Showing Art at Open Houses

My abstract art showing in a house for sale.
Left: Birth, 48 x 48 inches, Acrylic on Canvas.
Center: One panel of Walking in Faith, Triptych,
72 x 108 inches, Oil on Wood.

Here is a good opportunity for artists to put their art in front of potential art buyers, open houses.

I was recently invited by Damian Bruno of Sedona Real Estate Agents Damian Bruno and Danielle Giann Coldwell Banker, to hang my art in a unique home for sale in Sedona.

Damian explained that it's a dome home where the walls are white and need some color added to the space. Furthermore, it has been vacant for a couple of years. YES! was my response.

Even though my initial response was Yes, I wondered afterward how this could benefit me.

I think we artists generally are so tickled to have an audience for our art that we leap into situations that might not be all that great for our art and potential sales.

New Day, Mixed Media on Wood, 12 x 12 inches.
Copyright 2015 Mary Gravelle. All rights reserved.

Especially if we have opted to not go the gallery route, we need to use caution and common sense when hanging our art in a venue for free. Will it be of mutual benefit and not simply a tactic used by the venue to enhance their decor?

Damian has been fantastic. He was all about the win-win. He felt like he had already won his part of the bargain; he got some color added to those blah white walls, giving the home a more lived-in appearance. He told me that now we need to figure out how the deal will benefit me. Indeed. I think that might be up to me to figure out.

Left: Copenhagen, 12 x 12 inches, Mixed Media on Wood.
Right: One panel of a triptych, Walking in Faith.

My art on the walls of a house for sale.
Hiways and Biways, 18 x 24 inches.
Acrylic on Canvas.

After hanging my art and getting my price sheets to the open house half way through the event, I had an epiphany. What a perfect venue to show my art to the right audience.

I would think that home buyers are also in the market for art. And, if they buy the home where our art is showing, might they also want to buy some of the art that has been carefully placed in strategic areas of the home? Bingo.

It's all in how you arrange the thing... the careful balance of the design is the motion. Andrew Wyeth

The front of the Dome Home in Sedona, Arizona.

I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, have you had experience with art at open houses either as an artist, realtor, home owner, home buyer, or other? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment below.

Until Next Week

• Create art
• Appreciate art
• Buy art

Mary Gravelle (Brianna Rush)

The handsome, Sir Kitty. Meow.

About the author: Brianna Rush (Mary Gravelle) is an artist and writer who resides in Sedona, Arizona with her beloved assistant, Sir Kitty.