Sunday, January 24, 2016

Those Pesky Hats

   Wouldn't it be nice to get to the point where you have to do no advertising, no marketing and no sales. All you  had to do was be creative and sit in your studio and paint all day. But no, that's not the life of an artist. That's also not the case with this artist. I barely have so many hours in the day and it would be nice to just use my creative juices and do my art, but nothing is free. You need to buy all sorts of art supplies to create that art and for that you need cash. You have to  buy paints and there are a multitude of paints and a multitude of prices. Acrylic paint is the most cost effective if you're not a Water colorist, but water color supplies are not that cheap either.You have to buy canvases, brushes, pallet knives, frames, and many accessories. 
   I know that there are many shortcuts in getting the price down on completing your painting tasks. You can build your own stretched canvases with a little investment and more time to build your canvases instead of painting. You can build your own website with a little time away from your creative painting. You can get gallery representation and just sit back and have your artwork sell itself. There is a problem with this scenario in that you will have to put your salesman suit and hat on to get that gallery representation because your painting will not automatically get that for you. You have to network with other artists and that takes time away from your creative painting. 
   Why don't we start with the carpenters hat and overalls. What kind of supplies do you need to make your own canvas' instead of buying them. If you are a starter, the best thing for you is to buy your canvases. Buy the mulit-packs in the most popular sizes which will usually be the most cost effective. I can get my 16x20 five packs usually at on the average of $2.00/ canvas which is a pretty good price. Of course these are the 3/4 inch canvases and not gallery ready if you don't want to buy a frame for it..Back to supplies to build your own canvases. You will need 1"x2" wood, nail gun(or use a hammer), miter saw(or you can buy a very cheap miter box) or a table saw, wood glue, T50 staple gun, and channel-lock pliers. All told once you have the tools you can build large scale stretched canvas' for $10.00 or less. You can find plain canvas at most fabric stores at a very reasonable price at around $7.00 for a square yard where I shop. You can use a pair of channel lock pliers to grab the edge of the canvas and pull it around on the back end of the frame but I have done it without pliers also. They do make specialized pliers just for this purpose but I find it to be just as easy to use a $5.00 pair of channel locks in most instances. After you're done with your canvas you have to gesso it several times to make sure it is evenly covered. You can buy Gesso at art supply stores in tubs for about $20.00.     The next dilemma is don't start doing the big canvas too early in your career. Usually, most people who buy big art, do it to impress others and about the only way to impress others is to have a large art piece from a well known artist. So if you're early in your career or are still building your resume, think about sizing down. 
   Now it's time to put on your marketing hat. The only way people are going to see your art is if you are marketing it somehow, someway. The most obvious way is to sell it through many of the the art com websites on the internet. Then the most obvious way is to create your own website or pay someone to create it for you. If you decide to do it yourself make sure you do it the simple way with a site builder or build a Blog. There are free blogs on the internet and there are those where you get your own domain. Usually having your own domain is the preferred method. Of course if you decide to create your own website from the ground up you need to put your engineering hat on and this will take  time away from your creative painting but creating a website from the ground up is being creative in another area but again, there are only so many hours in a day. 
  The most important hat however is that artist hat. This hat should be on everyday and those creative juices should be flowing. When you're in a creative state you will even dream about your next Picasso or Cezanne. Every waking moment you will be thinking about your next masterpiece even though sometimes it doesn't turn out that way to the world.but as long as you feel satisfied with your creations and you are loving what you are doing than nothing else matters. The most important thing to remember is that you are creating to satisfy your inner self and no one else. People will always tell you that you should paint what is most marketable but I don't believe in that theory. If you paint to sell your paintings to the masses that's fine but in that case you are not loving what you are doing. You are painting for the money and if that is your satisfaction than more power to you. However, if you are loving what you are doing and doing it for yourself and loving every minute of it, it will eventually payoff but probably long after your gone. There are some artists that are very successful today but most of the most successful artists are long gone.The way I look at it even if your paintings end up at the thrift store, maybe someone will enjoy them for years to come and then maybe not. At the least your family will have them on their walls and everytime they look at them they will remember the tiny bits of wisdom you left behind. Happy painting!!!.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

The 13 Things You Must do to Sell Your Art Successfully

1) The variations in art that you should include on your website:

   When you create art, your art must inherently be related. You could have variations on a theme. It could be unified by a show statement, the appearance, or some other variable. When you decide to put together a collection of artwork onto your website it is most likely destined to confuse people. When this happens viewers and collectors just can't figure out what you stand for or get a consistent handle on what you're trying to say or where you were intending to go. When people are confused and don't understand what you're trying to say then they won't buy your art. It's like a store that you would visit and you look around and see that they have varying products on their shelves and not in a coherent manner. You may find fruits and dairy with purses and shoes. This is not the way to create your art or display it on your website. Be consistent and ensure that your artwork has a purpose and detail and your creative purpose.

2) Your intentions for selling your art:

   Sometimes you may wonder if you should include artwork that you’ve created your entire career. It really depends on whether your website is meant to be an online retrospective of your art, then the answer would be yes. However, if your purpose is to sell art or get you shows, you should stay with what you're doing now. If you want to or decide to show your older works, limit them to that art that's somewhat relevant to your present direction, and clearly divide and separate them from your current work. The less relevant it seems to be from your present work, the more you should think about leaving it off the website. Not only that, you don't want prospective buyers to get excited or interested in your art that you no longer make. Do not by any stretch of the imagination put everything that you’ve ever done since early childhood.

3) Many sold pieces should not be on your website:

   You should not have many of your sold art on your website to show people how well it sells. It would be almost exactly like walking into a store and trying to buy something that was already sold. Sometimes when people visit a website and they see many pieces of fine art, they may be impressed with your ability to sell, however there could be the perception that all the good pieces are sold and all that’s left are the crumbs that no one wants to buy. If you decide to put some of your sold art pieces on your website make sure you indicate and emphasize that these pieces that you’ve sold have gone to significant collectors, businesses, institutions, or organizations.

4) How should you present your art:

   When you want to present your art to art dealers, galleries and other people with profiles in the art world it is unwise and to your detriment to email them images of your art with no text. Just because people see your art in this format will not pique their interest or be impressed and they will not email back, ask about it, want to buy it or offer to give you shows. This form of trying to get your art sold is unquestionably the worst way to get it done. It’s almost on par with sending out a resume at random with the heading ‘Dear Sir/Ms.’ or ‘Please, I need you to visit my website’ and tell me what you think about my art. If these emails are even opened, they don’t even give it a second thought and most likely will delete it without remorse. Like in any serious attempt to land a job, there are protocols you must adhere to in order to even get an interview. In the art world you must treat it the same way as you do a job with research and finding an accommodating place by specifically addressing the recipient by name, giving them your reasons for contacting them, what specifically you’re looking for, and why and how you believe that they will benefit from your art.

5) The reasons for holding off on contacting local galleries first:

   You should hold off on introducing yourself to galleries in your local area, and most importantly on making requests for them to show your art. The very first thing would be to familiarize yourself with each gallery. Visit them anonymously or look at their website to see what kinds of art they show. Make sure you narrow your focus to those that offer art that is similar to what you have to offer and artists with similar careers as yours. A very good time to do this is during a galleries exhibit openings or at other times when galleries are busy, so you can circulate in relative anonymity and assess how you can go forward from there.. Do some research in advance of any visits to galleries and determine who might be a good fit, and then decide when to make your move.

6) The things you should do to attract Galleries:

   A proper introduction is very important. Make sure you do this slowly and be certain that they have enough time to hear you out and are willing to talk to you. Make sure you praise the Gallery and give your reasons so that you don’t come across as just another artist looking for wall space. If you get through the formalities, briefly and with clarity explain why you believe your art is a fit with the gallery and give some facts to backup those claims about the art and artists the gallery shows. It is evident and important that the more facts you have the better you will be able to get your foot in the door. In the assumption that you survive this part of your presentation, you might suggest that maybe at some point in this conversation they might like to look at your art. Be prepared and have things ready for whenever they would be interested in doing so either at a later date or even at that moment.

7) There is no reason to patent your art:

   An artwork is not an invention and there is no reason to patent your art. However, if you have invested a new chemical configuration for paint or created new equipment for making art, then maybe you would need a patent attorney. Once you create your art it is already copyrighted, if that's what you're worried about. You don't have to be concerned about that but under certain circumstances, registering your copyrights would be advisable. In relation to this, make sure you keep in mind that any artist who regularly invokes or engages in some aspects of the legal system may get a reputation and could turn off a substantial percentage of potential dealers, galleries, and buyers. Art projects the freedom, expansiveness, new ideas, groundbreaking concepts, and unexplored territories it represents which is one reason why people love it and it is not because it restricts them with legalities. If you use the legal system make sure you use it only as an absolute last resort.

8) An online presence is better than no presence:

    If you’re afraid to show you art online because you’re afraid of getting it copied or stolen then get out of the art business because you will literally not be seen by anyone. If you plan to show your art publicly than you should be prepared to show your art online. Most galleries do that anyway so why be shy in that regard if eventually it will be shown there. In today’s communications world the online world has become the roadway to exhibiting and showcasing your art. Getting your own website and other ways to show your art online is indispensable in today’s world.

9) Several ways to get showings at galleries:

   There are several ways to get showings at galleries. One of the things you can try is to try and get group shows. There are also juried and non-juried shows or even renting some temporary venues with other artists. Showings together at non-art venues or donating art to non-profit auctions. Anything you can do to get your art out there for people to see and buy. If friends or, associates have access to public areas or buildings, meeting rooms or similar places, it could provide a place to throw yourself a show. There are also other places that you might be able to show your art like coffee shops, restaurants, lobbies of office buildings, or even at private homes. The more your art is out there the more chances you have of landing a gallery showing. Build your resume and exposure one item at a time. In the long run every avenue for showcasing your work is a positive step.

10) One thing you should absolutely do is out prices on your art:

   First of all it’s human nature that people don’t like to ask for prices because they don’t want to feel bad or embarrassed when the prices of art that the they ask for are either too expensive and they can’t afford them and would feel embarrassed if that were the case. If you walked into a store that had no prices on items, how would you feel if you had to ask how much anything you were interested in you were forced to ask for prices.

11) It would be advantageous to have a Blog on your website:

    The only problems with creating a blog on your website would be that you have to have an interesting story-line and have it up to date. This is one way to attract attention, a loyal following, and will show everyone how dedicated you are to your artwork. However, if your blog entries are going to be sporadic, in other words once every few months, it will show your readership how undedicated you are. If you start a blog you have to realize that it will take much of your time, effort and commitment and may take time away from your art. However, if you do it the right way, it will benefit you in the long run.

12) The reasons to start painting and selling big art:

    If you paint big in the neighborhood of between 3 x 5 feet and 4 x 6 feet. You may have have lots of trouble showing and selling your work. The reason for these problems are that people who buy big art and galleries that show big art do so generally for big artists with big names behind them. There are a few galleries that cater to commercial and corporate clientele who need art for large spaces. However they tend to have very specific requirements for what they show. Most people who buy big art, do it to impress others and about the only way to impress others is to have a large art piece from a well know artist. So if you're early in your career or are still building your resume, think about sizing down. Big paintings are OK to a point; they generally make your smaller pieces look better-- kind of a coattail effect. But the key here is to think seriously about producing more medium or smaller sized works, not only because they take up less wall space (and storage space), but also because they're more affordable. In general, the more options you can offer to buyers size-wise, especially early on in your career, the better..

13) Signing non-disclosure agreements

   You should not have dealers, galleries, or consultants sign non-disclosure agreements before you even talk to them about your art. If you do, you will get nowhere as an artist. Be very careful in this respect.