My college tennis coach had this wise saying, "If you're winning, don't change anything; if you're losing, change your strategy until something works." I've applied this wisdom to my business practices in the following way: When everything's going well, I stay the course, but if all business indicators are telling me that I'm losing... then I have nothing to lose by experimenting with new ideas.
When Things Get Tough, The Tough Get Creative
While positive thinking may improve confidence levels, confidence without action rarely results in sustainable growth. If your work is selling just as well now as it did before the stock market went crazy, why mess up a good thing? Stay the course that is working for you. However, if sales are slowing or coming to a grinding halt, don't sit around wishing and hoping for improvement... rather, think of ways to tweak your business strategy.
Notice, I'm not saying to change your artwork... continue to create what you have a passion for and what you're good at, especially if you've experienced a demand for that work in the past. What I am saying is - ponder ways that you might sell your work in a depressed economy. If you are also an art collector, think about the kind of opportunities that might make you continue to collect when your finances have taken a beating.
Here are a few ideas that I've dreamed up in recent years, but haven't yet pursued. Right now, I'm in a good position to put these ideas to the test because I'm no longer working with commercial galleries. I can't say whether or not any of the following strategies will be successful, but my hope is that they'll get the ball rolling again by re-sparking my collector base's interest. While I might fall flat on my face, I don't have much to lose, and may even gain a new audience.
Experimental Strategies
Home Shows
I'll ask one of my collectors to hold a show for me at her home - where she and her husband invite their friends for a casual evening of fun, food, and art. I'll introduce these folks to the idea of art collecting... maybe give a short talk on 19th century American Artists -- something that might direct the general public's interest toward appreciation of art. Meanwhile, I'll have some of my best works attractively displayed and hand out copies of a price list. My hosts will proudly show their art collection to their guests, and in return for hosing the event, I'll offer these hosts a small, free original painting. If all goes according to plan, some of the guests (who may have different set of friends) will offer to host a show at their home! I've even considered selling the work of other artists and taking a smaller commission than a commercial gallery - since I have no overhead. Perhaps those of you who enjoy meeting with the public might set something like this up for your fellow artists.
"Limited Edition Originals"
This is something I've wanted to do for years but never got around to it. The Idea: I paint the same image, same size, maybe 10 times. These paintings are essentially reproductions, except I have painted each one entirely myself. Because I'm not a machine, each iteration is bound to be a bit different, and progressively better. So that the 10th painting is likely to be superior in quality to the 3rd. I'm considering raising the price slightly on the latter iterations if this turns out to be the case. Because I save a lot of time by painting the same image repeatedly, I can offer these works for a lower price than my "one of a kind" originals, thereby giving buyers an incentive to collect when their purse strings are tight.
Reduced Pricing - for a Limited Time
Because I've decided to pull out of galleries and sell on my own, I'll offer paintings from my web site at a reduced price for a limited amount of time. My thinking on this is that the limited "bargain" will entice buying from my past collectors, or maybe a few folks who've been eying my work but are concerned about spending money right now. When I raise my prices next spring (not astronomically), the work they buy from me now, at reduced prices will have automatically appreciated. I realize that I'm going against the grain of the way art pricing has worked historically, but I'm willing to find out if this idea will work. One caveat: if I were currently working with galleries, I could not lower my prices - my retail prices would have to stay consistent across all selling venues.
Compromise on Price but Not Quality
Most importantly, I will not compromise the quality of my work, no matter what my prices are. I don't think my past collectors will mind if they can buy my art at a lower price temporarily. I could be totally wrong... We shall see. The point of my writing this blog is to share my brainstorms, but not necessarily to have you follow my experiments. Please don't contact me 5 months from now to say that my theory has failed. Remember, I'm willing to take the risk and experiment. My hope is that artists out there will not settle for despondency, but feel compelled to generate ideas and perhaps act on the ones that make the most sense. Please feel free to share your ideas with others by posting a comment below.
