We spend hours perfecting our craft, regardless if it is books, art, photography, dance or the theatre.
But even with the perfect masterpiece, without an audience to share it with, what is the point?
You can say it is for personal satisfaction. And I believe we must be our own biggest fan. Perhaps it is therapy. Very possible, but for most of us the process can be as stressful as it is therapeutic.
The vast majority of artists are looking to share their masterpiece. So where does this audience come from? Certainly the Internet has helped by leaps and bounds, but the Internet is also as vast as the ocean. As great as we believe our work is; it is a minnow in a ocean.
I would love to hear from readers on how they announced their work to the world. What worked? What didn’t? Did you pay huge amounts on advertising to make a few sales? Or did you find a niche to market your work that cost little but reaped great rewards?
Step up folks. Tell us your best and your worst marketing experiences – regardless if your product. Art, music, books … We can all learn from each other.
Finding your audience
Writing Under Fire 
a great post with lots to think about on how to answer it. I work full time and therefore do not rely on my art to feed me. I think the art world is stuck on the great masters, don’t get me wrong, I love them too… but it’s a VERY hard market to break into. The internet has helped acquire fans via FB and other sites, but it has also made it easy to copy work and not pay-for it. I hope, like all things come back that someday people will want the original painting with its brush strokes, energy and passion radiating out of the painting. No matter how great that copy may be it does not compare with the original work created by the artist. It’s hard in today’s market, you almost need someone “famous” or in the public eye to recognize your work, then you get swept up and are “deemed” good enough. I have told my family that I never want to have my work sold at a yard-sale, Van Gogh only sold one painting when he was alive and that was to his brother… someday many, MANY, years from now, maybe my work will be valued like his.. 🙂 I honestly am not trying to sale, if it happens, it happens. I have my store here http://www.redbubble.com/people/debcoats for prints and cards, I have a few paintings at the local Framing Corner and they sale about one or two a year, http://www.theframingcorner.com/?gclid=CM7u7L2wo7gCFUlp7AodHDcADg and I donate all the time, I create because it’s what I do and what I need to do to have a life fulfilled, if someone wants to buy it… YA… but I let the Universe figure that out. Would I love to be in a gallery, Heck Yes, but if not… oh well…I’m not the best at promoting myself, some artist are… but not me. I do enter a contest every now-and-again… I love the challenge to create what they are looking for. so… for me, I’ll just let what will be …. be…. and if it’s meant to be… it will. Peace in = Peace out, and I have Peace 🙂
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