HOW TO SELL ART DURING ECONOMIC INSTABILITY

With wars raging and the price of oil skyrocketing, if you’re an artist you are probably starting to feel the pressure of economic instability and the rising cost of living.

When times are uncertain, the market for less-essential items like art can slow down.

When the art market slows and your income is your art, your motivation to paint can wane.

So what do we do as artists?

Let me start by explaining what NOT to do.

Back in the last economic downturn (aka covid), I stopped making art. I scrambled to keep The Artory, my art school going. I worked my butt off to pivot my entire business online. My husband and I quickly learnt filmmaking, editing, video conferencing and web hosting. And it was a success! We got through the lock downs, the border closures and the struggling economy. But when things opened back up again and the art market re-emerged, I was burnt out. Exhausted. And I had no art to sell.

Then the covid-induced real estate boom brought an influx of new residents to our area. They had new homes and walls to fill with paintings. The art market was booming! And my fellow artists who used the lockdowns and economic downturn to paint, take art courses and create new work - they were selling work left, right and centre.

But I had nothing to sell.

I learnt a really valuable lesson that year.

When times are tough, you don't try to sell art. You make art, you enrol in art courses, you build your skills and create better work. So that when the economic downturn lifts, you have a stockpile of new, exciting work ready to go.

So right now, while the headlines are heavy and the market feels uncertain, I don’t want you to wonder “how do I sell art in this climate?” I want you to ask “what do I want to have ready when the economy lifts?”

This is the time to build the skills, the work and the creative momentum that mean you’re not just surviving this season, but you’re setting yourself up to thrive in the next one. Because the market always returns. The only question is whether you’ll have something ready when it does.

So grab your brushes! Head to the studio! Now is the time to experiment, to make, to learn!

PS if you’re looking to level up your skills during this season - the doors to my Next Level Painting Course open next week! It’s the course that teaches EVERYTHING I have learnt and WISH I learnt before starting to paint. And it’s what took my work to the next level.