Discover & Buy Great Art Online

One of the big questions we get asked is why are more and more people making the shift to buy art online? Well, online art sales are booming because of the many benefits it presents the art buyer over the more traditional approach, some of which I'll try to cover in this article.

The first factor is choice. Online, we have unlimited wall space, which means that anyone looking to buy art has literally thousands of pieces to choose from, all in one location. It is of course also very important to offer buyers a consistently high quality of work, and our curatorial team are here to ensure that we select great artists, and to regularly feature the most interesting work that we want art buyers to see.

Secondly there is no pressure here, whether you are here to buy art or just browse, the internet isn’t pushy (unlike some gallery owners I’ve been cornered by!). Instead art buyers can browse at their convenience, and buy direct from the artist, when they are ready, and in the style and at the price they are comfortable with. There is no pushiness or pretentiousness here!

The major factor is the price, and how much of an art sale actually goes to the artist. Inevitably a traditional gallery has high overheads to cover, for rent, staff and gallery events that need to be covered in commissions (usually 50 or 60%), and this pushes prices of work up considerably, some would argue so high that it’s out of reach of many potential art buyers. So if you buy art direct from the artist on Artweb.net, you aren't paying for the commissions of a gallery (we only charge 25% on all sales).

We also recognize the importance of professional guidance, and we are bringing in several independent authors and specialists in the new year, who will be contributing helpful articles to the site, as well as offering art buyers direct access to specialists who can offer independent advice and consultation services when required. Online art sales will continue to see significant growth over the coming years, and I think it offers artists a great new route to a much wider art buying public.

We recognize that the key to our success is using the latest technology to overcome some of the hurdles of representing art online accurately, and to give the buyer an accurate sense of exactly what it is they are looking at. We have already introduced several tools like the ‘view to scale’ functions that help buyers to visualize what the physical work looks like, and we will be introducing a zoom feature that will allow the viewer to see the finer detail of individual art works.

We’re at the start of a long journey, and we will continue to work tirelessly to bring all of the necessary elements together, and offer a great way for artists to sell more of their work, and for buyers to find and buy art online, and to ultimately to get more great contemporary art out there for the enjoyment of more people. What do you think? Feel free to contact me with your thoughts, comments and suggestions, my inbox is always open!