I am wanting to sell some arty things (photographs, paintings, drawings - various things, really) and am a little clueless on how to go about this. I realise that I am asking this question on an Apple forum, but shhh... I was told to give it a go :P

Does anyone here make some spare cash by selling anything fitting in the art category? How do you sell it? How much? Where? (deviantART, website, ebay).

I'd be very grateful for any help, tips and suggestions anyone might have

What kind of art?

Can you post photos?

Any artist can book into a gallery. You'd have to pay a small amount of money... possibly a once off fee or perhaps commission, but you will have your work exhibited and in the sights of art buyers.

Are you aware of your local gallery scene? There is usually one night a week they all open up and give out free wine. Hit the scene, look at which gallery you like, and approach the curator.

All kinds - photography, drawings, mixed media, paintings. Most of my art is up on my deviantART account. I'm working on getting a web portfolio up with everything I've done. I have a lot of things that are yet to be scanned/photographed etc.

It seems a bit much for someone that wants to make a bit of extra money :P Though, worth considering, as I'm looking to use any means really. I haven't much considered any art galleries and whatnot around the area. So, thanks for that!

What about local weekend markets? Not so much "cheap" flea markets, but more like craft markets.

Here in Brisbane there are a couple of different markets each weekend in the city area which let you have a display of your art work, or craft work etc, to help you try and sell it....

I would have thought melbourne would have something similar...

The traditional route for so called 'fine art' is galleries and most people do group shows to start off. Most fine art buyers want to make a good investment which is why the scene is based around who you are - where you've shown, where you studied and with whom - as much as what your work is like. Becoming known is important if you want to sell to these kinds of people, so it helps to get to know some of your contemporaries as well as other players - gallery owners, curators, critics. Getting to know other artists will help you to get invited to join a group show.

I studied photography in Melbourne in the late 70s but gave it up for a long time to play music and have only been doing it again for a year or so. I've lived in a country community for a long time and you tend to get to know everyone after a while. Benalla's annual festival was held last month and I knew one of the organisers so I put my hand up when I heard there was going to be a community art exhibition. I invited as many people as I could think of - potential buyers as well as gallery people - to the opening.

I sold 3 pictures - abstract B&W pictures of clouds - for $180 each, which was reasonably good given what others sold and the fact that it's not easy to get photography taken seriously as a fine art medium. I also got to show my work to people who may exhibit it in future and am negotiating with a local gallery owner now.

I have no idea if anyone who's not already an established artist sells stuff online but I wouldn't expect people to be lining up to buy your (or anyone else's) work unless people have heard of you. I really don't know though - there may be avenues I'm not aware of.

The craft market idea could be a good one too - different audience to the fine art crowd but it depends on where you're aiming really. It may be worth your while thinking about it like any other business by deciding who you want to aim at and then working out how to get your stuff in front of those people.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

What about St Kilda market - that's usually got a mix of arty type stuff.

Natalie, take a look at my shop:
OzShop.Net

If you can do your own page(s) it will cost next to nothing and provides another outlet.

I make something I like to call "Ultimate Duct Tape Wallet".

- Tri-fold design for compact size.
- Clear ID window can be flipped to outside for display.
- 5 card pockets
- 1 coin pocket with flap
- 1 bi-fold note pocket keeps money neat.
- 2 misc. pockets for receipts and other things.

Still working on perfecting the design.
Do you guys reckon I could sell somethong like this? For how much?

my hosue mate is a professional artist who sells his paintings for around $1k to up to $4k

the only way to make any real money in art is to get your art into exhibitions and shows through galleries.
selling paintings in a craft stall will make you a few bob, but yo won't make a career out of it

Hope you dont mind but im using the Telstra Dome Pana as my desktop background. Let me know and I will take it off! Great image!

Adam.

I like the duct tape wallet. It's a quirky idea. I think you can sell anything if you market it right - but that can be costly.
If I was buying something like this I'd be weighing up: practicality vs. fun/novel vs. durability vs. cost. Without knowing the answers, I categorise it as a novelty item that probably has a niche market.
If you sold at a local market (ie. paddington) you'd probably part with a few - but what does a stall cost?
Another approach might be to draw up the plans and sell the plans as well as the finished items.

I had a Duct tape idea once but by the time I sussed out all the angles I realised that the beauty of using the sticky material was the simplicty of piece construction, but to make it marketable in volume the duct tape was extremely laboursome and therefore costly.

There's always a market...

http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/toys/5f21/

I've had a look around at different brands of duct tape to work out price vs. texture/durability. The tape I use comes pretty cheap if you buy it in big rolls.

Construction time is about 2 hours - I suppose I could cut it back to less than 1.5 hours if the pieces were pre-cut.

Durability is quite high - I made one for my own day to day use. Same design, but in 2-tone colour (dual-textured black outside, silver inside with all inner linings done in black as well). After a couple of months, it has been roughed up a little it is still in excellent condition.

And if it ever gets damaged I can just patch it up with duct tape!