How to turn your artistic talents into something you can sell

Pablo Picasso famously said “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up”.

Now, I could be inclined to disagree with that quote because even as a child my art was rubbish, but there are lots of people out there who have bucket loads of artistic talent but just aren’t doing enough with it.

If you’re one of these people, it’s time to get creative and make 2019 the year the world sees more of your creative flair!

Get people to see your art

Aside from the obvious exercise of ‘putting paint on canvas’, to get people seeing and buying your art it’s a good idea to make prints of your original work. This gives you the opportunity to get your art seen in all kinds of settings.

Some popular printed products that artists love are:

• Giclee fine art prints
• Greetings cards
• Postcards
• Poster prints
• Calendars

You can then sell these products in addition to your original work and start making yourself a bit of money…

Turn your art into products that people want to buy

This is where good print comes in. It’s all very well printing your art with the intention of selling it, but if the quality isn’t right you’re unlikely to find many buyers.

Making key decisions at an early stage will really pay off when you come to sell your work.

Picking a printer that will take the time to offer advice and answer your questions will help. They’ll be able to advise you on how to get good electronic copies of your art at the right resolution, and you’ll also be in the right place to pick a paper and printing method which is right for your style of art.

At Cerberus, we’ve developed a strong reputation for working with artists and will be happy to chat you through your options. We even have sample packs available to help you make decisions without the fear of getting it wrong. You can find out more about this on our website.

Some more handy tips for starting out selling your art

Make time to market yourself

Time is an investment and you’ll need to give yourself the opportunity to not only make your art but also to find people who want to buy it. You’ll need to think about setting up social media accounts (maybe even a website) and trial selling options like approaching galleries or having a stall at a craft fair.

Find the right selling platform for you

Don’t expect to sell lots of products really quickly. You need to establish yourself and find your market first. You may find that the best way to sell is face to face via a shop or stall or selling online might work for you through a marketplace website like Etsy and Folksy.

Invest in developing your art and products

People worry too much about making money straight off the bat and selling everything they’ve printed. The truth is, it’ll take time to establish a good range of stock – consider putting all the money you make aside and then reinvesting it in more prints and materials. This way you build up a good range and keep adding fresh items that your loyal customers will appreciate.

Be diverse

Sell your art on different media. This could be greetings cards, giclee prints, postcard sets or even a calendar. This gives your customers more opportunity to find a product which suits them best.

Are you a budding artist looking for high quality printed products?

We love working with artists from Cumbria and beyond to create beautiful printed products for them to sell.

Our focus is on quality, not quantity so get in touch for a chat about getting your art out there for the world to see!

Thanks for reading.

Tom

Tom Burnham is the Managing Director of Cerberus Printing, taking over the family business from his father Clive in 2017. Tom grew up in Cumbria and has a passion for the county, it’s culture and championing Cumbrian business. He lives in the Dales town of Sedbergh with his wife, Laura and son, Alexis.