If you don't want to sell your art, what do you do with it?

[madtripper]

I am retired and not really interested in making money with my art. I also don't want it sitting around the basement collecting dust. Family and friends only want so much of your creations. What do you do with excess pieces?

[maryinasia]

I haven't run out of family and friends to give them to yet.

[Davkin]

I do want to sell my art, eventually but most of it is not good enough so I store my "failures" (ie, learning exercises) in the basement. I do go back and look at them from time to time to track my progress and for reference. I'll see an old painting and realize it was a good idea/composition just poorly executed and I can do better now, so I pull it out as a reference for a new attempt. It helps that I usually paint on 1/8" thick panels, the paintings take up a lot less space in storage that way.

David

[Journeyman]

Most of my work is life drawing on large sheets of paper and oil paintings on board and canvas. Once a year in the autumn I sort through the drawings( I use both sides of the paper) to see if I want to keep any (not many survive) the rest go in the garden to mulch the vegetable beds. The paintings also get sorted out for keeping and reusing. To reuse the canvas and boards I first sand them down with corse production paper and either just turn them upside down and repaint on them or give them a coat of white oil primer.

Dave

[maryinasia]

I want to add, I have recently started to paint a pile of paintings, then let friends or family choose from them which they want. That way, I'm not gifting someone with an unwanted painting

[CSForest]

Your poll choices seem to imply that the reason I don't want to sell a piece is because it's bad. Why else would I want to throw it out or hide it? If I have a painting I don't want to sell it's usually because I'm attached to it. It's special to me in some way. So I'm certainly not going to throw it out or give it away. Paintings I don't want to sell just stay on my studio wall until I either lose the attachment or need the money enough to let it go.

[Greg Long]

If I don't want to sell a work, it is destroyed. (either that or burned in my bi/tri-annual studio clearouts.)

[CSForest]

If I see a painting is going badly I either rework it until satisfied or just stop working on it and paint over it with something new. I don't usually have bad finished pieces. Not because all my works are masterpieces. Hardly! But I just won't finish it if it's not going well.

[madtripper]

I did not intend to suggest that this deals with bad art.

I think that a lot of artists paint as a hobby and are not interested in selling their art - they would rather paint. But if that is the case, the art work does pile up. We only have so many walls to hang our own paintings.

[OddballAnn]

It becomes an expensive hobby. lol

It's still fun and enjoyable to paint without selling, but it can get expensive.

[Bringer]

It will be hang in several museums worldwide :-)

[Carcharhinus]

It goes in the bin, where it is promptly fished out by relatives and displayed somewhere that I can't see it until I stumble upon it six months later.

[Magical_Realist]

I wanted to get rid of a bunch of old student paintings that weren't horrible, but they also weren't even remotely sellable. I'd been lugging them around for 15-20 years, and it was long past time for them to go. I put them in the alley behind my house with a "FREE ART" sign, and they were gone by the end of the day. Alternately, I could have donated the better ones to charity; they definitely would have sold at thrift store prices.

And just because you're not interested in making money from your art doesn't mean you can't sell it. Find non-gallery locations that will let you hang it, price it to sell, and you'll probably find plenty of people willing to take it off your hands. Laundromats are a great place to sell inexpensive art--you've got a captive audience who would much rather look at your art than watch their clothes spin.

Or have a studio garage sale once or twice a year--you can get rid of excess paintings and any other clutter you don't have need for, and make a little cash. Let all your friends and family know, and if they show up and like something enough to pay for it you can just give it to them if you prefer.

And if you're on Facebook, post photos of art you'd like to clear out and let friends and family know they're up for grabs. If they can choose their favorites, you might be surprised at how many they'll take.

[Greg Long]

Originally Posted by madtripper

I did not intend to suggest that this deals with bad art.

I think that a lot of artists paint as a hobby and are not interested in selling their art - they would rather paint. But if that is the case, the art work does pile up. We only have so many walls to hang our own paintings.

I think posting it in art business would preclude your target market for the poll.

Could I suggest possibly posting a poll for non-selling artists in the Cafe Guerbois? At least you will find more non-selling artists in that forum.
In the meanwhile I'll close this Poll as it won't give you any information as it is.

[it'sALLart]

Gesso is a wonderful thing. :-)

It gives me the ability to say "Wow, brand new surface to paint on!"