A recent podcast with 3 artists and some callers came up with these conclusions:
- having income from several sources helps a lot
- sometimes the rain, a terrible crowd or the fact that you may have picked the wrong show intervenes with the "earning"
- you've "got to love what you are doing" to make it work
Our participants were:
Marge Luttrell, encaustic painter and a former high school art teacher, who has been participating in art fairs for 7 years and who did 25 shows in 2016. Her "other" income includes teaching at places like Arrowmont and Penland. Her work sells from $350-$3500.
Jill McGannon, a realist landscape painter with an MFA who has earned her living with her art since 1988, with success in galleries and her own business (15 employees) mural painting and licensing her work until the Crash of 2007 took away that income and she came to art fairs to earn. Her prices range from $250 for a 9 x 12 to $4000 for a 30 x 40.
Loc Tran, an artist who creates his own designs and screen prints the designs onto t-shirts. Although he is not doing art fairs, in the last 10 years he has found plenty of other opportunities, wholesaling and retailing his work at events with consistent revenue in the 6 figures.
On the podcast we talk
- $$ - how much do you earn at a show? with $$ answers
- great tips from Kelly Cassidy: have a helper, never discount, have an outstanding booth, consistent prices and a sign that says "I do commissions"
- Jill does fewer shows because of commissions
- how to sell something with a $3000 price tag
- Loc has no employees and has 150 wholesale accounts; exhibits and sells at "niche" markets, veterinarian conventions, dog shows, etc.
- all have friends who earn their living at the art fairs ... you can do it too.
Listen or download this right here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artfairs/2017/01/31/is-anyone-here-earning-a-living
This was a very affirming discussion. Do you have any tips to add? Or questions to ask?
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