Professionalize Your Art

Define what your goals are as an artist.

Be true to who you are, follow your heart and create in your own authentic voice.

Determine your unique, artistic expression and create work that in uniquely yours.

Invest in your art practice/continuously build your artistic tool box.

Be brave and push yourself to grow ~ Take risks & experiment!

Establish dedicated studio time and commit to it.
Chuck Close Quote: “Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work.”

Build a trusted community of artists, or people in the art community that can be counted on to provide helpful insights and or mentoring.

Even if you are a multi-disciplinary artist, it helps to have a focus in a single medium and create a body of work that is cohesive. Having 20-25 pieces is a good guide. Why? Because galleries often look for consistency and focus so they know who you are as an artist and what they are investing in.

Make sure your art is finished and presented in a high quality standard – this includes images, framing etc.

Invest in and maintain a well-designed and professional website that is consistent with your brand image/work, current, includes an artist statement, CV/bio and is easy to navigate.

Cultivate being your own, honest constructive critic.
Show only your best work – More is not better. People remember both your best and worst work.

Make sure you have a professional, inspiring artist statement & biography. They need to be short and succinct with a variety of sentence structuring. Avoid starting every sentence with a personal pronoun. There are many online resources to help and you can leverage A.I. to assist but make sure you over see the fine tuning.

Be organized: Establish and maintain an organized inventory system with details of art and collector contacts.

Invest in professional marketing materials including: business cards, thank you notes, postcards, and certificate of authenticity.

Learn how to utilize/leverage social media in a strategic way. Again there are many online resources to help, start by searching topics like “how does Instagram work”.

Develop a professional newsletter to send out to your followers/collectors.

Research Galleries that are relevant to your work, price and have a complimentary/similar aesthetic with your art.

Think about how your work would be a logical add to their portfolio of artists (make sure you wouldn’t be redundant or too similar with the other artists they represent).

Consider the markets/locations in which you are interested in being represented.

Ask about the gallery’s reputation including their history, their vision for the future, how they treat their artists, how they negotiate with collectors, how they promote their artists, museum connections, and how quickly they pay commissions.

Create a database of galleries that you can easily reference. You may want to create an A and B list of potential galleries and keep track of your notes on each so that you can be as strategic as possible in your pursuit.

Galleries typically require you not show in another gallery in the same city or state so it is key to be strategic about your gallery choices.

Whenever possible it is best to visit galleries in person. Pay attention to their overall presentation, staff, marketing materials, website, and storage (so you understand how your work will be cared for).

When you find galleries you are interested in, which could be a good fit for, sign up for their newsletters and attend events to get to know them better.

Consider applying for internships in galleries or part-time work in galleries so you can get an inside look at the business.

Bottom line, take time to know the art market so you comprehensively understand the industry.

Ask each gallery their preferred process of submitting your work. This information is often posted on their websites and ranges from sending them an email to stating they are not accepting new artists. Whatever it is, make sure to respect and adhere to their requirements.

Generally speaking, dropping into a gallery without an introduction or a scheduled appointment is not preferred and can work against you.

If the gallery asks for a cover letter, it should consist of 3 short paragraphs: Introduction (purpose of your letter), Middle (story behind your art, how your art fits into their gallery, link to your website), and last (how they can follow up with you).

Respect their time and keep communications professional and short.

Be confident without being arrogant.

In all communications with a gallery, always be respectful, professional, and honest. When sending email correspondence, make sure that it is personally addressed and only sent to the gallery to which you are applying (never bcc).

Remember: first impressions are lasting impressions.

Make sure you have a complete understanding and respect for the gallery’s role: promoting their gallery and artists, selling art, and making a profit through the cultivation of collectors/clients. They are a business and have hard costs like building maintenance, utilities, payroll, insurance, marketing/promotion and more to cover every month.

It is also essential that you, the artist, are responsive to the galleries needs/requests and understand that it only works if there is a professional and trusted relationship. The lines of communication must be open, timely, and effective.

Explore other ways to promote your work such as on-line galleries, art shows, studio tours, pop-up shows, social media, the US Dept. of State’s Art in Embassies program, and art organizations like the New Mexico State Committee of the National Women in the Arts and their online Artist Registry and the Santa Fe Gallery Association’s Artist Portal.

When you are represented by a gallery, make sure you understand and have a clearly spelled out and agreed upon representation agreement and/or contract. Read the fine print and discuss the details with the gallery so you understand what you are signing. If something is not a good fit talk it through, they may agree to change it to suit your needs.

In summary remember that you are worth the effort to have your work represented in a gallery. Whereas galleries are not the only way you can share your unique, artistic voice with the world they offer great advantages to expand your audience, increase the value of your artwork and help with career development.