All that glitters is not gold!

A thought struck me this morning as I pondered the racks of clothing items for sale - particularly the stuff with gold sequins sewn on! It struck me as very relevant to art as well. 

When you visit sales, what's on offer is very often all the items that didn't sell very well. 

Below were observations this morning - related to clothing. 

• all the very loud colours - the colours that you can spot from 50-100 feet away! Dayglo is an especially hard sell!
• all the really boring colours - the ones which make you disappear into 'neutral' walls (there was a wall of pale grey tops against a pale grey wall)
• anything which is too dominating (gold sequins anyone?)
• the very small sizes (they're often overly optimistic that the young things that are that size will shop in the same stores as me - and I'm 70!)
• the very big sizes (they still don't realise that while it's good to offer bigger sizes, it's stupid to do this for clothing that simply does not suit bigger people!)
• the special offer at a very high price - which never sold and still doesn't sell even thought they've halved the price
• too old fashioned / too contemporary - either end frequently do badly

Lots of gold sequins - UNSOLD!

Tips for Artists

If you think about it, this recipe for leftovers on the shop floor is not that dissimilar to the observations one might make at an end of an exhibition.

Very often, to make a sale you have to make people happy. They cannot walk away and ignore something they really like. I've lost count of the number of times I've thought "I would have bought that - too!" for items which have already got a red dot.

I find that what often gets left on the wall are:

"Look at me" artwork

• paintings in very bright and/or dayglo colours
• any subject matter which is very "look at me" - which is not what you want on most domestic walls because of the potential for headaches
• paintings which are far too big for most domestic settings

"Don't look at me"

• paintings which look very insipid because they are so muted
• paintings where you notice the frame more than the painting
• everything that's just plain boring (the opposite of "look at me")

Market and product prices - out of sync

• ALL the paintings which are overpriced
• ALL the paintings which are in the wrong exhibition / wrong location
• most of the paintings which looks the same as most of the other paintings i.e. they lack a clear and individual style which is attractive rather than outlandish

Next time you're in an exhibition

Here's what I do:

• walk round the exhibition
• note what has sold
• sit down and describe the characteristics of what has sold in simple visual terms + price

Next review what's left on the walls. 

• See if you can pick out the artwork which is very unlikely to sell to those that will see it.

FINALLY - Check back online after the exhibition has finished and see if your observations and assumptions match up with what has happened in reality.

I get very consistent patterns in most exhibitions I visit. 

Plus I also see lots of very good paintings which should be walking off the walls - but for the fact that the artist has not researched the market re pricing.

Artists’ Livelihoods Survey in England

Arts Council England has commissioned a new national study into how visual artists in England live and work.

This is a link to the Artists’ Livelihoods survey which forms part of the study.
What makes this study - and survey - serious and different is that it is being conducted within the context of a a broad coalition of partners from across the visual arts which have shaped and support it. These partners include:

• Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art,
• AIR, 
• Artists’ Union England, 
• Artquest, 
• Axisweb, 
• Crafts Council, 
• Contemporary Visual Arts Network, 
• The Design and Artists Copyright Society, 
• engage, 
• East Street Arts, 
• Live Art Development Agency,
• National Federation of Artists’ Studios Providers, 
• The National Society for Education in Art & Design, 
• Space and 
• Voluntary Arts Network.

The survey will be complemented by investigation of existing research, focus groups and case studies and is due to be completed in Spring 2016.  The full report will be available in late 2016.

The deadline for completing the survey is Friday 25 March 2016.

More information:

Take part and share your views on the day-to-day realities of being a professional artist and the challenges and barriers you face.
A-N - Comprehensive new study: Artists’ Livelihoods survey needs your views

The survey forms part of a wider study, which is the first of its kind in England in a decade. It aims to identify the challenges and barriers faced by visual artists that prevent them from realising their full potential, whilst highlighting how these issues vary across different groups within the sector.
The study will look at social, cultural and economic factors and how each of them impacts visual artists. Location and other factors which affect the movement and retention of artists between the regions, London and internationally will also be explored.  
Arts Council - Arts Council launches survey into visual artists' livelihoods

This is the first comprehensive study in over a decade of how visual artists in England live and work. The project aims to listen to and document the realities of practicing as a visual artist, as well as providing an opportunity to inform future initiatives. The findings will help to focus support where it is most needed to ensure a resilient and diverse visual arts sector.  
Axisweb - Artists' Livelihoods Survey

How do artists earn money, how much do they earn, and by doing what? Help a-n, Arts Council England, Artquest and our partners find out so we can advocate for better working conditions for artists.  
Art Quest - Artists Livelihoods

The Big Artists Survey 2011

AIR (Artists Interaction and Representation) is the UK's leading professional body for visual artists and applied artists.  It's conducted a major survey of artists called the Big Artists Survey 2011.  The aim was to examine artists working conditions.

You'll recall that recently I've had blog posts - with an interesting discussion in the comments on each post - about:

• How do you earn the title of "artist"?
• How do you define a "professional artist"?

Well this survey tried to find out what it's actually like being an artist in the UK in 2011.

See how what you do compares to what artists in the UK are doing.

Big Artists Survey 2011 - Results

Here's a summary of the results.  I've recast some of the headings to make them a bit more precise in terms of relevance for the artist and slightly revised what's been highlighted in bold to make this an easy read - and prompt you to go and read the survey report for more detail!  I've also included my own comments on the results (in italics) and critique of what this means for artists.

I do however recommend you read the full report.  Click this link to download the pdf file and read the Survey report summarising the results in more detail.

Background to the survey

This was an e-survey.  It received 1,457 responses (9% response rate relative to the AIR and a-n membership surveyed) from artists located across the UK who ranged from recent graduates to very experienced artists.

The artists responding defined themselves as follows:

• 41% as emerging
• 25% as mid-career
• 12% as established
• 23% did not define their career status

This is where I get techie!  My only comment is that the responses are self-selecting.  This is not a sample in the true sense of the word and therefore will not be representative of the pool of artists across the UK as a whole.  Before responses could be weighted to give a more accurate picture, the survey body would need to know rather more about the demographic profile of the membership as a whole.< Bottom line this means the results are very interesting but are not necessarily representative of artists across the UK.  However it's much better than knowing nothing at all!  My guess is that it leans towards the sort of artist more likely to use the services of AIR and a-n - the newly graduated and the "return to art after a break".   The survey probably under-represents the full-time professional artist of many years experience.

Read on to find out what the survey had to say