How to Get Your Art Work into a Gallery

Early experiences of approaching a gallery had left me depressed and a tad bitter; gallery owners where either angels or devils in my eyes; there was no middle ground ; but my view wasn't without it's reasons; having had gallery owners slam doors in my face ( and I mean literally slam doors in my face ) to inventing the biggest pile of unrelenting bullshit about a particular painting hoping that they will except me because I'm deep!!!

I now see gallery owners for what they are ;another human being equal to me and not a god of the art world ; here's how to get your work into an art gallery without having to have an identity crisis or a nervous breakdown!!

If you are getting doors closed in your face; don't despair! maybe you have been struggling away for far to long trying to get your work into galleries and your tired of hearing the same old comments from family and friends about your lack of success in art. I had a particular line the still rattles me when I recall it '' it's a pity you can't sell it'', nothing made me more angry than this sweeping statement, and having been driven to the point of despair my anger fuelled my determination to get my work accepted into a gallery. Which I did eventually.

For more years than I can remember I failed to see a single painting of mine hanging on the walls of even the humblest Irish art gallery. This was despite mailing thousands of photographs of my work to numerous gallery owners, visiting various art exhibitions and shows across the country and knocking on the door of every gallery this side of the Atlantic( at least that is how it felt).

I realise that with every gathering breathe of desperation and lost confidence that I had actually approached it all the wrong way.

I changed my approach and strategy and I soon had my first gallery and had sold three paintings in the first month. This is what I did.

There are different categories that art can fall into, traditional, abstract, portraiture, contemporary, landscape, see where your work fits or if it falls across a few fields,that is fine , just define it and recognise what your style is .

Categories are a way of life for gallery owners and dealers so work with the one that best describes your main body of work at the time or the work you feel the happiest and proudest off.

Although all art is produced for today's market, the market falls into two areas; traditional and contemporary art. So , take a look at your own art work and find your market. Are you painting old men drinking stout in a fairly accurate manner or are you hanging from the ceiling pouring acrylics across a huge canvas with no discernible form? Galleries will be one or the other, so understand who you are as an artist and find a gallery that fits your profile as an artist.

If your like me then you probably paint in a least three of the four different styles and paint many different subjects. I divide my work into three styles and group my work accordingly; figurative ( modern female figures) abstracts ( blocks of colour in oils and acrylics on canvas) exaggerated florals ( large/semi-abstract flowers).

So now you've defined your style decide what your personal preference is and promote those paintings to the galleries first. The last thing you need is to turn up with a bunch of odds and sods or even worse , take the group you find hardest to produce. Remember, you're planning for success and if you asked to produce fifty pieces in a style you struggle with you'll be planning to fail.

The last thing most artists want to do is talk about themselves. I know, it's painful and at times an embarrassing exercise but if you can't describe who you are and what your work is about don't expect anyone else to.

Put pen to paper or hit the laptop and produce a pen picture of yourself; a resumee if you are able to and a brief covering letter which you can use to introduce yourself and your work to gallery owner.

Keep the information brief; relevant and to the point; if you are trying to portray an image of an artist who is self aware; professional and reliable. Explain what you have done and what you hope to do in the future and keep it real. Gallery owners don't want to work with the next Damian Hurst; so keep your pretensions at arms length at least for now.

How do you find the right gallery?

There are literally thousands of art galleries out there and if you're like me you can easily get lost in the woods. So; do your homework before stepping out into the unknown. Find a gallery to suit your style and one which has a reputation for looking at new or upcoming artists. It's no use wasting your valuable time and money sending your work to an established city gallery with a long list of world famous artists filing it's walls if you've just come out of college and are looking for your first break.

Know how to market your work and how to approach galleries. Send a covering letter; a resumee and a short pen picture; together with a handful of high quality photographs or a cd of the work and a link to your website ; (if you have one) as first contact. Keep the letter business like from one equal to another. Be confident about your work and what you have to offer as an artist.

Call a few days later to follow up on the letter and try to arrange an appointment with the owner or buyer to look at some of the work.

Don't be put off if they say they are busy for the next few weeks. This is not an excuse or avoidance tactic or a way of letting you down softly; if they don't want your work ; believe me ! they will tell you.

Follow up in a couple of days/ weeks when they have more time. The next time you call; remind them that you called when they were in the middle of a busy period; and they then should agree to see your artwork. If they don't want your art they will say so. Don't be disappointed when this happens; . move onto the next gallery and accept the feedback for what it is and don't look back for too long.

Be polite ; confident and composed; the first time you visit you may be shaking like a leaf with excitement ; nervous energy and anticipation but try to control it and overcome it, It's never easy to control your nerves ; but you do need some composure to talk about your work confidently.

Practice what you want to say about yourself and your work before you arrive. If you cannot find a friend or relative to practice on then stand in front of the mirror and tell yourself who you are and what your art is about. This works wonder's believe me. There is nothing better for your confidence than being prepared, and to think through questions and answers in your head first helps when the question arises and your not struck dumb.

Be honest. If you're an upcoming artist and your unsure about pricing then don't try to guess what your work should sell for. It's better to be honest from the start with the gallery and they will help you price your work correctly from the beginning if they like the look of it.

Be realistic ; remember the gallery needs to make a profit on your work and will want to sell it as much as you do; so find a price that works for both of you ; and a price you're happy with. It's no good over pricing if your new to the art scene as you'll still be unknown in five years time with few sales of your work. On the other hand don't under price either or you'll be trapped in the affordable art arena with nowhere to go.

This is always a challenge even for established artist so don't worry if you feel lost when it comes to working out a way to price your art work for the first time. Don't rush in and stick up a few price labels on your art work ; think about where you are professionally; then work out materials ; time ; framing etc . I stuck prices on my work on my first visit to a gallery and I found out after a discussion with the gallery owner that my prices where way off. I had under-priced them by a ridiculous amount and failed to take into account all my costs and the galleries commission. They helped me find the right price as a new artist hoping to sell my first piece of art through a gallery.

 You also have to consider the gallery commission and VAT on top of your cost to understand what your profit will be from the sale. In general terms you can estimate that at least 40% of the sale will go to the gallery.

For many artists the early days may not be that profitable. The first year may see your prices failing to cover your costs; or allowing you to break even if nothing else; but in the long term you will see that your art can sell for the price that is deserves and way beyond.

Don't try to use others art as a comparison; you have no idea how long the artist has been in the gallery; the gallery commission may be dependent on their position and reputation. It's impossible to make this sort of comparison ; so don't bother with it.

Pick a fair price and one your happy with and don't be afraid to ask what you believe you are worth ; even at this early stage.

How you present your art work is a major issue when you visit a gallery. The best way to present is to show one or two framed pieces of art so the gallery can see that you can supply framed work that is saleable. Don't present tatty pieces of paper; the art should be mounted if possible; if you have a portfolio you should have it in some sort of order so it can be easily viewed.

If your art is framed make sure it is well framed; don't use shoddy or cheap framing. Go to a reputable framer with an eye for detail and high quality framing equipment. It may be more expensive in the beginning but in the long term the quality of the frame will reflect in the price range your art will sell at.

Here's the hard bit. If you're like I was in the beginning; you won't have a clue how to develop a pricing strategy for your art work. You possibly wont know what a pricing strategy is. So take a look at yourself as an artist; are you just beginning? are you about to be featured in a national magazine? Are you about to receive a prize in a major competition? These are the factors which will allow you to increase your price as you become more established and as your name becomes more familiar in art circles and your work more desirable as a consequence. A new artist may be producing amazing work with a high degree of individuality but they are still a new artist and galleries are reluctant to price high to begin with so be aware of this and reflect this in your prices.

A pricing strategy in simple terms allows you to price your art to match  what your buyers will pay. So ; be realistic and know what you need to earn to survive. Plan ahead and as your art becomes more desirable your pocket will feel the benefit.

I was so delighted the first time I got my work accepted by a gallery I forget to have any form of contract ; I didn't even write a list of the painting I had given the gallery ! further down the line I hit problems when the gallery denied selling a painting I knew I had given them ; I eventually managed to embarrass the owner into giving me the money owed. It was a painful learning curve, I would dread the phone call that I knew I had to make to recoup my money. So save yourself this hassle and have a small contract ;you can write it yourself and get the gallery owner to sign it ; you may find this part hard but it saves all the hassle in the long run and it also proves you are a business and you take your art and your earning seriously.

The gallery may also give you a contract to sign; read it thoroughly before signing and make sure it seems fair and reasonable; sometimes we are so desperate to get are work into a gallery we would sign away anything! so be warned and prepared.

If your art is good and you're able to develop your skill to produce consistently good art work and to market it effectively you will earn a living from your passion and there is nothing better in life than being paid to do what you love.

When you experience rejection of your art ;remind yourself and let this be your mantra- '' No one is better than you; you are unique ; there is no one like you ;be yourself don't try to change who you are or what your art work is in order to fit in, because you lose your uniqueness and your essence and you enter a no mans land of a watered down version of yourself and your art.

If your work never get's accepted in to a gallery never look at this as a reflection on your work; some of the finest and best artists never had their work hanging in a gallery; but do carry on regardless ; you never know which gallery will think your art is  a jewel for their crown!

Continue to develop and learn and you could soon see your work selling in a gallery for amounts of money you never thought possible.