The majority of artists who specialize in acrylic pouring that I’ve personally interacted with sell their artwork some way or another, but they see pouring as more of a hobby and not as a potential part or full time career. As such, they might not consider doing the things that full time visual artists do to market themselves to potential clients, like having their own website.
But if you’re selling your artwork, you absolutely need a website. I don’t care if you’ve sold five paintings in the past three months or fifty. You need a website.
Why?
Professionalism. People need to believe in your image and reputation as an artist in order to invest in your work. You might not necessarily feel professional, especially if you’ve only made two Etsy sales since opening your shop (like me) but it’s important to project that image so that others believe in you, even if you don’t necessarily believe in yourself just yet. It’s kind of like that saying, “fake it until you make it.”
I know what you just thought to yourself. Small business? Artists aren’t small business owners. But yes, you are, and you should think of yourself that way. If you think two steps ahead of where you already are, you’re setting yourself up for success.
A website isn’t only about projecting professionalism, but it can also serve as an online hub. Do you have a facebook page? An Instagram? An Etsy? A Youtube Channel? Keep them all together and easily accessible for fans and clients via links on your website. Direct friends and family there when you tell them you create artwork as opposed to rattling off five different user names and URLs. You want to make finding you, and finding your artwork, as easy as humanly possible. If people can’t find you, they can’t buy your work!
Talking about your artwork, a website is the place where you can display your work precisely the way you want it displayed. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram don’t give you very much control over the presentation of your artwork, you have to work within certain criteria that maybe doesn’t fit very well for your aesthetics. Having your own website gives you the greatest degree of control over how people see and interact with your work. Maybe you write blog posts with marketing tips or short stories about what inspires your acrylic pours, and having all of that content in one place is exactly what your website is for!
The work that I typically do, for example, is primarily done on round wooden boards. Instagram and Facebook are made for square or rectangular images, and having my own website allowed me to optimize the user experience, so when a client looks on my website they see a variety of circular paintings. I also wanted my logo on display and my social media links to be present, but not taking up too much space. My entire social media presence is just a click away on the left side of the screen. I even have prices for commissions and my exhibition history there too, so that clients know that I have a positive reputation and image as an artist.
Kelsey Rodriguez is an emerging artist and Political Science undergraduate student in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She just recently opened her small business selling her original artwork, Poured Planets, in the spring of 2018. She has exhibited at several cafes around the Twin Cities and has ongoing consignment relationships with galleries and art consulting agencies around Minnesota.
To see more of her artwork, follow her on Instagram check out her website or shop originals and prints on her Etsy.
Does artwork shown online not need a watermark?
Enid,
Having a watermark on your artwork is completely optional. As a rule, I do not typically post images to my personal website that have watermarks. Instead, an easier option is to have smaller, lower resolution images on your website. Don’t post the kind of high-resolution images that are suitable for prints. But every artist is different!
Thank you, Kelsey! The thought of having a website was intimidating/scary to me…. and, you’ve brought up some very important points that have changed my perspective!! Bless you!!
Can you recommend how to set up a website? Can you do it free? Could it just be a blog? Do you have to purchase a domain name? Is that a yearly fee? Thanks!
Rhonda,
In my next article I’ll be covering all of your questions! Stay tuned for it!
Rhoda you can try Wix.com or Squarespace.com to build a free website. I am sure Kelsey will give you some great advice on this. But I will say Wix seems to be the easiest to work on.
Thank you for sharing this info. I am a new artist in the process of launching my website and this was great confirmation that I am heading in the right direction. I was resently told just sell on Instagram and Facebook but felt I would still need a place for them to go and see more of my work. I will keep in mind the picture quality info vs watermark. I might watermark with my logo.