Art Fair Optimism

I'm having a good year. My best year ever. I've read Nels' last few blog posts about Cincinnati, Columbus and Ann Arbor and I have to report the opposite impression. Not sure why my buddy, Nels had disappointing results at these three shows. His work is great. Its accessible, humorous and creative. I love it.

It seems when a negative review appears on this blog, artists who had similar experiences tend to relate their agreement in the comments. That reinforces the impression that all is gloom and doom in the art fair world. I talked to other artists who had poor sales at all three of these events, but I also talked to artists who had great sales (in spite of the bad weather we've had this summer).

The economy is improving, and that fact is reflected in my sales figures. But there are certainly other factors that contribute to my newfound success. For example, my wife moans every time I change my booth setup or add a new element to the mix. My setup has become more time consuming and complicated as a result (5 hour setup), but I argue that these little additions and improvements continue to make my exhibit more accessible and attractive to the buying public. I guess I will keep tweaking and improving the exhibit because it works and it helps.

Maybe the biggest contributor to my recent success is the work I'm now exhibiting. Over the years I've read Connie's advice to artists, that they should simplify and focus the work they exhibit and not try to show work that will appeal to all. I went for years showing a wide variety of work, hoping to appeal to everyone who enters my booth. I didn't take Connie's advice. I did OK, but not great. 

I'm a digital artist. I paint in my computer. Two years ago I started playing around with a new series that has elements of surrealism, fantasy and humor. I gradually started showing bits of that work a little at a time in the mix of conventional landscapes and marine pictures. Little by little I realized that my new work was selling more than my older, tried and true sellers. This year I made the painful decision to box up all the "Beach Stairs" and marine pictures that had been my biggest sellers over the years, and to focus only on my new "Urban Punk" series. The strategy worked and I'm selling more than ever. Sure, I guess that most of the people walking by my booth won't give it a second glance, but the ones that do, seem to love it. I finally took Connie's advice. 

Another element I should mention is price point. I'm a printmaker (working digitally), and I don't sell any really high priced items. I never did, and I have continued that strategy with a few changes. My lowest priced item is a 5x10-inch limited edition print, unframed for $24. Framed, I sell it for $56. I also show 12x24-inch prints on paper and large canvas prints ranging in size from 18x42 up to 24x54 inches. My highest priced picture is $995. I sell the big ones occasionally, but they really work better to draw people into the booth. Most of the people who love the big canvas prints wind up buying smaller prints. The majority of my sales are for the framed and unframed 5x10-inch prints. I've learned that, for me, volume works. I had my best show ever in Denver last month. I sold over 400 prints. My average sale was around $150. I've learned that people who go to art fairs don't have pockets full of money and are more likely to spend $100 or less.

Anyway, I've only been serious about this art fair business for 10-12 years (although I've done art fairs on and off for the past 40 years). I've depended on Nels vast experience in the art fair world to help me select the best shows to show in. He's been a great resource for me. But, I think he's wrong about the state of the business. Sure, there will always be ups and downs. there are lots of problems with most art fairs. But, for me, and for many of the other artists I've been talking to, things are looking up.

I'd be interested in seeing how many other artists are seeing improved sales this year.     

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  • While I find your observations and success with shows this year wonderful. as well as your strategy for pricing very appealing, I do have to disagree with the notion that that the economy is getting better. I'm a commercial photographers based out of NYC for my primary income (I only do about 6-8 shows a season because of my schedule). My wife is graphic designer/art director with her own business as well. We are fortunate to live in the hinterlands of PA. From the commercial end of things, I can tell you budgets are still down. Clients are tight with money and I see this trickle down effect to Joe Consumer at the art shows. As a result of where I live, I tend to do smaller shows. And this is where you are correct -- the art that sells DOES tend to be inexpensive ($20 8x10 prints) versus the $450-$700 canvas prints. But, I feel this is a factor of the economy. It doesn't mean that some of my shows haven't been relatively good. What this tells me is that if someone wants to buy the inexpensive prints (as much as they loved the larger prints and bemoan the lack of money) is an inherent weakness that remains in the economy. Art is a luxury purchase -- no matter the price. As long as someone has necessities to buy and feels squeezed, the optional art purchase lags.

    You are to be congratulated for finding a formula that works and is giving you a stellar year. Inveriably, some of us will do well, and, sadly, a number will do poorly in any given year, as long as we are vying for the same art dollar in a tight economy. The solution is for us each to find the "formula" that works for us. Congratulations!! I'm jealous :-)
  • Congratulations on your success, and may it continue.  We have had great shows, and some surprisingly well attended events where sales were brisk, but we have also shown our work at events that have not drawn a buying crowd.  Overall this year we have already earned in excess of the total income of 2014, which  rocks!  The economy of Northeastern Ohio is still chugging, sputtering, and not fully recovered from the economic downturn.  That said, it sounds like you have hit your stride because you have determined well what your target audience is, and have found that sweet spot of selling to an audience that wants to buy your work. We know our market well, and try hard to show at art fairs that match well.  Most of the time it is good.  But when a show goes south it is important to ask those questions, evaluate the conditions and factors and when appropriate inform other artists.

    But to the discussions about those shows that disappoint, i think it is a realistic fact of life to know that not everyone who pitches their tent and displays their work experiences your success.  The sheer number of art shows has increased significantly since I started doing them 5 years ago, and i would imagine you could agree to that.  And promoters seem to be coming out of the woodwork, promising a great juried and well curated art fair- some do very well, others take your money and don;t really care if you succeed.  Filtering the good from the bad takes these forums.

    Economic theory is relative here - when you increase supply you decrease demand.  More shows means that the money that the buyers have to spend must be spread over a wider number of events, reducing their responsiveness to impulse shop.  Often the buyers will walk the entire show, looking, planning, looking, planning.  It is rare to have impulse sales.  People seem to be holding on to their dollars and spending with caution.

    The condition of our economy seems to be improving, although i do not believe it is nearly as robust as pre-2008 levels.  And because of the economic shift many more people appear to be working for lower wages, leaving them less expendable income for art fairs. 

  • I've been having a great year too. But yes, sometimes I feel like I have to downplay having a good show because others are so caught up in their grumpiness. Art shows are hard, there seems to be no rhyme or reason about what sells when or why. But if you are doing poorly, consistently, it may be time to shake things up a bit.

  • Likewise Barrie,....but be careful what you wish for having me as a neighbor or anywhere near you at an art show.  I'm a very cynical person with the good news most if not all comedians are died-in-the-wool cynics and the bad being the word cynic is derived from the Greek (or was it Latin?) word for "dog". Yup, I'm the show dog and this weekend at Mount Gretna was more proof.  I tried John's advice at this show by NOT having ALL my drawings out for sale in bins or on the wall.  I focused on trees and the left the other flora and fauna and the kitchen sink in the box.  Terrible day (though why pick on this day as most are terrible anyway). Went home on Saturday and planned my earth exit strategy after regurgitating the advice I was receiving all day from other artist.  Must of been something in how I looked.  Of course, maybe my new art sucks but I wouldn't  know this from all the shows I'm getting into with the stuff,...then again,...maybe the shows are getting easier to receive an "accept or decline"  because half the artists have sold their studio equipment and moved into a mobile home. Today, Sunday, I put the rest of my inventory out and sales improved markedly.  You just never know with this art stuff!

  • I'm also looking forward to seeing you down the road at a fair as well, John. WOOHOO!

  • Thanks for the kind words, Peter G. FYI, I tend to read your posts on AFI even if I don't have a particular interest in the thread containing your comment. I look forward to bumping into you somewhere on tour.

    And thanks for your clarification about the sales, John. The numbers still seem pretty rosy, and I'd say any five figures show, or one that's even close to it, puts a pep in the step.

    Regarding your "Adapt or Die" program. I'm no stranger to the numerous volumes of material published to help folks like you and me and Peter G. maximize our potential. I've studied a number of them, including the Al Ries and Jack Trout classic, Positioning: the Battle for Your Mind, and Jack Trout's book, Differentiate or Die, as well as plenty others on the subject of selling, closing, advertising and marketing. Levinson's Guerrilla Marketing Handbook is awesome. My most recent read is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, and I'm still actively referring to it.

    Rather than writing what I think about the subject, here's a link to some great details about adaptability. TONY ALESSANDRA ON ADAPTABILITY

    And then here's a link to another pertinent article about our changing times. THAT'S ALL FOLKS (ARTICLE ABOUT HOLLYWOOD DITCHING 35MM FILM), which only happened very recently. The article is from September 2014, just 11 months ago. This is a very significant switch.

  • John, what a breath of fresh air you bring to this forum...so glad you're doing well and thrilled to think that the biz might be turning around, even a little.  Best wishes for continued success.

  • Barrie: Your capacity to maintain and even grow high-end sales is impressive enough, but to do so while not bothering with most of the "big ticket" shows (that disallow repros) is truly remarkable.  Back in my "high end" halcyon days I usually had to reserve my highest expectations for the big "national" shows with all the attendant expense and long distance travel.  My work was mostly commission sculpture and huge and heavy "conceptual" photographic work involving much metalwork along with the silver gelatin prints.  Part of me (my aging part in particular) doesn't miss the heavy lifting but I miss the demand and the excitement.  Hats off to both you and John for catching a tailwind in today's market, whether it is called "improving" or otherwise!

  • HA! Barrie: My sales were not that high. (I wish) I sold exactly 412 prints in Denver, but most of my sales were for multiple prints. I didn't have 412 customers. Most bought 3 or more prints. As for the economy... yes, it is getting better. But the art fair business continues to evolve, just like any other business. While 20 years ago the norm was for higher end purchases, today the norm is for $100 and less. Many artists till make a good living selling at the higher end, but there seems to be more success at the high volume, low price end.

    Back when I was a filmmaker in the '80's and 90's, I produced a film for Mororola called "Adapt or Die." It was aimed at Motorola's upper management to dramatize the dangers of complacence and to encourage management to evolve with the market. The film documented many big businesses that failed because they could not evolve. Motorola didn't learn the lesson. Look where they are now.

    At that same time I saw many talented filmmakers who's thriving businesses shrivelled and failed because they could not adapt to new technology (video and television). I also saw many talented graphic designers and illustrators who failed because they could not adapt to using computers to produce their work. 

    The art fair business will never be the same as it was 20 years ago. And 20 years from now it won't be the same as it is now. If we're going to make a living at this art fair business, we have to "adapt or die."

  • 400 prints times $150 average equals $60,000. That's some really BIG math for the art fair biz, and you and maybe a couple others get to toot the loud horn. I bet you contributed to plenty others having lower sales than expected.

    I think you are on to something with the Slow Town (why isn't it Tortoise Town?) Elephant Town, and Rhino Town. Yes, the Urban Punk goodies are very nice, indeed. Congratulations. And it's interesting that you've put away the Beach Stairs when you have so many to offer. I looked at a lot of your website.

    About issuing limited editions... The problem most of us have is not having a large enough distribution capability to expend editions in a timely manner. We don't ever sell out of anything, and probably never will even with the best sellers. So editions pile up and we think we need to keep producing more and more and then we're competing with ourselves as well as giving customers too much from which to choose. We overwork ourselves trying to keep up with inventory, too.

    But higher end one-of-a-kind artists have a greater problem. We're competing with lower end guys like you, sort of. Don't get me wrong, I'm not having difficulty selling and staying afloat. The past 18 months have been glorious with last year being our best ever year. My problem now is that I don't have a consistent and large enough inventory (due to sales) since it takes two to three weeks to produce one major item that we'll sell for $2,500-3,200, and nearly one week to produce a small one for which we'll ask $1,250 or a little more. Our prices MUST remain that way. Our lowest price is higher than your highest price. But there's only one of 'em for a happy collector to own.

    We're not trying to figure out how to make an original art product to offer for less money. That's where limited edition prints factor into things. But our low-end sales, limited edition prints, have dropped off significantly, whereas our high-end sales of framed paintings have soared. And we're not really doing the high-end sales at shows one would think it to be possible and probable. We're doing it at Fine Arts for Ocala, Gulf Breeze Celebrates the Arts, Fairhope Arts & Crafts, and Tallahassee Chain of Parks. We did Winter Park 2014 and I'm glad we had two pre-sold works to deliver since I couldn't get a new buyer to pony up (and we couldn't offer lower price-point limited editions of original paintings since the show doesn't allow it.) But the folks next to us on either side (a photog and a potter) did 10K each with price points between $35 and $299. None of the potter's higher-end artful jury work sold and she said it rarely does, but her dragonfly butter dishes flew out of the booth all weekend long. Again, don't get me wrong. I thought they were beautiful butter dishes and I'm not criticizing that work.

    I think what you are doing now trumps what you've done in the past, John. The Urban Punk might be better work. It might also be more appealing to a wider audience. I'm so tired of seeing giant elephant and other animal portraits, but you've done something a la Salvador Dali by putting the towns on top of the animals.

    I think what Peter G. says here has merit, that a bunch of $150 sales doesn't say the economy is better. I think your sales are better because your new work is better, John. But I, too, feel the economy is better. Or I should say my economy is certainly better, but it's due to consistent high-end sales.

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