"No client should represent more than 40% of your business. If that’s the case now, build some diversity, fast. No matter how much that client adores and relies on you, clients can disappear instantly, for all kinds of reasons you have no control over. Don’t let them take your business down when that happens." Sonia Simone

I was reading this quote from my email newsletter from Copy Blogger this afternoon, and you know what? It applies to artists. If you only do one show or have one gallery, and something happens to that venue, you're sunk. The ideal for artists who work with galleries is to have 3... at least in my opinion. If one isn't selling well, perhaps the others are, and if some of your paintings are just sitting in one gallery - month after month, why not switch them out to another gallery.

Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Being able to pick up paintings that haven't sold should be in your gallery contract. I also don't like the fact that some galleries want exclusive representation. That's putting all of your eggs in their basket. Remember, they are your eggs. All the gallery is - is a vendor who makes money when they do a good sales job. In fact, now that I think of it, they are not really a vendor either, because they insist on working with a consignment situation. Vendors buy your goods wholesale and resell them at a markup.

Legally, you own a work of art no matter what gallery it's sitting in until someone buys it. The gallery has no ownership over the painting whatsoever. If they lose the painting or can't account for it, they owe you.

Keep Good Records Of All Your Finished Works

That brings me to another good practice. Whenever  you give a gallery paintings, list each one with details and even a thumbnail picture of it on YOUR consignment sheet.

Make two copies and have the gallery owner sign both copies and you sign it as well. These should be hard copies. The gallery keeps one, and so do you. That way when paintings are lost or sold, you have a record of what you gave them.

Not all gallery owners are great record keepers, so it's up to us artists to keep our own records. I know... many of us right-brained types are not good at keeping records, but take the extra time to make these consignment sheets - it'll pay off in the end. If  you can't be organized enough to keep track of what you have at each gallery (on paper) hire someone to help you, and write it off as a business expense.

Even if you're not working with galleries, it's a good idea to photograph and keep records of each painting you complete - keep track of where it is at all times. It takes a bit of extra effort to do this, but you'll be glad you did.