Art Print Issues by Barney Davey

How to Get into Galleries and Sell More Art

2009-11-08T16:47:48-07:00

There are many reasons to like what the Internet can do for you. One of my favorites is the ability it provides to discover interesting people both near and far.

A good example is a news item I came across about a local art gallery owner who has just published a business of art book with wonderful career advice for fine artists.

When I saw the item, it caught my attention and prompted me to call Jason Horejs, the author. Before I called, I posted a link to and brief description about the book on Twitter and Facebook. Both mentions generated an immediate and enthusiastic response.

During our initial call, we arranged a brief meeting at Jason's impressive Xanadu Gallery in Old Town Scottsdale. There are some people who you immediately like and trust. I found Jason to be such a person.We exchanged copies of our books and made plans to catch lunch sometime soon.

Reaching out to those in your community can be invaluable

My call resulted in Jason inviting me to be a guest on his regular Art Marketing Tips webinar where I talked about the art print market. As a bonus, he offered my How to Profit from the Art Print Market book to listeners at a time-limited reduced price. In the meantime, we read each other's books. You will find, as did I, his book is chock full of great tips for visual artists. His unparalleled advice is the sort that could only come from a second-generation art entrepreneur whose gallery has generated millions in fine art sales.

"Starving" to Successful is a book that should be in every artist's library

I'm here to testify when you have read "Starving" to Successful: The Fine Artist's Guide to Getting into Galleries and Selling More Art, you will be glad you did. You will find Jason offers straightforward no-nonsense practical art marketing advice for artists. I'm certain by reading it you will be impressed and motivated and also will find it immensely informative and helpful.

As a successful art gallery owner in Scottsdale, one of the most hotly contested markets in the country, he has been on the front lines of selling art for years. Jason cut his teeth watching his parents make a living from the creative output of his father, who has been a productive full-time visual artist for decades. When you raise a family as an artist, you learn all the tricks of the trade to keep bread on the table. Naturally, the offspring get a firsthand lessons on what works and what doesn't

The author's advice is clear cut and offers immediate benefits; the book's perspective is unique to the art business

In essence, Jason has distilled for the benefit of visual artists rock solid advice in an easy-to-read book that truly tells it like it is. Read this book and you are certain to come away with information, inspiration and motivation sure to make your fine art career better and more profitable. I heartily commend it to you.

After Jason generously offered to sell my book at his webinar, I wanted to return the favor by offering his book to my readers. He has graciously given you a great price! Get it and read it to start benefiting from his his sage advice now.

Click to get more information Or, you can order the book using PayPal below. You do not need a PayPal account to use it to pay with your credit card. This offer is made available to you on a special limited promotional price of $19.50 + s&h from my company, Bold Star Communications, courtesy of Red Dot Publishing. The regular price is $24.95 + s&h! Use the dropdown to select your shipping.

Both Jason and I will be speakers the 4th Annual SmARTist Telesummit. Click here to get on on the mailing and to learn about the topnotch panel of speakers who are ready to help you catapult your career this January.

Why Higher Pricing Sells - Works Selling Fine Art

2009-11-03T23:41:39-07:00

(Every now and then, I like to repost information from outside sources that adds value to the conversation. I hope this helps you find a way to raise your fine art sale prices. Read the previous post to learn higher prices are working for Hazel Dooney. Cheers, Barney)

Why Higher Pricing Sells -

By Michael Masterson

People like to feel superior. As a marketer, understanding this universal desire can help you do an awful lot of selling.

By appealing to your prospects’ pride, you can persuade them to pay more — sometimes much more — than what you could get by appealing to any other emotion.

Let’s talk watches.

For $10, you can buy a handsome digital sports watch that will outperform and outlast virtually any luxury watch made. When these watches were first introduced (over 20 years ago), they were so good and cheap that everyone predicted the demise of the analog timepiece.

Well, it didn’t happen. The new technology revolutionized the watch industry and changed the market forever. But analog watches survived. In fact, according to one estimate, sales of $1,000-plus watches have more than doubled since the 1970s and continue to grow every year.

It’s Not Simply a Matter of Dollars and Cents

Why do people pay thousands for watches when a $29 one works just as well and looks great? (By the way, have you taken an objective look at some of the fancier Rolexes lately? Tack-eeee. Piagets? Like a muscleman in a tutu.) I like the look of the expensive watch I bought in Paris, but I’ve had to have it repaired twice in two years. And boy did they charge me for that!

It’s not reliability. It’s not durability. It’s not precision. And it’s not beauty. So what does all that extra money buy?

In a word, prestige. Slap on an Ebel or a Cartier and you have instant credibility with the fashion police. Thrust out a Rolex-clad wrist and you announce to all those around you, “I have arrived.”

You need not say a word. What could be better than that?

The idea that price equates to quality is a myth. But price does relate to value. In the case of luxury goods, that value is prestige.

If You Understand This, You Can Outsell Your Competition

In Boca Raton, Florida, almost 30 years ago, a very smart entrepreneur bought a large parcel of land west of the Interstate in what was considered to be a very undesirable location. It was unpopulated and miles from the beach. There wasn’t a store or supermarket in sight.

Instead of trying to compete with the frantic homebuilding going on east of the freeway, this savvy marketer spent the money to build an 8-foot stucco wall around the property. In front of the wall, he planted trees, shrubs, and flowers. And he created a very elaborate entrance with pillars, pergolas, and arches. A guardhouse with a uniformed gatekeeper finished it off.

This was Boca Raton’s first “gated community” — and the first development to purposefully sell the promise of exclusivity. While other developers were emphasizing quality and value, our friend was selling prestige. (”Wait until your friends and relatives see this entrance and have to get permission from the guard to get in!”)

The result?

Lots the developer bought for $5,000 sold for $20,000, while lots on the “better” side of town were selling for less than half that amount. Today, those same lots cost a quarter of a million dollars apiece.

The point?

People will be happy to pay more for your product or service if it provides them with prestige. The more prestige you can offer them, the more they will be willing to pay.

You Can Pay Pretty Much as Much as You Want for Anything

When the Miami Heat basketball team opened its new arena years ago, it created a super-premium level of seating. It consisted of about eight seats that were practically under the basket. The price: a mere $50,000. Did they sell out? In about 24 hours.

In any marketplace — from watches to tractors — you will find luxury products selling for extraordinary prices.

Production cars range from $15,000 to more than a quarter of a million. Off-the-rack suits can be purchased for as little as $100 or as much as $5,000. The same holds true for just about everything.

If you make 20 grand a year, you are happy to get your macaroni for 89 cents a pound. If you are a millionaire, you search for handmade pasta at 10 times that price.

When I was first married, I bought used furniture, including a dilapidated couch for $25. When I started making a decent living, I came into the marketplace of $500 sofas. As the years went by and my lifestyle “improved,” I’ve had the pleasure of paying $5,000 and $10,000 for essentially the same thing.

I know $500 sofas still exist, but I can’t find them. They are not in the stores my wife drags me to. What I am confronted with, instead, have fancy names: divans, chesterfields, chaises, and settees. All priced at what I used to pay for my yearly rent.

Prestige Is Expensive

Whatever it is you are selling, there is a way to charge more for it — by throwing in a little prestige.

This may not be something you want to do right now. Now might be the time to grab market share by underpricing aggressively. But sooner or later, you should think about how to apply this very fundamental and powerful marketing strategy.

Remember that people with money want to pay you more — so long as it buys them a little prestige. And by charging them more, you are actually giving them a psychological boost.

Think about it.

P.S. Figuring out the right price to charge for your products is essential. It can make or break your business. In my book Ready, Fire, Aim, I give you dozens of pricing strategies. Some for start-ups… others for businesses that are floundering or stagnating… and even some for businesses that are doing okay but want to do much better. And that’s just one part of this complete guide for entrepreneurs. Check out Ready, Fire, Aim here.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money,

Click here to learn about the topnotch panel of speakers, including me, who are ready to help you catapult your career at the 2010 SmARTist Telesummit this January.

Hazel Dooney: A Courageous Uncompromising and Successful Visual Artist

2009-11-01T12:05:43-07:00

To get to know about Hazel Dooney is easy. She arguably is the most transparent artist, in regards to how she reveals her life and how it aligns with her art, one might encounter.

If you take the time to read through her prolific revealing Self vs. Self blog, you will realize it is not easy to be Hazel Dooney.

Not only does she live a transparent life, she also produces her work and conducts her business at a frenetic pace despite a bi-polar affliction that easily could be the reason for never achieving success or even trying for it.

While the international success she has achieved undoubtedly is the envy of lots of other artists, it is unlikely many are willing to follow her example. Study her blog and career and you will find her art, life and career inextricably entwined in a most deeply personal consumptive manner. For many, if not most, the price she pays to be the artist she wants to be is too dear.

Catching a break or being lucky does not guarantee success

Dooney is a wunderkind of sorts who caught a break in her early 20s that helped catapult her career. However, breaks are not guarantees. It still takes abundant talent and great ambition to spin opportunity into a meaningful lasting career. Add to these attributes an uncompromising challenging vision and an enviable successful art career often is the result.

It takes courage to be controversial, outspoken, honest and independent all at once

By taking on subject matter with sexual overtones that sends a message, which can confuse those not attuned to it, Dooney puts herself amidst controversy and confrontation at times. She is the only artist I know who can in a blog post accurately describe a clueless sexist would-be patron as a dickhead, and make the comment neither crude nor out of context.

Recently, Clint Watson republished a post from Dooney’s blog in his Fine Art Daily Newsletter. The title of her blog post, Hostage to My Independence, struck a nerve with him. He used her example to encourage his readers to contact their collectors more often. Here is a brief excerpt from it:

If there's one drawback to handling my own sales and marketing, it's the hours each week I have to put aside to promote and sell my own work.

I blog and tweet with a regularity that puts some professionals to shame. I ensure that my web site, which is intended to be more an exhaustive reference resource about my work and career rather than a sales tool, is kept updated. There is a monthly e-newsletter - Studio Notes - to write and email to over 7,000 subscribers each month, as well as a monthly media release to another two or three hundred individuals.

But the core of my non-art activities are dozens of phone calls, emails and meetings with existing and potential collectors.

Learn from Dooney's example of how to use social media to help shape your career on your terms

When you read Clint's repost, you will discover despite a very hectic schedule Dooney found time to add a comment to give more clarity to how she operates to the Fine Art Views repost. The gist of her post is simple. Due to the control she desires over her career, it takes an enormous amount of energy, time and talent to manage it all and maintain her disciplined painting schedule. On further reading her blog, you also will find she has used available new media tools to shape her career on her terms as opposed to one beholden the traditional gallery system.

I have written about or mentioned Hazel Dooney in past Art Print Issues and Absolute Arts posts. The first mention was to talk about the free downloads she offers to all in a post about what I called stealth marketing. She generously gives away high-quality resolution digital files that collectors print using their own printers.

She will even sign and return those pieces sent with a self-addressed stamped envelope. I think this is a wonderful idea that helps her extend her audience by breaking down barriers to those who otherwise might not come into her realm of influence. It is a gift to her fans, especially those who could not afford it. It also is a smart marketing that helps her gain publicity.

Managing the message... you can't always control it, but you can add your own distinct thoughts to it

With my orginal post about her, I found out one should be careful about referring to Dooney's activities as they relate to the business of art. She will fiercely defend what she does and quickly rebuff those who she feels misappropriate her actions, especially those who would seek to capitalize on them.

For instance, she took umbrage to my descripition of her activity as stealth marketing in a post titled, Missing the Message. In it, I used the example of British artist, Banksy, and her practice of offering free high-quality downloads. That exchange led to a guest post from me on Absolute Arts titled, Art vs. Marketing -- making Hazel Dooney Cringe. Naturally, there came a good-natured retort from her: Google-eyed.

A more recent Self vs Self post Snake Oil shows Dooney remains fierce in the face of those who would misappropriate her work and words. This excerpt from that post neatly summarizes her thoughts on art vs. marketing. I could not agree more:

Articulating the work should be the main focus of using new media, with sales a welcome side-effect, not the main purpose.

Adding new a new medium to your oeurve can help you find new collectors

Recently, Hazel took the time to email me with information she felt would be of interest to my blog readers. She is right, I do think creating works at new price points is an activity worth promoting.

As with every successful artist I’ve known, she takes the care and promotion of her career as a serious and important part of her daily activities. Her note demonstrates improving sales are possible in difficult times. Her solution is to create pieces at more affordable price points by coming up with a series of multiple stencils. Not surprisingly, she eschewed the notion of using giclees.

Being a self-proclaimed media tart, I know she is fully aware there is promotional value in providing suitable information for a blog post from me. Here is what she had to say. (Ed. Note: Her prices have increased since she sent this, mostly to reflect the change between Australian and US currency and dwindling supply.):

Dear Barney,

Just a brief note to alert you to something that might be of interest to your blog's readers. For the past three years, despite the global economic downturn, my paintings have done very well at auction in London, Sydney and Melbourne. Even very early works have achieved 1,000 per cent over their original purchase prices. Unfortunately, my paintings have climbed out of reach for many would-be collectors, especially those my own age and younger.

My response has been to produce my first, large-scale multiple, the YES/NO Stencils: in which hand-coloured prints are priced between $US500 and $US750.

My early art was influenced by graffiti, sticker tagging, agitprop and propaganda posters from the mid 20th century. Back then, I was interested in the wood block prints produced during China's Cultural Revolution, in which symbolic colours and simplified shapes reinforced short, directive slogans.

Given these influences, the obvious medium for my serial works was stencil. This gave me pause: conventional stenciling is crude and I didn't want to end up with a pastiche of bad street art. I experimented with different methods and materials. I wanted the finish to be beautiful and seductive, referring to ideas in my other hard-edged work. It also had to be durable.

Each of the two YES/NO images is 40cm x 60cm (or 15.7” x 23.6”), hand-stencilled in high gloss enamel on 64cm x 86cm (or 25.2" x 33.9") 100% cotton, museum-quality, white Alpharag 4ply archival board.

There are five editions of 25 signed and numbered (on front) prints of each image, in five different colours: faux-fluorescent lime, Dooney pink, industrial safety orange, papal purple and pitch black. There is also a sixth, 'artist's proof' edition of just ten prints of each image, signed and numbered, in virginal white gloss enamel on matt white board.

Like agitprop street posters, different versions of the same or opposite messages can be hung together.

The coloured NO! and YES? prints are priced at $US500 each unframed (Euros 350.00 for European orders or $A640.00 for Australian/New Zealand orders), including GST (for Australian orders only) and delivery.

The white NO! and YES? prints are priced at $US750 each unframed (Euros 515.00 or $A940.00), including GST (for Australian orders only) and delivery.

One set of six NO! or YES? prints five colours plus white is priced at $US3,200.00 unframed (Euros 2,200.00 and $A4,375.00), including GST (for Australian orders only) and delivery.

Both sets of six, 12 prints in all in five colours plus white are priced at $US6,400.00 unframed (Euros 4,400 and $A8,750.00), including GST (for Australian orders only) and delivery.

To order, or to enquire further, please contact Priya at dooneystudio@gol.com Payment can be accepted via PayPal, Western Union or national or international bank transfer.

Dooney's example proves being flexible has benefits as much as fighting for independence does

The lessons here are:

Do not be discouraged by these trying economic conditions.
You can overcome personal obstacles to your success if you want it badly enough.
You should take kind advantage of every relationship and opportunity before you.
Articulating your message is more important than massaging your marketing.

While you may not want to take the devotion to your art and career to the level Hazel Dooney has, you can take guidance from her passionate pursuit of her art and her ability to get past personal issues and not let them become a reason for failing to achieve success within your grasp. Certainly, one need not be an artist to be inspired from her story that clearly shows how with courage and confidence you can achieve success on your own terms.

Writing this piece effects the author

In a bit of inspired transparency here, I admit to a yearning to grasp life with such gusto and put down concerns about mortgage payments and health insurance to pursue loftier goals. But, like most, I hang on to what is more comfortable in a trade for security. That doesn't mean I don't both admire and envy those who have the personal means to live life large on their own terms. I believe you won't find many who exemplify this more than Hazel Dooney.

I take small solace in knowing my daily gig at the domain factory gives me the freedom to write this blog without having to capitalize on it or kowtow to some advertiser's or publisher's demands. Yes, there obviously are a few ways it genereates some money from book sales and consulting sales and affiliate links to books I believe are truly helpful.

I call it a profitable hobby that is akin to a talented part-time painter tethered to a mundane day job. For me, the real reward in publishing this blog is in the writing and the research, in the many friendships and acquaintances I've made, and not to forget the occasional kudos that come when my words have inspired or helped an artist. For sure, I would not likely had the exposure and inspiration from the likes of Hazel Dooney had I never started publishing it.

Shhh! How to Sell Art with Silence

2009-10-18T14:56:58-07:00

Listen to a podcast of this post here

Artists can discover lots of advice about marketing on this and other art business blogs. When it comes to finding ideas for direct methods to help sell art, not so much. Read on to get an easy-to-learn potent art sales technique.

Attention-Interest-Desire & Action Lead to Sales.

Whereas marketing is the activity that leads to art sales, selling begins when you pose closing questions to a potential buyer. By design, marketing draws attention, grabs interest and creates desire in a potential buyer. Selling moves the process from interest and desire to the final act of buying.

Surely artists with better sales skills enjoy greater success!

As an artist, you face selling situations all the time. You encounter sales opportunities with collectors, art gallery owners, publishers, dealers, wholesalers, licensors, reps and others whose decision to engage you can boost your career.

No matter what the circumstances, there is always a point when the buyer must make a decision. If you improve your sales skills even moderately, you will move more inventory and get better overall results. Here is a valuable tip you need to know and practice.

The art of knowing when to be silent is golden.

I think this adage, "Whoever speaks first after you ask for the order loses." is too harsh. This is because I do not like to think of my customers as losers. Yet, despite my personal feelings about the language, the point is accurate and well taken. It is an adage because the value of the concept is borne out time and again.

Here is a simple truth. Silence works.

If you only learn one thing about selling, learn to confidently calmly give the price, ask for the order and then to zip your lip. Doing this will close more sales for you in your career. After the price is given and a closing question is asked, ‘The total is $2,900, do you want to ship it or would you like to take it with you?’ SHUT UP. BE STILL. DON'T FIDGET. Above all, do not say another word no matter how long or uncomfortable the silence feels.

SHHH! Learn to quiet yourself and show no signs of anxiety.

Once the price/offer is made, there is nothing more you can say at this point that can help you. Anything you prematurely say to break the silence will turn the momentum. Your act of noise can be used by a waffling buyer as a pivot point to ask more questions or to slide off the sale. Let them make the next move. Although you are not in a contest, it can feel like one when lose sales because you spoke first.

Learn to close with confidence and then be quiet. Your results will do the talking for you.

How Lucky Do You Feel? - Global Climate Change Options

2009-10-14T22:59:07-07:00

Today is Blog Action Day. Along with 7,000 other bloggers, I have agreed to blog about Global Climate Change, the topic overwhelmingly chosen by participants. While I am inclined to believe it is more likely to be happening than not, I know some very smart people who believe it is a trumped up hoax.

Like many Americans, if not most, you will find me concerned and in the middle on this and most thorny topics. In the case of global climate change, I am certain taking no action is wrong. I can't find fault with improving gas mileage, saving the rain forest, finding clean alternative fuels, being less wasteful and caring about our planet.

We cannot afford to hope to be lucky with the outcome of global climate change

The thing is with climate change, we do not know the outcome. We are part of an experiment right now, in the test tube, if you will. I don’t like that situation and bet you don’t either. If you have seen the direst predictions, then you know the situation could turn bleak quickly. Those who oppose the notion either don't believe the current climate change is not happening, or that current changes are a normal part of global function. Many of them think we are on a course of destruction by trying to save ourselves from something that will never happen.

Regardless of where you stand, for, against, or uncertain, this video will help you gain perspectice on what the real options are for the argument either way. I found it eye opening and thank Roy H. Williams, the Wizard of Ads, for exposing it to me along with many other great ideas.

Getting solar power ramped up to the right proportions would be a game changer

Energy consumption is a topic where all nearly agree we are too oil dependent and need to do something. Developing massive solar power energy would improve global climate change and benefit humankind now and for future generations.

Last week, I saw a tweet from Kathy Heasley, a powerhouse brand marketer with Heasley & Partners. The tweet led to The Information is Beautiful site and this article titled,Surface Area Required To Solar Power The World. It is a great example of the power of thinking large to solve big problems. If we could get our leaders to start backing ideas like this instead of the more trivial and parochial ones that hold their attention, we would all be better served by them.

Join Me at the 2010 SmARTist Telesummit

2009-10-13T10:45:00-07:00

SIGN UP NOW to get on the Early Notification List about the 4th Annual SmARTist Telesummit in January. That way you will be first in line when registration opens mid-November! This year is slated to be the best yet to help you advance your art career! I will present "How to Use the Print Market to Create a Second Income." It's guranteed to be practical and informative. You will discover how dramatic changes in the market place have affected the art print market and what you can do to prosper from them. Click here to listen to the description of my presentation. Come join me there!

20 Tweets for Visual Artists, Digital Painters and Photographers

2009-10-12T01:03:50-07:00

In case you missed them, here are the best and most popular tweets I posted in the last month. It would be sweet if you would retweet the ones you like:

Artists, sign up to learn useful practical career advice from expert presentations, including mine, at the 2010 SmARTist Telesummit http://bit.ly/smartist
Things a Gallery May Never Tell You http://ow.ly/ryKf
Ten Movies About Artists That Every Artist Should See http://ow.ly/s3NK
Art Blogging Etiquette 101: General Rules for Linking and Using Images @EmptyEasel http://ow.ly/qceR
Resources: 25 Best Art Gallery Sites :: Digital Image Magazine http://ow.ly/si2K
Creative Art Marketing Idea - Bookmarks ~ this is a nifty idea! http://ow.ly/l0bB
Ten Steps to Extraordinary Success in Your Art and Business http://ow.ly/pZO0
Is online PR the ultimate link-building technique? http://ow.ly/rLuX
5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses http://ow.ly/shZh
The 32nd International ArtExpo returns to New York with a new look and new location http://ow.ly/tvPl
Hospitable Hospitality Show http://ow.ly/ryNz John Chester of Wild Apple always has a take
How To Price Your Artwork http://ow.ly/thFX
Creative Art Marketing Idea - Bookmarks ~ this is a nifty idea! http://ow.ly/l0bB
An Interactive Web Presence ~self-tagging idea for photos at gallery opening.BRILLIANT IDEA http://ow.ly/tN83
100 Excellent Twitter Feeds for Art Scholars http://ow.ly/tT0H @asuartmuseum #16 WTG!
Art Career by the Numbers http://bit.ly/17uHa6
Is David Hockney's iPhone art the equivalent of Miles Davis making ring tones? Just saying. http://ow.ly/tN3c
Presentations That Help Sell Artwork @AmericanArtist http://ow.ly/qZoM
Space gives art, business students START http://ow.ly/tvNd ~ love these kind of stories
RT @tweetmeme Responding to Someone Who Doesn't Want to Pay for Your Art — Art Biz Blog http://ow.ly/thXg

Resource for Visual Artists & Photographers Who Do Their Own Printing

2009-10-09T00:15:35-07:00

A question visual artists and photographers often ponder is should they print their own work. The answer varies depending on the person. The most pertinent questions revolve around equipment (new/refurbished), software, expenses, savings, convenience, training, knowledge, affinity, time consumption and obsolescence. The last consideration is the ROI (Return on Investment.)

Since I know quite a few of those who operate professional printing services for artists and how intense the work is at their level, my inclination is to let them do the printing so artists can concentrate more on making art and marketing. My opinion on this subject, which I believe is informed, also undoubtedly is biased and certainly not applicable in all cases.

There is no unconvincing the committed

I have had many discussions with artists contemplating whether to print their own work. The result is I have not convinced even one to forego their plans to jump into the process. It has been cause to avoid such conversations because I already know the outcome. Apparently, when the printing bug bites an artist or photographer, there is no cure or turning back.

If you are on the side of printing for yourself, use the best resources to make the best prints

Great resources are available by merely Googling questions about making giclees and digital fine art printing. You will find lively active forums and discussion groups organized around digital printing. There is the bible of business, Mastering Digital Printing, Second Edition (Digital Process and Print), by Harald Johnson. He is a true pioneer in digital printing and his book is a must for those serious about the craft of digital printing.

Whether you call your work a giclee or digital fine art print, fine art photographic print, convergent media or something else, it does not matter. What does matter is if you use a digital printer for the end result of making prints no matter the name, and you are in charge of the outcome, you simply cannot have too much information about getting the work right.

Sometimes it takes little experience to recognize a real gem

This post is to alert those of you committed to doing your own printing about 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers (Digital Process and Print). The book is another “must have” resource. If you are a visual artist or photographer who already has the equipment or is getting ready to jump into the process, do yourself a favor and get this book.

Andrew Darlow is the author. The many images from his own work that help illustrate the book are proof he is a consummate professional photographer. You will find the information he provides is invaluable. A mere scan is enough to let you know his attention to detail and thoughtfulness in approaching his work as an author is equal to his incomparable photography skills. The extensive use of color images throughout the book make it a visual treat for anyone who enjoys creative imagery.

Feast on the visual imagery while you learn from some of the best in the business

Visual artists will find the useful insightful information in this book just as valuable as any photographer will. The book covers the gamut from making decisions on which printer is best for your needs to Photoshop techniques and printing techniques, color management, image capture and media selection.

You only need apply just one or two advanced techniques to make the purchase worthwhile. If you save time and cost from reprinting just one fewer proof, or sell just one more print because the lighting was brilliant, then the book pays for itself. It is inconceivable you would only find a couple of useful tips when page after page is loaded with advice and suggestions you can use right now to become a better printer. Order a copy today, I am sure you will be glad you did.

Art Career by the Numbers

2009-09-28T17:09:59-07:00

Recently, I needed to revisit a guest blog I wrote for AbsoluteArts.com titled, Art vs. Marketing - Making Hazel Dooney Cringe. Rereading the post reminded me it mentions Andy Warhol's "Do It Yourself (Seascape)." It is an example of how many believe his best work was expressed in the form of clever jokes on high art.

Warhol is oft-quoted for his pithy and spot-on sayings regarding the art business. Obviously, he had no problem connecting business and art.

In my most recent AbsoluteArts.com guest post, titled Welcome to the Wilderness, I comment that an art career can be quantified. While such a thought may be anathema to some artists, I'm sure Andy Warhol would not have been one of them.

Visual art careers can be successful with fewer patrons than other arts

One of the points regarding quantifying an art career in my recent AbsoluteArts.com post was, of all the arts, visual artists require the fewest patrons to enjoy a successful career. For the most part, authors, playwrights, actors, musicians and performers require large numbers of paying customers to make a successful career. Not so for visual artists. There are obvious reasons, such as differing consumption rates and price points between art forms. As an example, for the price of original works and higher priced prints, one can buy opera season tickets, boxed sets of The Beatles and Bob Dylan, or see lots of films, et cetera.

By comparison, a successful visual artist arguably may only need a thousand, or fewer, consumers to purchase their art in the trajectory of their career. Of course, those who end up in the mass market with posters may end up with tens of thousands of buyers of their art. Posters and open edition prints aside, by most standards, a visual artist who gains 1000 collectors would be considered very successful.

What is your projected body of work?

I speculated in my piece on AbsoluteArts.com that a prolific artist might make 100 paintings a year, which over a 30-year span would create a 3000-piece body of work. You naturally would adjust the numbers to your situation. Regardless, you can ask and answer these questions. What would it take to sell all my work? How many collectors? How many shows? How many galleries? If you have been making and selling art for a while, you have the data to plug in a spreadsheet. The raw results will you a good indication of how your current marketing stands up.

You can use such quantified information to help create a marketing plan for improving your sales. It will help you create "What If" scenarios. If a gallery gets 50% and your additional costs to ship and work it are say 5%, you net 45%. If you sell direct, (I recommend to never cut your direct sales prices. Doing so has nasty implications on your work's value and your worth to a gallery.) your net is 100% less your marketing costs. A figure of 25% - 30% for marketing on average is conservatively reasonable, as it could easily be much higher.

Although you may have symbiotic relationships with galleries, dealers and designers, you are still looking out for number one. As such, you need to get a finger on what is working regarding how you get your art to market. The question you ask is can my galleries move my inventory faster than I can? Or, should I go it alone and sell direct through shows, Web sites and alternative spaces? You have, or will gain through experience and exposure, enough information to guide your decision.

You can turn raw numbers into actionable plans

The above is just one example of how you can think through what works best for you. Here is another one. I worked in gallery in Scottsdale that, while open to the public, primarily catered to the design trade. Its best artist was a very pragmatic fellow. His work was impeccable and he was very productive. In his 60s, he still painted with a passion. He told me his work had sold for 3-5 times greater prices than ours in higher end galleries. He wasn't in them any longer because he had found our gallery would pay in full on delivery. He was happy to trade $4000 - $5000 far in the future dollars now for $900 today. Because his work was so good and priced so right, it never stayed on the floor for long.

Would such a deal work for you? It doesn't matter. What is important is this artist found a way to work steadily and be paid regularly. He was not worried about his legacy. He figured it would be what it would be and decided after he was gone. He had run his own numbers and found this distribution system suited him. For others who paint slower, or whose work is less accessible, this may not make sense. But, there in the numbers somewhere is a way for any artist to quantify their career in ways that can help them make smart informed decisions about how to enjoy a successful calling as an artist.

Artists — Get Recognized, Exhibited, and PAID what you deserve!
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Visual Artists Experience Change Getting Art to Market

2009-09-24T10:01:20-07:00

For visual artists who rely on sales of their work to pay the bills, times are precarious, difficult and unpredictable. Sales are hard to come by and often only through painful negotiation. If you are still able to generate sales in this market, you have to feel just as fortunate as those who have a stable job with decent benefits. Things we took for granted not so long ago are precious today.

I have a new guest blog post on Absolute Arts titled Welcome to the Wilderness. It explores how changes in the economy and within the industry are affecting visual artists and the way they do business. One thing is for certain, nothing is the same, nor is it likely to be that way again. To a degree, we are all wanderers in the wilderness seeking to find our way. For those intrepid souls who continue to soldier on against tough conditions, they will find encouragement and suggestions in it.

Here's what one business person had to say upon reading it:

Got your blog... and of course the first thing I had to do was read it!!! Very encouraging for the artists... not so much for us business folks, but often the hard truth is better than veiled hopes.

Among the reasons I write this blog is to be able to tell it like I see it, even when it is the hard truth. Getting a reality check is not as much fun as a slap on the back with an "attaboy" thrown in. But, not facing reality is the cause of much of the difficulties we face now. This includes previous owners of media properties the industry relies on, financial managers asleep at the switch and politicians who over-promise and under-deliver as in "Mission Accomplished."

If those who should have known better, the ones we trusted to make the decisions, in our personal and national best interest, had not been deluded with everything's going to be okay pie-in-the-sky vision and logic, or driven by greed and monumental stupidity, we might not be lamenting our predicament today. But, as the saying goes, "Don't bother closing the door when the cow already has left the barn."

Since we are left to lament, we can choose to be miserable and do nothing about our circumstances, or we can find a way to make things better for ourselves. I am a believer that having a positive attitude can lead to abundance, but only when measured action leads to abundance. Not because I said or wished it to be so. Frankly, I am weary and leery of what has become a near national delusion where masses of people appear to be replacing hope with action.

If you don't like your circumstances, get out of your rut and change them. If you can do this with a smile on your face, great. Just don't think the sunny attitude was the thing that led you from the wilderness when it was smart planning, tough decisions and decisive actions that truly made the difference.