Why is it important for artists to have a 'home base' for selling?

You need to sell direct and have a home base where you retain information about who purchases your work and maintain the ability to market to them in the future. Selling through galleries, in-person shows, marketplace sites, doctor’s offices, or anywhere else is fine—those are all valid revenue sources—but they should be supplementary. Your home base is selling direct: owning your website, owning your customer email list, and being able to contact buyers again. Everything else is gravy. If you have that foundation and you’re making direct sales consistently, you maintain control of your business and can build long-term relationships with collectors. That’s the ballgame.

---

Asked by artists in general · Answered by Patrick · Art Business Webinar · 2026-08-03