The importance of human interaction and connection in selling art

I recently exhibited at the 10th annual Bath Art Fair, which was a first for me. The event drew a fine selection and variety of artists from across the UK and similarly attracted visitors from way beyond the city limits of Bath, throughout the whole weekend. I understand that the attendance was a record for the event and being part of that felt special (and also tiring after three days!).

Meeting other artists from other parts of the UK brought a different perspective, a different view of how they saw their artwork, their local conditions and what their customers were looking for. Meeting some that had progressed professionally onto popular TV programmes or been recognised with awards brought new insights and help build a wider understanding in a collaborative, professional group all doing their own thing and finding their own way in this complex and often challenging World.

Exhibiting and selling my Cornish coastal art at art fairs isn’t a new experience for me, I’ve been doing it locally for a while now and am very comfortable talking about my passion for Cornwall, surfing, the sea, our beaches and coastal environments and how that inspires my art and the work I love creating. Sharing memories with visitors about their favourite holidays in Cornwall or debating which is the finest beach is something I really enjoy, building a shared connection to special places that we both hold dear and which I aim to capture in my paintings and prints. This wasn't what made this event seem so different.
That feeling was prompted from something a couple of customers said when they were buying one of my paintings. Like me, they were also from Bath and said it was important to them to support local artists. They obviously needed to love the painting they bought as well but this sense of local patronage was a key part of their decision to buy, supporting the arts on their home turf, and something I was grateful to benefit from.

This stood out for me, not because we were all from Bath or that we were at an event with a distinctly broader variety of artists and attendees. It stood out in the context of our wider digitally connected World where the unrelenting drive towards tech driven automated or AI produced content and online sales contrasts with the alternative distinctiveness and unique nature of handmade artwork, sold directly by the creator to the buyer. There is no doubt that the exponential growth of AI will change the way much of what we see and buy will change.

But as an artist and creator, I see this as an opportunity, as an antithesis to big tech and global sameness. The people I speak to like to connect with the artist, they like to understand the source of their inspiration, understand the creative process, build a connection to their story, leading to the unique piece of art and take pleasure and pride in the piece they buy.I regularly see that play out in real conversations with customers at Handmade Bradford On Avon, where my artwork is on permanent display and at the monthly Bath Contemporary Artists Fair where I routinely exhibit. People are genuinely interested in and attracted to the specialness of pieces that have been created by another person. Art is an emotional purchase and that connection between the buyer, the seller and the content is an important part of the jigsaw.Of course, to make that relationship sustainable in a World changing so rapidly means that talking about the creativity of handmade art alone is not enough. Artists need to sell their work to enable them to continue to work, to replace canvases, materials, paints etc and to reward the investment of their talent and time. Online sales will undoubtedly play a key role in that but this shouldn’t be at the expense of in person contact and connection.Personally, I have been fortunate to have experienced strong year on year sales growth since starting to sell my artwork in 2022 by attracting more customers, providing a broader range of formats and selling in a wider selection of sales channels ( Direct, Online, Art Fairs, Art Trails). The biggest difference though has undoubtedly been the number of actual conversations with actual people who share a love of what you produce.

 Long May that continue!