Preparing my work for social media and art sales websites often requires showing scale. The way most artists do this is using mock-up art styling templates.

The app I use is Canvy, but there are others. I also know artists who use a wall in their own home, with the same furniture in each shot, to do this.

The photo below was created in Canvy, placing a correctly scaled image of my painting into a template created by Canvy. I have mixed feelings about doing this.

Sharing Art vs Marketing Art

I feel like the current way of showing art online is full of traps. If I just show images of my artwork, I risk them being copied and used in other contexts without my knowledge or permission. There are ways of partially obscuring the artwork to prevent this. However, then you can’t see the art, so what’s the point?

Artists who want to sell their work outside their local area really do need to upload them to social media and specific websites. For buyers who can’t see the physical aspects of a painting, it’s necessary to show scale, how the painting is edged, how and where it is signed etc. For someone like me, this means taking the photographs and doing the work related to promotion. The easiest way I know of showing scale is to use mock-up styling templates.

Who Am I Styling For?

I find styling art in mock-up rooms so difficult. It’s not the work of uploading and scaling the artwork. The problem is trying to work out the aesthetics of the room surrounding the painting. Imagining a potential buyer, and trying to conjure up a location on a wall, their decor and style is hard. In most cases, I have no idea what might connect with those who see the mock-ups. In the end I try to capture a feeling the painting has for myself and echo that in the mock-up image.

Cutting Through Algorythms

After taking the photos, creating the mock-ups, writing descriptions, posting in various places, it can feel like everything falls into a black hole. There are so many artists and designers all trying to work out how to be seen. Like me, they are all trying to work out how to cut through algorithms.

My nature is to be authentic and direct. So I’m often caught between wanting my art to be seen, and trying to play against unfathomable metrics. Algorithms have nothing to do with art and the act of creation. Yet they are both the path to visibility, and to obscurity. It reminds me of the cartoon, with the villain saying to the innocent “Pick a door, any door” knowing that a different trap lies in wait behind each one.

Best Options

For myself, I’ve decided to post on my website so I can decide what is prominent for those who do view it. I share these posts to Instagram, Facebook and BlueSky, with links back to my website. I hope those who read posts like this one can see the context of the artwork, among my other works. The best platform I know to sell original paintings is Bluethumb. It’s a slow process, but I am gradually putting more of my paintings up there for sale. For each artwork on my Bluethumb profile, there is a mock-up art styling photograph to show scale. I would really love some feedback on whether my mock-ups appeal to you.

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If you would like to read more in the 100 Days of Art series, you can find them here.