To market, to market

Marketing art is such a big subject. I love the quote below from Pat Chapin, an artist I've known through a couple of art mailing lists for several years. Her point is so clearly stated: you have to be proactive if you want to sell your art. There are many different ways of doing this, and maybe I'll talk about them another day, but it really does begin with you and what you do to bring the customers to you. The Internet makes it appallingly obvious how many artists are out there competing for sales, but it's less obvious how many customers there are and what they're buying. Another artist I met in my early days on the Web has risen to the challenge and is doing a good job marketing and selling her oils and acrylics. She now has five videos, a couple of books, a newsletter and lots of studio and plein air paintings moving quickly out of her web site and into people's homes. She teaches workshops, gives demos, exhibits in shows and conducts her art business in a professional manner. You need a plan and "ya gotta have art" if you want to succeed.