are willing to sweat, and
> reap the rewards.
> rjf
or even sweat, dry out, and burn up and blow away. all thanks to the
heat of the system.