by J. Jason Horejs, Owner
Xanadu Gallery

Did you know on an average week I may be approached by as many as 20-35 artists looking for gallery representation? Most of them are ineffective. Are you making the same mistakes?
In 2009, I published my book, “Starving” to Successful | The Fine Artist’s Guide to Getting into Galleries and Selling More Art. The information I share is intended to help artists like you approach galleries in an organized, systematic and professional manner.

For starters, when seeking gallery representation, you are well advised to avoid the following common mistakes:

Mistake #1: Presenting an inconsistent body of work.

Artists generally love their freedom. They want to experiment. They love a challenge. They crave variety. All good things, except when you are presenting your work to a gallery.
The work you present to a gallery needs to be unified. It doesn’t need to be repetitive or formulaic, but it must present you as a consistent artist with a clear vision.

Often I feel I am looking at the work of multiple artists as I review a single portfolio. To avoid this problem you need to find focus in your work.

If you work in several media and a variety of styles, focus on just one for the next 6-12 months. Create a body of work that feels like a “series”. Once you have 20-25 gallery-ready pieces in this series, you will be ready to approach a gallery.

You can further create consistency by presenting the work in a cohesive way. Use similar frames for all of your paintings or photographs, similar bases for your sculptures, or similar settings for your artistic jewelry. Make it very clear all of the work is by the same artist.

If you simply can’t rein your style in, consider creating multiple portfolios, one for each style.

Don’t confuse the galleries you approach with multiple styles in your portfolio.

Mistake #2: Producing insufficient work to sustain gallery sales.

Many artists create marketable work, but in quantities too low to make a gallery relationship viable. Successful artists are consistently in the studio creating artwork. You may be surprised to learn the results of a recent survey I conducted.

I asked artists how many new works they created in the last twelve months. Painters responded that on average they were creating 53 pieces every twelve months; sculptors 31; glass artists 500!

Gallery owners need to feel confident you will replace sold art quickly and maintain high quality. They want to know that if you are successful you can replenish their inventory.

Don’t despair if you are far from reaching this goal. Rather, look at your creative production for the last year and set a goal to increase the production by 25% in the next 12 months.

Several suggestions to increase your productivity:

1. Dedicate time daily to your art. Maybe your schedule will only allow for two hours daily, but you will produce more by working for those two hours every day than you will by waiting for big blocks of time. Treat your studio time as sacred. Train your family and friends to respect that time. You don’t interrupt them when they are at work; ask them the same courtesy when you are in the studio.

In “Starving” to Successful I will teach you how to create a powerful portfolio. Your new portfolio will end up in gallery owner’s hands, rather than in the garbage can.

Mistake #3: Lacking confidence and consistency in pricing.

One of the greatest challenges facing you as an artist is knowing how to correctly value your work. Many artists price their work emotionally, and inconsistently. Galleries can’t sell wrongly priced art.

Worse, nothing will betray an unprepared artist like not knowing how to price his/her work.

Many artists mistakenly under-price their work. They do this because they feel they are not established. They do it because their local art market won’t sustain higher prices. They do it because they lack confidence in their work.

In the book I will help you come up with a consistent, systematic formula for pricing your art. Is your work priced correctly?

Mistake #4: Approaching the wrong galleries.

My gallery is located in an art market dominated by Southwest and Western subject matter. My gallery stands apart from most of the galleries in Arizona because I have chosen art outside the norms. Yet I am constantly contacted by Western and Southwestern artists. They seem surprised and hurt when I turn them away. They could have saved us both some discomfort by researching my gallery before approaching.

Which markets should you approach first? How should you research the galleries? Is it safe to work with galleries in out-of-state markets?

“Starving” to Successful will teach you how to create a list of qualified, appropriate galleries to contact (I will also teach you how to approach them).

Mistake #5: Submitting art through the wrong channels.

Conventional wisdom, and even some highly respected art marketing books will advise you to send your portfolio with a cover letter to the gallery. You may also hear it’s best to call a gallery and try to make an appointment to meet the owner. You might visit a gallery’s website to learn of their submission guidelines.

In my experience, these methods all guarantee failure. I will share with you a more direct, simpler approach; this approach will tremendously improve your chances of success. The approach is no secret, and yet most artists don’t employ it.

Find the solutions to avoiding all these mistakes in the pages of “Starving” to Successful.

In addition to learning how to avoid the mistakes listed above, you will also see clearly how to effectively organize your work, build your brand as an artist, communicate effectively with your galleries, and much more.

I will give you concrete steps you can take to systematically prepare for gallery relationships.

We will ship the book as quickly as possible, but due to packing and shipping time we cannot guarantee holiday delivery for any orders placed after 12/12/11. (We might get lucky, but at the very least you will have it for the new year!)

Order the book now at the special, discounted price of $19.50.

If you would like to get a better sense of the book before you order, please read a sample chapter.

Please email me directly, jason@xanadugallery.com, or call me toll-free at the gallery at 866.483.1306 if you have any questions about the book, or you can learn more at www.xanadugallery.com/book.
Sincerely,

J. Jason Horejs
Owner
Xanadu Gallery
7039. E. Main St. #101
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

jason@xanadugallery.com