Free Paintings? Really?

No, I really am going to give some of my original and most recent paintings away for free. Why? Well, for a couple of reasons really. The first is that not everyone can afford to own a piece of original artwork or perhaps has even considered wanting to own something. I think art should be easily accessible and not confined to those who are likely to frequent expensive and oftentimes intimidating galleries. Secondly, as a relatively new artist one of the key routes to selling regularly and consistently is to be known. But, without gallery representation how can one become known? There are thousands of artists out there and every one of us needs something that allows us to stand out from the crowd - a unique selling point.

Okay, so you may well buy in to my first point but are now wondering how can the second one possibly work. After all, I’ve just said that artists need to sell. Well, I’ve been trying all the advice on how to manage social media and this has been reasonably successful but I am by no means a viral internet sensation! My efforts on Pinterest have been the most productive having turned a monthly audience of zero into over 30k in just a couple of months and its still rising. Pinterest and Etsy both drive the majority of my non-commissioned sales. But commissions are where the real earnings come from but, as I said before, an artist needs to be known. So how does giving my art away for free do that then?

There must be a catch, right?

There really is no catch. My plan is quite simple. Give some paintings away for free to complete strangers in the hope that they will, in return, visit my website and shop and maybe buy something else in the future. But, more importantly, I’m also going to be asking them to post their find on their own social media so that I get a wider audience potential and certainly an audience that I would otherwise not have had access to.

Here’s how it will work in practice. First, I will produce a series of small (10 x 8 inch canvas) acrylic paintings, mostly abstract in nature. I will sign and date each one but will also add information with the painting that will include my website, social media links and my shop. I will also include a leaflet explaining why I’m giving the painting away and ask for the new owner to highlight their find on their own social media and tag me in. That’s all the payment I need.

Now, in my day job I get to travel a lot, both in the UK and abroad. So, my plan is to deposit a painting in a public location in every new town or city that I visit. The painting will be packaged up with a note on the front explaining that free artwork is inside and I will include a picture of the piece so that people can decide if they want it or not. The package will also have contact details for me so that I don’t end up on the news having caused a security scare! I will also check with the owners/managers of the locations I intend to leave the painting to also prevent any undue concerns.

Where will the free paintings be?

My first trips out will be before the end of January to my home town of Reading and then Newbury in the UK and in early February I will be visiting Vienna, Austria where the third painting will be deposited. In March I will be in Ottawa, Canada so these are going to get quite a global coverage! I’ll keep doing this for a while and see what the response is like and will return to the blog to let you know.

What paintings will be given away?

Each painting that I create for this free giveaway will be posted here in the Free Artwork section of this website.

What do you think? Commercial suicide? Great idea? Do let me know.