eBay opens a new window for local artists

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Online auctions help them promote, sell their work to wider audience

By Jenna M. McKnight, Daily RecordVicky Knowles never had much confidence when it came to selling her whimsical, surreal paintings.

That all changed five years ago when, at a friend's urging, she listed a few pieces on eBay. She sold them all.

Since then, the 44-year-old from Bernards -- who goes by "platypus," her eBay user ID -- has sold about 100 paintings to people around the world using the online auction site. They often sell for hundreds of dollars.

"I think eBay is great," Knowles said. "It's totally changed my life."

Knowles, originally from New Vernon, is one of an increasing number of independent artists who are turning to eBay to promote and sell their work.

Their styles vary, as do their intentions. Some emerging artists use eBay simply to get their name out. Others, however, set up shop after finding that they can make a decent, if not sizable, living auctioning their work online.

While there might be drawbacks to eBay, many artists agree that it's easier than art fairs, more accessible than galleries, and, most importantly, draws a much larger and more diverse audience.

"It's amazing when you see you really can sell to the whole world," Knowles said.

eBay is well aware of the trend. Just a few years ago, it created a separate category for self-representing artists, and it's growing swiftly.

Between 2003 and 2004, gross sales in the category increased 67 percent, said Lara Bridges, eBay's senior category manager for arts, antiques, pottery and glass.

And this weekend, eBay will sponsor the independent artists pavilion at Artexpo New York and will give free, daily seminars about how to sell artwork on its site.

"We're really excited about this category," Bridges said. "It's one of the fastest-growing categories within art."

At any given time, the category features more than 10,000 listings that range from traditional landscape paintings to socks fashioned into monkeys.

Listing an item is fairly simple and comes with relatively small fees when compared with what artists might pay a gallery or agent. For $16 a month, artists also can set up a virtual gallery on eBay, where they feature multiple pieces of work and sell them at fixed prices.

Not only does this cut down on costs -- many artists don't want to pay for dozens of auction listings -- but it also helps artists create a name for themselves, Bridges said.

"The fundamental challenge for any independent artist is, without a name, a brand name, it can be difficult for people to find them," Bridges said. "We're trying to alleviate parts of that challenge."

Bridges said there are advantages to selling on eBay. First and foremost, the site has roughly 135 million registered users, and any one of them could view your work.

"You're no longer limited to customers in your local area," she said. "You can really have a much wider and worldwide customer base."

That's what prompted Tiffany Ross, a 36-year-old Livingston artist, to list an item on eBay last week for the first time.

On Tuesday night, she listed "Angelic Union," a hand-carved piece of black walnut that stands more than 2 feet tall and features several intertwined figures. Ross said she tried to sell it, for $3,000, at two art fairs, but had no luck.

"I just thought, if I put it on eBay, a lot more people would see it and I would have a better chance at selling it," she said.

Ross said if she sells this piece, she certainly will list others. She has at least 40 sculptures scattered around her house, along with 100 or so oil and watercolor paintings.

Selling art on eBay is a lot easier than lugging it to an art fair, she said.

"It's very hard to bring all your artwork to an art fair," she said. "It's very tiring, and sometimes things get damaged."

Other artists are using eBay for an entirely different purpose.

Paul Grech, a 30-year-old Randolph artist, uses eBay as a marketing tool. He doesn't auction his original paintings; rather, he sells numbered and signed prints that generally go for about $20 apiece.

His objective is simply to promote his name and draw traffic to his personal Web site.

"Basically, you're paying to advertise for a week. It's a lot of exposure for a limited amount of money. And I'm talking global exposure," he said. "Where else can you get that for $2?"

Grech said he prefers exhibiting his work at galleries or selling it at art fairs. It's too difficult to convey the emotional essence of a piece through a computer screen, he said. Plus, he wants to interact with prospective buyers.

"Getting to meet and talk to the artist changes the whole experience," he said. "This is what eBay lacks."

There's something else.

Grech fears that, for serious fine artists, eBay might cheapen their work and prevent them from getting into galleries.

"I don't know if that's necessarily true," he said, "but something tells me that, if an artist uses eBay, it might come back to haunt them later on."

Gallery owners have mixed feelings.

Su Cohl has owned Su's Art Gallery in Hanover for more than 20 years. One of her featured artists -- a woman who does oil paintings and watercolors -- also sells her work on eBay.

"Why should I mind?" Cohl said.

"This is a big field. They should try every avenue to sell their art. They've got to make money. It's their living."

Gallery owner Steve Suskauer has a different perspective. He's been in the art business for 35 years and is owner of David Gary Ltd. in Millburn.

He respects that eBay may be a good vehicle for young artists to promote themselves, and he wouldn't necessarily turn away an artist who once sold his or her work online.

That said, he would never sell work by artists who are auctioning their work at eBay.

"If they take away sales from a gallery, why would a gallery want to take their work?" he asked. "It doesn't serve my purpose, especially if they're going to undercut me on eBay."

Suskauer said he has seen some artists destroy themselves on eBay because they began selling their paintings for so cheap. On the other hand, he has seen others enjoy tremendous success, effectively eliminating the need for galleries.

Which raises the point: Do artists really want to be businesspeople?

"Artists need to spend time creating and have someone else selling their work," Suskauer said. "How do you do both things professionally?"

For people like Knowles, there are priorities beyond becoming a full-fledged artist. She works full time at an insurance company and is raising three children.

Ironically, it appears that one of them, Darius, might follow in her footsteps. A few years ago, as an 8-year-old, he listed on eBay an acrylic painting of a Boston terrier and a sun riding a skateboard across the sky.

It sold for $40 to an eBay user in Louisiana.

"That was great," Knowles said. "I was very proud of him."

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