Selling artwork online is a full-time job. And if you think about it, it is probably more like 10 full time jobs! Painting, sourcing materials, printing, shipping, networking…making the tea!

Today though, I want to focus on selling original artwork.

I have such a problem letting things go. As a young boy, I had 2 teddy bears that I slept with every night, without fail. I remember one night very vividly, back when I was 11 years old, when I threw them out of my bed because I believed that I had outgrown them. In tears, I jumped out of bed, cuddled them both, said sorry, and nestled my head between both of them, and dropped off to sleep. I remember feeling that I would have upset my mom, as she had bought them for me, and I never wanted to upset her. However, I also remember times when I was a lot younger, when her tactic to resolve my episodes of bad behaviour was to threaten me with a trip to the ‘Naughty Boys School’. She would pick up the phone, pretend to dial a number, pretend to talk with the staff, and in minutes it had been organised. My bags were packed, my toothbrush was in my hand, and I was going!

Fast forward to now, and I still have problems letting things go. I finish a painting, and set about preparing the item for print sales, but I am always reluctant to sell the original. If I talk with established artists, they all offer the same advice to me. Paint it, frame it, enjoy it, then sell it!

I am now beginning to take the first tentative steps towards being a businessman as well as being an artist. I paint images that not only do I appreciate, but are also marketable. You could search online for the top 10 painting subjects that sell to give you an idea of what to paint next.

A collection of work stacked neatly under my bed, or in a drawer, is being denied the chance to be framed on a wall, and may never be appreciated out of my own home, so I am ready to start selling original artwork!

And what with all those teddy bears I have kept from 1980, there just isn’t any more room under my bed anymore…

James Jefferson Peart

Here is my first original painting to be listed on our Etsy store.

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