Here at Parrot Print we have a wide range of customers. We set up the business as photographers, who hadn’t come across a product that fitted what we ourselves required, but many of the people who buy from us purchase personalised canvas prints to give as gifts for friends and family.

We also work with art professionals, those who create canvas wall art to sell for profit and if you’re considering making the step into selling your own canvas print creations, this post has a few ideas to help get you started.

Get your canvas prints seen

There are many routes into selling art and not all will be suited to your particular niche or aims. But whatever path you choose, if you want to establish yourself as an artist you’ll need to get your works seen and the traditional way of doing  this is through exhibiting. Getting involved in your local art scene will help you establish where display opportunities may lie but there’s also scope to set up your own show. The Guardian published an article about holding your own open house festival, which has some good pointers. You may also want to set up your own online portfolio to display your canvas prints and other wall art but be aware this will require promotion too. There are lots of avenues you might pursue to give your online profile a boost; consider using social media to market yourself and your art or raise your online profile through blogging about your creations. 

Selling your works

It can be a little overwhelming to sell your wall art through your own store or website even if you only take commissions through the site and don’t actually accept any sales this way. Esty and Folksy are popular platforms for artists who sell prints, paintings and all sorts of other custom crafty creations. In return for using their readymade platform and benefitting from the marketing they conduct for the sites you will pay listing and selling fees. You might also choose to sell through a site tailored specifically to selling art works where fees may include gallery fees as well as selling fees.

Before you head online be sure to explore options in your local area – you might find there are local craft fairs or markets that you could display and sell your work at or perhaps a local craft or art shop would be willing to sell your works in return for a commission fee.  Many restaurants and cafés will display the works of local artists for free in return for the pleasure of having beautiful prints for their walls. Ask around to see if anywhere nearby offers this service and take some of your work in to show them.

Do you sell your canvas prints for profit or create them purely for pleasure? If you sell your art or photography do you have any tips for artists who are starting out? Please share your words of wisdom in the comments section below!