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What do you think about this?

by CaptainPike
10 replies
I just want to throw this idea out there and see what people think.

I do oil paintings. That's my main hobby and sometimes I make some money from it.

The problem is, I have a hard time selling oil paintings. I can't get out to the right type of events where I have a chance to get them sold.

Is there anyone on this forum (in the US) that believes they can sell my paintings? I normally do landscapes, but my paintings are sometimes setup to invoke the same kind of emotions you'd get from well known artists like Thomas Kinkade. I'm not saying my work is in that class, just that the same feelings might be felt by viewing the work.

It may be that this is just a bad idea and it would never work. Guess it doesn't hurt to ask.
  • Profile picture of the author TimothyTorrents
    Correct me if I am wrong, but can't you sell paintings through eBay or similar websites? You could try creating your own e-commerce website and sell your paintings that way (ship them to your clients).

    I frequently browse image database websites such as Imgur when I have some time to kill. And I noticed, when users upload pictures of their artwork, there are almost always people commenting on the post asking where they can buy the artwork.

    So if you simply snapped some digital pictures of your paintings and posted them on websites such as Imgur with a link back to your website, where people can purchase the real paintings, I am sure you could make quite a few sales.

    Just my opinion. I don't know much about e-commerce but this could work.
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    • Profile picture of the author nate55@bellsouth.net
      Pm me with some of your work. I would like to see them please. Are you also an art instructor? thanks
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      • Profile picture of the author 4DayWeekend
        If you want to sell your paintings for a good profit online then you need a marketing campaign.

        You need videos where people get to know you. Ideally something that goes viral. Something that has people on social media and blog sites mentioning your name. You need to create a buzz.

        For buyers it isn't always about buying the best painting but more often about buying something from Artist XXX.

        I remember this video getting crazy viral love a few months ago. After that, lots of people want his work.


        Think if you can do something out of the box that will get recognition and your name out there. If you can, your paintings will definitely sell.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Originally Posted by CaptainPike View Post

    It may be that this is just a bad idea and it would never work.
    Captain Pike,

    How are you ever going to know if it's a bad idea unless you put yourself out there and give it your best shot?

    If you are passionate about painting and have sold some of your works in the past, that tells me you have some talent and others have recognized that and are willing to pay you for it.

    Put up a simple web site using WordPress. Get a "gallery" type theme (there are several at Elegant Themes) subscribe to GumRoad or ECWID and you'll have a selling site.

    There are lots of ways to get traffic. You might try "groups" at Facebook, Yahoo, etc and see if there are others interested in your type of art. Do some research online to see where other artists are drawing their traffic from.

    You can do all this pretty quickly and with minimal expense. What I like about your talent is that your paintings will be unique and one of a kind so you won't have to compete with others selling the same thing online.

    Give it your best shot for 3-6 months (sometimes it takes time to get traffic going to your site) and then reassess whether this is going to work. Once your site is up (shouldn't take more than a couple of days), focus hard on identifying your perfect customers, finding where they are, how you can reach them, and what they want. Targeted, aggressive marketing is how you should spend 90% of your time.

    The best to your painting future!

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author CaptainPike
      Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

      Captain Pike,

      How are you ever going to know if it's a bad idea unless you put yourself out there and give it your best shot?

      If you are passionate about painting and have sold some of your works in the past, that tells me you have some talent and others have recognized that and are willing to pay you for it.

      Put up a simple web site using WordPress. Get a "gallery" type theme (there are several at Elegant Themes) subscribe to GumRoad or ECWID and you'll have a selling site.

      There are lots of ways to get traffic. You might try "groups" at Facebook, Yahoo, etc and see if there are others interested in your type of art. Do some research online to see where other artists are drawing their traffic from.

      You can do all this pretty quickly and with minimal expense. What I like about your talent is that your paintings will be unique and one of a kind so you won't have to compete with others selling the same thing online.

      Give it your best shot for 3-6 months (sometimes it takes time to get traffic going to your site) and then reassess whether this is going to work. Once your site is up (shouldn't take more than a couple of days), focus hard on identifying your perfect customers, finding where they are, how you can reach them, and what they want. Targeted, aggressive marketing is how you should spend 90% of your time.

      The best to your painting future!

      Steve
      I just did the group thing on Facebook today. Bought a fiverr gig that was very related to a painting I'm trying to sell. It has gotten some traffic. Mostly people want to "like" the image and not click the link. But I have gotten a little bit of traffic. I linked it to a ebay listing.

      Most of the people viewing my YouTube videos are between 45 and 65 years old. I suspect many of those same people might be willing to buy oil paintings or instructional materials from me. Wish I could track down some good facebook groups with that kind of demographic.
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  • Profile picture of the author maxfactor
    As Timbonitus suggested there are art websites and online marketplaces that you could list your artwork in, such as Artbreak.com and Amazon. This link has some suggestions.
    15 ways to sell art online
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  • Profile picture of the author CaptainPike
    I'd be happy to spend 50 dollars if it meant that traffic was generated to sell a 100 dollar painting. If the painting got sold.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    Why not sell your oil paintings yourself using Etsy? Maybe you are already on Etsy? Selling art can be hard, but perhaps it is easy for some.
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    • Profile picture of the author CaptainPike
      Originally Posted by Michael Ten View Post

      Why not sell your oil paintings yourself using Etsy? Maybe you are already on Etsy? Selling art can be hard, but perhaps it is easy for some.
      Michael, I've tried Etsy. The problem with Etsy and Ebay as well, they don't really promote what you are selling. If you just posted a painting on Etsy or Ebay, and did nothing on your own to promote it, you'd get a few views and the listings would expire unsold.
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  • Profile picture of the author DubDubDubDot
    The thing about art is that it's often about more than just the art. Buyers want the artist to have a good story. This is why artists that aren't right in the head or become alcoholics and kill themselves sell more than the guy who lives a full normal life.

    I would play on those desires. I'm not telling you to go slit your wrists, but you need to come up with some angle that makes YOU interesting. Then of course your work has to be unique and stellar quality.
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