could anyone share experience/advise on selling orig painting (not valuable)

[alltoomuchrightnow]

I bought an original painting because at the time I fell in love with it; quite unusual and loved the colours too
However i never put it up and no longer want it (reminds me too much of old life with nasty ex and seeing it just hanging around never being put up)
It's not by anyone famous, for all I know could be done by a hobbyist /amateur .Name of Peter Sykes, has signature on the actual painting
I will do it collection only
But I have no idea of what price to start at
I'll put up a photo of it on here in a bit
It's paint on canvas, and framed
It appealed to me because I'm a pagan, as it depicts naked dancing women in a forest
A lesbian friend suggested there could be a gay market for it too - especially lesbian witches because of the sky clad women!
Not really sure how to sell it or for how much. Or if I should even choose eBay at all (can you sell paintings by someone else on Etsy?)
I don't want it to go for to little as it is so unusual
I've just got no room to store it

whole scene

part of scene

Go for it. I sold a butterworth on eBay, put it on a buy it now for £300 and I went in a few days.
It's worth a try

in your honest opinion what would you, personally, Purple,put on this painting, as a buy it now
it's approx 19.5 x 29 inches (not inc the frame) so is a fair size
there are a few minor 'flaws' on it. some I think from when it was being painted.
and some a few from wear e.g. tiny scratches. nothing major at all though
hang on i'll put up some more photos
I really am out of depth here!
do people like originals even if by complete unknowns or potentially complete amateurs

splodge (in centre) … age mark or done when painting perhaps. Obviously look worse as magnified here

little white dots here are minor scratches/ scuffs

I like it and I don't think it looks like an amateur painter. The frame doesn't do it any favours though. If you can remove the frame easily it might be worth either reframing very cheaply it or simply painting the frame. If you use a spray can its a 5 minute job.

What paint medium is it? Are you absolutely sure it's an original painting and not a print. I work for a charity selling prints and sometimes it's extremely difficult to tell the difference. We look at pictures using a magnifying glass all the time.

Do you have an antiques/art auction house that you could take it to just to very sure it's not worth more than you think? We have a local company that gives free valuations a couple of time a month.

I would try it on Ebay as BIN. You don't know until you try. List it tonite with all these photos & every last detail for 30 days with a Best Offer option; list it for the price you'd like & think is realistic. You'll get offers well below that, give you an idea what interest might be.

yes it's paint you can see and feel the texture
ok if you were me.., what price for a BIN?!
eg £100
£200
£300
£50 etc

what would be highest you would put, hoping people would take a chance

also should i do collection only
which means less potential buyers
i suppose i could send, if started at a higher price
but how would i pack and send it safely

Just a word of warning - be careful that it doesn't contravene eBay's adult material policy . Looking at the painting it seems pretty innocuous to me but a family member had two of his LP record listings removed because the covers were deemed to violate this. He was both mortified
and mystified in equal measure - both the LP's were openly displayed in record shops and other web-sites and when he checked there were other listings on ebay which carried the same images as he had put up.

I'd definitely go to an auction house first. You could be underselling here.

Have you looked up the artist to see if he's 'known'?

yes I have looked up, he's not known
Really, Millymae ? that's outrageous! what were they?
there's only small nipples seen in this painting

I really like the picture so if I do then I'm sure other people will like it

I would definitely get it valued before selling it. (I still think you should do something about the frame though)

I research artists a lot but I couldn't find anything about this artist either. Is there any more information on the back? Do you think it's in its original frame? If so, does it look old?

frame does not look old
yet picture does look older
should i split it open?
hang on i'll put up a photo of the back

there's no info on the back so i wonder if is inside

back of

signature

do you have to pay to have paintings valued?

That is a very striking painting.

I buy a fair bit of art on eBay precisely because it doesn't tend to go for good prices.

Personally, I would take it to a good local auction house (not Sotheby's, but whoever is the dominant estate clearance house in your area) and get their valuation. They will give you a valuation for free, with a view to selling it - if you want a written valuation for insurance, you'd have to pay for that.

I got tired of a painting I'd bought on eBay for 500 and sold it for 1500 at a local auction house - I think you really would get a better result.

If you do decide to go through eBay, you will need better photos (natural light, if possible), and I would certainly include the words "Art Deco style" - that's a very typical Art Deco grouping, though I would be surprised if it were actually from the period. I would guess that the artist copied the composition of those figures either a sculpture or an older painting.

I would also suggest offering postage - you will really limit yourself if you don't. The pagan angle may well be worth pursuing - there are millions of listings at any one time, and the more specifics you give, the more you help buyers to find you. I'd list it not only in the art category but also in the spirituality/pagan category.

Actually, looking at the photos again, if you do decide to put it on eBay I think you should go for an auction rather than a BIN. It's very arresting, and I can see several people falling in love with it. No point setting a BIN if you could have a bidding war!

I have found a reference to an artist called Peter Sykes in a US paper It's not very illuminating though. . I will carry on looking.

Maybe THIS GUY ?? It says he liked acrylic and watercolour.

It's not an unusual name though so it's very speculative. I can imagine that picture being painted by a Maine artist though - it's an arty spiritual hippy type of place.