Sell your art. Without selling out.
I’ll let you in on a little behind-the-scenes secret…
Few things that I create are fully fleshed out before I tell the world that they’re going to happen.
Some of my greatest ideas came when all I knew was that I needed money - fast!
I didn’t know I was going to make it, I just knew that I had to. So I did.
I’ve sold art this way; I’ve created global art projects, I ran a successful $13,000+ crowdfunding campaign for an obscure art project without a clue in hell as to how I would make it happen.
The common denominators: a great need, a burning desire and an unwillingness to take No for an answer.
I’ve learned two very important things along the way:
1. You do not have to have everything figured out and in place before you start, and
2. There is nothing like needing some extra cash to kick creativity into high gear.
You Can Start Selling Your Art Today
The trap comes when we get caught up thinking: “I’m not ready,” (because hello, we’re never actually ready),
“I don’t have a shopping cart set up,” (hello perfectionism!), or, “No one is going to buy my art.” (I call bullshit.)
The truth is that you don’t need to have or know these things, yet.
What you really need is this: exactly what you already have, right now, at your disposal and a burning desire
to sell some art and make shit happen.
When dilly-dallying is no longer an option our creative resources spring into action and light a fire under our asses.
If your desire is to sell some art and make some, and you’re wondering how-in-the-hell you’re going to do it, this 6-Step guide is for you.
How to Sell Your Art and Bring in Cash – Stat!
Step 1: Refuse to take No for an answer
Step 1 is to own your desire, make it a burning one, and commit to it. You have to refuse to take No for an answer. Period. “I am selling my art. I am manifesting $2000 this month. I am moving into the apartment of my dreams. Period.” This kind of conviction is the stuff of miracles.
Step 2: Be clear about what you desire
No approximations here. In order to create what you desire you have to know exactly what the desired outcome is. How much money do you need to make? How many paintings do you want to sell? Know the exact numbers. Write them down. Remind yourself daily that this is already done and feel it.
Step 3: Usher inspiration In
The next step is to open the floodgates wide open and ask a really great question. For example, “What would it take for $784 to show up by the end of the month in cash?” Be curious and be on hyper-alert for the information that will show up and guide you to the next step, and then the next, and the next and the next. You don’t have to know how the money will come, you just need to stay focused on ‘what’ you desire and why you desire it so fully.
Step 4: Brainstorm…
Make a list of every possible thing you could do to make this money or sell those paintings. Be silly, have fun, write down every idea that comes to mind. For example, I once needed a chunk of cash. I sent an email to a collector and let him know that I had some old work to show him. A few days and $2500 later, he had bought a collection of art that he loved and I had the cash I needed. Ask yourself: What could I do right now to bring in this money or sell that art? Who has expressed an interest? Which gallery has your work that you’ve been meaning to contact? Which pieces can you post on social media?
Step 5: Take Inspired Action
Wouldn’t it be totally lame if the Universe sent you some divine spark of inspiration and you put it off and decided that it could wait? You’ve been given that sparkly seed of inspiration for a reason!!! Your job is to act without knowing how it will all turn out. What will you do, right now, to make your desire a reality?
Step 6: Borrow My Faith
The formula for making shit happen isn’t mysterious or hard. Keeping the faith is. If I would have known that starting the Field Guide to the Czech Psyche project would have taken me 3+ years and about seven times the amount of money I thought it would, I may never have dove in. But I did. I kept the faith and I didn’t take No for an answer. I decided that I would raise over $13 000 to finish it and I did. I continued seeing and feeling the finish line, did everything I could, and acted as if it was already done.
These six steps are pure magic: Desire, followed by commitment, curiosity and divinely inspired action.
Your job is to act.