1 Year Of Beginning

Feng Mian could not erase the smile on her lips. For artists, what mattered the most was people's acknowledgement. Just having someone else liked your story could make one feel happy. After all, arts were always subjective. The same piece of art could have a contrasting opinion depending on who saw it.

Of course, if one wanted to become an artist, they also needed to have enough income to sustain their lives.

Who would want to paint for free except if it was just a hobby?

There were people who wanted to make a living through painting, which meant that they would surely make high quality paintings and put on high prices for the pricing. Of course, the price needed to be built slowly because at first, no one would give a lot of money to unknown painters.

Feng Mian herself didn't care that much. She knew that it would surely start with a low price, which is also the reason why she didn't start her career in painting right away. The painting material itself was highly expensive, so she knew that it wouldn't bring much profit in the beginning.

Only after a while would she be able to live only by painting.

Zhang Yi smiled. "You should start to approach some galleries who specialize in promoting new painters. I'm sure a lot would be interested in your painting, Mian'er."

Right now, he felt that Feng Mian would be a really good painter. It was too bad if these paintings just rot in this place.

Hmph! Zhang Liang might be a genius in terms of managing a company and also creating composition, but he was a big idiot in painting. He could never appreciate the value of this painting if it was just left here.

It was truly a big waste.

"Ah, is it not too early?" Feng Mian blinked her eyes. She only has a few drawings ready.

"No. Not at all! You should just quit your work from the company and become a full-fledge artist!"

Feng Mian: "…" didn't you just tell me that I should convince Zhang Liang to work in the company again?

Zhang Yi grinned. "Once you show your painting in a gallery, I'll buy your paintings!"

For new painters, one of the ways they could choose to promote their work was to showcase it in a gallery. There were galleries that specialize in showing newcomers' work. It was usually just a small exhibition and consisted of several new painters.

In addition, painters usually would take internsh.i.p.s in galleries. It was one of the ways for them to learn how to earn money from their work. Feng Mian also intended to take an internship in a gallery back then, but somehow, she could not get in. Thinking about it now, Feng Mian had a hunch why no gallery wanted to take her in back then.

But it was not important now.

Besides, many painters also started to promote their works through some social media. They could also create their own web, but it would take a long time to gain people coming to visit. The best way would be either the traditional way, which was through a gallery or by creating a formal social media for her artwork.

Feng Mian smiled lightly. "I'm not so sure about it. I mean, I still hadn't thought how to start earning as a painter."

"Did you not do any research before?"

"I did, but I find it hard to social network."

Scratching her head, Feng Mian felt a bit embarrassed. Truth to be told, she rarely used social media back then. She also didn't truly like to talk much with other people, limiting her conversation to only last a few minutes before it ended. Afterwards, she just didn't know what to say.

Zhang Yi blinked his eyes. "You really need to find a manager."

Feng Mian: "…" I'm not even sure I can earn a living through painting. How could I possibly hire a manager?

"Also, I'll call Zhang Liang and tell him to create an account in IG for you. I'm sure that it'll be a good promotion for you."

"Will it?"

"Yes! You have good paintings here. If you showcase it in IG and say that you want to take commission, I'm sure that there'll be a client coming to contact you," Zhang Yi said with certainty.

The age had changed and it had become much easier to connect with people through social media. He knew that it would surely take some time to create traffic to the account, but with time, their number would surely increase.

Feng Mian nodded. "I guess I should try."

It was her dream to have her own exhibition, but for now, she could start by taking commission online. Well, before that, she also needed to give examples of her work.

"Let me call Liang, he should be…"

"He's over here, Father."

Hearing that low tone from the door, both Father in law and daughter in law freeze in their place.

…

Sora's Corner: Art's Pricing

There are several methods for artists to price their arts. Usually it would also depend on the painter him/herself. The method that's normally used would be based on the size of the painting itself. There were two methods based on the size, which is to count based on the lines or on the area.

Note: this method is usually used for hardcopy painting, which meant that it was painted on a canvas or other items.

Examples:

16 inch (length) + 16 inch (wide) = 32 x (10 to 100 dollars or other numbers, depending on the painters). The result of the multiplication would be the price of the painting.

Or

16 inch (length) x 16 inch (wide) = 256 x (1 to 10 dollars or other number, depending on the painter). The result of the multiplication to the dollar would be the price of the painting.

For unknown painters, they would usually use the lower ones because no one would want to buy them if they price too high.

For online design, different methods of pricing would be used because there's hardly anyone who would want to buy expensive art. It also varied between artists and usually it would depend on what they wanted to draw.