𝓢𝓮𝓰𝓾𝓲𝓷 𝓐𝓻𝓽 𝓒𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓶 🎨

Trying to sell art is challenging because we are not taught this skill and most do not come by selling naturally. I grew up in a car-selling family where selling came naturally and was an everyday part of my life. I know art school does not really cover this part of the Business of Art so I hope to share my thinking on this part of the creative process with you today.  

I started selling hand-painted Bluebonnet and Indian Paintbrush T-shirts. I added other flowers later and by the end was hand-painting  fifty-plus T-shirts a day. I did not choose to paint bluebonnets because I loved them so much, but because they were and are popular in Texas, and starting with this subject matter allowed me to be successful right away. 

The first order, my Mother, Betsy Weyel, and I hand-delivered to the wonderful Something Different store in Fredericksburg and they sold out in only a few hours. When we got home I already had a call that they needed more. Later I figured out how to get my designs silk screened allowing me to expand all over Texas and beyond with my wildflower designs. At one point I was selling to almost all the Texas State Parks, Wildseed Farms, The National Wildflower Center, The State Capital, Blue Bell Creameries, and lots more. I have found if you want to do commercial art, which I am a commercial artist for the most part, you have to find what the customer needs and cannot find it anywhere else except from you. I also choose the best places. I know most of you are not commercial artists, and now after all these years, I am having time to do the fine art I have put on the back burner for so many years. Not that I didn’t do fine art, pottery, etc. during this time, but as you know you have to focus to make a real success of what you are doing.

Discipline and planning have helped me to retain my focus and get to the finish line, although as we all know the “finish” is subjective and at some point, one must finish, it is hard sometimes to say this is the best I can do and move on. But this is a skill set to finish and move on, an important part of developing a body of work that might represent a season of your creative process.

I do not believe too much in rules, so I often break them. Oil painting is more rule-driven. I enjoy oil, acrylic, watercolor, and collage, plus throwing on the potter wheel. I did teach studio art and ceramics in a high school setting where I learned how to be focused and disciplined. If you have the goal of selling your work I suggest that you develop a body of work. Perhaps give yourself a month's deadline to complete a series. Don’t jump around during this period as you will find the more honed in like a laser beam you become during this set period, the better your success will be. And just begin. Make a mess, put things aside when they aren’t working, and think of all you do as part of a process leading to your success. You will surprise yourself as to how your work will improve with discipline and focus. Make a one-month, one-year, five-year plan as to where you want to be with your art. Don’t worry about how you will get there. Make the plan and let the plan work for you.

Do not be intimidated by others and their success. We are all on the road and are at vastly different places in our journey. When I was selling my hand painted T-shirts at the Dallas Market I found that walking around and looking at my competition was hard for me to do. So I didn’t do it. Being fearless will help you. Remember, not everyone will like what you do, that’s why they made chocolate and vanilla. You will find an audience for your work and remember pricing is very important. I recommend you look around and see what is selling and how it is priced. Better to sell and get out there than to hold on to work and never sell it. Giclee prints are another way to be able to sell to the masses. I have begun doing this and it has been a success for me. I am still working on that body of work that reflects what I think people want.

I know last year, in preparation for my show here at the Art League, I was focused and dedicated. I knew what I had to do and did it. Leaving many projects on the table, one never finishes it all. And if you are like me, plentiful ideas sometimes clog the creative process. This is why it is important to be disciplined in creating a plan of work.

~ Kitty Keller