Showing posts with label Tips and Ideas. Show all posts
Tuesday, 7 March 2017
How to Handle Art Critism
You are a human being, you've had to deal with criticism. Whether it's at work, school, or even at home, there is usually someone out there that will offer their advice, whether solicited or unsolicited, and it may not always be positive. Sometimes it is constructive, the type of thing that you probably needed to hear in order to improve whatever endeavors you are taking on. Sometimes it may be less than nice or even nasty. It happens. Everyone has to deal with it at some point in life, usually multiple times a day. But criticism can also be an important part of personal self improvement.
Dealing with criticism on art is indeed an intricate hold. Who likes criticism especially on one's creation? This is applicable for every one that's working in the creative field. We’re all afraid of being judged, and it’s really hard to hear that your artwork sucks but even though we all know negative criticisms aren’t exactly fun, we have to remember that they are a huge part of the learning process.
If you are an artist and you put your work out there, you probably deal with even more criticism than most. Nowadays, with social media and the easiness in which a person can get a website or blog, there are plenty of ways to show the world what you are doing. People can see your work anywhere. This is great and even amazing, but it also means that you are now open to a lot more people critiquing what you do. Remember that not everyone has the same manner in responding on how they think about your artwork. Art has never been so popular with the connection of social media, websites, YouTube, books, forums and networking. And yet where there is more art, there is more criticism. It's easy for anyone to be the 'art critic' now and hide behind a computer while they comment harshly and sometimes ignorantly on one's artwork.
An artist cannot forgo the critics’ opinion bestowed on his/her artwork. Not because this is the forte of the art critics, but listening/working on the criticism is the only way to impose more refinement and aesthetics on his/her artwork. So how does one deal with criticism when it's not so constructive, and sometime downright mean?
An artist cannot forgo the critics’ opinion bestowed on his/her artwork. Not because this is the forte of the art critics, but listening/working on the criticism is the only way to impose more refinement and aesthetics on his/her artwork. So how does one deal with criticism when it's not so constructive, and sometime downright mean?
After getting through the bruising of someone critiquing your artwork consider these:
1) Where is the source coming from? - If the person, who is providing the art criticism, isn't providing you with any support for improvements then take it with a grain of salt. It means to accept it but to maintain a degree of skepticism about its truth.
2) Listen and learn - It will be all too tempting to get defensive but you can actually be surprised of what another person's opinion can tell you. Really listen, try to understand that point of view. Accept just criticism.
3) Ask questions - Don't just accept the criticism. Ask why the critic feels the way they do. What are their suggestions to improve your work?
4) Don't take it personally! - This is a big one that is hard to swallow. You have just painted or drawn a beautiful masterpiece, and you love it. Now someone else feels they need to tell you what is wrong with it. Don't get a bruised ego over it and know that it is not a personal attack on yourself.
5) Try to be actively creative - However, The main impetus behind handling criticism is to overlook its harsh side and take notes on its quick-witted side. If someone says that your portrait sucks, keep on smiling. At least it looks like a portrait that audience is well aware. Now work on it and next time, make it better considering the critical point.
People come in all shapes and sizes with all sorts of tastes. If everyone liked everything, or the same things, how boring would it be? People who like your work are nice to have but do not be offended if someone doesn't like it. Plenty of people will like your artwork, and more importantly.. You like what you are doing. That's all that matters, dear.
“The artist is the only one qualified to criticize his art, because only the artist knows what he was trying to express and how satisfied he is with the attempt.”
How to Price Your Artworks
One of the hardest decisions that artists have to make is how to price their artworks – pricing depends on so many factors: the popularity of the art, the medium used, the complexity and what the buyer is willing to pay. But there are some guidelines that you can follow:
Guidelines in Pricing your Artworks
1. Start lower. It’s easier to start low and raise your prices than it is to lower your prices later. But...
2. Don’t undervalue your work. Selling your art too cheaply means you’re probably not getting paid what it’s worth.
Also, low prices set you up for all kinds of problems later and will result in a mess of anger from other artists who see you as “the cheap one.”
3. Never ever undersell your galleries. You have one price for your art – whether a gallery sells it or whether you sell it from your studio, even when you post it in on your social media accounts.
4. If you don’t have a gallery and don’t want a gallery, you have more pricing freedom than other artists. Even then, I caution against pricing your work too low.
5. If you work faster and are prolific, your prices might be lower than an artist’s whose work takes months to complete. Or they might not be. Because . . .
6. If you can’t keep work in inventory – if you sell it as fast as you make it – it’s probably time to raise your prices.
7. Larger works are usually more expensive than smaller works.
8. Works made from higher-priced materials have a bigger price tag on them.
Works on canvas often command more than works on paper. But then there’s that whole framing thing. You have to frame works on paper.
So how do you account for that in your prices – so that works on canvas are still priced higher even though the framing is such a big expense? This is still a struggle for some of clients. Likewise, bronze sculptures have higher prices than carved wood.
9. Artists who sell in smaller or economically depressed communities have found it difficult to ask for prices similar to artists in larger cities.
If you try to sell online, you don’t have just a small-town audience any longer.
10. Conduct market research to find comparables. Look for artists who do similar work using similar materials and who are at a similar point in their careers.
Whenever you compare your prices to those of other artists, make sure you know that the work you’re looking at is actually selling. It doesn’t do you any good to look at prices from an artist whose work isn’t moving.
11. Keep a price list. When someone asks you how much something is, you want to be able to tell them quickly and effortlessly. You don’t want to look like you’re unsure or are pulling a number out of a dark hole. Because, the most important rule when pricing your art is . . .
12. Radiate confidence. It’s remarkable how powerful this trick is. If you’re not confident in your prices, we’ll figure that out. Spend time deciding on the prices, then have confidence in them – knowing that the prices are grounded in reality.
HOW DO YOU DO IT?
Let me know in the comment box on how you price your artwork!
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