eBay Today

Well the show on Saturday was ok……just ok. We only sold two drawings, Boo-hoo! We did get a few locals out and many other store owners from La Villita which was good because most of them usually don’t go to the other shops. They just show up to work then go home, most don’t even walk around the place. So it was good to get them out and talk them up about myself.

I have been in this gallery for about a year, I have only sold a few paintings of these cute little dogs I use to make, I don’t paint anymore so it was good to hear that so many people liked “The Yellow Rose". When the show is all said and done I am going to make about 10 smaller ones and see how they do there. We also want to hold a few smaller shows, one on a Wednesday and one on a Thursday to see what the traffic is like on week days, if we can find some time.

It’s looking like we are going to have 15 drawings for the “Graphite is the New Black” show next month on the 9th. Ten of them are framed and on the wall here, I have to tell you - they look cool! I am hoping that the old architectural firm I used to work at comes out to the show. We all worked on the Hotel Valencia together some 5 or 6 years ago and worked about a block away from there. It should be a fancy thing so I can’t wait to see everybody.

I have been talking about this drawing for a while now. It’s of a frog. I am also working on a 4”x6” version of it too. I had to stop working on it because of all my shows, soon I will be back to it and it will go for $100 if anyone would like a bigger one. I don’t see to many frogs out in my yard, not like at my mom’s house. They all lived in a big tree out in front of the house, well that tree is now gone. Oh, how things change and oh, how fast. Thanks for all the support.

Art by Nemo on eBay

eBay Today

So I was watching TV last night, no big surprise as you all may know I like to watch a lot of TV, and the new “Knight Rider” comes on. It was ok, but I was waiting to see “The Hoff” make a special guest appearance. I mean, come on, I would have loved to see him as a bum sitting in a park saying something about “talking cars” or something, or saving someone’s life on the beach….give me something I tell you.

Talking about TV and The Hoff, America’s got Talent’s finals came on and I am putting my money on “Nuttin but Stringz” http://www.nuttinbutstringz.com/ these dudes are bad ass, and their site is pretty cool too. I have to admit I watch a little too much TV but most of the time I draw during the commercials. Another show I watch is “The Biggest Loser” I don’t even know why I like watching that one, but this year I am trying to drop a few pounds. I weight about 225 and would like to get under 200 but I am shooting for 215 by the end of the show. I can’t wait till “Chuck” starts I really got into that one. And since no one is paying me to tell you which programs to watch on your TV I am going to stop talking about them now.

Today I have another bamboo for you and as always I like to talk about my yard when I post a bamboo picture. Well I cut the grass yesterday, or cut the weeds is more like it. I noticed the newer rose bush I planted earlier this year has died. It seemed to be doing well then it took a turn for the worse. Maybe the soil it was in was no good, two plants have died there already. Maybe it was too hot or I didn’t water it enough, who knows. Stuff just doesn’t want to grow in my garden and I feel bad about killing all these plants and even trees.

Art by Nemo on eBay

eBay Today

Well the show at Village Gallery in La Villita is up and I already sold one! It was an idea I was testing, a yellow rose, I did for a show next year but it fit the “Very San Antonio” theme so I hung it in this show and a couple came in and bought it. They want me to ship it after the show so it could still be there for the opening. I guess I gotta make more yellow roses.

Now that that show is up and ready to go I can focus on “Graphite is the New Black” which opens October 9th at Hotel Valencia here in San Antonio. I still need to make another 6 or so drawings, so wish me luck! I think next year I will slow down just a little bit so I won’t kill my hand working on all this art for so many back to back shows. We are thinking about moving to another city to build a name somewhere other than just SA but no plans are made yet. But if that happens I might have to slow down on shows till I find places to have them. But don’t worry I will still be making art, till I die if I have any thing to say about it. But I will keep you posted on that as things happen.

Today’s eBay drawing is of cherry blossoms, I really like to put pink in with the pencil, I think it comes out really nice. I am getting ready to make another batch of work for eBay so if there is anything you would like to see send me an e-mail or make a comment. Some of my best work came about from a suggestion someone made so keep them coming. And as always keep telling everyone about me and my art and send all your e-mail list links to my posts. Remember only you can make me famous. Thank you!

Art by Nemo on eBay

Here’s more SA for you:

Kicking Ass And Taking Names!!!

Hey there folks! Today I want to talk about what could probably be the most important thing to an artist, “The Mailing List”. Whether you collect e-mails or physical addresses its just something you have to do, well if you want to have successful shows and sell art that is.

If you are just starting out or don’t have many shows you can still collect names. I used to carry around a mini spiral notebook, about 3” x 4” small, and when I would meet someone I would ask for a business card or ask them to sign my book with their info. When I had an art show I would use it, back then I had only one show a year. Now I have like 30 a year and I collect a few names every show.

I don’t carry around that notebook any more but maybe I should. We do always have somewhere for people to sign up. A few sheets of paper on a clipboard work out just fine and we also having a mailing list sign up on our website. We always update our list in a word file and have all the e-mails in an online service we use to send out e-mails. You need to stay up to date with all your names and make sure the people on it want to be on it. Don’t just add names out of a phone book or buy lists or steal names from e-mails when someone forgets to hide them. You gotta just keep telling people you meet you are an artist and ask if they want to be added to your mailing list. If people like you they always want to see you succeed so give them the chance.

I do that every time I can and I tell them I have 2 or 3 shows a month so they know I e-mail a lot or send postcards a lot. Once they know and they still sign up its ok to send them stuff and most likely they will show up and buy something. We have about 400 mailing addresses and about 1300 e-mails and most of them want to get my e-mail. We are always trying to narrow it down so we can have 100% of the people coming out to shows and buying up all my art.

Sometimes we see people who have signed up a long time ago and thank us for always keeping them up to date with my work and they feel like they have grown with me and almost always end up buying something.

eBay Today

The show went off with out a hitch, a lot of people showed up with their dog food. We sold about 8 of the $100 pieces and raised a lot of money for “Cause for Paws”; we are still taking donations and we have a few pieces left so you can just e-mail me if you would like to help out info@artbynemo.com thanks!

So on to the next show which is “Very San Antonio” this Saturday September 27th in La Villita. I know these downtown shows don’t bring out many of the locals that have supported me thoughout my career, so we are really trying to work the tourist route. With a little bit of luck we might just get a full house and sell some art work. We are going to have some family and friends stationed at a few places telling all the touristy looking people about the show - one at the entrance to La Villita and one down on the River Walk.

Today’s drawing is of a starfish and I put in some bubble looking circles just to add some more to it. I like drawing the star shape and have used them in my art every now and then. I think the two blues play with your eye a bit. This one is just fun, so if you are a beach lover or costal person this one is for you or maybe you know some one that would love this picture, so pick it up for them.

Well back to work - I also have two shows next month. I have about one show half way done and have not started on the other. Work, work, work......till next time!

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/nemo_next

eBay Today

It's Friday and the day before our “Cause for Paws” event; most of the show is hung and we've got everything in line for a go. Hopefully we can make some money for our dog and cat friends. I have two pieces up for sale and two more up for auction. with the two pieces for auction everything goes to “Cause for Paws” so I hope the price gets up there. So if you are around come out the San Pedro Springs Gallery and have some fun.

I know I never take pictures but tomorrow I will try to get some so I can post them for you here in my blog. So let me know if you read this and show up so I can get a picture of you and me so the whole world can see I have friends. It’s sad that I need proof!

Well here is other bamboo, well, just bamboo leaves. The background looks as cool and crisp as the days have been lately. But I know the heat is coming back. If you have any ideas you would like to see I would love to hear them. I did a few last week, a frog and a starfish but you won’t see those till next week but I am always looking for more ideas. I want to do more flowers and a cat, meow. Thanks for all the support and tell all your friends about me and my art, even tell your enemies.

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/nemo_next

Expose"Sure"........Whatever!

Let me tackle the thing about exposure.

If you are an artist then I am sure you’ve heard it all, it mainly comes in two ways: “hang your art in my office, restaurant, lobby, or waiting room” or “would you like to donate a piece of art?” These can take many shapes and forms and I am sure you have even more to add but they are almost all the same. It equals free art for them and no money for you. If you don’t make tons of art it might even leave you with no art if something better comes up.

Then comes the part I love “it will get you lots of exposure” and “you can even put cards out so when some one wants to buy they can call you up.” Ok, how often does that happen? Don’t feel bad if nothing happens, I have done this many times. I use to call myself the most hung artist because I had art hanging everywhere. Too bad I wasn’t selling anything, but hey, at least the places would get free art to hang on their walls. People are always looking for free art and don’t even really want it to sell because then they need to find more art.

You have to keep your best interests in mind. I hang art up for free food or if they can host a show for me, and I donate if I get a cut of the sale or if it goes to a good cause that I feel I want to help out, but it has to be a good party and I have to get some free drinks.

Now exposure is good if you have a voice and really different art than anything else out there, oh and if you sign your name legibly where people can read it. It also helps if you show up to the place a few times a week and talk to people who are there. Exposure to you (the artist) is way better than exposure to your work. So if someone wants you to hang your work, don’t just hang it and never show up. Go in every once in a while. Just show up and chat with anybody who is interested in your art, you will have a better chance of selling something.

Do you have any stories to share where “exposure” has worked out for you?

eBay Today

Hey guys! It’s been a bit chilly these past two days and it’s been great. The A/C needed a break. Too bad it took a hurricane jacking up everything to bring cooler weather. I still need to contact my Galveston gallery to see how they held up. With all the video footage coming out I can’t imagine dry work still hanging on the wall. Hope all is well with everyone.

Today I wanted to say something about a few people who have recently come into my life (yes I hear a rant a coming on) and think I have all the time in the world to do whatever crazy idea they have, like I am just sitting here looking for stuff to do. Maybe because I don’t act like I am overwhelmed and have a stick up my ass they feel like I need to be told what to do. I just want to say I am doing everything in my power to get my name and art out there. I have 9 shows I am involved in till the end of the year and already have 3 for next year.

I guess some people think it’s easy to put on shows. Well it’s a lot of work. We start 2 months in advance getting the press in on it and a lot of time goes into that with not much response, I mean with getting listed on their calendars, but we are shooting for a story about the event. (And it doesn’t help me when people tell me we should contact so and so and it’s a week before the show) Magazines need about 2 months and newspapers need about 1 month. Then there’s sending out postcards and doing e-mails, which is hard to do when you have so many shows back to back. Oh and don’t even get me started about making the art and killing my hand to kick out so much art. Then there’s hanging the art, getting all the food and doing whatever else comes up.

I mean I can take advice and criticism as well as the next person but I feel an artist who does not even know what they are doing can’t tell another artist how and what and why to do something if that artist is already doing everything. They should be asking for advice not giving it. I think part of it is because a lot of artists out there at my level are older than me and they might feel like this kid doesn’t know anything and maybe they are right but I know a lot more than them. Know that if you want to help me out by talking marketing or business or taxes I could use you. But come on… I don’t need ideas about how to make art and what to do with it.

Do you have any people who try to tell you what to do with your art career? How do you handle it?

Well with all that out of the way here is today’s ACEO, it’s another bamboo and as most of you know I love bamboo. I really like how the yellow pops on this one and how the leaves stand out. I just started making ACEO’s as a quick way to get my art out on eBay (if an hour or two is quick). I didn’t know much about the whole movement. But its big, just Google it, its crazy, there are meetings, trade shows, boxes to carry them in. WOW.

I would like to know what you do with your ACEO’s. Do you frame them? Do you just collect them and put them in those baseball card holders?

eBay Today

Here is another “Koi Fish” for you. Sometimes on a cool weekend Hannah and I will go get egg mcmuffins and go eat out in the “Sunken Gardens” here in San Antonio, Texas. They have lots of koi swimming around in their waters. We always take pictures of them and love to walk off our breakfast on the winding trails. There’s always something going on there from brides getting their pictures taken to other couples walking around who are clearly in love. It’s such a magical place, if you are ever in SA and need a nice place to get away from it all go there.

This weekend we didn’t have time to do that become we had to get San Pedro Springs Gallery ready for a show next weekend. If you don’t know by now, or if you are new to my eBay post or my blog, my wife Hannah runs all the shows there. I have a solo show there about 2 times a year and I talk about hanging out there all the time. It’s the only art bar in town. We are there almost every Friday. Here is the website if you want to check it out: http://www.sanpedrospringsgallery.com/.

Well, next week’s show is a fundraiser for “Cause for Paws” (http://www.causeforpaws.piczo.com/). We have about 15 artists’ work for sale and each one is only $100. A portion of the proceeds will go to Loretta Carrington and her dog refuge and adoption center (Cause for Paws), and if you bring a bag of dog food you can get a free drink, so how cool is that? I will also have two dog paintings up for auction. If you want to help out please contact me to see how. Thanks!

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/nemo_next

Pricing Art & Standardizing Formats

I have been to way too many art shows where the artist has prices at let’s say a 16”x20” for $350 and then right there next to it there’s another 16”x20” for $500 bucks. Or I have also seen a show where there are 7 or so 8”x10” pieces priced at $100 then there’s one priced at $400 bucks. What’s wrong with that you say? People don’t look at an art piece and say “man that looks like it took a long time to make I want to pay 200 bucks more for it.”

I know some artists out there will say “but it has soooo many layers” or “I just fell in love with it so I can’t bear to see it be sold.” Come on, go get a real job and leave the art stuff to the pros. Most people who will be your first buyers will never understand why one thing is priced at one price and a same looking thing at a higher price. Then when they ask the artist why they priced them so, they stumble looking for an answer and that’s one fast way to lose a sale.

One easy way to price your work that is easy for anyone to understand is by square inches. Yup square inches, who would have thought of it? Well, most of the basic things that go into a home are priced by square inches and square feet. It’s good to have a pricing system in place if you take on commissions. It’s so easy to hand a client a list of sizes and prices and they can just pick what fits their budget. You can also warn people when your prices are going to go up - right now we are starting an “end of year commission drive”, because all my prices are going up a bit. I had a hard time with my prices going up, but I can’t keep up with the demand, so I agreed to raise them on January 1st, 2009. They are going up from about 4 bucks a square inch to 6 bucks a square inch and the bigger the picture gets the lower the square inch price gets.

Here is what the “end of year commission drive” flyer looks like if you want to do the same thing:



As you can tell I only make a few sizes and I have framed them in the same format since day one. We already have a few commissions on the list and we haven’t really even started to market it to the fullest, and as always if you are reading this and want me to draw something for you just e-mail. info@artbynemo.com

On to canvas size and framing - you might want to make the same size art all the time so if some one buys a painting this year and buys one next year they still make a good looking set on their walls. It helps you become even more collectable. Make sure (if you can that is) to use the same style and format frames over and over. It’s ok if it is a cheepy frame - just pick the best one you can afford and stick with it till you can buy better ones and even then find a frame that looks similar. It’s all part of your voice too. If you guys have any questions feel free to ask. I might not know everything but I can find an answer pretty quick if I need to. Thanks!

eBay Today

One of the things I do to get my name out there is eBay. The thing about eBay is you have to stick it out for a while to get any thing done on there. I know a few people who make pretty good money on eBay but they have been doing it for years. I myself have only done it for about 4 months or so. Plus I changed the style I was selling there but only after a lull in sales.

I started making ACEO’s (art cards, editions and originals) in my pencil style. They take about an hour to make but sometimes take 2 or 3 hours depending on which circles I draw. I do them after my regular day of work while I watch TV. So you can say my 9 to 5 is making art for art shows and galleries and my hobby is to make art for eBay.

I average about 5 bucks each ACEO I do, but I sell all over this great country of ours and I have a piece in every state and soon I want to open it up to the world, maybe in the coming year. Since they don’t take much time to make I feel it is ok to let them go for so low. Maybe you have a small version of your art that you can let go for cents on the dollar (I start mine off at 99 cents) make sure you charge enough for shipping.

So a common thing I will be posting here is my eBay post with a link so you can bid on them. I won’t go into length on each post, just a small description about the piece and that’s it. I try to put about 3 up every week. I am going to shoot for Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. You have to be consistent with your posts and always have at least one up at all times. So if you want to go this route “good luck”.

This is what a typical eBay post will sound like:

Today’s drawing is a dragonfly. This is the one I was taking about drawing while I watched the VMA’s. I think it came out pretty cool looking. The dragonfly is one of my biggest sellers and I hope you good folks like it as much as I like it. Thanks for all the support and thanks for all the bids.

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/nemo_next

History of Nemo

Before I go on with what I am personally doing to further my art career I feel I need to let you in on how my style came about. Make no mistake - it has taken many years and its going to take many more years to get it to where it needs to be. It’s taken a whole lot of acidents and many many many many man hours trying out new stuff.

Paying attention to what the public is buying is a good way to determine what direction your art needs to go. For years I was painting abstract art and at some shows I would sell something and at other shows nothing. People would love to look and my abstracts, tell me how much they loved them, they would go on and on about how I was a good artist and about how much talent I had. Then I would see them walk out the door with no paintings under their arms. So even if someone says the art is good, you gotta look at yours sales. Sales tell a different story.

I did come up with many styles, as I said in my last blog, and I did sell a lot of paintings, but as I tried different things I got different reactions. I started to notice which styles were selling and which ones I was logging around show after show. It’s not good to have the same paintings every show so I gave them away to family and friends as gifts

Once I started adding subjects to my art I saw that people really could get into them. When some one looks at an abstract for the first time it scares them. No one wants to look stupid so they don’t say anything about it. I had gotten a lot of “what is this” or “what does it say?” But when I added a subject people knew what it was right from the beginning and if they knew what it is they could see it in their homes, which means money in the bank for you.

So the next time you are staring at a blank canvas think about what painting just sold and it might help you make another painting that will sell.

Now on to the pencil part…

I started with just circles, many circles. At the time I was making them as a way to mediate and relax. I must have been about 10 or 12 years old when I first did one. I would draw them on notebook paper and give them out to people that were sitting next to me in class.

Then fast forward to sitting at work thinking of something to do to make art. I pulled out an old magazine and a sharpie marker and drew circles all over it.

Then the moment of truth happened. I went back to drafting and pulled out my pencils and I came out with this one.

Then I added a bit of color after two successful shows and I went from making 16”x20” pieces to 11”x14” pieces.

Then I stopped drawing the faces because I was missing out on some sales becuase one person thought it looked like someone and the other person didn’t think so.

Then I did the biggest jump I ever made and this is when I really saw sales. People really liked to see my insects, flowers and birds. They could easily see them on their walls at their homes.


Now I will draw just about anything and for just about anyone. Some of the “art school” artists might call me a “sell out” but I really am not. I seem to always have at least a few pieces left after each show. But soon I am hoping for a “sell out” show.

Your Singing Voice

The most important do you can do for a successful art career is to sing well. That means on time and on key.... and it helps a lot if people want to hear you. Ok, not singing “singing” but your style has a sound. Think about your favorite band….done? One of mine is Metallica and they just put out a new single. Guess what it sounded like? The old Metallica. Another band I like is AC/DC. Guess what their new single sounded like? That’s right it sounded like old AC/DC. Do you see where this is going? You want all your new stuff to sound like your old stuff.

Here’s what I did: all my life I have been able to draw pretty good circles and spirals. I use to draw them all the time in class when I was in grade school. Back then I didn’t know I could become an artist. I never met or knew of any artists. I worked with my dad building houses and I knew someone must have drawn the floor plans we were using to build. So I took a drafting class in high school, learned how to draft and started working for the people we were building houses for, which got me out of the sun and into the A/C. Not to mention the money was better and the work was easier.

So I took a few classes at the community college and ended up working at a big firm, but when I got there I had to draft on a computer and that sucked. I still didn’t know about art and artists, I mean, I knew about Picasso and Van Gogh, but I never thought I could do that.

My mom had some old canvases that she give to me and I had some left over paint from a project at school, so I threw it down and liked what I saw. In a drawing class a teacher told me there were not a lot of pencil artists out there and there was room to do something, which fell on deaf ears. I should have listened.

When I meet my wife one of the first dates we had was to an art walk here in town at Blue Star Arts Complex. We went to a show for a guy that was doing work that looked like my stuff I did on my mom’s canvases. So I tried to do that more, at the time I was just doing what ever and had many good paintings and in many different styles. I thought I was the best artist because I could paint everything and in any style. How wrong was I? Very…. And if you think like that you are also wrong.

One of my first shows I sold a few and there was no looking back. I did come up with about 3 really good styles:

Split Splats:

Rain:

Circles & Spirals:

I also made about a ton of stuff that wasn’t any good. I did mange to make somewhat of a name for myself with the “split splats” but it wasn’t anything new, its been done before.

I was painting only as a hobby, just for fun. I painted every night and all weekend. Then I started painting more, I would work 8 hours, go home paint for 8 hours, then sleep for 6 or 7, that’s not much of a life. Then I wanted to start making art at work. I started gluing stuff together - paper, basswood, pens, anything I could find. Then I drew on magazine pages and started to trace the picture on vellum and filling it in with circles and the rest is history.

Now you may say I am full of it and that I don’t know what I’m talking about. But let’s think about it. Do you have so many styles that a solo show looks like a group show? I know you think you are trying to be a jack of all trades but that doesn’t work. It comes off looking schizophrenic and haphazard. Galleries and big-time collectors don’t want that. What you want, or should want, is some one to walk into a room and see your art and say “that’s a fill in your name”. It takes time, but its worth it, find your voice and let it sing:

The Making of an "Art Star"

The making of an “Art Star” is an idea I came up with as a way to get more people involved with my journey as I try to become a "hot shot" artist. As of right now I work as a full time artist and work about 10 hours a day making art. My wife freelances a bit, but most of her time is spent marketing me or working on my website and dealing with galleries and taking commissions - oh and setting up art shows and selling at them.

I have been making art since late 2001 and having a lot of fun with it. In 2006 I felt I needed to step it up a bit and become a professional artist. What helped my decision was that I developed a style which started selling and people keep telling me my art was so different and I guess I started believing them. I have had many shows where I sell more then a few and it seems like people want to gobble them up and come back for more. I am in 9 galleries here in Texas and am always trying to find more. Also, I am always trying to make better art.

So it seems like I am in a perfect spot for something good to happen and I want to put everything right here in this blog for anyone who cares. If it turns out that no one cares, I wont care, its just a record of how one guy is trying to get what every artist wants and that’s to get rich and famous doing something they love.

With all that said this blog will contain my everyday experiences that I have to deal with on this long road to where I want to be. Some days will be good and some will suck, some days are going to be boring, but what do you expect from someone who stares at a piece of paper for hours on end. You will read about everything from my health and sanity to what I wear or buy. I will offer any tips on art or anything else I feel like talking about. I also live in a ghetto and I will talk about what I see out my window. I’ll talk about anything from TV shows I am engrossed in, to new music I hear, to who I talked to, to what I ate. I also will complain a lot so keep that in mind.

So if you want to read “reality blogging at its worst" you came to the right place. If you have a question I will answer it. If you have a comment I will take it to heart. So bear with me and please don’t make too much fun of me, it’s a really hard thing to sit here and put my life, my soul out like this.

If there is anyone out there in the same boat I want you to learn from what I do and hopefully together we can get what we what.

Thank you and I sure do hope you come back.