I have been an artist for many years  and recently I have been accepted by a local art gallery and I also still continue to sell privately.  I get a lot of commision work through word and mouth where people have visited some of my customers homes and have loved my work. I work mainly in acrylics but that is just for the sake of being able to sell my work quickly.  I always take a good deposit off a client if they want an oil painting doing as they take so long to dry, this is good business sence for any one to take note of as non of my customrs have objected. Hope this helps others.