Fresh Arts ARC Workshop: Business Skills for Visual Artists II Created and led by Taft McWhorter July 11, 2012

1. Evolving Your Career:
Basic Business Skills
for Visual Artists II
Fresh Arts ARC Workshop
led by Taft McWhorter

2. “Out on a limb... that's where artists do their work. Not
in the safe places, but out there, in a place where
they might fail.” ~Seth Godin
• DON’T BE AFRAID TO FAIL!
• The seed of your next art work lies embedded in the
imperfections of your current piece. - David Bayles

3. “You will never leave
where you are until
you decide where you
would rather be.”

4. 2012 State of the Art Survey
http://www.xanadugallery.com/wordpress/

5. Overall Vision & Goals
• To go from hobbyist to professional
takes “ACTING and BEING”
professional
• Spend 50% of your time on areas
besides creating your art
• Write a business plan
• Set goals and timelines
• Network with the right people

6. The Essentials
• Business Cards
• Website
– Bio/Artist Statement
– Credentials
– Images of your work
– Calendar of Upcoming Events
– List of Collectors
– Contact Info

7. Network
• Networking is key
• Go to local art exhibits
• Meet artists and collectors
• Create a Top 10 list of people you want
to connect with
• Begin inviting these people to your
exhibits
• Donate your best work to auctions as
long as you get the buyer’s contact info

8. Pricing your work
• Price based on what your market can bear
• Starting low is good ($100-$150 for 30”x40” piece).
Primary goal is to move your art so that
people are seeing it around
– You can easily create 40-50 collectors at a lower
price and then bump the price up once a year
as long as you’re continuing to sell
• Set your price per square inch
• Always be consistent with your pricing (don’t
charge one thing in one city and another in your home city).
• Remember art pricing is always negotiable

9. Negotiating
• Very few art sales happen without negotiation
• Don’t offer a discount unless the prospect asks, but
be prepared with your initial offer as well as your
lowest price
• Never agree to a price that you are uncomfortable
with. It won’t be worth it in the long run
• Price your work with the notion of giving a 20-25%
discount (typical discount in the art business)
• Offer larger discounts on multiple piece sales.
• The ultimate goal isn’t necessarily to “protect” the
integrity of your art. The ultimate goal is to create
collectors.

10. Exhibiting
• Have a goal of showing at least once a month in a
public venue/setting.
– Gallery Exhibits (Fresh Arts)
– Juried Shows (Lawndale, Archway, M2)
– Art Markets (WHAM, First Saturday Arts Market)
– Restaurants, Bars and Clubs
– Collector’s homes or businesses
– Be open to other possibilities (i.e. Car Dealerships)

11. Group Exhibits
• Organize joint or group exhibits with other artists
– Advantages of group exhibit
• Larger audience due to combined mailing lists
• Lower event cost per artist
• Credibility of showing with other artists
• Share mailing lists post exhibit (with collector’s
permission)
• Example – Progressive Evening of Fine Art
– Allan Rodewald, Chris Silkwood and Taft McWhorter
– Each artist invites 10 of their top collectors
– Each artist gains 20 new quality prospects

12. Creating Collectors
• The primary key to developing a career as a
professional artist is to grow your list of collectors
• Galleries and designers provide a great revenue
stream, but sales to collectors will be the main
source of income
• Everything you do in building credibility in your work
(i.e. credentials, exhibits, etc) will be done to benefit
sales to your collectors
• With a strong list of collectors, you can withstand
the peaks and valleys of the art business

13. Creating Collectors
• Begin creating a database of anyone who owns
your art
• Have a goal of creating anywhere from 10 to 50
new collectors per year
• Utilize your current collectors even if it is only friends
and family
• Donate art to auctions. Get the name and contact
info of who purchased
• Collaborate and exhibit with other artists
• Gift your art to key potential collectors or people
you want to network with

14. Utilizing Collectors
• This section applies whether you have 4 collectors or 100
collectors.
• Local Art Collectors want to get to know the artist
personally. That is the main reason collectors buy locally.
• Take your collectors to lunch or dinner
• A $30 lunch or $70 dinner tends to turn into more $$$ in
art sales
• At dinner, explain your mission, your business plan and
figure out ways for them to be more involved
• Collectors are looking to invest time and money in the
artists they collect. They want to be “part of something
larger than themselves”. Give them that opportunity.

15. Utilizing Collectors
• Utilize current collectors to grow your circle and
become champions for you and your art
• Cater to your collectors by getting to know them
and understanding their motives for collecting your
art.
• Organize small, invitation only “Collector Parties”. It
can be a group of collectors or it can be one
collector with a group of their friends.
• Ask your collectors to invite a guest or two or five to
any and all events.
• Hold these types of events monthly if possible.

16. Utilizing Collectors
• Send out a separate monthly newsletter to your
collectors, offering them a special collectors
discount for that month or a special referral reward,
such as a free smaller piece of art if they refer
someone who becomes a collector
• Stay connected by sending postcards, note cards,
emails, etc to your collectors on a monthly basis
• The more connected you are with your collectors,
the more they will support your passion

17. Special Projects
• Once you’ve built a substantial list of collectors, you
can create projects that involve more than just
buying one painting at a time.
• Examples
– Plan a “Collector” sponsored:
• Foundation
• Exhibit
• Series of works
• Trip to study art in another city or country
• Book of your art

18. Never Stop Evolving
• Study with other artists
– Spend the day with a fellow artist
– Art Supply Dealer Demonstrations
– Art League of Houston
– Glassell School of Art, MFA
• Attend workshops
– Fresh Arts
• Get an “Art Business” coach
– Billy Miller, artist and art business coach at WSS

19. Art Business Coach
William H. Miller
Your mARkeTing mentor
Whim Designs
billy@whimdesigns.com
•consulting services, marketing, web,
social media and creative... based on
your goals - one artist to another.

20. “Never let the fear of striking out
get in your way”.
-Babe Ruth

21. "A clear vision,
backed by definite plans,
gives you a tremendous feeling of
confidence and personal
power."
Brian Tracy

22. "Smile, breathe and go slowly."
-- Thich Nhat Hanh

23. Taft McWhorter
www.TaftMcWhorterArt.com