Category: the business of art

Harvest Festival

This is a 4 foot square sign, photographed in cramped quarters after I finished painting it. It will be displayed much nicer than this at the festival! And, I know the lettering is weak – I am barely a painter, and definitely not trained as a sign painter! Okay, that’s it with the excuses; on to the rest of the blog.

If you own your own business, you are probably fried on getting asked for freebies for raffles, auctions, door prizes, etc. Me too. (more on that later). However, I ALWAYS give to my church, and the annual Harvest Festival is Saturday, November 8. This is a nice evening, not a fund-raiser but a nice time with games for children (and horseshoes for adults) and a place to gather, visit and eat some soup. This is my gift to the Harvest Festival this year:

(Someday I will learn about not photographing wet paintings in the bright sunlight when it makes that wet shine in a corner!)

Okay, about those freebies: I think it is Jack White, my “guru” in painting and the business of art, who advocates that all those non-profits BUY art from us. The non-profits can benefit tax-wise from spending money, and the artists can sell to them at a discount to help. The artists benefit because they are not depleting their hard-built inventory for free. We artists can only write off the cost of the materials, or take it out of our inventory for taxes but CAN NOT DEDUCT THE RETAIL VALUE OF THE ART! (Can you hear me??) One year I gave away more than I sold. That was a good year for the non-profits, but a painful one for me. So, I am trying to be smarter about it all, without causing a kerfuffle among the many very good non-profit organizations who ask (and ask and ask).

Why?

There are four main reasons for choosing the subjects I do: 1. Someone pays me. 2. This will most likely sell. 3. A show is coming. 4. OH! How Beautiful!

Someone Pays Me: this is called a commission. It is good to please people, to create for them with their input. It is almost a guarantee of happiness all the way around, and that is too good to turn down. Besides, I love to draw and paint, and if you have been reading my blog, you know that I would rather draw something ugly than be a secretary or waitress!

(No, this is not ugly!!)

This Might Sell: oranges are the best example I have. Since learning to oil paint, I have painted at least 34 still life orange pictures! This makes me wonder if all the practice at painting oranges has caused them to be better than any other subject, which increases the sales, which provides more practice, around and around and around.

There’s Nothing Like A Navel, oil, 18×24, framed, $495

A Show Is Coming: People like to have choices, like to see new inventory, and like to do business with businesses that are successful (i.e. selling!). We all like to see variety in colors, styles and prices. I know that the little things sell, but I also know that the big things make my displays look more impressive. This means I have to paint like a machine to create all these choices. I can do this.

These 3 oil paintings are patiently waiting for me to continue, now that The Mural is finished!

OH! How Beautiful!: Almost everywhere I go, I take my camera. There is beauty everywhere, and I have learned (the hard way, of course) that if something is looks good, TAKE THE PHOTO NOW! These aren’t always subjects that sell, but they are irresistible to me.

A Thinking Place, colored pencil, 14×18, framed, $350

on selling

Oak Grove Bridge II, oil, wrapped canvas, 11×14, SOLD

People ask from time to time, “Is it hard to sell your work?” My first smart-alecky response is, “It’s only hard to sell the ugly ones”. However, I don’t think that is the answer anyone is looking for. They are asking about an emotional attachment to a personal creation, something akin to separation anxiety. When my students ask if they should sell their work, my answer is, “Always, and as often as possible!” Often, a result of growth is that we quickly become ashamed of (or even disgusted by) our earlier efforts. (My Oh-So-Wise Dad said, “Simply refer to those as your Primitive Era.”) So, if one has $50 to buy more supplies or another month of lessons instead of owning a piece of work that she now finds embarrassing, then she has come out ahead! The more work I sell, the more I paint and draw and thus, my abilities are refined through more experience. The more work I sell, the more space I have for more work. The more work I sell, the more my confidence grows, enabling me to say “YES I CAN!!” The more work I sell, the less inclined I am to believe that I should hone my job hunting/resume writing skills.

Photography

When I was a kid and liked to draw, I collected a folder of pictures that I liked. Some were photographs, some were drawings, and all were interesting to me for various reasons. In college I took photography and learned to develop and print my own photos. Wow! My real collection of photos began at that point. They were mostly slides back then, the most inconvenient method of viewing photos ever invented. I took them because they cost less than prints and took up less room. If something seemed particularly great, I could have a print made. Then, I switched to prints for more immediate gratification. Everywhere I go, my camera is with me and I am looking for anything interesting, anything at all that might become a painting or a drawing. I have tons and tons of photos, more than I can possibly keep organized in their alloted space. Each time I file the stacks that accumulate, I toss those that I know will never be useful. The stacks accumulate because I am continually going through the categories, seeking visual aids for whatever is in progress. The point here is that if you are planning to be an artist, particularly if you are like me and need to see it in order to draw it, LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY!!! This skill has been one of the most necessary of my career, and those photos have helped me out time after time. Here are some examples: in planning the collage drawing for C&P, they asked me to put in bits and pieces from calendar pictures. That is breaking copyright law, so I only work from my own photos. No problem – I have photos of everything they requested! In working on the 6-panel mural that has no photos and is supposed to be generic, my photos have helped me out over and over. Sequoia groves, oak groves, trees and shrubs along a river, rocks on a hillside, rocks up close, rocks by the river, mountains in the distance, hills in the distance, hills up close. . . I have them! Of course, there is the continual problem that no matter how often I take these sorts of photos, the light always needs to be on the other side or it needs to be in a different season. So, I continue to take photos!

How much?

In an earlier post, I talked about how long it takes to do a piece of art. The conclusion was, “Who cares, as long as I meet the deadline?” But since time supposedly is money, let’s talk about money.If I kept track of my time in order to price artwork by the hour, many different things could happen. The customer could think I was overcharging. The customer could think I was undercharging. My students could be discouraged that I draw 3x as fast as they do. I could get discouraged that the work was taking FOREVER and I was only making. . . waaa, waaa, waaa. I could get a big fat head and start calculating just how much I could earn if I would just keep cranking them out. My accountant could have a heart attack. (Actually, he doesn’t know or care. I just said that to appear as if I have a team of people monitoring my large and prosperous business. tee hee hee.) So, I calculate my prices based on the size of the piece rather than by the hour. This makes it much easier on the customers, who then know what to expect. Sometimes I make a ton of money per hour, and other times it would make you (or my accountant) weep. Usually it just averages out. Some people say “Wow, that’s a lot of money!” Other people say, “Why don’t you raise your prices? You aren’t charging enough!” (Often those are other artists, ones who have a “real” job on the side and don’t mind toting the same pieces to show after show.)

Mug Shot, colored pencil, 9×10″, $125 framed

Another day

In the continuing saga of what an artist does, here is what happened today. First, I photographed 2 good-looking teenage siblings for a portrait in graphite. We had to spend a little time walking around the yard, finding good locations, and then wasting a bunch of shots until they felt somewhat comfortable with a camera in their faces.

Next, I spent time messing around with the photos to decide which were the best possibilties for drawing. Digital cameras are very convenient, but do you remember the days when you just turned in some film and waited? Wow, take the photos and be finished! Now, in the name of convenience, there is an inordinate amount of messing around before photos are useful.

After that, a girl came to the studio for a lesson on portraiture. She was a quick learner, soaked up all I had for her and then drew a great looking eye!

Meanwhile, Maggie came to retrieve her lemons and another friend/business associate came by for a sketch. We are working on a possible mural together. . . as usual, more will be revealed! (we hope, anyway!)

Then, it was time to return missed phone calls. The best one was from an old friend who has been asked to paint an ornament for the White House Christmas Tree and had some questions! Since I am able to talk and draw at the same time, we visited while I worked on the big fat commission collage.

Next, a very thoughtful young man came by to get a wedding present for his sister. (He was referred by mutual friends and made an appointment.) He chose a most appropriate piece: The Honeymoon Cabin!

Thus concludes another busy day in the life of an artist!