Being an artist - with an art business - is not all about making art!
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Real life as an artist with an art business involves:
  • a lot of activities and practices which mean you can continue to make and share and sell your art.
  • a lot of routines which you need to make time for and which need to be followed if you aren't going to be wasting your time and living and working and storing your art in a complete mess.
  • laws which MUST be observed
Plus professional practices which can make a difference between being a successful artist and an "also ran".
This section is both ambitious and under development!

See the Art Business Information Index (site index) for where other topics of art business interest can be found

Law for Artists - The Fundamentals

You need to know about both legal rights and legal obligations under all laws relating to you as an individual and your art business.
a resource about the General Data Protection Regulation and data protection generally - for all art businesses collecting personal data of and doing business with EU residents, wherever they are located
This UK ONLY page reviews what trading legislation, regulations and consumer protection standards apply to ALL artists trading with UK consumers in terms of:
  • what goods and services you sell
  • how you describe and price your 
    • goods (e.g. art);
    • services (e.g. art tuition)
  • how you market your goods and services
  • where and when you sell 
  • how you sell - face to face or online
IN DEVELOPMENT: 
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  • ​Why you need a contract
  • ​Work Visas

Business Administration & Contact Management
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Guide for artists on how to to identify, assess, address, manage, reduce and mitigate their art business risks
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Contact Management - people and organisations
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  • Contacts Management - maintaining details of all those people you need to know and all those you have met
  • Client Management - how to keep your clients happy; how to avoid them taking advantage of you
  • Gallery Management - records of galleries you have dealings with, including contracts, management of correspondence (who said what and when)

Image and Inventory Management 
Documentation and Management of your Art

Find out more about how to create and store archives of your images
  •  ​​How to document artwork in the studio, at exhibitions, on consignment and with collectors.
  • ​How to maintain records of what your art is and where it is - and all its comings and goings - including Consignment Notices. 
  • ​Review of software systems to aid your inventory management.
  • preparation of images for websites, art competitions, opportunities to promote their art and archival purposes
IN DEVELOPMENT: Documentation and Management of Artwork

  • Documenting your art
  • Certificate of Authenticity
  • How to make labels
  • ​How to archive your artwork - both physically and digitally
  • How to create a digital image - the different file formats and resolutions and what works best in different contexts
  • How to scan your art - creating a Digital image for various purposes - using a scanner

Financial Administration
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IN DEVELOPMENT: Financial Administration

  • Annual & Quarterly Returns - tax returns for self-employed and those who employ assistants; plus VAT returns for those exceeding the mandatory threshold
  • Travel & Expenses: What you can and cannot claim against tax - and the documentation you need to make or retain
  • Records and receipts: the sort of things you need to keep records and receipts of - for doing your accounts and completing your tax returns​

In the Money & Tax section
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PLUS elsewhere on this site

Projects, Commissions and Project Management

IN DEVELOPMENT:

  • Commissions Practice for Artists - how an artist should work to commission - and keep their sanity
  • Projects & Proposals - for those submitting proposals for competitions for artwork (usually for public art)​