Who is right? 52 yr old v 16 yr old daughter

[Jazjoke]

Can you lovely people help?

My 16 yr old daughter has recently finished her gcse's and loves art as well as being academic

She draws in a modern style and is interested in gender neutral, same sex, modern styles/ tattoos

I have suggested that she set up an Etsy shop having some of her art printed on greeting cards as there seems to be a real gap in the market

She has a lack of belief anybody would purchase

I have merged some quick snaps taken on phone ( so not best quality) so you can see

A quick opinion would be much appreciated

I would love her to follow her dreams, but if I am way off happy to be told and will direct her to more traditional sat job ( she will be doing Alevels in Sept)

Any opinions welcome - thanks

Looks to me like she has talent.

Honestly? It looks like GCSE art projects. If she continues she will improve but I don't think that it is marketable.

I wouldn't buy them because pictures of random faces aren't to my taste, but I would gladly commission work of family, as she is very talented.

I love the one of the girl kissing the guys cheek! No harm in giving it a go.
Good luck

She’s talented!

I’m not sure who would buy them, but it’s low effort/cost to set up an Etsy shop and see how it goes/if there’s a demand.

It won’t replace an actual job, but it could give her some valuable experience running her own little business/developing her art skills, and shouldn’t be too time consuming alongside studies/working!

I did GCSE art and this is way beyond anything anyone in my class produced. Encourage her :)

They are lovely!

She won't be able to set up an Etsy shop until she is 18 - you will have to own the shop and use your credit card/bank account. Shops are not transferable so if she enjoys it and wants to continue, she will need to set up her own shop once she is 18 unless you continue to own the shop for her.

Be aware that Etsy is not a "sell and list" site like Ebay. There's lots of work to do if you want to get found in search and be successful! The Seller's Handbook and the Forums on Etsy are good places to start to get the information you'll need :)

Good luck!

By all means give it a go, but art is a very competitive business even for the most talented artists and she has to be prepared that she might do brilliantly - so she’d need a thick skin.

Maybe she should apply to go to art college or similar to hone her craft?

I really like them. Plenty of commercial art could be a GCSE project - that poster is being mean.

There’s no harm setting up an Etsy shop but I think it’s quite hard to generate many sales when you start from scratch

Still do the traditional Saturday job as well though

I think there's no money at all in greetings cards. You buy them for a couple of pounds but they cost a lot to make.

What about tee-shirts with really cool pictures on the front? My son did this for a while - there are companies where you send them the design and then as people order them, they print them on the tee-shirt and send them out for you. There's no outlay. I can't remember the figures exactly but I can find out if you like.

Do commissions?

I actually think the market she might be most popular in is cards/artwork for the younger generation current who are living in a new world of gender flexibility, trans issues, etc. I imagine some people would love to buy a valentines or anniversary card that reflects their relationship on the front, cards for relatives to give for engagements and weddings which use ‘they’ or ‘zie’ pronouns, the few cards in Clinton’s and the like which are Mr and Mr or Mrs and Mrs are very popular.

She’s already interested in these issues so it would be a natural step for her I think!

The poster talking about GCSEs was just being spiteful. Ignore her.

She's clearly talented. But maybe let her continue evolving as an artist (A Levels) and let her grow in confidence. Sometimes it can take a while to truly realise our own potential. And at 16, that confidence isn't always there. I only write this because it sounds as if she's not quite ready to dip her toe in the water. She will be!
She is incredibly talented, for sure. But perhaps wait until she's less insecure to push the boat out into a small business venture. Maybe?
Maybe she could get a Saturday job at an art studio.
I don't know where you live but these are examples in my area.

www.chelseafinearts.co.uk/
www.kitestudios.org/

It's only my two cents worth and I hope I don't come across as discouraging.
It's a little bit '80s/'90s (which to me is awesome but maybe not to a 16 year old!) but her work reminds me a little bit of a softer, gentler version of a graphic novelist named Enki Bilal, whose work I really love.

T shirts is a good idea. Mugs. Key rings etc. Even cushions.

They look like magazine illustrations to me. Maybe she could send some out to publications (maybe a teen mag)?

Your daughter is incredibly talented. Far superior to any of the work my peers and I created in GCSE art and I'm only referring to those of us who did well and went on to at least A level. I think selling prints rather than greetings cards would be a good first step. I'd probably recommend starting on Facebook or similar with a link to eBay. Do topical posts, link it to current issues, get people to share the posts and tag friends to win a freebie, that kind of thing. You must be very proud.

Yes! T-shirts using the main girl/guy close-up image and also the kissing one would be great.

She's very talented! I know a lot of people with prints like this in their home, I think they're lovely

Websites might be good for illustration work too. Buzzfeed, websites discussing relationships and gender issues. There are a lot of avenues she could go down to see what kind of response her work gets.

Really appreciate all the comments
She does lots of styles - she has pages of pen and ink hands / nature

It was me who suggested she may need a theme hence the post

She is predicted a 8/9 at gcse and is hoping to do A levels in Art, Graphics, engineering and Politics

My current opinion is she should just try

Thanks for advice re Etsy - very welcome

I'm fine with the gcse comment as that is what she is saying

I think if she had a reason such as trying the card thing, it will home her style

She did a portrait in oils for her final piece and it was amazing

Your comments are really useful ( she doesn't know I have posted yet)

Could she do some 'busking' in town to test the market? Street art doing caricature type of thing. I believe you can make contact with someone at your local council for permission. You should get a contact for the appropriate person via the access line.

Etsy shops are very cheap to run. They are a good way to gauge which of her pieces are more popular. She will get more likes on some pieces and none on others, but she shouldn't take it too personally. They might not sell, but it's very satisfying when someone gives you a nod that they appreciate what you are creating.

She's definitely talented and seems to have discovered her kind of art.

I personally wouldn't buy the face forward images. However I think the final picture could be marketable (the girl kissing the guy's cheek). It screams of love, romance and innocence. Same sex version etc. could do well too.

I'd suggest setting up an Instagram account to advertise her work and so she can link her etsy page.

She is predicted a 8/9 at gcse and is hoping to do A levels in Art, Graphics, engineering and Politics

My current opinion is she should just try

Do you mean you think she should do Etsy instead of A Levels? I also have an artistic hobby that I pursue professionally (fiction writing) and I would starve if I didn't have a day job. So would most musicians/artists/novelists. I would tell ANY budding artist to get themselves solid qualifications and a backup career, because very few of us earn enough to support ourselves with our art.