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Original poster

Is DD’s art work good enough to sell.

730 replies

themotherhoodproject · 08/05/2024 08:23

NC for this as a regular user of MN and this is fairly outing but looking for peoples unbiased opinions.

DD is an A level Art student, it’s actually not where her love lies she is hoping to apply for BIMM’s university In Bristol to peruse music and she also does performing arts.

However she is very talented in her painting and blows me away weekly with her work, we have had a few extra special things from her (some of you might remember the snowman Christmas card, it seemed very popular) and lots of people on here saying that they would buy if able too.

Another few months have gone by and we just had another cracker of a card from her (a thank you card for a friend) and well I just think it’s wonderful and have said she should really think about taking on commissions.

We live in a very rural area so lots of horse and dog lovers and I honestly think she could make a bit of pocket money to put away for uni life or fritter away on gigs noodles and vinyl

Can I ask what people think, she is only a year into A level art and will have lots more of technique to learn but maybe £15 a painting she might have some takers?

Is DD’s art work good enough to sell.
OP posts:
Thread gallery
12
sunglassesonthetable · 08/05/2024 13:47

She should have her painting as a hobby and sell any as a side-income.

Do some just not read the OP?

Happierwithouthim · 08/05/2024 13:55

themotherhoodproject · 08/05/2024 12:23

@AndSoFinally

And this was painted from her imagination.

Edited

This is fantastic, if she's confident and happy to put her work out there, why not?

RoyalCorgi · 08/05/2024 13:57

I think it's extremely good. Horses are notoriously difficult to paint.

Allthehorsesintheworld · 08/05/2024 13:58

I think it’s brilliant.
Definitely pet portrait commissions. It’s focused, one at a time, a good way to start. Your dd should look at local prices and maybe slightly undercut those.
She has to cost materials and her time realistically.

RoxieLoxy · 08/05/2024 13:58

She is very talented and people would buy her work. As a pp said though, I think she'd need to price it higher so it adds to the feeling of it being valuable/in demand.

I went to a local art exhibition recently with established artists and this painting would have only stood out for being one of the best ones there.

I don't think there is anything to lose in her trying. If they don't sell then they don't. Nothing lost really. Also love the snowman one. She could make quite a lot at Christmas just selling those locally.

chaosmaker · 08/05/2024 13:58

Just stick it up on etsy or some art selling site, price it as she wants and if it sells, it sells. There is no accounting for taste and people will buy anything. I can't believe some of the junk people were flogging at xmas. There was a very entertaining thread about it.
When she starts selling then she can judge what does and doesn't sell. Good luck to her!

OVienna · 08/05/2024 14:00

TheFireflies · 08/05/2024 09:19

I think your daughter has great potential. If you look at someone like Bonny Snowdon on social media, she often posts her work now compared to her work a few years ago just to show the level of improvement that can be achieved with practice. I think your daughter is at that earlier stage but there’s no reason she can’t become good enough to sell her work if she continues.

Looking up Bonny is a great shout out.

BlueMongoose · 08/05/2024 14:03

The only way you find out if something is saleable is to try to sell it.

If you plan to do that, especially with pets, you have to be very accurate and competent. A lot of pet portraits are truly awful. I have done wok for clients who have been very disappointed by previous jobs with other artists- they have still had to pay up, which makes bad worse. I always work on the principle that if a client doesn't like it, they don't have to buy it at the end (and I've never had a refusal so far in over 30 years). But you have to be careful not to work for obvious time-wasters if you do that.

I think working on a lot of practice pieces would be a good idea for her before she considers working for strangers. And she will need good camera kit and to know how to use it, like not getting too close, etc. (getting too close makes horses especially look ugly and out of proportion). Pics done from client's photos are generally not up to much, she need to learn to take her own. Also, you can't use photos taken by anyone without their permission (like horse-show photographers, for example).

You also need to consider mounting and framing when you cost jobs, especially with work on paper - and even more especially with pastels. I never sell pastels unframed, and they need at least a double-mount. Professionally done, framing is expensive, so factor that in to your prices.

OVienna · 08/05/2024 14:04

themotherhoodproject · 08/05/2024 12:23

@AndSoFinally

And this was painted from her imagination.

Edited

I would buy this card.

Animals are very hard. My mum spends hours on this and has done whatever classes Bonny has offered. She's amazing now but spends a lot of time on it.

Do I think it's worth it for your daughter to invest her time on her art with a view to doing it professionally? Yes, absolutely.

GingerPirate · 08/05/2024 14:05

I'm not sure if us lurking here are the right people to say whether your daughter's art is good enough. I wouldn't be able to paint a horse like this.
£15 is not much, however, I'm not an animal lover.
Opinions will wary hugely, me thinks.
😁

Intriguedbythis · 08/05/2024 14:05

I would pay 50£ for the one shown. I recommend she starts an insta page tagging ‘pet portraits’ she could also do Etsy, or even offer to do a free portrait for popular pet insta accounts to get some follows.

PeachCastle · 08/05/2024 14:06

It doesn't look finished - around he eyes, mouth, nose, reins....

So no.

Thepartnersdesk · 08/05/2024 14:07

If she already works in the local tea room, is it a tourist area?

She might do better spending longer on a selection of local landmarks (with animals if that's her thing) and having them made into cards or postcards and selling those.

The tea room would be a good place to sell from.

MaryMack · 08/05/2024 14:10

Would she be able to paint a family portrait from a photograph? I would be interested in paying someone to do that.

Resilience · 08/05/2024 14:12

I think she could give it a go. She's undeniably got some talent. Do I think she's going to be the next Edwin Landseer? Maybe not just yet. But can she keep improving and make some money at the same time? Very possibly.

I've seen some pretty awful pet portrait artists make money so I see no reason why your DD couldn't have a go as she's definitely better than them. She just needs to temper her expectations and set a realistic marketing/pricing plan.

FWIW I think it's lovely that you've this much faith in her. Whatever else, she knows her mum loves her and has her back.

ontheflighttosingapore · 08/05/2024 14:23

I doubt you have even told her you've created this post. You obviously think she's talented so give it a go

Remmy123 · 08/05/2024 14:26

Its good but no I wouldn't buy it

oakleaffy · 08/05/2024 14:26

sunglassesonthetable · 08/05/2024 13:31

@oakleaffy I love the framed pictures.

Thanks! With Mumsnet everyone has very different tastes.

Personally I love young children’s drawings as they are very unselfconscious-They draw stuff as they see it- often in their imaginations.

One of the best modern horse painters is Munnings- he has a loose and fluent style- His Dapple greys are phenomenal.

Original poster
themotherhoodproject · 08/05/2024 14:27

ontheflighttosingapore · 08/05/2024 14:23

I doubt you have even told her you've created this post. You obviously think she's talented so give it a go

Why would you presume this…

Do you often research/enquire on your child’s behalf without asking them first?

OP posts:
peacefull · 08/05/2024 14:36

Your daughter as done well but its not the sort of thing i would buy TBH not for £15.

O2HaveALittleHouse · 08/05/2024 14:36

I think she’s very talented! You must be very proud of her.

If you look at the pet portraits on eBay that can be commissioned, I think hers is better.

Magicpaintbrush · 08/05/2024 14:38

I'm a professional Illustrator - your DD is a talented artist which is lovely to see. I would say, going on the horse painting, that it's not quite at a sellable stage just yet BUT she is still very young and in a few years, with a bit more experience under her belt she will absolutely get there. What she has done already is really promising and she should be very proud of it indeed - if only everybody was that good at art at her age. With art, like anything else, the more of it you do the better you get - I am 45 and still feel I have lots to learn and improve upon.

timewach · 08/05/2024 14:44

My sister is a professional artist 40+ years your daughter is really good.
But as the poster said above its not at the sellable stage yet but with time her paintings will be.

BrokenCamberEdge · 08/05/2024 14:45

It looks like a horse but does it look like THE horse? I had a portrait of my pony done and it didn’t capture him at all, just looked like a brown pony.

Sillystrumpet · 08/05/2024 14:46

Oh op.

she has potential, and I’m sure is very talented, but even though you reacted badly when seeing the other horse portrait, I’m sure deep down you can see the difference in terms of detail and depth. I’d also hazard a guess rhe second one took way longer than 6 hours, rather days or weeks.

i think maybe you are just a very lovely proud mum, her artwork is good amateur and she has potential , she has everything to be proud of too. Such a talented young woman. Don’t make her run before she can walk, as any failure will disappoint her.