Why I offer Digital Downloads
If you’ve been with me on my art journey for a while now, first of all THANK YOU! Second, you may have noticed I’ve tried a few methods of selling my work. I’ve tried the POD (print on demand) sites like Society6 and Fine Art America. You’ve seen me launch a shop where I sold all my photography artwork as Digital Downloads, and then have seen me switch to another provider who could do physical art prints as well as digital downloads. I have recently made the switch BACK to digital downloads (though my Fine Art America shop is still available) and I thought it would be a great opportunity to explain why as it is not typically the norm for artists.
First let me explain what a Digital Download is. A Digital Download, or DD for short, is often times known as a Printable, Printable Art, etc. It is the high resolution FILE of an artwork that is delivered instantly to your inbox after purchase. You then save the file to your computer and use it to print at home or through your favorite print lab. You can then use the file to print large format prints (my files are tested for 24” x 36” with flawless quality) or print smaller prints. You can order prints on all different types of paper. You can order the work on canvas, wood, glass, metal, etc. The possibilities are endless!
Offering my work to you as a Digital Download allows you the creative freedom to print my art on the surface and at the size that is right for your space. Like BIG artwork on cavas? No problem!
Why I choose to offer my photography artwork as a Digital Download? It’s kind of selfish on my part but in the end it benefits both the artist and the collector(that’s YOU!) :
I LOVE to create. It’s my most favorite thing to do. If I didn’t have to adult most of the day, creating is how I would spend my day (besides eating. I do love to eat. lol). Even if what I’ve created doesn’t ever see the light of the internet, it’s how I would choose to spend my time. I’ve sat with this thought the last few months, and if you’ve read my last blog post about my word of 2021then you know Fulfillment is what I’m after this year. So in order to be more creatively fulfilled, I need to make the time to create. And one way I am making more time is by offering my work as Digital Downloads. It’s the easiest, simplest, + most efficient way to get my work into your hands. I am choosing creative time over ordering, packaging , + shipping prints. It is not my zone of genius, nor do I want it to be. Chasing down orders and tracking packages doesn’t fulfill me, so I choose not to do it. I choose creative time + freedom so I can bring even more beautiful work to you and your homes.
Creative freedom for YOU. When I was forcing myself to create a physical art print product to offer you I got bogged down with what paper and sizing options offer. There are SO MANY paper options out there anymore and so my creative nature took over and thought how cool my work could look on watercolor paper, or blown up to gigantic sizes, or offered in a modern square crop, and, and, and….you get the picture. I got overwhelmed with all of the possibilites and knew I couldn’t (and shouldnt’) offer them all and so I froze and didn’t do anything. I thought how silly this was. I have all of this beautiful artwork that would be beautiful in your home, yet it isn’t doing anyone any good sitting on my harddrive. So I decided to give YOU the creative freedom to print my artwork to whatever size you need to fit your space. Maybe you have a modern Ikea frame or a funky vintage frame you found in a thrift store that is an odd ball size- I didn’t want to limit you on what you can do- so I decided it was best for everyone to allow you the creative freedom to play with my artwork to fit your space rather than ME tell YOU how it needs to be done.
Being able to broaden my reach. The world is small and yet it is expensive to ship artwork overseas. By offering my work in the form of digital downloads I can work with collectors that are overseas. They can instantly have access to my work to print and hang in their homes that otherwise might take weeks to arrive at the mercy of the postal service and customs.
When I set out to write this, I thought I’d have many other reasons but as i got to typing i realized it boils down to my own need for creative fulfilment and the desire to be able to offer you beautiful artwork that won’t be limited by my own desires and limitations. I do not hold my work so sacred as to keep it hidden to only a select few. I want it out in the world and living on the walls of your home if it resonates with you. So creative freedom for both ME and YOU is the reason why I offer my work this way.
“I do not hold my work so sacred as to keep it hidden to only a select few. I want it out in the world and living on the walls of your home if it resonates with you.”
I personally LOVE a large statement piece over a sofa but I equally love a great gallery wall. Buying artwork as DD allows you the freedom to choose what is best for you
I have struggled with this decision for years now. I first opened my Digital Download shop about 2 years ago, and just as I was getting started, I let a total stranger fill my head with their own thoughts and opinions, promising me success if I worked with her instead of offering Digital Downloads. And guess what? Nothing ever happened with that arrangement. It went nowhere. I let a total stranger talk me out of following my own intuition. The same happened last year- I let ‘industry experts’ fill my head with what I thought was how an artist is supposed to work, how they are supposed to market + sell their art. It led me nowhere but feeling inadequate, defeated, self-conscious, untrustworthy of my own thoughts + desires, stressed, and ready to give it all up.
And what I’ve slowly been learning these last 2 years is that I (and you!) have to listen to our own intuition, our own inner compass. It already knows what to do- it’s just HARD to go against the grain, to go against what most other artists are doing. But it’s like I tell all the young people in my life-being like everyone else is boring. Do you. Do what you know deep down is best for you and your life.
I’ve been told that offering my work this way diminishes the value of the work, that it doesn’t make you a true artist. But you know what? I say F that. It’s because I LOVE my work so much that I offer it this way. I create with Spirit, God, The Universe, Mother Nature, whatever name you use; there is an energy exchange in the creation process. Then there is an exchange between you and I- I give you the creative freedom to print and display my work in a way that is beautiful + right for you and your home.
One more step down the path to FULFILLMENT.