Keys to Selling Your Decorative Artwork

You see all around you -- on the corporate wall, hospitals, shopping malls, and more. It's decorative art, the kind sold through interior designers, decorators and architects. This is not necessarily investment grade art or art used to build a collection or portfolio. Rather, it is art that will be openly lived with and enjoyed.

There are a number of factors that influence how often you make a sale. Assuming that you are selling your work, there are 3 broad categories over which you, as the artist, has major control

First is the design and execution of the image and hinges on whether it's an original or a multiple.

If you are a producing artist and would like to sell (more) of your decorative art to an adoring public, then the way to success is to show up with the perfect images a willing and able buying prospect wants at just the right time they want that piece. The guessing comes in when selecting which art to show, prospecting the buyer, and making an appointment at the proper time.

Most artists would be content if this were the only set of considerations. But the business of selling art and the creative marketplace is so closely interrelated that the artist must keep all aspects in mind. When the artist is finally built a decent reputation based on successful talent and subsequent sales.

The second category is where, when and to whom you show your work to.

If you are eyeing a broad customer base, you should keep another of things in mind. People want to live with pleasant pictures. Images that evoke a happy memories, good times, pleasant surroundings, flora and fauna and fun do sell well. People tend to avoid political, degrading, depressing or jarring images.

Pictures of people (even happy people) are also often avoided unless they are really part of the background and playing just supportive roles, so to speak. There are always exceptions, but if you are playing the odds, it seems to be a good idea to leave recognizable people out of your pictures.

Color has a tremendous role in the selection of art. While décor is usually the last thing purchased especially in a corporate setting, there must be some relationship or match with furnishings. Therefore, as an artist you'll need to keep up with and even anticipate color trends. Then, too, the geographic area and the culture are equally important.
And you can accomplish that by visiting design studios of the area have targeted as well as exploring trade publications, books, and lifestyle magazines.

In the warm climes in the southern US for example, the topography is light and area. So, vivid, airy color palettes sell best. In contrast, the cozier, small rooms and windows of the north make far more subdued (darker) color and smaller paintings more acceptable and saleable.

Third is how the presentation is made, the sale and the follow-up.

Format and proportion also make a difference especially when you approach a gallery or a frame shop asking them to display your work. If you are willing to sell on consignment, then images which easily conform to ready made frames will increase your changes will be hung on their walls as opposed to being relegated to an art bin.

If the frame must be made to a special size, the gallery may choose not to make the investment. On the other hand, tall verticals or wide horizontals can make for a striking contrast to the same 'me to' standard frame offerings and can sell well also. They can over those
Odd areas/fit

Your chance for sales also increases if your paintings are made in pairs or a series. This is true especially if each painting is strong enough to stand on its own. Publishers of prints and lithographs are often splitting editions and offering part on paper and part reproduced on canvas. Because of this, the painting can be sold with or without a glass facing, depending on buyer preference.

Many successful artists are selling embellished prints which are reworked by adding paints directly onto the surface of the original. These can bring better pricing because of the distinctive handwork.

In the end, key is to develop a broader techniques and venues for more successful selling.