Fur In The Paint

Since we have been talking about creating art that people connect with enough to spend money on. I thought I would share with you my best selling image. Natural Grace has been my highest grossing image in print for the past couple of years.

Natural Grace
Oil Pastel 10 x 30
Copyright by
Mona Majorowicz

Who Knew?
Truth is, it’s not great art. Oil Pastels were still a very new medium to me when I created this piece. I was just kinda playing around and I didn’t try particularly hard with it. I seriously thought of tossing the painting when I was done. My husband had to talk me into making prints of it. (Actually we debated for weeks and he finally just went ahead and did it. Hooray for Mike, that he could see what I could not.)

I started the original at the bargain basement pricing of around $500 and took it, and a couple of prints to an event. People loved it, (or they made horses ass jokes.) I sold several prints and had a few serious lookers at the original. I raised the original painting to $650. Another event more prints sales, more serious lookers at the original. I raised it to $850. This went on for half a season, raising the price to match the interest of the public. I won’t say what it finally sold for, but I am so grateful I didn’t toss the painting. The prints continue to do well. When I create 5-10 more images that do as well, I will be a very happy woman.

The 80/20 Rule.
Often 80% of your sales will be coming from 20% of your work. If you want to increase your sales you need to look at what sells and then do more of it. I’m not saying you need to make duplicates but if you take a gander at the wealthiest print artists in america today (like Thomas Kinkade, Terry Redlin or P. Buckley Moss) you’ll notice that they have one similar painting after another. They have figured out what sells, branded it (meaning just their name alone will trigger an image in your minds eye of what they paint.) and keep producing more. They get a lot of heckling for it, mostly by other artists. But I would think being multi-millionaires really takes the sting out of any bitter remarks.

For myself, I estimate that 7-10 of my prints are making the vast bulk of my print income. While the other 25 images or so sell just enough to keep them in print. I regularly look them over to see what the popular ones have in common.

As a side note.
I have a very dear artist friend, who is quite a good equestrian artist. She has a strong dislike of the Natural Grace image. So for a while after every event when it did well, I would poke her and say “I sold $ of Natural Grace this weekend”. Her usual response was “People have no taste.” I find this hugely funny. Makes me smile still, to think about it. Had anyone else said such a harsh thing to me, I most likely would have felt a little offended, (it takes a lot to hurt my feelings these days) but since it was her, I just find it funny.

I tell this to illustrate my point that even though she is knowledgable about both horses and art, she also would never have guessed Natural Grace would be such a stellar selling image. Friends, artists and collegues are not always right.

I want to preface this by saying this post is about selling art. If you are looking to improve yourself technically as an artist, that is a different path. For selling art, the buyer (whether it be patron, gallery, or publisher) sets the rules, not professors or friends. Give them what they want (within the paramaters of what you do) and the path to sucess will be so much easier.

Serenity
Oil Pastel 15 x 11
Copyright by Mona Majorowicz

It matches my couch.
There are of course many reasons people buy art, ranging from collectors (of art in general or of something specific like flamingos) to . . . because it matches their couch. They may have a space above their toilet that needs a picture. Not a glamorous thought to think your painting may be destined for just such a spot, but that is the nature of things. If you are creating art to sell, you need to get over it. People buy art to live with.

Perhaps the more appropriate question is not why people buy art. But what motivates them to buy the art that they do. The main reason people will plunk down their hard earned money for a piece of art is because . . . they connect with it on an emotional level. (Not very profound I realize, but it’s the truth.) Whether it is destined for a corporate office or above the toilet, the art has to speak to them in some way. So then the big question becomes . . .

“How do you create art that will connect with people emotionally?” I know what your thinking, “Mona, everyone is different. Everyone has different experiences and different things that trigger them emotionally.” True. Look at this as a good thing. This is what allows the variety in styles, media, subjects and genre to all be marketable. So rather than trying to appeal to everyone, first and foremost you need to create art that you are passionate about. Paint what you know and love. The emotion and authenticity comes through in your work and people will feel it.

My example of this is: I get told over and over that my horses are wonderful. They tell me how rare it is to find someone who does horses well. The truth is some of my horses are flawed. Some have conformational issues you probably would not want on a horse you would actually purchase. This is something I work hard to correct. (Technical correctness is important to me. I study anatomy and horses in motion) But since I actually draw them out, it is what it is. I believe what people are reacting to, is that my horse painting have “soul.” You feel like that animal exists somewhere. You look at it, it is looking back at you. That is my love and passion for my subject matter coming through the work. It is the same reason I will never paint someones child. There will never be any passion for the subject and therefore even if the painting is technically correct, it will still be lacking, even if it is only on a subconscious level.

So to wrap this up, if you are looking to sell your art, you need to create authentic art that people will connect with emotionally. You need to paint what you are passionate about and in your own voice (style is a complex enough subject it would need it’s own post) Once you do this, then you need to listen to what buyers (more than friends, family or colleagues) are saying about your work. And more importantly pay attention to what is actually selling.

Tomorrows post will be about my best selling image in print. It is a great example of art connecting with people that I would never have anticipated.

In terms of marketing your art successfully you do need all of the traits listed in the previous post 6 Traits to be Successful in the Art Market. If you add “lack of” to any of the 6 traits you will struggle to acheive success. Lack of Confidence. . . Lack of Drive . . . Lacking the ability to be alone. (Ummm you get the idea.) Of all of these things though, fear is the most dibilitating issue that artists face. It can be immobolizing and cause stagnation. I could have added Fearlessness as triat #7 but it is such a major player, I thought it deserved it’s own post.

Everyone has fear issues.
Fear of acceptance like will I get accepted into that show, or will the buyers be interested in what I do.

Fear of failure is when you are waiting for things to be perfect. Your skill level to increase, the right timing. Fear of failure causes you not to act at all. And the only way you will become successful at art is through action. Whether it be creating it or selling it.

Fear of the unknown, like how will my life change if I decide to go professional. Will I still have time to do the things I love.

But in order to be successful in the art market (as well as in anything else) you must push past it. Many starving artists become starving artists because they are allowing fear to hinder their progress.

In truth I don’t have the answer to handling your fear issues. (I think that is probably in the realm of a shrink) But I do know what worked for me was just doing it.

Sometimes I play the Whats the Worst That Can Happen game. What’s the worst that can happen if I screw up this painting, Hmmm. Well . . I toss it and have lost a few hours of my life. If I posted it on my blog, then the world has seen that I don’t always create wonderful art. Hmmm. Not such a travesty. I mean it’s not like I’ll come down with malaria and die or something. So I move forward. Always keep moving forward. Stagnation will kill a career.

I’ve included the Art & Fear book in this post because I do actually have it in my library. My art group was reading it a few years back and most of them found it very helpful. I found it interesting, but at this stage of the game I have worked through a great many of my fear issues. (I did this by doing by the way) I still have some fears, don’t misunderstand me. But the more I work the art thing the fewer and more infrequent they become.

For those of you considering turning your art hobby into a successful art business here are a few of the traits that will best equip you to do so.

1. Drive (also known as motivation, determination, perseverance and tenacity) I am tenacious. I keep going no matter what. You need to be able to let things like rejection, rude comments, or occasional slow sales, not deter you from your goal. I do what it takes to get the job done.

Drive is what keeps you at it even when you work full time, have kids, and have a busy life. There is always time. Now I am not saying spend time in the business over time with your family. But the truth is, all gathered round watching TV is not exactly quality time. Before we moved to Iowa I had worked a couple of jobs and had 2 Sundays off a month, I still created, (though at the time my art was barely a hobby) often late into the evening hours. Without drive, your success may well be limited.

2. Focus In my opinion the thing that has saved my art business, while I have watched gallery after gallery close in my area, was the fact that Wild Faces Gallery is diversified. I don’t rely on only one source for sales. What this means however, is I have to juggle dozens of jobs all the time. The only way I can keep from going crazy is to maintain focus. Not only focus on the future goals but also focus on my daily and weekly goals.

3. Personable Good people skills are essential. I consider myself anti-social by nature. I would be ever so happy if I could hide away in a mountain cottage somewhere with a few horses, a pack of dogs, a few miscellaneous critters and a shotgun. (yes, my husband is also welcome on this fantasy hill top, but I just thought, that went without saying. But then I thought, maybe it didn’t) But if you actually want to sell art, you actually need to talk to people.

I am not a big fan of the hard sell approach, you know the used car salesman kinda thing (though that is a successful technique for many) I tend to greet them and just make myself available. If they seem interested, I generally ask a few questions about them (everyones favorite subject is themselves.) The good thing for me is that most of the people that are attracted to my work are generally animal people, which makes having a conversation easy. Plus I am genuinely interested and not feigning my attention. I know that sounds rude, but after you speak with hundreds of people in an afternoon, it can get tempting to fake it.

4. Being Comfortable in Solitude This sounds kinda of the opposite of #3 but if you plan to make your hobby your business you are going to be spending quite a bit of alone time. Most artists are solitary by nature. The act of creation is often a private affair.

5. Honesty I don’t mean honesty with your customer, of course that is important. In this instance, I mean honesty with yourself, your capabilities both mentally and physically. Also honesty with your business. You need to have the ability to take a good hard look at the numbers.

For example: Lets say I do an artfair and I made X dollars. I need to factor in ALL my costs, like hotel, gas, food, booth fee, jury fee and cost of good sold. And if I’m feeling very brave (or on the fence about returning to an event) I may also look at time lost creating in the gallery.

6. Confidence or at least the ability to fake it. In order to effectively sell what you do, you do need to have a certain amount of confidence. Most people (including patrons, galleries, and publishers) want to feel they are making the right decision by trusting in you and your work. They can’t get that warm fuzzy feeling if you yourself, don’t feel confident in your work. The old saying “Fake it ’til you make it” is true in this instance. Success breeds confidence, so eventually it will come. Be aware that it is a fine line between confidence and arrogance.

Note: No where in this list is skill or talent mentioned as a necessary aspect of turning your art hobby into an art business. While skill is important, it is the ability to market successfully that will determine your business’s success or failure.

Tomorrow I will talk about the main trait that holds most artists back from success, (and hopefully post a finished snow leopard.)

And following that will be a post about the number 1 reason people buy art. Anyone want to hazard a guess?

The First Step Is Admitting You Have A Problem
As I previously mentioned, I just recently submitted my article for the newest issue of Apples ‘N Oats magazine. After each submission, Carol Eilers the editor/publisher sends me a note saying that she added a few more commas or a semicolon. (Note: This last time she didn’t comment on my punctuation. But I think that has more to do with her just going ahead and making the necessary changes, as opposed to my writing abilities.) Now I don’t think it is her job to proof read everything I write to make sure it is grammatically correct. (Oh, wait … maybe it is?) But as a responsible artist/writer I have decided to seek help and improve my writing skills.

Oddly enough, we had this book, When Good People Write Bad Sentences; 12 steps to Better Writing Habits, by Robert W. Harris, in one of our bookshelves. (View the Table of Contents.) I am not sure where it came from or why it appeared (some form of karmic intervention perhaps?) but I immediately sat down and began to read. It has been a long time since I had grammar in school and I have gotten sloppy over the years.

It is written in a tongue-in-cheek style of a addiction intervention. By offering a 12 step program for self improvement by breaking “The Habit” of bad writing. At first I found this a clever way to make the mind numbing subject of diction, grammar, and style, actually a little entertaining. About half way through though, the amusement factor got a little stale.

Denial
It appears that I resemble one of his examples of a bad writing addict, by thinking that adhering too closely to the standard rules of writing, were going to interfere with my creativity, self expression and ability to communicate in my own voice.

Idealistically, I have always thought, as an artist that I am a visual person. I shouldn’t have to write about my work, because my work should speak for itself. This my friends is denial. Truth is, not only is it important to write clearly for my Apples ‘N Oats articles and this blog. But also for all of the artistic submissions and business dealings that I do every day. Often I think, “eh, artists are supposed to be quirky. I can get away with it.” I have finally decided that I need to improve my writing skills, if I really want to compete with the big dogs. (Sometimes, it’s hard being a grown-up.)

The Judgment
The most beneficial idea I got from this book was more applicable to marketing than writing. It deals with the importance of promoting benefits over features. The book explained that while listing features is good, it is the benefits that people respond to.

For example:
A feature might be inexpensive
while a benefit might be affordable

A feature, answers the question “what is it?” A benefit answers the question “What does it mean to me?” This seems to me to be a powerful tidbit of information that will be useful in my marketing efforts.

The book was an easy read. Though, I feel that far to much time and wordage was spent on the addiction angle. While I still don’t have a good grasp of dangling participles or splitting infinitives. In the end, I got the information on the areas I most needed help in. How to use of commas, semicolons, and dashes properly. That is, I think I now have a grasp on how to use them properly. I wrote most of this post before finishing the book. We’ll have to see just how much has soaked in and gets utilized in my future writings.

It was worth the read. I learned some important things. Other things didn’t really stick. Maybe I should read it again. Or maybe, I really do need to crack open a grade school grammar book that spells it all out for me, in a simple to understand format, as if I am a slow-witted child. “Hmm … Nah! I am an artist I can get away with it.” (As they say: D’nile, ain’t just a river.)

Work in Progress The Earthmovers
Copyright by Mona Majorowicz

Hmm, perhaps a more accurate title is, To The Tax Man We Go-eth.

Anywho, I have spent much of today neck deep in paper work. Our appointment with the accountant is less than 48 hours away. Yikes!

Now, I am a woman who is all about the numbers. Since knowing where we really stand business-wise can mean the difference between eating or not. Plus, I love statistics and inventories and records of what sells, when and where. I also track both my website and blog statistics eagerly.

That being said, I really (really, really) dislike going to the accountant. Not so much because I am worried or nervous. Its just because my business is … well … my business. This is my life and my passion. It is my blood, sweat and tears laid out before me, in all its numerical black and white glory. So then, to have a relatively complete stranger rifling through my private affairs, looking at it with cool impassionate eyes and making judgments, is hugely disturbing.

It kinda reminds me of those TV fashion police shows where the fashion experts rummage through their victims underwear drawers. All the while making comments. Until inevitably they pull out a pair. And holding them up high, they exclaim in horror. “What is this!”

Yeah, it’s exactly like that.

Blogging is still quite new to me. And as such, I am spending much of my free time out looking at other blogs, mostly artist’s. This blogging thing has opened up a whole ‘nother universe for me. I live in a very rural area and so often feel quite isolated as an artist. My art group has members spread over a 150 mile radius. It’s a real trick to get even a small portion of us together. In the summer, I do artfairs and have an extended artist family with them. But when winter sets in, and the cold snowy winds are a blowin’ I get lonely. So what a wonderful gift all these blogsites are for me. Kinda like manna from heaven.

My latest discovery is Katherine Tyrrell’s blog, Making a Mark. Her site deals with a variety of well researched subjects on art and the art business. Hers is the second blog that I have subscribed to.

Her Feb 2, 2007 post, called What Happens When You Annoy eBay Sellers was extremely interesting. eBay has recently made some substantial changes to their policies which may have a dramatic impact on sellers. I sell through eBay, so it was nice to get so much information on whats going on.

When I find a site I really like, I tend to dig through it pretty good. The other post that I found really interesting that day was an older post from Aug 22, 2006 Why Artists Should Blog. The statistics on the state of the blogosphere were … well mind boggling. Like:

• 175,000 new blogs are created daily, 8% of which are spam blogs or ’splogs’
• there are (as of Aug 2006) 50+million blogs
• they’ve been doubling in number about every 5-7 months.

Again this is old news. But it had a real wow factor for a newbie like me. So I decided to go digging and see what statistics I could dig up that were a wee bit more current. Unfortunatly there wasn’t much to be found. David Sifry, the founder of Technorati would faithfully publish “State of the Blogosphere” reports every few months. But as of April 2007, Technorati has a new CEO and no new reports have been published.

Digital Inspiration reports in October 2007 that currently

• Technorati was tracking 108 million blogs
• 120,000 new blogs are created daily
• Most popular language is Japanese folowed by English
• and 1.5 million blog posts are published daily.

There is just so much information and people to meet that are only a mouse click or two away. No wonder blogging is such a huge pastime. Oh, I do have one more statistics for you. I found this on Pew Interent Reports dated 12/19/07

• 28% of online teens have blogs and that the blogging growth is fueled almost entirely by girls.

I just finished reading How To Profit from the Art Print Market; Creating Cash Flow From Original Art; Practical Advice for Visual Artists, by Barney Davey. (A bit of a mouthful really.) View the Table of Contents.

Mr. Davey was a salesman for Decor magazine and its trade show Decor Expo for 15 years. Much of what he says is geared toward using those avenues of promotion. He suggests that to launch yourself in this way would require an investment of at least $100,000. I would think that for the average artist, (myself included) this is an unrealistic plan of action. However, once you get past that, the book is pretty good.

I gleaned more than one good idea from it. Like, when at an art show and you have someone who is really on the fence about purchasing, and they say those three little words made classic by Arney, “I’ll be back.” You discreetly slip them a postcard that offers something special upon their return (i.e. A free box of greeting cards, a free mini print or a 10% discount.) Since I am not the hard sell type, this strikes me as a great alternative to being more aggressive or appearing desperate (Like … by falling to my knees, clutching their pant legs and begging.)

Also, I particularly enjoyed reading about the strategies used by some of the current top selling print artists like Moss, Wyland, Doolittle and Kinkade. For instance for over 15 years, P. Buckley Moss made no less than 100 appearances for one-woman shows at her dealer galleries, per year. Wow, now thats commitment.

Though, I can’t say that this is a must read for every artist. I do think this book could be a valuable resource. It is crammed with website urls on nearly every aspect of the art business. This book is a great starting point to explore the various avenues for furthering your artistic business goals.

Wild Faces Gallery as a business, is made up of three parts. The bulk of the business is made from the sale of my artwork via art fairs, my collector base, website and ebay. The balance of income is divided between custom framing and our printing house.

I think anyone is capable of success in the art print market, if they have the right attitude…

To Print or Not To Print.
WFG is self publishing. We do canvas and paper giclee printing, (pronounced zhee-clay) for ourselves as well as other artists. We have started quite a few artists on their journey to expand their sales by making prints. I thought I would address here the most commonly asked question of us regarding printing, “should I make prints of my artwork?” This really is a question that every artist must answer for themselves. But here are a few things to think about that may help you decide.

When NOT To Do Prints

• If your originals aren’t garnering interest, then why do you think your prints will? (Hone your craft or find out why your work isn’t moving.)
• Is your work commercial or is it too esoteric to be sold en masse.
• Sure it’s a great painting, but can you sell it over and over again?
• Do you have a marketing plan, and the ambition to implement it? The build it and they will come mentality, will not work here. Artwork will not sell itself in your closet or under your bed.
• The glory days of prints being seen as an art investment are just about over. Indeed there is a great deal of discussion about whether to even produce limited editions or just run everything as an open edition. Be sure you see prints for what they are, a more affordable copy of your work, created for volume sales.

When You SHOULD Do Prints.

• Your originals are outselling your ability to produce more work.
• Prints allow you to appeal to a broader audience by making art that more people can afford.
• A customer commissions a piece and then wants multiples for friends and family.
• Prints can cultivate collectors. People may buy a print or two for a few years then step up to an original. This has happened more than once for me. In fact I have sold an original to someone who had purchased a note card. She had it hung on her fridge for over a year, then returned for the original. This happens because having your print in their house is a daily reminder of you and your work.
• Most Importantly! It will expand your earning potential per image substantially. Most of my paintings take several weeks to complete. Add to that, the day to day running of the gallery. I can only get, (If I’m lucky) a dozen originals out a year. Though they fetch reasonably high prices, that alone just isn’t enough to pay the bills. Creating prints is what took my art from an extra income hobby to a full time business for both my husband and myself.

So there you go. Be honest with yourself and your abilities both as an artist and as a business person. In my opinion being successful with prints is far more about your ability to sell, than it is about being the best artist out there. Quality of work definitely matters. And I believe an artist should always strive for improvement and growth. But in the terms of making it or not, it’s your ambition and perseverance that will get you the farthest. I think anyone is capable of success in the art print market, if they have the right attitude, and the ability to follow through.

My flamingo painting was a failure. I didn’t even finish it. It seems the past few pieces that I have tried to do have ended up mediocre at best. Probably because I just do something to do something. And therefore I lack any real passion for it. I hate to keep bringing up my dead cat. But I think his loss has definitely affected my creative mojo.

So today, first thing I did was take a good look at what I had accomplished so far on my flamingo. I did learn something valuable when it comes to painting water and will use this information in the future. I pondered the possibility of saving the painting by trying to do this or that. And then I promptly snapped it in half and tossed it. Yep, thats right. After which I got to work completely cleaning house. I put away all the oil pastels that I had out. Washed off my drafting table, dusted, vacuumed and in general gave my space a thorough once over. I have now provided a place for the next great painting idea to be born.

I have come to realize it is best to just remove the offending image in order to move on effectively. Occasionally I save a painting that has potential but is being problematic. I may set it aside for as long as a year. But if a painting is crap then destroy it, don’t just hide it away somewhere. The act of destruction also has a bit of a catharsis to it. When I worked on watercolor paper I would tear the painting up into little pieces. I know artists who put a big red X through the painting and others who burn them (There’s no coming back from ashes.) I also know some artists who utilize their less than wonderful creations. They either make collages with them and one actually prints her business cards on them. Both of these ideas are unique and creative but both rely on destruction for their rebirth.

If you try to hold onto your creation with the thought… well maybe I can save it in the future. Make sure the piece is worth it. Otherwise, having them sit around just drains your creativity and positive attitude needed to move forward and start another project. How can you feel capable of creating the next great work of art when you sit, surrounded by failures. Accept failure as part of the learning curve. Be thankful for whatever lesson you may have garnered. Then promptly trash them and move on.