The Six Most Common Mistakes Artists Make When Approaching Galleries

Did you know on an average week I may be approached by as many as 20-35 artists looking for gallery representation? Most of them are ineffective. Are you making the same mistakes they are?     Before I explain, let me introduce myself. My name is Jason Horejs. I have owned Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona for more than eight years.     Over the last several weeks I have sent you invitations to my upcoming workshop in Boston, "Starving" to Successful | Get into Galleries and Sell More Art. I want to take just a moment to personally invite you to join me on August 29th. I am writing you because I saw your work online and thought this workshop would benefit you.     My workshop springs from my experiences with artists. Several years ago, I began to wonder why artists were inept talking to galleries.  I set out to better understand by talking to successful artists. I quickly realized most were unsuccessful because there is very little information explaining the best strategies.     That lack of information leads to these blunders: Mistake #1: Presenting an inconsistent body of work.     Artists generally love their freedom. They want to experiment. They love a challenge. They crave variety. All good things, except when you are presenting your work to a gallery.       The work you present to a gallery needs to be unified. It doesn't need to be repetitive or formulaic, but it must present you as a consistent artist with a clear vision.     Often I feel I am looking at the work of multiple artists as I review a single portfolio. To avoid this problem you need to find focus in your work.     If you work in several media and a variety of styles, focus on just one for the next 6-12 months. Create a body of work that feels like a "series". Once you have 20-25 gallery-ready pieces in this series, you will be ready to approach a gallery.     You can further create consistency by presenting the work in a consistent way. Use similar frames for paintings and photographs, similar bases for sculpture, similar settings for artistic jewelry. Make it very clear all of the work is by the same artist.     If you simply can't rein your style in, consider creating multiple portfolios, one for each style.     Don't confuse the galleries you approach with multiple styles in your portfolio. Mistake #2: Producing insufficient work to sustain gallery sales.     Many artists create marketable work, but in quantities too low to make a gallery relationship viable. Successful artists are consistently in the studio creating artwork. You may be surprised to learn the results of a recent survey I conducted.     I asked artists how many new works they created in the last twelve months. Painters responded that on average they were creating 53 pieces every twelve months. Sculptors 31. Glass artists 500!     A gallery owner needs to feel confident you will replace sold art quickly and maintain high quality. They want to know if you are successful the can replenish their inventory.     Don't despair if you are far from reaching this goal. Rather, look at your creative production for the last year and set a goal to increase the production by 25% in the next 12 months.     Several suggestions to increase your productivity: 1. Dedicate time daily to your art. Maybe your schedule will only allow for two hours daily, but you will produce more by working for those two hours every day than you will by waiting for big blocks of time. Treat your studio time as sacred. Train your family and friends to respect that time. You don't interrupt them when they are at work; ask them the same courtesy when you are in the studio. 2. Set a production goal. If I could tell you the secret to producing 50, or 100 pieces per year, would you listen? Here it is: create 1 or 2 pieces per week. I know it seems overly simple, yet few artists work in a concerted disciplined way to achieve this goal. (A common objection I hear to this suggestion is that quality will suffer if an artist works this quickly. In my experience, the opposite is true. A certain level of quality may only be obtained by putting miles on the paintbrush, spending hours in the darkroom, moving tons of clay or stone.) 3. Remove distractions from the studio. Move your computer to another room. Unplug the telephone. Nothing kills an artist's focus faster than the constant interruption of technology. Your inbox and voicemail will keep your messages safe while you work. Mistake #3: Delivering a portfolio in a format inconvenient for gallery review.     Often your portfolio is your only chance to show your work to a gallery owner. Poorly formatted portfolios are rarely viewed. Your portfolio should be concise, simple, informative and accessible.     25 years ago, formatting a portfolio was simple. A portfolio was either a literal portfolio with sheet protectors and photos, or a slide sheet.     The choices have since multiplied. CD? Digital hardbound photo-book? .Pdf file? Email? Which format is the most effective? None of these, actually. Each has drawbacks limiting effectiveness. They are either too much work for the gallery owner to access, too easy to delete, or too hard for you to maintain.     In my workshop I will show an example of a perfect portfolio. Easy to maintain, easy to share. Successful.     A couple of things to keep in mind with your portfolio: 1. Your portfolio should contain no more than 20-25 of your most recent works. You should not create an all-inclusive portfolio. A gallery owner does not want to see your life's work. They want to see your best, most current, most relevant work. 2. On each page you should include pertinent, relevant information about the art. Include the title, the medium, the size, and the price. Don't include the date of artwork creation. 3. Place your bio, artist's statement, and resume at the back of the portfolio, not the beginning. Your artwork is the most important feature of the portfolio, don't bury it behind your info. Limit press clippings, and magazine articles to 2-3 pages. 4. Include 2-3 images of sold artwork. You should try to include at least one photo of your artwork installed. These images will establish your credibility more rapidly than any resume ever could.      In my upcoming Boston workshop I will teach you how to create a powerful portfolio. Your new portfolio will end up in gallery owner's hands, rather than in the garbage can.       Mistake #4: Lacking confidence and consistency in pricing.     One of the greatest challenges facing you as an artist is knowing how to correctly value your work. Many artists price their work emotionally, and inconsistently. Galleries can't sell wrongly priced art.     Worse, nothing will betray an unprepared artist like not knowing how to price his/her work.     Many artists mistakenly under-price their work. They do this because they feel they are not established. They do it because their local art market won't sustain higher prices. They do it because they lack confidence in their work.     In the workshop I will help you come up with a consistent, systematic formula for pricing your art.     Is your work priced correctly? Mistake #5: Approaching the wrong galleries.     My gallery is located in an art market dominated by Southwest and Western subject matter. My gallery stands apart from most of the galleries in Arizona because I have chosen art outside the norms. Yet I am constantly contacted by Western and Southwestern artists. They seem surprised and hurt when I turn them away. They could have saved us both some discomfort by researching my gallery before approaching.     Which markets should you approach first? How should you research the galleries? Is it safe to work with galleries in out-of-state markets?     During my workshop I will teach you how to create a list of qualified, appropriate galleries to contact (I will also teach you how to approach them). Mistake #6: Submitting art through the wrong channels.     Conventional wisdom, and even some highly respected art marketing books will advise you to send your portfolio with a cover letter to the gallery. You may also hear it's best to call a gallery and try and make an appointment to meet the owner. You might visit a gallery's website to learn of their submission guidelines.     In my experience, these methods all guarantee failure. I will share with you a more direct, simpler approach; this approach will tremendously improve your chances of success. The approach is no secret, and yet most artists don't employ it. Join me on August 29th in Boston.     In addition to learning how to avoid the mistakes listed above, in this four hour workshop you will also see clearly how to effectively organize your work, build your brand as an artist, communicate effectively with your galleries, and much more.     I will give you concrete steps you can take to systematically prepare for gallery relationships.     The workshop will be held at: Four Points by Sheraton - Boston Logan Airport 407 Squire Road Revere, Massachusetts 02151 (Registration and information: www.xanadugallery.com/boston)               Registration is $39. Seats are limited and the class is already over half full. Though registration doesn't close until next week, I expect the workshop to fill this week. Please take a moment now to visit my website at www.xanadugallery.com/boston to register.        Please email me directly, jason@xanadugallery.com, or call me toll-free at the gallery at 866.483.1306 if you have any questions about the workshop.               Sincerely,                      J. Jason Horejs        Owner        Xanadu Gallery        7039. E. Main St. #101        Scottsdale, AZ 85251               www.xanadugallery.com/boston        jason@xanadugallery.com               P.S. I don't get to Boston often, and I don't plan to return for at least another year. I am so sure of the value of this material to you that I suggest if you already have plans for that Saturday morning you reschedule. This knowledge is too important for you to wait to learn it.        P.P.S. If you are unsatisfied with the workshop for any reason, I will refund your full registration with no questions asked. For less than the cost of a meal out you can re-energize your art career.                     Testimonials               I have picked up 2 new galleries (it was very easy, I might add) once I got my portfolio together, following your guide lines. And, got the note yesterday that one of my pieces sold over the weekend.  Thank you for your class-for me it has been very profitable. My best, Dinah" Dinah Ilhe (Salt Lake City workshop)     This was the most informative seminar I may have ever attended! Very direct, practical, specific information. Took the mystery out of pricing, inventory and what to say.        Traci Parks        Columbus, OH        www.miracleimages.com               I would highly recommend the seminar. It was very well planned and executed. The pre-seminar 'assignment' was very beneficial. It gives us each a chance to talk about where we are at, show samples of our work, and share our goals. I know the packet I sent was reviewed and Jason had a feel for where I was at before meeting him in person. He had a feel for my painting style and had visited my website. I brought my portfolio along and had one on one time to hear his thoughts on my website and portfolio. At the seminar I was very impressed by the organization of their presentation. It was much appreciated to have a ring bound booklet that covered (page by page) all the pertinent information so you weren't scrambling to write everything down and could just really listen. There also was a space on the page for notes or questions. A great handbook to refer to once you are back in the studio. I can't say enough about how helpful and genuine . . .Jason was in sharing his experience in the art market. You felt very comfortable asking any question and that it goes beyond the seminar day as Jason invited us to email with any further questions that came up which we forgot to address that day. I have stopped by the gallery and ran some pricing questions past Jason and he was very helpful.   The seminar really gets you to look at all aspects of professional artist's marketing needs and how to prioritize getting it all accomplished. I wish you well on your artistic journey. This seminar gave me a burst of energy to accomplish my goals. A fellow working artist with high hopes for the future!        Kiki Sweeney        Scottsdale, AZ        www.kikisweeneyfineart.com