How do you Purchase Art?

Abide Studio

Several years ago I was at a dinner in a home in the “old money” section of Nashville.  The home was beautiful and the walls were adorned with “named” artists of the area.  I asked the homeowner about one of the paintings,  hoping to engage in conversation.  The response was on the order of “I don’t know, my decorator picked it out.”   Really?  Sadly there are buyers, even collectors out there that only purchase what someone else has told them to buy, or “who” someone else has told them to invest in.  I call this buying with ears rather than eyes.

Within the week a friend told me that my art was all warm tones with too much red and orange and wouldn’t fit in her home.  Now I know this woman’s decor and I knew that there were several pieces in my inventory at that time that would suit her style and palette beautifully.  She was however stuck in the mindset that art needed to perfectly match what she narrowly defined as her “style”.  We in the art world call this matching the sofa.  Buying by sight, yes, but…

Shortly after these two occasions a customer came into the studio, took the time to study several pieces, engaged  in a conversation with me about the stories behind the work that spoke to her heart.  She selected the one that she “had to have”, purchased it, and went home delighted with her new acquisition.  She represents those customers who appreciate art for its story, for its emotional value, for the workmanship and personal touch of the artist.  These are people who engage with the art as well as the artist. This woman bought through the eyes of her heart.  Bingo!

All bring cash to the table.

All help pay the bills.

All are buyers and even collectors.

But art should engage the buyer and subsequently the owner as they view it on their wall.  It is created to be enjoyed not ignored.  Those who are touched by what I have labored to create open themselves up to the transcendent power and mystery within the painting.  It is my heart on that canvas.  Deep calls to deep; the song of my heart is heard and received when my work is purchased by one who engages with it.

That’s my heart’s desire. 

That’s my art’s desire.

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Time for a Change

The alarm goes off, 4:00 AM.  Wake up, shower, and hit the road north for an hour and a half.  All for the privilege of setting up the tent in the dark, hanging art, and waiting for the customer(s) with the big bucks to fall in love with my art, open their wallet and buy.

Didn’t happen.  Failure on a large scale, January’s art show circuit in Florida.  Crazy way to make a living I often thought.  Really stupid way to loose money.  Then a voice of reason from my dear hubby, “We don’t have to know what we are going to do in order to know that this is no longer working.”  Absolutely right.

So home to Tennessee with no looking back.  (Even recently sold my tent and all of the trappings.)  Freedom!  But freedom to do what???  It has been a journey of discovery this year as I have spent countless hours on the computer, conference calls, and webinars to research and learn about alternatives to the traditional way of approaching an art business.

Words like demographic, niche market, valued customer, income streams, and points of distribution have swirled around my head as I delved into non-traditional art business plans.  Through an odd set of events, orchestrated by the One who gave me this talent,  I am finally gaining clarity of my new direction and path.

Abide Studio

It is time to make a change.  For 9 years now, I have operated my art business as a marketplace ministry with the emphasis and focus on the marketplace and business aspect of things.  This has been divinely guided and I have no regrets.  The adventure has been amazing!  However, it is time to switch the emphasis in my heart and put more emphasis on the ministry aspect of what I do.

How does this look to my customers?  Not much different.  For me however the difference is significant every time I approach the easel, or hang a piece of art; consider a venue or plan my schedule.   Without a 10’x10′ tent to fill, without show applications and juries to consider, without thinking about a cohesive body of work, I will simply create what is in my heart and vision.  And you won’t find me in the studio on Thursdays as I dedicate that day for personal ministry related appointments.

The puzzle pieces are still coming together.  I cannot say I see the whole picture, but I am beginning to see shapes and colors coming together.  I am excited and full of anticipation for this new chapter.  I hope you will join me for the adventure.  The best is yet to come!

How have you faced the dips in your career?  Is it time for a new perspective on your journey?  I’d love to hear from you. Please comment, share, tweet…

Fred Factor

Fred Shea is a real-life mailman who inspired a movement.  I had the privilege of hearing the man responsible for Fred’s fame the other week.  Mark Sanborn brought a word of truth that strikes close to my heart and is exactly where my life has been lately (funny how that happens when we surrender to the Divine’s timing).  Mark has now written two books based on Fred Shea  “The Fred Factor” and ‘Fred 2.0″ .  The principles that Mark spoke of that morning are worth sharing.

The four basic Fred principles:

1.  Everybody makes a difference.

2. It is all built on relationship.

3.  You can add value to everything you do.

4. You can reinvent yourself continually.

Hidden within those basic principles I heard a few other nuggets.  “Fear nothing but to waste your present moment.”    At a time when my art sales have struggled and my studio lease is iffy I face a decision.  Either I can sit and waste my present moments waiting for things to change thus being reactive instead of proactive.   Or I can look up and beyond my circumstances and see what opportunities surround me to serve others.

Nugget #2  “Move from transactional to relational”  fits well with serving others.  What can I offer my customers, my colleagues, my friends and acquaintances other than “Here’s this painting and it sells for this much”.  I realize that I consult with most of my customers on any number of things one on one, but have never taken that expertise to the streets (to the webisphere).

Number 3 is the acronym CARE:  Create A Rare Experience.  Don’t we all crave rare experiences?  Recently I was at a local coffee shop with a friend.  My lunch arrived before my latte, in other words delayed.  Finally it arrived with an apology.  However the owner chose to go beyond;  she refunded the cost of the latte AND gave me a gift card for my next visit.  That coffee shop has become my new favorite place to meet friends and/or sit and write.

Fourth: abundant life is found when we take “ordinary” (art, service, relationships, business practices, etc.) and take the “extra” effort to make it “extraordinary”.  This follows Seth Godin’s theory in his book “Purple Cow”:  do not settle for very good, go the extra mile to be remarkable.  This is a philosophy I have tried to live be for years, but worth repeating and sharing here.

Creating an extraordinary experience is the core to The Fred Factor which leads me to my final nugget.  “Be more concerned about your customer’s (friend’s, family’s) needs than they are”.  Principle #4 (every day I have a chance to reinvent myself rather than replicate who I was yesterday) inspires me to get up every morning, to be more transformed into the image of the Creator, and to apply myself  to be more concerned about others well being than I am about my own.  Don’t ya know if we all took that approach the world would be a better place.

Thank you Fred Shea.  Thank you Mark Sanborn.

Why Me?

                                                “Above and Beyond”                       24×30

“Who do you think you are to tackle this subject?”  “Everyone is going to know that you’re a fraud.”   “Who made you the expert?”  These are the questions of self-doubt I hear as I prepare to speak to my local arts council on the subject of social media/networking for artists.

As I have been working on my presentation I have found myself questioning my ability to tackle such a subject.   What do I have to say that someone can’t find out for themselves through conversation, exploration, time spent on the computer?  Wrestling with my level of expertise has opened my eyes to an area of qualification that does not involve knowledge or experience.   It is the willingness to share that qualifies me.  I’m afraid that all too often we artists become hoarders.  We hoard our materials, our sources, our galleries, our techniques, even our successes in fear that any or all might be stolen and another artist could become more successful or popular.

I may not be a social networking guru, but I have gathered a few crumbs and tidbits along the way.  A crumb of knowledge.  A tidbit of experience.  My crumb could be what unlocks a new opportunity for someone.  My experience could save another hours of time pursuing something to no avail.

I will gladly share what I’ve learned on my art biz journey.   There is, after all, that story where crumbs and tidbits were multiplied to feed thousands.  Call it what you will: paying it forward,  the law of reaping and sowing, volunteerism, karma, etc.. It’s why you will find me at the county library this Friday morning,  sharing what I know and hoping to pick up a few new crumbs and tidbits to add to my basket as the conversation continues beyond my knowledge or experience.

Time for a Change

 

It has been nearly four years since I made the decision to join the gypsy train of art shows.  Indoor, outdoor, rain or shine you could often find me on the road, pitching my Trimline Canopy, hanging my art, and enjoying the adventure.  The journey took me from Aspen to Lexington, from Chicago to Ft. Lauderdale and many points in between.  There comes a time however when change makes itself obvious.

Last week it did just that.  I have made the decision to pause the gypsy train and park my trailer in the station for a while.  I do not know at this point what I will do to replace the income that has come from these shows these past years, but as my wise hubby said, “You don’t have to know what you are going to do in order to know what you are NOT going to do any more.”

Another wise man, St. Paul wrote to the Philippians “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal.”  I truly believe that there are times when we must let go of something before we can reach for the next.

My mind is more available to possible opportunities because I am no longer checking the show and application schedule or concentrating on which paintings to include in each application.  Or trying to second guess which cities house my customers.  Or wondering what the weather will be like so I can guess which clothes to take.  You get my drift.  My mind and my time are free to explore.

Along the way I’ve discovered something about myself.  I love change.  I actually thrive on it.  Perhaps it is my creative brain that gets bored easily, but the idea of a new chapter is exciting to me.  Rather than using my creativity and vision to paint, I am exploring possibilities, weaving my way through the world wide web and asking the same question that inspires me at the easel.  “What if?” has been my guiding star for the past 25 years in terms of my art.  Now I will open myself to listen and watch where it leads my career.

Don’t know where I’m going but I’m enjoying the journey one step at a time.

What They Never Tell You

Things that “They” don’t tell you when you decide to pursue visual art as a living:

-Plan to  spend as much time doing the administrative stuff as the creative stuff

-Expect to understand accounting, bookkeeping, profit and loss, (or make enough money to pay someone who does )

-Become computer literate if you are not already

-Purchase or borrow a good camera or expect to pay a professional photographer for spot-on images

-Develop a thick skin for the tough times and the number of rejections that come along the way

-Hone your  social media skills

-Understand terms like “cohesive body of work”, “distribution channel”,  “streams of income”, “diversification” and how they affect your income

-No matter how pure you want to keep your creative voice, it will be influenced by what you sell

-Long hours and hard days, are the norm

-Dealing with other artists can be exhilarating and exhausting at the same time

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  All of it is secondary to the reason you are in the business of art to begin with:  creating art. Creating the “remarkable” all has to be done in addition to the above, not at the exclusion of it.

I love my work.  I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.  However you will find me chuckling when someone comes up to me working in my studio and says, “It must be so much fun to make a living at your passion” .  If they only knew….

Long Days and Hard Work

 

I know, I know, nobody said it would be easy.  It’s just amazing to me sometimes just how much hard work and long hours go into this business we call art.  I am in the midst of preparing for a pretty significant show (Penrod Arts Fair in Indianapolis) followed by a presentation of my three decades of being an art professional(Art:  Up Close and Personal sponsored by the Arts Council of Williamson County).  Oh and by the way, delivery of a major commission piece (finished:  see photo).  Most days I thrive on being busy.  After all, I hate being bored.  Lately however it seems I am trying to tell myself not to stress more often than not.

At our last art show, my husband encountered a gentleman (I use the term loosely) who suggested that all of the artists did this kind of thing as a hobby.  Can I just say that nobody but nobody puts themselves through what we professional artists do for the fun of it?  Do I love the gypsy train?  Indeed.  Do I appreciate that I make a living doing something that I’m passionate about?  Absolutely!  Is it grueling at times and mindless at other?  Too true!

Don’t get me wrong.  I wouldn’t trade my profession for another….ever!  As I posted last week (or was that two weeks ago???) I know that I know I was created to express myself artistically.  That said, I think there is a misconception that all we professional artists do is play all day.  Painting is fun;  it is the play part of the job.  Varnishing, wiring, framing…not so much.  Powerpoint presentations, email newsletters, social media marketing….work.

When your passion becomes your profession there will be long days and hard work if you want to succeed.  It goes with the territory.  Business plans, profit and loss statements, marketing strategies are all a part of the business of art.  Dare I say they are the work that balances the play.  But oh the pay off when a customer falls in love and has to have a painting I’ve created.  Then suddenly all of the hours melt away.  All of the hard work seems easy.  In other words it’s all worth the effort.  So to the studio I go to teach and paint and label and load up and…and…and…  Guess I’ll sleep well tonight!