Artist's Guide: Organize Your Artwork with an Inventory System
I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather hang out with The Muse and make stuff than create an inventory.
For working artists, creating a detailed inventory of their artwork is crucial because it transforms their practice from a hobby into a professional, organized business. An artwork inventory is essential for organization, saving artists time, money, and stress, while also establishing a professional reputation in the art world. The Working Artist emphasizes that a proper inventory informs marketing strategies by revealing important patterns and streamlines the process of sharing artwork with clients or galleries.
I think we can all agree on that.
But anyone can chase inspiration, that’s the fun part. To put the ‘work’ into your practice, you’ve got to slog through the hard stuff.
Like it or not, the best place to start is to create an inventory – a detailed document showing what you have and where it’s at.
Because as a working artist you’re more than just a creative, you’re an entrepreneur, a solo-preneur to put it in more modern terms.
Inventorying your artwork, creating a system that works, is important to your practice for several reasons:
• The first is obviously organization. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be organized. Invest the time now in creating an inventory and it will save you time, money and stress later on. What other investment actually saves you time, money and stress?
• Having a proper inventory also affects the way people view your professional practice. Amateurs are disorganized. But you want the world to see you as professional. And your reputation matters.
• An inventory of your work will also help you to create a better marketing strategy. When you’ve organized all your pieces, client information, sales, and galleries, you’ll start to see important patterns emerging. This is going to help you moving forward.
• And finally, having an inventory makes sharing your artwork so much easier. You can just click and print or send or whatever. When people ask questions, you’ll have quick answers. You’ll also have all of the images and details ready to go when you want to upload new work to your website or social media channels.
I know that inventorying is not glamorous work. Know that I don’t expect that this is something you can do in an afternoon.
But I am suggesting that you start creating time in your schedule to dedicate to this task. Work toward it consistently until it’s done.
Truth be told, it will never really be done because each time you create new work, you’ll be adding it to your inventory – as part of your practice.
If you’d like some hints about how to create a professional inventory, I’ve created this e-Book. Download it now as my gift to you.
Crista x
Written by Crista Cloutier, artist mentor + founder of The Working Artist. (learn more about Crista here)