How To Sell My Art... ? (A.K.A.: Will Paint for Food!)

(Disclaimer: These works are UNFINISHED.)

I didn't blog yesterday, mostly, because my day was the exact same as the day before. Therefore, my post would have been pretty much the same. The last thing that I want is to bore my readers. So, today, rather than bore people with my hum-drum life as an artist;"Today I went in the studio, picked up a brush and... yadda, yadda, yadda...", I'm going to fill you in on what went through my mind after deciding NOT to lull you into a virtual coma with my musings on painting.

Okay, I'm painting again. I can paint somewhat prolifically. I already have a pile of art work collecting dust. So now, what do I do with them? :

 "GETTING MY WORK INTO A GALLERY":
(As a blogger I've learned to put certain things in bold type that will catch the eye of search engines... bare with me.)

It's the middle of November, this is Cape Cod... There are only a small percentage of galleries still open. Actually getting my work in just one is a long process. It takes time to find the right one, make the connections and then have them just hang it on a wall and sit at a desk and play on the computer while potential buyers walk around being ignored and made to feel like inferior beings that probably can't afford art anyway.

I'll do the gallery thing, but just not yet. First, I have to build a homogeneous body of works that are of flawless caliber, that are sale-able, and... Yawn.

Okay, right now I'm pretty much broke and can't wait for that. So last night I lied awake in bed thinking about what to do, "HOW CAN YOU MAKE A LIVING AS AN ARTIST?", I thought. (Again, the search engine thing...) Here are some of the ideas that I came up with. I would love you to comment, good or bad, on what you think about these ideas. I would also love it if you would leave a comment with some new ideas for me (and my readers) to potentially use.

BEGGING: Not actually begging and asking for a handout. But perhaps standing on the street with some art work and asking people to buy it. Hear me out! I don't want to devalue my work and SELL it for less than I should, but rather USE my art work to keep me living in the lifestyle to which I've become accustomed. Anyone living in Hyannis has seen the guy standing at the Sam Diego's intersection for the last year. He must be doing alright on that spot.
        A.) Because he hasn't found a new one in at least a year. If something is not working out, you    change it. Right?
        B.) His clothes. Not over the top. He doesn't stand out there in a Tux or anything, but he has appropriate clothing for the weather. The right jacket, good footwear, he's never out there freezing his ass off.
So, the way I see it, it must be a pretty good spot.

What if I stood there? Not to beg, but with some paintings and a sign that says, "Buy me lunch at the bar at Sam Diego's and I'll give you this painting!" Would you do it? Would anyone. (there's a comment section down below, please answer...)

Sam Diego's is not my only vice though... I love to cook. I also love to accompany that meal with a nice bottle of a complimentary wine. So... What if I took my paintings and stood out in front of Trader Joe's?
Not to sell the work, but more to trade or barter. Instead of prices on the back. Suggestions for a trade. For example: $ Two well marbled Fillet Mignon (together totaling at least one lb.) and a nice left bank Bordeaux. I'm not panhandling. In fact, I'd be generating extra business for both Trader Joe's and The Wine List, quite a bit with the way I eat! $ A duck liver pate with shaved black truffles, a hunk of blue cheese, some seedless red grapes, and a Cotes du Rhone.(how do you type that with an american keyboard?) Seriously, that's like twenty, maybe twenty-five bucks. You get to walk away, knowing that you fed a hungry person, the businesses behind me are making money, I get to eat. There are so many wins to this, I can't see how it would be bad. Are there laws against this?

So while we are on this whole barter thing, just so you know, I will paint for food. I also would really like a nice stainless steel crock-pot. I don't have a gallery on line yet, but if in my posts you see a picture that you'd like, let me know. My prices (if you could really call them that) are reasonable. I also still accept cash and gold bullion.

Until you pass me on a curb somewhere... Have a great day