Any despondent artists out there?

Mink

I'm an artist (paint in oils) & have had a real tough time selling stuff in 09 & 2010. 2008 was great but then it all went belly up somewhat.

Have a solo exhibit set up in September but want to sell some pieces before then. Eventually don't want to have to do office work to make ends meet.

Any other artists out there who've been finding it tough selling their work recently? Anyone who's found clever ways to overcome it?

I've heard of groups of artists renting empty spaces & putting work up in the window for a couple of weeks, but is anything actually selling?

also I've heard the guys who do Stephens Green have had to downsize their work so as to shift more of it. So normally they'd paint/sculpt big, but now not so much.

So frustrated, grrrr

LukeQuietus

There's a few good online places that will help get your stuff seen.

My personal favourite is DeviantArt.

Yessy.com and Artician are two more. Personally I find the ones who buy art are the ones who really understand it. Everday people walking down the street probably wouldn't take much notice of art in windows or exhibitions.

dasium

While not a professional artist I took part in a group exhibition in PLANE / SITE Galleries located at the corner of Lad Lane and Pembroke Row, just off Baggot Street in Dublin 2. It was a gathering of 16 artists, nothing sold but did get a few commissions... we pooled our resourses and got the space very cheaply.. two of the artists organised the whole thing... and they put a lot of effort into it, not sure how well other artists faired.. have also heard 12 artists opening a gallery in westport recently.... pooling costs seems to be the way forward... but with so many empty lots available, a short term lease weeks/months is economically viable...

http://16-4-1-exhibition.com/

snorlax

dublin sketchers had an exhibition this week in the Sol art gallery and sold quite a few pieces (however most of us don't do it as a day job so the things sold were quite reasonably priced).

The best thing i'd say is clever marketing..eg buisness cards/ a nice website/ contacts/ maybe places like merrion square?

Mink

Thanks everyone, will look into this. I've been scouring the Visual Artists Ireland bulletin for anything promising as well