The Best Place to Sell Art - More Trends

This is the third and last post following the Making A Mark Poll which looked at the Best Place to Sell Art.  It focuses on the less traditional places to sell art - temporary venues and online websites.

It follows on from:

• 2012 Poll Results: What's the best place to sell art? (Part 1) - identified the four best places to sell art from the perspective of generating both revenue and profit
• What's the best place to sell art? (Part 2 - The Trends) - which considered selling art via the Artist's own efforts and selling on a commission basis in galleries via third parties.

This post considers:

1. The Best Place to Sell Art - Temporary Venues - Art Fairs to Street Markets
2. The Best Place to Sell Art - eBay vs Etsy
3. The Best Place to Sell Art - Other Online Galleries

The Best Place to Sell Art - Temporary Venues - Art Fairs to Street Markets

Temporary venues enable both galleries and artists to sell art without incurring the significant fixed costs of a set of premises - whether that's a gallery or a studio

The big success story of the recession is the Art Fair.  In 2012, the Annual Art fair or Festival - ranked #4 for revenue and #3 for profit - in terms of places which provided the main source of income for artists

There's a huge range of them but they all essentially share the same characteristics - get a lot of people who want to sell art in once place and let the art collectors take a look at what they have to offer in an efficient and effective way.  It's a win-win situation all round.

• Galleries like art fairs because it guarantees they are going to be able to get their art in front of lots of people
• Galleries also like art fairs because it means they can think of getting out of having a bricks and mortar gallery and can instead sell just through art fairs
• Artists like art fairs because, if they are successful, they can sell a lot of art (both original art and prints) in a very short space of time.  Whether they are cost-effective depends on how far they have to travel, whether accommodation is required and whether or not they have the right equipment.  However once bought it's a 'sunk' cost.

The chart suggests that, when times were bad, artists cut back on art fairs 

• because they were worried about keeping a lid on expenditure 
• and/or the art fairs that were attended did not do well for sales.  I certainly heard of a few where traffic and takings were way down for a period of time

However there's cause to think that those people who are still buying art when times are bad are more likely to be at an art fair than anywhere else. 

Rent a space exhibits create a main source of income for a very few artists.  It's something which can be considered - but it's not a good idea to depend on this option

Street sales seem to be beginning to take off as a way of generating sales.  As with art fairs, it's important to choose wisely and get a good pitch which sees lots of traffic.

Key messages:

• Choose your art fair wisely.  Research art fairs and pick those with a good track record and about which you have heard good things.  Avoid the untried and those which don't have a good track record.
• Sales result from lots of traffic of the sort of person who likes your art.  You need to work out which option generates best results for you in terms of both these factors.

The Best Place to Sell Art - eBay vs Etsy

There's no question that eBay is no longer the force it was in providing an effective place to sell art online and its influence has been drifting downwards for some time.

In terms of traffic to their respective sites:

• The Art Shop on eBay has lost 61% of its traffic in the last year. According to Compete.com site traffic has dropped from 466,146 (July 2011) to 181,394 in July 2012. 
• By way of comparison, Etsy's traffic is down 19% in the last year - and that is largely due to the knock-on effect of the change in the Google algorithm which has affected a lot of large well-known sites.

Etsy continues to do well - but realistically not many people sell enough original art through Etsy for it to be their main source of income.  It's a useful tool in the portfolio - but a big stock and a lot of regular listings is what generates traffic and sales on Etsy.

The Best Place to Sell Art - Other Online Galleries

This is the area where it's a bit confusing - and I need to try and improve descriptions for next year so that the messages from this section can be more coherent.

Did "Online: via traffic from own website/blog" in years 2008-2011 morph into "Other Online Store/Auction Site" in 2012

It's important to know because "via an online gallery / shop (which is NOT either eBay or Etsy)" - ranked #3 for revenue and #2 for profit .  

It's unclear whether print on demand websites now provide a good income for some artists. It is interesting to note that there does seem to be a level of upheaval in this marketplace which I highlight in Print Art on Demand - Resources for Artists.  However there are only four sites with serious traffic.

What's your experience been like?

Leave a comment below and tell us all what your experience has been like in the last five years.

More Resources

For more about eBay, etsy, print on demand and the other different online galleries check out my websites which provide comparative data of what they do and what sort of traffic they get - using up to date charts via compete.com

How to sell art onlineThis is a compendium of sites providing advice and information to visual fine artists who want to know more about where and how to sell their art online. 

Online Art Galleries and Stores for Artists
Online galleries offer to help you sell your ORIGINAL ART - but do they actually work? Which is the best and which gets the most traffic? 

Sell Daily Paintings - Resources for Artists
Do you want to know more about how to sell daily paintings online - or improve your knowledge about the painting a day movement generally? 

Print Art on Demand - Resources for Artists
Check out the suppliers of print on demand ( POD ) services for Art Prints / Art Books & Catalogues. Review what artists think of them & traffic to their sites

What's the best place to sell art? (Part 2 - The Trends)

Following on from 2012 Poll Results: What's the best place to sell art? (Part 1), TRENDS in the popularity of different places to sell art forms the subject matter of the second part of my feedback relating to my Annual Making A Mark Survey about the best place to sell art.

Now - the problem with this is that I've changed the survey every year and so the data between years is not strictly speaking comparable.  It was also not helped by mixing up PLACES where art was sold with WAYS in which art was promoted.

I've attempted to make the survey data more comparable by grouping places where people sell their art in three main groups.  These are

Part 2 - Today

1. The Best Place to Sell Art - through the Artist's own efforts
2. The Best Place to Sell Art - 3rd parties / face to face /on commission

Part 2 - Tomorrow

1. The Best Place to Sell Art - Temporary Venues - Art Fairs to Street Markets
2. The Best Place to Sell Art - eBay vs Etsy
3. The Best Place to Sell Art - Other Online Galleries

Economic Context

One thing we need to bear in mind when looking at the trends is that the last five years have been the equivalent of economic topsy turvy.

It's worth remembering what the macro-economic climate was like when looking at the charts - so I've attempted to summarise this below.  Bear in mind this is a gross over-simplification.

Years	Financial Context	Impact on Art
2008	Global Financial Crisis Part 1: housing bubble burst / subprime mortgage crisis / homes repossessed / property values declined the worst international economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1930s banks hit hard - institutional bail-outs credit crunch - businesses fail demand reduces leading to... recession	People stop buying art. Galleries with precarious finances suddenly close Banks stop/reduce sponsoring art events / exhibitions Virtually all artists affected - except those selling to very wealthy clients Rocky time for auction houses begins
2009	Getting back on track A period of retrenchment - looking to minimise risks Credit crunch continues people start being mindful of their liquidity	Galleries without working capital reserves go under - artists lose places to sell art Artists selling to wealthier art collectors and/or those with specialist collecting interests (eg wildlife) less affected by recession Artists in the middle ground on price badly affected - start painting smaller works
2010	Recovery Household spending recovers The illusion of "normality" is prevalent	People begin buying art again  Volume of sales down - but revenue streams hold steady for those selling higher priced art Artists find new ways of selling art Artists raise prices to: avoid looking cheap to wealthier art collectors recoup lost volume in sales
2011	Global Financial Crisis Part 1: The Warnings Analysts began to realise that the worst was yet to come and that the recovery period was going to be very long. Prospect of Double Dip Recession now seems real  Secondary effects from some very weird weather which affected economic activity and priorities for spend	People start to become careful again and the art economy is wiser second time around Galleries have stage payment systems in place this time around to enable people to feel safe when making art purchases  Artists develop new ways of selling art eg small groups organise their own exhibitions Household spending adopts new pattern. eg proper spending at Christmas but no frivolous spending during the year  areas where freak weather diverts household spending hard hit re "extras" eg art
2012	Global Financial Crisis Part 1 - End Game European sovereign-debt crisis - whole countries now at risk (eg Ireland, Spain, Greece, Italy). Double Dip Recession occurs in a number of countries eg UK back in recession Jan-June 2012 USA housing market still dodgy	Middle income collectors continue to be careful - they stop buying art (again) and/or reduce volume of purchases buy cheaper art / prints in order to have new pictures without unnecessary financial risks

Now for the best places to buy art - and how they did over this five year period!

The Best Place to sell art - through the Artist's own efforts

Hokusai and Hiroshige: Great Japanese Prints

Below is an Asian Art Museum video about Great Japanese Prints by ukiyo-e printmakers Hokusai and Hiroshige

Ejiri in the Suruga province (1832) by Katsushika Hokusai
one of the prints seen in the video

I found it on the ArtBabble website and then located it on Youtube - which offers more options re viewing.



This is the Video which was created to promote the Hokusai and Hiroshige: Great Japanese Prints from the James A. Michener Collection, Honolulu Academy of Arts exhibition that took place at the Asian Art Museum from September 26 - December 6, 1998.  It was filmed at the museum's former location in Golden Gate Park.

The video offers an overview of the context for the ukiyo-e and then provides two profiles of the work of Hokusai and Hiroshige.

You can also view it in iTunes.  This is the description of the video on iTunes.

The society of Japan's Edo period (1615-1867) embraced a number of intriguing contradictions. It was a time of unprecedented stability, when Japan, previously a mosaic of violently warring feudal states, finally achieved unity as a nation. Though strictly stratified in four hereditary classes — nobles, farmers, artisans, and merchants — Edo society nevertheless produced a vigorous middle class of enterprising commoners. By the 1800s, commoners enjoyed the numerous amenities of Edo (Tokyo), the world's largest city. They launched businesses, perfected crafts, gained leisure time and literacy, traveled a system of safe roads, and enjoyed art and poetry. While print makers initially illustrated the denizens of the pleasure quarters, or Ukiyo-e ("floating world"), the print also became an acceptable and affordable medium for the full range of expression common to Japanese art, including landscape, flowers and birds, and genre scenes. The most important and prolific were the 19th-century artists Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige, whose prints constitute the most recognizable images of Japanese art throughout the world. This exhibition was organized by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the Honolulu Academy of Arts.
Description on iTunes

The James A. Michener Collection
Most of us know James A Michener as a famous novelist.  However he was also very interested in Japanese prints and he became a great collector and connoisseur of Japanese prints, and an important patron of the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

His entire collection of Japanese woodblock prints (nearly 5,400) - ranging from 17th century to late 20th century Japanese prints - was donated to the Honolulu Academy of Arts between 1959 and 1991.  Today, that donation accounts for about half of the entire collection of more than 10,000 Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

Webpage for the Japanese Wood Block print Collection of the Honolulu Museum

More resources about Japanese Art

Other educational resources about Japanese Art provided by the Asian Art Museum include:

• Artist Profile: Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) (Background information)
• Artist Profile: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) (Background information)
• How to Read a Woodblock Print (downloadable Image) / How to Read a Woodblock Print (PDF)

I've been studying Japanese Art for some time - ever since I discovered its influence on western art in the nineteenth century.  These are links to the resource websites I created:

• About Japanese Art and Artists
• About Hiroshige - Famous Japanese Printmaker
• About Hokusai - Japanese ukiyo-e artist

2nd September 2012 - Who's made a mark this week?

At last Daily Paintworks has found a good use for Pinterest - assuming all the artists are happy about having their artwork pinned!  This is the Daily Paintworks Pinterest account - with 30 boards for different categories of art.  The artwork posted to Daily Paintworks is assembled in groups ready for people to view and repin.  It also is a great way of looking at all the art on the same sort of topic.

24 of the 30 galleries on the Daily Paintworks Pinterest Board

There were two things which struck me.  First how much better the original paintings are than that normally seen in similar galleries on places like eBay - where many people also sell 'daily paintings'.

I also found it interesting to see which were the top ten categories of art pinned DPW - although it's difficult to tell whether this is a product of the artwork which people like to produce or the artwork that people like to buy.  In other words is this generated by the artists or by the art collectors?

The top ten categories of artwork pinned by DPW are:

1. Paintings For Your Kitchen 774 followers, 351 pins
2. Floral Art 766 followers, 218 pins
3. Art for Your Living Room 757 followers, 216 pins
4. People in Art 760 followers, 146 pins
5. Feathered Friends in Art 727 followers, 119 pins
6. Bright and Cheerful Art 773 followers, 100 pins
7. Nautical and Seascape Art 759 followers, 98 pins
8. Paintings for Your Office 746 followers, 90 pins
9. Horses in Art 736 followers, 89 pins
10. Animals in Art 736 followers, 86 pins

The Tate Gallery has also got a Pinterest Board - this is The Tate's Pinterest Top Ten Pin List
However this is also a strictly retail operation!

For me Pinterest makes complete sense if it's set up by retailers who want their images online.  A contrary view about the activities of Pinterest is expressed in the Copyright section below. 

Artists and Art Blogs

Drawing and Sketching

2012 Poll Results: What's the best place to sell art? (Part 1)

In the last 12 months, most artists have generated most of their income and profit in one of FOUR places - according to the August Making A Mark Poll

The four places are as follows

• direct from studio - rank#1 for revenue and #1 for profit
• via a commercial gallery and/or as a gallery artist - ranked #2 for revenue and #4 for profit
• via an online gallery / shop (which is NOT either eBay or Etsy) - ranked #3 for revenue and #2 for profit
• via an Annual Art fair or Festival - ranked #4 for revenue and #3 for profit.

These four places account for:

• 68% of the responses identifying the best place for generating revenue
• 58 % of the responses identifying the best place for making the most profit

Seven other places for selling art identified in the August Making A Mark Poll generated 5% or less responses.

75 responses in August 2012

59 responses in August 2012

My Annual Poll which seeks to identify the best place to sell art changed slightly this August.  It became two polls rather than one and aimed to separate out venues which generated sales from those which generated profit - on the basis that it's perfectly possible to sell art in some places and make no profit at all!

The questions asked by the two polls focused on which were the most effective marketing channels for selling art:

1. What was the best place to sell art in the last year (most revenue)?
2. What was the best place to sell art in the last year (most profitable)?

As the Poll topic for August was marketing channels, the Poll for September - which I will publish next week - will focus on the range of marketing tools (eg advertising / blogs / word of mouth etc) which artists use to alert people to where they sell their art

Analysis of the results