The following is from the Stop The Starving Artist newsletter - "heART and Business."
Every week you'll get a little bit of "H.E.A.R.T." to help you grow your art business.
Highlight đź’ˇ
(A key creative business insight I'm currently seeing.)
The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026 dropped last week, and I've been using the robot buddies to look through this thing. Because, let's be real, how many humans are really interested in reading a 245 page analysis of the global art market? Not me... and I LOVE marketing... and art.
And buried in the middle of it, on pages 76 and 77, is a data set that I found REALLY interesting.
In 2021, collectors spent about 10% of their art budget buying directly from artists... through studios, Instagram, direct commissions. By 2025, that number had grown to 20%.
That's a substantial shift. The share of art sold directly from artist to collector doubled in four years. And among buyers who've been in the art market for two years or less, 42% now prefer buying directly from the artist rather than going through a gallery.
Even high-net-worth collectors are moving this direction. Twenty percent of wealthy buyers now prefer purchasing direct from artists, up from just 6% in 2024. More than tripling in a single year.
And here's the line from the report that I haven't been able to shake. It's a quote from a gallery dealer:
"Our biggest issue by far in 2025 is artists selling directly to customers who find the artist in our gallery."
Read that again.
A gallery brought a collector through its doors. That collector found an artist they loved. And then they went around the gallery and bought directly from the artist.
The gatekeepers built the audience. And the artists took it back.
The report calls this "disintermediation"... a fancy word (the art world sure is full of fancy words) for artists bypassing the traditional gallery model through social media, e-commerce, and what it describes as "a desire by creators to cut costs and own more information on buyers."
In plain language: artists building direct relationships with collectors are capturing more of the market. And collectors, especially newer and younger ones... are actively choosing to buy that way.
The system is being bypassed. Not by some future trend. Right now.
The question isn't whether collectors want to buy directly from artists. The data says they do. The question is whether they can find you, whether they feel anything when they do, and whether they see you as a professional.
Because here's the problem I see with most artists online: they're posting their work inconsistently, and they're not showing up as themselves. There's nothing for us to connect with EXCEPT the work.
This CAN work in a gallery. Why? Because THEY'RE trusted. Therefore, YOU will be trusted.
But here's the thing... in smaller galleries, which is where most artists land, 65% of sales come from the top 3 artists on average. So even inside the traditional system, most artists are invisible. The gallery's credibility doesn't automatically transfer to you.
Which means every artist needs to be sitting with this question... if a collector finds me tomorrow on Instagram, through a Google search, or from a friend's recommendation... what will they find?
A professional? Or a scattered feed, a bio built for an art professor, and a handful of posts they've been meaning to follow up on?
Being seen as a professional is not about having a perfect website. It's not about follower counts. And it's definitely not just about making great work... because great work that no one can find, follow, or feel connected to doesn't sell itself.
It means showing up consistently, so that when a collector stumbles across your work on a Tuesday and comes back on a Friday, you're still there. Still creating. Still in motion.
It means letting people see your values... not just what you make, but why you make it, what you stand for, what you won't compromise on. Trust isn't built through transactions. It's built through transparency, over time.
And it means connecting people to your story, your beliefs, your ideas... so that when they look at your work, they're not just seeing an object. They're seeing you. Your perspective on the world.
Collectors aren't just buying art anymore. They're buying access to the artist. They want the relationship. They want to feel like they know the person behind the work.
You don't just make art.
You ARE the art.
The collectors are already out there, looking for exactly what only you can offer. The only question left is whether you're making it easy for them to find you, and giving them a reason to stay long enough to want to buy.
Execute âś…
(Your action items...)
Let's double check to see where you're at as a professional online.
Open your last 10 posts on Instagram, or wherever you’re most active.
For each one, ask yourself three questions:
- Does this show ME? My voice, my values, my story? Or does it just show the work? (If you're not sure, hand it to a trusting friend and have them tell you what they can learn about YOU, your values and voice from the last 10 posts.)
- Would a complete stranger who knows nothing about me feel something after seeing this? Or would they just think “pretty”?
- If a collector found me through someone else’s post or a gallery’s account, would what they find here make them want a direct relationship with me, or would they just want to double tap and "like" the piece?
You don’t need to delete anything. You don’t need to redo anything.
Just notice. Because the moment you see the gap between what you’re putting out and what actually creates connection, that’s when things start to shift.
What do you stand for? What do you believe? What would you say about life, about creativity, about the world that has nothing to do with your next piece for sale?
That is the content that builds a direct audience.
Awareness đź‘€
(The current things you need to know about social media, the creator economy, and running an online business.)
Here's the link to the report, should you want to take a look yourself!
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Reflect 🤔
(Question to sit with this week.)
Do you need help marketing your art online?
If so, I'm going to be running a 3-month intensive to help artists like you get in front of more eyes and make your first sales online.
We'll be doing it all together and taking it slow, so it's not overwhelming.
You don't need a website ready. You don't need an existing audience. You just need to be willing to show up imperfectly and follow the plan.
If this is something that interests you, please go here and sign up for the priority list. The doors open in a couple of weeks, and I'll ONLY be taking 25 new students for this cohort. You have no obligation to buy for being on this list, it just gives you first dibs when the doors open.
Here's the link to get on the priority list.
More details coming next week.
Thrive 🔥
(This week in this community.)
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