The art of business

The creativity of the artist and the pragmatism of the businessperson are often thought to be mutually exclusive, but Dan Bunea draws on both in his line of work. With sales on both on the domestic and international market, he is looking to develop his activity prudently. 

Anca Ionescu

For Dan Bunea, painting is both a passion and a business. Although he works in the software development industry, Bunea’s enjoyment of painting as a hobby made him think seriously of setting up a firm in order to sell his works in a more “professional manner”. It was chance that made him start to paint back in 2007: he wanted more artworks in his house and suddenly found himself unable to buy new ones from a painter he had known. “This was the moment when I thought it would be a good idea to start painting my own pieces and selling them, as I knew I had talent,” remembers Bunea.

And it seems it was the right choice. Although he never saw his passion as a real business, he managed to build a system to sell his works. The artist has sold about 60 abstract paintings since 2008 and posted EUR 12,000 in annual sales so far. The average price of a work is about EUR 400, with the total investment in paint and other materials being around EUR 5,000. “In this situation I am seriously thinking of establishing my own company for two simple reasons: first I could use the time spent finding new sales opportunities to work on my paintings, resolve logistical issues, buy the raw materials and post the new paintings on eBay and my own website. Secondly, I intend my company to sell both my paintings and those of other artists,” says Bunea. 

He adds that when he decided to sell his paintings he started by carrying out detailed market research. “As a programmer I had some experience in making something of high quality at the right price, but without having a market to commercialize it, it is quite impossible to succeed,” says the artist. He realized there were three ways to sell his pieces: through art galleries, specialized agents and online. Because art galleries are more suited to the alumni of art faculties and members of the Romanian Professional Artists Association, they were not the main sales channel for Bunea. “Therefore I decided to focus on online sales – through eBay – because this environment has potential; the competition is very strong in terms of the number, quality and price of artworks. But to become visible online you need advertising and to put in tremendous work to be able to permanently provide information about your paintings and offerings. My experience with the online environment helped me a lot because I was also able to

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create my presentation website,” says Bunea.

At the moment he is selling his paintings both in Romania and abroad, with international customers being predominant in the volume of sales. Since 2008 the entrepreneur has been part of an art scene from Canada, Energy Art Movement, established by a Hungarian

painter. Bunea has had three international exhibitions through it so far, in North America: “Green energy project” (2009, Ontario, Canada), “We are connected” (2010, Chicago) and “Energized

Radiance” (2010, Memphis). On top of that, he has exhibited his paintings in Timisoara – his current home city – in art galleries, coffee houses and business centers.

The price of a specific painting depends on its dimensions, varying from EUR 20 (for a 20×20 cm piece) to EUR 400-500 (for a 90×90 cm one) or even more than EUR 1,000 for larger ones. “These pieces cost less than what exists on the Western market, where a medium-sized painting goes for about EUR 800-1,000,” explains Bunea.

Speaking about the challenges he faces as a freelancer painter, the artist says there are plenty. “As an artist, I want every painting I create to represent me, to be unique and to entertain the viewer. But in business, this kind of approach is harmful, because sometimes you can work on paintings for weeks or even months. This means increased costs for raw materials and plenty of time that can’t be paid off by the sale price,” says Bunea. “Sometimes, making a business of paintings influences my artistic approach because I need to focus on demand and market conditions, which doesn’t allow me to have complete freedom as an artist.”

Connoisseurs, art enthusiasts and individuals interested in making an investment in their personal image are among Bunea’s customers. “Abstract painting benefits from the minimalist trends in architecture. That’s why the demand for such pieces is high, especially in the US, France, China, Brazil and Argentina,” says the artist. As for the future, he intends to dedicate 100 percent of his time to painting.

“At present I am focusing more on the French market, and in addition I am trying to collaborate with an auction house in Argentina. My future approach to this business is a prudent increase in turnover,” concludes Bunea.

editorial@business-review.ro