Selling you artwork is not the primary aim of every artist, but you can only give away or personally display a finite number of creations. And if you are a prolific artist, what will you do with the rest? As one who loves to paint and often gets caught up in my art for months or years at a time, I have searched for an outlet time and again over the years.

I have done Art and Craft Fairs off and on many times over the years. And that is one outlet I am using right now. I love doing shows and have a ball with them. My barn board paintings are the fare for my shows now. These were one of the types of paintings I took to shows 30 years ago. Who would have thought that I would live long enough to see them come back into style? ;-}

Being successful at shows is a combination of elements. First, you have to pick the right shows. Going to shows in a random manner is not the answer. They should be picked the same way you would pick a Mother of the Bride dress. You have to shop around, visit many of the possible places to "buy" your spot and evaluate the venue. Of course, this involves visiting a show and then waiting until the next year to join. I don't have that much patience most of the time.

I use a listing service that gives me search options and lets me find shows within any radius I choose of my zip code or I can see shows all across the US. It gives me lots of good information about many shows and contact information for shows I am considering. You can use the site for free or can purchase full membership for a nominal fee OR (GET THIS) you can earn free time for adding information about shows in your area. How great is that?

This site is eventlister.com. There are many areas of help available there and I would recommend it for anyone who wants to sell at shows. There are descriptions of shows and many have comments from people who have done that show before so you know what to expect. You can find contact information so you can write or call for additional info. I also search online with Google to get more information once I read about a show I am interested in attending. All of this information gives a good idea about what to expect at a show.

My newer approach is to market online. Of course, selling on eBay has been made fairly easy, but there are other outlets available. I am currently building a site on etsy.com and hope to have it ready soon.

The next project will be to retrofit a site I own (whose content outdated) to sell my artwork. The biggest problem with marketing online is doing it right. It is not like making a newspaper ad or anything that has been done in print.

But I have recently found an e-book that is a great help. It lays everything out in an easy to follow format that is clear and concise. Whether you are a novice or have been marketing for a while, this book contains tips and strategies for creating a website that is easy to do and will sell your wares for you.

It is called Online Art Marketing Ebook for Artists and can be found at the link at the end of this article if you would like to learn more about it.

Artists don't want to get hung up in the nitty gritty details of researching how to get everything put together and displayed so it workd across browser platforms ... they want to paint! But it's not enough to just create great work. You have to present it well in order to make it sell online. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to sell their work. It is 33 power-packed pages that will get you on your way quickly.

How about sharing your experience and questions on our forum so others can learn or share their experiences with you? Just click on the forum link below or at the top of the page to see what's going on there. Join the fun and share your thoughts about selling your artwork with us!

Here's the link! Art Marketing E-Book

Thanks for joining us,
Paula Devore
Painting Editor