Fur In The Paint

I haven’t posted in a few days, mostly because nothing too interesting has gone on. I’ve made “a little” progress on my giraffe, but my usual influx of customers and allotment of gallery jobs is keeping me busy. Since today is Sunday I was hoping to finish the painting today.

On the other hand, I had my art group over yesterday and so I am a day behind on framing and getting my orders out. I think I may just work this afternoon like any other day, (except with fewer hours and a whole lot more PS2 playing.)

It was great getting together with my art group again. We are all women with rather complicated lives, so this was only our second meeting this year. I brought my camera to take a photo and forgot to actually take the picture. (Picture me whacking head on wall. Heavy sigh) Perhaps next time.

Of course I did remember to photograph the horses in fog this morning. (typical mona behavior) Top photo is Chicory and the one below is my neighbors. Now isn’t this a photo just begging to be painted or what? You know, I think I just might.

The seasons, they are a changin’
This is my favorite time of year. I like bundling up in warm clothes and walking in the crisp air, enjoying the changing colors. I particularly love the wonderful aroma of burning leaves, (though not so much the raking of them.)

The past few mornings have been very foggy. I’ve had to scrape off a thick layer of frost (if I didn’t know better, I would have said it was ice) from my windshield. I’m pretty sure this is nature’s not so subtle hint, that winter is just around the corner.

So to celebrate the glory that is Fall, we are cooking our first turkey of the year. To be accompanied by homegrown potatos, corn, beans and tomato cucumber salad. I know the turkey is just about done when all the barn cats are sitting outside on the window sills of the house, looking in.

I decided I needed a quickie, (in terms of artwork that is.) So I pulled out the photos from my recent Blank Park Zoo trip and selected a fun angle. I’ve done four giraffe paintings and am feelin’ the need to have another in the gallery, as the others have long since gone to their new homes. The upper left photo is about 1 hour of playing around. This again is another one done on the handmade paper, so it is 10 1/2″ x 13.”

Here, I have about 2 hours in. I changed the mouth. I had planned on having it open and chewing on acacia, but then opted for a more dignified look. Thus without the branches coming in on the right, my giraffe is now a little off center (kinda like the artist I suppose.)

I may well just change my mind again in the morning and have her blissfully chewing away by the time I finish her up, which hopefully will be tomorrow.

To avoid any confusion, I am actually the one with the question. As you may remember Mike and I create my own prints in paper and canvas. We also do this service for other artists. We have been asked by a very large art group to give a talk on the subject.

Now, we often give tours and talks to large groups about every aspect of our business, so you wouldn’t think this would be such a stretch. But because the group isn’t coming to the gallery, we have no props, and can’t demonstrate how the printers work, or utilize any of my usual repertoire of amusements. Not to mention the fact that I am anti-social, hermit recluse type, and Mike . . . well Mike makes me look like a socialite. So we are like “Crap what are we going to talk about?”

So here’s where you come in. Does anyone have any questions about getting fine art prints done? Any question at all.

See the way I figure it, with your help we could hopefully put together some sort of outline about what artists are looking for and what their concerns might be. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Oh and of course posts on the subject are sure to follow. This is the only other post I’ve done on having prints made.

So, as discussed in Part 1, the big benefit of doing art fairs is that you get out there and get seen by the people who love art and those who have an art related business. All of the opportunities listed below, happened over the course of several years and from being in several locations.

Now I want to be clear that art fairs are not the only way to bring these things into your business. In fact, there may well be easier methods. What I like about doing art fairs is that it allows me to work on earning an income, while getting opportunities presented to me, that I in no way have to go after.

Okay, so after an entire summer of me talking about being rained out, stormed on and losing big $$$ at Omaha Summer Arts Festival, as well as saying repeatedly that the older I get the less I like all the hauling and toting, some of you may be thinking how can I say “all good things come from art fairs.” Well because in regards to my business, it’s true.

I want to be clear that I am not promoting doing art fairs as the best way to grow your art business, (though it is certainly a viable one.) In fact, in my recent post “In this Economy” I described why making a living doing the circuit is getting harder all the time.

“art fairs for me was a way to make some money without really having to know what I was doing.”

On the other hand, when I started out I knew nothing of promoting my art. I had worked in the art business at a museum and gallery. But running a major frame shop is completely different than becoming a successful artist. In fact my lack of knowledge is exactly why I chose the art fair path. My degree is in Veterinary Technology, and I have no training in the arts. Back then I had no solo gallery exhibits to my credit, no awards, no portfolio of quality work and no idea of how to talk with galleries.

Art fairs for me was a way to make some money without really having to know what I was doing. I mean if someone liked my work, they bought it. It can’t get much easier than that right? Of course the truth is you still need knowledge on how to sell your work, especially in these times of uncertainty. But doing art fairs allowed me to gain the knowledge I needed through experience.

” . . . doing art fairs allowed me to gain the knowledge I needed through experience.”

I started out in small events, made some sales, gained some confidence and moved to bigger events. That is still my path. I continue to keep challenging myself with bigger venues. The truth is, in large part it was participating in art fairs that gave me the confidence to deal with galleries and clients. Art fairs provided me with the opportunity to earn an income while in my spare time I learned the art business and more importantly continued to create better art.

So here is a brief overview of the ways in which my business has progressed because of my participation in art fairs over the years. I will go into more detail on these in tomorrows post.

Colton
16 1/2″ x 22″
Watercolor Pencil Painting on Arches 140# Hot Press

So here he is all finished. I waited to post him until I sent an image to Karla Siebert of IERAL. He is a little more portrait-y than I would have liked. But it is a pretty enough painting that it will hopefully make them some money. I chose to do a background very similar to Catch’s portrait because of the time constraints. (Meaning I had no time to start again if I buggered it up.)

Progression of the painting,

The early stages with only the nose completed.

Head and neck are complete and shoulder is started.

Body is completed.

The mane is added.

The early stages of the background. Many changes yet to come before the painting is declared finished.

Finished image (same as the top most pic.) He is slightly tilted in this photo because I didn’t get it quite square in the camera lens. However, he is also leaning forward in the painting as that is how he stood much of the time while I was there. I imagine since he is blind, he does this when he’s curious about something.

Filling the well.
Well I enjoyed my horse filled weekend entirely. I spent a lovely morning at Noble Friesians just ambling around the pastures and enjoying the gorgeous weather. The horses were fantastic and after a cursory snuffle, they found me completely unremarkable (and treat free) so they promptly went back to grazing.

This works well for me because it is notoriously hard to get a good photo of a horse that is in my face and slurbering on my camera. I was hoping for some cavorting (to be clear, I was hoping for some cavorting from the horses, I haven’t “cavorted” in decades) but mostly I got grazing shots, (still an excellent way to spend a morning.) I shot over a dozen rolls of film and will share some pics if I get anything worth looking at.

Rachael, the barn manager let me wander at will among them, which is certainly a testament to the breed that you could let a complete stranger in their pasture and have no worries.

I do love Friesians. To bad they are way out of my price range. These horses are worth anywhere from $35,000 to $150,000 depending on which mare you’re looking at. That’s a lot of $$$ grazing in the backyard. Many thanks to Rachael for showing me around and letting me photograph these stunning horses.

Dances With Horses.
After the friesians and a nice visit with Carol Eilers, editor of Apples ‘N Oats magazine, I returned to Waterloo, IA to attend the Dances With Horses event being held as a fund-raiser for ASPIRE which a non-profit therapeutic riding program for individuals with disabilities. In addition to some headlining acts like the Andalusian stallion, Acierto and his owner Laura Amandis (shown here with the rearing Acierto) they had a few acts including the kids themselves. (bottom photo) Again a totally delightful way to spend the evening.

I was surprised to realize I had seen Laura and Acierto at Kentucky Horse Park earlier this year. I think I was so in love with Alborozo that I wasn’t so very impressed with Acierto then. Also, he was not as cooperative in the intense heat of Kentucky as he was at the “Dances” event. Their’s really is an impressive act and demonstrates the bond they have between them.

It is important for me to take the time to do activities like these, it keeps me motivated. I think of it as “filling the well” (or “feeding the source” . . . “tweaking the muse”. . .) sort of activities. I come back from stuff like this and just want to set right down at the drafting table and create something. Which is exactly what I’m doing.

No more WIP’s of Colton, though. I will post the finished painting . . just as soon as I finish it, that with any luck will be today or tomorrow. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and mumbling over and over to myself, “I think I can . . I think I can . . .”

I’ve got big plans today. Though currently I am bleary eyed and staggering around in the wee hours because I need to get on the road to be at a Friesian farm by 11am. Which BTW is like 3 1/2-4 hours away, not including gas or potty breaks. I generally like to get up at the crack of . . . oh say 7:30 or 8am (not including art fairs as most of them I’m up at 5.) This morning is art fair hours. Urgh.

I am not a morning person, just ask my husband. He has learned it is best not to make loud noises, sudden movements or direct eye contact with me until after I’ve had my first caffeine jolt, in the blissful liquid known as Diet Coke. So with tumbler in hand I write this. Urm . . . now you understand the brief nature of this post.

After the Friesian photo extravaganza, I am going to attend the Dances With Horses event held in Waterloo Iowa. I am sure I will have loads of photos from both places when I return which will be Sunday, though I may not get a post up until Monday. See you then.

Three reasons for slumping art sales.
It is not “new” news that it is getting harder to make a living selling art. Besides my gallery, my primary mode of sales is through art fairs. What once you could have earned in 12 events now takes 35. Overall sales may be going down but expenses are still going up.

“. . . there is something in the mind of a buyer (much like dogs, wild animals and children) they can smell fear. . . and it makes them nervous”

More and more of my artist friends are quiting the art thing and getting “real jobs.” At Riverssance I talked with 2 such artists. One has been earning his living doing the art fair circuit for 26 years. The other also had more than 15 years as an artist and now works as a teacher. Most artists I know are pondering quitting what they do for the comfort of a 9 to 5. And who can blame them.

• Fear and the news media. Anyone who listens to the news these days hears frightening stories about rising costs and bail out of major lenders. It seems the global economy is in no better shape than the local one. All of this talk has people scared and rightly so. Who knows what tomorrow’s news story may bring.
• For Profit Many events are put on as a “for profit” by promoters. This means they tend to “bulk up” on artists whose booth fees help make the profit. While a large size show has more appeal and may draw bigger crowds. It can also mean the sales get split between more artists. A show of 200 artists will draw as much attention as an event of 300, but the larger event may mean most artists go home with less.
• Too many events in one city. Also, I personally believe that more and more cities are hosting an ever increasing number of art or craft events. What this leads to is the lack of motivation to “buy now.” I mean why should they if there will be another event in a week or so. More art shows, much like too many artists per event, lead to a thinning of the sales because of too much competition.

Ebb and Flow
Now I am not really a “the sky is falling” kind of personality. (I would never have made it this far, if I were.) I believe life is ebb and flow. Things are going to be tight and then eventually they will get easier. And once you are floating along on easy street, undoubtedly they will revert to being tighter again. Being prepared for this means there is less fear when it actually happens.

And now for the good news:
Three things you can do to boost sales

I got a notice from Undaunted last week that she had given me a blog award. How very flattering. Thank you. I would have commented on it sooner but it took me this long to get the image transferred. As you may already know, I am not very computer savvy though I have learned a lot since beginning this blog. In the end, I asked my guru of all things electronic (namely Mike my husband) to do it for me.

Part of this award is to select 7 of your favorite blogs to “pass along the love” as it were. I am more than a little embarrassed to say that I don’t actually even read seven blogs faithfully, I read 3 blogs (of which one is Undaunted’s) and sporadically at that. Undaunted assured me it was okay to claim my award anyway.

Here are the three blogs I most read, though I should say that in my defense, I have visited hundreds.

1. Undaunted’s (aka Linda) blog Rediscovering Art. I enjoy her blog because she is clever and funny and honest (the three most important reasons I read and return to a blog.) She is just sticking her toe into the waters that are the art world. And it is enjoyable to watch her confidence and style blossom. She’s full of talent, she just need to get out there.

2. Maggie Stiefvater’s blog Greywaren Art. Way back, when I first starting thinking of starting a blog, I searched for horse art blogs. Surprisingly there were pretty much none out there at the time, other than Maggie’s. Hers was the first blog that I read all the way back to the beginning, which includes her first blog Smiling Horse Art. She made me laugh and her artwork is excellent.

Her blog recently has turned more into writing than art, because she is a published author with a sweet book deal. Congratulations on that BTW! This has led me to not visit her blog very often of late. She is one of those rare individuals who has creativity and talent in many areas and the drive and determination to see them to their fullest potential.

3. Katherine Tyrrell’s blog Making a Mark I have mentioned her blog often and it is worth a look to anyone who is in the art business. Nuff said, check it out.

Comment on Comments
Truth is, I really want to thank the aforementioned Undaunted and Angela Finney (a fellow critter artist and ummm . . . slightly above average aged gamer, like myself) for their input, comments and interactions. Currently I average between 50 and 100 readers a day, but these two are always asking questions and offering their support. What this means to me is that I stay motivated to blog. Plus they get me to thinking, which in turn leads to new posts.

Thanks to both of you. Your input is invaluable and has made this whole blogging experience enjoyable. Without you guys, I would truly be writing in the dark.