Thom Yorke from Radiohead
Available here
Prints are here

For an artist, the clock starts ticking from the time a painting is created, until it’s sold. The older the painting gets, the louder the sound of the clock. When you start adding years to the age of the painting, well..things get really awkward for the artist. A lot of artists I know hide the date on older paintings because they don’t want to broadcast how long they’ve been trying to sell them. They fear a potential buyer seeing the date and thinking..what’s wrong with it? Why hasn’t it sold in 4 or 5 years?? It must be garbage.  

 
In Your Absence
Available here
Prints here

I’ve seen some artists paint over their work if it doesn’t sell within x amount of days/months. They, too, think their painting isn’t good if it doesn’t sell quickly. And, maybe that’s true or maybe it’s not.

Selling a painting is tricky. It takes the right person seeing a painting at the exactly right time.  All kinds of factors come into play to make the magic happen. It all has to line up perfectly. I think buyers ask themselves questions, such as, where will I hang it? What’s the cash flow like at the moment? Can I afford to buy this right now? Is it worth the asking price? Will I need to frame it? Do the colors go with the rest of my decor? And, yes..will it match the sofa? I know artists loathe having to match anyone’s couch, rug, or wallpaper color, but hey..if their colors clash with the painting, it’s not going to sell to that particular person. I’m not saying change your color scheme..I’m just saying, I’m sure the potential buyer thinks about this. Notice, I didn’t write anything about the age of the painting in there because I don’t think it crosses a buyer’s mind.  

Jane Spakowsky
Available here

I once bought a painting online that was 8 years old. I would have bought it sooner, had I known about it, but how could I buy something I didn’t know existed? This is key. If your buyer doesn’t know about your art, it won’t sell. How can it? It took time for me to come across the painting online, and then it was a done deal. Sold! It didn’t make any difference to me how old it was, and I don’t think it really matters to any buyer.

Never Hurts to Laugh 
Available here
Prints here

Most of the paintings that I’m posting today were painted in 2011, and I consider some my best work. I will admit, though, I get a little discouraged that they haven’t sold yet, especially when other paintings have sold within minutes. And, as time goes on, I do wonder how long I should keep offering them for sale. Should I paint over them? How long should I continue to wait for that right buyer to come along? Is it just a waste of time? 

What do you think? Do paintings have a shelf life? What do you do with paintings that don’t sell? How long do you wait before you paint over them? Or do you ever paint over your old work? I’d like to know your thoughts below in the comments. 

For now, I’ve decided I’m going to keep the paintings, and not paint over them. I have been adding these portrait paintings and others to my online shop here on my site. You will find them here. I happily accept payment plans on all of my paintings. You tell me what will work best for your budget, and I’ll send you an invoice weekly, bi-weekly or monthly through Paypal.  

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