Shortage of funds is a common concern every artist would have faced at some point in their career. Truly passionate artists would be spending most of their time for creative artworks, and hence they won’t be having other sources of income. So, it is necessary that their paintings should bring them enough revenue. If you are an aspiring artist, you would have definitely heard of auctions as a sale procedure for various artworks. Here are some points that you must be aware of about auctions and their outcomes.

It is not that easy!
Beginning with such a negative phrase is intentional. It is not meant to dishearten you, but to encourage and bring the best out of you. You may have heard of many auction stories where so and so painting is brought for lakhs and crores of money, but that is just one side of the story. Only the cream or the top class get such fortunes. Remember that when one or two paintings were successfully auctioned, there were hundreds which were turned down. So, in order to be successful at auctions, you should not just be the best, but the ‘best of the best’.

The first step requires the most effort
Auctions readily welcome those artists who are hot and trending with established track record of successful selling at major auctions. The organisers find it easy as such artists would be famous and just the mention of their name would be enough for publicity. As a beginner looking for a debut in auctions, you will have to showcase yourself based on your resume, talents and exhibition history.

There are chances that you may have to compromise for lesser sale price in your initial auctions. You need not worry as this is a common scenario in the case of beginners in auctions and things will get better as you gain experience and reputation in this field.

Required qualifications

• At least one gallery should represent you.
• You should have a good sales history with increasing prices
• There should be positive reviews about you in famous art publications and websites.
• Your artworks should be included in significant exhibitions.
• An expert professional from art world should have reviewed your work and considered it worthy to take part in an auction.

All the above qualifications are not necessary, but lesser they are, then the chances of you getting accepted are also less. So, if you lack in any of the above points, it is better to work on that first before making your entry in the auction field.

The above tips are based on my personal auction experiences. I was fortunate enough to deal with sensible buyers in many auctions. In a recent auction, my painting was bought by the famous wedding planners, www.mayalok.com. It is a matter of pride that they are using it to decorate celebrity wedding venues. My paintings have also been bought by several other corporates like Ripp Realty, Northwest Mutual Life, as well as by the Cedarburg Art Museum.

Just like me, every artist would have stories of learning to share. Check out www.artistsnetwork.com to get connected with others in this field!. Make use of all the available resources and flourish in your career. All the best!

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