# A beginner.. Need advise and feedback



## Neha

Hi there! I had done some oil paintings a decade ago and have just started doing acrylic paintings now. I am an interior designer and just relocated because of my husband's job..and I was considering taking up painting full time..I have no idea how to price my paintings or how to sell them so any advice would be great! Would going to a local flee market be a good idea? Where can I start?Attached: The barn and the telephone booth are 16X 20 and the door one is 8X 10


----------



## just

You are not a beginner. Why the false modesty?


----------



## Neha

Well, I just started acrylic painting a few months ago.. The last oil painting I had done was 12 years back..and that was in my art classes.. So I think I am a beginner. People around me have been appreciating me art and I enjoy painting a lot. Hence, i am considering selling my art.


----------



## abt2k15

i like the last two very much. as to pricing - art is worth as much as you can make people believe it is. 

you can enhance the price with the use of high quality materials like linen canvas or good quality acrylics like golden fluids and the sorts so you are offering not only art but high quality materials aswell but that depends on your aimed customer field. im fine with low budget materials since the folks i usually sell them to dont really mind that. what they do mind is if they can pay 100 bucks instead of 250


----------



## Neha

abt2k15 said:


> i like the last two very much. as to pricing - art is worth as much as you can make people believe it is.
> 
> you can enhance the price with the use of high quality materials like linen canvas or good quality acrylics like golden fluids and the sorts so you are offering not only art but high quality materials aswell but that depends on your aimed customer field. im fine with low budget materials since the folks i usually sell them to dont really mind that. what they do mind is if they can pay 100 bucks instead of 250



Thank you for taking the time out! That was helpful.. I am currently using liquitex basics.. I don't want to spend a lot on expensive paints for now.. Since I don't even know if someone would pay for my painting!  I do want to know how I can improve on them and where can I try to sell my paintings, online or otherwise.


----------



## abt2k15

Neha said:


> Thank you for taking the time out! That was helpful.. I am currently using liquitex basics.. I don't want to spend a lot on expensive paints for now.. Since I don't even know if someone would pay for my painting!  I do want to know how I can improve on them and where can I try to sell my paintings, online or otherwise.


your work is good enough for sale. the problem is to get people buying them. you compete with china prints that go for a few bucks unless you get yourself known as artist you are left with people who are explicity looking for handmade artworks which thins out the potential customer field quite a bit hehe. a good way to get to those people is to attend ( or maybe even host ) faires. try to get a group of interest with facebook. that sort of stuff. that is if you desperatly need to sell. the alternative is to become a master artist respected and recognized by other artists or be famous of some sort i guess haha. oh teaching seems to be an alternative aswell to get your name arround and supporters. its kind of a neat deal - often seen on youtube and the sort ( afaik usually within digital media tho but totally doable for traditional paintings ). 

to better yourself since your rendering skills seem to be quite well already you can imho "just" focus on how to build better compositions - perspective, color theory and the sorts. it kind of depends on where you want to get better at. besides knowledge you can also try to become faster, more productive. figure out a nice workflow to speed things up these sort of things.

a good way not to get lost because you will never be finished ( since there is just soooo much information and physical practise involved it just never ends ^^ ) is to set yourself goals. these goals can be anything really. it can be like in the next 6 months i will draw idk 600 circles. you will eventually get better at circles. after 6 months go back to the first circles and compare how much you improved. pretty boring example but you get the idea.


----------



## Artfulone3

Neha said:


> Hi there! I had done some oil paintings a decade ago and have just started doing acrylic paintings now. I am an interior designer and just relocated because of my husband's job..and I was considering taking up painting full time..I have no idea how to price my paintings or how to sell them so any advice would be great! Would going to a local flee market be a good idea? Where can I start?Attached: The barn and the telephone booth are 16X 20 and the door one is 8X 10




Hi, you are off to a good start. We're to sell. Many sell on Ebay, or Etesy, or a combination of the two. There is also Sites like Fine Art America. As to pricing . Your paintings are pleasing and show you have talent and an artistic sence to work from. I would agree with your assessment of being a beginner. Except I would add with just a few ajustments you will be intermediate. 
I like painting one. The Maine isue with painting one is the side walk perspective is not drawn correctly. Take another looks at your sourse photo the lamp post and phone booth feel like they are not planted , while they are each rendered nicely. There relationship to on another is not lighted up according to the laws of perspective. Painting #2. Is done well. It has a lovely feeling. What I would segest in that one is just see where you can add a bit more contratot. I love the tree in the for ground. Very good. The barn roof seems like it needs some sort of visual texture or modeling. I find heightening cot rats between lights and darks helps to pop a painting. Then I go back in and put all the subtle nuances of color or shade.
I like painting 3 a lot.
The main hhing with that on is the shaping of the plants is to the same. I think if you study how plants grow you will find them more random in there shape then you have then . Consistently in consistaint. Sounds funny I know but it is how thing are in nature. Nothing is identical. Which itself is mind blowing if you stop to thing of the bazillion things there are in the world. You are off to a good start.
Your pricing is on par for where you are at right now. You can at least cover your cost. And as you keep painting you will get better and better. And as you do you can start raising your price.
The price is determined by the market you are in and what the market will bear. Some charge $1.00 a square in while others charge 2,- 5.00
Others are out of the park at 50 k for stuff I could make in just a few hours. Basically you look around for art that looks similar to your kind and level of art see what the prices are and price yours in a similar fasion. And then at the end of the day some of the art game is how good a marketer you are. Which is a whole not her discussion. You need to paint because you enjoy it firstly. If you can sell it great. Painting does a soule good. So firstly do it because it feeds your soul. Just get more comfortable with the prosses. Studies the people you like the paintings of. Maybe even copy a few not to sell but just to learn from.you can learn a lot by trying to copy the style of people you resonate with. And then you see better how things are done then you can incorporate it into your own personal styly.hope that helps some.


----------



## Neha

You are so right! Selling your art is definitely easier if you are well known and respected. I still have a long way to get there! I can only strive to get better.. Teaching goes out of the window coz I hav so much to learn myself, I keep painting one area over and over to get it right! I also think tat my composition and perspectives can get far better.


----------



## Neha

Artfulone3 said:


> Neha said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi there! I had done some oil paintings a decade ago and have just started doing acrylic paintings now. I am an interior designer and just relocated because of my husband's job..and I was considering taking up painting full time..I have no idea how to price my paintings or how to sell them so any advice would be great! Would going to a local flee market be a good idea? Where can I start?Attached: The barn and the telephone booth are 16X 20 and the door one is 8X 10
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hi, you are off to a good start. We're to sell. Many sell on Ebay, or Etesy, or a combination of the two. There is also Sites like Fine Art America. As to pricing . Your paintings are pleasing and show you have talent and an artistic sence to work from. I would agree with your assessment of being a beginner. Except I would add with just a few ajustments you will be intermediate.
> I like painting one. The Maine isue with painting one is the side walk perspective is not drawn correctly. Take another looks at your sourse photo the lamp post and phone booth feel like they are not planted , while they are each rendered nicely. There relationship to on another is not lighted up according to the laws of perspective. Painting #2. Is done well. It has a lovely feeling. What I would segest in that one is just see where you can add a bit more contratot. I love the tree in the for ground. Very good. The barn roof seems like it needs some sort of visual texture or modeling. I find heightening cot rats between lights and darks helps to pop a painting. Then I go back in and put all the subtle nuances of color or shade.
> I like painting 3 a lot.
> The main hhing with that on is the shaping of the plants is to the same. I think if you study how plants grow you will find them more random in there shape then you have then . Consistently in consistaint. Sounds funny I know but it is how thing are in nature. Nothing is identical. Which itself is mind blowing if you stop to thing of the bazillion things there are in the world. You are off to a good start.
> Your pricing is on par for where you are at right now. You can at least cover your cost. And as you keep painting you will get better and better. And as you do you can start raising your price.
> The price is determined by the market you are in and what the market will bear. Some charge $1.00 a square in while others charge 2,- 5.00
> Others are out of the park at 50 k for stuff I could make in just a few hours. Basically you look around for art that looks similar to your kind and level of art see what the prices are and price yours in a similar fasion. And then at the end of the day some of the art game is how good a marketer you are. Which is a whole not her discussion. You need to paint because you enjoy it firstly. If you can sell it great. Painting does a soule good. So firstly do it because it feeds your soul. Just get more comfortable with the prosses. Studies the people you like the paintings of. Maybe even copy a few not to sell but just to learn from.you can learn a lot by trying to copy the style of people you resonate with. And then you see better how things are done then you can incorporate it into your own personal styly.hope that helps some.
Click to expand...

Thanku for such an in-depth analysis of my paintings! Just what I needed!! I agree on the sidewalk.. I kept making lines in perspective but somehow I was just not getting it right and finally I got so weary of it...the lamp post is weird too  The barn one has exactly the same white roof in the photo without any texture or shadow but I will go back and look at it again. About the contrast part, are you saying that everything is too bright and lacks contrast? Maybe dull a few areas so that the bright tree and barn stand out more? Correct me if am wrong! 
The door painting was the first painting I made from a photo.. Till then I was copying other people's art to learn.. You should hav seen the first attempt of my flowers! It was even more robotic!! But yes, it does lack the randomness still. 
I did not understand the pricing part.. $1 for a square inch? So 8X 10 wud be 80 bucks?

Once again, I sincerely appreciate you takin out time to comment on my work! Thanku!


----------



## Desdichado

Neha. 

Please take this in the spirit it is offered, as a small help on your first painting of the three. This is only a very rough sketch I knocked up in my sketch book, but I hope it make my points. You are obviously not a complete beginner and your third pic is excellent, but the perspective in the first one is way out. You would only see that much pavement from high up, ie off the top deck of a bus or from a first floor window of a building. You need a flatter street-level view so that your telephone box and lamp look like they are seated on the pavement, not floating in the air. Please note the direction of the flagstone edges in my sketch against how you painted them. Your detail is fine but the wrong pespective lines may well put potential buyers off. You need to change them. Hope you find this of some use.

Jim.


----------



## Neha

Desdichado said:


> Neha.
> 
> Please take this in the spirit it is offered, as a small help on your first painting of the three. This is only a very rough sketch I knocked up in my sketch book, but I hope it make my points. You are obviously not a complete beginner and your third pic is excellent, but the perspective in the first one is way out. You would only see that much pavement from high up, ie off the top deck of a bus or from a first floor window of a building. You need a flatter street-level view so that your telephone box and lamp look like they are seated on the pavement, not floating in the air. Please note the direction of the flagstone edges in my sketch against how you painted them. Your detail is fine but the wrong pespective lines may well put potential buyers off. You need to change them. Hope you find this of some use.
> 
> Jim.


Wow! I am at a loss for words! Thank you so much for the sketch! Its made things so clear! I am goin to rework on the pavement now. Ur rough sketch looks so realistic because u got the perspective right! And in that sense I call myself a beginner because I look at photos and paint..and don't get things right.. I am yet to paint something with an imaginative mind, something that comes thru me...you all appreciating my art gives me a little more confidence...And since all of u have pointed it out without fail  , I should start saying that I am at an intermediate level; which I take as a compliment ofcourse!


----------



## LouisFrancois

Hard to believe you're a beginner. 

I think you did a fabulous job with these, especially with the 2nd one. Like Artfulone said, I suppose the perspective of the pavement for the telephone booth one is a bit wonky, but I actually like that element. Call me a Dr. Who fan. 

As for selling, I'm beginning to see that the target audience for art is so large and varied, and for something as subjective as art, you could sell pretty much anything with the right salesmanship to the right people. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, but enjoy painting first and foremost (like Artfulone said.). I'm guessing you do, of course .


----------



## Neha

Thank you Louis.. I am learning everyday and quite passionate about it.. My perspectives are weak.. I will hopefully get it with practice.. I am so happy u all are liking my work.. 
People hav really been encouraging me to sell my work..but i must admit tat I have no business skills! I will give it a try though..


----------



## PJW

Hi Neha, I've not been painting for too long either, just over the last 3 seasons and the one thing that I think I have embraced other than using washes is using artistic license. I use my own photo's as a starting point, but if there is an object that I don't like, I don't have to paint it and if the sky looks a bit boring, I can change the sky etc, etc. When I first started I felt the need to make an identical replica of everything and it's quite liberating when you are able to throw those shackles aside.

There is also a lot of info on youtube that can help. They teach you about lots of different things you might not be aware of, like heavy structure gel, moulding materials and mediums that thin out or thicken the paint without losing the pigment. There is so much to learn it's quite scary, but also exciting at the same time.

Good luck with it and you could also set up a facebook group to show off your completed work and get a twitter and Instagram account. The more people see your work, the better.


----------



## Neha

PJW said:


> Hi Neha, I've not been painting for too long either, just over the last 3 seasons and the one thing that I think I have embraced other than using washes is using artistic license. I use my own photo's as a starting point, but if there is an object that I don't like, I don't have to paint it and if the sky looks a bit boring, I can change the sky etc, etc. When I first started I felt the need to make an identical replica of everything and it's quite liberating when you are able to throw those shackles aside.
> 
> There is also a lot of info on youtube that can help. They teach you about lots of different things you might not be aware of, like heavy structure gel, moulding materials and mediums that thin out or thicken the paint without losing the pigment. There is so much to learn it's quite scary, but also exciting at the same time.
> 
> Good luck with it and you could also set up a facebook group to show off your completed work and get a twitter and Instagram account. The more people see your work, the better.


Absolutely right! That was another issue I wanted to touch.. I paint from other people's photos as well. So if I want to paint a red barn, I look for pictures that i can paint from and I kinda replicate it! 
But its still my painting. Do I not have an artistic license to that?
I really want to break that habit and start painting on my own with my sensibility. But a blank canvas is intimidating and just painting without a reference is scary! I love art which is completely artist's own. I want to get there some day.
I just set an etsy account! Let's see how that goes.. I have an Instagram account where I keep posting my paintings.
Here is the link:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaletteStory
www.Instagram.com/neh_agarwal


----------



## PJW

Neha said:


> Absolutely right! That was another issue I wanted to touch.. I paint from other people's photos as well. So if I want to paint a red barn, I look for pictures that i can paint from and I kinda replicate it!
> But its still my painting. Do I not have an artistic license to that?
> I really want to break that habit and start painting on my own with my sensibility. But a blank canvas is intimidating and just painting without a reference is scary! I love art which is completely artist's own. I want to get there some day.
> I just set an etsy account! Let's see how that goes.. I have an Instagram account where I keep posting my paintings.
> Here is the link:
> https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaletteStory
> www.Instagram.com/neh_agarwal


You may do better than me with Etsy, but I've not sold anything via them as yet and set up my account some months ago. Anything I have sold has been via the Market so far. I'm told by other local artists here that it's a good idea to try and get some gallery exhibitions up of collections, so your work can be seen and people are aware of what you do and it builds up credibility. I have my first local gallery up now with just a dozen of my paintings and photo's on display.

I think it is best to start where you feel comfortable. It's better to have a successful painting than 3 failures because you feel out of your depth. I tried painting out doors last month for the first time and found it almost impossible as my special awareness was really overwhelmed. Personally I prefer to use my own images, because I have a visual memory as well as the image in front of me, but if you are happy with flat images then continue with what works for you. There seems to be enough snobbery in art and photography without me joining in on it. You will adapt and change as you feel ready.

Instagram is a great way to get instant feedback to see what people like.

Good luck with it and follow your heart.


----------



## yellobee

Just joined this forum and looking around, great and helpful critic members are giving. The door is my favorite of the three.: ) Gabriel


----------



## cprimo

I like the colors and composition in the third painting, but the flowers over the door do not appear so much as to be hanging over the door as they do being placed on top of the door. More curvature, white in them or shadows may help them from looking painted over top. They are somewhat overbearing, especially compared to the precision of the door. 

I don't have much advise on selling, other than setting up a stand at local art shows - somewhere where people go for handmade items, like a craft gathering - a flea market would be a bad place because people go there looking for cheap items usually. 

Hope this helps.


----------

