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

I would definitely not put her on Etsy at this point, you could really put her off developing if she does not get sales

I don't think your plan is a way to help her self belief. Holding down a job, doing voluntary work are better ways to encourage her, while still working hard at school.
I think your plan could backfire massively if she gets no sales (or are you planning to buy them yourself?)

I like them. Try googling Phoenix greeting cards, they are always looking for new designs.

She definitely has talent, but I’d agree with the PP with the GCSE comment. I think it’s really important to encourage her to work on her form and gain some confidence in her own work before she tries to make money from it. Also completely agree with the PP who said the qualifications side of things is vital.

I don’t think you should pressure her. If she doesn’t want to it’s not the time. She’ll come up with her thing... when she does, support her.

(But I really enjoyed the art)

I don't think you should stress the talent aspect of things tbh. It will not help her shaky self-belief, because all artists draw things that they feel are not up to scratch, all the time, and if you are relying on a notion of god-given talent to get you through, then the instant you make a mistake then you are in danger of starting to think 'oh so maybe I'm not so talented after all.' And if you make art, you need to be very comfortable making mistakes, or you'll certainly never get anywhere.

She can draw, for sure. If she practices more, then she'll get even better. I'm not sure pushing her into selling greetings cards aged 16 is necessarily going to be the best way to support her artistic development. Some people will love her stuff, others may give her harsh feedback (see above). And the temptation even if they do love it will then be to just keep on producing the same kind of drawing over and over just for the sake of it, which will not develop her style or her skill. Why not encourage her instead to find ways to keep pushing her skills further and developing her style? Sketchbooking, gallery visits, projects, workshops, etc etc.

Encourage her to go for it!

It's one of those things where you won't know until you try it - there is a market out there for so many different artistic styles now, so she may well find a demand for hers.

She can start small and test the water, and just see how it goes...

I see a lot of GCSE art! I also see a lot of foundation, graduate and post grad art. This is GCSE level. She will improve but at the moment it is GCSE art level.

I don’t think it’s spiteful, it’s truthful. I too see a lot of GCSE Art, I’m on the same corridor as the Art department who are currently exhibiting the GCSE work.

I think, as mentioned, that a title/theme would be useful.

To clarify I'm not pushing her to do anything
She is usually v passionate about lots of things in life and she v much drives her own boat !
It was simply a flat moment tonight where the realisation of what her health will allow, made me post as my limited knowledge of the art world thought of Etsy. Your much better informed ideas and insightful advice about her not being ready is useful

I'm not trying to get her to set up business etc, it was just a thought in lieu of holiday job. You have given her loads of other avenues to think about and explore

All the comments re being GCSE level are true and exactly where she is- again she would be the first to say this

I have no idea where she will be in a couple of years and she will grow while she studies. Her sixth form starts with 4 Alevels and then at Oct she will prob choose 3- most likely Art, Graphics as gets A** in this and politics

As a family we will support her in whatever she does, our only aim is for her to be happy and well

The advice received was much more than anticipated and has been most helpful

Encourage her to go for it!

It's not really going for it though is it.

Selling cards on Etsy because your Mum thinks you are good and you have produced some stuff that gets you through GCSE art.

I have seen some "fantastic" artwork produced by kids until you go to a parents open evening and you find out that the whole class has produced similar- if not nearly identical pieces of artwork.

Because they were being taught specific techniques, styles, uses of materials.
And that is right- kids need to master the use of tools, materials techniques before they can really let loose and become creative.

Work like the OP has posted decorates the walls of every art department in every school in the UK.

If she want to gauge her appeal it may be worth posting her art work on DeviantArt.
BTW it is not dodgy.

Postymalone
It’s very average and I doubt anyone would pay for it

What a little ray of sunshine you are

I think she has talent although I would say her market would obviously be younger than me.

Do you have a general market near where you live? If so it might be worth her making some cards, framed prints and trying her luck renting a stall on a Saturday?

Whatever she does, I wish her well.

No one can be predicted a 9 because it doesn't exist yet.

There's talent there, but it should be nurtured. Don't go down the Etsy route as it clouds this creativity. Do A levels (graphics and Art might be intense!) and definitely do a Foundation Course - best year in ed, and stops expensive mistakes. Maturity counts TONNES.

And I agree that it's not in the slightest bit spiteful to say that's good GCSE-level art. It is exactly that! Drawing is not some magic talent that you either have or haven't got - it comes easier to some than others, but getting to a professional level takes many many years of practice. She has a long way to go - even people who've been drawing for decades feel that, so at 16 it'd be rather depressing if her skill had peaked already!!!

I don't know any current practising artists (even extraordinarily successful world-renowned ones) who were selling their art at 16 - that tells you something.

I don't think it's at the level to sell either. She clearly has talent, but it's still school-level work. Give her a while to keep developing her technique and ideas, and she may have some great work to sell.

You say that you'd love her to follow her dreams - but is this really HER dream? It sounds like she doesn't really want to do it/feel ready for it yet, and it's not her dream until she is really keen to do it. It changes the nature of a hobby once you make it into a money-making business, and you can quickly end up changing your attitude towards something you used to love once it becomes work. It needs to be something that she is really motivated to do in the first place, to avoid losing that enjoyment.

I love it and it's fun ! Agree she's still evolving and growing as an artist ! She's very talented for just 16.

I love pen and ink art, I went through a phase of buying original pen and ink art off of eBay a few years ago.

I really like the first image and if I saw it on a market stall, I would buy. The other two aren’t to my taste, but that doesn’t mean anything.

"you don't make that much money in art "

This, on the other hand, is not an informed comment either. If you want to make money from fine art and selling paintings, then sure, there's not much money. But I know graphic designers and product designers and fashion designers who are making serious dosh. Think of all the posters you see on the tube or the bus. All the products in the shops. All the graphics in films, tv, etc. All the illustrations in books. And shops, Do you think all this was made for nothing by starving artists in their garrets? Nope.

Do A levels (graphics and Art might be intense!) and definitely do a Foundation Course - best year in ed, and stops expensive mistakes. Maturity counts TONNES.

I would do engineering in case she ends up interested in sculpture or installation art.

Plus massive shortage of female engineers!

This was nothing to do with her GCSE project - she has notebooks, art books she simply draws for pleasure
GCSE project this year was around merging two v different themes so nothing to do with the images I snapped
Again to clarify we are both saying she is at GCSE level, it was simply a discussion about how she can begin to explore the wider world of art ( which some of you have helpfully advised some other ideas)
She loves galleries, photography and has a v wide range of interests - she may well end up doing something completely different
She has a long summer ahead and was offering my limited Mum advice - hence my query

I can't honestly see them selling. They're good, but she's got a way to go yet.

Does she have a deviantart account? If she doesn’t, it’s well worth setting one up. It’s a website with the intention of sharing art or literature, but you can also sell the artwork you create, and if she settles in the right community on there, IYSWIM, I think she could definitely set up commissions and the like. You can sign up from the age of 13 - there are some explicit ‘artful nude’ style pictures BUT the mature content filter blocks these out. I joined at 11 (bad, bad PIZZA) and I had to set the mature content filter up myself, but I think nowadays it’s automatically set up.

I know a fair few people who have earned a few bob through deviantART, for the very talented few it has led to job opportunities. And I really think her artwork is marketable - there is definite talent there! Just that she needs to ‘hone her skills’ slightly I think to earn the big £££. On deviantart there's also a feature where you can ask other users for critique on pieces - she might find this helpful.

I love, love, love that final piece with the girl kissing the guy’s cheek - that one really is impressive. Agree with a PP that she’s definitely ‘found her style’ too. Have never tried Etsy but know a few people who use it successfully - also worth a go.

I wish her all the best of luck, OP. :)

She certainly good. Perhaps not any better than some of the GCSE and A level students at DD's school but that doesn't mean they won't sell. At DD's school the A level students are encouraged to try selling their work on the internet.

She should go for it, nothing ventured and all that!

My dd is 13 and does Japanese style drawings, she’s sold a few designs that she’s put on red bubble and has just got her first commission doing the artwork for a programme, paying decent money!

She has ASD and is home educated as she couldn’t cope with school so it’s a great confidence boost for her. Although most of the time she claims that her drawings are nowhere near good enough yet, and that so many people are better than her etc etc.

Here’s a couple of things she has done recently.