Recently, Jacob Wallace from Assist Art Services had the pleasure of speaking with Austin Howlett, a talented figurative surrealist oil painter based in New Mexico. We discussed the practical business strategies behind their artistic practice, covering everything from website platforms and pricing to social media and email marketing. The following is a summary of our conversation, offering authentic and practical advice for fellow artists.

Building a Digital Presence

Website Platform and E-Commerce

Austin Howlett currently uses Squarespace for their artist website. After initially attempting to build a site using Adobe, which proved too time-consuming, they found Squarespace's template-based solution to be easily maintainable and well-suited for incorporating e-commerce. Squarespace is of course a favorite of ours and it’s what we use for this site (read more about our thoughts on the best website builders in this guide).

Sales Channels and Revenue

Austin sells both original paintings and prints through their website. Interestingly, even though prints are at a more accessible price point, original paintings and commissions make up the largest portion of their income.

Austin Howlett working on his original painting, Time Remembers Us.

Pricing Strategy

Austin takes a more detailed approach to pricing than most artists we’ve talked to.

Originals: Pricing is determined using a spreadsheet created with the help of a mathematically inclined partner, factoring in elements such as hours spent (do you track hours spent per piece?), a rough price per square inch, and whether the piece is destined for a gallery.
Prints: Priced as a combination of a percentage of the original price and the pricing of similarly sized prints of other pieces.

Prints, Fulfillment, and Certification

Austin uses the third-party print fulfillment service Printful. A few years back Austin had some pieces professionally photographed and color corrected by a fine art print shop and was blown away by the quality of the prints. Living in smaller town in NM, he no longer has access to this sort of service, but has started taking high quality documentation very seriously. He now photographs his own work and does his own editing to get great results.

Experience with Printful: Generally "pretty good," alleviating the burden of personal shipping. Integrates well with Squarespace and offers good quality, though paper prints are shipped rolled in a tube. By the way, we discuss the different types of print services in detail in our guide to the types of digital prints, including Printful.
Certification: Printful does not offer numbering on the print itself. For limited editions, Austin Howlett ships a separate, hand-signed certificate of authenticity that includes the print number.

The Power of Video and Email

Social Media Growth (Instagram)

Instagram is Austin Howlett's primary social channel. Although they started trying to grow a following around 2015-2016, the major momentum shift happened a few years ago with the introduction of video reels, and Austin’s focus on process videos. It’s hard to crack the code of what videos will go viral and when, Austin has noticed a few correlations:

Viral Content: Process videos, sometimes edited to a trending sound, have achieved several million views.
Content Creation: Current efforts focus on recording long-format time-lapses with a GoPro and short, vertical clips with an iPhone, with less refined Point-of-View (POV) shots receiving more attention.
Connecting with the Audience: Explaining the thought and process behind a piece, often through voiceovers, is considered crucial for building a connection and appreciation.

The Burden: Austin regards continuously recording content as a "necessary evil" that interrupts the creative process and requires time for post-painting final content creation. We haven’t met any artists that find recording to be a helpful part of creation, but it is necessary and worthwhile.

Austin Howlett holding his original painting, Same Breath

The Essential Email Newsletter

Austin Howlett considers their email newsletter to be their most important marketing channel outside of social media, acting as a crucial fallback. Many large painting and print sales occur through this direct connection with a dedicated audience.

Austin maintains a wide list that he emails monthly as well as a “collector list” of more dedicated followers. This subset will receive exclusive promos like early access to new work. We’ve seen lots of artists leverage these special offers to get new subscribers. Subscribers are absolutely one of the most valuable things you can have. They are easy and inexpensive to reach and won’t be affected by changes to social media algorithms.

Austin updates their blog regularly, typically once a month, primarily to announce new paintings and repurpose Instagram posts. This regular activity is done because any update to the website can help with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and keeps the site fresh. It also provides easy content to use in the monthly newsletter.

There are lots of email tools out there, but Austin prefers Mail Chimp. He’s used it since before Squarespace started offering their own built in version. Not only does he send out his newsletters that way, but he has automations set up. We tested it out by adding an item to our cart on his site but didn’t complete checkout. Sure enough, we soon received an abandoned cart email. (If your email tool offers abandoned cart emails, that’s one of the easiest and cheapest ways to boost revenue out there!)

Growing your own audience through email can be a long road. Austin’s disciplined approach and consistently are a huge help in making it work.

Gallery Preference

When it comes to selling, Austin Howlett expressed a preference for the gallery setting for their work over art festivals. They noted that festivals were never a highly successful venue for them personally, as the setting felt intimidating and not quite right for their artwork. Juried shows were done more frequently in earlier years, but they are a significant financial commitment with no guarantee of return. We’ve seen artists be successful going either route (or doing neither an only selling online) so our feeling is that it’s worth trying out a variety of things in the beginning to see what works best for your business.

Final Thoughts

Austin Howlett’s success demonstrates the importance of approaching an art practice with a clear business mindset. Strategies such as detailed pricing, leveraging the virality of video content, and cultivating a dedicated audience through an email newsletter are essential tools for professional artists today.

You can follow Austin on Instagram or head over to their website.

The Art of Business: An Interview with Figurative Surrealist Painter Austin Howlett