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    How To Sell Art Online & Make Money: A Case Study with Horse Art

    Selling Art Online

    This is a guest post by Marcy Criner who has been selling her horse art for $500+ a pop.  That's a lot of money to pony up!

    Here's Marcy and her horse Aspen:

    marcy and aspen the horse

    Marcy started painting pictures of horses and wanted to see if she could take that skill from a side hobby to a legitimate business (you can see examples on her website HorsesOfUs.com).

    It's cool that Marcy has opened up for us what's worked, and what HASN'T worked as she's started to sell her horse paintings for more and more money.  Let's find out!


    MARCY CRINER STARTS TALKING HERE:

    Have you ever wanted to prove that a common refrain like, ‘starving artist’ is just wrong? Well I knew that I wanted to paint pictures of horses and sell them but I had several issues that went beyond the money part.

    First, I wasn’t an artist. I had no formal education in art nor was I doing anything artistic. Yes…I know that seems like a big hurdle. Plus, I have seen tons of meh and decent art out there and I wasn’t interested adding to those piles.

    So the first problem was what if I sucked. This was not only a possibility but likely. I saw a video with Ira Glass that hit home the message of grit and that the only way to bridge the gap between ability and ambition is to not only do the work but do lots of it. The thought of creating tons of crap made me cringe. I knew that I wanted to be an artist but how long could I disappoint myself and not give up?

    I researched the best online courses that would get me going. It was humbling. I took courses. I read books and practiced. Even though I made stuff that sucked, I was able to identity what I needed to work on and what was wrong. I knew when the colors were off or there was no contrast. I got good at figuring out what I needed to focus on. I used reference photos that I took of my horses. This is my horse Flutter. He looks so much better than this in real life. This is one of the pieces that made me cry:

    Horse Portrait

    I decided to see it through no matter what. I sat down everyday and worked on it. Rain or shine, early or late, I showed up. My ass was in the chair with an egg timer ticking away for a set amount of time. I had to block my internet and turn off my phone. In the grit stage, my mind was looking for a distraction to allow me to run from my mediocre attempts.

    how-to-sell-art-6.jpg

    This crazy little egg timer keeps me going!

    Three months went by and I decided to reach out to horse lovers that followed my horse related blog called Phatmare. Here’s a screenshot of the a message I sent to my email subscribers from Phatmare:

    Candice replied right away. She was thrilled and sent me tons of photos of her horse. I knew that it was important to know the story about her horse and I set up a time to interview her.

    During the interview she asked me how much the painting would be and I off handedly said $500. I thought there was no way I would get that but it just flew out of my mouth. As soon as she saw the painting, she messaged me that she was buying it. She lived 2 hours from me and I decided to drive the painting to her. I got to meet her and her horse and we really hit it off.

    Here’s the painting of her horse, Shark:

    horse shark painting

     

    Here's Candice and Shark with the painting:

    owner and horse painting

    The next day I woke up to 5 email referrals from Candice of horse owners wanting paintings!

    I was surprised and freaked out. I felt that I still wasn’t that good enough but a part of me said keep going. Even though it would have been easier to keep practicing on my own and not reaching out to other people, I felt that I had to be selling and sharing my work. It seemed safer to keep working in isolation until I felt that I was at my best but that would be an achilles’ heel way for me to play small. I wanted to be in the arena and making things that people loved.

    Here’s an example of a reference pic of my horse Flutter with the final portrait:

    Horse paintings

    I sold those first 5 and then asked for referrals of 2 horse lovers from each person. I posted the art and the horse stories to go with it. I decided to reach out in a horse related Facebook group. Here’s a screenshot of a message I sent to a horse owner in a Lipizzan horse group:

    Hi Karen,

    Take a look at http://horsesofus.com That will give you an idea of what I do.

    Pretty much all you would need to do is give me a few good pics of Rhett (close-up clear shots are best) then I will create the portrait.

    Afterwords I do a 10 minute or so interview with you and put the art with a quote from you on the Horses of Us site.

    Thanks so much! I can't to see the pics! Marcy

     

    I just emailed you photos marcy!....l have been on the site looking at your beautiful art and their stories!...

    Thanks so much Karen! I'll check my email. I appreciate you checking out the site too. I'll get back with you early next week.

    You are welcome...this is so exciting!...!

    Here’s the portrait of her horse, Rhett:

    porse painting rhett by marcy

    After I got going it helped to share pics of the artwork in my house and sometimes the people I contacted knew the horses I had already painted:

    how-to-sell-art-horse-paintings

    More FB messages to people in the FB groups:

    Hi Diana, I loved your pic of Lipizzan rearing! (What's his name?) Wow..talk about airs above the ground. I thought you would be interested in my Horses of Us project. I started creating portraits of horses, interviewing the owners, and posting the most compelling part of the story on the Horses of Us website: http://horsesofus.com.

    I think of it as Art With a Voice Behind lt. Real People. Real Horses. Speak. I've already painted quite a few Lipizzans.

    I would love to have him featured as part of the Horses of Us project. Can I use that rearing pic as a reference and do a portrait of him for the project (If so do you have a bigger megapixel version of it?)

    I usually interview the owners too (15 minutes) and share the artwork/story online.

    Marcy

    Hi! I've been loving each piece of art you post. Very inspiring. Yes, let me check out your site and get back to you? Showing a horse to sell right now and then I'll have time.  Thanks for reaching out!

    Soon, I got covered in several horse related magazines but that never led to sales.

    I thought that I should go to art shows and that was a complete failure. I went to several that were curated and had high entry costs. My logic was I have art and an art show would be a fantastic way to showcase my work and get sales. I was wrong! Lots of people commented on how much they loved the art but when it came to buying it didn’t really happen. I barely covered the cost of the shows.

    Here's a picture of my paintings at the art show:

    art horse show booth

    I realized that the special sauce was not only the custom artwork of the person’s horse but the interview and my personal touch. I focused all of my effort on the Facebook groups. I got to know the admins of the groups and became part of the community. Spamming is a no-no in my book. I messaged people when they knew me from the group or knew someone I knew from the group.

    This took time but led to relationship-based marketing. I liked the fact that I didn’t have to ask for testimonials beyond asking to use what they already said in messages to me. I tend to get messages like this from the horse’s owner:

    I can't wait to read the blog! I saw the pic yesterday, but just read your full text above this morning. Still processing!

    My honest first impression was "oh" - because in my mind I see him as the sexy 6 year old he is now - not the gangly 2 year old in the painting. But then I let go of that "assumption" and looked again, and again, and again.. .and each time I have had a moment to look, I fall deeper and deeper in love. I am a "pink girl" through and through - so I love this undertone (or overtone?) to the blue. I am also a huge fan of cobalt blue. Really I love all the colors I find as I look closer and closer.. .And his eye. You capture it perfectly - the worry lines he often has above and yet at the same time the "wise soul" look. This morning I read your full FB message above - and my heart sung. SO DEEP and moving!! I love the "spiritual" aspect and that the underside of his neck glows as if lit by a Source outside our view. Wow.

    I decided to offer a pendant of the artwork. I liked adding the pendant but I found that it took too much time and that I was better off raising my prices as I went along. I took personal checkswhile I set-up my online invoicing then I invoiced like this:

    how-to-sell-art-sale.jpg

    Here’s an example of my sales:

    how-to-sell-art-sales-chart

    The most difficult part is keeping people coming in. I love getting referrals and that really helps but it is only one part of the business. The thing that I have embraced is reaching and asking for the sale. I figure that no one wakes up thinking, I need to have a painting of my horse but if someone shows them the beauty, power, and connection of their horse to them, they will get excited and work with me.

    I make sure that every experience with me is all about the horse owner’s relationship with their horse. I ask lots of questions and share the process with the horse owner. Here’s an example of what kind of message I send the horse owner when the artwork is done:

    I'm so glad we got to talk! I sent the message below to your email but I wasn't sure you would get it as for some reason my emails have been bouncing. Have a wonderful weekend!

    I'm so excited to have Canada (and you+Katy) as part of the Horses of Us herd!

    With Canada, I felt strongly pulled towards colors that I normally don't use and to use a technique that I haven't tried! He put me out of my comfort zone.

    The butterfly represents transformation, endurance, hope, and letting go. The tattoo of wings shows his connection to his own powerful lifeforce. I love how strong, yet relaxed and how confident yet caring he looks. I loved giving his mane movement (again the idea of flight/wings) while adding a bit of control through keeping the mane slightly braided at the base. He is a horse that embodies fierce sensitivity and holds wisdom that is always ready to be tapped into.

    You're more than welcome to share the art out! It would be great if you could recommend Horses of Us to 2 horse-owning friends. You can just have them email me.

    I'll have the blog post out today. Thanks so much for supporting the Horses of Us project. It means a lot.

    In horses and all good things,

    Marcy

    Here’s the artwork that was with this message:

    horse art marcy portrait

    My biggest takeaways are:

    Know your audience. Since I’ve been involved with horses my whole life, I know horse people inside and out. I love hearing their stories and connecting.

    Warm them up and ask for the sale. Art is personal and I want my clients to love what they are buying. I participate in horse communities that makes it so much easier to reach out and ask! Plus I get referrals.

    Start before you are perfect. You will lose momentum if you need to have everything figured out before you start. The most important thing is to share your work and get people interested in what you are doing. If you don’t nurture it and put it out there, no one will.

    Keep going and change when you need to. I was really scared about raising my prices to $1,200 for a painting. It made sense but it scared me. I mean what if people thought it was too much!? I swallowed my fear and did it.

    Right now I’m working on a new offering. It’s going to be a deck of horse cards. Each card will have a specific message from that particular horse. I feel that this is a good way to offer something at a lower price point and to have a good representation of my Horses of Us collection in a smaller but tangible form.

    I have already got a demo deck and now I’m setting up a Kickstarter campaign. Another thing I learned from the art show experience is to make your down-side as risk free as you can. I don’t know that the cards are what people want so why print up a ton when I can test the market with Kickstarter.

    Demo deck of messages from horses cards:

    horse business cards

    Please follow your artistic and creative dreams and know that you can make money! Banish the starving artist.

    -Marcy Criner, HorsesOfUs.com


    Save this How To Sell Art Guide:

    E6WQLLjsm1eAiglvwDzkN4PpXhZDChQlkHJ0bTOx

    -Use it as inspiration for your own art-

    -Keep it in your files and reference anytime-

    -Easily send to friends/family who may learn from it-

     

    P.S. Hey it's Neville here again.  I don't want to saddle you with responsibility, but if you'd like, share your story about how to sell your own art?  How have you done it, what worked, what DIDN'T work, let us all know!


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    Recommended Comments



    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Thanks Mariaan! I picked this story out of a lot of guest post submissions because it was tactical, a great story, and got real results!
    Link to comment
    Guest Joe Mama, ATX

    Posted

    YES!

    Every creative should read his books Deep Work and S.G.T.C.I.Y.

    He majestically outlines how to get good at creative work and how to use your skill capital to buy a better life.

    Link to comment
    Guest Joe Mama, ATX

    Posted

    :-P

    Thank YOU Neville. I've gone rouge and am hiding out in Austin, working 30 minutes a day to pay the bills, and spending the rest of the time learning direct response.

    Your easy going and fun to read copy has been a great example for me.

    Link to comment
    Guest Marcy

    Posted

    Awe thanks Mary Anne! Hit me up if you want to talk about your biz. I want more people to take the bull by the horns so to speak and get creative work out in the world. One thing that a friend told me way back was nobody can be successful languishing in obscurity. This got me thinking about getting in front of people in a more organic way. Do that :-)
    Link to comment
    Omg the first part of your article made me laugh so hard. I can totally relate to what you said about cringing at the thought of painting a ton of crap. I have just started painting a little over a year ago and also enjoy paintibg horses. My favorite i have done so far is war horse and its here https://www.jamielajoiefineart.com/war-horse . i capture horses in a different way then you do but i think your paintings are beautiful. If i had a horse i would definitely want a painting from you too!
    Link to comment
    Guest Marcy Criner

    Posted

    Hey y'all... It's been about 6 months since I wrote this guest blog post so how about an update?! I ran a Kickstarter campaign for my Horse Wisdom Card Deck in November. Check out the cards here: http://bit.ly/2j1E3QQ

    A few takeaways. Get ready for a launch on steroids to run a Kickstarter! Built excitement before you launch and keep talking about it like you're like a possessed person. I also used King Sumo's giveaway plugin and got tons more people on my list before and after the launch. I sold out of the cards and just ordered more. So if you're a creative yes, you can make money and impact with your art.

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Oh nice! How many decks did you sell on the Kickstarter? Got a link to it?
    Link to comment
    Guest Marcy Criner

    Posted

    Thanks Nev! Here's the link:

    I had 41 backers so it worked out to be 50 decks but the best part was keeping it going after the Kickstarter. I sold 100 more after the campaign due to backers getting them the first week of December and sharing/showing them to more folks. Plus about 15 of those backers ordered more to give as Xmas gifts.

    Link to comment
    Guest Marcy Criner

    Posted

    Hey Jamie! Congrats on keeping going. It's a real test of grit to not give up. A few years ago, my mom looked at one of my paintings and asked me if I thought I should have started when I was younger!
    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    WOW....that's so cool you validated this idea successfully AND sold more! Clearly you understand this horse market very well :)
    Link to comment
    Guest Adam Osborne

    Posted

    I have recently found I have a HUGE passion for painting and using different mediums
    Link to comment

    Hey Adam,

    Love it! Keep going and paint as much as you can. It's a great way to free your mind and juice-up your soul :-)

    Link to comment

    I never had no desire to be an artist, BUT due to a business plan denial, a necessity was created, but didn't manifest till a few years later.  In 2015 I created my 1st one of a kind, HORSE HEAD WALL HANGING (WREATH), with a unique variation (Velcro), its useful ALL YEAR A ROUND.

    Made ONE at a time.  The reason, to hopefully someday make enough to buy an IRT Camera & training to work with veterinarians, focusing on racehorses (Perhaps eventually one day putting together a program that could help with pre-race evaluations.).

    SAVE THE HORSE, & YOU SAVE THE RIDER!

    Yes the horse head wreaths out there are beautiful, prices ranging about $50 to $200. on ebay, Etsy, etc...  However, the 2 I have made, I have put far more hours into (I except the 1st taking longer, due to learning how.), POSSIBLY eventually, I might be able to get the time it takes to make mine down to 50-60 hr.s, I don't know, I do do a LOT of HAND SEWING to ensure that it will uphold in all sorts of weather.  I sold mine for $150.00, but one artist told me, I need to make $10 hr. & I would love to, but it just don't seem possible, & in no way shape or form does getting one done in 15 hr.s & maintaining the quality be done either.

    For me, I only plan to make them for a personal cause, for a BIGGER purpose than just John or me.

    SELLING HELP IDEAS DESPERATELY NEEDED!!!   At this point, even motivation to finish the current one, & move on to the next ones that I plan to do, & have more than enough materials to make them with.

    ********************************************************************************************************************THE STORY BEHIND "THROW AWAY."

    As I figured out, if I want to get to where I want to be, it's what I have to do.  I learned in HS Chemistry, I was formula challenged, & have no book focus ability, & just wanted to ride, so the patience to be a Veterinarian was OUT!  Taking a couple of gap years to ride with a bf, that fell through, went to college, again, even as a police science major, looked for a livestock career, & settled on being a brand inspector for the state, but mid into the 4yr degree requirement, had purchased an ex racehorse that didn't conform to the cowboy way (Horse & Ranch Management Barn) & when the instructor of that program ask to use my horse in a round pen demo, & my new horse challenged him, horse & I was basically ask to move...

    Well, like many before me, & to come, out cast wonder upon a race track & stories begin. Mean time, to keep a stall, I cleaned stalls, walked horses, & groomed (Some of the horses my friend, now husband use to ride.).  I went to the east following thoroughbreds, & he went naturally west, to follow QH's.

    1986, while I was in the Jocks room, I read of Johns riding accident, being a major TBI, even states away, back side horse racing ppl are ONE BIG unique family.

    FF to 2000, I was back in Ok, & John & I ran into each other, started dating, etc...  Now both of us off the track, but day by day, gradually, his May 25th 1986 23 day coma would AGAIN impact our lives.

    After a reg. security car accident job injury on the turnpike (Deer), ankle hardware, etc... vocational job training suggest I do a business plan, & while it was what they requested, my counselor, having came from a pleasure & rodeo background, didn't fully understand that race horse ppl take care of their horses a lil more differently, & often have more need for equine therapy.

    I attempted buying & reselling, but after getting overly drained & disgusted with trying to buy & resell garage sale finds to resell on ebay, one day while dumpster diving for purse packing (Foam peanuts & air bubbles) I came up0n about $500 worth of NEW tagged wreaths, wreath holders, decorations used for wreaths, garland, etc...  in a dumpster behind a lil drug store that sold this & that, so I filled up the back of my lil Toyota... & decided to teach my self how to make those HORSE HEAD wreaths I had seen online a few yr.s  before...  Thinking that that would be MUCH more fun than COACH & FOSSIL Bags, mall brand clothes, etc... & hope with every sale, the ebay buyer would be happy...  :D

    Ironically at the same time, was cleaning out barns at a new pasture I'd just rented, some old screens, indoor outdoor carpet, etc...

    About the same time, had found some large posters, white on the back, & had to remember how to draw, FROM SCRATCH...  Later I learned some use over head projectors to get a tracing, even found one, but have yet to use it.

    Laid & taped the wire over the picture, sewed the screen on wired the screen door trim on, an began cutting up some old Christmas trees, garland, etc...  Even an old recliner.  150 hrs later, Christmas eve, finally got it done.

    Titled it:  "THROW AWAY."  Basically, given how it had developed, 90% of screen, wire, indoor outdoor carpet, thrown away garland, Christmas tree material, & pleather from an ole recliner were all the materials used.  The new tagged materials I found in the dumpster reminded me of all the hopes ppl have for their young horses, but sometimes, things don't happen the way we think it's going to, & horses don't make it on the track, sadly, like John (A broken down Jockey, horses to break down & futures & dreams end.), but sometimes, things can change, & be re-purposed.

    Horse one, finally got finished, Christmas Eve, I put it on Etsy, buy it didn't sell.

    The following yr. I entered it in the fair, got nothing.  A couple of months later, I discovered it SOLD.  Excited, distracted, yet tired, I loaded up from the farm, where I often worked on it, as the apt. in town was too small, for all the mess it made, got home, but NO HORSE.  IMAGINE THE WORST...  It had fallen off the roof of my car on the 2 mile trip home. I even watched as a  pickup with a horse trailer ran over it, BUT I gathered it up... & remade it, to tear some of it apart, & re-make it.  This time the bridle, practically was made as good as an actual leather race w/actual rubber on the reins, better than before.

    During that time, I had a racehorse artist how to price, he had suggested $10 per hr., but didn't feel that I could get $1,500. out of my wreaths, which I could agree.

    2016, left excited from the 1st horse selling, I started another, more realistic gray one, with plans for sorrels, chestnuts, paints, pintos, palominos & more to come...  NEXT challenge, a captivating GLASS (Blue) EYE... 40 hrs spent on a ping pong ball, PLACED 3rd in 2017 fair, but the EYE didn't satisfy me, & the EYE HAD TO BE PERFECT.  So in 2017 I didn't post it on Etsy ended up tossing the ping pong eye idea out.

    Production, or the making of any more HORSE HEAD WALL HANGINGS didn't happen in 2017 mainly because, after watching the movie "Concussion," it help to explain issues my husband had been having.  While he articulated it as me saying he was retarded, or mental, issues surrounding it, made a big way into our lives.  I moved out, & into a domestic abuse shelter, later living in my truck.  Dec. 2017 I obtained my duplex, BUT by now, both my car & my truck, permentally became deceased.

    Early 2018, records proved John had been in the Guild, & that would officially make him eligible for new updated benefits todays riders in the Jockeys Guild & PDJF (Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund) are eligible for.  Later, while up one night, I wondered upon "Casualties of the Gridiron," on YouTube, this helped to articulate to John about C.T.E. & understand it.  In this past summer, John started going to a Neurologist.  While STILL NOT PERFECT as Dr. appt.s, test, etc... can take months, currently, PDJF is a waiting more reports to prove that Johns accident was why he didn't & hasn't been able to to return to Jockeying.  Although in 1987, despite Dr.s orders NOT TO, he did try.

    2018, my goal was to have 12 horses ready by Black Friday, it didn't happen.  2018 had me on the phone, online, & researching C.T.E., for answers written into scientific data banks written by Ph.D. researchers in this field.  So much so, that understanding Jockeys to the degree I do, & questions I was seeking the answers to, weren't even being ask yet, Mr. Meyocks (The National Jockeys Guild Manager), has since making his acquaintance on phone & online, has been exceptionally helpful to both Johnny & I, often passing along my research findings to KYU which works closely with the Guild to establish better Safety Protocols.

    Early fall, we thought maybe if Johnny were to see a psychiatrist, it might help to hold him over till his Neurologist had more/better info.  BIG MISTAKE!!!  That mistake had me cleaning, repairing my house, continued Dr. appt.s, plus NOW COURT DATES associated with his mood swings, thru ALL of Oct. 2018, another set back from mentally escaping into the spare room to finish the gray horse, & move on to the next new horses.

    Nov. which still left me nearly 4 wks., entered a new element, Johns mother, who began encouraging him to stay & help take care of her, even while knowing he was on meds,, realizing after a recent car accident she was old enough to need a live in, started putting car keys & cash into his hands, luckily, the damaged car, luckily resulting in NO ONE being injured, followed by his next Dr visit, new meds, & getting him out & a way from his mothers house, FINALLY HORSE TIME, just one hiccup, Christmas shopping's over for Christmas wreaths, BUT I MAKE WALL HANGINGS, usable ALL YEAR AROUND!

    As for John,  Jan 3rs, Nephropathy test on the arms & more Dr appt.s.

    In some ways, many don't understand, WHY I don't walk away & never look back BUT I understand HORSE RACING, Being a BACK SIDER, JOCKEYS, & living w/a TBI survivor, person with FULL BLOWN symptoms of (CHRONIC TRAUMATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY) C.T.E. (Simple meaning, PERMENTALLY, Long Term - Bad - Brain).

    Too date, the NATIONAL BRAIN INSTITUTE, ran by Dr. Bains (Portrayed assisting Dr. Omalu in the movie Concussion) has NO JOCKEY BRAINS.

    Also in the movie, during the 1st few minutes, you see M. Webster (Nick Nolte) in his attorneys office, the gentleman portrayed in the movie, Robert "Bob" Fitzsimmons I've too made contact with, & is working to help get John in a research program, that is done & over seen by Dr. Omalu (Played by Will Smith in the movie Concussion.).

    Link to comment
    Guest Jack Peterson

    Posted

    Hey, your blog is really awesome for artists who want to sell art online but if you see nowadays there are a lot of websites for artists to sell art online.

    Creating artwork and selling an artwork are two different skillsets one must master these skills to skyrocket their sells.

    I've written several blogs on How to skyrocket your art sells, How to market art, How to price artworks. I hope my blogs will add some value to your article visit here to read more - https://www.showflipper.com/blog/

    Link to comment
    Guest Alexander

    Posted

    You are truly an artistic person, I love your all horse paintings. I enjoyed your blog.
    Link to comment
    Guest How To Sell Art Online & Make Money: – Rich 1

    Posted

    […] Updated June 22nd, 2017  | by Marcy Criner and Neville Medhora | 67 Comments […]
    Link to comment



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