Painters Online Logo

Login/register

Studio

Has anyone tried merchandizing ?

Welcome to the forum.

Here you can discuss all things art with like-minded artists, join regular painting challenges, ask questions, buy and sell art materials and much more.

Make sure you sign in or register to join the discussions.

Hang on Studio Wall
Author
Message

Pat Harrison

  • Esteemed User
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 310
Posted
Some artists have signed up on Redbubble merchandizing their art. I was wondering if there was anyone here on POL who has tried that. Would a serious artist even consider it ?
Front page

Alan Green

  • Forum Expert
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 557
Posted
I'm not merchandising my art (needs to be better) but why not? If you have product, put it on t-shirts, key rings, plastic lunch boxes - anything to increase the revenue streams.

Alan Bickley

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 11888
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 4488
Posted
Well I wouldn't for a start, it's just not my thing, and I can't see anyone wanting one of my landscapes on a T shirt. However, I would certainly consider David Hockney a serious artist, and the RA had an array of items from his 'A Bigger Picture' exhibition a few years back now, featuring his paintings on anything from key rings to mugs. But anything with Hockney's name on will sell, that's all down to marketing in the first instance.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 24793
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 8642
Posted
Beatrice's paintings lend themselves to this because they're very warm, brightly coloured flower pictures, still life, and generally "approachable" subjects. I don't know if I'd do it or not - depends on the income that might be generated - but a lot of my stuff wouldn't work well on cushions, key-rings, mugs and place-mats: I don't generally aim for the beautiful image, even if I hope just occasionally I achieve it..... How about my painting of The Great Ralph (TM) (All Rights Reserved) though, eh? What could be nicer than having a rat staring at you from your place-mat as you swill down the morning cornflakes? Someone is surely missing a marketing trick here.... The other point is that it would be a lot of work to set it all up - but if you like work, off you go. I think Pat's point was really whether this would do one's reputation as an artist any good: I don't think it's hurt Beatrice Cloake's, now painting as Beatrice Cloake Pasquier, because she doesn't commodify* ALL her work, just judiciously selected examples that lend themselves to it. I do rather object, though, to The Fighting Temeraire duvet covers .... the words "prostitution" and "conveniently out of copyright" come to mind - it's not the same thing at all. If you're going to use images to sell things, use those of living artists and PAY us! *This may be a new word I've just coined - if it is, I confidently expect to see it in the new Concise Oxford English Dictionary: hopefully with an attribution to self.....
michael

Michael Edwards

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 3863
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 1556
Posted
If commodify is a new word, Robert, can I use it as the title of one of my abstracts? Under special licence of couse with full acknowledgement to you as copyright holder.
michael

Michael Edwards

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 3863
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 1556
Posted
Darn it - just looked it up - it means to turn into or treat as a mere commodity.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 24793
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 8642
Posted
Oh poo..... I expect I saw it in use, and it stuck in my brain. My dictionary is the 1976 edition of the OED, which I keep by me because it was a little after that that everyone stopped speaking English properly - "realize" started to be spelled as "realise", because people assumed the former was the US spelling (which it is, but that's entirely coincidental: it's also the English spelling). You aren't to think me pedantic about these things, just because I am....
michael

Michael Edwards

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 3863
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 1556
Posted
You're not the only pedant Robert - so am I (sat instead of sitting etc) and that goes for pronunciation too - my current pet hate is pronouncing garidge instead of garage. Might use commodify anyway as it is quite meaningless as a title for an abstract and, as Sylvia says, you can't charge me. .