Preparing Your Work For Sale

There are some do's and don'ts that can save you a lot of grief.

Don't ever place a print or finished piece of art work behind glass where the piece itself is touching the glass. Humidity and changing of temperatures can cause a condensation build-up behind the glass that could cause bleeding, especially in photographs and prints. The piece will eventually stick to the glass and if someone were later to take it out to matte and frame, your beautiful piece of work might be ruined.

Do always have a matte board between the glass and the print or work of original art. This goes for works of ink, pencil, chalk, or any medium.

If you are selling prints or originals on paper with media such as pastel or water color, use your discretion in shipping glass-enclosed pieces. Tempered UV glass is the strongest and gives the piece the most color fade protection. Take as much precaution as necessary to ensure the glass does not break and damage your beautiful work.

Do "gallery ready" your pieces.

To preserve the integrity of the web site we ask you to gallery ready your prints and pieces. To gallery ready a piece, most artists matte their pieces and place them in clear protective sleeves with a cardboard backing to protect it even further, then taping the sleeve on the back to prevent it from slipping.

To further prepare the piece to be shipped, cut two pieces of foam core board slightly larger that the outside dimensions of the matte board and sleeve. Use doubled-sided tape to attach the back of the matted protected piece to the center of the bottom foam core piece. This protects the corners of the matt board from getting nicked in shipping. Next, place the second slightly oversized piece of foam core board over the front of your protected art. Thus your art is "sandwiched", protecting it on all sides and front and back. You may wrap it further in cardboard, foam core or bubble wrap if you would like. Then just place it in an appropriate envelope container, address, mark fragile, insure, pay shipping and mail.

Most framers will make pieces gallery ready for a very reasonable fee, usually under $10.00 for an 8x10 or smaller and slightly over $10.00 for 11x14's. Be sure to add this fee to your prices.

It is common to ship posters in canisters. This may be fine for cheaper ink jet reproductions that are sealed in a plastic bag prior to placement in the canister. But any fine quality prints or photos should be gallery ready (it is advisable for cheaper reproductions as well). The reason for this is that once the reproduction is rolled, it is difficult to get it to lay flat again without potential damage or wearing to the piece. Any good framer would give this advice. We are also striving for a professional reputation for you, as well as the site, so gallery ready is the best way to go.

Some artist sell works unframed while others sell framed. Almost all higher-end galleries require framing. When it comes to shows, artists have spent thousands on framing. At this site you can sell framed or unframed.

In the start of my career, being I had carpentry training, I made my own frames. I simply could not afford a professional framer. But as I grew as an artist, I realized that a professional frame job showed my art in an entirely more professional light. I started to budget my shows with the framer in mind.

I think if your pieces are priced in the hundreds that selling without frames is fine. A lot of galleries will use the basic metal frames which are much less expensive than a professional frame job; I also did this for years as well. But if your pieces sell in the thousands you may want to spring for the big bucks and have a professional job done. The buyers may expect this of you at that cost to them.

–K Dommer, Curator, Enchanted Southwest Artists Online

All of this is wholly at your discretion; just be sure to indicate if your piece is framed or unframed.

If frames are out of the question, here are a few ideas that could help:

• Take some gesso and gesso the edges of the canvas to give it a clean look;
• Take a color that is prominent in the painting and paint the edge of the canvas with that color;
• While you are painting, continue the painting along the side edges of the piece;
• Cut felt or use ribbon the width of the canvas depth of an appropriate color and attach it with glue (use fabric glue, Elmer's, or a glue gun). This can be removed by the buyer when it is time to frame the piece. This has do be done meticulously or it will degrade the actual piece. If in doubt, don't do it.

With sculptures and other 3D art it is important to note if the work has a mount or pedestal and the type of material it is made from. With jewelry and other fine craft be sure to state if it is set in silver, gold, pewter, etc.