I think it is a matter of luck, that the person is there at a moment, when they say I love this one. I like your comments John, I paint what I like, and the technique that I like. The scene must appeal to me emotionally first or it will never succeed. I keep it simple and treasure those aesthetic highs where I can sit and create. I would like to make a living at it but when I get too much into that, it creates anxiety and too much time and work - especially running my business. So, for example, are nudes really a great subject (if the list of all subjects is much longer), or about the worst (if this is all or most of it)? I'm curious about that "Top 10" list - is this really the top 10? Out of how many categories? It almost looks like they divided all possible subjects into 10 categories and ranked them. Of course, I do want to sell and I get dishearted when I don't for long periods of time but, still, I decided it's best to stick to passion. For myself, those are the paintings I sold best. I realized the best way to sell your art is to paint with purely your own passion and emotion. Good question and I answered it for myself just last night as I viewed one of my favorite artists on Instagram. I have tried to find a market for my paintings in the UK but not any success till today! I do traditional Persian paintings (Miniatures). I found it very useful and easy to understand. Thank you very much for sharing this article. Some artists who work on a smaller scale intentionally create paintings that are related thematically or stylistically to one another, since this encourages customers to buy more than one and arrange groups of paintings instead of stand-alones. A lower-priced and smaller painting might appeal more to an impulse buyer or someone who's a bit intimidated and hesitant to commit to a larger work.īut since smaller paintings are also generally priced lower, working on a smaller scale is not necessarily more lucrative in the end. In general, it's easier to sell a smaller work for the reasons explained above. Do Small Paintings Sell Better Than Large Ones? Many commercially successful artists straddle the line by painting in a variety of sizes to appeal to a wider audience. In other words, an artist only has to sell one large painting for $1,000 to make the same amount as if they sold ten smaller paintings for $100 each, so take this into consideration when choosing your scale. However, the gains of selling more smaller paintings might be equal to the gains of selling fewer larger paintings. The general consensus is that working on smaller canvases is a commercially savvy tact to take since smaller pieces are generally priced lower than larger ones, and so not only will they appeal to buyers for monetary reasons, but also because they take up less room on a wall, can be placed in smaller areas, and make less of a visual impact (and therefore require less of an aesthetic commitment) than large-scale works. Most artists say that they sell more small paintings. When the artists put a limit on how many prints they will make (100, for example) and number each print (x/100, for example), this attracts buyers who want to feel like they're getting the best of both worlds: Something that is somewhat original but less expensive than an original, still "small-batch" and not entirely mass-produced Limited-edition prints are the most popular.Prints usually sell better than original works, because they are less expensive.What Sells Better: Original Art or Prints? Impressionistic landscapes also have a wide appeal. These days, the trend in décor is towards the minimal and modern, so it makes sense that tastes in art would follow suit. Modern or semi-abstract landscapes seem to sell particularly well.Many who have beach homes choose to decorate those walls with beachy art, and many buy seascapes to remember their vacations. Seascapes, harbours, and beach scenes sell particularly well, probably because of their association with holidays, vacations, and relaxation.Local views, landmarks, events, or histories that are distinct and unique to a particular place sell well. Local scenes definitely appeal to buyers, for personal, historic, and nostalgic reasons. Many artists tap into their local art scene simply by depicting the local scenery.Whether it's a seascape, cityscape, or moonscape glacial, jungle, or mountaintop intimate, aerial, or panoramic, a landscape is a natural, appealing choice for most art buyers. Not only that, but a landscape might work in any type of house or setting. People love to look at a beautiful vista and in that sense, buying a landscape is like buying a spectacular view. After all, the landscape is universal: Everyone understands and appreciates a long view, so it's an easy choice for a buyer. Many people think that landscape painting is the most quintessential kind of art.