Creating a Target Market for Your Work

Today I am going to embrace something which is pretty much a no-go area among many fine artists: Creating for a target audience.

Woe to him who suggests painting something with the purpose of, well, selling! The underlying theory among artists seems to be to create whatever you want and then find a market for it. To me, this is a very backwards plan if you want to make a living selling your work.

My suggestion is to think carefully about what you enjoy most about your creative process, including the subjects you paint, and then to refine that in a way that meets the need of a specific market.

Create for a Target Audience

I am not saying that you have to paint ballerinas all day everyday (unless that's what you love!), but the idea is to create art that has an appeal to a significant segment of the population. Without this it's going to make your job of selling work very difficult.

For example, perhaps you just want to paint toilet seats. You just have this passion for toilet seat painting that you can't seem to quench. Well, maybe it's just me, but I think it's going to be tough to sell a lot of work. Unless of course you're picked up by a real gallery who wants to back you. Then you may be okay, but the minority of artists have this opportunity.

Nor am I saying that just because you're creating with a target market in mind that you have to relinquish all creativity. In fact, I would be willing to bet that it will force you to think more and create more challenging work. And of course not every piece you create has to be with the intent of selling. In fact, you certainly need to create "just for the sake of it" in order to allow yourself freedom to experiment and discover those happy accidents!

My point here is that if you want to sell art, you must embrace the fact that you're creating a product for consumption by the general public. Your art is a product - you are the creator, fabricator, manufacturer, designer, etc. You must have a viable business plan, and any worthwhile business plan talks about a target market.

A Closer Look

As an artist myself when I have time, the idea of painting one type of subject matter all the time is rather depressing. But I don't think it is a necessity when approaching the idea of painting for an audience. Creating various series of work in your own unique style allows you to tie together many different subjects or themes while keeping them all related.

You may decide to create a series of eight floral still life paintings, then move onto a series on birds for example. Each of these series can be marketed separately to relative potential markets. You might attend a botanical fair or raffle a print to a garden club in your area for the floral series. For the series on birds you may put a small advertisement in a birding magazine. The beauty of this method is that it really challenges you to keep a theme for a prolonged number of pieces, which will force you to become a better artist and give a solid foundation to your work.

In the long run you will probably find that you get more satisfaction painting one subject over another, and as you pick up more collectors for certain pieces you'll be able to judge what to paint next. As with any business there are aspects of being an artist that just aren't enjoyable. Sometimes that may be painting something you're not entirely enthusiastic about, but if it's paying your bills and allowing you to continue to paint then it's well worth it.

I know that the dream of being an artist is doing what you love all the time. That's the reason a lot of people pursue the careers that they are in. But being a professional artist does not exempt you from having to paint or do things that don't inspire you every single moment of everyday. You must be smart and attuned with the reality of having to make a living doing what you do in order to succeed long term.

I'll end with an astute quote from lifelong artist Chuck Close: "Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just get up and go to work."