In a previous article I wrote about how uniqueness will help you sell more art. You need to create unique art, or at least something more interesting than what people can buy at Target. So how do you do that?
Here are some ideas:
– For Painters –
Find another medium than canvas and prints. Again, stores like Target and World Market sell pictures and prints at deep discounts and those are what people compare your art to. Not fair, but that’s how it is. Go find cool looking rocks and paint them how you think nature should have colored them. Paint furniture, or picture frames, or create wrapping paper out of your work. Turn your paintings into jewelry, magnets, or note cards.
– For Sculptors and Potters –
Move beyond bowls and simple containers. Find something that people can use but haven’t seen before. Try your hand a custom tobacco pipes or clogs. Make pie holders or limited edition water pitchers (co-created with a painter). The world doesn’t need another bowl or vase.
– For Photographers –
It all starts with amazing pictures, ones that capture a side of life that no one else saw before. Then you have to rethink the medium. A friend of mine grafts his photos onto metal. From there he can manipulate it into any shape or form he wants. They are fantastic and if I could afford his prices I would buy everything he makes. What can you put your photographs on?
– For Jewelers –
There are thousands of people who take beads and wire, string them together, and call that jewelery. While the art is in the placement and selection of beads, is the medium unique enough to turn people’s heads? What about getting together with painters, sculptors, and photographers and creating limited edition mini stories that people can wear? How about developing something that men would want to wear? Think beyond the necklaces, rings, and bracelets. What else is there?
What Can You Do Next?
The best advice I can give any artist or creator is the same thing I told my wife (a beautiful painter); don’t be constrained. If your imagination takes you to some odd places or makes you consider an unconventional pairing, do not tell yourself that you can’t do it. Follow your gut, don’t place limitations on yourself, and be true to that inner vision inside of you.
Don’t be defined by the medium, go beyond it. Don’t be limited by a style, create your own style. You are the creator and the maker, take that calling to heart.
