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How to Start an Art Business, the Easy Way!

Are you an artist who would like to turn your practice into a business? Or do you already have a bunch of your artworks and would like to make money by selling them? If you said yes to either of these questions, then keep reading, this article is for you!

So, how to start an art business? You might have been overwhelmed by other articles that keep talking about making business plans and market studies. Good news! Here we have the easiest way of making money with art – in 4 steps!

Step 1 – Trust your work and be bold

Based on the experience of balthasart team, artworks of any style and any story can find their perfect audience. We are here to empower all creative minds and to help artists find their next generation collectors – from paintings to photography, from abstract to fiction characters, calm to joyfulā€¦ Believe in yourself, you create your art and let balthasart takes care of the rest!

Step 2 – Find the perfect channel

When you Google ā€œsell art onlineā€, there are hundreds of results of different art galleries and platforms that are available for artists to sell their works. But how to start an art business with the perfect channel niche that is the most suitable for yourself?

The few of the most popular options in the market: 

Art galleries – generally for famous and established artists. They curate exhibitions of highly selective artists in offline galleries. Each art gallery targets a different kind of client persona, based on their curation, location and other criteria. The galleries bring artworks that they believe can speak to their collectors.

Auction houses are for both primary and secondary art owners. Their products can range from the newly created small-size artwork to the grand masterpiece of art history.

Ecommerce platforms allow any business owners to have their own separate e-shop. It gives full flexibility and control on the merchandising and, while requiring a basic knowledge on managing a business. Artists running their own ecommerce platforms would need to promote, sell and ship their artworks by themselves.

Top marketplaces with low entry level requirements such as Amazon are also for everyone, together with millions of other sellers and products.

Premium online galleries often target affluent markets and HNWI. They often are for bluechip artists and renown artists and can also be highly selective, depending on their brand positioning. They have a much broader audience target than offline art galleries thanks to their online strategies.

An art platform like balthasart – is dedicated to up-and-coming artists and affordable art. It helps artists of all backgrounds to sell their own creations, and help art lovers to find the best piece. At balthasart, we believe in art, and believe in every artist. The digital experts at balthasart helps boost the visibility of every artist – and help artists make money selling art online. It is the perfect start of an art business for an artist.

Step 3 – Go online

According to Art Basel, the online art market has only been growing in the past years and has doubled last year to an all-time high! Traditional offline galleries and auction houses have all been shifting more of their activities to online. So that means itā€™s best to jump in now!

Source: Hiscox online art trade report 2021

Being active on social media and having your own personal page are 2 of the inevitable ways to make your art business seen. Read our previous article about how to sell art online in 2022 to find out more about how the current art business works in our digital world.

Step 4 – Continuous learning

Now your art business is ready! The question is how to make money with art? With our tips on the balthasart magazine and the balthasart team by your side, we are here to help artists grow by constantly providing information and advice on improving their art business. 

We offer tips such as on how to price your artworks, how to start an art business and how to find your audience on instagram. If you are already balthasart artist, there is the guide on how to boost yourself through constant improvement on your page. The team of digital experts are here to help on every aspect of your artistic career.