Part
01
of one
Part
01
As an artist in Los Angeles, what is the best way to infiltrate the buying landscape? (painting)
Hello! It is my pleasure to respond to your query in providing you with information that will helpful to you in marketing your next series of paintings to the Los Angeles market. We’ll begin with an overview of the LA Art Market, then move into information about determining the best price points for your art. Next, we’ll look at the demographics of the typical art purchaser, then discover the best-selling art for 2016 (for the US and LA, specifically). After that, we’ll get into some best practices to adhere to in marketing your art, and some additional information that may be helpful to you in designing, marketing, and selling your next series of paintings.
BRIEF OVERVIEW: LA ART MARKET
A 2016 HuffingtonPost articles notes that Los Angeles has become “the new hot-spot for exciting growth in the art market”. It is now the second-largest art market in the US (behind New York, which is number one). The article states that the LA art community has “become more cosmopolitan,” with galleries and museums “colliding with traditional perspectives of collectors and artists”. They also mention that art institutions and art fairs are becoming much more common to LA, and that art districts have sprung up, including Silverlake, Culver City, and Downtown LA.
For additional information on the LA art scene and the newest galleries in LA, this article from the New York Times might be of interest to you.
DETERMINING PRICE POINTS
While I found many media reports and articles on the best places to buy affordable artwork in LA, the largest purchases of artwork in LA, and other related information, I could find no publicly-available information or lists that detailed what artwork is selling for in LA. So, to best answer your question – for the LA market as well as the US and global markets, I’ve provided you with four (4) separate formulas to use in pricing your artwork, as well as five (5) lessons learned (the hard way) in pricing your art. It is my hope that this information provides you with what you need.
Pricing your artwork – so that it’s properly priced according to what the market will bear as well as what will cause the artwork to sell – is a complex and difficult task for many artists. ArtistDaily cautions against pricing your artwork with your “emotions”. Some artists overprice work hoping to make it seem more valuable, but that rarely works. Other artists underprice their work hoping for a quicker sale or because they don’t want purchasers to feel overcharged. However, the article outlines a simple formula to use when pricing your art – that removes emotions and allows you to quickly price all your artwork. For the specific set of directions for this formula, check out this article.
ArtworkArchive offers three additional pricing formulas: Formula #1 uses a square inch times dollar amount figure. Formula #2 uses a triple-factor pricing strategy – with hourly wage times hours spent plus cost-of-materials. Formula #3 also uses a triple-factor strategy with height plus width times a specific multiplier (like dollar-per-square-inch).
TheAbundantArtist offers five (5) lessons she thinks are important for any artist to consider when pricing their artwork. They are summarized below:
• Lesson #1: Undercharging for your work can make you feel less-valued as an artist and can cause resentment toward clients.
• Lesson #2: Do not defend your pricing, especially for commissioned work. She offers this statement as the one to use when you’re put in a position where you feel like you have to defend your price: “If you like what I do, this is what I charge. If you don’t want to pay it, you don’t have to buy it.”
• Lesson #3: Some clients – and the monies they’ll pay you – are not worth the effort.
• Lesson #4: “State your price, then shut up!” This is so you don’t talk yourself – and your own price – down before the customer has a chance to react to your initially-stated price.
• Lesson #5: If someone is willing to pay a particular price, then the work is worth at least that much (as long as you don’t undercharge). For work that you would enjoy less or that would entail significantly more time, charge more; if someone is willing to pay that, the work is worth it.
UNDERSTANDING COLLECTORS / BUYERS
ArtworkArchive gives information on the global and US art markets in outlining the basic demographics of those are buying art. Their findings are summarized below:
• NATIONALITY: Those living in the US hold the biggest share of art buyers in the world, followed by buyers in the United Kingdom and China. They report that “the number of collectors in developing countries is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years”.
• AGE: Different generations collect/buy art differently and for different reasons. Those who are older appreciate art more for aesthetic values, though they say investing in art can be risky. Millennials who collect/buy art more likely to take art-financial risks, and to “use social media to both buy art and supplement their research”. Younger collectors to view art purchases as investments, some even using art purchases as a chance to “flip art” (buying it then re-selling it at a higher margin), though this is frowned upon by older collectors/buyers. Forbes notes that Millennials are one of the largest buyers of art online “with 44.3% of young Millennials (ages 18 – 24) and 33.8% of older millennials (ages 25 – 34) saying they discover art on social media”. They view their art purchases “as both a long-term investment and a unique experience”. Additionally, Millennials report buying art that elicits “some kind of feeling” within them – so this is key in considering the topic of your next series.
• AFFLUENCE: The wealthier a person is, the more likely s/he is to buy art. Luckily, the Los Angeles is filled with affluent individuals who love to collect original artwork.
• EDUCATION: Individuals who buy/collect art are more likely to be well-educated “with sixty-three percent of art buying households earning a bachelor’s degree and education being a key demographic variable of interest in art”.
BEST-SELLING ART (PAINTINGS)
FeltMagnet identifies the “Top 10 Subjects for Art that Sells,” including: Traditional landscapes, local views, modern or semi-abstract landscapes, abstracts, dogs, figure studies (excluding nudes), seascapes/harbor/beach scenes, wildlife, impressionistic landscapes, and nudes.
The New York Times highlights their picks for the “Best Art of 2016,” which include subjects like: African-American history and culture, contemporary history, religious-themed/based art, Mexican modernism, art from reclaimed items, future funk, political-themes/based art, and retrospectives.
ArtNet details 11 artists who are expected to “transform the art world in 2017,” including painters like: Philip Guston, Lygia Pape, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. Female artists and those whose art could be considered “artivism” (art for activism) are also very popular in the US art scene.
ArtNet also identifies the best of the Contemporary Artists in Los Angeles, which includes artwork by: Matthew Brannon, Liam Everett, Nate Boyce, Trevor Paglen, Nicholas Hatfull, Christof Mascher, Larry Bell, and Marcel van Eeden.
I was unable to locate any more specific-to-LA information on what is best-selling in that region. This information does not appear to be tracked anywhere that is available to the public.
BEST PRACTICES FOR MARKETING ART
This section includes five (5) best practices for marketing yourself as an artist and for marketing your artwork – toward the goal of greatest success in sales.
• BEST PRACTICE: DO NOT STOP MAKING ART: An article from ArtBusiness notes the importance of never stopping your craft – no matter what happens in your life, how your artwork sells at any given time, or how difficult the process is for you. The article points out that you should “persevere, work through the tough times and you’ll be glad you did”.
• BEST PRACTICE: KEEP A STRONG PORTFOLIO: Create a strong portfolio – one that is both hand-held (with stellar pictures of your art and includes copies of any gallery showings or media articles), and one that is purely digital. Agora Gallery notes that your portfolio should not only showcase your work, but also should develop and promote your brand. Make sure to develop this brand – and stick to it – across all marketing materials. The more the public sees your brand, the more they will be aware of – and likely to buy or co-market – your art. They also offer some general guidelines in developing your portfolio, if you’re interested.
• BEST PRACTICE: SEEK ALL TYPES OF POSITIVE EXPOSURE: Get involved with a variety of outlets to market yourself and your art constantly. Create a website, join online artist communities, promote across social media channels, promote at every event you attend (art-related or not). The point being – make sure your art is in public view on a constant basis – and that people are seeing your art develop as your progress in your career. Consider alternative outlets for placing your art (to galleries, which can be very selective). Places like “restaurants, coffee shops, salons, clothing boutiques, bookstores, hotels, B&Bs, and designer furniture showrooms,” as examples from ArtBusiness. Agora Gallery also provides additional suggestions on how to gain positive exposure. Additionally, you can partner with local-to-LA art scene bloggers (and/or critics) and national art bloggers (and/or critics) to highlight your artwork. Feedspot lists the “Top 50 Contemporary Art Blogs and Websites Every Artist Must Follow,” if you’re interested.
• BEST PRACTICE: MARKET YOURSELF IN PERSON: Attend (as a guest) as many art fairs, gallery openings, and related events that you can find. The more people within the art community you meet, the more your name gets out there as “an artist to know”. For a list of the current happenings in the LA art community, shoot to this Artnet events listing.
• BEST PRACTICE: UTILIZE INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, OTHER SOCIAL MEDIAS: Forbes reports that Instagram “has been key in the art market’s movement to e-commerce,” so make sure you have an active Instagram account – and follow best practices in posting there. This article from Agora Gallery will prove useful for solid tips. This article on best practices for artists on Pinterest would also be useful to you. Two other articles might be of use to you as they provide best practices for artists in promoting/selling their artwork on various social media channels – this one from Lynda and this one from Heroic Academy.
Additional best practices for marketing your art can be found via these articles from CopyBlogger, ArtBusiness, and the Working Artist.
ADDITIONAL HELPFUL INFORMATION
According to a 2016 articles in Forbes, the art market has shifted toward a heavier ecommerce/online stance – meaning that more collectors/buyers are purchasing their art online through various channels. They report on a study commissioned by Invaluable that shows that “nearly a quarter (22.7%) of art buyers find new works of art via social media, which edged out museums (20%) and galleries (15.9%) as buyers’ primary source of discovery”.
LifeHack identified the top 25 places to sell your original art, including these top five (5): Etsy, Society6, Zatista, IndieMade, and CollegeArtOnline (for college students only). Check out the rest of the list – and list your artwork across all these channels for the best exposure and potential sales. ArtsyShark also has a comprehensive directory of over 250 places you can sell your art online. The more places you list your art, the better the chances of selling your paintings!
Additionally, there are a variety of apps you can download (depending on your phone type) that can help you sell your art online – and connect you to buyers/collectors from all over the world. These include: Vango, ArtLoupe, and SaatchiArt, among many others. With the changes to the art market (toward a more ecommerce focus), these apps are proving invaluable to artists hoping to reach wider audiences.
___________________
SUMMARY
The Los Angeles Art Market is the second largest art market in the US, behind New York. The demographics of art buyers include: Older Millennials and younger Baby Boomers, those who are well-educated (bachelor’s degree or higher), and those who are the most affluent.
Pricing your artwork is one of the most difficult parts of being a working artist. There are several formulas you can use to set appropriate prices so that your art will be properly valued and will sell. The top 10 subjects for art that has sold in the US includes: Traditional landscapes, local views, modern or semi-abstract landscapes, abstracts, dogs, figure studies (excluding nudes), seascapes/harbor/beach scenes, wildlife, impressionistic landscapes, and nudes.
Best practices for marketing your artwork include: Continually making art, building and maintaining strong portfolios, seeking as much positive exposure as possible, marketing yourself in person, and having a strong online presence across a variety of channels.
___________________
Thank you again for your question, and I hope this information gives you what you need. Please contact Wonder again for any other questions you may have!