Artistic Realism Kind Of Pays The Bills

Realistically speaking,
abstract art will not sell as well as realism.

Your customers are going to be newly wed couples,
lonesome strangers with unspeakably magnificent taste...

And fur kids,
or rather, fancy pet owners.

I hate to say it, but if you just duct tape a banana to a canvas,
it will probably just spoil.

Your initial customers will adore your touch,
not your marvelously fruity rebellious alchemy of art jazz.

If someone has a room with lots of purple things,
a room that their kitty loves for all the sunshine in the morning.

They will likely say, here is my kitty,
and please, make the atmosphere purple.

These are actually two separate things,
clearly the kitty will be about realism.

But the purple, is where the kitty is posing from,
the atmosphere is the abstract part.

Paint splatter, a purple nebula of textures,
or a heart shaped hole in the wall...

That reveals not just the kitty,
but the universe it comes from.

I would call this the balance of realism and the abstract,
the kitty is as realistic as it gets.

But all the other requests,
all the customization are all about the abstract.

Getting paid,
aside.

Realism is still very hard to resist,
and it may not be a good idea to fight it...

Somehow, at the end of the day realism feels really good,
and the more abstract works feel like they could be better.

And it is rarely possible,
to change course from surrealism, back to our universe, back to realism.

But it is trivial, nay, it is fun,
to get the realism done first, and then build the abstract around it.

All I am saying is, that there is inextinguishable fire,
in a work with realism at it heart.

Mixing money and art is a terrible thing,
that is why we have to divide the two apart.

We just have to know, right at the beginning,
aha, this is a work of art that will pay my bills, $50 bucks is $50 bucks.

On the other end, we can say,
aha, this piece, is meant for a gallery, that I hope to exhibit at next year.

And perhaps they'll take it along to a bigger show,
and this kitty comes with a bigger price tag, $50,000, plus the notepad with sketches set at $75.

This way Art is still pure,
but it can also pay bills.

Before you get around to selling art,
you will need a consistent portfolio.

Due to issues of copyright and fair use,
which even got the artist behind the Obama HOPE poster in hot water, you must choose carefully.

Personally, I recommend that you settle on nine realistic portraits,
with a consistent abstract finish or twist.

Your portfolio,
is just a website with those nine works.

You will need a dot com name, which is about $12 per year,
this will allow you to switch services.

You can redirect to dribbble first, then setup a proper website,
and then move somewhere else without anybody holding that name hostage.

When setting up accounts on websites that offer custom portraits,
I think you will find that even before they ask you for your bank details.

They will want to see, or glance at,
your portfolio.

So the first step is nine consistent portraits,
that will show your customers, and galleries that maybe interested, exactly what to expect.

Reddit Gets Drawn,
has a fantastic clause in their rules,

"By submitting a photo,
submitters are agreeing that artists can distribute and sell work based on the photos uploaded."

The only small drawback I can see here is other artists,
selling works or holding works in their portfolio based on the same model.

I don't think that is a big problem,
but you can also paint your own selfies, that will be perfectly unique.

Other than Etsy, I don't have any specific recommendations where to sell,
but I recommend searching the web to discover new locations with better deals.

It is important to grasp the gravity of selling custom digital portraits,
these are products that are held in high esteem, perfectly personalized, that never need upgrades, recompilation, or security fixes.

Selling custom portraits online is superior,
to spending days writing custom code that demands frequent maintenance, and occasional security audits.

And of course,
Art is in a universe of its own.

It is,
one of Humanity's most wonderful traditions.