"SOLD" That has such a nice ring, doesn't it? Anyone who offers their artwork loves that sound. If you are not an artist, indulge me and imagine for a moment that you are and read on....
Hearing that a painting sold validates you. Yes, it justifies the long hours of work and the expense of tools and supplies and maintaining a website, but more importantly, it tells you that you have something to offer that someone else likes and wants enough that they are willing to part with some of their hard-earned cash. The fact that art is an item of luxury, not necessity, makes it even more exciting. You wonder if buyers, especially those who are currently strangers to you, understand the positive impact they've had on you, the artist.
The first thrill after being notified that a painting has sold is replaced by urgency. Now it needs to be shipped. The next few hours are spent making sure the work you've so lovingly produced is safe in transit to its new owner. You concentrate hard on using acid-free materials and creating several bumper layers so the artwork never touches the sides of the box, and that it's secure with enough tape (the good stuff) to choke a small horse, yet not so much that nobody can open it. That is an artform in itself! You rush your fragile cargo to the post office just in time to beat that day's deadline. You hand it over to the clerk with a smile. They are curiously unimpressed that you just entrusted them with your beloved child. They lay it in a pile with everyone else's 'children,'..or toss it, depending on how their day has gone thus far. You smile again. They cannot hurt your baby. You made sure of that, remember? Ahhh..time to decompress over a cup of coffee.
You're at Panera Bread indulging in a steaming cup of your favorite blend. You take out your sketchbook, intending to do a few thumbnail sketches of ideas that came to you after successfully selling a piece. A dozen or more mental images circle your brain, clear and brilliant, as though you'd already painted them. Two or three sketches in and your mind wanders back to that painting you just shipped. A profound sense of loss unexpectedly washes over you. That painting represented pleasure...pleasure in the subject, pleasure in the painting of it, pleasure in the seeing it every day for however long it had graced your studio wall. It was a part of your home. It's still a part of you....and you miss it terribly. You almost wish you hadn't sold it....almost.
By now you may be thinking, Sheesh, lady! You sold a painting. You should be jumping up and down with glee! Get over it! Indeed, I've experienced this inner conflict so many times you'd think I would be numb to it. I've also seen this scenario played out in children. I can recall at least a dozen times when one student or another would bring me a drawing they made for me and then ask for it back so they could make revisions. Sometimes they even changed their minds and kept the drawing for themselves. What all of this says is that the thing created is of immense value to its creator.
One nice thing about the way the art world operates is that artists sometimes get to see their work again after it has been sold. For instance, an artist may do a retrospective exhibit that chronicles their work from earliest to most recent, in which case they would need to ask collectors' permission to let them borrow sold works. This kind of show often increases the value of the artwork. The public gets to see it all over again in the same context with newer works. People get to see the progression of skill from one decade to the next. So..... If you're an artist, keep a record of who bought your work. If a collector, keep track of the artist's career. The piece you bought just might be the one that defines the artist's style. And unlike 2nd graders, I'm confident that the artist WILL give it back when the show is done.
