200th blog

Yay, 200, wow huh? Its taken me about a year and a half but here we are, blog number 200. I have been thinking about this one for a while, I wondered what cool thing or things I could do. I wanted to have a party or skydive or something. But it comes right at a time when we are getting ready for the start of our tent shows and on top of that we are moving again.

First the tent shows - we lined up 3 here in Colorado, 2 in Denver (Downtown Denver and Cherry Creek) and 1 up in Glenwood Springs (Strawberry Days), we have done tons of these shows but never so close to each other and when we are on the road we are going to have to book them every 2 or 3 weeks so its a good test to see if we can do them like that and it’s a good test to see how we do too. (should be blogging about the 1st one on Tuesday)

Now moving - as some of you already know, cuz you follow my blog and blog and blog, we were only going to be here in Denver for about a year or so, well that year ended May 15th and as we look forward to starting a new adventure we still have a few things to do here in Denver so we are moving to a studio space that we can rent month to month till its time to leave.

We are moving closer to the main art district here, “Santa Fe”, so we hope to get out there more and meet some new people. This move has come at the best time since my wrist has been hurting a bit, don’t worry folks its not that bad. I've just been pushing really hard these pass few months, but now its time to get into selling mode and a 4 day show is just about as long as I need. So wish us luck and next time I blog I’ll be in a new studio with a really big test show under our belts. Oh and I’m pecking at the keys with my left hand while my right hand is wrapped up in ice.

What a 200th blog huh? Maybe at 300 I’ll do some thing cooler……..

Chapter 17 Attitude by Jack White (Eye Of The Tiger Program Part 1)

Before I go on with this chapter I wanted to say a little some thing about the few chapters I skipped. Chapter 14 is about selling, I read it and re-read it, had some shows and re-had some shows. Every time I try to play his selling game it never works for me and most of the time when I do sell something I really have no idea what I did, must be that they really like my work, who knows. (we do have theories and I will write more about this in a later blog).

Then chapter 16 and 17 are mostly about color and mixing color, I use pencil colors and I don’t mix them, if you paint you should read these parts I could really see how they can help.

Now "Attitude", this is a good one about how one thinks about what they do and how they do it and how it makes them feel. I don’t really let many things get to me and I try to stay pretty happy and upbeat most of the time. I do get mad a few times throughout my days but it passes just as fast as it comes. If I really get pissed off I pump some iron and do a few jumping jacks to let out the extra steam.

I know I talk a lot about how hard I have to work and how hard it is on my body and I know sometimes I come off as sounding like I would rather be doing anything other than art, but that’s just more of that BS-ing charm you have grown to love, right? I actually love what I do even if it kills my hands and arms; most days I tend to work a little too long and without any breaks. I am trying to get up and stretch and walk about a bit for 10 minutes every hour. But its hard to when you get into what your doing.

But attitude and the way I feel has nothing to do with my art, my art looks the same way if I’m mad or so tired that I don’t really want to work as if I was happy and really in the mood to work. My art is more of a skill that I have and have been trying for more than three quarters of my life, I can do it in my sleep so nothings changing that.

Jack White says “be rich not in dollars but rich in living”, I do try to live my life to the fullest and enjoy every moment that I am given and surround my self with a loving wife, great friends, beautiful landscapes and enough good memories to last the rest of my life. I also know its not over till its over and everyday I’m out there trying to better myself and help everyone around me. Even more importantly I do believe in everything I write about and talk about so while all these “good times” are going on, I’m working as hard and as long as I can to build a brand name that I can be proud of and a legacy that will keep that brand name alive long after I’m gone. What’s your attitude and how does it help or hurt?

Chapter 10 Exposure by Jack White (Eye Of The Tiger Program Part 1)

"Exposure" - I am really torn about this one; I understand how it can help and know more about how it can hurt. I have a really recognizable style so when someone sees my work somewhere then sees me at a show they can connect the dots and figure out that I was the one who did the other piece they saw. I have gotten a few "there’s a guy at such and such place that does this kind of art" but they get it after a while that I am that guy.

I often donate art to different events I hear about or to people who call or e-mail me. Most of the time its just older art that I have here and am not showing it any more. Its still in my style so I feel its good to get in out there, but only cuz I love the feeling of people telling me they saw my work at another place. I don’t really go outta my way to donate art unless I feel the cause is good and the organization works well with me. And would it hurt you to have watermelon? And of course if I’m getting free beer I’ll do just about anything.

I have had many of my pieces auctioned off for double the price I sell them for and a few triple the price. I have even gotten sales later on because of a donation I have done. I make note of which ones work and which ones don’t and I do the better ones over and over.

Now my favorite part, hanging art up in a place to get "exposure". Sure I do it sometimes if I can get something free out of it. But since we are going on the road soon and wont be in any one city for more than a few weeks I cant be hanging month long shows any where. So that solves that problem. I have written a lot about this here.

If after reading this and Jack’s book and you still think you need exposure, do yourself a favor and sign your name big where everyone can read it. I have once thought about signing paintings with my website, never did tho.

What do you do for exposure and what has worked and what hasn’t?

Chapter 9 Keeping The Chickens Flying by Jack White (Eye Of The Tiger Program Part 1)

Making money while you're not making money, this is the hard part. We all know how easy it is when things are going our way and we are having regular shows and making tons of sales. Oh, how life is great when the checks from galleries are coming in. When you're getting calls and e-mails every week sometimes every day for commissions, life couldn’t be better, however…..

There are always those times in everybody's career when things just don’t work out and that’s when we must come up with new ways to bring money in. In this chapter Jack goes over a lot of really cool ideas and if you e-mail him he might even help you come up with some ideas you could put into play.

My main way of bringing in the big bucks is by doing art festivals where the people attending them are actually looking for art to buy. Oh yes, these places are real and these people are also real. We find that the best ones happen during the summer months, to find others one most travel a bit and hunt them down (hence the RV and the touring). The other big thing for me is that shows and sales slow down from about November though February and since most years I raise my prices 10% in January I can market to people to get their commissions before the price goes up and that keeps me busy most of that time.

I have been trying to get etsy going but not have much luck, although I feel the clothes on there might be something worth checking into more. But I rework this plan every few months trying to find the right way to do it and not kill myself in the process.

I have been trying to book some one night shows around Denver and other parts of Colorado, I also hold open studios and invite anyone who wants to come over to look at art. I am so close to getting on a wine label (hope it happens before the end of the year) and I am constantly telling people who I am and what I do and try hard to drive them to my site, both online and in real life. I also donate a lot of art when the event is something I think would be a good chance to help get my name more out there.

I used to do a lot more, paint on rocks and give them away with each sale, drawings a day on eBay, I have a different style for each day, I even sat outside in a downtown area and drew in hopes of people comimg over and chatting me up and more things I have tried than I have space on the blog to share. Fact of the matter is that I have weeded all the crazy stuff that took more time to do and didn’t really work out for me. I try to only do a few things and do them as best as I can.

What other means of income have you taken on? What would you love to try if you had more time or more guts?

One Nite Stands With Nemo

Heres a little something I have been working on for a while. The idea for a “one nite art show” came about back in San Antonio at Café Paladar. We knew the owner and knew he wasn’t open on Mondays, he already had tons of art on his walls, so we came in early one Monday and the staff moved all the chairs so no one had places to sit which made it easier to talk to people. They charged a cover and had tappas and a big batch of sangria for free and a full cash bar for after the big jugs of sangria ran out. He had a huge mailing list and people were showing up by the hoards, lots of beautiful people too, since he was getting the cover we took in 100% of the sales. We had tons of sales (this one just might be the best show we ever had) we even had a few ladies fighting over a piece (and that just might be the most exciting thing to see at a show). Then at the end of the night we packed up and left.

I also knew a girl who owned a restaurant and we needed some quick cash. So we laid out about 20 pieces of art on tables and had the wait staff tell people to check us out while they were waiting for their food. We made a lot of fast sales and made some good money. As the place was slowing down we ordered food, ate, then packed up all the art and went home. These two shows sound simple enough right?

People do it all the time with jewelry, I've seen them set up and break down all in the same day. Musicians do it all the time, they come in play a set and leave, they don’t leave their equipment there with a sign that says “please call if you want to hear some music”, hell Tupperware and Avon people do it all the time, too. So I never understood why people want artists to hang art up for months on end, free decor I guess, don’t get me wrong its great if that’s your first show you're doing or you don’t have to sell your art to pay bills or you just want to say your art is hanging here and there.

But big time artists such as myself (I mean artists who don’t have real jobs and need to sell art to keep them outta the rat race) don’t need the kind of “exposure” hanging art in a restaurant will bring. I’m already in enough galleries to know that just hanging your art up does not guarantee people are going to look at your work, much less buy something. Once again don’t get me wrong, I have been surprised a few times when someone called about wanting to buy a piece hanging in a café, it just hasn’t happened enough for us. At most restaurant/café shows I have had, most of the time no one says anything about the work or knows anything about the art or artist. I have met a few, very few. At least at a gallery people are there to look at art and if you're lucky the owner will talk about you and know everything about you.

Now with a one night show there’s a buzz built up about what you are doing there and why you're there. The owners talk about you, the wait staff talks about you and people will walk over to see what you've got. Then knowing that they just can't come back tomorrow to pick up a piece builds a sense of urgency to buy NOW! And that is what we need to make some sales.

Again, don’t get me wrong, art shows any where are great. You gotta get out there as much as you can, its just I had 2 shows up one for a month that sold 2 pieces opening night and one up for about 2 months and it sold 4 pieces opening night, but that’s it, no more sold for the rest of the time and I couldn’t show any where else cuz all my art was tied up, so I missed out of other sales I could have made, so one nite stands might fix that for us. What do you guys think? Could this be something you try? Or already do? How has it worked? Has it hurt?

Chapter 5 Pricing Your Art by Jack White (Eye Of The Tiger Program Part 1)

Pricing pricing pricing, I gotta tell you this seems to always be on peoples minds and Jack does a wonderful job at explaining it. I also found a good thing online The Ten Commandments Of Art Pricing by Robert Genn that has helped my pricing art. Jack White talks about putting your prices so low that most people wont think twice about buying your work which would mean you would have to make more which would lead to your art getting better so in a sense, people are paying you to learn. I started my pieces out at about 4 bucks a square inch ($100 for a 4”x6” in an 11”x14” frame) and have been raising my prices about 10% every 6 months or when something big happens in my career (they are up to $160 now and are even more beautiful and possess even more skill than ever before.) Every now and then I hear a "why are they so cheap?" or that "I could double the price if I wanted to" but I do believe in both what Jack says and what’s on the site from Robert Genn.

I don’t really have much to say about pricing but to do what feels right to you and to remember your not trying to get paid by the hour here your just trying to make a few bucks to buy your next canvas and some more paint to make more art. I did blog about this earlier on in my blog and here it is.

What do you folks think about pricing? I use to think it was the hardest part about art and that it was one of those make you or break you type things.