dickharrisonblogspot

HOW SHOULD I REACH BUYERS?

2011-06-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

This blog is a response to the following threads - very much worth reading:

•The Myth of Print Advertising: What Works? by Jack White http://ht.ly/5fG6y ~ great comments & dialog @Fasobuzz •Hey - Was That A Door You Just Slammed in My Face? http://ht.ly/5fGef ~ lively reply to Jack White on print advertising http://ht.ly/5fG6y

Hello Jack, Barney Davey, et all,

Friend Barney Davey, whom I consider a premiere art blogger with insights, advice and information every artist must have, pointed me to this interesting thread.

After spending a couple of years teaching art in public schools, I spent the next 20 years in advertising, eventually owning an ad agency. We were area representatives for most major Hollywood movie studios and did print ads every day, but also represented other ad and PR clients, including Playboy Magazine. We found we could sell most anything with “sex”, including luxury condominiums and motorcycles.

Circumstances led me to become an independent rep selling my own art, limited edition prints for major print publishers and for individual artists. This calling provided a comfortable living for my family for the next twenty plus years. You can listen to my podcasts – no charge – at: www.salestipsforartists.com and see many examples of the wide variety of art I sold, mainly to Interior Designers, Architects and to some galleries on: www.bestartofall.com.

MANY ARTISTS HAVE UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS about reps, galleries and advertising. “If I just had a good art rep.” Or “If I just had a good gallery.” Or “If I just had the money to advertise,” the dollars would begin to roll in.

Here’s the sort of conversation I had dozens of times with artists showing samples of their art asking me to rep their work:.
ME: “Your paintings are lovely and I think they are salable.”
Artist: “I love to paint. If only I could just spend my time painting, I’d be in heaven.”
ME: “If someone paid you $1,000 a week just to paint, would that seem fair?
Artist: “I’d be thrilled beyond words! I’d paint even if I wasn’t paid – it’s something I have to do.”
ME: “It certainly shows. I especially like this tropical acrylic. How long did it take you to paint it?”
Artist: “About three hours – it was such fun!”
ME: “If I found a buyer for it, what do you think would be a fair price?”
Artist: “My gallery sold one similar to it for $900 but I got just $450. I’d like more, but $450 would be OK. It’s one of my best!”
ME: “How many of your paintings have they sold for about that price?”
Artist (hesitating): “Well, just the one.”
ME: “How many of your paintings has your gallery sold this year?”
Artist (hesitating): “Well, just that one.”
ME: “If you painted full time for $1,000 a week, that would equal $25 an hour for forty hours. If you spent three hours painting the acrylic, that adds up to $75. Would you still be thrilled if you got $75 and not the $450 you said would be fair?”

I met many artists and very few could claim earning $1,000 a week from their art. Some years I sold $25 - $30,000 worth of my own art, but if the art by another artist I repped was better for my client’s project, that was the art I really pushed. If you aren’t willing to put your client first don’t become an art rep.

PROBLEM? Most artists have no idea how the art business really works – who gets what and how much? They like to paint but don’t realize what the value of their talent is in the marketplace where money actually changes hands. They’ve seen stories about artists who sell everything they paint for thousands of dollars and say to themselves, often rightly, “My work is as good as theirs!” Just look around and see how many people are gifted with some degree of art ability. There are many mathematicians in the world, but only a handful of Einsteins. God gives art talent generously to many. But, only a few have established a reputation through years of hard work and tremendous personal involvement. I sold the work of many artists - many pieces a year for a few, but just a couple for most.

MY ADVICE AS AN ART REP: You are your own best salesman. Until you realize that and are willing to spend the time and effort to learn, practice and spend hours and dollars using as many of the multiple ways to promote your work as you can, whether personally, through print, galleries, reps, technology and social media, please continue to paint or draw and be thankful for your God given gift. Work hard, learn about your market, don’t get a “big head” and, perhaps, your time as a lion of the art world will come!

MY #1 PIECE OF ADVICE IS: YOU CAN’T SELL IT IF YOU DON’T SHOW IT. As an art rep I sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of quality “decorative” art each year to the most active of all art buyers, a group many artists overlook, by driving throughout the state of Florida to potential clients with portfolios of actual art. I knew what my “market” was and was in contact constantly.

NOTHING BEATS PUTTING THE REAL THING INTO THE HANDS OF A POTENTIAL BUYER to touch, examine closely and fall in love with. Used properly, all of the other ways to show art have a place, assuming you learn from experts (especially Barney) how to use them. My art career included years the Internet was just beginning to be considered a viable medium, but many of my clients weren’t yet familiar with it. I did use the “technology” of that time – broadcast fax - to reach almost 1,000 clients to let them know when I’d be in town and to ask if they were working on a project that needed art.

PERSONAL PERMISSION AND FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION MAKES A DIFFERENCE! Every one of them I’d ask for permission before sending faxes and to get their fax numbers. Despite my ad background, I didn’t spend a dime on print ads, not because they weren’t attractive, but because I just didn’t have enough dollars to do it properly after paying all my rep travel expenses, insurance, phone, accounting etc. etc. from commissions I earned on actual art sales.

IIF YOU WANT TO USE AN ART REP BE WILLING TO PAY HIM for his time, professional contacts and experience, just as you would any other art professional such as a gallery owner or magazine publisher.

THE MORE ARROWS IN YOUR QUIVER, THE MORE LIKELY YOU’LL MAKE A SALE. . Incidentally, if there’s a hardworking artist out there who’d like to do what I did - sell his own art and from my remaining inventory on www.bestartofallo.com to earn a generous commission on anything he or she sells, please drop me an email at brightwater03@comcast.net.. That’s another truth, straight from the “horse’s mouth” – one that’s been around the track more than a few times. How’s that for a couple of useful clichés in a row?

STARTING OVER IN TOUGH TIMES

2011-02-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

Artist's Rep Perspective - a reply to How to Start Your Own Art Publishing Company (a "Guest Post" on Barney Davey's ART PRINT ISSUES)

My friend Dick Harrison, who was an artist's rep par excellence for decades, replied to the previous How to Start Your Own Art Publishing Company with his savvy insight and sage advice. Many of you many know him from his Sales Tips for Artists site where he provides a wealth of knowledge.

You can see from the shots of his Florida property he managed to do quite well on his earnings as both a career artist and artist's rep for more than 20 years as he worked towards a well-deserved retirement.

I took the liberty of adding some paragraph headers, I'm sure Dick won't mind. Thanks to him for all his magnificent contributions to artists and for his generosity in sharing his vast knowledge and experience.
-----------------------------------------
Hello Barney,

Your exchange with "OldeBob" was fascinating and filled with such great advice, it inspired me to take pen in hand and write what follows. - Dick

Starting Over in Tough Times
Barney, what an interesting question from a husband and wife team of producing artists! Your answer, as usual, is worth its weight in gold! I haven’t been blogging or podcasting regularly because of home responsibilities, but this struck a special chord so I’m adding my “two cents” to your treasure trove of information.

“What Would I Do If I Were Starting Over In Tough Times?”
As you know, I’m now long “retired” after more than twenty years selling my own art and acting as an art rep for others, mostly to Interior Designers and Architects. What follows is not so much a generally applicable “how to” as it is a call for artists to think outside the usual box about his or her particular talent.

Defining your success is both important and personal
The first step is to decide what “success” actually means to you. If fame, fortune and a worldwide reputation are your “success,” stop reading now. Almost nothing I say will help, or even make much sense.

For me, “success” was the necessity to make a living, and exercise what limited creative abilities I possessed WITHOUT being “boss” of an organization and dealing with employees, bankers and demanding clients – as it had been when I started and ran an Advertising agency. That was challenging and I enjoyed a lot of what I did and had to do as I learned the ropes on my way to “owner.” But, in a scenario like that, one “owns” the problems as well as the rewards. Not what I wanted or had the resources to duplicate when I had to start over.

You are never too old to employ dreams and imagination
Therefore, I’m putting myself in Olde Bob’s shoes and IMAGINING what I’d do if I weren’t seventy-nine and also had the added advantage of a talented wife who shared my passion for art and a special interest in painting animals – along with that modest inheritance to get started.

WARNING! Artists – please don’t take what follows as “your plan” or “the plan.” Yours will be completely different and this is just meant as a “thought starter.”

We live in a beautiful world – when I was on the road marketing art all over Florida, God’s magnificent creation was a constant pleasure and source of inspiration when I got back to my studio to spend time creating art to sell. I loved seeing new places and new sights. My guess is; most artists do, too.

Following in the path of successful enterepreneurs is a time-honored tradition
My START OVER aim would be to find a modestly priced, comfortable, used motor home or drag behind, with enough space in it to live and work on my art. The most successful and happy art entrepreneur I ever met built a marvelous art publishing business by traveling the USA from tiny Guemes Island WA, reachable only by ferryboat. Ria Foster, founder of IIA, Island International Artists, now retired, still travels to beautiful spots in her motor home to create wonderful jewelry in venues she came to love. More than a quarter century later IIA lives on and thrives today as the best etching publisher in the country.

Olde Bob has already found an art niche. People all over the world love animals. Galleries and Interior Designers use animal images consistently to decorate homes and businesses – and those buyers are everywhere!

Artists have great tools to help them sell their work today
The Internet, social media and websites are great ways to sell art and you should use them all. Print-on-demand allows an artist to reproduce any image in virtually any size on almost any substrate – but once produced, the image must be sold to someone if the artist doesn’t want to starve in a garret until fame and fortune stumble on to his work.

Take it from me – and Ria Foster – there is no better way to sell art than to show up on a buyer’s doorstep with a beautiful piece of art they can touch and, perhaps think: “I can sell that!” When that happens, whether it is a pack of greeting cards or a carefully painted original animal portrait, you’ve made a sale! This is a key piece of information every artist should remember – or have tattooed on the back of his hand if he has a poor memory. You can’t sell it if you don’t show it.

You cannot beat the personal touch
Add to that your ability to say: “I have even nicer ones in the motor home parked outside your door. Can you take a couple of minutes to step inside for a cup of tea while I show you more?” Bonus – you’ll get to know buyers personally, find out their likes and dislikes, and YOU WILL BE REMEMBERED and welcomed back on your next trip through. I sold art to many of my Interior Design clients, over and over, for more than a dozen years.

Olde Bob - you already know your images should sell as self-produced cards and there are even more gift shops than Interior Designers – their studios and shops often located almost side-by-side in most affluent areas.

But Bob – don’t get hung up worrying about Archival Inks and permanence for items as ephemeral as greeting cards. They have about a forty-five second life span and then are tossed or tucked away because of the sentiment, never to be seen again. Unless you have a name and collector base – have established a “brand” valued for possible appreciation, Interior Designers aren’t looking for permanence either. They’d just as soon have their clients redecorate every five years – out with the old – in with the new.

If your art measures JUST 8” x 10” the ever advancing Print On Demand processes can blow it up to whatever size your client wants. Using your original as the sales sample you can offer any size required, but don’t you try to print it yourself. There are printing pros galore with the equipment and know how to do it for you. As you sit beside the lake outside of town, enjoying the sunset, just figure out how to price the piece so you can make a profit.

There are riches in niches
Be open to niche markets within your niche. I have a sister-in-law who knits wonderful things using super soft Alpaca yarn. Because of her I became aware of the growing number of Alpaca farmers and breeders. Some of those beautiful, gentle, animals sell for $100,000 plus and their yarn is a high-ticket item. Often the yarn is sold with information or a photo of the animal that produced it. If you owned a $100,000 animal, wouldn’t you be open to a nice hand-painted portrait to make that animal even more special? With your wheels, all you need is a list of Alpaca farms to visit as you travel to sell to the regular trade – or to Art Fairs where you set up to show and sell your work, if that is something you like to do. If you can’t sell an Alpaca portrait, perhaps the breeder would be open to allowing you to order and sell their special yarn on commission to high-end shops.

And, speaking of commissions, Olde Bob, I’ll bet you know other artists whose work you admire who would be glad to have you take their work with you as you visit buyers they’ll never see. Do that and you are an Artists’ Rep, deserving a nice commission, as I was.

Some years I sold $20,000 - $30,000 worth of my own work and earned commissions from other artists that let me build a lovely house and studio with a half-acre pond where I had the fun of raising swans and water lilies. (Which isn’t a good combination because I soon learned swans eat water lilies.) The point is: I was open to and always looking for a new idea, as – as anyone should be - when STARTING OVER IN TOUGH TIMES!

Dick Harrison's "Sales Tips for Artists" New Website

Business Advice for Artists in Today's Economy

January 30, 2011
How to Start Your Own Art Publishing Company
I received a request by email to weigh in on a post at the Wet Canvas General Art Business forum today. The title of the thread is How to Start Your Own Art Publishing Company. My answer turned out to be even more lengthy than the lengthy question. To save you the trouble of logging in over there, I have reposted here:

With advances in technology is it feasible to become your own publishing company today?

Both my wife and I are full-time artists and we feel, and many others have said, that our works would do well as prints and cards. We know this is true, at least on a small scale, as we already do sell prints regionally (printed on our own Epson 2200 printer) and those have done fairly well...but what does it take to go to the national level?

My wife has been with one of the largest art publishing companies for 6 years now. She makes 10% of the wholesale cost, and the results have been disappointing, about $1,000 a year average paid out to us. Also, the company has been hurting recently as they try to figure out this tough economy, and sometimes they even have to miss payments and then will double up on the next payment....obviously not a good sign (payments made quarterly). This is one reason I've been wondering if it's a wise thing to publish ourselves and keep the full profit?

Our niche or specialty is painting animals. Obviously we can't print enough out on our own little Epson printer, so we need to find out:

1) Are there larger personal printers now that can produce prints fast enough and economically enough? Or, do individual images still need to be shipped off to a large commercial printer and printed out in the hundreds or thousands? If so, are there competitive printers in the USA still, or is everything done in China/asia?

2) I realize that the first few years require a lot of work going to gift shows, art shows, trade shows in order to become known. Also, to expand ones web presence as much as possible. Any other venues or ways to get ones name 'out there'?

What are some other thoughts/ideas/considerations on all this?

Do you know of any self-publishers who are doing well? I recently came across http://www.annemadecards.com/ and http://trollart.com/
I assume they do well as I've come across them now in quite a few shops. Of course that's just an assumption as I dont know for sure. You can see that 'AnneMade' sells her cards for $1.50 each....so I'm assuming she's getting these printed in China?

There's also big names like Mary Engelbright and Jodi Bergsma. They are big now and control their own future, but I'd like to learn exactly how they did it when they started out. Of course, today is obviously a much different time than just 10 years ago, so how much would the old ways even work today?

One big reason I'm considering this direction is because we received a relatively small inheritance (less than $25K) and it's the only 'freebie' we're ever going to get really. So do we dink it away on what-not, or invest in this self-publishing idea? I know that's not a lot of money anymore, but perhaps with advances in printer/computer technology...it's enough??

Right now, with the Epson, we print with archival inks, and these are not cheap! I'm thinking more along the lines if one prints out their own images on a high volume personal printer...on card stock, with regular inks...and then perhaps varnish with a UV varnish. I know these will eventually still fade, but will at least be initially cheaper to produce (and sell more reasonably). If there arent good personal printers in this regard, how about getting inexpensive postcards printed (you see their ads in magazines) and turning those into prints or even greeting cards? I'm just kind of thinking out loud now at this point.

If one goes to a big gift show, they need to either have on hand a large inventory, or the ability to go home and produce orders quickly. It would just be so nice to be in control of the entire process rather than have to deal with commercial printers, handing over chunks of money per every image.

I hope I havent rambled too much here. I just wanted to get the ball rolling as I know there are smart/helpful people here who will have some thoughts and insights on this. I was also hoping this could be a thread of interest to the other artists who might also be thinking of doing their own self-publishing on a larger (even national) scale.

Many thanks....

My reply is:

I received a request by email to comment on this thread, which was inspiring. As much as I would like to post regularly, working full-time leaves little time to participate here. Between spending 50 hours weekly on the day gig, maintaining my Art Print Issues blog (now approaching 400 posts), and promoting the newly released second edition of How to Profit from the Art Print Market, where it remains a bestseller on the Amazon.com "Business of Art" category, and a couple of other projects, I run out of time and energy to get here and some other boards where I like to post.

So putting excuses aside, I do have some comments for Olde Bob. Yes, it is still feasible to start your own art publishing company. In many ways, it is the best of times to do this. Yes, the economy and market changes have created huge challenges, but how art is made and marketed has changed also.

As never before, artists now have more new and effective ways to control the direct distribution of their art. With the changes on the gallery scene, I think it is incumbent on every artist to create direct distribution of their art. When you do, you can sell less and keep more. You don't keep the full 50% of retail you pay galleries, a big chunk of that goes to marketing.

There are digital printers that print relatively fast and inexpensive, but not like a four-color offset press. The difference is in inventory. If you bet wrong, you end up with stacks of paper and no where to sell them. I think printing in large quantities only makes sense for established artists who have volume buyers seeking their work. Sending to China creates potential quality issues, expensive shipping and long lead times. Again, more suited for established players than newbies.

Working for a publisher was never going to be something that would pay all the bills for most artists. If you consider, your wife's publisher only made $10,000 from selling her work, you can figure if you were the publisher, it would not be a living from those sales. Publishers have big overhead costs that you would absorb trying to compete with them.

Tradeshows do not pack the same punch as just a few years ago. Look at what has happened to most of them. I am still shell-shocked that the Decor Expo Atlanta show has failed to produce in the past three years. This was once a show with 2,000 exhibitors and an absolute "must attend" for virtually every poster publisher and many self-published artists as well. Art business related trade magazines are hanging on by threads.

Artyczar offers good advice. You would be better served, IMHO, carving out a niche based on quality and uniqueness with the aim of developing a loyal collector base. I wrote a blog post titled, Build an Art Market - Profit from Your Passion. It was about how artist, Ashley Goldberg, built a $100k annual business on Etsy and ended up being featured in an Inc Magazine cover story about how it is possible to follow your passion and create a dream job.

By your questions and references to various artists, you seem to be more interested in the gift and licensing market than the art print market. That's fine. I advise trying to tackle one or the other, but not both at the same time. It is tough enough to get traction in one of these arenas without trying to manage trying both.

You mention the $25,000 inheritance and then talk about how expensive archival inks are. These are clues to your situation and your thinking about things. My advice would be to decide to put a small portion ($5-7,000?) of that into marketing your work, and putting the rest aside in safe investments for the future.

Regarding printing your own work; there are many hidden costs in printing your own work. There is lost time and money when things do not come out as expected. The investment in high quality image capture equipment can easily exceed $25,000 and then you have to learn how to use it properly. You are adding this time and expense to making your art and marketing it. How much cheaper can you do your own printing? I would not be at all surprised for most artists, after all the costs are included, the lost time from the studio, and hidden expenses are added up, that the savings amount to less than 10% for work produced on the amateur level.

I love your optimism about going to a big show and coming back with a suitcase full of orders. It shows you have the ability to think big about your career. Unfortunately, the reality for most first-timers at shows, even back in the good old days, is that the likelihood is what you learn will be greater than what you earn. In other words, it takes more than one big event to turn on the big orders. It takes consistent marketing.

Perhaps the most important thing to consider, and this is often the hardest thing for artists to do, is to be able to honestly and brutally evaluate the marketability of your work. Your perspective is warped by being too close, your family and friends are not reliable because they love you and want the best for you and they likely have no art marketing experience to weigh the commercial viability of your work.

At the heart of the business every successful artist lies the ability to create work that resonates well with a large section of the potential market. Making stuff people want to buy and want to continue to buy is a crucial ingredient. It is not always about how your work is better than so and so's. It is about how many people are willing to open their wallet and vote with their disposable income on how much they like your work.

I can't judge how well your will do, often experienced publishers can't judge it either. The final arbiter are volume buyers and retail buyers. If you can learn to tap into their needs you can build a successful print career. If your work is less accessible, more esoteric, or just not as commercially viable as others, you can still build a market. You may have to work harder at identifying where your buyers are and how to to reach them.

Learning how to reach them means being a student of the art business. Most artists will seek teachers far and wide to learn how to apply paint, but they won't invest any time in learning how the top producers built their businesses.

The information is not laid out neatly in Wikipedia, you have to do your own sleuthing to ferret out the details and then spend more time figuring how to make them apply to your business. Fortunately, the cost of doing this is more in time than in money, which leaves you more money to spend on your marketing.

Lastly, the tools to get your work directly to your collectors are the best ever. I think every artist should have a website. Period. Most should have a blog. Working on using social media can be the single most important thing you will do for direct distribution of your work.

Whatever you do, don't undercut your partners, galleries and dealers, specifically. Treat them fairly and honestly and with integrity. The best way to find them is by working concentric circles around where you live. How many potential galleries and alternative spaces that could repeatedly sell your art do you have in a 300-mile radius around your home? Probably enough to support your business if you are successful in getting into 10-20% of them.

This has turned into a piece so long, I am going to repost on Art Print Issues. Best wishes to Olde Bob and thanks to TC Steele for inviting my comments.

This has turned into a piece so long, I am going to repost on Art Print Issues. Best wishes to Olde Bob and thanks to TC Steele for inviting my comments. Of course, I would be remiss from my own advice to artists, where I admonish them to be their own best self-promoter, if I did not encourage interested readers here to order my book.

If you want to learn more about the art print market and how to make a go of it in today's changing challenging environment, my book will be a useful resource for you.

LIVESTRONG AND CREATE MORE ART!

2010-10-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

This blog entry has very little to do with ART directly, except that it relates well to a previous blog of mine titled: 8 REASONS YOUR ART ISN'T SELLING AND YOU CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT, which I lifted (with proper attribution) almost word for word from leading fitness and nutrition expert Tom Venuto.

One of the eight reasons for failing to sell (or maintain excellent health) was Number six:

No planning: you winged it. You didn't plan your work into your weekly schedule; you didn't have a “menu” on paper, you didn't make time (so instead you made excuses, like ‘I'm too busy.’)

What follows in this blog has a great deal more to do with maintaining good health than how to create art. The healthier you are, the more energy, imagination and discipline you will have when you want to create great, salable art work.

There are tons of “how to” articles on the Internet and in artists’ forums, such as Wet Canvas and Art Print Issues, but just a few with planning aids that help organize your non-art working hours with daily logs, goals and practical help by saving time in the other important areas of your life that can reward you with more time and power to create art.

Health and Creativity, go-hand-in-hand. Take it from a 79 year old who still loves to create.

There is one outstanding website you should know about and try if you believe that good health is as important as your creativity.

Anyone who has tried to stay on, or maintain, a healthy balanced diet knows how hard it is! All of the nutrition and fitness experts I’ve read agree that keeping daily food and exercise logs are important if you want to succeed.

A major reason many dieters fail is because they underestimate the amount of food they eat and overestimate the amount of calories they burn when they exercise. They may have a calorie goal, but unless they carefully weigh the food they consume or can accurately estimate the size of the portions, their daily food log, if they keep one, is at best, a rough estimate – and who has the time to weigh portions and then look up how many calories each contains? And forget about tracking sugar, salt, fiber, carbs, protein and fats accurately even if you are a careful label reader when you shop.

I’ve found the answer and am now using a marvelous Internet site: http://www.livestrong.com/ - totally free (although there is a modestly priced “upgrade” with a few more “bells and whistles,” which I’ve found well worth the cost.)

It’s built around a database of hundreds of thousands of food items. Just type in the brand name of almost any grocery item or entre at nearly all the major restaurant chains and the site knows and tracks the serving size (which you can adjust according to what you’ve actually eaten), plus the calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, fiber, protein and sugar, with a click of the mouse. Did you know things like cough drops or multi-vitamins may contain calories, or what amount of fat you add to your diet if you take fish oil? The site knows.

Not only that, it allows you to choose your average daily activity level (from a number of choices from sedentary to vigorous) then type in almost any exercise activity from walking, swimming, gardening, water aerobics, weight lifting, standing while doing art or crafts, etc. etc. you do in addition and it computes the number of calories you’ve burned, based on the number of minutes you’ve spent.

Based on your age, gender and weight, it computes the number of calories you should eat each day to maintain your current weight. If you want to lose weight or gain it and at what pace, (such as “a pound a week”) it adjusts the number of calories left for the day to reach your desired daily calorie goal as soon as you type in anything you have eaten. It also computes every component and tells you what percentage of the recommended daily allowance you‘ve consumed. All of this with the click of a mouse!

Beyond that, if you eat certain foods together – say for breakfast – you can store those as a “typical” meal and one mouse click puts each of those foods into your daily list. If you have a favorite personal recipe and can list the ingredients, it will compute the calories plus all the components and remember them whenever you serve that dish.

If you find an item that isn’t already in their huge database and the brand has a website or if you look at the food label and type in what it says on to the form the site provides, that item will be added to their database after it has been checked for accuracy.

http://www.livestrong.com/ stores the daily data, will allow you to print it out, show you totals by week or month, recall it by date, see it as a graph or pie chart. There are also hundreds of professionally written articles and videos on almost any nutrition or exercise subject for which you want additional information. It may be the most accurate and useful Internet site I’ve found!

My advice is: LIVESTRONG and create more art!

THE EXCITEMENT OF CREATION

2010-05-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

Does anything else you do come close to the satisfaction and happiness of creating something new? How long will you do it? Here's what I think

WHAT WILL HEAVEN BE LIKE?

I often try to contemplate what our heavenly home will be like. Down here I’m awed at God’s marvelous, beautiful and complex creation. Sometimes I’m nearly overcome at the magnificent colors of a sunset or a view out across our beautiful Gulf. What must those colors and scenes be like in heaven, magnified by unimaginable degrees of beauty?

I’m often staggered by the splendor of the music I hear in our church, the artistry of those who play and the voices of those who sing. What will heavenly music sound like?

Surrounded by the love of my family and friends here, their warmth enfolds me in a way I can’t put into words. What will I feel there, when those I cherish, who have gone on before, surround me with the unconditional love that characterizes Christ?

How will food, one of the pleasures of this life, taste at the banquet table there, laid before the Saints? Every pleasure we have known here will be magnified and multiplied there. When I step across that threshold, I’ll know. It will be the greatest adventure of my life!

But, I do not expect to view heaven as if I am a wide-eyed tourist awed at the shining streets of gold, choosing which perfect fruit to pluck from the twelve varieties hanging in profusion from the trees lining the crystal sea. Though I hope to be immersed in those waters and feel what must be true effervescence, even that will not be how I will experience the real delights of our divine eternity. It will not be an “outside –in” sensation – rather, the opposite.

I think, perhaps, God has pulled aside a small corner of the curtain of our coming existence for us here on earth. If we view those meaningful moments with the greatest impact on our joy in living, I believe the excitement of creation will rank at the very top.

Whether it was placing the finishing touch on a painting we knew to be the very best we could accomplish, or as a teacher speaking words that opened a new understanding in a young person’s mind, or helped a struggler bridge the gap between religiosity and a true relationship with Christ, we reached no higher peak and felt no greater satisfaction.

There, as we become an integral part of God’s ever expanding universe, one so huge it boggles the minds of our best earthly scientists who have not even numbered the galaxies already in existence, we will be fully engaged in God’s creative process.

We will not just witness the birth of galaxies, we will be participants - not just tools in His hands, but a conduit of God’s creative power in the way He has used our hands and hearts to create beauty here and to help shape his kingdom.

The variety of tasks we undertake will be infinite and rewarding beyond anything we have known or imagined. Perhaps we will slip our hands inside the hands of a skilled surgeon, as he brings miraculous healing to a loved one not yet with us.

I think we will experience community with our friends and family in ways far deeper than any human interaction we have ever had, combining and multiplying the application of God’s power with them to tasks ideal for us, and part of His celestial plan.

We may work in concert with great heroes of the faith and experience with them the “eureka moment” when one more of God’s priorities has been met and we know – and feel – beyond doubt, nothing can equal our joy and satisfaction at having been a part.

We will work at levels of magnitude greater than imagination and at others so incredibly tiny and complex below any cellular or biological rank we here have even imagined existed.

In heaven, there will never be a “same old – same old” – never a “been there, done that.” Our existence will be ever opening to new vistas of creation and we will be fully, continuously, engaged, eager for the next mountaintop!
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

8 REASONS YOUR ART ISN'T SELLING AND YOU CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT

2010-02-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

Do you want to fatten your wallet or trim your waistline? Here are eight reasons why it isn’t happening:

No focus: you didn't set goals, you didn't put your goals in writing, and you didn't keep your goals in mind daily.
No priorities: you may have set a goal, but you didn't put it on or near the top of your priorities list.
No support system: you tried to go at it alone; no buddy system, partners, family, spouse, friends, mentors or coaches to turn to for information and support.
No accountability: you didn't keep score for your own accountability, and you didn't set up external accountability (ie. report to someone else or show your results to someone else)
No patience: you were only thinking short term and had unrealistic expectations.
No planning: you winged it. You didn't plan your work into your weekly schedule; you didn't have a “menu” on paper, you didn't make time (so instead you made excuses, like "I'm too busy")
No balance: your program was too extreme. You went the all-or-nothing, "I want it now" route instead of the moderate, slow-and-steady wins the race.
No personalization: your program was the wrong one for you. It might have worked for someone else, but it didn't suit your schedule, personality, lifestyle, or disposition.

One of the best Internet advisers on food and exercise is Tom Venuto. He's a top class mentor for body-builders and his straight from the Deltoid advise is backed with the best scientific and common sense information on exercise and diet - how to do it and keep doing it. His eight reasons why people fall off the Diet or Exercise wagon apply just as well to any artist who wants to become a success. In fact, what he says can be applied to anyone starting a business or endeavor of any sort.

These principles are lifted directly from: FAT BURNING TIPS NEWSLETTER Brought to you by Tom Venuto and Burn The Fat http://www.burnthefat.com/.

If you want to become physically fit, check in with someone like Tom Venuto who has made it happen. If you’re an artist, look in on Barney Davey’s http://www.artprintissues.com/ or my http://www.salestipsforarts.com/.

HOT COLOR TRENDS FOR 2009

2008-12-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

(Click here to listen to the podcast.)
As usual, Barney Davey has “the skinny” on color trends to look for in the coming year posted on his ART PRINT ISSUES blog of December 19, 2008. Every artist, wishing to sell to the decorative art market in this tough economy should read and heed this.
For more than 20 years as an art rep I sold thousands of dollars worth of originals, giclées, prints and posters to Interior Designers and Architects and wrote about my experiences in a series of articles titled THE MAMMOTH MARKET ARTISTS OFTEN OVERLOOK in AMERICAN ARTIST MAGAZINE. You can listen to these on my website: http://www.salestipsforartists.com/.

Here’s Barney’s blog, reprinted from the Color Marketing Group website:
Choosing the right colors is always an imperative for artists and designers looking to have their work be most widely accepted in art, fashion and design trends. That imperative is more keenly felt in today's economy.
If you aren't painting for the museums, you are most likely painting for homes and offices. Nothing wrong with that approach. Let's face it. There are far more of the latter two categories than museums, which makes being wisely informed about future trends important. Fortunately, we have the Color Marketing Group (CMG) helping us determine what colors we will see in those home and offices this coming year.

Color Marketing Group Predicts Hot Color Trends for 2009 Choices Driven by Concern for Economy and Optimism for the Future
What colors are in store for us in 2009? According to Color Marketing Group (CMG), the top choices have been influenced by both our concern for the economy and our optimism about the future.

Color Marketing Group, the leading international non-profit association of color design professionals, has been accurately predicting color trends for more than 45 years. CMG predicts more evolution than revolution in color trends for the coming new season"We're finding comfort in colors that are familiar, and yet, at the same time, we're embracing colors that make us happy -- especially as accents," said executive director, Jaime Stephens. "Everyone's concerned about the economy, yet the spirit of the country coming together after the election is powerfully reflected in these choices. Also, the demand for colors and products that reflect an environmentally 'greener' world goes way beyond a trend. It's now 'a given.' "

Purple, Purple, Purple!
Emerging as a hot fashion color last fall, purple is not just a fad -- it's an entrenched trend, strongly influenced by the election. (After all, red plus blue equals purple.) Look for a grayed-out violet that works equally well as an accent or a neutral, as well as redder, plummier purples and bluer-influenced fuchsias in a huge range of products. Purple is 2009's "must have" color.

Blue is the New Green >
Various greens have symbolized "green living" over the last few years, but in 2009 the "green" environmental message is delivered by the color blue. There are watery blues, sky blues and a whole range of blues that now represent our commitment to living on a greener planet.

Cooled Down, Grayed Out Browns and Grays
Complex neutrals satisfy our urge toward classic colors in an economically challenged time. They also bridge the area between black, which seems harsh, and brown, which doesn't seem strong enough.

The neutrals may have grayed, but look for lots and lots of bright vivid yellow to give us energy as we re-build the economy. It's the standout accent color for 2009.

Bright Accents from India, China, and Turkey
The exotic has become the familiar. Oranges, turquoises and teals, reds, and yellows will abound in hues from far-away countries that now seem very near. They are the optimistic touches we crave.

White is a new Business Color
Technology has produced amazing new (and very practical) finishes, which helps explain why white is showing up everywhere, even in corporate boardrooms. The contrasts are all in the finishes: matte versus gloss; shine and shimmer on reflective surfaces; textured whites versus smooth -- all washable and cleanable. White also represents purity of thought, motive and result - exactly what we want from businesses now.

The Return of the "M" Word
It's mauve. Remember mauve? An old color that looks new again, in dusty violet shades, mauve works as an accent but also serves now as a neutral, punched up by those bright Asian accents (orange, turquoise, teal, red, and yellow.)
If you’d like a look at the art I sold during my career as a rep go to http://www.bestartofall.com/ and flip through some of the slideshows. Good art never goes out of style even though color trends change – they come and go, but popular colors appear over and over in new combinations and are hailed once again as “cutting edge.”

THE FUTURE IS HERE!

2008-12-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Christmas 2008, as the family gathered to share breakfast and distribute gifts I realized the future was not “somewhere out there,” it was already here. Santa had left “tech toys” for all ages. My thirteen year old granddaughter, showing me her new cell phone, held more wonders in her hand than I had imagined possible not too many years ago when I was on-the-road selling art. As a“road warrior” I had a shirt-pocket sized electronic database with the names, addresses and phone numbers of my clients stored for easy access. It also had an electronic calculator – talk about convenience! As a backup, I still kept the 3” x 5” index cards I made up for each city after culling the information from yellow pages at the local library.

In those days, all I had to do to get in touch with a customer was find the closest corner pay phone, find their number on my electronic wizard, and call to say I might be late for our appointment. Pay phones were everywhere and easy to find in most metro areas. I was afraid to ask my granddaughter if she knew what a “pay phone” was, or where she might find one.

At that point, another grand-daughter, asked for quiet, held up her cell phone and commanded, “Altogether now, everyone wish my husband, Rickie, a ‘Merry Christmas!’”

We were in Venice, Florida. Rick was in Afghanistan!

Compared to the new Blackberry Storm one of the guests showed me, a regular cell phone was almost equivalent to the “pay phone” of my early days on the road. As a sales rep for a sign construction and design company, he touch screened though photos of dozens and dozens of commercial signs done for clients. It was his “sample case.” “If a potential client,” he said, “sees a sign he likes, all I have to do is email my design team back at the office with the words and color scheme they like, and they’ll email a photo of a custom design to those specs back to me.”

A few years ago, when flat screen TV’s first appeared, I wrote the following in answer to a question about “the future” I had received from an artist:

“With the advent of flat screen, high definition TV and the inevitable reduction in cost to produce, is it possible we'll see designers and artists selling their clients the ultimate in changeable home decor? Picture flat screens in various sizes, framed just like fine art, in moldings that suit the home's look and feel and the homeowner able to subscribe to a service allowing them to download, and change at will, images by their favorite artists?

“It may even be possible to do ‘limited editions’ by popular artists in which access to a particular image is tightly controlled by the ‘digital publisher’ and affluent art buffs could say, "only fifty people worldwide have THIS in their home." Once all their friends had seen and admired, or they became tired of that picture, it could be changed for another image by the currently "hot" lion of the art world. Only fifty people at a time would "own" an image from the "digital edition." The list of "owners" would change, but not the image.”

At that point, my wife and I were handed a gift. When we opened it – the future (almost) popped out. It was a Digital Picture Frame – ready to download a slideshow of our favorite photos from the computer on my desk!

I think “The Future” is here.

TOO MUCH TO DO - TO LITTLE TIME = DO NOTHING!

2008-09-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

Barney Davey has shared another insightful blog in ART PRINT ISSUES on one way to cope with the malaise that sets in when we become bogged done in the minutiae of unfinished tasks and too many things to do without enough time. I recommend that you read it and subscribe to what may be the best art blog on the Internet.

Here are a few suggestions I’ve found useful on how to crawl out of the “over commitment – under performance” quagmire that sometimes makes it seem impossible to accomplish anything:

Make a short list of the smallest tasks that are weighing you down. Pick one and tell yourself: “If I finish this, I don’t have to do anything else for the rest of the day unless I feel like it.” I remember a difficult time when the only item on my list that seemed possible was “Trim toenails.” When I crossed it off, I felt a tiny sense of satisfaction and found the second had diminished in size. Every time I struck something from the list my spirits and sense of accomplishment increased.

Straighten the picture of how things should look. For an artist, that may be “straighten the studio.” Too big a job? Try: “straighten my paint box” or “wipe the excess paint off the necks of the paint tubes and replace the caps.” If you’ve made a list, cross it off. That’s Visual Feedback. The trick is to pick something where you see an immediate result, whether its sweeping the sidewalk, trimming an overgrown bush or putting the dishes in the dishwasher.

Learn to say, “NO.” When asked to take on another job, try: “I’d love to help, but there’s no way I can fit it in.” That’s the truth, isn’t it?

Recognize: It doesn’t have to be done MY way, and the corollary: It doesn’t have to be done on MY schedule. If you knew how long it took me to learn that, and at what cost, you’d tattoo it on the back of your hand.

Don’t let bad news force you into a “Chicken Little” panic. Falling stock prices? Banks failing? Crime and corruption on the rise? Hurricanes or earthquakes wrecking devastation? Try turning off the TV. How is it in your town, in your neighborhood? Will the sun come up tomorrow? There are days when times are so tough “on the tube” I hop in the car and drive to the Gulf just to glory in God’s marvelous creation. My wife and I did it yesterday. We saw a manatee, a dolphin, sun sparkling on azure water and came home refreshed. It’s even better when you share it with someone.

Here’s a couplet to remember:

Its always wise
To prioritize.

SKILLS THAT WILL HELP YOU SELL YOURSELF AND YOUR ART

2008-04-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

WRITE CLEARLY AND CONCISELY using “standard” English with proper spelling, grammar, descriptive vocabulary, correct punctuation and capitalization. Avoid slang, text message shortcuts or abbreviations. Proof read!

DEVELOP POISE, SELF-CONFIDENCE AND COURTESY in face-to-face situations. That includes dressing appropriately, being punctual, respecting the other person’s time and temperament and accepting a “NO” graciously.

GOOD TELEPHONE TECHNIQUE: Call at appropriate times for the customer. Identify yourself and the reason for your call when you are connected. Prepare in advance and know what you will say. Be businesslike and courteous. “Chatty” is for friends and family.

USE THE INTERNET, EMAIL, WEBSITE AND BLOGS: Learn all you can, polish your skills as time allows and use a variety of ways to reach your potential buyers.

TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR SELLING WHAT YOU CREATE

2008-04-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Here are art rep and artist, Dick Harrison’s TEN COMMANDMENTS for selling what you create:

1. YOU CAN’T SELL IT IF YOU DON’T SHOW IT

2. The most effective way to show and sell your art is almost always in person with the art in hand. If you show and sell your own work, you deserve 100% of the profit. If you ask others to help you sell your art, they must be fairly compensated for their knowledge, time, effort and expenses.

3. Learn how the “art business” really works – who gets how much and why. There are accepted standards and you are not an exception.

4. As a professional artist part of your productive working hours WILL be spent in selling and promoting yourself and your art. Think 50%.

5. Interior Designers, Decorators, Architects, Gallery Personnel, Accessory Buyers, Consultants and Art Reps who help you sell your work are ART PROFESSIONALS, too. They should be treated as such.

6. Never undercut the prices you have established with the sales professionals who help sell your work. “Back door” or “studio sales” to an associate’s client is the worst “sin” an artist can commit.

7. Talent and technical excellence are not the only skills necessary for a successful career in art.

8. Develop a distinctive style, theme or subject matter.

9. Stay aware of art trends, particularly “fashionable” colors and subjects that drive the market.

10. Never stop learning. Listen to the people who buy your art or sell it for you. If you aren’t selling, you aren’t listening - or you are aiming at the wrong audience. Be ready to adapt or change your approach.

WHAT TO PAINT

2008-04-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

Before retiring, I spent more than twenty years as an art rep and artist selling my own work and that of many other artists and fine art publishers to interior designers, architects and galleries. The “decorative art” business not only supported my family, but also provided constant inspiration and direction as I decided what to paint and which images done by others I would show my clients.

As I read art blogs, such as this one, and look at the questions and comments posted on various artists’ forums, I’m mystified at how often artists who can’t make a living from their creative output make a distinction between “fine” art and the “decorative” art people love and hang in their homes and offices because it provides enjoyment and enhances their “lifestyle.”
Somehow, the thought that taking on the challenge to paint something that “matches a sofa fabric” and can actually put some dollars in the artist’s empty pocket compromises their artistic integrity – whatever that is.

If you are wondering what to paint, stroll around a few interior design studios, high-end furniture stores or expensive model homes and look at what real people are willing to spend their hard-earned dollars for. Become knowledgeable about how the art business works (assuming you are serious about becoming part of it and not just a confused bystander). Learn who gets how much and why by talking to the people who buy art, not some high-tone “expert” who can’t even give away what they produce. Then put your creative juices to work and come up with something in your own distinctive style or subject matter that will be acceptable to the marketplace or an identifiable and reachable “target” audience.

Yes, you may have to use “trendy” colors or fit a “what’s hot” category rather than the “what’s not” you’ve been painting. Look at it as an artistic challenge or pretend you’ve just been given a “commission.” Isn’t that what a “real” artist is supposed to be able to do?

ART TRENDS FOR 2008

2008-02-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

I’d like to call your attention to the lead article, MARKET WATCH 2008, by Gabriel Kiley in the January Issue of ART BUSINESS NEWS. The observations by leading art professionals quoted in this fine piece of writing deserve your careful attention and they are so germane to the WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING blog I posted just a few days ago I’m going to pick up some quotations from the article and post them as comments to various portions of my blog where they are especially appropriate.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING

2008-01-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

A primer for hard times

For most buyers “Art” is a luxury item. When there is a downturn in the economy or real estate market, artists often find their sales affected, particularly if they are selling to the “decorative art” market through interior designers, galleries, furniture store accessory buyers and other trade professionals. In the twenty + years I spent as a producing artist and art rep for other artists and fine art publishers my business went through up and down periods and I had to learn to cope.

If you have subscribed to Barney Davey’s http://www.artprintissues.com/, as every artist who wants to keep abreast of what’s happening in the art world should, you will have read his perceptive comments on how the economy is affecting artists. If you’ve been following the political debates for either party and noted the concentration on economic issues, have watched the triple digit fluctuations in the stock market or predictions of a coming recession, you need to be prepared. Chances are, your sales will be affected.

There’s a wealth of additional information based on my twenty + years as an artist selling my own work and that of scores of other artists and fine art publishers on my website at http://www.salestipsforartists.com/. Artists from more than four hundred cities in forty countries have visited and profited from listening to the podcasts – all of which are FREE.

Here are a dozen suggestions for coping with hard times that you, as an artist, may want to consider. They've been forged on the anvil of real experience by a "been there, done that" artist and art rep.

THINK LIKE A SALESMAN

2008-01-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know you just want to create art, but the truth is, until you have built a client base eager to buy your work, part of your time will have to be spent in selling what you create. You can't sell it, if you don't show it. You can't show it until you identify potential buyers willing to look.

That means carefully considering whom your art is most likely to appeal to and doing research to find out where, when and how they buy. Does your work fall into the "decorative art" category or is it more specialized? Interior designers and architects buy a great deal of art. Some specialize in residential projects, some in commercial assignments such as banks, businesses, hotels, golf clubs, medical offices or hospitals.

If your specialty is painting motorcycles or animal portraits, you'll be spinning your wheels concentrating on reaching interior designers, but there are many motorcycle clubs and dealers who may be interested. There are also veterinarians, pet shops and animal shelters, each of which may be able to guide you to owners who want a pet portrait.

Does your work measure up to the competition? Does it have a distinctive difference that makes it more attractive, more affordable or easier to buy? Can you tell or show potential buyers how and why your art is special in words or text? Can you describe that difference on your website or blog or when you are face-to-face with potential buyers?

OFFER AN ADDITIONAL SERVICE

2008-01-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

The art I carried in my portfolios was unframed and many of the professionals I sold to custom framed the images for their clients. Many had established relationships with favorite framers, but some did not and others were looking for reasonably priced poster images for specific jobs. I established a trade relationship with a large volume, wholesale framing company in my area and carried several poster catalogs from major publishers. The framer provided a case with frame and mat samples, which I carried with me, and an excellent discount on any framing orders I brought to him. If one of my clients needed framing for a piece of art I sold or wanted to order framed posters, I was ready to provide that service. I was able to add a comfortable mark-up to what I paid for framing and still offer a competitive price for my customers. I was, essentially, an unpaid, traveling rep for his company and he gave me great service and in-house pricing. I bought as much as $50,000 worth of framing from him in some good years and added real income to my bottom line. Of course, I was responsible for collecting for the framing and usually had to deliver the framed art, but it was well worth the effort.

If you visit potential art buyers in person as part of your sales effort, I’ll bet you can find a framer in your area who will offer the same sort of arrangement, or at the very least, a discount you can pass on to your customers. Even if you do not take orders as I did, ask if he would provide a discount coupon you can give to the buyer of your art if he or she chooses to bring the art to your framer. That thoughtfulness can bring future purchases of your art.

SHARPEN YOUR FOCUS

2008-01-19T08:28:00.000-08:00

Sharpen your focus on customers you haven’t concentrated on before. In the decorative art market, when real estate is booming and developers are trying to keep up with the demand for new homes, design firms specializing in model homes are a great potential market. Accessory buyers for furniture stores and many galleries are looking for art to meet the demand of new homeowners. About eighty-five percent of the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sales I made each year were to interior designers and architects, a huge market many artists overlook, and about 15% to galleries and frame shops.

When the real estate market contracts or is near collapse, as it is today in many parts of the country, artists should ask themselves, “Who’s still buying?” Having lived through a number of downturns in the art market as an art rep with a family to support, watching some galleries and design firms that had been good customers close their doors, one truth helped me refocus my efforts: People with money, always have money.That meant redoubling my efforts to search out and contact “high-end” and specialized designers with clients who continued to buy and decorate homes and businesses. They make up just a segment of the overall design field. To reach them I had to work harder, travel farther and tailor what I carried to more affluent customers and specialized tastes.

BE OPEN TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES

2008-01-19T08:26:00.000-08:00

Be open to new and unexpected opportunities to use your art talent. I graduated from art school with a BFA in art education determined to be an art teacher. That happened as planned, but I soon had a wife and new baby to support. To supplement my salary I took a part time job pasting up ads for a couple of movie theatres. Part time soon became full time and I spent twenty-seven years in advertising, from paste-up artist to advertising manager for a chain of forty-one theatres, to art director, agency exec and finally ad agency owner before “retiring” to become an art rep for twenty more years, a vocation I had never considered and knew almost nothing about until circumstances brought about the change.

Once I was on the road selling other people’s art and saw what my customers were buying, it dawned on me: “I can sell my own art, too, if I figure out how to create it easily and quickly enough to leave time for me to be on the road as an art rep for others.”

I hit upon a way to use hand cut stencils to create multiple, “pochoir” prints and dimensional collages in the colors my interior design clients were buying. In some years I sold twenty to thirty thousand dollars worth of my own work while helping other artists sell theirs. I didn’t have the luxury of spending a week working on each piece I sold, so I looked for a medium and technique that allowed me to create salable art quickly – art that customers liked, but was still fun to produce.

EXPLORE NICHE MARKETS

2008-01-19T08:23:00.000-08:00

Explore “niche markets” you may not have considered. I had always enjoyed doing pen and ink sketches for fun but soon learned there wasn’t much demand for these with my regular design clients. The art business was treating me well and I had just had a new house built with ample studio space and a half acre pond excavated next to it, where I ended up, for a short time, raising swans. (There’s a podcast and slideshow on http://www.salestipsforartists.com/ about this sideline.)

Because I had looked at many model home brochures and doodled sketches of how I wanted my house to look before choosing an architect and builder, the light bulb above my head once again lit up, and I realized real estate agents, builders, developers and architects DID BUY pen and ink sketches.

Thereafter, if things were a little slack I began doing pen and ink drawings of buildings they were selling, from model homes for developers and builders to multi-story condominiums for a real estate agent in Naples, Florida, who specialized in selling units in these luxury buildings. Over a couple of years I did dozens and dozens of pen and ink drawings of these lovely structures and they were used in newspaper ads and sales brochures because the drawings reproduced so well and attracted more attention than ads with photographs. Need I remind you there are real estate agents, developers and builders in your town?

I also did pen and ink pet portraits from photographs the owners provided by contacting veterinarians, leaving a sample drawing and information about cost and how to contact me. When a veterinarian sent a customer to me I offered a portion of my fee to the vet as a “thank you.”

BARTER YOUR ART FOR FUN AND PROFIT

2008-01-19T08:20:00.000-08:00

Trading one item or service for another is the oldest form of commerce, pre-dating the invention of money. It still works! Over the years I’ve traded art or writing services for everything from Windjammer cruises in the Caribbean to having a piglet raised to maturity to stock my freezer with bacon and pork roasts.

Ben Franklin said “A penny saved is a penny earned,” and it’s as true today as in Revolutionary times. When I built my home, I used art to pay for more than $30,000 of the cost - everything from the architect’s fees to carpet and tile, solar hot water and landscaping. I’ve had my teeth fixed, cars repaired, taxes prepared and rented vacation accommodations on the ocean using barter.

There are two ways to trade: directly, one person or business to another, or through an organized Barter Exchange. I’ve done both and still belong to an active barter exchange in Sarasota. Just keep in mind that the IRS considers a barter dollar exactly the same as a cash dollar.

Did you know there are Barter Exchanges in almost every major city in the US and many more around the world? For information on Barter Exchanges, click this link: http://www.gigafree.com/barter.html and read the first paragraph:

“Most of USA Fortune 500 companies use barter to increase their market share and improve productivity. There are about 500 barter exchanges in North America and Latin America, and several hundred more throughout the rest of the world. Here are listed links to hundreds of the Web sites of the many barter exchanges, which have developed internationally.”

If GM uses barter, shouldn’t you consider it, too?

Want to learn more? Then keep checking in on http://www.salestipsforartists.com/ because I’m planning to do a detailed podcast on how artists can use barter.

USE TECHNOLOGY TO REACH BUYERS

2008-01-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

Use technology to identify and reach your most likely buyers. When you’ve identified who they are, you must figure out the best ways to reach them. If your work appeals to a specialized, identifiable or organized group there’s a lot of help at your fingertips.

When I began working as an art rep, telephone directory yellow pages were my best (and almost only) way to look for potential clients. I spent hours at the local library letting “my fingers do the walking” through yellow pages of phone books for the cities I planned to visit, making 3” x 5” file cards of business names, addresses and phone numbers. At that time, few had email addresses or websites, but almost all had fax numbers. Over time, I put together a database of fax numbers for almost a thousand design firms and galleries in my state, stored them on my computer by each of the towns I traveled to regularly. Before making a sales trip I used an automated fax program to send a message to each, saying when I would be in the area and asking for a call back if they needed to look at art.

That will still work, but the Internet now provides a wealth of information with far less effort, just by going to Google Earth and using Search to find groups and businesses your work may appeal to. For example, pick any city, type “Interior Designers” (or any other classification) in the business search box. You’ll find names, phone numbers, email address, websites and maps. Today you can send digital images and complete slideshows of your art as easily as I sent faxes! If you don’t have a digital Slideshow program on your computer, go to http://www.kodakgallery.com/ and sign up for a free account where you can upload digital photos and store an unlimited number of slideshows, then send them to anyone with an email address with the click of a mouse. At this writing I have fifty-eight slideshows stored on that site.

USE "POD" - PRINT ON DEMAND

2008-01-19T08:15:00.000-08:00

Use POD to become your own publisher: I’m mystified at why artists, publishers and art reps have largely failed to recognize and use the unique versatility of “print on demand” giclee technology to increase sales by offering prints made to the specific size specifications of their customers.

Once a high-resolution capture of the image by camera or scan and a color corrected profile has been made, a giclee can be printed in virtually any size a buyer would like.

During the 20+ years I was on the road, gicllees made their debut as a viable reproduction medium and has since flowered into the dominant means for an artist or publisher to enter the “multiples” market. Artists were quick to realize that “Now I can be a publisher” and well-known fine art publishers recognized the new medium was a way to test the marketability of a specific image at a fraction of the up-front cost compared to producing a complete edition of prints.

As soon as I established a working relationship with a competent giclee printer, I began to guide individual artists I represented into that medium and carried samples of their work to show my clients.

Because art work selected by interior decorators and architects is purchased to fit a specific place in the project they are working on, the size and proportion of the image is a critical determinant in what they buy, assuming the subject, style and color of the art complements their overall look.

It was immediately obvious to me when I showed a sample giclee that was appropriate for artistic reasons, I had a compelling advantage in making the sale when I said, “This can be printed to your size specifications.” At that point, the only question was price and if the art could be delivered on time. It often made the difference between “no sale” and walking away with a check.

I also sold art for some fine art publishers who were beginning to offer giclees and was surprised that my suggestion of printing to the customer’s size specs was dismissed out of hand. “We never did it that way before!” was a reason I heard over and over.

Now, years later, not much has changed. Some artists and publishers are offering the same image in a couple of sizes, but here’s what I found in scanning the ads in two leading trade publications, ART WORLD NEWS and ART BUSINESS NEWS (Dec.07 issues): Between the two, there were thirty-four giclee images by twenty-six different artists advertised. Six of the artists offered the same image in more than one size. Four of these six offered the same image in more than two sizes. Not a single artist or publisher advertised that their art could be printed to a customer’s size specifications. Yet that is the versatility no other fine art reproduction method can offer except by producing complete editions in a variety of sizes.

EXPAND YOUR LINE WITH NEW PRODUCTS

2008-01-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

Once you have a digital image of your art, you can place it on a wide variety of other items from mugs and T-shirts, to mouse pads and note cards. There are a number of websites that will set you up with your own on-line store, produce the items bearing your art, collect whatever price you set, pack and ship, then send you a check for the difference between the price you asked and their cost to produce the item. All free. Look in on http://www.cafepress.com/ and http://www.zazzle.com. You can have your own on-line store in minutes. They’ll help you find customers, but to be successful you must learn to drive visitors to your store.

CREATE A WEBSITE THAT REALLY SELLS

2008-01-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

I’ve visited many artists’ websites that are visually beautiful, technically sophisticated, and easy to navigate. They tickle the eye but don’t sell enough art to pay the hosting fees.

Just about the best self-built artist’s website I’ve ever seen is http://www.lindapaul.com/. You may not considerate it beautiful, but Linda tells me it provides her total income - no more hassle with shows and exhibitions unless she chooses to – and it takes her to Tuscany, her favorite part of the world and the subject matter for much of her art, a couple of times a year. I just clicked on it and see the hit counter at the bottom of the page shows 404,727 visitors. That’s a staggering number!

If you check http://www.alexa.com/, which ranks the traffic at 45,726,000 websites around the world, her site places in the top 1%, not far behind visitors to Thomas Kincade and far better than major art publishers such as Bruce McGaw, Bentley House, Wild Apple, Winn Devon and Mill Pond Press.Spend a little time navigating the pages on her site and see how many ways she offers the images she creates and the precision with which she describes her art – the “distinctive differences” I mentioned in the sixth paragraph of this blog.

CONSIDER TWO WEBSITES AND A BLOG

2008-01-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

Consider having two websites and a blog: I’ve become convinced an artist should have two websites, one, a beautiful “gallery” of art to use as a reference for trade professionals, such as interior designers and galleries, and another that sells directly to the end user as Linda’s does so well.

If you’d like to see a really effective artist’s blog that also guides visitors to her website click on: http://lindablondheimartnotes.blogspot.com/ and note the varied and interesting comments and the many links to her paintings. She also has an excellent website you should visit at: http://lindablondheim.com/.

It costs nothing except time and creativity to become part of the “blogoshere” - http://www.blogger.com/ will GIVE you your own blog site with easy up-load templates that require no computer expertise to use.

LEARN NEW SKILLS

2008-01-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

If you are waiting for “better days,” use the time to learn new skills. That may mean “going back to school.” Thanks to http://www.salestipsforartists.com/, I’ve been invited to participate as a workshop moderator during Career Days at Ringling College of Art and Design, one of the finest art schools in the world and named by BUSINESS WEEK as one of the 60 top design schools in the world and one of only 10 in the United States.

I expect to learn far more from the students in the workshop than I’ll ever be able to impart. My art education at The Maryland Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, was a fine one, but it was many years ago and as I go through Ringling’s catalog, I’m awed by the breadth of course offerings in art fields not even imagined when I was a student.

There are now so many opportunities for well-prepared and talented artists to find their perfect niches in the art world, an economic slow down in one area, such as the narrowly focused sales arena I’ve described, means nothing for an artist willing to learn new skills and seize an opening when it appears.

NEW IMPROVED LIMERICK CONTEST

2008-01-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

Hello Limerick Lovers,
Thanks to those of you who entered a limerick in www.limerickcontests.com. Like you, I love these funny rhymes and hoped the limerick contest would catch on with creative writers.Many people from all over the world visited the site, but there weren’t enough entrants for Sedric, the Chief Leprechaun, to award the 6 prizes listed. That’s hardly a contest!I can’t figure out if the $2 entry fee was too much, or the prize not enough, so here’s what I’m going to try:

1.Totally revise the website – probably put it into this “blog” format.
2.Eliminate the entry fee – no cost to enter – limerick writers will be able to post their limericks as “comments” to this blog where anyone with a computer can read it and send links to their friends and families.
3.Replace the cash prizes with ones of literary or artistic merit. (That means books and/or fine art prints.)
4.When there are sufficient entries to make the competition fun, visitors to the website will be asked to vote for their favorites and the prizes awarded based on votes. May even let the winner choose the prize he or she wants, and then second prize chooses and so on.

Click here for more information and to enter the new, improved LIMERICK CONTEST:
http://limerickcontests.blogspot.com/

THE GIFT OF CREATIVITY

2007-12-27T09:36:00.000-08:00

One of God’s greatest gifts to mankind, His creation, was the gift of creativity – the ability to create beautiful objects. Throughout the old and new Testaments there are many passages attesting to the Lord’s regard for beautiful man-made items and to the skilled artisans He called to use the special gift he bestowed.

In EXODUS, the second book of the Old Testament (24:1 through 39:8), there are fourteen references to skilled craftsman. God even called specific artists by name, Bezalel and Oholiab, and confirms that He gave them their artistic ability.

In 1 KINGS 7:14 Huram is identified as an artist “highly skilled and experienced in all kinds of bronze work” who came to King Solomon and “did all the work assigned to him.” He is described further in 2 Chronicles 2:13-14 as “Huram-Abi, a man of great skill, whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him.”

When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Israel he carried into exile in Babylon “all the craftsmen and artisans.” (2 Kings 24:13-14).

Not all artists referred to in the Bible created art that honored their Creator. In Acts 19:23-25, “A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: ‘Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."

There are many other references to artists and craftsmen of all kinds throughout the Bible and it is clear that of all the marvelous gifts given by God, artistic talent holds a special place.

As an artist, how do you share your special gift of creativity – for what purpose and with whom?

1. Did you give your own art as a gift?
2. Why - To save cash?
3. Because the recipient would appreciate it more than a "bought" gift?
4. Did you give it to a relative?
5. Did you give it to a friend?
6. Did you give it to help a worthy cause or charity?
7. Did you receive art as a gift?

COLOR CURIOSITY

2007-12-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

I've noted an interesting phenomenon with foreign visitors to my blog - those that arrived through searching key words on Google.

In the last 15 days, looking at just those coming from outside of USA, there have been 51 searches for key words such as color trends, color predictions, interior furnishings trends, etc. etc. from 21 different countries. There were under a dozen foreign visitors searching other key words in the same period. Here are the countries:

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Lithuania, Macao, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

There were quite a few Google searches for the same key words from inside the USA, but no where near the same proportion as outside.

I wonder why? Anyone care to guess?

USING A "NOM DE BRUSH"

2007-11-27T16:44:00.000-08:00

I spent 20+ years on-the-road as an art rep selling my own art and that of many other artists and fine art publishers. In some years I sold $20,000 - $30,000 worth of images I created using a “kind-of” airbrush look allowing me to utilize hand-cut stencils to produce duplicate images in a variety of color ways. I signed these with a nom-de-brush: “Claude” short for Claude Le Chat, the artist of record. Claude was my pet Chat, who liked to add a paw print or two if not watched carefully. I referred to these as "limited" (I could only stand doing a limited number before tiring of the image) and I numbered them serially using roman numerals. There was no set number in the edition, which remained “open” until I ran out of patience or ready buyers.

I did not hide my name because I was ashamed of the work. If the designer didn’t like the art he or she might feel hesitant about saying, “That really stinks!” for fear of hurting my feelings and limiting my chance to find out what would suit better so I could sell another artist’s work that was more appropriate. I ALWAYS tried to provide the best art for the job, no matter whose work it was. If I was looking out for my pocketbook and not my customer’s best interest, I wasn’t doing my job as a rep.

Just be sure your buyers make out the check in your name or the name of your business entity, whether corporation, LLC, partnership or sole proprietor - usually the name on your bank account. I don't recommend taking cash and trying to hide the income - that's bad business and dishonest, too.

My art rep company was a corporation and the expense of doing business, from travel and insurance, car expenses, use of part of my home as a studio, etc. were all tax deductible. The same is true for an individual using a Schedule C to report expenses. Every artist should have a knowledgeable accountant to turn to. His fees are also tax deductible.

GROCERIES AND ART

2007-11-14T14:19:00.000-08:00

Today in my hometown paper, “The Venice Gondolier Sun” there is an item and picture captioned “Groceries and Art.” Beneath the photo it reads: “If you are shopping in the Sweetbay Supermarket . . . 1-4 p.m. Thursday, you may come face to face with an artist. Michael Handley is taking his watercolor class to the store that day, and each member of the class will choose a subject to paint.” The caption goes on to give information about Handley’s next six-week series of classes.

What a grand, original idea! For most of his class I’ll bet it’s a step outside their comfort zone – “all those strangers looking over my shoulder as I try to paint the avocados!” What an opportunity for the teacher to tell people about his painting classes! What an opportunity for each student to get some public exposure for his or her talent.
Sometimes I think the term “comfort zone” should be changed to “comfort cage” because it keeps so many confined to small ideas, small risks and small accomplishments. Stepping outside into uncharted territory is often hard for artists, but once the initial trepidation is put aside there are many ways to expand marketing possibilities and make more sales.

People love to watch artists draw or paint and I’ll bet there will be many shoppers gathered ‘round looking at the art as it is created.

I recall vividly many years ago while I was still teaching art in the Baltimore Public Schools when a fellow teacher and skilled caricature sketch artist, Irv Finifter, and I were hired to do caricatures of guests at a very swank party for the city’s elite, moneyed friends of the couple who contacted Irv and hired us. It was an evening garden party with tents to house the orchestra and dancers and another for a sumptuous array of food and still another for the open bar.

Irv and I, dressed in smocks and berets, sporting Salvador Dali moustaches, set up on the fringe of the garden and in short order were busy doing caricatures. The fascinated crowd around us grew and grew until the hostess approached and asked us to stop because the expensive musical group they had hired was playing to an empty dance floor and food on the buffet table was going begging.

Near here there is a fishing pier with a popular restaurant. Come on most any nice day and you’ll find a craftsman at one of the public picnic tables bending gold wire into earrings, pendants, bracelets and necklaces incorporating local shark’s teeth and beads. Spread before him is an array of his work and there are always onlookers watching - and buying!

Visual artists and craftsmen – why not become “performing artists” as you hone your artistic skills? Creep outside the cage and look for interesting venues where you can paint and sketch. Is there a local zoo, a beach, a farmers’ market, a city park; public garden or local landmark people flock to?

Artists – find a spot, ask permission if there is someone to ask, and set to work. Have plenty of business cards, brochures and perhaps a few other pieces of art you’ve done, or a scrapbook of photos of your work. Then be ready with a smile and a pad to take down information from people you chat with: Name, address, email, etc. Ask if you can send an email about your up-coming shows, digital images of your work or a link to your website.

Do it until you begin to feel comfortable in “the public eye.” Then go back, padlock the “comfort cage” and throw away the key so you can never creep back inside.

There are many more suggestions on how to sell your art based on my 20+ years as an art rep and artist on www.salestipsforartists.com. All podcasts are free and if, after you’ve listened, click the email link and send me a question about your work and a link to your website. I may even add it to my “recommended link” list where folks from around the world will be able to visit your website.

COLOR TRENDS 2008

2007-11-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

I’ve added three links to color predictions for 2008 that may be useful to artists planning to approach the lucrative Interior Design / Decorative Art Market in 2008. Blues seem to be ascending the color ladder and the earth tones descending.

That doesn’t mean there will be a dramatic overnight shift and artists should move art with browns and beiges into the “woofer” portfolio and assume there won’t still be strong sales opportunities. Color trends in furnishings don’t change as rapidly as they do in women’s fashions. Earth tones, because they are restful and familiar, bring a touch of the outdoors inside. They have always been popular choices for many homeowners when they lay out dollars to decorate a room they know they will be living in for some time.

High end, cutting edge, interior designers with clients who want to be trend setters will be the first on board with new colors and daring combinations. The rest of us move a bit more slowly until the “first wave” becomes the tide. I remember well the days when charcoal and pink were “hot,” and a time when it was almost impossible to buy kitchen appliances unless they were avocado and gold. For a while peach and seafoam, here in Florida, were the key to sales. There was a mauve period for interior designers that lasted so long it made Picasso’s blue period seem like an eye flicker. Jewel tones and teal were trends a few years back.

Artists who were aware and adaptable profited. Those who thought anything that matched a sofa couldn’t be “fine art” tightened their belts until an art trend caught up with the colors they were using.

I just had a delightful conversation with a local artist as she worked on a one hundred foot long circus mural here in Venice (long the home to Ringling Brothers) and she related how an interested on-looker had commented something to the effect, “I like your work, but what I need isn’t anything like this - I don’t suppose you could do such-and-such?” Frances Smith’s answer was one I’d recommend to every painter: “Of course I can, I’M AN ARTIST.”

Color trends for 2008:
http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/color_trends/spring-summer-2008-colors-Vol02-Vol03.html

Pantone color predictions for 2008:
http://www.stylechicago.com/Category.asp?ID=11402#pantone

About.com Interior Decorating Color predictions for 2008:
http://interiordec.about.com/od/choosingcolor/ig/Color-Trends-2008/index.htm

My first color vocabulary, as a child, was based on the rainbow and the acronym: Roy G. Biv -- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

When I attended art school, my vocabulary shifted to the paint colors I used to create art such as Cadmium Red, Yellow and Orange, Viridian, Terre Verte, Cerulean, Cobalt and Ultramarine, Turquoise, Cobalt Violet, Magenta and Rose Madder and all the earth tones, the Siennas and Umbers.

Then on to teach Art in the Baltimore Public Schools where we used the Munsell Color Wheel: Red, Yellow-red, Yellow, Green, Blue-green, Blue, Blue-purple, Purple, Red-purple.

Another career change into advertising and my color vocabulary changed again using Pantone and PMS color designations to guide the printers reproducing our brochures and ads.

When I finally ended up spending twenty plus years as an art rep calling on interior designers, decorators and architects, my color world went spinning out of control, at least at first.

These people didn’t talk or think in terms of artist’s paint colors I recognized or Munsell’s Hue, Value and Chroma. God forbid I should ask which Pantone color they wanted to match to their sofa fabric.

They wanted Camel, Oyster, Seafoam, Biscuit, Robin’s Egg, Beige, Taupe, Teal, Mauve, Puce, Plum, Avocado, Canary -- all manner of bird, beast, fruit or vegetable! At first, I resisted, but quickly realized I’d better learn if I wanted to sell art.

In short order, I discovered that ALL women speak this strange language naturally. And women make most of the decisions about what art goes into their homes. They don’t have to be taught. Once I got rid of the “we never did it that way before” mental roadblock, it made more sense and was more accurate in day-to-day communication than anything I had used before.

As I met and worked with interior designers, I realized the successful ones were true artists in their chosen field with a sense of style and color that could accommodate nuances from subtle, to adventurous, to fantastic and that they could bring off combinations of color I’d never even considered when I was producing art. They keep abreast of what is “hot” and “what is not” -- the best of them anticipate color trends before they “happen” and lead others into new ways of seeing.

The real professionals, when approached by a potential client who says: “I don’t really like those “new” colors. I don’t suppose you could do something for me with some nice browns and beiges?” will answer: “Of course I can, I’M AN INTERIOR DESIGNER!”