How are your ART sales this year?

[Don Dudenbostel]

Is anyone working/selling in the Charleston, SC area? What are sales like there?

I'm in the Martin Gallery on Broad St and sales have been excellent.

Great to hear sales are still good. My art sales have been very good this year and have a large commission for a new restaurant in Singapore that will start this year. Let's hope business for everyone is strong in 2011.

[Kirk Gittings]

Catching up-back to this thread again. This year has been a very good year for print sales, boosted by direct sales from the "Contemplative Landscape" show in Santa Fe, some out of the blue random sales and 7 images sold so far from the yearly show at the ABQ Museum. The later half of the year also showed some signs of life in the commercial arena too and stock sales (though still dismal compared to 2007).

[ImSoNegative]

sold a couple this year, time is not on my side when it comes to my photography

[jordanstarr]

I did 3 outdoor art shows in Toronto (one was the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition) this year and one solo exhibition at a Gallery on Toronto's prestigious Queen St. I did terrible and so did everyone else, except one of my friends who is a painter. I probably sold $2000 worth of art, but that was over a span of being at a booth for 8 days in rain or smouldering heat and I spent more than $2000 building my frames, buying my tent and paying for my booth. I sold one print at my solo show, which made me break even for paying for the rental. So, basically I lost money and a ton of time by focusing on the business side of things this year. No one is buying art in Ontario it seems (I've sold lots out West) and many who made a decent living off art (by that I mean, they could do it fulltime and still eat) are now struggling from what I hear. Maybe it's the "type" of art, not sure. But most of the people I've talked to have had it with these art shows because no one is buying. I'm not going to do them anymore. My time is better spent in the darkroom or taking photos.

[Greg Blank]

People buy art all the time, a couple of things I have observed: The venues change, people go different places. If your selling your work for peanuts it becomes a rat race to the bottom. I had a friend I did shows with to share booth expenses. He far out sold me because he was cheap and his subject "Italy" was popular in the late 1990's I however was selling prints from my booth at $450.oo each- a booth that was a basic setup. After 2000 and 911 things changed for street fairs- and me. Since I was doing other pro work doing street fairs was put aside. I think festivals serve the purpose of getting your name out there.....many times promotion of any type takes 6 months to be realized.

Part of doing business at shows is having a better booth and being more professional than someone selling 16x20 ink jets for $20 each. Just realize there are people going to sell for that price point. I hope to do two next year, not sure where yet....but its going to be bonkers busy for me. At 48 I am getting married for the first time and then going to the Grand Canyon for the honeymoon so lots of planing.

[Bill Burk]

Part of doing business at shows is having a better booth and being more professional than someone selling 16x20 ink jets for $20 each. Just realize there are people going to sell for that price point. I hope to do two next year, not sure where yet....but its going to be bonkers busy for me. At 48 I am getting married for the first time and then going to the Grand Canyon for the honeymoon so lots of planing.

Thoughtful advice. Wish you a happy marriage, friend of mine did the same. No telling when you're going to fall in love.

[Robert Skeoch]

I sold one in Nov.
It was a black and white landscape. 8x10 matted for $200. A nice enough picture.
I didn't do any "art in the park" type shows for the last five years, I occasionally have work in gallery group shows but the buyer was from a different region so I'm pretty sure they didn't see one there.

I think buyers might be looking for something fresh and new, I'm still loving images done on large format in black and white, but I believe the market is more "fun loving, iPhone images" which is fresh and alive.

I do get postings from a number of photographers with Print of the Month specials. I think this is a good idea although have never tried it. I think it's a tough going if you want to pay the rent selling prints.

-Rob

[jnantz]

pretty good, i sold another 3 the past few weeks

[Kirk Gittings]

I've had a few more sales since reopening this thread this year. Three more including a large print to an important public art collection and two to private individuals. This is probably my second best year ever.

[Robert Skeoch]

Kirk,
Are you doing anything different to promote the sales.
Regular facebook postings or client emails?

-Rob