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Are Amateur Artists Taking The Bread Out Of The Mouths Of Professional Artists?
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Message
Posted
About a year ago I sold a watercolour to the gallery Hauser and Wirth (galleries in London, Zurich and New York) for £5000.
Sorry, that should be £50 and the purchaser, who actually worked for the gallery, bought it as a birthday pressie for her boyfriend. I spent the £50 on paper and paints from Jackson's before I received it. I'm delighted if this makes me a professional but have to admit that I forgot to inform HMRC about the sale. Can I rely on you all to keep quiet about it?
Posted
Amanda has explained the costs involved, I've nothing to add to that except that watercolour paper can last for many hundreds of years - and has. I wouldn't have thought its longevity issues were a major factor in price - they would be if people assumed the paper wouldn't last, or the pigment would fade, I suppose.
As for pricing - I would regard the Patchings experience as "trade pricing": clearing out the stocks by selling to like-minded people who get a bargain, unframed and unmounted. I'm sure Chris Forsey's gallery paintings for the general public aren't going at £35 a pop. I don't go to these events, because travel is getting more difficult for me so there's no pleasure in the whole experience at all, and I like a bit of pleasure and comfort in my declining years... But if I did, I might think Mr Forsey had hit upon quite a good idea: I have a drawer containing around 30 watercolours, unmounted, which I'd happily sell at a knock-down price just for the sake of the room: you heard it here first - rush over, with your cheque books!
I'll put the coffee on - all rush at once...
http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net
http://www.wightpaint.blogspot.co.uk
Posted
Rather late on this one, not sure if anybody still reading or interested. I am what you might call professional by education. Even writing that made me shudder mind as I think that calling myself professional at something just because I spend more time sitting in atelier under supervision of "master of art" doesn´t mean I am better. It doesn´t even mean I have better imagination. What it mostly doesn´t mean is that I am better experimenter. I found many so called "amateurs" who had much better command in every single media I ever worked in and seriously kicked ass. I think it is an outrage that some "educated" artist should spat such nonsense. If you are able to make some pennies, no matter if to pay for materials or to actually try and make living you should, whoever you are. As long as you can offer quality service with your art (talking in varnishing your paintings or aiding the customer if they need help with hanging, mounting if wanted etc.) you are a professional.
I myself call myself "crafter" for instance. Although I am well aware some of my ex classmates would be outraged if I dared to call them that. Most of them do not do art for living though- tried, failed, got job. It has nothing to do with the "evil" amateurs though. Very few people can afford to live from art.
It always was so and probably always will be. And as in past, it requires expertise, talent, determination, MONEY and ADVERTISEMENT.
Posted
BTW, my house is hanged with amatheur works ;-). I have 0 of my own painting or drawings or sculptures (I donate them to charity auctions!). I just love going into small cafes/galeries on holidays and buy local artist watercolours, especially if with animals. I am so out of space because of all the Brit talent that I have, a goat and a donkey painting hanging in one bathroom, oil with chickens in another. The downstairs toilet has Harlot´s and Rake´s progress print (Hogarth of course). Many discussions with visitors start with "why do you have painting of a goat in the bathroom?" The fact is, bathroom is the room where it gets most viewing ;-).
Posted
My forthcoming week at Bournemouth is partly to offload much of my stuff. Some will be free, some cheap and others open to negotiation. Like Robert I have loads of it and none of it has been available to the public before.
Another reason is that I like the challenge the fun and the camaradie of showing to the public amongst other painters, some pros some not.
One more reason is that as I am not in an art club anymore, this gives me a chance to exhibit. which was my intention later in the year and at least I don't have to go through the selection process
Posted
I have been agonising over my acrylic ink abstracts for the past few months regarding pricing. I have sold a few but am not convinced that I have as yet got the pricing right. I have asked an established abstract artist in my region for advice and the prices she suggests are 3 to 4 times the prices I get for my watercolours. Well time will tell as the exhibition period hots up. It's a crazy market.
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