So, to make things easier for you, here are some of the best tips you can get in regards to collecting art.

Buy Because Of What?

First off, you should understand that you should buy an artwork because you like it. Yes, it’s just that simple.

Although it may be common sense, a lot of people still overlook this important idea. Some buy pieces because other people told them so. Or because they saw others buying something similar. If you find a piece that moves you, and you think can enhance your life, then buy it! You do not have to wait for the approval of others to do. So since the whole decision is yours.

What use is the beauty of an artwork that you bought, if personally, you don’t appreciate it or find it disgusting, even? Remember, in collecting art, there is nothing more self-gratifying than seeing a piece that communicates with you and moves your soul. Most especially if it’s a piece that remains fresh and exciting for you even though you’ve seen it for hundreds of times.

Go Gallery Hopping!

Another good thing to do when you’re starting a collection is to go gallery hopping. Try to go to as many art galleries that you can visit. Galleries’ staff guides can be helpful to you and can add up to your art education. Going to galleries can also be one good way of being exposed to different kinds of art. Whether it is a gallery on paintings, sculptures or prints.

Galleries provide you with the real thing. Thus, you can examine more of the details of different works of art. Most of the time, galleries showcase some prestigious collections too. Viewing such, can yet be another way of seeing the collections of other people and generating ideas for your own collection.

Get Connected

Most galleries also have a mailing list that regularly update you on their latest happenings and events. Being connected and up to date with what’s happening is another way to help you start with your collection. Sometimes, if there are openings or special events that these galleries hold, they can invite you to go.

Once you are invited, try your best to attend such events so that you can be more exposed to the industry. Additionally, events like these can bring you opportunity to know more people within the industry, and find more good deals around.

Go Local

If there are not much of art galleries in your place, then you can still go local! Try visiting and joining local art museums or non-profit art centers. You may be surprised to see how local talents in your area create masterpieces that seem priceless. Yet you can buy at a cheap price. Since probably most of them are still budding artists, then you’ll probably spot some good deals around in which the beauty of the piece remains unaltered.

Also, the curators of such places sometimes provide lectures for those who are interested in collecting art. Some lectures may have a very cheap fee, while some can come for free, especially if there are big companies sponsoring the event.

Top Four Tips On Collecting Art

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But guess what?

None of these papers, claims, certificates of authenticity, documents or even tall tales mean a thing if they’re not stated, authored, or else traceable to or directly associated with accepted, recognized, and qualified authorities about the art in question, and also the artist themselves.

So here are some of the essentials to know on attributing and authenticating art. How it works and who the people to be trusted are.

They’re All Connected-Not!

One of the most pervasive problems in selling art deals with “attributed” art. It’s so common that every kind of unqualified individual would attribute artworks to different kinds of artists, sad to say 100% of these attributions are considered to be worthless.

How come? Simply because in the art industry, legitimate attributions are only made by known and recognized authority figures that have legitimate authority on the attributed artists’ names.

Defining “Attributed”

Officially and technically speaking, “attributed” means a specific work of art, which is most likely an original, is at the hand and is certified by a qualified authority on the matter. Take note that your keywords here are “qualified authority”. Thus, if the attribution is done by an unqualified person, then it would be meaningless.

Who Are The Qualified Authority?

A qualified authority is someone who really knows what he/she is talking about and has the proof to anything he/she says. Qualified authorities are those people that have deliberately studied the artist under consideration, have already published papers about the artist, and have curated major gallery shows or museums catering the works of the artist.

They can also be someone who have taught courses about the artist; bought or sold at least dozens or even hundreds of artworks by the artist; have written magazine articles, books, or catalogue essays about the artist, and the like.

The artist him/herself can also be a qualified authority, along with his relatives, employees, direct descendants, and heirs. Also, people who have formal, legal, or estate-granted sanctions or entitlements in able to pass judgment the artist’s works are considered to be qualified authorities. Most importantly, they should be recognized throughout the whole art community to the people in charge when it comes to the matter of dealing with works by that artist.

Who Are Not Qualified?

The list of people whom are not qualified could take forever to complete. However, here are some of the general characteristics of those unqualified people who most likely say that they are qualified.

First off, you should watch out for those who think that the piece they are selling is by this certain artist just because the work ‘looks like’ it is done by that artist; also, those who think that the piece is by that artist because they saw some illustrations from art books that are similar to the piece at hand.

Additionally, sellers that answer you with “that is what the previous owner told me” kind of questions are not to be trusted. You really can’t rely on tattle-tailing to very if the work is an original or not. This is just the same if they say that the work is by such artist because the previous owner is rich and famous.

You should also watch out for art appraisers, since they only appraise and not authenticate; unless they have qualifications to do so. Take note that appraisal and authentication are two different things.

So, if you’re planning on buying a so-called original, then you must make sure that the person you’re talking to is a qualified authority, or better yet, the artist himself!

The Essentials On Authenticating And Attributing Art

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However, if you decide on pursuing the value for yourself, then be sure that you avoid making some of the common mistakes regarding the matter.

Most people seeking the value of a piece tend to simply look at the price list and from there on, conclude the value of the work in consideration. However, there is much to value than simple market prices.

Pricelists can be very misleading, since artworks’ values are not only determined by its price; here are some of the reasons why, and some other overlooked factors when valuating an art.

It’s A Bargain!

Sometimes, if an auction is poorly publicized, they hold sales or bargains in order to sell. Thus, you can find great art that are priced way low from their real value in this kind of auctions. There are also instances in which only single bidders are able to recognize the significance of the art at hand. During this kind of situations, the piece can also be sold at a low price if there are no other bidders who want to pursue the piece.

No Auction Records

There are instances too in which the significant works of a certain artist have never been sold in any kind of auction. It’s quite normal for the finest and popular pieces by an artist to sell for huge amounts of money, approximately tens of thousands or even more, at galleries. However, that same artist can have high auction records only in level of low or mid-thousands of bucks. Thus, if your artist has not had any significant work of his through any auction, then you can also value the work extremely low.

Great Continuums

It can also be hard for you to value the piece if the price range of the artist is too great. For example, an artist can have hundreds or even thousands of auction records, ranging for instance in between $1000-$200,000. If you are not a competent professional appraiser, for sure you’ll probable have little or even no idea where the piece would fit in with a continuum that is vast as that.

Significance Is The Key For an artwork to be accurately valued, its significance should be determined. Thus, you should get to know how the piece would level in respect to how excellent, well, or bad it is done, compared to the other works of the same artist. Techniques used in the piece and its overall aesthetics play a role here. So, if your piece at hand is really good, yet you’re not able to know or see how good it is, then for sure you’re going to value it way low from its justified value.

Unearthing History Matters

Additionally, historical significance would also matter in valuing your art. The more it is historically significant, the higher its value is. Factors like the piece being able to transcend its artist due to what it represents, when it was created, where it was done, and other similar mitigating aspects, play a role with its history significance. Thus, if you haven’t uncovered the historical significance of your art, then it would probably have a low value for you.

More: Basics Of Buying Art: Whether You’re A Pro Or Not

Misconceptions With Your Art’s Value

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Additionally, it is way more difficult to sell to people who are not really art collectors and do not know anything about you. However, once you get to make your first sale, it makes selling your masterpieces a lot easier than before.

Is Your Art Ugly?

As an artist, you shouldn’t doubt your creativity and skill just because you don’t sell much artwork. There are several reasons why people who already like art do not buy pieces often. These reasons could be related to their knowledge of art, their self-confidence, an identity crisis of what their taste really is, and how much it matters to them what other people would say about the pieces they buy.

A lot of people in the art industry, whether new or old, usually worry about what other people will say about their purchases, or that their colleagues and friends will make fun of them. Even though someone might like a certain piece of artwork of yours, they are probably not sure of how well done the piece is, whether it’s really worth the price, or whether you as an artist are established enough in your career to warrant such prices.

Thus, it is your job as an artist to help these people who admire your art feel secure and comfortable with you, both as an artist and a businessperson. If you can do this, you’ll help alleviate whatever other fears they may have and it’ll increase the probability that they’ll buy your art.

If you don’t know where to start, here are some tips on how you can make the admirers of your artwork buy your pieces and how hopefully in time, you can turn them into patrons.

Tell Them: It’s OK, Really

Before you even start off with all the sales talk, you should be able to show people that purchasing your artwork is okay. You can try talking about other collectors that have bought your pieces, what kind of people they are and how long you have been transacting with them. Doing this will make your prospective buyer let go of the thought that you’re just some bozo trying to sell him a piece of junk and get hold of his cash.

However, if you haven’t had any collectors, then you should say so honestly. You should tell your prospective buyer that you are open to the possibility of selling your art to them, although you haven’t really done this before.

How Do You Sell? (Trade Of Art)

You should also talk to them about your method of selling your art and in what specific circumstances people usually buy it. Additionally, it’s helpful to tell stories or anecdotes of how other collectors have bought their first artwork from you. You should also talk about your most recent sale, how you were able to sell it, and for how much.

The method of how you price your pieces should be mentioned too, along with which of your pieces is the favourite among collectors, and how many you have sold all in all.

Exposure

Lastly, it’s usually very helpful to talk about the exposure that you’ve had in the industry, such as museum or institution exhibits, galleries, trade fairs, and awards or honours that you’ve received.

How To Get Started In The Trade Of Art

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Show Pictures Of Your Pictures

One way to selling encourage your prospective buyers to buy your art is by showing them photos of how other art collectors have made use or displayed the pieces they have bought from you. Seeing your pieces in working or living environments can be a great encouraging factor. If you do not have that many collectors yet, you can show them pictures of how you, yourself displayed your art in different kinds of environments.

If your prospect is someone who is not really that familiar with art, doing this tip can be very helpful and fruitful. Since they may be having some difficulty in imagining how or where they would display the piece, if ever they bought it from you. It can also be the case that they can’t really picture how the piece would look like in their office or home.

Be Service Oriented

If you really want to make a sale, then your attitude should show that you do so. Try to make time for transactions and meetings regarding your art. Also, try to make yourself available as much as possible to deliver your piece to the collectors’ home or office. You should also help them with hanging it, or even make suggestions on where to place it, if they ask you to.

If your buyer hasn’t made a specific pick of which piece they want from your collection, you can also offer them that you bring a number of your art to their home or office, free of charge. Do this, so that they can see how it would fit in their environment. However, you should also make it clear to them that they are not obliged to buy it if they don’t want to.

Give Them A Taste Test

If you want, you can also offer people to have a piece or two of your works for a trial period of one or two weeks, just to see how they would like the pieces.
However, with this kind of deal, you should make sure that you have a written contract about your agreement, get a promissory note, deposit or whatever kind of security for your art’s safety.

Fish Around

You may also want to try fishing around. Try asking people reasons of why they like or dislike a certain piece made by other artists. From their answers, get some ideas of how they would react if it is your art in the hot seat. Of course, you do not do this just to be discouraged, but to be able to think fresh and innovatively for your next pieces.

Talk Earth Language

One of the most common mistakes of artists that are first time selling their works is that they talk to impress. Yes, it is impressive if you know a lot of techniques, components and factors regarding art.

However, not all people that would be interested in buying your work are artists too. Some of them may be everyday people who know nothing about the technical aspect of art, but are just simply captivated by your work.

If this is the case, try not to delve into elevated and heated art discussions, especially if they’re not really asking for it. Avoid giving them information that would remain undigested. Try to talk in their level, since intimidating your prospective buyer would
be the last thing you’d want to do.

Extra Tips On Selling Your Art

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