What do collectors want?

Okay, enough already with the selling fine art safari adventure. Lets leave the Land Rover and gun behind and check out of the Treetops African resort to examine what it is that art collectors really want from an artist and their artwork.

Most people who buying art are not art collectors. They are just people who like to decorate their homes with nice things. If you and your art have a good name and that certain je ne sais quois then these home decorators will buy your art, maybe even lots of it. There is money to be made there.

Real Art Collectors on the other hand (of the serious variety) are also ‘art investors’ to varying degrees, and when I say ‘investor’ that can mean not just in terms of money. Art Collectors want much much more than a pretty picture when they are considering buying your art, but of course they may also be in the business of selling fine art themselves (ie buying your art with a view to selling your art in the future when your stardom climbs to the stratosphere).

My own art has been mostly been bought by home decorators; the people who just love it because its a beautiful thing to behold, and it makes them happy when they see it in their homes. I have though on occasion had my art purchased by the real deal collectors that artists dream about having on their exhibition mailing lists. I once delivered one of my paintings to a client who had a collection in his multi-squillion dollar home that almost made me weep with joy at seeing it (after all it’s not everyday you see a Gauguin hanging in someone’s living room.)  I wish I had more clients like that, but he is the exception rather than the rule in my customer Rolodex.

So what do these elusive collectors want from us?
Read on…

Years ago when I first took the plunge into the professional art world I started out creating screen prints in runs of up to 100 at a time with home-made equipment in my Garage. I figured it would make sense to be able to distribute my wonderful works as widely as possible, and what better way than producing a ton of copies and then selling them to eager buyers.

At the time I was inspired by some local artists who seemed to have their work in every framing shop and exhibition that I saw around town. I figured that these guys were making it big, as their work seemed so popular.

They were themselves creating prints, both regular four colour process and handmade screen prints. Since the cost of a run of 1000 4 colour process (poster style) prints was many thousands of dollars and ‘Giclee’ colour inkjet printing was a mere twinkle in technology’s eye at the time, I opted for the home-brew screen printing approach.

Well, after a short while one of the local artists that I’d admired so much spotted my work in a shop and gave me a call. I was excited!  He wanted to represent me himself and use his connections to get my prints into the outlets that he had access to. This made me even more excited.

He only wanted the very reasonable sum of 30% of the wholesale price as commission, and since my prints at that time retailed for the absolutely enormous sum of $100 each (Framing Shops like to make a 100% markup) that meant that I would receive the princely sum of $35 for each print, and therefore $3500 for a complete sell out of a print run. I was almost salivating at the thought. It actually seemed like a lot of money to me at the time.

What happened when I stopped salivating?
Read on…

Worse still for artists and other creative types is that our decorative wares are now definitely right at the bottom of the shopping list for those middle to high income earners who like to purchase what we make.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that our beloved Galleries are having a hard time too right now (all except for those that are dealing in real ‘investment art’ by very famous and possibly dead artists).

Here’s a few ideas that you might like to think about…

Prepare for the UPSWING

The tidal surge of art buying is cyclical. When people feel cashed up they like to splurge. When their shares aren’t doing quite so well they panic a bit and become tightwads. At the moment many artists will be experiencing a new excuse for clients not buying their art…”Oh I absolutely LURRVE it, BUUUUTTT, with the recession and everything I just cant afford it”.  So what’s an artist to do? Well you could prepare for the upswing in the market at some point in the future, so when all of a sudden mr $$cash$$ comes out to play again, you are ready with your fine wares to capitalise on your clients perceived new bank account happiness.

Believe it or not the people who are going to have lots of money in two, three, four or five years time (and potentially the buyers for your art) are busy going round buying up assets like houses, businesses and shares right now while they are dirt cheap (as opposed to buying your stunningly beautiful but nevertheless non-essential art). When the market rebounds these ‘new rich’ will need trinkets and fripperies to display how fabulously wealthy they are. This is where you come in.

So, use this ‘quiet time’ to stock up on your artwork. Spend your time making lots of paintings, say… two or three exhibitions worth(!!). Book actual ‘selling’ exhibitions for these works well into the future. Of course you may have to find another way to make a crust in the meantime while things are quiet (uggh!), but as you create all these fabulous new works you can continue to build your profile in readiness for the new glorious day of cash-loaded clients by…

Exhibiting in Public Galleries

It’s great to have an exhibition without the pressure to sell anything, just for the sheer pleasure of executing an idea, a theme or a concept without all that nasty money related stuff. Many places in the world have galleries that are funded by the local, state or federal governments, and to have an exhibition in one is considered quite a feather in the cap of any artist who enters their hallowed halls. It gives the outward impression that serious art people (sans the money bias) do  take you seriously. So why not get started by putting together an exhibition proposal for your local public gallery?

Better still, apply for funding from  government agencies who are specifically there to develop our cultural landscape.

Even better, if you’ve got a strong concept it might be worth touring the exhibition through many public galleries. This will give your artworks plenty of exposure ready for future clients to buy when these artworks finally make it to the commercial (ie selling) galleries. Just think how good this will look on your artists statement! and while you are at it…

Enter Competitions

Another Curriculum Vitae expanding strategy which you can be getting on with while the art market is flat on its back like a fly-sprayed cockroach is to enter competitions. There’s the extra bonus too that if you win one you might be able to top up the coffers with a little prize money too. Again, these artworks can be out there in the world, spreading the good news of how brilliant you are ready for when things pick up. Everyone loves a winner, so why not invest a bit of time in becoming one?

…but at the same time, just to keep the ravenous wild howling canines from the door maybe you should also consider…

Doing something else for $$MONEY$$ (at least part-time)

If you are the kind of artist who comes under the category of “financially independent baby-boomer millionaire retiree who can do whatever you please” then please stop painting right now. Instead please immediately start buying up cheap properties and shares. You need to do your duty to the artworld by having an excess cash to burn on the artworks of other less financially independent artists when the recession turns into rampant optimism Support the Artworld that you purport to love

For all others…yes, I know, it makes you feel sick right down to pit of your stomach to consider doing other things for $$cash$$money$$.  I empathise, I really do, but you do need to put food on the table and stump up the monthly payments for that IPhone Maxi Cap plan that seemed such a good idea last year.

Okay, it’s time to take stock. Do you have some other readily marketable skills that you can sell right now?  I’m an artist through and through but I’m not ashamed to tell you that at this moment I create more commissioned websites than commissioned artworks, but does it make me feel any less of an artist?  Not one bit. It’s as simple as taking off one hat and putting on another.

del *.ego

Real artists remain artists even when they are working in a different job to survive. Don’t be afraid to do new money generating things to fund your further artistic adventures until such time as the good times finally begin to roll again.

Oh, and while you’re at it….

GO AND DO SOMETHING ‘COMPLETELY’ DIFFERENT

Seriously. If you can afford it, go out there and live a little. See some stuff, experience something. Break out of your normal day to day. Fill up your inspiration and ideas account. Get recharged and ready for the new wave of  affluence. Yes I know that time might seem a long way off, but good times will return and you need to be good and ready, pumping out absolutely brilliant stuff when that time comes. That brilliant stuff comes from INSPIRATION. Go and get some.