Art Inventory and Tips
How long have you been an artist? All of your long life or have you only been at it a few years now? Are you steadily cranking out some artwork every year? Do you keep an inventory of your artwork - on paper or on your computer?
Keep a Record of Your Body of Work
Do
you know where to find your artwork if you are spread out at several
art shows and galleries? Can you remember the size of a particular piece,
what year it was created, or where you last saw it? Or goodness
gracious, what if you forgot a piece was sold when you were trying to
find it for some reason.
It is just plain professional to keep track of your artwork life.
The
longer you wait to start, the harder the task will be. And you may not
have a full list at some point if you do the "I'll get to it later"
method.
I've
found that Excel is one handy tool to have on your PC. And save your
database of work in various places, even printed just in case of device
failure. Google spreadsheets is another way to save your inventory or in the cloud.
There is software you can pay for to inventory your artwork, which often has added perks but not everyone can afford that. Or just create your own system and log your own artwork as much as you have time to. Nonetheless, there is definitely some data that is mandatory to track.
What you will need to list:
Inventory ID
Photo
Artist(s) - just in case
Title
Size, Dimensions
Medium(s) - everything used on the piece
Techniques
Status - what's sold, gifted, donated, destroyed, not for sale (NFS), and what's available
Location
Price
Some additions could be:
Framed or unframed?
Commissioned?
Certifications
Publications
Invoices
Condition, Edition, Category, Expenses/Costs
Who purchased it, when
What was the shipping costs?
Where did you sell it? At an art show, a gallery, on Etsy, or from your website?
Has the piece been in a competition, has it been juried? Did it win or was it accepted?
You will want to know the history behind the artwork, if it is sold or not, if possible who it is sold to, where it is now, and so much more. I would want to know the art shows I have had it at and when because you may not be able to resubmit it at all or for a period of time.
How important is it to inventory your art
I don't have a photographic memory and most of you do not either. If you are a hobbyist only, it may not be as important but there are people that started as a "hobby artist" then moved up from there. You may need to create a database of your artwork for press releases, galleries/museums, your website, social media, preparing for an exhibition of any sort or quite frankly, for your will.
If a gallery or collector contacts you for more information on your body or a series of work, you will need to have that information available.
Another reason to inventory your body of work is for you to see how far you have come. You shouldn't compare your artwork to someone else's, but you should see the improvements and changes you have made to improve.
Another aspect of your artwork tracking is to ID when it would be time to increase your pricing. If you are selling out too fast, there is your sign.
Artwork Photographs of Your Body of Work
You know you need high quality, high resolution photos of your artwork. You need them for prints, for your website(s), for submitting to galleries, for Calls for Art.
Important! Saving Your Photographs
Now, STOP right there and pay attention. You need to SAVE the photographs so do it right from the start for each photo. When you are in the process of saving the File Name, format them properly. Get in the habit of saving for Jotforms and Calls for Art according to the art shows instructions. I've seen it listed both ways here:
Title of Painting_LastName-FirstInitial.jpg
LastName-FirstInitial_Title of Painting.jpg
Save yourself and any future JotForms (art submissions) and the people that have to sort your art entries some steps here. If I just save my photos without doing anything to the File Name, I will get something like this:
20220621_074025
The most you will understand from that "name" is that the Year is 2022, the month was June (06), the day was the 21st, and then it shows a long number. If you send that as an art submission, life is NOT easy for that person and you run the risk of rejection right out of the gate. There are times that it is much more helpful if this is the Title of the Painting followed by You Are the Artist so that your piece is labeled in an understandable way.
An alternative is to save them as LastName-FirstInitial_Title of Painting_Medium_Size for your own records. Example:
Liguria-D_No One Can Teach Riding So Well As A Horse_Acrylic_18x24.jpg
Much better right? I am the (1) artist, see the (2) name of the painting and niiiice, the (3) medium and (4) size, although the last 2 are not always necessary.
Liguria-D_No One Can Teach Riding So Well As A Horse.jpg
By the way, some folks hate it when a painting has a long name, they have to fit that on a label or list somewhere, but what can I say? Better than "Untitled", right?
Your File System
Also of note is saving it on your computer. In speaking with other artists in our group, their ideas could be implemented as well.
- Save high resolution, perfectly cropped and edited photos for Calls for Art and Prints to a separate folder and label the folder clearly.
- Save lesser resolution photos for social media, and put a Watermark on them.
- Save quality photos that are ready for printing in folders by size for printing
- Keep your "Paintings in Progress" (PIP) separate from the better photos.
Create a Numbering System
Create your own method or look for suggestions, but this is how I do it. And I only just started in late 2020, inventorying my artwork. Good thing my mom still has some of my original stuff (oh my).
09A20AC - 09 is September, A is the first painting, 20 is the year, AC is Acrylic.
At the beginning of each year I restart the numbering system as 01A21AC and 01A22AC. I am currently up to:
10EC22ACM - 10 is October, EC is alphabetically how many I have created so far this year, 22 is the year, AC is Acrylic, M is Mini
When I get to Z, the next painting is AA, AB, AC, etc. So you see, you can do it whichever way makes sense for you and your body of work.
If you create invoices for your work, a numbering system comes in handy too.
There are plenty of options and ways to track your work, but the point is, get started. I would love to hear how you do it too.
REFERENCES
https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/how-to-inventory-your-artwork
https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/artist-how-to-do-a-studio-inventory
https://cerfplus.org/studio-protector/resources/how-to-take-an-inventory-of-your-art-studio/
Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 50-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.
Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.
Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership
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