Painting small was one of the keys to Carol Marine’s thriving success. Carol had been making her living from her art for about 4 years at the time of this interview (February 2011), but she really struggled for about 7 years before that. (Did someone mention persistence?)
In art school, Carol was called a “sellout” for wanting to make a living from her art. Thankfully, she persevered, and when she graduated, her incredibly supportive husband pushed her to paint instead of getting a job. “Some day you’ll support me,” he said.
How prescient he was! These days, Carol does indeed support her husband and son with her art: about half of her income comes from teaching, and half from selling her paintings, both through galleries and on eBay.
The eBay idea was a new one to me, and although it’s not for everyone, it’s got some great advantages. Most Daily Painters (it’s a movement, people!) work small – 6″ x 6″ or so – and start their pieces off at $100, so that’s what Carol tried.
“The market sets the price,” she said, which not only means she doesn’t have to labor over how to price her work, it also means that sometimes the pieces Carol likes the least are the ones that sell for the most money. “There’s no accounting for taste!” she says.
Another benefit to the auction approach: during the economic crash, Carol didn’t have to lower her prices; her market just didn’t bid as high as before, but she didn’t take the same hit as other artists.
Tips: keep in mind that with eBay, as with anyplace you sell your work, you still have to market and promote your work. You can’t expect fans to flock to your eBay page, just as you can’t expect them to magically flock to your website, Etsy shop, or anyplace else.
The big turnaround came for Carol when a popular daily painter, Karin Jurik, mentioned her on her blog. Overnight, Carol went from selling a few paintings a month to selling half of everything she produced. Now she sells just about everything she puts up for sale. (Did someone mention the power of relationships?)
Some great quotes from Carol:
“As a business person I try to pay attention to my market… As a business person I have to paint what sells.”
“I live for the process of it.”
See Carol’s resources in the Resource Library, and find her work at http://CarolMarine.com and her blog at http://carolmarine.blogspot.com
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