What Galleries Want

About a decade ago, I wrote a series of articles for Watercolor Magazine called "Advice From Experts". The editors gave me full reign of the topics I chose to highlight. So, being intensely interested in the area of art marketing, I wrote articles that interviewed high profile gallery owners and what they like to see in artist submissions to their gallery.

In the years since, I’ve come to know and befriend many gallery dealers. There is definitely a protocol that dealers generally expect when artists approach them for representation. But before I talk about how to submit materials to galleries, it is important to put the cart before the horse and talk about the art work that is to be submitted. After all, you could have a best materials and portfolio, but if your subject matter and style is "all over the place" - in other words, too varied, you will be at a disadvantage. Before you approach galleries, it’s wise to spend some time developing a professional looking, body of work that exhibits an easily recognizable and consistent style of your own.

Think about some of the artists that are listed in the high visibility shows and galleries in the U.S.. When I flip through magazines like Southwest Art, Art of the West, and American Art Collector, I see many familiar names of well known artists, and immediately, I know what each artist’s work looks like and the particular subject matter each specializes in. There’s no doubt about it, artists who’ve experienced success have a well developed, individual style. Many specialize in one subject matter. For example, Kathryn Stats paints landscapes, and so does Scott Christensen and Matt Smith. Robert Coombs prefers romantic figurative works. There are exceptions though - some artists paint figures, landscapes and still lifes, but these artists have a cohesive style that translates through all their subjects. Two come to mind. David Leffel and Richard Schmid.

All of this is to say that if you want to look professional and get a gallery owner’s attention, your paintings will need to look like they’re all painted by one artist. Now, you’re probably gonna look at my website and say to yourself, well... she doesn’t practice what she preaches! And, you’d be correct – at least for now. But I am currently on a journey to find out what I love to paint most. Last year, I had three galleries: one wanted only my still lifes, another preferred my landscapes and the third really didn’t care but didn’t sell any of my paintings. I should have never let myself get into this state of affairs, and I could have avoided it by first developing my body of work with the subject matter I love most, and then approaching the galleries, with the visual statement, "This is what I paint"... period. If you don’t have a style that you are known for, gallery dealers will sometimes ask you to paint what they know their customers want to buy. Since I have the ability to paint a variety of subjects, I let them fragment my art into whatever they liked best. It emotionally wore me out, and I pulled out of all three galleries in order to begin anew -- finding out who I am as a painter without outside pressure.

I am currently developing a series of landscapes because this is the subject matter that most speaks to my heart. As I push the brush over yards and yards of canvas, my individual style is naturally emerging. Which leads me to the next statement... Paint what you absolutely adore painting, because if you get known and collected for it, you’re likely to be stuck with it. Collectors sometimes get nervous when their artists go off in a totally different direction. It makes them wonder if the works they previously purchased are devalued.

So let me finish up this segment with some encouraging words: If you haven’t gotten to the point where you’ve arrived at a style of your own, take however much time you need to get there. Seek the subject matter that you adore, and get better at it than you ever thought you could. Also, it doesn’t hurt to set your best paintings aside for national competitions. When you get into those shows, it builds your resume, gives you affirmation, and lets gallery owners know you’re in it for life.

Well... to the easel I go! Landscapes it is!

Lori