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

The A level is prescriptive, but then it may have been just the exam board chosen by my college. As an example we were only permitted to use gouache which to me is like working with a cross between poor quality water paint and toddlers poster paint. I worked in oils and had done so since I was 11. I was told under no circumstances would this be allowed. I preferred using thick graphite pencils, I was given charcoal. I enjoyed doing portraits and work from my imagination, I was sat for hours doing still life and nudes. The transition from being able and encouraged to be creative to working on what was considered foundational skills was crippling.

My advice would be to find a way of circumventing the need for art at A level. If she wants to do fine art at degree then I'm sure it's possible. You need to have a portfolio of work, exam results are not nearly as important as you may think. I scraped d at a level art but based upon my portfolio of work, mostly old work (produced in my spare time) I was accepted onto a degree. Of course this was a long time ago.

I would ask a lot of questions of any potential college and I would want to know which exam board and a lot about the subject and how it's going to be taught and assessed.

I wish I had done this with ds. He's now struggling with two different sets of mathematical notation in maths and physics, because his college chose the exam boards they did. It's not necessary or desirable. Plus the way the subjects are taught is to...... actually avoid the need for tutors to teach! He's a talented and able person but it's slowly eroding his confidence.

So, do lots of research.

I wouldn't buy cards with those on (the op).

I would buy a drawing of someone I'd sent her a photo of though, and cards with nature/animals etc.

I think shes got a talent. I hope she pursues it, even if just to continue to improve rather than marketing stuff, but i can definitely see there being a market for her work. I think those designs would look great on a tote bag

My daughter is an amazing artist! At 16 she produced similar art to your daughter which seems quite good. Now 22 her art is 100% better and she could sell it quite easily in fact she has been offered money for it but she always declines I don’t know why! Keep encouraging her!

Frogsouo

Too late she’s real to me now I want that Tudor kings book

I would try somewhere like www.redbubble.com/ to start off with.

They market your art and you choose what products it gets printed on, earning a percentage of the sale price. No idea of the details - but I’m thinking she’ll get an idea of what she can market and then later on sell the originals on Etsy? It also means she doesn’t have the initially outlay of printing and paper for cards etc.

I think she is on the way to being very good. It’s too early for Etsy though. It’s not a quick easy way to make money. I’ve done it. It’s hard. She needs to do a lot of research of what sells, how to get her images printed cost effectively and with high quality (understanding how colours can be affected, different paper types, quantities etc) she needs to know how to market herself on social media, the fees Etsy charges, understanding postal fees and how to charge the customer fairly. It’s not easy for a 16 year old and she would make a lot more money, faster and with greater satisfaction at a Saturday job.

I don’t want to be mean OP and if she continues to work hard she should absolutely sell her artwork in the future. But it’s really not as simple as you may think.

I am the pope and I know what I like!

Whose old enough to remember that monty python sketch