Building A Body Of Artwork

Over the next couple of months, I will be sharing some art business ideas to help you get your Artrepreneurship up and going. We’ll be looking at your art inventory, keeping costs down, marketing, accounting, effective websites, getting into a gallery, etc. The first step to selling your art is actually taking the time to make your art and developing an inventory.

Speaking of inventory, do you have a body of artwork? Did you have one 3 years ago, but feel that it doesn’t fully represent your technical and personal advancement as an artist now that you’re at a different level? Here’s some good news…you can start building a new body of work today! Having an art inventory to sell from is very important. What would you do if you went to the grocery store to get bread and they said they were sold out and didn’t know when they might have it in stock again? You would go to another store and purchase from someone else and probably think twice before returning to that other store in the future. Your patrons could very well think the same way. Keeping your inventory refreshed with new work will definitely increase your Artrepreneurial success.

How many pieces of artwork constitute a body of work? Well, that all depends on who you ask…it could be 15-30 pieces of art or more. They can be all related or as different as day and night…

Here are a few ideas on how to start a body of work:

-Start a series of 5, 10, or 15 pieces over a period of 2-3 months on one subject (hands, leaves, dogs, etc), using various art techniques & styles.
-Do quick gesture studies
-Do an evolution study (a seed that grows into a sapling and then into a mighty tree)
-Do a small monochromatic series on your favorite subject
-Do a portrait series using famous people
-Do an abstract series
-Do some still-life studies

You don’t have the time? We live in a very busy society that’s pulling us in 400 different directions all at once, so setting aside time and prioritizing is essential for us to continue developing our creative gifts. I realize that we all have different demands on our lives…you may have a spouse & children, a 9 to 5 job, be in school, involved with the PTA, or caring for family members, etc., but it’s amazing how much we can get done in 4 hours if we set it aside and turn off the cell phone and TV. 4 hours a week…that’s a great starting point. What can be accomplished over a few months with 4 hours a week devoted to creating art? A nice body of artwork.