Here is our latest podcast from September 13 where I spoke with art marketing consultant Barney Davey. Barney has been active in art marketing since 1988 and began his career with Decor magazine and the Decor Expo tradeshows in New York City. This podcast is about business, not art. According to Barney if you are not selling your art being an artist is a hobby.

Listen to it here:

 

You'll learn how to position yourself and sell your art with these tips:

  • learn not to sell not what is in your wallet but your customer's wallet
  • how to cultivate high end customers
  • how to make the BIG sale
  • when to shut up
  • what "kaizen" means to an artist
  • how to move a buyer to purchase

Barney gives many references for further reading and study. Listen to this one over and over again. He really has a wealth of information to share and make you look at your business with a fresh eye. Learn more about Barney and how he can help you in your art career: www.artprintissues.com

Check out the rest of our podcasts by clicking on the "Radio" button on the toolbar at the top of this page, or visiting the Art Fair Radio Show page here.

Did you learn anything from this podcast? Tell your friends.

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Comments

  • Oooooooh,how snooty the world can be. Let's laugh on the way to the bank.
  • Just as an aside on this, it was my observation that the largest amount of bias came from the photographic community and the least amount from the clay community in academia. I suspect the antipathy from the photo academia is turf protection since virtually anyone can pick up a camera and create something. If it wasn't done by their "rules, it was marginalized.
  • Robert, thanks for the insight.
  • Richard, I've ran into that issue before. I mentioned doing art fairs when in art grad school ( I was in my 40's and had been doing shows for about 5-8 years), and you would have thought I passed gas in church. Art fair work in their eyes was mere decorative arts of low caliber. I kept my mouth shut, knowing most of them would never make a living doing their art work anyway. Another time about 20 years ago, I managed to get some work into a high end gallery in Louisville, KY, 12 pieces of a series using GI Joe and Barbie figures that did come out of a grad project (which sell quite nicely at fairs to this day). I was at the opening night of the regional exhibit and the other artists and I were were standing around munching on square pieces of cheese and drinking wine from plastic cups. Several were talking about their other exhibits and I was asked where I exhibited. I mentioned several of the better art shows. The reaction was one of a sudden chill and I almost could hear air being sucked through teeth. As the old expression goes, you would have thought I had just dropped a turd in the punchbowl. That sort of killed the conversation and I found myself ignored the rest of the evening. Yep, many times these are the same people who jury shows.

  • Another interesting comment was about academics telling their undergrad (?) and MFA(?) students that art fairs were beneath them as artist. Are these the same academics that jury shows? Hmmmmmm
  • That was one of the best "takeaway" points I thought, Richard. It takes some confidence but really would you be out there self-employed, independent, and not believing/hoping you could make your dreams come true? Artists already believe in themselves or they wouldn't leave themselves at the mercy of the marketplace as they do, so why not reach for the top? I've tried it by accident, but why not make it a commonplace. What if only, as Barney says, it only works 10% of the time you propose it?

  • I listened to this podcast while working in the studio this morning - started four saddles and thanks to Facebook the fourth is also sold as of today. Pricing for "wall art" is a world apart from pricing fine craft. The sales strategies are universal. Got a good reminder about showing the most expensive first and will put that back in practice next summer.
  • So pleased to speak with you, Barney. I'm still processing your ideas and am very interested in the books you mentioned when we were speaking. It has had a record # of downloads for our podcast series already!

  • Dear Connie, Thank you for inviting me to do blog podcast with you. I enjoyed the time and the opportunity to share my knowledge with your listeners. All the best to them and to you for continued art career success!

    Cheers, Barney

  • How soon they forget.

    The same Shepard Fairey that stole the Associated Press photographers Obama picture and lied under oath about it.

    Larry Berman
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