Too Much of a Good Thing?
by Debra Keirce
The following article was written by Debra Keirce, a regular contributing author to The BoldBrush Letter.
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Too Much of a Good Thing?
Recently, I had an interesting discussion with an artist. Her strategy with art is to never be too prolific. She wants to intentionally under-saturate her collector market. I’m paraphrasing, but these are her thoughts:
Low prices cause people to doubt the value of art. Keep your prices high and increase each year.
With the law of supply and demand, once you have a sales history, you are better off having a limited supply.
You should spend the majority of your time perfecting your craft.
For every three artworks you create, you should destroy two and only sell the best of them.
If you have gallery representation, you are best served to offer exclusive representation to just one. That way, they always get your best work.
Only enter art exhibitions you are very certain you can win; otherwise, they are a waste of money.
Only post on social media once a month at most, and make sure what you post is expertly curated. This creates a sense of mystery and longing.
She believes this approach advocates for exclusivity and scarcity as a way to build long-term value, maintain the mystery around the work, and keep demand high. She’s creating a niche market where her works feel rare, almost precious, and she hopes it will elevate her status as an artist.
Wow! Could I possibly be working further away on the spectrum of each of these strategies?
I just choose to do pretty much the exact opposite things. Part of it may be that this is my second career, and I am older than her by two decades. I feel like I have a lot of ground to cover to make up for lost time. Part of it could be that I have a very different personality. She is very introverted, and I am comfortable being an extrovert if the situation calls for it. Part of it could be that my collectors are different. I may have attracted people who enjoy my art at the price points I sell at.
The truth is, we gross about the same amount of money for Uncle Sam each year, even though we work in vastly different ways. So I suppose we are both right or both wrong, depending on how you look at it.
Just to contrast, this would be my list of thoughts that contradict hers:
Lower price points allow me to reach and be a part of more private collections.
As long as my supply doesn’t exceed my demand, I can keep painting prolifically and exploring new series of works that attract new eyeballs.
If I paint more and sell more, I fine-tune my skills in both of these areas in a way I could not if I created fewer works.
If I destroyed ⅔ of my artworks, I would reduce the number of potential collectors.
While I don’t have many galleries, I do believe that sales in one often lead to sales in the others. My regular collectors have all gallery-hopped, looking at and buying my work in each place I am represented as they travel.
Often, the pieces I enter into shows that win are the ones I thought had the least chance of an award. I don’t feel I can predict the outcome in most shows, so I prefer to collect experiential data when deciding which ones are best for me.
When I have tried posting just once a month, my posts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms flatline. If I don’t post several times each week, nobody sees my posts. Since I prefer to be an expert painter instead of investing time in videography and photography, my posts will always be cringe-worthy. But, that feels more genuine than posting infrequently with videos it takes a long time to edit.
In short, I am direct and upfront. I don’t see the need for mystery or limiting my output.
Having said that, I see how her points make sense. If I had too many galleries, I couldn’t keep up with the demand for quality work. And working to perfect my craft is important to me. However, I’m focused on producing more work, reaching a wider audience, and constantly improving by practicing. For me, it’s about reaching people, testing my limits, and finding joy in the act of creating, not just in the result.
I realize there’s no universal formula. What works for one artist might not work for another, and that’s why this discussion is so fascinating. The beauty of art is that it allows for such diverse approaches, and there's no single path to finding fulfillment or success.
As we artists mature or our circumstances change, our approach might shift. We may find that as we achieve more success or face new challenges, we start creating more or less work.
Maybe the question isn't really about whether we can create "too much of a good thing”—maybe it's more about whether that volume serves the kind of artistic and personal growth we're aiming for.
What are your thoughts? Do you believe you could ever create too much of a good thing? Or are you like me, where you are determined to just keep trying to do exactly that?
Debra Keirce
www.DebKArt.com
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That sounds like the kind of thing they teach in Art Schools...which seem more about marketing than imparting technical knowledge and understanding of "Art"...but in the bigger scheme of things it sounds like "scarcity consciousness" to me! I can't imagine "reigning in" or destroying the abundant and ecstatic creation that flows through me! To each his/her/thems/it's (LOL) own!
I see both of your perspectives and hold both in high regard. I most agree with her policy of spending most of your time perfecting your craft. You could do this by being prolific, especially if you are burning two thirds of your completions. I suppose that just as we accept, as a culture, all forms of visual arts expression, with or without skill I might add, then we might also expect there to be all manner of approaches to the BUSINESS of art, especially given that we have no metrics for comparing the effectiveness of these approaches.