Exhibition - Brain art exhibition and unconference

Art Sales, is it you or?

The Lady Who Moved Away From Her Art Sales
An Art Marketing Message from B. Eric Rhoads

“My business is dismal, Eric. I haven’t sold a painting in two years. What am I doing wrong?” said this distressed artist who wanted to blame all her problems on the economy.

I have a series of questions I usually ask to help friends solve problems. The conversation went like this:

Eric: What changed? Why do you think you’re selling less?
Lady: I dunno. It must be the economy. Nothing is selling.
Eric: When did your work stop selling?
Lady: About two years ago.
Eric: Why do you think it stopped?
Lady: I really don’t know, but it’s just when the economy got bad.
Eric: What else could it be?
Lady: I dunno. I guess the people in this community simply don’t appreciate art as much as the town we were living in before.
Eric: Huh? You moved? When did you move?
Lady: Yes, we moved about two years ago to a different state.

The light went on. The root of the problem had been discovered.

This artist can blame the economy for her lack of sales, and that is a reality. But in this case there was another main factor: She moved away from her reputation. Not only did she move, she is no longer represented by a gallery in the community where she built that reputation. She would have been smart to keep taking advantage of her reputation there, but instead she’s expecting the same level of sales in her new community, where she hasn’t invested eight years in building her brand as an artist.

Organic Brand Building
For most artists, brand building occurs organically, not by design. They get out in their community, they are seen year after year in art shows and local galleries, they get some publicity, and eventually that visibility works in their favor and their prominence as an artist grows. Believe it or not, your reputation (your brand) has an impact on your sales.

In the community where I grew up, there was a local artist who I thought was famous nationally because everywhere I went, I saw his artwork, over the course of 15 years. I later learned he was a local star, but no one outside of town had ever heard about him. If he’d ever moved away, he’d have lost the cumulative effect of all his decades of visibility.

Will paintings sell without a brand? Of course. But brands create demand, a following, and higher prices.

This woman had failed to create a brand. Her incorrect assumption was that her work was selling in Town A, therefore it would sell equally well in Town B. But it was her reputation (her brand) that was making her work sell so well.

Are You Branded Where You Want To Sell?
It is critical to think of yourself as a brand and create a reputation where you want your work to sell and with whom you want to buy, and then to reinforce that brand with frequent visibility.
What — and where — is your reputation and brand?

If you want to be known in your town, your town needs to know you.
If you want to be known nationally, the nation needs to know you.
If you want to be known among museums, you need visibility among museum professionals.
If you want to be known by galleries, you need visibility among galleries.

Visibility is the key, but it is of little value unless you make it an ongoing effort to create frequent impressions. One-time visibility is of little value anywhere. Brands are built on the accumulation of impressions.

Don’t Take Your Brand For Granted
The woman I spoke with told me, “The people in my town are just not going to buy my work, so I’m going to move elsewhere.” I told her that she is likely to have the same problem unless she moves back to where her brand is already known — and even then she’s been invisible for the last two years and would need to rebuild, though it would be easier than starting from scratch. We often take our brands for granted and don’t understand the value of what we’ve built. Don’t take the importance of your brand for granted. And if you don’t have a brand, start building it now.

Sincerely,

Eric Rhoads

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Beyond the Postcard…

Postcard art is not new, far from it and many Artists love to create works postcard size. They can be mailed, hung and you can create a lot of them quickly in a limited edition if you want. In thinking about postcards as a medium my mind turned to cards, greeting cards and the like, a postcard but it folds.

Take the standard card you might send to a friend for their birthday and consider how it might be a useful art activity.

Sure you could decorate it in some card type design and say happy birthday, but I would hope you might go further than that.

Consider, how it…

- Folds.

- Unfolds.

- Could use the envelope to say more than the card.

- Could be a series of images, that when put together could create a big image.

- Could use words to express a theme.

- Might be displayed when it is sent… perhaps it comes with instructions.

- Could present a theme.

- Could inspire the receiver to create another one (or 20…) and send them on.

Explore some of these starting points and see what happens next, perhaps a set of blank ones drawn on if differing ways to see if you can create something fresh rather than just exploring basic imagery in a few dimensions. If you create  a few send me a photo or three to see the results.

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Buyers of Art

Lets try and create some starting points about who buys art and why… I’m not saying this is a definitive list by the way, but a way of understanding the buyers basic motivations. There will be much more to this and for the artist wanting to sell their work they may well find the following information useful in connecting with buyers. Feel free to add comments tot he article so I can add more information or details as required if you have another view or three.

Buyer profiles:

I like it - Colours, lines, shapes, tones, subject matter, scale, composition, price,. Any and or all of these (and maybe a few others) become the motivation for buying a piece, this is usually supported by a justification “It will look good where I want to put it.” Mostly it’s about decoration or showing something they believe is beautiful. Long term value as an appreciating artwork, negligible. “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like…”

I like the artist - They probably like the artworks created by the artist, the style etc as well as the person… Perhaps they have not met the artist but have been told about them by a gallery. “You really should look at the work of..” These buyers often connect with the person, then the art, they will then have a story to tell, “We met this artist and wow!) They are not so interested in the longer term value of the work, perhaps wishing it’s value may rise as well as having decoration value. “We met the Artist at the gallery, got to see their studio later on and now we know more about them and their inspiration, we really like the work too!” - “The Artist is a good friend of ours and we love their work as well as them, great to have one of their works in our collection.”

I like the price - An art work is purchased above a certain amount, the gallery is renown for having works which are above a certain value, the buyer knows that, the buyers friends know it too. so to have one from “X Gallery” becomes a status symbol. No mention of the price is made and any interest in the artist is often cursory. This can happen at any level in the art field from decorative works, through to contemporary art and prices though to many thousands of dollars. They say they are informed by the gallery the value of the artists work will rise, but who knows… “The gallery has taught me a lot about this Artist and their work…”

Secondary market buyers - “I like works already with some value to them, the artist is often better known, has a track record of success in some way and their works are valued by others enough to make it to the secondary market.” Auctions of artworks are usually the way these buyers get the works. They could be building an investment portfolio and are linking their budget to the works and the propensity for the art to appreciate in value. “I put into action my knowledge of the Artist and art-world, coupled with information from the catalogue and other sources.”

Institutional - These are Gallerists and Curators buying for larger organistations. They may be looking for works of significance from certain art eras, works and or artists whose value may have had critical acclaim, or their works may hold some deeper cultural or contemporary interest, providing some measure of value, perhaps as an investment and as a culturally valuable piece. “We buy works of broader cultural value first and foremost, the fact many of these may appreciate in financial value is often secondary but a nice bonus.”

Patrons - “We buy works by specific artists sometimes and also because we like the works and or we like the concepts communicated.” Call them rich, eccentric or whatever, these people are great patrons of the arts, often holding large collections revered by the art community at higher levels. It could be a show of status but often in a more demure manner. “We love following the work of Artist X, but we also buy others too, we don’t flaunt the collection to others we just love to support the wider cultural fabric of society.”

Investors - “We want works, which will appreciate in value, yes we buy what we like too so if we get ‘stuck with it’ we can live with it.” Using a broad range of information to make (hopefully) effective buying decisions to collect works which will provide a financial return. Coupling knowledge of works, academic information and investment trends for the works to make informed decisions. The works can be sourced from the primary or secondary markets and sold at auction later on. “It’s an investment first and foremost.”

Copyright © Steve Gray 2010+

Videos - Contemporary Artists

Here are some video links to Contemporary Artists at work. Generally I aim for short sharp videos, which are easy to watch and not just selling you on their website etc. Come back from time to time, I hope to add more.

Del Kathryn Barton - Painter

Diane Savona - Textile Artist

Exploring Culture in Visual Art

Culture, generally refers to “Patterns of human activity and the devices, which give such activities significance and importance.”

With this definition in mind Artists might find themselves saying, “So when am I not exploring culture…” Great point, and while you are pondering that let me get on with some other bits… Thanks…

Patterns of human activity, things we might do repeatedly, things, which have significance or importance, which are repeated.

Therefore there are a lot of things, which could fall into these category’s, the Artist using these to communicate and or explore “stuff” about them could find some interesting starting points, here are a few, I am sure there is more.

• Popular culture - Looking at the popular things of the time and their impact - Social - Sports - Politics - Art - Philosophy
• Religious culture - The history - The rituals - The beliefs - Structures - Development
• Historic culture -  The things that happened of significance - Wars - Natural disasters - Other
• Social/Organisational culture - Shared knowledge - Values and beliefs - Cultivation of concepts and philosophies.

Take any of these and consider ways to utilise them as a starting theme, then figure a few ways to make art with the “cultural” starting point.

© Steve Gray 2010+

How about this as an example, War - There are many ways to depict war in art, but what if I was to collect copies of war time newspaper articles and create a collage of the cut up articles… I could cut out shapes of guns and overlay them, I could make patterns out of the collage of guns, the result is a starting point on the theme of war. Of note here is the way I can explore the idea and fit it to the cultural theme, therefore I can explore the theme in a range of ways which may lead me to examining the topic at a deeper level and hopefully communicate that to others visually.

© Jesse Nivens 2010+

So there’s a start, you could take almost ANYTHING you are interested in and explore it this way. Perhaps a collage might lead you to thinking about a drawing or painting, or ideas for photographs themed from the collage.

By following a train of thought, then exploring it further, you could be creating your own level of significance and importnace about something, so you would be creating your own culture! I figure that’s why art is a called a cultural activity. Hmm if I use that sort of thinking sport could be art… or at least the catalyst to the way we might explore the culture of sport.

Activities to take the concept further;

Exploring the definition of “Culture”.

1. Find at least five definitions of the term culture (Dictionary and or Internet search) and from those distill a series of points to assist in strengthening your understanding of the term “culture” (make sure you do all this in your visual diaries to reference it later on.)
2. As you explored the definitions of culture, did anything relate to a topic or subject of interest to you? Do a quick brainstorm and see what happens, based around your interests, asking the question, “What things am I interested in which can clearly relate to “culture”? (Make your brainstorm, at least 21 points long).
3. From your brainstorming, pick out a few points which are of strong interest to you… Now jot a few points in your visual diary on ways you might be able to use these points.
4. Create a word based mind map of whats been happening since you started this process.
5. Make a purely visual mind map to go with the text based one, perhaps search the net for images you can copy and paste, print out and then paste into your visual diary.
6. Make some notes and or drawings on any key themes you have come across which might be showing up… Are there any strong enough for you to explore as an art work?

Further concepts…

1. Look at the project 1000 journals this will give you a range of ideas on how others have created journals and make a mini journal on your efforts so far for exploring “culture”…
2. Create a large drawing using one of the pages from your mini journal as inspiration. (tape together a bunch of pieces of paper to make the image BIG.)
3. Write about the process thus far in your visual diary and the things you have discovered, what has stood out to you?
4. Select two of the interviews on Contemporary Visual Artists at our sister site. Take notes about their work and their way of working and how they explore the concept of “culture?”…
5. Create a few quick drawings or actual pieces in any medium to abstractly explore some more random notions about the term culture.
6. The culture of various societies is often developed from their history, can you find any links to what you have done in this exploration of the topic and the history of your social background (Country of origin, social position etc.?)

Copyright © Steve Gray 2010+

Connect…

Today I watched a doco on the 1000 Journals Project and the massive impact it has had.

I then thought… Wow what a great way for students to get ideas for ways to approach a visual diary.

Then it went further as I began pondering the possibilities, as the doco explored how people had connected through the journal, passing it on etc.

I liked the connection aspect to it and thought the idea of connecting in art would be a useful one to explore contemporary themes.

Connect… (Feel free to add some other ideas via the comments…)

Mail Art - Connect with other artists by making a postcard and sending it to them and seeing what (if anything) they sendback - find them on the internet, you may well send an ecard of some kind or a scanned image of a card you made.

Invite - Invite people to create something and send it to you, from a postcard, to a letter, artwork etc. put the invites up on noticeboards where  you think you will get some interesting responses. perhaps aim for them to send things to a gmail or hotmail email account to protect your privacy or even a PO box.

Ok now you think of some ways you can connect with people to create a project which might engage others. Discuss some of the issues you may face then brainstorm some ideas, remember to share them!

Glossary of art terms

As a student I was told to buy a dictionary of art terms and flip through it from time to time, look up points I did not know and generally have it as a resource. That was a good idea, but only some of the info stayed with me.

I was shown another way years later which I like more, as it involves students at least cutting and pasting info they need and therefore see of value, over time the resource builds to suit their needs and interests.

Here’s how…

1. Take a quick internet search for a glossary of art terms (probably just heading points at this stage) or create your own ready to use.
2. Take the list and put it in your favourite word processor.
3. Use the headings as starting points, get the info on the headings which interest you and paste it in.
4. Save the info and keep adding to it, over time some of the headings will have multiple entries. Encourage web links and pictures as well. Make it into a PDF file and get the students to hand it in online…

After a few weeks the glossary will be a few pages long, then more and more can be added.

Extension activities

1. Invite the students to share new or interesting points they have found which they have added to their glossary of terms. What a great way to get students chatting about art and using art terminology.
2. Start Junior students with one and build on it year by year, by the time they get to be senior students they will have a solid resource and a great connection with the language and terminology of the subject.
3. Want to avoid setting homework… or want to set some… simply give them this task and ask them to add to it week by week. In class you can remind them to add to it each week and put a note in their Student diary/organiser to remind them.

Analyse this - Slide show idea for Teachers

Dear Teachers… (Hey students, don’t wait for teachers to set this up, create your own!)

Often one of the tricky areas in art education is getting students to be involved in looking at artworks and providing some form of analysis of artworks, even in a fairly formal sense. The probem seems to come when Teachers say “Today we are going to do some Art History” this turns some of them off straight away… Here’s a way to hopefully break the cycle.

Make up a slide show (power point or the like) of about 15 - 20+ artworks of varying styles and types (prefereably images your students may connect with), then run a BRIEF session with the students where you flip quickly through the slides asking what the students see. When a few points have been raised about one image, move on and do the same thing with the next image. The aim is to get them to quickly see the basics, developing the skill of seeing basic “formal” elements. The key is doing it fairly fast, for a twist, flash an image up for 5 seconds, take it off and ask what they saw.

In the end the students will have had to think quickly about what they saw without making too many judgements, like “I didn’t like it…” stick to the basics and give them a few points, like… “What colours did you see, were there lines? Subject matter? Tones, Shapes, Form, Texture, Composition etc…

Eventually you should be able to show them a bunch of images and say nothing as they will call out what they see as they will be used to the process. (sneaky huh…)

Over time you could even create a series of these slideshows, to build a repertoire of images students can discuss in more depth. You could also add some details like the name of the artist, dates etc when the more in depth discussion and analysis needs to take place.

It could be a quick start to a practical art session where you might want to catch them off guard and cause them to think in a different direction for a while.

For more points to discuss and analyse with try this. or this…

A savvy teacher might also set up a series of online images on a school intranet and ask different questions for different year levels, just food for thought! Perhaps a great way to introduce homework for students via the internet, add a pdf file for parents to get involved too outlining the same process I have above, Enjoy!

Extension activities.

• When you take students to a gallery to see works live, ask the same questions, get quick responses and move on, you could go around one gallery space a few times going for more depth with each viewing.
• Invite students to make up their own set of slides to share with fellow classmates.

Art Analysis - Start here…

Okay Teachers (and Students…) You asked for it,  you wanted more info on Analysing Visual Art works so here are a few starting points to go with. Feel free to send me other resources you have found useful over time but for now here is my starting point to formal evaluation of artworks.

Artwork Analysis Helper

Description:

When describing the artwork, you should describe exactly what you see. It is useful to pretend you are describing the work to a blind person, giving all the details to help describe the work.

Analysis:

What elements can you see? Colour, line, tone, texture, shape, form (three dimensional). Describe the way these elements are used in the work.

Interpretation:

What do you think the artwork may be about? What is its meaning? What evidence is there in the work to support your interpretation?

Judgement:

What is your opinion of the work? Do not just say, ”I don’t like it”! Tell us why you don’t think it is a very effective artwork. If you like it, explain what specific things you like about the artwork.

Try these points out for yourself by looking at a number of artworks and answering the above questions quickly and see what happens. no right or wrong answers at this stage, just ideas and options to get you checking out artworks and thinking about them in ways you may not have yet thought of.

Recent Interview - Beth Nicholas

Here’s part of a recent Artist Interview with Beth Nicholas, you can find more here http://stevegray.com.au/blog/

Beth Nicholas is working in an Artist In Residents position in England and is allowing us to get an inside view of the role, and her part in it. I thinks it’s a great chance for us to all learn more about ways artists can interact with various communities and in this case a secondary school environment. lets look into whats, taking place.

www.beth-nicholas.blogspot.com

www.beth-nicholas.com

Beth, where is the residency based?
Wycombe Abbey School - High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire is a private all girls boarding school is considered to be one of the best schools in England.

Read more of the interview here….

Getting a gallery.

The Frustrating Experience Of Getting A Gallery
The Truth About How To Land A Gallery
By Art Publisher B. Eric Rhoads

The first gallery that invited me in as a painter was on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, the big gallery row there. Because it was my first, I wanted to be there to deliver the paintings in person, and I can remember feeling really insecure. I told the gallery owner, “This is so unusual. I’m confident in everything I do. I’ve met CEOs of big companies, celebrities, and world leaders, and I wasn’t nervous then. But today I feel totally exposed and insecure.” Frankly, it was very unlike me, which made me even more uncomfortable.

My mind was playing tricks on me:

Why would they want my work?

Maybe they don’t know what they’re doing by putting me in their lineup?

Maybe they’re just sucking up because I own an art magazine?

Maybe they’re taking pity on me and will hang my stuff, knowing it won’t sell?

“Hello, Um, That’s Me. I’m The Artist!”

The gallery put my work up right away, and I decided to hang around for a while. Moments later, a couple came in, walked around the gallery, and landed on a waterfall painting I had done. They lingered, talking about how much they loved it and what it reminded them of. Though I was tempted to wave my hands and jump up and down and say, “I did it! Me, yeah, me, I’m the artist, wanna own it?” I stayed quietly out of the way until the gallery owner engaged the couple about the painting, then said, “The artist just happens to be here today.”

I got my strokes, the couple left saying they wanted to buy it but were not sure if they wanted to spend that much money on it, and said they would probably return, but they never did.

I wasn’t devastated that they didn’t buy. I had passed the test. Someone walked in and liked my painting. That was all I needed to increase my confidence. I felt like Sally Field when she received her Oscar: “They like me. They really, really like me.”

Sage Advice From An Artist

Since then I’ve sold many paintings, and the insecurity has pretty much disappeared, thanks in part to artist Michael Ringer. Michael visited our lake place in the Adirondacks one summer, and after I showed him my work, he said, “Eric, as a friend, let me tell you that you are your own worst enemy. All you did the whole time I looked at your paintings was apologize for them. You need to understand that they are good, but more importantly, you need to know that your attitude is impacting your performance. Stop apologizing. Every one of us went through the stages you’re going through. It’s part of developing as a painter. Quit apologizing and start believing in yourself.”

I took his advice.

The Reality You Don’t Want To Hear

If you’re not in a gallery, I know the dream you live, and I know how frustrating it is to be rejected. At the Oil Painters of America conference last weekend, a panel of three very well meaning gallery owners told the crowd respectfully that the odds of getting in their galleries was slim. One owner said he receives 250 submissions every single month. After the session, one of the artists in the room approached me and said, “What a downer. I guess I won’t be getting into a gallery anytime soon.”

Studying The Gallery Acquisition Process

For two years I’ve been studying the process of how to get into a gallery. It started because every artist I talked to was asking me if I could help them get into galleries, and because gallery owners were complaining about all the submissions they were getting that they ended up discarding because they didn’t have time to look at them.

Though you’d think galleries would want to see what is out there — and they do want to — the task is simply overwhelming. They have to be prudent, or all their time would be spent looking at artists instead of chasing down buyers.

The Danger Of Being Too Aggressive

Ever hear the expression “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”?  It’s true, but you not only have to be squeaky, you have to do it without being annoying, and without damaging your reputation by being overly aggressive.

The principles I laid out in a recent marketing letter about the importance of continual visibility also apply to gallery owners. If they keep seeing your work, keep hearing your name, and see buzz about you, it could elevate their interest in your artwork. But sending them multiple e-mails, making multiple calls, and sending multiple portfolios is annoying and could get you blacklisted in their minds. The trick is achieving visibility without being targeting galleries individually.

“It Sounds Impossible, Eric!”

So if this is the case, what can you do as an artist to build your brand in the eyes of art dealers? There is no easy answer, honestly, because there are many levels of dealers, many different kinds of art represented, seasonal businesses, and different times when different galleries may be looking for artists. Even if your strategy was to barrage every gallery in America with your portfolio, one time or multiple times, it would be cost-prohibitive, and in most cases your portfolio probably wouldn’t be opened or kept.

Therefore the solution is a strategy of continual visibility. Keep your name in front of art dealers by advertising in the places they’re advertising (though you could be perceived as a competitor), keep your name in the press constantly by winning competitions, and find ways to brand yourself continuously.

What If The Odds Are Against You?

Yes, you might get lucky and get discovered. But getting into a gallery is somewhat like landing a part in a major motion picture. There are a few thousand galleries (and fewer in your style, your quality, your subject matter) and tens of thousands of artists. (There are over 40,000 reading this e-mail as we speak.) The odds are against you.

The only way to beat the odds is to get lucky, be introduced by a friend, or stay visible continuously so when a dealer is in the market for someone new, they don’t say, “Who was that artist I saw?” but, “Let’s call YOUR NAME.” You need to brand yourself just like a product is branded, with continual repetition. And the benefit is not only gallery visibility, but visibility with collectors, which will increase demand.

Achieving The Impossible

When someone tells me something cannot be done, I’ll work hard to prove them wrong. I love a challenge. Though the challenge of landing a gallery is daunting, you can do it if you stay visible constantly. Make it your mantra. Frequent exposure sells products, and it can do the same for you.

Winston Churchill said it best:

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Respectfully,

Eric Rhoads
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Grow Your Art Career

Who Needs Food Anyway?
The Basic Needs To Grow Your Art Career, And The Power Of Visibility
A message from art publisher B. Eric Rhoads

One of my friends is the well known CEO of a giant multinational corporation. I read recently that he has a net worth of over $400 million. We’ve known one another since we were both teenagers and he wasn’t yet famous. You would know his name, but he wouldn’t want me putting this story out for the press to pick up, so I can’t share it. Let’s call him Fred.

Very early in Fred’s career, he said this to me: “Eric, for most people the basic needs are food, water, and paying the rent. For me, if I want my career to soar, the basic need is advertising and public relations. I pay for it before I pay my rent because I know it will result in the best jobs and best opportunities.”

It worked. Fred is famous. He’s one of the super-rich, he has his own helicopter and his own jet. He has a giant apartment in New York, another in the country outside New York City and another in a billionaires’ ski resort town, and probably others he hasn’t told me about.

A Lifetime Commitment
Fred is one of the smartest men I know, and as I watched his career, he always made sure that his most basic need, advertising and PR, was his highest priority. In fact, at an early age he met a young PR person and cut a “lifetime deal” with her. When he couldn’t afford her services, he said, “If you help me now, when I get rich I’ll stick with you and be able to pay you lots of money.” He stuck to his promise, and they have been side-by-side business associates for decades.

He gets it. What about you?

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
Most of the people who are rich and famous understand that the most important thing in boosting their career and staying on top is PR and advertising. Hollywood celebrities thrive on tabloid rumors because they know that if people are talking about them (good or bad), it’s good for their careers. In Hollywood, the kiss of death is no press.

How visible are you?

No one ever gave me this advice, and I wish they had drummed it into my head at a young age. It took me decades to really understand it. The law of visibility is a reality for anyone who wants to be considered a celebrity in their area of expertise. Stay visible frequently.

How Crass, Eric
In your world as an artist, you may be saying, “I don’t want to be famous, I don’t want to be a celebrity.” That’s fine, but you and your art are a product. And products that succeed follow that mantra: “Stay visible frequently.” (Please, no e-mails about my crass reference to art as a product. Like it or not, if you’re selling something, it’s a product. You are a product. You are a brand.)

12 Steps To ‘Stay Visible Frequently’

1. Make it your mantra.
Everything you do should relate to staying as visible as possible. Make it your goal to make a giant PR effort at least weekly.

2. Don’t be timid.
Chances are you can’t be exposed enough to be overexposed. Look for an excuse every day, every week, to get your name in front of potential customers.

3. Concentrate your efforts.
Ten impressions to 10 different audiences are not 10 impressions. That’s one impression to each of 10 audiences. Wherever you’re focusing your attention, dominate that medium with continual visibility. Most people can’t afford to dominate more than one or two things. It’s incorrect to think you will achieve better response if you buy five ads one time in five different magazines. NONE of them will work for you effectively. Yet the same money spent on five ads in five issues in a row of one magazine will bring you tremendous results. If you have a limited budget, dominate something with that budget.

4. Never ever stop.
This has to become your lifestyle. Like the film stars say, “If they’re not writing about me, I’m out of business.” If you want to be a giant success, you work your advertising/PR strategy every day and every week for the rest of your career. Out of sight, out of mind. Out of mind, out of business. Advertising and PR builds upon itself. Think of it as a house that is never finished. You start with the foundation, keep building until the house looks finished, and then you keep adding on.

5. Starting and stopping is like starting from scratch.
I know people who advertise for a couple of issues of one of my magazines. They will buy a couple of ads, lay low for a few months, then buy some more, then lay low. Each time you lay low, you lose share of mind because you’re not reinforcing your brand. Apple never stops. Ford and GM never stop. You can never stop if you want wild success.

6. Leverage your visibility strategy.
Seek ways to get others promoting you while you sleep. Get others acting on your behalf. The best tool ever invented for an artist is an art gallery. If you have five or six galleries in different regions of the country, you are being promoted every day to the customers in those galleries. They are professional sales agents. One — or six — more galleries showing your work can do more for you than you can do on your own.

7. Participate in co-advertising
The best deal going is when you can buy ads for your work at half the price. Many art galleries will run ads exclusively promoting your work if you’re willing to pay half the cost of the ad. It’s a great deal for both of you, drives customers to their gallery, and it builds your brand, which increases sales, buyer desire, and, ultimately, demand, resulting in higher prices.

8. Become a press release maven.
News outlets locally, local art pubs, even national art publications are always on the hunt for a story. If your release appears on their desk on the day they need to fill a page, you might get lucky. Frequency builds your brand with editors, so any chance you have to issue a press release (on something legitimate, like an award or a new painting), send a release to everyone who reaches the audiences you want to reach. Get to know the editors, ask about upcoming stories, and make suggestions as to how you might fit. If you ever wonder why some people seem to get all the press, that’s why. And if you can find someone to do press for you, especially a pro, they can pitch stories on your behalf.

9. Facebook and Twitter matter.
Brands are built by frequent posts with smart information, great photos, and interesting links. Build a giant friend list and post frequently, with relevant and interesting things (we don’t care about your cat’s hairball or your political opinions).

10. Bigger is better.
The psychology of advertising says that if you run bigger ads, or more ads in an issue, you are more important. That is how top blue chip art galleries built their reputations and how they keep them alive. You must be successful if you’re running that much advertising. Fake it till you make it. Run ads as big as possible and as frequently as possible.

But frequency is still more important than size. If you can afford only one full-page ad, I’d advise you that four quarter-page ads in four consecutive issues is better than one full-page ad in only one issue. Dominate with frequency, and then, as soon as you can, increase the ad size to grab more notice and stature in the eyes of buyers.

11. Advertising is perceived as editorial content.
Research indicates that consumers prefer newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV stations that have ads to those that do not. Ads tell about things people may want or need. In art magazines like Fine Art Connoisseur, which I own, our readers love paintings, and they look at the paintings in ads as much as the pictures in the stories. Readers love seeing those pictures, and may well not remember you as an advertiser, but as an artist they now know. One of my advertisers told me she became perceived as famous because she is in every issue of the magazine, without skipping, ever. Of course, it helps her business because she never stops and her image is always being reinforced.

12. Volume overcomes time.
A new art gallery once asked me if there was a way they could become as well known as a gallery that had been in business for a hundred years. Though time + consistent visibility is the strongest marketing tool, you can get very close to an equal position in the minds of audiences with a high volume of advertising, with a high volume of frequency, over a shorter period of time. I told this gallery owner that within three to five years, his gallery could be perceived as one of the biggest and most important galleries in America if he ran four to six pages in every issue for three years. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it realistic? Not for many. But this is one way to overcome the advantage of time.

But Eric, How Can I Afford It?
My friend Fred, whom I mentioned earlier, told me he invested in PR and advertising before he paid his rent. He knew that the investment would lead to success, and therefore he made huge sacrifices. He drove an old beat-up car, he lived in a crummy apartment and didn’t go out to dinner much. He put the good things in life on hold so he could buy the visibility that would eventually result in success. Did I mention that his net worth is over $400 million?

The Law Of Conflicting Values
One of the great laws of the universe is that two good things may be in conflict. Truth and justice are both good things, but one may have to be chosen over the other. In art, your conflicting values may be financial success versus the respect of other artists. For instance, we all know of a famous artist who is extremely wealthy but whom most artists do not respect. He chose wealth over the respect of other artists.

To accomplish frequent visibility, you may have to choose visibility over certain basic needs to roll the dice on building your career longer-term. Most successful people I know had to make those tough choices. You can always find a way if you’re passionate enough to make something happen.

The Agent In Me
Artists keep asking me to be their agent, but I simply don’t have the time or the desire. Yet I believe that anyone with some marketing skills like those I’ve acquired could make an unknown artist one of the most famous and financially successful in America within three years if they had enough financial resources and drive. I do this for businesses on a regular basis with my consulting practice in marketing, but those clients typically have the resources to pay my fees and spend the money on big campaigns for long periods of time.

For you, without a lot of resources, it will simply take more time. A steady drumbeat of visibility over time will eventually get you where you want to be.

Do Something Daily
I guarantee I will get 50 e-mails about how “my circumstances are different” and how someone doesn’t  have the money to advertise. I don’t doubt that. Yet you can still carve out one hour daily to create visibility without spending a dime. Some who see a clear vision will find the money from friends, family, and personal sacrifices. You just have to want success badly enough. Following this program is not for wimps. It’s for people committed to becoming a major household name among collectors.

Nothing good is ever accomplished without risk. Your success is 100 percent determination to succeed at chasing your dreams.

Go knock ‘em dead. You can make great things happen.

Eric Rhoads
Read my Art Marketing Blog
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Art TV

Hello Everyone
I would like to invite you to participate in a new and unique way to promote your art on TV.

San Base Studio is the developer of a new form of presentation of art and photography on TV called the Art Player, which launched at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show.

The idea of the application is to promote Art and Photo Galleries on home TV screens and make the works accessible for purchase by millions of households worldwide. Initially, Art Player will be available to a million viewers 24/7, in the application store of a top three network starting in April. This is a unique ground floor opportunity to promote artworks to an audience skewing to high net worth individuals.

Art Player is a virtual window to the “best” artists and galleries. It is easy to use and has many options that benefit the viewing experience. The viewer simply presses the remote and launches the Art Player on the TV screen. Images move across the screen in a virtual never ending slide show, genres can be selected, speed modified and desired images can be frozen getting a short biographical description of the artist, gallery or artwork and means to purchase the work. All of these functions work from a standard remote control.

Art Player will be launching with a marketing campaign to over a million unique viewers in the U.S, bringing you new exposure and possibly new buyers for your artworks. Registration is free and easy and all you have to do is upload as many of your best works as you want. Images should be high res and minimum 900 pixels vertical. To see more information go to http://www.sanbasestudio.com/artplayer .

Thank you and good luck
Cameron Thomas
San Base Studio

Landscape ideas

From ancient times through to contemporary works the landscape has meant a great deal for art and artists. how artists interpret the landscape is as varied as chalk and cheese from abstract concepts and emotions through to highly realistic scenes.

Many artists are inspired not just by their shapes and forms on the landscape but by colours and textures as well. For an artist starting out the chance to explore landscape ideas can seem rather daunting I hope some of the concepts I put forward might give you some great starting points.

• landscape can include many things, the urban landscape, seascapes, rural landscape and the industrial landscape. Try picking one, which is close to you and then explore it perhaps with a camera, if you took lots of photos see if you can pick out the top five, then ask yourself what makes these five more interesting than the others?
• Australia is one country where many of the artists were heavily influenced by the landscape to an Internet search on this topic and see what you can find, is there any one style from the many Australian artists working on landscape that you really like? Do some research on that particular style or artist and see which you can find.
• Take a look at the work of artists who simplify the landscape down into a very basic terms perhaps just sky and ground, maybe you can find out more about why they simplified the landscape so much, consider copying one or two of their works perhaps just on paper with coloured pencil.
• Landscape drawing does not need to be realistic, consider exploring more of the “essence” of landscape or the bare basics of it in some drawings.
• Students of Art using an art journal or a visual diary of some kind, may find it useful to jot down ideas when looking at landscape, it may be what the weather was like, temperature was like, how they felt and whether the scene was something really captivating or not, as well as doing some drawings or photographs.
• If you take mainly photographs of the landscape consider doing some drawings as well. And if you do mainly drawings of the landscape consider doing some photographs. Compare the difference.
• The way Artists tackle the landscape can vary from abstract to realistic and lots in between, consider what would be the difference between a leisure or hobby painter doing a landscape, and a contemporary artist doing the landscape and what sorts of things might be different?

Okay there’s a few ideas you might like to try to get started in landscapes, I think you may find the more you do landscapes to more engrossing it will become… enjoy!

Here are a few websites you may like to explore to learn more about the ways artists have explored the landscape as a concept or theme.

Environmental Expressionism

Graham Fransella

Peter Biram

Arthur Boyd

Amanda  van gils

Simon Collins

Peter Tudhope

Ursula Theinert

Kerrie Warren

Kaye Green

Tim Storrier

John Wolseley

Tim Jones

Steve Gray

Regionalis

John Olsen

Boxed in…

I often cruise Art shops (and occasionally Craft ones too)  to see what’s new, what inspires and what’s still the same old same old. In one I walked into recently I noticed they have small pine boxes with latches, and some had clear see through tops in a range of sizes.

I guess the crafty and scrapbooking types will recognise them as a way of creating some form of “Keepsake” device where precious memories are displayed and therefore it’s a way of exploring 3D collaging in an intimate setting.

In the same way I think the boxes have a lot to offer the Art Student and or Visual Artist. Firstly the boxes are plain pine so they can be varnished, stained, painted and or added to in many ways.

The boxes could be a way of exploring 3d Art without having to go big scale and deal with storage issues of large works. I think the intimacy a small work can create could be an interesting drawcard as well.

For creative starting points lets think about a few possibilities…

• Create a series of small things to place in the box along one theme.
• Try making small 3D paper objects, perhaps out of printed or painted paper… consider origami as a starting point.
• The box could contain found objects relating to one theme.
• The box could house a working model of some kind, perhaps you pull a string or press a button to make a mechanism “do something” inside the box.
• Simply use it as a frame to house a miniature painting and perhaps give the painting a fresh or different meaning.
• Consider making the contents so they could be changed by the owner to reflect a different mood or feeling.
• Jamming it full of letters cut out of magazines, and shaking it to create a different work each time it’s shaken.
• As a place to put very small written works or images which can cover the internal walls like wall paper (great if the box is deep).
• Hang a fine string like a clothes line and attach miniature objects to the line. You could add a painted scene in the background.
• Hang small things off strings set at differing depths to add depth.
• Paint an optical illusion in the box using the depth of the box for enhanced effect.
• Use a deeper box like a diorama and set up a miniature scene of some kind.

Of course the possibilities are endless, the main thing here being the price of the boxes I looked at were very cheap, and came in a range of sizes.

If you create one or three of these, send us a link to a photo in the comments for this post and show us what you have created!

The online portfolio developer…

As an Art student or even as an Artist, you probably have a lot going on, teachers and lecturers wanting you to explore this and that, themes to pursue, techniques to be tried out and so on. Well here’s a technique to use to keep lots of these forces happy.

Most of you will have a facebook page, as such you realise you can share a lot of things with the world, pictures especially and comments.

So try the daily challenge (It could be weekly but hey, a bit of a push wouldn’t hurt…) the aim is to put a picture every day online for a set period (one I know of is a 365 day photo challenge.) and therefore put up one image a day and comment on it.

Your Teachers and Peers can add comments and provide critiques. At each stage you could offer a lot of info or little info… perhaps stick to a formula of a few points, why I took this photo, how I lit the photo, why this composition works and so on…

This way you can show you are working, get feedback, see if patterns evolve, it could be the same with drawings or any other media!

The only downside is having teachers and lecturers as friends on facebook! Okay probably not a bad thing either…

Thanks to David Gray one of my Nephews, whose 365 day facebook photo challenge gave me the idea!

Steve Biller - Artists Representative

Steven Biller is a Southern California-based Visual Arts Consultant. I recently chatted to him to find out more about what he does and how he does it. Enjoy!

I imagine you might get a lot of artists wanting to be represented by you, or am I guessing wrongly here?
Not many. I don’t advertise. I look for artists I know I can place in strong gallery programs. I’m more of a scout, for artists and gallerists.

I focus on outstanding emerging artists and artists who have appreciable exhibition experience but need a new dealer. I like artists who confront the issues of the day — and not necessarily in representative fashion.

I do look at university graduates. MFA thesis shows reveal tons of great talent. The best part of the 2009 Los Angeles Art Show was the student show at the back of the convention center. I was disappointed that the students received only a sliver of space at the 2010 fair.

I review portfolios, select artists who warrant a studio visit, evaluate their work in person, and give an honest assessment of why I will or will not represent or market the artist. Then we work together to identify appropriate gallery programs. After that, it’s about building trust and relationships.

When you go to an artist’s studio, what sorts of things do you look for?
I’m interested in artists with a clear vision, thoughtful execution, evenness in quality, and commitment to an aesthetic. Quality is not as subjective as you might think.

I curate shows from time to time, but I mostly help them refine their rosters to sharpen their programs. And, having worked in publishing for more than 20 years, I offer full-service custom publishing (write, design, and produce exhibition catalogs and artist monographs), as well as PR and marketing services.

Artists too frequently neglect to learn about a gallery’s program before going in with their portfolios insisting their work will fit in and sell well in this space. Don’t be so presumptuous. Art is tough in the studio, and even tougher in the gallery. Dealers know what their clients want; if they say “it’s not for us,” accept that without taking it as a blow to your work. You might be a phenomenal landscape painter in the Midwest. A dealer of early California Impressionism will not give you the time of day.

I guess like many galleries you get plenty of requests to look at artists websites. What are some of the things that cause you to cringe or become elated, when you do take a look?
I generally read artists sites for biographical and exhibition information, and reserve judgment on the art until I see it in person. I’ll dismiss most derivative work and art that falls outside of my interest or aesthetic before ever considering a time-consuming studio visit.

I fell into this. I study art every day, keep up with what’s happening here and abroad, and try to see as much art as possible. Who knows if any galleries “accept” me, whatever that means, but I’m sure they appreciate the experiences I bring to our meetings.

Let’s imagine you find a great emerging artist but you find they have used a vanity gallery a few times to try and be noticed, would that put you off?
Yes, it would put me off. That’s not how to get noticed. Good dealers never look at those sites. Good artists who cannot find good dealers should seek out people like myself. We can assess the work and point artists in a direction that will not compromise the integrity of the work.

I don’t advertise at all. I put myself in the right places to meet the right people. That takes years to develop. It really is who you know — and who they know.

I’m honest. The worst thing you can do to an artist is give false hope. If it’s decorator art, so be it. Make yourself known to interior designers who’ll buy your canvases in bulk. It’s an honest living. There’s no shame in being a commercial or production artist if you enjoy the work and earn a living from it.

Yes! In fact, I work harder for those artists — and for the galleries that represent them. If they succeed, so do I.

Be ruthless when editing your work. Only allow the best pieces out of your studio. Not everything is a masterpiece. Let go of the ego and rework those mediocre and bad pieces. You know which ones I mean …

They’re great for artists to present their work chronology, their bios, their exhibition histories. But avoid selling from the site. If you sell from your site, don’t expect galleries to work with you. You’ll be competing with them. Direct inquiries to your dealers. They’ll respect your professionalism and pay you a set share. If a client want to buy from your inventory, discuss it with your dealer before sealing the deal. Relationships are everything in this business.

Is it hard to categorize art so you make sure artists understand the type of work you want and how do you go about it?
It’s immensely difficult. I don’t want to define my preferences too narrowly. I work with artists who make work that I would never hang in my own collection. If it’s good, it’s good. I’m working with a glass sculptor after promising myself I would never touch glass. But this guy stands out because of his process and the narrative of the work. He’s not a glass blower who makes pretty vessels. He’s a sculptor who uses glass. I also try to avoid digital photography, but found myself organizing a show with an important photographer who switched away from film. Never say never …

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Compiled and edited by Steve Gray © 2009+

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Check out our other Art Site http://stevegray.com.au/blog

Portraits - outside the square

This portrait by Rupert Shrive shows the idea of representing someone in a portrait does not have to be a basic square or rectangle.

So lets explore a few different ways you could do a portrait.

• Project or draw directly a photo of someone on to crumpled paper, draw the image and then smooth out the paper.
• Get a bunch of images of your subject then print them in Black and white on paper in a printer, then use coloured pencils to draw around the images and present them in a row. Try different papers like tracing paper for a different approach.
• Overlap multiple images of the person on one page, then draw more heavily, the interesting parts and see what happens.
• Get a 3D mask (often in craft shops) and project and draw or draw directly onto the mask then paint.
• Overlap a range of paper shapes, project image, draw then separate the paper, and play with various compositions. perhaps try photocopying a range of compositions and re work these to suit.
• Scan any of the above images into your computer and put text in the background of the image which relates to the person. It could be a story or poem, or even just a bunch of words which relates to the person.
• Project images on to a box and draw that, what happens when that’s flattened out?
• Do a “straight” portrait, copy it a few times, now abstract stylise, simplify or simply alter the colours with paint or pencils, how do they look in a row? What happens if you alter the order of them…

These are just starting points to work from, but once you have tried these, think about doing a straight portrait, do you think it will be easy? Perhaps it might seem too bland as a process and ask yourself which one really portrays the subject matter the best…. Enjoy!

Mail Art

Yes you read right Mail Art check this guys blog site there are thousands (seems that way to me) of examples of art in and out of his mail box! http://iuoma.blogspot.com/ Go on send some art today!

Artist Interviews

Here are a bunch of new Contemporary Artist Interviews over at our other site. You can read how they do what they do, and lots of info on recent projects and ideas. http://stevegray.com.au/blog

Kerrie Warren

Ursula Theinert

Leonie Ryan

Peter Biram

Werner Theinert

Margaret Zox Brown

Dan Wollmering

Amy Guidry

Kendall Nordin

Enjoy!

Handling rejection…

This is a great article all Artists should read and understand, often if you are rejected from an award, an exhibition, any application for funding etc it can seem devestating,  however a quick read of this article and you can set yourself at ease (at least a little!)

http://www.artisttrust.org/pro_resources/prof_dev/rejection

Starting out….

I wish I was starting out, back in Yr 11… no wait I’m wrong I would hate it, all the drawing, the homework, the learning new things, getting my tongue around works like juxtaposition.. yeah I’m better off here, not there.

So if you are a newbie to the Visual Arts welcome to a life of adventure (and quite possibly torment at some stage or other), but fear not young learners (and more mature ones too…) this site (and others like it) are here to assist your journey and hopefully ease some pain.

If you are in Yr 11 at secondary school and wanting to get the jump on the the rest of the class, pull up a chair and have a good look through whats in here… Techniques, creativity boosting strategies, links to some interviews with Artists, how investors look at Art and so much more. Then take notes and GET STARTED!

Draw like your life depended on it, take photo’s like there is no tomorrow (one day you will be right…) write out idea,s carve thing up, break things down, explore techniques and materials then explore Contemporary Artist interviews with vigour and interest, it will all be worthwhile in the end. Oh and take a look at any lists, which tell  you the benefits of being involved in the arts and nail it up in a few great places, you won’t go wrong!

I wish you well in your Art Journey, Steve Gray. Jan 2010

How much is the art in the window?

The Pricing Game
Pricing Secrets Artists Need To Embrace
A message from art publisher Eric Rhoads

Let’s play a couple of games….

Imagine for a moment that you’re fairly wealthy. Not billionaire wealthy, but wealthy enough that you don’t need to think twice about going out and paying cash for a new $80,000 Lexus.

Most artists price themselves too low because they can’t relate to wealth, so it’s important to imagine yourself with wealth for this exercise. Are you there yet?

Now imagine that you go to the flea market on a Saturday. There is a guy at the flea market selling what he claims is a brand-new Mercedes for $13,000. Would you consider it, even for a moment?

No? Why not?

Because something smells rotten. First, we all know you can’t buy a new Mercedes for $13,000. Second, would you buy a new Mercedes at the flea market from someone you don’t know? Even at a full Mercedes price? Probably not. Your brain won’t let you buy when a sale doesn’t pass the smell test.

Next game.

You’re still wealthy. Now imagine that you walk into a very stylish blue chip art gallery in Manhattan. You see two paintings you love equally. One painting is $65,000 and the other one is $2,500. You can only buy one. You can afford either. Which will you buy?

Why did you pick the $65,000 painting? There must be a reason.

The reason is that your smell test tells you there must be something wrong with the $2,500 painting. If I like them both equally, why aren’t they both expensive? Your brain tells you it must be better because it’s more expensive, since it’s from a quality source.

Our last game.

You’re still wealthy, and you see a screaming commercial on television for an art sale at the Holiday Inn. Though you know it’s going to be schlock art, you go for amusement, and maybe to pick up something cheap to hang in the basement. Most of the paintings are $125 framed. One painting is $50,000. Would you buy the $50,000 painting?

Why not? The price doesn’t match the environment. You’re probably thinking it’s a fraud from a company that will be on the road with your money by midnight. It doesn’t pass the smell test.

The Psychology of Price and Environment
In game one, your brain told you the price for a new Mercedes was too low. It also told you that it’s probably stolen, because lots of things at a flea market might be stolen. Any time your brain faces something that doesn’t equate, it rejects it to protect you. If you had seen a new $13,000 Mercedes at a credible dealer, you still would have asked yourself, “What’s wrong with it?” But you would probably trust the dealer and their reasoning a little more, because of the trusted environment.

More artworks don’t sell because they are priced too low, and are not priced for environment.

Wait, Eric. How can this be true? People always want a bargain. So a lower price is always better than a higher price, right?

Nope.

Case in point? I’m more likely to pay $80,000 for a new Lexus than the same model at $40,000. The discount is too deep, so something must be wrong. It must have been wrecked. Yet a price of, say, $68,000 seems like a legitimate discount. My “BS Meter” tells me something is wrong when the discount is too deep.

A Famous Painter’s Story
I swore I wouldn’t use this man’s name, but he is a household name among living painters today. One day at lunch I asked, “How did you get your prices so high?”

“Eric, in the 1950s I had a painting sit in a gallery for two years unsold. It was a great little painting. I was young, but my work was already very strong. I wasn’t very confident, so it had a $1,000 price on it. So after two years I pulled it out and put it in another gallery. I figured what the heck, and I put a price of $3,000 on it. It sat for a year unsold so I moved it to another gallery and put a price of $6,000 on it. A year later it still hadn’t sold. Out of frustration, I sent it to another gallery, put an $18,000 price on it, and it sold within three weeks.”

True story.

When you pick up this painter’s Rembrandt-like works, they look like they should sell for a lot of money. If you’re a person with taste and money, there must be something wrong with a painting that’s too cheap. A price of a painting must feel right. If it’s too cheap or too expensive, it won’t sell. Which is why my artist friend’s painting didn’t sell at the first two prices.

Environment Impacts Price
Why can a 5th Avenue boutique with a name brand get $10,000 for an item you can buy in the garment district for $500? It’s all about the strength of the environment (which equates to a strong brand to trust). It’s a combination of neighborhood, quality decor, and reputation (which is brand and trust).

It’s not unusual to see someone walk into a beautifully decorated gallery and drop $200,000. That same person may walk down the street and feel reluctant to spend $5,000 in a shabby gallery. That’s why Lexus dealers and blue chip New York art galleries spend a fortune decorating their showrooms. Environment commands higher prices.

I know a New York dealer in an elegant setting, with French marble stairways and beautiful fabric walls. They can command a considerably higher price for a painting because of their reputation, which has been built on environment and brand trust. Even telling a knowing friend you bought a painting from that gallery sends a signal that you must have spent a fortune. That’s important in some circles.

Frames Are Like Environment
One dealer friend told me he had a $14,000 painting that sat unsold for a year. Before sending it back to the artist, he put the painting in a $5,000 frame and put a $40,000 price on it. It sold within a week. He increased his profit with the quality of the frame.

Quality art buyers often judge an artwork by its frame. If it’s in a low-quality frame, how good can the painting really be? High-quality frames make a huge difference in perception and the ability to get a high price. It’s why there are frame dealers who create million-dollar custom frames and can’t keep them in stock.

What does this mean to you, the artist?

1. It’s a lot easier to make a living on high prices. You don’t have to produce as much work.

2. Most prices set by artists are rooted in their own insecurity.

3. Your gallery partner has to have their mind wrapped around your pricing. If they don’t believe they can sell it, they won’t. Make sure you have a gallery willing to ask high prices.

4. Some galleries won’t even consider representing you if your prices are too low. Why bother? It’s too hard to make money on inexpensive paintings.

5. Yes, price matters in a bad economy more than it normally would. BUT in a bad economy there are more wealthy buyers than lower-end buyers. Wealthy people usually want quality, and, to them, price equates with quality.

6. Your prices cannot be inconsistent. You cannot have low prices in one gallery and high in another or online. Be consistent.

7. Pricing takes guts and the right environment.

Should You Raise Your Prices?
I cannot tell you to raise your prices. Most (not all) the artists I know could be getting 100%-500% higher prices without much resistance. Yes, your work has to be quality, but most of the artists I know are underselling themselves because they fear what will happen if they increase their prices. Are you worth it? It’s worth strong consideration.

Eric Rhoads

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Some benefits of studying art

P.S. it didn’t take too long to do an internet search on the benefits of studying art to build my lists from… think of them as starting points to do some of our own research and see what else you can find.

10 secrets to selling art - Eric Rhoads

10 Secrets To Sell Art In A Down Economy
By art publisher and marketing expert B. Eric Rhoads

If you’re an artist blessed with a marketing gene, you may already know these secrets. Yet as I communicate with over 40,000 artists in my art marketing blog, I find that most have never heard them.

I hear from artists every day. Most tell me they are not selling as much artwork as last year. Some tell me they are prospering. The difference is that those who are successful understand these 10 basic secrets:

1. Attitude Determines Your Success:
I’m not talking about positive-thinking hocus-pocus. But when I interview successful people, they all have one thing in common: “I made up my mind that I’m not going to let this recession impact me.” This is a CRITICAL step. Most of us give ourselves an out by telling ourselves that it’s OK to fail because everyone else is. To succeed, you cannot think like everyone else. I have a giant sign in my office that reads: “2010 Is Our Best Year Yet.” Note the use of the word IS — not will be. It’s important to train your subconscious mind to believe that it is. I have to look at it daily and not let myself off the hook.

2. Develop and Follow a Strategy:
You wouldn’t take a road trip without a map, yet most artists don’t have a road map for their art business. Most don’t like to look at themselves as businesses, but as artists. But if you rely on income from your art sales, you are in business.

A critical element is to create a business plan. Put it in writing and mark the milestones on a calendar. Hold yourself accountable and look ahead. If you’re about to miss a milestone, don’t let yourself off the hook.

Your plan needs to include:
• Your financial goal (after taxes)
• Exactly how many pieces you must sell to hit that goal, and at what price point
• In what ways you will sell your art

Develop a list of tactics and build them into your plan.

3. Make Money While You Sleep:
How can you make money while you sleep? The key is to find ways your art can sell without your having to manage the process. You’re just one person. How can you get several people viewing it and selling your art? The more sales agents selling your work, the better. Galleries, for example, are sales agents.

4. Stand in a River of Flowing Money:
Where is money already flowing? Go there! If one city is selling a lot of art and another is not, target a gallery or a means of selling in the city where sales are taking place. A big New York City gallery opened a location in Beijing during the Olympics because of the influx of money there, and because so many Chinese were buying art. Art is selling well in some places. Find out where, and find a way to get your art there.

5. Price to the Market Without Dropping Your Value:
I never recommend lowering prices because it’s hard to raise them again. But many artists know that when money is tight, it’s easier to sell a less expensive painting. Many artists are creating smaller works. One artist I know is creating one small painting a day and selling the paintings on eBay (under an assumed name) for $100 each. He sells almost every one, and is generating an extra $2,000 a month. He is also painting fewer large works, but his galleries are moving the small ones.

6. Increase Visibility:
Seek every opportunity to increase your visibility as an artist. It increases the odds of getting noticed. Bottom line: More bait in the water equals more fish on the hook. Work hard to generate publicity from local, regional, and national publications and websites. Take an active role on Facebook andTwitter. Post new works that have not been seen before. Send e-mails and new-painting notifications to collectors, and expand your build. Place ads in publications. You need to be seen MORE when times are worse because you need to reach more potential buyers.

7. Repetition Works. I Repeat. Repetition Works:
I’ve been a marketing guy for many years, and the most critical marketing lesson is that ONE impression does not sell. People may see your ad or story, but they won’t remember it. They may intend to respond, but they forget. That’s why you see the same ads over and over on television. Repetition works. Single impressions do not. Repeat your message over and over.

8. Expand Your Market:
Do you consider yourself local, national, or international? If you only sell in your town or region, you’re limiting yourself to local cycles. If you can get into more cities and art centers nationwide and worldwide, the increased exposure will lead to more sales.

9. Get Creative:
Get some friends together and brainstorm. Make a list of 100 ways you can sell paintings. You say there aren’t 100 ways, but there are. Force yourself not to stop until you get to 100. Don’t judge anything. Write every idea down, then start trying some you’ve never done. Creative approaches will make you stand out.

10. Build Your Brand:
Every product is a brand. You, the artist, need to be a brand. When people know brands and know what that brand stands for, over time they develop trust. Trust often equals a purchase. You trust McDonald’s for consistent food anywhere in the world. Though this goes along with visibility, find ways to reinforce the things you think people need to know or remember about your artwork. “Jill’s paintings are….” or “Bob’s photographs are….” Advertising and publicity can build your brand, but it’s best if you control the way the brand is perceived.

You can also do branding with Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. Be careful to build the brand in a positive way. For instance, if every Facebook entry shows you with a bottle of absinthe in your hand, it may send the wrong signal (or the right one, if you feel the bad-boy, Van Gogh approach is your image). Start with what you want your image to be, and find ways to reinforce that focus.

The Harsh Reality of Recession
It’s true. Fewer artworks are selling. Yet every day I hear reports of artwork sold at all price levels. Guess who is selling the artwork that is being purchased? The artists who are working to remain visible. Most artists shrink back during tough times, when they should be working harder to be seen.

Yes, it takes guts. Yes, it’s hard work. Yes, there is risk. But consider the alternatives. The rewards are worth it.

Make up your mind to make a plan, stick with it, and be accountable to it.

Eric Rhoads

The student, painting and costs…

As a student of the Visual Arts, cost of materials is generally a big factor, you want to paint but by the time you make a stretcher, get the canvas (heck linen is so expensive, canvas is it…) then stretch it and undercoat… PHEW it’s time to paint at last!

All very well but the cost is sending you broke… so what to do?

Q. Especially in the start of the learning process, are you about to create a masterpiece? Chances are no…

A. So why go expensive, grab a big chunk of “straw-board” whack on the undercoat and get started.

1. It’s faster to get started.

2. It’s cheaper.

3. It’s easy to store…

Lets face it even if you do a “masterpiece” on board you will probably be able to “copy” it in canvas anyway…

Limitations… size, no canvas texture and permanency. Other than that give it a go…

How about another idea, use canvas, but stretch it onto a board of some kind, plywood etc using drawing pins, paint, let it dry and hang it using bulldog clips. You want a neater finish? hem the edges on a sewing machine…

Hey what about those cheap Chinese canvases you see in the two dollar shops? are they any good, short answer, no… but if you want cheap and are desperate to paint grab one or twenty then go for for it! Some of the sizes are bigger than straw-board so that’s useful. Its cheap but storage becomes the issue (again!)

In other areas of Visual Art there are probably heaps of ways of making things more cost effective… think about where you source materials from and explore the options…

Remember this… “Make Art Have fun…” (at least some of the time.)

Sell that art!

You may have a studio full of Art works to sell, or maybe it didn’t sell… hmm what to do? well here’s an approach that worked to sell CD’s what if it could be adapted to Visual Artworks?

http://sivers.org/livecd

Go ahead, jot down your thoughts in the comments section about how you think it could be adapted…

Stencil art centipede…

Every now and then something comes along to amaze, intrigue etc…

Artist Interview - Rehgan De Mather

And now for an edgy art feast… Here’s an interview by Rehgan De Mather. Enjoy!

Yes it’s from our sister site there are more interviews over there to check out….

Artist Interview - Chelsea Gustafsson

An interview on Contemporary regional Artist Chelsea Gustafsson an interesting read. Its over on our sister site http://stevegray.com.au/blog

Tax ruling could benefit artists

Check the article, great for Australian Artists…

http://stevegray.com.au/blog/australian-tax-ruling-benefits-artists/

Irene Wellm - Artist Interview

Another contemporary Visual Artist interview by Amanda van Gils over at Art Re-Source Irene Wellm , It makes for fine reading, and viewing….

Thanks Donors!

To all the wonderful people who have donated to the site Many Thanks! A few $$ here and there sure helps to keep the site ticking over…

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