Artists wonder, should I put prices on my website? This opens the proverbial can of worms. When you ask, more questions squirm out. 

First, what is your selling strategy? You need to decide, since some choices conflict with others. If you’re seeking gallery representation, don’t put prices on your website. Most galleries see this as an amateur move, thinking that you intend to compete with or undermine their efforts. Instead, put a note on your contact page that explains how to reach you for price information.

Should prices on your website be clearly visible? YES. Whether you’re selling originals, prints, workshops, art tours, or any other product, be clear about the cost. When you make people search, they think you’re hiding something, or that your prices will be too high. Be transparent. 

Should you give people lots of choices? NO. Photographers (and other artists selling prints) seem to think that people want an infinite variety of images, available in different sizes and formats. This gives people too many decisions to make, and they get overwhelmed. Have a shop with a curated selection of works, with limited choices in size and format. Then give step-by-step instructions so that it's quick and easy to buy. 

Should you sell through an online gallery? Maybe. There are now so many possibilities. You can submit your work to a juried online gallery, sell through a home décor company, or sign up for a website hosting service that also sells artists’ work. Study each option carefully, and ask for sales data from the artists showing there. Don’t forget, you’ll still be responsible for driving people to your gallery through online activity, including social media. 

So, don’t be afraid to open that can of worms. Just take your time examining what comes out.

​​Mary Edwards, Ph.D
Career & Life Coach for Artists
“Left Brain Skills for Right Brained People”
Instagram: coachingforartists.maryedwards ​

The noise out there in the art world can be deafening. You struggle to find the space and time and silence to be a maker, yet you are bombarded by suggestions about what else you should be doing.  Listen to this podcast, sign up for this newsletter, join this group, sell your work HERE!  How do you respond?

First, don’t try to do everything, everywhere, all at once. We know that making art is a right brain process, while marketing requires many left brain tasks. When you try to do both at once, it can create a whiplash effect. Instead of multi-tasking, it’s better to schedule days for art, and other days for marketing and administration. If you can’t do that, at least give yourself big breaks between the two.

It is also helpful to think of your career as happening in stages, or seasons, each with its priorities.

When you’re developing a new body of work, let yourself go deep into the creative process, and stay there for as long as it takes. Press the mute button on everything else.

When you are ready, consider how you want your work to be visible. If you’re just starting out, consider opportunities close to home. You’ll learn more when you’re able to show up in person for events, and you’ll connect with your community. 

If you want to be visible online, focus your energy on one platform or online gallery at a time.  Keep your profile and work samples current. Post regularly, follow other artists, galleries and museums, liking and commenting on what you see.  

Finally, try to eliminate the noise in your daily life.  Let go of activities that fragment your time, so that you can focus on what matters most to you now. 

​Mary Edwards, Ph.D
Career & Life Coach for Artists
“Left Brain Skills for Right Brained People”
Instagram: coachingforartists.maryedwards ​

I used to own a set of eight crystal wine glasses. They were simple and lightweight, nicely proportioned and even fit in the dishwasher. Everybody said they were perfect. Over the years one broke, and then another, and now I have one left. While I don’t object to solitary wine drinking, I had to find more. Sadly I discovered that they are no longer made.  

When you have an image in your mind of how it should be, it’s hard to accept another version. Artists are constantly asked to embrace new models of making, showing, buying and selling art. If you’re having trouble adjusting to this, you are not alone. The art market has become so diverse and dynamic that it is hard to know where you fit. I work with artists who are marketing (and selling) their work through traditional and online galleries, through social media, in art fairs and festivals, on home décor sites, on their websites and in their studios.  

Since there is no single solution, find what works for you. If you’re an introvert, and computer savvy, consider the online art market. Last year online art sales totaled 13.3 billion. Look for online galleries in your medium (search “best platforms to showcase and sell” painting, drawing, photography, etc.). Find one that appeals to you, and dig into the details.

If you hate being online and consider social media a scary time suck, you’ll have to pound the pavement. Visit every possible art venue in your town or region. Show up at local shows, visit local museums. If you live in a remote area, get in your car and drive to a bigger city. Talk to everyone you know to get their recommendations. 

​Me? I searched online and on foot, and found excellent wine glasses, perfect 2.0.

​Mary Edwards, Ph.D
Career & Life Coach for Artists
“Left Brain Skills for Right Brained People”
Instagram: coachingforartists.maryedwards ​

I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on my recent post, “Go Slow,” from artists who are letting themselves relax, rejuvenate, and create at their own pace. But sometimes you need to find the energy to push.

That final effort is especially important when you are creating a business. Creative entrepreneurs with a vision and a strategy, a solid business plan, a good website, still must find ways to bring their idea to life.

What I’ve found to be most important is that final stretch, when you’re almost there.  An artist I know likens this to the last stages of childbirth, when everyone is yelling PUSH. You want to give up because it’s so hard, but still you have to  PUSH, and then you hold a tiny miracle in your hands.

It may be time in your art practice or career to find the energy to push—to push again, to push harder, to push through your own hesitations. You make a  sustained effort even though you’re exhausted and discouraged. 

Find ways to connect in person with your audience. Go to events where they gather. Introduce yourself, listen to what’s on their minds, and then talk about what you offer. Your idea comes alive when you engage with others.

When I first started my own business there were no career coaches for artists. Yet I could hear the voices of creative people all over the world reaching out, asking for help. Through talks and workshops I found ways to engage with my audience, to meet artists in person. These connections gave me the energy and confidence for the last PUSH, and here we are, together now. 

​Mary Edwards, Ph.D
Career & Life Coach for Artists
“Left Brain Skills for Right Brained People”
Instagram: coachingforartists.maryedwards ​

I recently had the pleasure of seeing two remarkable art exhibitions at small museums in South Florida. These very different exhibitions show what’s possible when innovative curators decide to avoid blockbuster exhibitions and focus on revealing unknown or little-known artists and art forms.  

Washi Transformed, New Expressions in Japanese Paper, is now at the Morikami Museum and Gardens. The exhibition showcases nine contemporary Japanese artists transforming traditional Japanese handmade paper (washi) into abstract sculptures and installations. 

The image above is by Kyoko Ibo, who was one of the first artists to use traditional washi as a medium for contemporary art. By introducing unusual textures, scale, and dimensions, she transforms an ancient medium into modern art. All of the artists marry the old and the new in a way that honors and preserves the past.

The second exhibition, Art of the Hollywood Backdrop, at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, features scenic backdrops painted for the movies by real artists working  between 1938 and 1968. The exhibition celebrates “Hollywood’s masters of illusion and perspective” who have received little recognition for creating backdrops for well-known movies such as North by Northwest and The Sound of Music.

These painted backdrops had been rolled up and stored in the basement of MGM studios and then preserved as the Hollywood Backdrop Collection at the University of Texas. The exhibit pairs the actual backdrops, some 90 feet wide, with videos from the movies they animate. The real art and the illusion, side by side, make us fully appreciate the talented artists of this long forgotten art form.

Such exhibitions open a window into worlds of artistic innovation we would not have discovered on our own. The real unsung heroes are the museum curators who made these exhibitions possible.  

It’s that time of year when everything speeds up. Can it really be the middle of December?  Somehow the holidays have already started, and your to-do list keeps growing.

The best advice I have for artists is to resist this pressure, and slow down. Creating art is a slow process at best,  and sharing your art with the world doesn’t happen quickly. Give yourself permission to take the time you need.

What happens when you slow down?  It’s the difference between driving on the highway vs. walking through the woods. Instead of the world rushing by your window, all of your senses are engaged. You see more, smell more, touch more, and feel more.  

Even time itself starts to take on a different shape. When you slow down, time expands and contracts in interesting ways. What was urgent becomes important but not for right now. Sometimes you find new rhythms and patterns that open up time you didn’t think you had.

There’s even a Slow Art movement in the museum world. It started when Phyl Terry visited the Jewish Museum in New York and decided that he could have a deeper experience of art by spending the day looking at just two paintings. It’s now an annual event, on April 15, with over 1500 galleries and museums participating. 

Your art practice might benefit from the same steady focus. When your mind is distracted you don’t go deep enough to create satisfying work. Even the process of marketing your art can benefit from a slowdown. Create meaningful relationships with fewer people in your audience. Have better conversations about your work with colleagues, collectors, curators, and gallerists. 

Give yourself permission to go slow, and see what happens.

Happy Holidays!  (I’m going to take a nap.)