How To Get Your Art Into A Gallery
Getting your artwork into a gallery can be a challenge for any artist and one that can make even the best artist wonder what the hell is wrong with their artwork!
Gallery Art? or Street Furniture?
Here is a simple step by step guide to help you find your art hanging on the walls of a gallery and selling to people other than friends and family.
Approaching a gallery
Early experiences of approaching a gallery had left me depressed and a tad bitter; gallery owners were either angels or devils in my eyes; there was NO middle ground.
But my view wasn’t without it’s reasons. Having had gallery owners slam doors in my face ( and I mean literally slam doors in my face ) to inventing the biggest pile of unrelenting bullshit about a particular painting hoping that they will accept me because I’m deep, to pleading for a chance to show my newer and far more appealing portfolio at a later date!!!
Nothing is more pathetic than an artist pleading for approval in my opinion and for a good while I was downright pathetic.
I now see gallery owners for what they are; another human being equal to me and not a god of the art world.
Here’s how to get your art work into a gallery without having to have an identity crisis or a nervous breakdown!!
(If you are getting doors closed in your face don’t despair)
Okay, so maybe you have been struggling away for far too long trying to get your work into galleries and you’re tired of hearing the same old comments from family and friends about your lack of success in art.
I had a particular line the still rattles me when I recall it “it’s a pity you can’t sell it”; nothing made me more angry than this sweeping statement and having been driven to the point of despair my anger fuelled my determination to get my work accepted into a gallery at all costs and I did… eventually!
For more years than I can remember I failed to see a single painting of mine hanging on the walls of even the humblest Irish art gallery.
This, despite mailing thousands of photographs of my work to numerous gallery owners, visiting various art exhibitions and shows across the country and knocking on the door of every gallery this side of the Atlantic (at least that is how it felt).
Finally, I realised that with every gathering breathe of desperation and lost confidence that I had actually approached it all the wrong way.
I changed my approach and strategy and I soon had my first gallery and had sold three paintings in the first month. In short, this is what I did and I hope it will provide some guidance to you if you’re in the same boat right now and sinking fast.
- Define your work
There are different categories that art can fall into; traditional, abstract, portraiture, contemporary, landscape. See where your work fits and define it .
Categories are a way of life for gallery owners and art dealers so work with the one that best describes your main body of work at the time or the work you feel the happiest and proudest of.
- Define your market
Although all art is produced for today’s market, the market falls into two areas; traditional and contemporary art.
Take a look at your own art work and find your market. Are you painting old men drinking stout in a fairly accurate manner or are you hanging from the ceiling pouring acrylics across a huge canvas with no discernible form?
Galleries will be one or the other; so understand who you are as an artist and find a gallery that fits your profile as an artist.
- Define your style
If you’re like me then you probably paint in a least three of the four different styles and paint many different subjects. I divide my work into three styles and group my work accordingly; figurative (modern female figures) abstracts (blocks of colour in oils and acrylics on canvas) exaggerated florals (large/semi-abstract flowers).
So now you’ve defined your style decide what your personal preference is and promote those paintings to the galleries first. The last thing you need is to turn up with a bunch of odds and sods or even worse , take the group you find hardest to produce. Remember, you’re planning for success and if you are asked to produce fifty pieces in a style you struggle with you’ll be planning to fail.
- Define “YOU”
The last thing most artists want to do is talk about themselves. I know, it’s painful! and at times an embarrassing exercise but if you can’t describe who you are and what your artwork is about don’t expect anyone else to.
Put pen to paper or hit the laptop and produce a pen picture of yourself; a resumee if you are able to and a brief covering letter which you can use to introduce yourself and your work to gallery owner.
Keep the information brief, relevant and to the point. If you are trying to portray an image of an artist who is self aware, professional and reliable, explain what you have done and what you hope to do in the future and keep it real.
Gallery owners don’t want to work with the next Damian Hurst, so keep your pretensions at arms length at least for now.
- So now you know who you are and what you do and where you belong we can start to look at how to get your art where it needs to go – into a gallery.
How do you find the right gallery?
There are literally thousands of art galleries out there and if you’re like me you can easily get lost in the woods. So, do your homework before stepping out into the unknown. Find a gallery to suit your style and one which has a reputation for looking at new or upcoming artists. It’s no use wasting your valuable time and money sending your work to an established city gallery with a long list of world famous artists filing it’s walls if you’ve just come out of college and are looking for your first break.
- What is the right approach?
Know how to market your work and how to approach galleries. Send a covering letter; a resumee and a short pen picture; together with a handful of high quality photographs or a cd of your art work and a link to your website if you have one. Keep the letter business like from one equal to another. Be confident about your work and what you have to offer as an artist.
Call a few days later to follow up on the letter and try to arrange an appointment with the owner or art buyer to look at some of your work.
Don’t be put off if they say they are too busy for the next few weeks. Most likely, this is not an excuse or an avoidance tactic or a way of letting you down softly. Trust me, if they don’t want your work they will tell you!
Follow up in a couple of days/ weeks when they have more time. The next time you call, remind them that you called when they were in the middle of a busy period and they then should agree to see your artwork.
If they don’t want your art they will say so. Don’t be disappointed when this happens, simply move onto the next gallery and accept the feedback for what it is and don’t look back for too long.
- What should I say when I get there?
Be polite, confident and composed. The first time you visit you may be shaking like a leaf with excitement and anticipation but try to control it and overcome it. It’s never easy to control your nerves but you do need some composure to talk about your artwork with confidence.
Practice what you want to say about yourself and your art work before you arrive. If you cannot find a friend or relative to listen to you on then stand in front of the mirror and tell yourself who you are and what your art is all about. This works wonders, believe me!
There is nothing better for your confidence than being prepared and to think through questions and answers in your head first helps when the question arises and you’re not left scratching your head and waiting for something profound to come out of your mouth.
Be honest. If you’re an upcoming artist and your unsure about pricing then don’t try to guess what your art work should sell for. It’s better to be honest from the start with the gallery and they will help you price your work correctly from the beginning if they like the look of it.
Be realistic. Remember, the gallery needs to make a profit on your work and will want to sell it as much as you do. So, find a price that works for both of you and a price you’re happy with. It’s no good over pricing if you’re new to the art scene as you’ll still be unknown in five years time with very few sales of your work.
On the other hand don’t under price either or you’ll be trapped in the affordable art arena with nowhere to go.
- Pricing your artwork
This is always a challenge even for established artist so don’t worry if you feel lost when it comes to working out a way to price your art for the first time. Don’t rush in and stick up a few price labels on your art work.
Think about where you are professionally. Then work out materials, time, framing etc . I pinned prices on my own artwork on one of my first visits to a gallery and I found out after a discussion with the gallery owner that my prices were way off. I had under-priced them by a ridiculous amount and failed to take into account all my costs and the galleries commission. They helped me find the right price as a new artist hoping to sell my first piece of art through a gallery and still make a profit.
You also have to consider the gallery commission and VAT on top of your cost to understand what your profit will be from the sale. In general terms you can estimate that at least 40-50% of the sale will go to the gallery.
For many artists the early days may not be that profitable. The first year may see your prices failing to cover your costs or only allowing you to break even if nothing else. But in the long term you will see that your art can sell for the price that it deserves and beyond so stick with it and see this as a marathon and not a sprint.
Don’t try to use others art as a comparison to produce your pricing plan. You have no idea how long the artist has been in the gallery, the gallery commission may be dependent on their position and reputation. It’s impossible to make this sort of comparison, so don’t bother with it.
Pick a fair price and one you are happy with and don’t be afraid to ask what you believe you are worth; even at this early stage!
- To Frame or not to frame?
How you present your art work is a major issue when you first visit a gallery. The best way to present it is to show one or two framed pieces of art so the gallery can see that you can supply framed work that is saleable.
Don’t present tatty pieces of paper either. The art should be mounted if possible and if you have a portfolio you should have it in some sort of order so it can be easily viewed and appraised.
If your art is framed make sure it is well framed. Don’t use shoddy or cheap framing. Go to a reputable framer with an eye for detail and high quality framing equipment. It may be more expensive in the beginning but in the long term the quality of the frame will reflect in the price range your art will sell for.
- Know your Art Pricing Strategy
Here’s the hard bit. If you’re like I was in the beginning chances are you won’t have a clue how to develop a pricing strategy for your art work. You may not even know what a pricing strategy is.
So, take a look at yourself as an artist and ask yourself a few simple questions;
- Where are you as an artist?
- Are you just beginning?
- Are you about to be featured in a national magazine?
- Are you about to receive a prize in a major competition?
These are the factors which will allow you to increase the price of your art as you become more established and as your name becomes more familiar in art circles and your work more desirable.
A new artist may be producing amazing art work with a high degree of individuality but they are still a new artist and galleries are reluctant to price high to begin with so be aware of this and reflect this in your prices.
A pricing strategy in simple terms allows you to price your art to match what your buyers will pay.
So, be realistic and know what you need to earn to survive. Plan ahead and as your art becomes more desirable your pocket will feel the benefit.
- The Small Print
I was so delighted the first time I got my work accepted by a gallery that I forget to have any form of contract. I didn’t even write a list of the paintings I had given the gallery to sell for me !
Further down the line I hit problems when the gallery denied selling a painting I knew I had given to them. Eventually, I managed to embarrass the owner into giving me the money owed but it was a painful and difficult learning curve which I would not want to repeat.
The gallery may also give you a contract to sign so be sure to read it thoroughly before signing and make sure it seems fair and reasonable to both parties. Sometimes we are so desperate to get our art work into a gallery that we would sign away anything!
So be warned and be prepared!
- Never ; never; never give up!
Woman with Red Hair
rejected by a gallery , but loved by many!
Woman with red hair
Acrylic on paper
If your art is good and you’re able to develop your skill to produce consistently good art work and to market it effectively you will earn a living from your passion and there is nothing better in life than being paid to do what you love.
When you experience rejection remind yourself and let this be your mantra- “No one is better than you; you are unique ; there is no one like you”.
If your work never get’s accepted into a gallery never look at this as a reflection on your work or ability as an artist; some of the finest and best artists have failed to get their work into a gallery and yet have gone on to do major things in the art world.
Continue to develop your craft and discover alternative ways to sell your art and who knows, you might not even need to get your artwork into a gallery.
