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How The Internet Is Driving Innovation In The Art Industry

How the Internet is Driving Innovation in the Art Industry

by Aaron Method

The shops in Martinsville, Indiana are pretty typical of the small town mom-and-pop shops and art coops around the state. They mainly feature local artists, or those with local connections. Two are on the town square, one is just off of the town square, and the last is the Art Sanctuary, which is the former First United Methodist building on the next block.

These businesses get their traffic from both locals and tourists. Martinsville is known for its antiques and primitive stores and the owners report that they have regulars that drive from an hour or more away to make the rounds.

These businesses, however, are not equipped to deal with the complexities of the Internet trade. Having in-laws who have a successful, 10 year old web-based business and comparing it to my own past experiences in traditional specialty retail, I can see why the corner store remains so popular among many artists even though it limits their visibility and certainly that will probably never change in high traffic areas. Locally Nashville, Indiana is considered a destination that more than likely will remain successful for artists. However particularly in an economic downturn the market for art dwindles in any given area. And just like with so many enterprises, solutions exist online for those artists who feel a need to harness the Internet for themselves.

Among many things that I do is help others develop their own business plan. My latest client, Christy Santo, has been drawing for over a decade. She has literally reams of original line drawings that draw from many different artistic traditions. Some see echoes of Celtic or Japanese art, and others have commented on the Islamic character of some of her art. She wants to monetize this art except because of her preferred media (ink pen on paper), she has been excluded by local art galleries as “just drawings, not artwork.”

Drawing upon Paul Zane Pilzer’s “Rise of the Creative Class” and “The Next Millionaires” I reminded her that so often we encounter resistance when we try to do something we haven’t tried before. I suggested she look to not to traditional solutions, but to get her art in front of as many people as possible for the lowest entry price. Rather than rent stalls and space in galleries or join mostly-closed existing co-ops, she needed to create her own reputation. And on her budget she needed to do it for virtually nothing.

We looked at various options and decided to find commercial spaces actively looking for vendors online. We found one in Wirtland, a virtual country. Christy checked it out the stand-by for do-it-yourselfers, Café Press, and found a way to drop-ship canvases for people to purchase for their home. The credit card processor she thought would be sufficient would only accept cards issued by US banks and turned to PayPal. Paypal also solved another problem, being able to do downloads, Paypal recommended a download site that integrates the PayPal purchase with restricted, secured downloads—perfect for folks who want to buy the image and print it out for themselves on whatever paper they wish to do so. Through Café Press, she has the option of putting the designs on finished merchandise.

One of the biggest problems when combining art with Internet sales is overcoming one’s desire to have 100% control over the process and output. Christy’s initial concept of releasing collected artwork as downloads and canvas proved to be too limiting despite her preference for it, and instead she managed to reconcile herself with the idea of a broader range adding ceramic tiles, tote bags, shirts, and keepsake boxes.

This Internet struggle has actually been the hardest part of the struggle. As I talk with local painters, they find it difficult to accept the notion of selling mass-produced prints, and certainly they are frequently not comfortable with ideas such as digital downloads that can be used however, the purchaser wishes. For them, the risk of loss of control over intellectual property is not worth the greater exposure possible with these third party tools.

Certainly, the type of art involved impacted the options available. With line drawings, it is easy to transfer to surfaces using digital scans. Primarily single-color ink works are cheaper to reproduce than acrylic or watercolors. And with a few exceptions, the range of services just isn’t available for sculptures and the like.

There is, however, nothing about the process that fundamentally impacts, one’s ability to earn extra income from one’s work. In the end, business is about connecting the people with products with those who see value in those products, and getting the two to agree to an equitable exchange. And although www.christysartistictouch.com is my first shot at helping someone get started with an online art business, I am certain it will not be my last. More business happens on the Internet every day and though brick and mortar stores are not going away the range of products and services online continue to grow.

I am excited to watch budding entrepreneurs define their own niches and learn how to leverage the low-cost tools around them to profitable and enjoyable ends, and always surprised and gratified by the varied tools they uncover on their own. Every business is unique and has its own challenges, and each challenge has its own solutions.