Hello there, fellow artist! Ready to learn how to actually get your art into galleries, art shows, festivals, and other in-person venues?

Check out the video included below, which takes you through 8 tips on how to sell your art to potential buyers in-person (not online—that’s in another video found here). Plus, below the video, we’ll break down these 8 tips even further to help you get started selling your work as an artist.

How to Sell Artwork In-Person

Plus, here is a further breakdown on each tip mentioned in the video…

1. Find Places to Sell

In order to sell your artwork in-person… well, you need to find an in-person venue where you physically can sell your work. Think galleries, art shows and festivals, or even small museums.

A great way to start to find places to display and sell your art is through your local community. Check on Google Maps to see what art galleries are nearby, then visit those places and ask to speak to someone in charge of displaying artwork. Some places may also have submission forms for consideration online—but always make sure the website is legit and not scammy in any way first!

Facebook events is another good way to find art shows (or craft shows and bazaars where fine arts are almost always welcome, too!) near where you live.

2. Understand Locales

It helps to know the difference between a rural small town and the upscale, downtown area of a metropolitan city. Because, depending on where you live and/or sell your work, your customer base is going to be different.

When you sell your art in-person, you should never “expect” your work to sell, but you should expect fewer sales in a smaller town. You should also expect your work to sell for less in a smaller town since there will be fewer buyers looking at high-priced artwork. When entering art shows or festivals, you can also expect to pay a higher entry fee in larger cities and much smaller entry fees in small towns.

3. Seasons Make a Difference

A lot of customers who buy fine art will purchase art year-round, but sales typically pick up right before the holidays because customers are getting gifts for others. Other times, sales pick up during the warmest times of the summer simply because that’s the time when a lot of special art events are held-and people like to shop when the weather is warm!

So, don’t be surprised or even disappointed if you notice a decrease in artwork sales during months like February or October. The early spring and early fall seasons are just typically when less art sales are made.

4. Plan Your Vendor Space Ahead

If you plan on taking your artwork to a festival, show, or other event, you’ll need to come up with a way to organize and display your work at that event. Don’t wait until the last minute to do your planning, either, and always practice setting up your display area at home before you take it on the road. For example, if you are only given an 8 by 8-foot vendor space for an art festival, practice setting up your space beforehand and measure it to ensure it’s all contained within an 8 by 8 space.

5. Gather/Create Art Displays

Along with planning for a vendor space at any art event, you’ll want to come up with some creative ways to display your art in your space. Depending on the medium you work with, you can plan on setting items on tables or on pegboards and stands. You can look up some display ideas online (hello, Pinterest!), or you can buy and/or make your own displays.

6. Add Price Tags Beforehand

Before you take any art to an art event, you’ll also need to prepare beforehand by writing and adding your price tags to your pieces. This is because, when you’re scrambling to setup your aloted space before the event starts, you’re probably not going to have time to write out a bunch of price tags.

7. Prep for Outdoor Weather

If you ever need to take your art to an outdoor event, prepare for rain and shine. Most artists who go to outdoor events bring vendor tents to block out the hot sun and/or rain. Plus, in case it gets windy, you’ll want to bring things to hold your displays in place, like weights and cable ties.

8. Show Good Customer Service

Lastly, it’s super important to show good “customer service” when you want to sell your artwork, especially in-person. It helps tremendously to show a friendly face, chat about your art and who you are as an artist, and ask potential buyers what they like about art. Make your customers feel comfortable, and they may be more likely to buy something from you!

Additional Tips to Sell Art

If you’re a painter who wants to practice your skills some more before you start selling your work, consider taking some online painting courses and classes. Canvas Academy offers tons of lessons online, most with downloadable files and guides, a lot like the business plan above!

No matter what “level” of artist you are, you can also check out some of the posts and videos below to learn more tips when it comes to selling your work.

• The Ultimate Free Business Plan for Artists
• How to Sell Your Artwork: 6 Tips
• How to Sell Your Art Online

Plus, more tips and resources for artists, especially painters, can be found here on my blog.

Now, happy selling, fellow artist!

–Kari