When I post my canvas art online to sell I usually just take a 18mp (Canon T3i) image, correct the perspective/distort to the get the edges straight and remove all the background (see sample)... what I am fearing is that I lose some possible sales because people see my lead image and the price and assume the piece is smaller than it really is. I paint and sell originals on canvas for typically $150 and under - and thats for 40"x48" - even a 60"x48" original is only $180.
I want to communicate scale in every image without putting myself in the image. So... should I take my new canvas art to a park, a nice building, in front of the local art museum, or somewhere else to show scale. A 48"x48" should look like a 48x48 right from first glance. I can do the typical empty wall mockup (even to correct scale)... but those are pretty overdone and usually not trusted by viewers.
I'll be posting these images online in facebook marketplace, etsy, ebay, Charish and maybe ArtPal... so this is the time to do better than I have been doing, and do it differently. My first thought was to go to downtown Dallas and have random people pose with each piece, but this might be the wrong time to do that, second thought was to take an easel and set each one up with the Kimball Museum in the background (but that might appear dishonest and imply that my art is museum worthy)...
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ArtRooms app can place an image in a pre-set room and scale it proportionally.
It's about $60 a year and well worth it. Not for laptop - only smartphones and iPads.
The examples you sent me looked good with the description on the bottom. Make sure the black borders are clean. They both had white lines on the side. But that's exactly what I suggested as a way to present the images. Not for jurying but for a web site.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
so not even a edge around the art?
Too much of a border makes the image appear smaller and unprofessional looking.
Larry Berman
No offense but I can"t even make a giclee print of one of my images on canvas that size for $180. I'd suggest upping you prices too.
I would never take offense, but I'm still a beginner, started 25 months ago. I buy used canvases and abandoned paint so I rarely have more than $35 total invested. Until I find my style I prefer to sell 25 pieces a month than have much higher prices and sell 1-2, or none. I bought some canvases from a lady last weekend that has been painting for 4 years and sold 2 pieces (she asks $2200 for a 16x20), one to a family member and the other in a commission job. I could start pricing my art at $600+ for a 36x36 but that will pretty much exclude young buyers and people starting out.. and they are the ones that seem to like my art the most. I did move my prices up to $225 for a 36x36 this week, but even that might be too much for a beginner.
I guess my idea of upscale is different from yours. To me upscale means people who have much more money than I do and can afford more too. I'm also assuming you sell them unframed. A custom frame that size would be $260. on up, mostly up. I have been painting and framing for over 50 years.
I don't think 18 megapixels translates into quality, pixel dimensions in height and width are more important for digital images. As long as you start off larger then the final images will be, the editing won't be obvious. Contrast and color also needs to be adjusted for the image to be as accurate as possible.
As for letting people know the size, consider adding a black border and put your copyright, phone number and artwork dimensions in the bottom border in an easy to read font like Arial. And in the description state the black border is not part of the purchased art. Which won't be necessary with the picture you added to this thread because the edges of the piece are clearly visible on a white (wall) background, which would then be surrounded by the black border.
If you want, e-mail me some images to critique.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Go to google and enter - extra large painting- and click images. Lots to look at. You will see how other paintings are photographed,many in settings.
I had already tried that, most are either isolated or faked-on-a-wall with wrong dimensions (like a 16"x20" filling an entire wall)... I'm trying to escape from the usual. Attached is what I have done in the past... just not exciting.... yes it's faked to and I think people can tell.
Stampede-(34x44)-room.jpg
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