I've Sold Through Fairs, Platforms, and My Own Front Door. Here's What I Learned.

I've had my work bought at fairs by people I spoke to for ninety seconds, and I've had it bought by people who visited my studio four times before deciding. Both are real ways to acquire a painting. They are not the same experience, for the buyer or for me.

Fairs are fast, and that's both the appeal and the cost

There's an energy to a fair that a quiet gallery visit doesn't have. Decisions get made quickly, sometimes too quickly. I've watched people buy well under that pressure and I've watched people buy something they later admitted they didn't fully consider. If you're buying at a fair, give yourself a rule: walk the whole floor once before you commit to anything.

Online platforms flatten the work, literally

A photograph of a resin piece under gallery lighting and a photograph of the same piece on a phone screen are not conveying the same object. I still sell through platforms because they reach people who would otherwise never encounter my work, but I always tell buyers the same thing: if you can see it in person before it ships, do.

Selling directly changes the relationship entirely

When someone buys from me directly, in the studio or at the gallery, I get to tell them what a piece actually cost to make, not in dollars but in the version of it I threw out first. That context tends to matter to people more than they expect it to, and it's the reason I still make time for those conversations even when they're not efficient.

What I'd tell a new collector

Use whatever channel gets you in front of the work you're drawn to. But before you buy something significant, try to see it in person and try to talk to someone who can tell you about it beyond the wall text. That conversation is usually where the real value is.