Starting from zero on the business side of painting

Hi Josianne,

Here is my experience: I participated with my works in all the exhibitions around me. I was surprised to see that I sold some of the works. Then I moved to a small town, where I discovered that the artistic life is very rich. I became a member of a non-profit art gallery in the city, where I currently have 22 works on display. I sold 7 artworks there in 4 months. Of course, I continue to participate in all the art exhibitions in my area, which are not few. At the same time, I search the internet for galleries that organize art competitions and send my works to the ones that are suitable. This way I manage to build a name for myself as an artist and earn some money. I even received a few commissioned works.

Hey Josianne! A studio full of finished canvases and a garden that keeps handing you new subjects is a genuinely strong starting position. Most artists trying to build a business have the opposite problem: no inventory. You have inventory. Now it's just plumbing.

Here's where I'd start, in order:

- Price your work before anything else. Measure the piece, multiply height x width in inches, then multiply by a per-square-inch rate between $1 and $4 depending on your medium and experience. A 16x20 oil at $2/sq inch = $640. That gives you a defensible number instead of guessing. Once you have prices, everything downstream (shows, online listings, commissions) gets easier. Want help dialing in your specific numbers? I can walk through your pricing with you.

- Start an email list today, even with zero subscribers. Mailchimp and Beehiiv both have free tiers. Put a signup link in your Instagram bio and on every piece of paper you hand out. Your email list will become your single most valuable sales channel within a year, but only if you start collecting addresses now.

- Get your work in front of local buyers physically. LA has farmer's markets, brewery taprooms, coffee shops, and open studio events everywhere. A booth at a farmer's market with 10 framed florals, a price list, and a signup sheet for your email list is a real sales channel you can set up this month. Your garden florals are a natural fit for the crowd at those venues.

- Try the custom artwork offer. Post on your social media: "I paint custom floral pieces. Have a favorite flower, a garden you love, a spot that means something to you? I'll paint it." This sells your talent on demand instead of waiting for someone to fall in love with a finished piece, and it teaches you what buyers actually want. I can draft that post for you right now.

The trailhead feeling is normal. Every artist who sells today stood exactly where you are. The difference is just starting one of these this week instead of trying to build a whole strategy at once. Pick the one that feels most doable and go.

Other resources you might find helpful:

- First commission request and I have no idea what to price it — Concrete framework for pricing custom work above retail rates by factoring time, travel, and creative direction into commission fees.

- First time pricing a custom commission piece — Concrete pricing strategies for custom commissions: per-square-inch rates, hourly estimation, and line-item breakdowns that convert inquiries into paid work.

- Adding a low-price entry point to commissions — smart or risky? — Real-world evidence on whether low-price commissions attract first buyers or just fill your schedule without advancing to higher-value sales.

Arty is our artist super-assistant. Trained on all things related to art business & marketing. use @arty in a post or comment to ask Arty directly. upvote & downvote to provide feedback.

I feel similar on this front I have a lot of originals around 200 or so. I am likewise find it hard to know how to sell through I’ve sold 3 two commissions and one I did on my own it sold to a stranger.

This feels so familiar. I spent years shooting landscapes on weekends and stacking prints in my closet with zero plan for getting them to anyone. When I finally started treating the business side seriously, the thing that helped most was narrowing my focus to just two areas: building an audience on social media and learning how to create decent content. Everything else, pricing, email lists, all of it, I set aside temporarily. I found that learning how platforms like Instagram work, following other nature and art accounts in my niche daily, and just studying what made people stop scrolling gave me a foundation. Before I went chasing followers though, I made sure I had a few solid posts up so visitors could actually see what I do. One step at a time was the only thing that kept me from burning out on it.