Yesterday I attended the opening reception for one of my rare solo exhibits. I was pretty stressed out for most of the morning before the opening but it turned out reasonably well. It was attended by friends and family and art patrons and a few paintings were sold. I'm never really comfortable being the center of attention at these affairs and I'm not always sure how to respond to peoples comments.(which were mostly good) I always have this feeling that if I open my mouth I'm certain to put my foot in it. Yet I realize to a large extent attending openings is part of the business side of art and some people do like to attach a face or personality to the art that they buy. It's not that I'm not eager to explain my motives or methods(I am), but very often I'll go off onto some lengthy explanation and I'll see the eyes of the person I'm talking to begin to glaze over. Very often someones reaction to my work will make me aware of something that I hadn't thought of before. For instance, one person seemed quite concerned about whether or not one of my still life paintings that features quite a bit of fruit would be okay to hang in a living room or would that only work in a kitchen setting. I had to laugh as I explained that I have my paintings hanging all over my house, including the bathroom and that to me the abundant fruit symbolized the good things in life and that was something that you could hang anywhere. Of course my real reason for painting so much fruit is that I like light and color and fruit lasts longer than flowers.
      Sometimes people (usually friends or family) want to know about the business end ; how much do I get for a painting, how much does the gallery owner get, who pays for the frames (I do), did I buy the wine (the gallery), etc:. My students will occasionally ask me questions (when they get tired of talking about Bob Ross) about my painting career, which I'm glad to talk about because my proffesor's in college would never talk about the business side of art. They want to know why If I'm able to sell paintings I haven't quit my job and moved out to the Hamptons like "Fifty Cents". So I explained  it to them with a best case scenario. Let's say your an artist who's paintings sell for 3,000 dollars. You would think you were doing pretty good( I know I would). And you somehow managed to make thirty paintings a year and miraculously all thirty of them sold every year. That's 90,000 dollars a year. Jackpot right? But wait fifty percent of that goes to the gallery. (at this point my students start to say some really nasty things about gallery owners, but I explain to them how the gallery owners earn this commision and they eventually calm down.) So now you've got forty five thousand dollars of which a large chunk is already spent on frames, supplies, slides, websites etc; This discussion is always a real eye opener for my students and should probably take place in the classroom of every art college in the country.
      One of my artist friends and I were having this discussion the other day. She shows at a well known gallery in Manhattan and sells her work pretty regularly. She was saying that when the whole endeavor manages to pay for itself she feels like it's been a pretty good year. It's not that we're really obsessed about making money from our art, we both have good teaching jobs that we really love, but selling work is kind of a validation that this is a real business and not a lark. To be honest with you, I have to really force myself to take time away from the studio to engage in the business side of art. I never feel more like myself than when I'm painting and it's hard for me to put that brush down and send out mailings or make contacts. But it's also hard to look at a studio filled with work that's not moving, so I do what needs to be done.
     Some artist were notoriously bad businessman. Rembrandt ended up broke and in debt. Michelangelo recieved a pittance for the Sistine chapel and Vermeer's estate was so completely dissolved that for a long time after his death he was completely unknown. Rubens on the other hand was quite adept at making money and had a thriving studio filled with talented assistants who could help crank out the large "deux et machinas" that hang in museums all over the world. Durer wisely had woodcuts made of his work. Where a painting can only be sold once a woodcut can be printed many times.
      Young artists coming into the "art game" need to understand that there will always be a market for good work. If you work hard, and stay true to your muse, and have some talent you will be able to sell some work, but that doesn't guarantee you a source of income. And that's okay. I f you have to have a day job for a while, or forever, at least you'll be able to continue to make art. And maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones who's sole source of income is from their art. But if that doesn't happen try not to turn bitter, Remember you've already won the lottery. You were born with a rare talent. Every day I get to paint is a good day, all the rest is just gravy.