Debra Keirce

I am a contributing author for Fine Art Views, a blog hosted by Bold Brush here on the Fine Art Studio Online platform. I highly recommend this blog, focused on providing quality art marketing and sales information for artists. Click HERE to see other articles I have written from August 2023 to October 2025. Click HERE to see the articles I've written since November 2025.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

July 2023

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

June 2023

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

May 2023

Just Do It

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

April 2023

If it’s Easy, Does Should it Cost Less?

Here is a concept I struggle with all the time. I bet many of you do too.

The value of our art has very little direct correlation to the amount of time spent creating it.

Stop and read that again please. Do you believe it? Intellectually I do. But my heart says it’s not right. In a just world, the art I spend more time creating should absolutely be worth more than the art that takes me little effort.

I didn’t write this article to discuss pricing strategies. This is more about resisting the urge to assign lower values to less labor intensive works. I’ve continued to do so, and it has not served me well. It’s something I am going to be more vigilant about.

Consider this. I can paint WAY faster now than I could in 1980. Yet my art sells for much more.

If you create things in series like I do, it takes much longer to give birth to the first pieces in the series. As you experiment and learn more efficient ways to breathe life into your ideas, you find you can accomplish them quicker. So does that mean the later pieces are worth less? For me, they are usually noticeably better than the first ones, but they took half the time. 

These things make your mind spin when you think too hard on them.

Even when aware of this, the majority of artists I know, myself included, prioritize time spent in our pricing rubric. After all, time is a currency - in the end some would say our MOST valuable resource.

“Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy” often translates in my head to “If it didn’t take a long time to manifest, it’s not really worth much.” Can you relate to this?

But how well is this working for us?

And, with AI tools entering the art scene, some may feel that AI generated or assisted art reduces the time the artist has to spend creating, making the outcome less valuable. Some of us remember that we had the same discussions when we stopped using 35mm slides as references and entered the world of digital photography.

It’s so hard to talk about how collectors value the time it takes for us to make art, because often they do not. Many famous artworks took the artist very little time to produce. Yet they have sold for tens of thousands and even millions. Do a google search on “sale of blank canvas makes history” and you’ll see this happens all the time. How can we reconcile this? 

We can’t. 

We can’t control perceived value of our artwork. The value of an artwork is subjective and dependent on the tastes and preferences of individual collectors. Some may place a high value on works that are technically impressive and demonstrate a high level of skill and craftsmanship, while others may be more interested in works that are experimental, innovative, or provocative, regardless of the time spent creating them.

So, as all things do for artists, it circles back to what do we, the creators, assign value to? Do we price an amazing painting we made in two hours lower than a piece we have struggled for days with and it still isn’t coming together right? Or do we charge by the square inch? Or do we have a formula based on the cost of our shipping and framing and supplies? These are all viable options. In reality, our art is worth what someone will pay for it, no matter how many hours we put into it.

I’ve come to a place where I price my works of similar size comparable to the last piece I sold. Every few years, I raise those price points by 10 percent. I compare my prices to peers who I feel are at the same place in their art journey as I am, just to be sure I am not pricing too high or too low. 

If you have not sold work, or are trying a new category, I find it’s best to compare your art to the prices of sold pieces by your peers. Sometimes we are too close to our own work to be objective. I will often ask friends or gallery owners what they think my work is worth, before I decide to set a price.

Whatever you decide to do, please think before you discount that artwork that feels like it created itself. I’ve heard from many artists that pieces we put the least effort into are the ones that often sell first, and at full price.

It’s something to think about.

Winnings

Last year, I won a little art contest at an event with several super accomplished realist painters who I admire greatly. My first response was to shout “I never win anything!” Just as soon as it was out of my mouth, someone shot back “Yes you do!” 

Often, I forget all the stuff I accomplish, because I'm striving so hard to do more. In that moment, I realized that I really do win quite often. But for me, that’s not the important thing. The important thing is to keep trying to win bigger. I grew up in Detroit, and it's like the muscle cars in the 1950's. I am always striving for the the next cooler, faster, more popular model. Sure, I win things. But I’m not winning the chance to be in the Prix de West exhibition… yet. 

If I settle for the winnings and accolades I have so far, I feel like that will be the end of my learning and growing. I’m not ready to stop learning and growing. For some people, it might be that they don’t want or need to devote resources to improving their skills. Maybe they want spend all their energy to get better at marketing and sales. That is a workable strategy too. It’s not mine though.

I believe it’s important to know yourself, and to know what it is you want to focus on being a winner at. I suppose it could be several things. We all want to be great at everything. But if you had to create a list and prioritize them, what would yours look like?

Here’s mine. The items at the top of my list are the ones I am currently investing in with the most time, energy, money and emotion.

1. Improving my drawing skills
2. Improving my painting skills
3. Developing relationships with sales and show venues
4. Deepening my relationships with existing collectors
5. Seeking rewarding experiences with small groups of fellow artists
6. Entering art shows and contests
7. Painting for my existing venues
8. Seeking commissions
9. Teaching workshops and mentoring students
10. Volunteering and networking 
11. Updating marketing and sales goals

Notice that every single item on my list has a marketing element associated with it. When I’m improving my skills, I can certainly use the activities I am doing as marketing bits. When I am pitching museums and art centers for shows, there is a lot of co-marketing involved. When I am teaching or volunteering, marketing and sales is part of that too. Pretty much everything we do as artists is part of our business plan.

Sometimes we feel like we have to do an overwhelming number of tasks. It’s true. This art career is often too big a job for one person. But a lot of what I personally do is multitasking. My lists overlap. 

It’s in the overlap that it’s easy to lose sight of the winnings. Just because we are reaching for best of show, isn't it important to NOT forget about the honorable mentions?

I almost forgot - I won THREE FAV 15% selections in the January 2023 Bold Brush Contests. Do you enter?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

February 2023

Slush Funds 

One of the most personal parts of our art business plans is how much and how many resources we set aside for a rainy day.

What you do, and what I do, will be vastly different, depending on where we are in our art journeys, and where we are in life. Some brave souls took the direct route and have always relied on art income for their livelihood. Others of us had, or have careers that are lucrative but don’t always feed our passion. Only you know what it takes to live the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.

Even if we are fortunate to have our basic needs paid for, there are still expenses and time expenditures to plan for. So, I think this discussion applies to all artists, whether you are a hobbyist, a serious full time beginner or seasoned professional.

Time and money are guaranteed to come and go in unexpected ways in this business. I have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours to attend solo shows where nothing sold. I have had great commissions fall into my lap, when I never spent time or money actively or directly pursuing them. The truth is, much of the direct sales are out of my control, most of the time.

How do we address the unpredictability of this challenge? We leave a buffer of cash and time that can be used as needed. I even have a stash of supplies for emergencies. I’ve got panels and frames and extra paint and brushes, just in case.

Easier said than done you say? I agree. 

By maintaining a cash, time and supply buffer, you can’t invest in all of the art opportunities you would if you were not limiting the hours you want to spend “arting.” You can’t spend money entering all the exhibitions you want to have on your resume. You can’t use all of your studio space to its fullest if you are stashing art supplies in valuable real estate. I propose that what you lose in opportunity, you gain in security. You can operate secure in the knowledge that you can afford the goals in your art marketing plan. You will have the time to work on unanticipated commissions that arise.

This strategy has been a lifeline for me. I can be obsessive, compulsive, and some would say crazy about my work ethic and what I am willing to do or spend to make my art goals happen. That’s just not healthy. So, I have had to set boundaries for myself. I’ve had to make sacrifices with this approach.

For time, I only work in my studio from 7am to 9pm each day. I take a break from noon to 3. I have dinner from 5 to 6pm. I know that still sounds crazy - 10 hour days, and often I am on calls or still working in some other way during breaks. But in my defense, I used to commute over an hour to work. Now I just walk to my basement studios. The point is, even if I am under deadline, I rarely work past 9pm. This has kept me sane. It creates a buffer of time and energy I can draw on when needed. If I don’t have pressing projects I can take the afternoon off. If I do have deadlines, I try hard to never walk into the next day without being well rested.

Similarly, I have a cash slush fund of 3 months worth of my expenses. This has come in handy for shipping and supply purchases I could not have predicted, on countless occasions.

I know not everyone is a planner. But if it is possible to set aside a cash reserve and to limit the time you invest in your art activities, I believe you will experience less stress. For me, I can’t imagine what life would be like if I didn’t have slush funds for my time and money.

Especially at the start of my art career, my tendency was to spend all the savings I had on marketing and advertising for events. If I had any funds remaining, I threw them back into my business in the form of supplies or educational pursuits. I can’t tell you how many times that backfired for me. Do you have a $5,000 10 foot square tent you’ve only used at one art fair? Then you know what I mean. In reality, by limiting my spending, it has caused me to make more thoughtful decisions about how to move forward.

Admittedly, I am really not a good poster child for life/work balance. As an empty nester with an understanding spouse, I no longer cook or clean. I don’t even socialize outside my family and art events. By choice, art is my life. However you judge me though, I do have boundaries on the time I spend teaching, creating and marketing my artwork. I didn’t always, and this feels like an improvement that allows me to remain passionate. I have never in all these decades experienced the burnout or lack of inspiration some artists talk about. I feel that is because I have structured my workdays to be manageable for me.

Just like we have to put our own oxygen masks on first to be of any help to others, we can’t give this career our best effort if our own resources are depleted. 

I hope this gives you food for thought. And I hope that you realize that we don’t have to deplete ourselves to enjoy vibrant professional lives in the arts.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

January 2023

Move the Needle 

Are you happy with the progress in your art business? I am right now, but there have been years when I REALLY wanted to move the needle forward. I felt like things were stagnating.

We all have good times. But some times are just a bear to navigate. For many of us, our reaction is to work harder. If I can just improve my skills, or if I can just get into a gallery, or if … You fill in the blank. 

What I found, is working harder on whatever I was doing - it was the least effective way to move the needle. In order to affect change, I had to completely alter my approach. I had to think outside the box. 

When the needle began to move slowly, THAT was the time to work harder. In my experience, working harder can accelerate things already in motion. Working harder rarely gets me out of the ditch. Only a different strategy does that.

When nobody was inviting me to be in their gallery, I joined a local group that was founding a co-op gallery. That gallery is still going strong today. I learned a lot about being on the other side of the sales desk, and after just a year working that start up, two other galleries had offered me representation. I am convinced this is because the experience in the co-op changed my whole demeanor.

When I was a beginner, I wasn’t winning awards in lots of shows. I threw myself into a smaller niche - the miniature fine art shows. There are many of them, all around the world. I entered them and learned so much. It was incredible learning to paint under lighted magnification, on panels that are less than 25 square inches. To this day, I love entering these shows. Contact me if you’d like information on some of them.

The process of working through how to create realistic art on such a small scale was priceless. It is what led me down the paths that got me to where I am today. Solving problems painting in little made me a better painter of full sized pieces. The experience changed my approach to painting profoundly, from the medium and substrate I use, to the most basic ways of creating the illusion of depth. I started winning awards and getting sales in national shows, frequently.

Sometimes one success can hamper another. When I first started my art business, I built up a robust commissioned painting sales history. Then, I got representation in galleries in 2010. By 2012, my commission sales had all but disappeared. My artwork was priced according to the gallery standards, and it was important to me to keep all my pricing consistent. I couldn’t afford the gallery’s 50% cut without raising my prices, so my existing commission clients dried up. They didn’t want to pay more than they had been.

What to do? I sent a letter to each of my galleries. I made a pitch that  whatever collectors might want, I could paint it. My tagline was “If you can photograph it, I can paint it.” I wrote about how I can paint any subject, person, place or thing. I printed postcards with images of my past commissions. These were pets, people, favorite vacation spots, churches, groupings of favorite wines, houses, etc. I also created several paintings for the galleries to hang that were examples of the types of artworks patrons could commission. In the middle of the display, I put a framed sign that said “commissions welcome.” 

It worked. Soon, the gallery owners were getting requests from their clients. Just describing what I could do got the gallery owners and their collectors talking about what I could do for them.

In every gallery, there are times when sales are slow. I asked if I could come on a few weekends during those times, and do “interactive painting demonstrations.” I painted small pieces to where they were almost finished. Then I put a layer of varnish on them. I invited patrons to come during my demo and paint on them from a reference photo. Then when they walked away, I removed their paint layer with solvent, so the painting in progress was ready for the next person to step up and give it a go.

By the second or third time I showed up in each venue, there were repeat visitors, and a few sales. I started the needle moving in the right direction, so the hard work could begin to accelerate it.

I’m not suggesting you add a bunch of lines to your already long to do list for the year. But I am strongly recommending that you stop working hard for a minute. Take a look at whether your needles are moving. If they are stuck, how convinced are you that hard work doing the same things you have been doing will get them moving?

Is it maybe time to think up a different way of working? We are creatives. It’s what we do. Are there creative solutions that could make your hard work pay off bigger dividends? 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

December 2022

Keep it Simple 

How simple is your approach to marketing and sales? Complicated plans are hard to sustain.  Yet, doing a marketing and sales strategy longterm is crucial in our business. If you are like me, you have times when your art business gets so complicated, you stop doing it and just go paint. Is it time to get rid of some of the clutter? 

What does that mean? For me, simple plans become automatic tasks I do without having to think. This is much more enjoyable than facing a lengthy to do list.

Here are some ways I have streamlined over the years. I’d love to hear what you have done.

1. I try to do things at the same time of day, week or month. Or, I combine a task with the completion of another one. This creates a routine. I always do my social media posts in breaks between paintings. I answer art business emails after meals. Each month I write my newsletter the same time I review the current and upcoming events with my art. I make phone calls at the start of business or right after lunch if they aren’t in the eastern time zone. Once you set up your own routines, it’s like a dance where you get into a natural rhythm.
2. I set aside a week or two each year for doing any time consuming marketing work I tend to avoid. Routine maintenance of my mailing lists and addressing mass mailings get lumped into this timeframe. Downloading images to external drives and removing them from my desktop, deep cleaning my studio and teaching spaces, and reordering supplies all take place during this period as well.
3. I optimize details to better manage big tasks as much as possible. I think about ways to get each step done easier, faster, with fewer resources. Each year, new tech solutions become available, but I try to utilize tools I already have. If I have to print out labels for  my next art show, did you know there is a feature in FASO that allows you to do that easily? I can even print out the description for each painting if I want. I enter things like show application deadlines, membership renewals, regular check ins with my galleries into my Google calendar. 
4. Sharing paid accounts is a way I have made the business of work that involves others a bit easier. I share a zoom account with friends. I established a habit of meeting regularly with groups I am doing projects with. This makes it automatic to review the status of the shows and workshops we are organizing. I also share a FASO website with two other artists. They have their own FASO websites, but sharing one for our group means I don’t have to do all the work maintaining our site.
5. Another simplification that works for me is consistent prioritization. As an example, I prioritize email replies. If you are a commission client, you will hear from me immediately. If you are a gallery or show venue, I will respond within the day. If you are a fellow artist I usually get back to you in a few days. Others may be in my inbox for up to a week. However you prioritize the fires you put out immediately vs. the ones you let simmer, I find it’s important to have a hierarchy. If I try to do everything at once, I get overwhelmed.
6. Something I have recently started doing, is bookending my trips. When I travel, I take the day before I leave, clear my calendar, and spend it preparing for the trip. Then I spend my first day home, wrapping up my time away. This makes re-entry into real life SO much easier. I believe it saves me time in the long run. It simplifies things, because I am not constantly flipping between the to do list I generated during my trip and the real life things that have to be done.
7. Something I keep meaning to do, but just haven’t been real good about yet, is simplifying my workspace. I tend to spread out and have supplies piled up around me. I would love to take a more minimalistic approach, because the stashes of brushes and hoards of frames and piles of things I use once or twice a year - well, they have turned into yetis in my studio. Now that I’ve written it down, perhaps I will get to work at making my studio space simpler. At the very least, I have it in my google calendar to annually do a studio deep cleaning.
8. I also have thought about, but not implemented, a plan to simplify my art venues. I spend a lot of time traveling to remote locations that can be costly and time consuming to teach or attend art show receptions in. I should be better about considering these things when I investigate new venue opportunities. I need some more easily accessible places on my calendar! But I also can work to secure more venues in those remote areas, so it’s possible to combine business at multiple venues into single trips.
9. And finally, I’ve started to simplify my online marketing activities. For awhile, it seemed like people were only interacting online. Now that in person events are happening again, I want to use my online resources to direct folks to them. I can reduce efforts in many of the other daily activities. As an example, just because I have always had two instagram accounts, doesn’t mean I need them both anymore. One was created to hold me accountable to sketch each day. I sketch daily so automatically now, I don’t need to keep posting those sketches on IG. One of the groups I do traveling exhibitions with had a routine of weekly facebook live sessions where we would take turns demonstrating various things we were working on. Those recordings served their purpose, but we all agreed we were ready to take a break from doing them. It’s important to keep circling back and reviewing whether the things you are doing still serve a purpose for you. Goals change.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

November 2022

 

Big Fish, Little Fish

Of the many marketing strategies, one in particular takes courage. Both of my sons have fish tanks, and I think of it every time I visit their houses. 

In almost every marketing scenario you will be a big fish in a little pond, or a little fish in a big pond. Of course, how you define big and little will change how useful this metaphor is for you, but bear with me.

 

Think about whether you are the big fish, like you hopefully are at your own show openings, where your job is to market to people who are familiar with you. How is this different from the times when you are the little fish, just trying to get the attention of people you’ve never interacted with?

 

Can we better manage the environments we market in? Conventional wisdom would have us stay with what works. Little ponds are safe and predictable. But if we take risks and strive for the seemingly impossible, what is there to lose? If the cost is not prohibitive, what is holding us back? Are we afraid to swim with the sharks because it might hurt? Fair enough.

 

Most artists begin by building a business around their local art scene. These are the countywide art fairs, and shows that cater to artists and collectors in your community. Some of us rent a community center or speak to the vineyard owners, schools, 55 and over active adult communities, etc. We create our own art shows with small groups of other entrepreneurs. We run ads in neighborhood newsletters to solicit commissions. These are all fabulous strategies for growing a following.

 

Then, many of us get brave. We decide to be a little fish in a big pond. We enter international shows and strive for signature status in prestigious societies. We take risks and some pay off. Many of us give up trying and retreat back to what we know.

 

Maybe a more conservative approach is to mix it up with a little of both. But as we grow in our skills and followers, it’s tempting to lean into the local art experiences. That’s where we win the most awards, we don’t have shipping costs, we can meet our collectors at the coffee shop for discussions about commissions.

 

If this works for you, then great! There are many, many artists who live out very fulfilling careers by focusing on their local art scene. There are no right or wrong places to sell your art and share your talents. 

 

However… if you’ve never tried, or if you’ve tried and given up on entering the worldwide art scene, could it serve you to jump into the bigger pond? It is so easy to dismiss or overlook the opportunities that seem like more work and less sales potential when you are comfortable where you are. It takes an aggressive strategy to devote energy to juried sales venues when you have only a small chance of being accepted.

 

I can share with you the adventures I have experienced because I routinely market and reach out to art circles I am not an obvious choice for. Here are just a few of those times when I was a brave little fish in a big pond and didn’t get eaten.

 

1. I am going out to sea on a cutter with the U.S. Coast Guard! I have no military background whatsoever. 

 

I was invited to be an artist in residency on a military deployment. I am gathering reference materials for artworks that tell the stories of the service men and women in the coast guard. My paintings will be juried into the government collection, hopefully. 

 

If I had not applied to be juried into the Coast Guard Art Program, I never would have had this opportunity. There are no cash awards in COGAP. In fact, your art becomes part of the public domain and you give away your copyright, something we are all trained to never do. It’s a big pond. But, is this not the BEST artist residency EVER?! And it is rare, even for COGAP artists, to be invited out to sea on deployments. So, I'm feeling doubly blessed.

 

2. I am currently and diligently spending 30 hours per week studying an art curriculum. Dozens of the artists I admire have graduated from this art academy. I should work my way through it all in about 4 years. Because I reached out to this amazing group of artists from around the world, I am now a part of the peer group associated with the school. I value their advice and friendship. These relationships have already had a huge impact on my art skills. I could easily have continued on my own. Hanging out with such accomplished artists in their bigger pond was intimidating at first. But, really good things are happening because of this commitment.

 

3. There are two groups of 3 artists each that I do traveling exhibitions with. Over the last ten years, we have had successful shows with many museums and art centers around the country, and Japan. For both groups, we are scheduled through 2023 and are lining up bookings for 2024/25 right now. 

 

Have you thought to approach venues for a traveling art show? Honestly, it’s hard to predict which venues will be more profitable. Some of the smallest end up with more sales and opportunities than the larger, more established museums. We work to create relations with all types of retail locations, and it has enriched our art journeys beyond measure. It takes energy and guts to do this.

 

4. The biggest commission of my life so far happened because three solo shows I had at galleries were homage to the masters shows. For exhibitions in NC, SC and VA, I painted works that were my spin on famous paintings. I took a chance at my version of Starry Night being alongside an image of Van Gogh’s. I painted the girl without the pearl earring and one in a red hat too. Instead of Vitruvian Man, I painted my vitruvian son. These quirky nods to master works caught the eye of a design firm in London. They commissioned me to paint 11 original works for a five star hotel in Boston! If I’d stuck to my usual safe series of glass still life paintings that sell well, I never would have created the homage to the masters pieces.

 

5. I have no desire to ride a horse. Frankly, they scare me. The last time I was on one it tried to kill me. I love what majestic creatures they are though. I have attended a few photo shoots with horses, cowboys, and Native Americans. I did this simply because I have lived my whole life east of the Mississippi. Western art enchants me, and I wanted to be a little fish in a big pond. This part of my art journey is still developing, but so far I have made so many new friends in the world of western art. As a result, I am going to be in an art show at a restaurant in Oklahoma, I am in a juried society of women artists of the west, and I suddenly want to paint more horses, bison and wildlife.

 

None of these experiences were scripted. I couldn’t have predicted all the good things they would precipitate if I’d tried. I didn’t swim into bigger ponds because I expected a better return on my investment of time and money. The easy thing would be to continue doing what I know works. I would stay at home and paint the subjects I know I can sell in the nearest coffee shop. That would be wonderful. Maybe I will settle down and do just that one day. But right now, I am having a blast traveling and exploring this big world. I’m doing some local art events, but the majority of what I do is not local. I get more rejections from shows than acceptances. I apply to about 15 venues for our traveling shows for every one that actually happens. My dreams scare me a little. That’s my marketing strategy… for now.

 

What’s yours?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

October 2022

Consistency - Is it Key?