How I Started Selling My Paintings - Artist Jose Trujillo

how's it going everyone my name is Cosette through hijo I'm an artist and I want to welcome you and thank you for deciding to see this video to jump on it and get this free workshop alright this is uh this is something really cool but I want to share with you this is how I got started so let's go alright I've been an artist for over 20 years for over 20 years and it hasn't been until the past seven years that I became a full-time artist now I'm a full-time artist um I'm doing different stuff but I want to share with you I want to show we do how I got started in the hopes that maybe you'll get inspired maybe you use some of the things some of the tips and tools so I'm gonna share with you here some of the little techniques strategies whatever you can hold on to and say you know what let me try this and let's see if it starts working and and I don't know I I hope that I hope the best for you I hope that you get started if you haven't already and if you haven't already started selling your artwork I hope you can take it to the next stage alright so here we go let's start so I'm going to share with you how I started selling on Craigslist how I started selling my paintings on Craigslist by creating a art single alright so let's go first why Craigslist alright the big why why why Christmas well I have good it really simple here it's a marketplace Craigslist is the marketplace when I started I didn't have many options I didn't think about eBay I didn't think about I don't even think ed C was yet available I'm not sure I had no idea how to do that it it seemed too daunting I needed something something fast my wife and I had a small business clothing boutique downtown where we lived and we're ready to close that it wasn't working I was getting laid off of my my job the company was closing doors it was there in the housing bubble and I don't know there was just not enough going around or not enough sales whatever it was I had no more time I needed to do something and I needed to roll up my sleeves and and and do whatever so I thought about men do I go and take my paintings too I must visit on a busy street corner I swap me what can I do something where I can start doing something because I was so tired now now now you're gonna think why would you do that if there's galleries why Craigslist right why would you do that if there's galleries there's other places shops and whatnot one of the things that I experienced over my 20 years being an artist is that as I did selling galleries and I had this experience of selling my park work for higher price points and galleries it didn't happen often enough it didn't happen often enough and I didn't know how how to go about it I didn't have the confidence I didn't understand the game I mean I I just I couldn't get it you know I didn't get it and Craigslist's just seemed like man there's people there right so I got to understand selling stuff because my company the company where I work was closing the doors and someone who might well not someone the boss told me go sell all the stuff so I got some some experience selling things I got lots of experience selling things so I thought to myself man I can do this on Craigslist I can take my artwork to Craigslist one of the reasons why I wanted to take my Craigslist is because I like many other artists had this feeling now I have this feeling that this this most crushed feeling of carrying the same work I don't know I don't know this is you but this was me carrying the same artwork around just carrying it around from place to place it was almost like dragging defeat every time I looked at it I was like oh my god he's gonna look at me my portraits or my paintings because it felt like I just felt like I defeat all right now I went through my periods of different you know being being a painter I was a purist and then I was more like man I don't care now you need to be a commercial artist and then I will go back and be like no but I still but but I'm an artist right I'm an artist I I know I want to sell my artwork I want to monetize I want to make a living from this but I - I'm an artist and so marrying that right so one of the things that I realized right away was that carrying this artwork around was very much like bad juju it was there so it's bad karma so I felt like I needed to get rid of it sort of purge it okay so I picked Craigslist because it was easy I have no idea about online sales or anything like that very little I have read books on copywriting direct marketing sales over the phone and I was myself a salesperson right transferring from business to business when the company was closing so I wasn't that great because obviously the cover the company was closing so I was like what can I do Craigslist now I knew that Craigslist they sold big stuff right cars office equipment furniture and stuff like that because Amazon or Ebay or now Etsy and and other platforms we're taking the smaller stuff it was easier to send that across the country or across the world to send something smaller but on Craigslist it seemed like there was two ways you either sold big stuff or you sold very much just created a yard sale and I didn't have very big stuff I have two big stuff but I thought they're gonna give me peanuts for them right I've big paintings a large large canvases and I have had different stuff right remember I've been an artist for over 20 years so I had all this artwork drawing sketches watercolors you name it so I thought to myself man I can't I can't try to sell my stuff because they're gonna give me peanuts for it unless it's something big and then still write I don't know if they're gonna actually give me something for it so but but never mind that my idea was to purge right to get the artwork out of there and to hopefully be able to create some sort of a little something I didn't know how much this is what's going to work but I wanted to create a little bit of a little bit of money a little bit of income so that way I could I could at least feel like mad I can go get some new canvases I can get will get some new supplies so what I did is I decided to create an art sale not a yard sale but an art sale and this is how I did it all right what I did is I went I took a camera I started taking photos but I found myself taking photos of of my artwork I clean them up a little bit but not too much because I just I wanted to do it and and and and my necessity was very high so I couldn't really fit with it so much so I started taking photos I started some of them were just piled together others you know just I took like ten photos I don't know a lot most and what I did was I went and I created a posting essentially to its its your sales letter write a listing on Craigslist and what I did based on my my using my name my my copywriting abilities I put huge art sale right I hope you can read that huge art sale everything this way everything must go this is what I did for my target huge art saying everything must go so giving the people the idea which was true by the way that I wanted to get rid of everything so I was in some of the stuff I learned in sales is you got up here as you're bleeding right as as if you are if you're not trying to monetize and you don't have this business going on now that I had it but that's that's that that was one way of attracting people's attention right everything must school I need to get rid of this valuable art so this is what I did I took some pictures I posted some pictures and then and then I put this as a title everything must go alright then what I did is that I created the listing right this is the title this is really this is really cool this is how I got started by the way I make five hundred and twenty-five bucks in one day just do it just to let you guys know and this is the body of the of the listing what I put in the body of the listing essentially is look guys I'm an artist I've been an artist for such-and-such time I need to get rid of this artwork because it didn't sell and I need to continue to create artwork I don't like keeping artwork that I didn't sell which was you know all true by the please be true just because you're crafting something and you're telling a story doesn't mean you have to like be true and and and but but but do tell a story right because this is very important people need to know why why are you selling valuable artwork why are you selling your valuable artwork so so I was like I'm an artist I had a gallery exhibit last year I had a couple gallery exhibits and and and this is some of the stuff that I didn't sell and I don't want to keep it anymore and plus I want to get some extra cash to go buy supplies right and more time as a more paint so that I can continue to do this so I told them a little wide on stage I told them why now here's another thing I did I I got the same title and I put the title again right I put it in my body after I pulled in wide huge art sale everything must go and then I put all offers are or will be but if they are considered this will allow people to start thinking oh man that's this person is trying to get rid of the artwork well remember Crazy's the bargain place that's the place where people want to go he'll give you this do you accept this or not this is where people this is where people kind of loose it right this is where people lose it when I when I when I come in this sorry they go why would you do that if there's galleries and there's you know high-end places in this and that yes there is galleries there's high-end shops and all these places the thing is that it took a while it took a long time for me to go get a thousand bucks for a painting right I remember out it wasn't working for me it wasn't working so I needed to think of something so that I could start moving I think I don't think I had looking back now in hindsight I didn't have enough action going on right I didn't have enough action I'd have enough traction in order to start getting my momentum and my self belief to go to go on and so yeah I would sell I mean I stole paintings before you know two three five thousand bucks but it happened once a year or it happened twice a year it wasn't enough for me to believe that I could do it so when I did it in Christmas I'll show you right now it started happening it was it was smaller increments but it was one after another and this is what what you know prompt me into thinking oh man I can actually do this all right so here's what fandom when you get your artwork don't put the artwork that's just sharing this I didn't put my very best part the stuff that I that I thought have took me a long time some of the page some of those pieces I kept them because I don't want people to give me peanuts for them no but there is a lot of artwork I know many artists there's a lot of artwork that which is we keep artwork around sketches drawings watercolors small painting studies oils acrylics monotypes and on and on screen printings and and all kinds of stuff but it's just the word we're just piling it there and it's just crushing it at least it did me it crushed myself believe so I needed to get rid of it some of the stuff a couple of pieces I didn't I didn't get rid of because they they they were meaningful to me of it I care about I care so I care about all my art pieces but some of them took longer to create so this is where some people go I don't want to sell my aqua and chrysalis they're gonna give me nothing for them it takes me you know 10 years or whatever it took me I'm I don't know 10 years it took me a week to create this painting or it took me you know two months to create this paintings and on and on and to you I say look then don't put that artwork how about you maybe you create some artwork that it's relatively quicker maybe studies are something that you can put there I don't know this is what I did I took everything just about everything I except a couple of pieces and I just put them I needed to let him go so in the body on the body of the of the of the listing of the body we're still in the body of the crescents this thing what I did was I created a call to action okay so after I told him why and after I told them hey I'm willing to accept not accept I considered sorry about that consider every every offer okay what I did is that I told them I told them out look come to the art sale right come to the art so how do you get people to come to the art so you create a call to action and the way you create the call to action is by giving them something given a reason right don't just don't come to the art so I'll give them a reason so one of the things that I did is I got some of some of the best paintings and I and I took on a couple of photographs and I created small prints limited-edition prints right and I told them hey the first 10 people now get here all right the first time people I get here will receive a a free that's the work right a free limited edition hence sign art print you know and the way you do is if you are not familiar with them you basically go to any any printing place and it'll cost you a buck or two for something small you know maybe maybe maybe no more than two dollars a color print and what you want to do is get a pencil and you know sign it on the bottom and then told one of ten and then the next one two of ten and on and on until you do ten of ten of course and you want to be truthful again keep the number two that don't don't be like well I'm gonna do that again with the same painting because it was such a winner it's so important that people trust you that you're truthful when you do these kinds of things because Trust is everything and in any sort of transaction so this is how I did it was and I created a 10 10 prints and basically tell people hey the first 10 people that come here I'm gonna give one to you right I'm gonna give you can get a free print this is a perfect call to action this is exactly one of the things that got me most people to go to the art show or the art sale it was an art an art show it was an art sale it was it was a yard now because it's gracefully some people are like man I don't want to do it I don't want to do it there I I you know all kinds of different people that I have no idea where they are right it's not like my house is a storefront well don't be alone you know get some people to be with you I don't know stay safe right don't do it during the night time do it during the day one of the things that I did is also where things like did was I started it early for example on a Saturday right on a Saturday I would started at noon I would study art of the art sale from noon to like 4:00 p.m. no more than that not only you're gonna include this also in the in the in the body okay but I'm just telling you not only did you did I did I do it short because I didn't want to be there late right uh yeah you don't know what's coming right you don't you you don't know these people most important and and the people that go and see artwork some of the some of the coolest people ever but the other thing is that you want to create that urgency right you're not gonna be there all weekend you're not gonna be there ten hours waiting for them here's another thing that I did alright I created I created a a little I created a little ad the same one but I started pending it out you know a little flyer and telling people don't do what I need basically was it was the same thing was an ad but start telling everyone start calling people start telling people let people know you're gonna have a little art sale this is how I got started this is what created this idea that man I can do this I can actually do this when people went there I personally when it was hot I was offering a little bottle of water like little bottles of water I had a little ice chest and give them bulwark I didn't have in coming to my house it was outside I put it actually I actually put it outside and and you don't have to get easels or anything man it's just a couple of tables a table or a couple of things don't put them on the floor because it really it sets that you're ready to throw them away it gives that idea that impression put them over or something it's either a table a chair something that that is it gives this idea that they still have value right now here's a here's the strategy for the for the pitch or pay for the sales here's a little strategy when I jumping a little back and forth year but I just I want to touch up on all these little things when I get the artwork when I when I got my artwork let's say that this is one of my one of my paintings a little canvas what I did is I printed the actual the actual retail price and I input retail price okay our gallery price I actually printed it you don't have to go and get fancy on this this this is a Word document you just print and you print the from Maya from a regular this is not - this is only to set the tone of that to let people know that the artwork actually is valuable okay so if you don't know what the retail price is very simple simply go to our gallery something that looks similar to yours or going you don't I don't have to go right gallery you can go online anywhere you can go on Etsy on an Etsy shop or anywhere and see oh this stuff looks similar to mine my work should be priced around the same because it's it's very similar it's just to set the tone okay it doesn't mean much it's just to set the tone so what I did is I printed little squares maybe one one by two inches at most and I caught on my exit the retail price let's say that's something that would go for 700 bucks right in a gallery a retail price something you don't have to frame him here's another thing okay I remember guys this is how I got started so I didn't have I didn't have money to pray might have I don't have it any way shape or form to get fancy it was just push it out get a little bit of money in oh my god I believe I can do this push it out again get a little bit more money in and then you start learning the ropes okay of transaction because because transaction turn getting money for your artwork it's a bit of an art okay it's simple but it's a bit of an art so so so it really requires a lot of self-belief that's really where it comes from and you won't you won't have to self belief if you're not transacting if you saw one painting one day for a thousand bucks and you never did again your so police sort of just leaves you it kind of works like that it leaves you but if your everyday you're doing a hundred bucks here 200 bucks there you know if you're transacting all the time you're somebody who goes up and in consequence of that you start raising your prices do you start getting better at tranzact I think you start getting better at selling so okay so this is how I got started again this is this is very simple I'm trying to give you a little crash course right here so the retail price 700 what I did was that talking about a little think I'm putting on a big piece of paper on the back of the canvas I either tape it or you just put it right there you know if it's stretched and let's just put it in there what I did was that I got a red marker and I went like this I slashed it okay and then I would put 150 OBO okay 150 oval this is just an idea of just an example what I was trying to do is let it know look when they see the painting that they're picking it up they're looking at it they actually see the price it's in print okay people we have poor record for for many many years we still have in our minds that print is its authority right still printed things are authority so I'm trying to let them know look this normally goes in a gallery for 700 bucks I want you to know that I know the valley right you don't have to verbalize this you could just pick it up and you know don't be so obvious but but they're gonna see the price and I'm we looking at it they see the price it's 700 bucks okay I slashed up with a red marker and then and then with with the same marker or another murder I put 150 bucks oboe okay Bobo means or best offer most people that purchase stuff online or or or Crick's that they understand what this is okay so 150 bucks for best offer why are best suffered because I still want to play I don't want them to be like I'm firm it was 700 bucks now it's 150 if you I won't take less than 150 no I want I want if you don't feel fine with 150 or then I'm just giving an example then put 200 I don't know the one mate don't go so I don't go up so high and make sure that it looks like like it's steel because it is right it's such a great it's such a great deal but you're trying to get rid of it this the the exercise of this art sale it's for you to again I'm going to say this I know I'm going on a tangent here but it's for you to raise yourself believe the more you start transacting twenty-five bucks for a drawing I got 50 bucks for watercolor man I you know you start getting you know I don't know 100 bucks for a painting and most people would be like well no you know you're not even the materials but when you start doing in Austin something happens it's like something clicks everything changed for me everything changed for me it was like a click oh my god I can actually do this I get a hundred here 20 bucks sorry and by the end of the day I had made five hundred and twenty-five bucks right I sold a handful of paintings of course but this really good I wanted to do it again can I did it again and I did it again every weekend I would do it I would do sometimes it was a little less sometimes it was a little bit more I cannot promise you that you're gonna make that there's a little way in hell I can promise you that what I what I'm trying to share with you is look this is how I did it try it maybe maybe don't do Craigslist maybe do something else maybe do an email list maybe maybe we participate with a church with a group or something try it and start getting people to to to to give you something at least something for your artwork and again it if your artwork is too valuable that you don't want to do that then maybe create some artwork for that for that event right for a pop-up event today people are doing pop-ups you can do a pop-up you can go you can go with with multiple artists it doesn't have to be you lonely you could do a I don't three artists five artists get together and between all of you guys I don't know maybe you guys can can exchange some artwork in a place or a pop-up or ask a favor for someone and and and and that way why five artists instead of one just to turbocharge it more people a little common you know they're gonna they're gonna contact their friends write their friends and family you're gonna contact your friends and family but and then you're gonna have all these people and make sure that the prices are extremely available why it's not so that you can make thousands of bucks right that's not what it is again right it's so that you can feel like it's working it's very important this was the game changer for me so [Applause] here's another little thing that I did as soon as people walked into the to the art sale these are things that I started learning right after doing it a few times is I created a rapid I create a raffle a giveaway right so what I did is that I got a little paint me a little 8 by 10 painting I put on a little nice frame just something simple right you're not afraid of it just something simple something that looks but adds to look nice that's something that people want I put in a special little place and one of those little tripods those little easels little one right that's something like this so one of those tabletop easels and I put it there and they put a sign-in sheet this was to capture emails phone numbers and the name of the person right you can enter it for free but but you know so I soon as people walked in or said people approach right then they were approaching the art sale I would greet him the world goes one on the first time people would greet him with that with a with a print with a limited editions pants sign print by the artist some people even want to take pictures with me I was so happy man I felt like a I feel like a famous artist I can take a picture of the artist you know they they take their painting they bought something for 20 bucks or whatever you know or some people some people are a bit more generous but it felt good right it felt good and and and I would I would give them a walk right if it was cold a little a little couple that with a coffee one of those disposable cups with a little coffee if it was called if it was hot of course just a little bottle of water that's it and and people people there was soup rock Rizzy porosity porosity it it played in it played so well because because I'm greeting them with gifts right I'm letting them know I'm here thank you so much for coming here's a little a little bottle of water and then I the very first thing that I did I didn't show them the art I took them to get their name because if they drove to me right took their time out of the day and they drove to me to see this means that they are willing to do something they're willing to buy artwork they're willing to spend a little money on drawing on a painting so it mattered that I capture their names and their email addresses right away this is today people are doing in a different way right we call it a lead capture page but this was the lead capture page in his hand who's they they have to have to write and a little pen right there and before to signing in and this is another way why is this important because the next one that I did I would call these people especially if I found out that that I don't know mark like horses right and I felt like drying horses and I had another another horse painting or drawing or watercolor whatever I would call mark and tell him hey Mark I found I had this I found I have this great horse painting I know you're gonna love you know my next my next art sale it's going to be two weeks from now or whatever and I really I wanna show it to you I want you to have first dibs before anyone else guess what Mark did mark was like yeah let's go okay you know so now you have people going to you this is very bare-bones strategy very simple but yeah I got me going okay so the next thing that I did the next thing that I did was that I started telling people I said you remember I stuck me bet but getting better and better I started telling people that I did commissions okay so you can offer all their services so I start telling people that I did commissions I can paint I can paint portraits right I can do I can do drawing sketches commissions for I can pinch I can paint your cat your dog I can paint you or whatever right and I started getting commissions right the commissions we're not the same as the $20 $50 $100 little painting that they could get the Commission's now we're more substantial where tools you know 200 bucks 300 bucks even 500 bucks you know for the larger pieces I started getting commissions this was a game changer for me but I started adding right would you like fries with that without meal sort of like you know like McDonald's or one of those fast-food restaurants would you like fries with that please is the Commission another thing that I learned is later on Meister learning would you like a frame with that right would you like a frame with that now would I would go and talk to local framers and be like hey what if I bring you business can you know what do you do can we can work something out and then people would be like yeah you know I had a couple of framers that never like yeah let's work something out cool right because I didn't have income yet I don't have sufficient income to go and buy big boxes of frames orders or spent something substantial but I would work with other people just given you guys ideas of how I got started okay by the end of the day I managed to make 525 bucks the first time I did it and then I just rinse and repeat rinse and repeat I just wanted to show you guys that it's possible you don't have to look Craigslist you can do something else you can do an art fair show whatever but if you use this principles first of all why find where there is people you know find where there's a crowd there's an audience number one number two be relentless be relentless a contacting that audience create a call to action let people know that you're but you're gonna do something you're gonna give them something a free print get them to come to you right and do it many times for example when I did the Craigslist ad I did a Craigslist aren't like every three days or every three or four days I was I was throwing one two weeks before before the art sale so this is shirt right to to to that how it's gonna be seen I don't know what the the things are for Craigslist how often you can put a post but but that's what I did I did I think I did it like every other day I was doing that and and and and it was different right because they used to ghost you I don't know if they still do that but I used to pull your ad down if it was like identical so I would change it up and and and and not just because of that but also it's important to pitch in a different way slightly different way just change up the words a little bit instead of huge art sale big big big art sale artists is letting bingo or something you know just change it up and let people know that you are willing to negotiate with them this is a great way to get started it here's what I want you guys to take away from this find an audience an audience guys if you're an artist an artist a painter like myself or whatever you do sculptor my sculpting photography audience is what matters okay find an audience and show them at least show them what you got it doesn't even have to be like oh man they didn't buy anything for me cool it's fine but at least you're getting that bowl rolling you're finding an audience you're getting your you're talking to people the reason why most artists don't sell it's not because uh because galleries are so difficult to get in or this or that no it's because there's not enough traction like I said in the beginning look when I used to sell a painting in a gallery for like let's say I don't know 50 hundred bucks right I ended up with my 7 I don't know seven hundred and fifty bucks because the gallery takes half right I would end up with sunny seven hundred and fifty bucks but I want to see this I'm telling when I got started Robert seems like every three months right when I started doing Craigslist I was seeing this at least every two weeks now it took more work right because this was only one painting this was the handful of paintings on Craigslist right it took more work but it didn't matter that it took more work I I didn't care what matter was that it was working you know and as time went went by it started trending up why because not more people know me now now I have a bigger audience now I have a higher you know little higher self-esteem now I'm I'm putting some of those some of those $2,000 paintings I'm showing those you know I'm now I'm showing you know my Commission's aren't $300 anymore now my Commission's are fifteen hundred dollars or five hundred bucks or whatever it starts trending up while I still do things in order to capture audiences when I sell artwork I still put this this this things in place but the high price points in place and I'm giving you a little bit more here but but right but if you just get something from here guys just go to an audience this is the most important thing just cool or not in some start sharing your artwork and and create a little call to action start getting something this is this is how I got started and it really just changed my life today I'm have an art studio over 3,000 square feet big and and I saw my artwork on various platforms antara designers art dealers and and you know I'm not a big artist but I make I make a full-time living from it and I support my family through this and it's who's a life changer then one thing that changed my life was starting on Craigslist and he it just changed the direction because I was able to feel like I could do it and that was I mean I couldn't put a price on that so I'll leave you guys with that my name is Kasia through hijo I'm an artist and I hope you enjoy this and I'll talk to you soon all right take care

Channel: Jose Trujillo

Views: 150,933

Keywords: art, artist, art sale, painting sale, selling art, art business, art career, art advice, artist advice, art show, art gallery, professional artist, professional painter, painter, full time artist

Id: JijxE1k8aZE

Length: 33min 56sec (2036 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 29 2018