find new collectors for my art

As a result of the June and September shows I’ve had a few repeat buyers (collectors at that point) and I just recently sold my highest priced painting to date (given the sheer number of hours I poured into it) which is featured in this post. I’m so happy that someone fell so hopelessly in love with it. I was very proud of it and it’s good to know that others can find a piece of themselves in it as well.

Hopefully with the string of new galleries that I’ll be working with I’ll also be able to swing more buyers. I’ll be keeping my toes crossed.

But why not celebrate the fact that I have a few new ones? One person who purchased a painting at my last show just purchased another painting from the show that opened last weekend. That, my friends, is a collector. :D Hoorah! I also have one new purchaser, who knows, perhaps some day they can become a collector too. :)

The image here is the painting that sold. It’s titled “Hold”

Well, one of my shows closed down this past Monday. With that exhibition, I managed to sell half the works shown and of those sales, not one of them were with previous buyers. This is good. Now, I hope they signed my guest book legibly so I can keep them on my mailing list and hopefully gain a few future sales to boot. I think the gallery would be gracious enough to give me the buyer’s information just in case, but I’ll have to check. Sometimes the galleries can be very guarded about that sort of information.

The shown painting sold and was the last of the sold works from the closing exhibition. Afternoon Tea | 16”x20” | Acrylic on canvas (framed)

Now I need to carve out my niche here in Florida. That’s a lot of work, and it took me a good full year to make headway in Michigan. Can I do it faster this time around?? We’ll see.

Because this is the first time I’ve received this sort of art scam I wanted to post it here so everyone out there can be a little more aware. Today I received an email from a very eager buyer looking to furnish a new home in Johannesburg. They had arranged shipping would be paying me via certified US money order.

Oh gee! That’s thrilling! Not really. It’s a scam.

Here’s the exact email sent to me:

“HI,
I saw some lovely and creative artworks on your site and i will like to buy it for our new house in Johannesburg.I will like buy

Out Sick,Waking Up Alone and Butterfly IV

Pls send me the price excluding the shipping price because i have already contacted a shipping company that will be shipping our other home decors.Pls get back if they are still in stock so i can arrange something with my husband ontime .I will be paying you with a Certified Us Postal Money Order. An urgent reply we be appreciated.Thanks.
Regards,”

As you can see there are a few typos and such peppered throughout already red flagging the email as suspect. I recalled reading warnings about people looking to buy work from Africa and such. I hopped onto the internet and found a few identical lines from my message listed on message boards all over the UK.

For more information on the scam and what to look for, visit the following link:
http://www.art.state.mt.us/artists/artists_alert.asp

Don’t get caught up in the thrill before you investigate the legitimacy of the inquiry. The scam evidently works by them sending you a counterfeit money order and then only a day after your receipt of it they request the money back due to some sort of emergency. You send them a refund because you are sympathetic to the emergency, a few days later their check to you comes up as fraudulent and you’re out the cash and potentially the artwork if you have already shipped it.

I have two sizeable nibbles from people I’ve actually spoken to in person at one point or another and one nibble from someone at the opening whom I did not get a chance to speak to. Here’s to hoping I can make it three for three. I won’t get my hopes up, but I would love for that to happen! That would be three new collectors!

I’ve got my toes crossed very tightly… very tightly indeed. It would be wonderful if the exhibition paid off and got me something in the way of actual sales. crossing toes