But what if my art doesn't sell?

First rule of being an artist who sells their work: get into the studio.

I wish I could say my collage portraits flew out the door of Alki Arts so fast that my head is still spinning. 

Talking to O. David Jackson at Alki Arts' celebration of Black History Month. Credit: Alki Arts

But no, not true. Lots of lovely compliments, but apparently people don't really know what to do with it.  Recently art business consultant Alyson Stanfield blogged on what to do about fangirls/fanboys who love your work, but not enough to buy it. Not surprisingly, my artist friends had some intense discussions on Facebook about it. 

Of course, selling art and making it are two different things. And perhaps galleries aren't the way I should go right now: perhaps I would be better off setting up trunk shows at friends' houses, or pursuing museum exhibitions, or making one type of work for festivals while exhibiting work like this elsewhere.

When things aren't going right... go left. Speaking of which, can you give me an example of what you've done when things aren't going the way you want? Leave a comment or tell me on Facebook.