I
hadn't intended to spend February reading art business books. It all started when I was preparing for a studio tour executive meeting. The turn out for the last tour was down and I was wanting to do some research. Were we missing something when it came to advertising and marketing the tour? So, I went on-line and looked for art biz books at the Ottawa public library. There were several titles listed. I am not the only artist in the city looking to learn as some books were signed out or already reserved. I am still waiting for one book. Lots of folks are reading it so it must be a good one! :-) It has been many years since I studied business and marketing and with the arrival of the Internet much has changed in the way artists do business.
Well I didn't find the missing holy grail, the secret to success, either for the tour or for myself but I did end up with much to ponder. While there isn't a missing formula to learn, it never hurts to refresh your knowledge and to re-assess your marketing goals and plans. I have made lots of notes.
Okay, so let's talk art and death. Your death to be specific. If you are like most artists, you have completed art work that is at the moment unsold. (Just a few pieces right? LOL) If you were to die tomorrow (perhaps hit by a bus or something) what would become of your art? Have you thought about that? This was a topic mentioned in several of the books and quite honestly I hadn't given it much thought. I don't even pay to insure the art in my home above and beyond what our basic home owner's policy allows and the idea of including my art in my will wasn't on my radar either.
Ah, but estate planning is important if you care what becomes of your art. If you have children, chances are your art inventory is way more than they would have room for on their walls. Whom do you want to benefit from your life's work? Is there someone you would trust to dispose of it in the way you would wish? Should someone have a big sale? What happens to the art that isn't sold? Do you wish to donate some art to a worthy institution or cause? You should perhaps make sure that this 'worthy instititution' wants your art. Storing art where it is kept safe from damage from the elements (heat, humidity etc.) is difficult for us artists, not to mention others who may not be thrilled to be inheriting your work. What if your work is unframed and not presentable for sale? Yet perhaps people will be thrilled to get your art, too thrilled - i.e. squabbles might erupt over who gets which piece...not good.
Bottom line, does someone know what your wishes are with regards to your art? If you don't wish to formally include this info in your will, I suggest you clearly write out your intentions, have a discussion with your chosen person and then put this information where you store your will. You do have one of those right? :-)
I really had to do some thinking on this one. Each year my output increases. By the time I am elderly, the size of my personal collection could be rather significant. When I retire from running my Teresa Mallen Studio business, I shall no longer work at selling my art. Yet no doubt I shall continue to create!
My mother-in-law has been an art collector all of her life. She is now 80 and she realizes she has way more art than her children could possibly want (our wall space is filled with my art) and she has been desperately trying to find buyers for her collection. Her children certainly don't want to have to deal with this and she knows it. Yet I have been a bit of a help in another area - I have been more than happy to take some of her English Poole pottery collection off her hands... :-)
Aren't you glad that I brought up the subject of your death????
Well how about we switch the topic to birth...the pictures below are of a robin's nest that was built in a shrub bush outside of our barn's rear door last summer. Baby robins were in there for weeks and they were close enough to peek in on. Nests fascinate me. Assembling mud, twigs and grasses and a dwelling is made, a sturdy one at that.
What if we artists owned our power?
I am reading a book entitled How to Survive and Prosper as An Artist, Selling Yourself Without Selling Your Soul, written by Caroll Michels. This notion of artists needing to own their power comes from her introduction to the book.
Caroll gives examples of artists who are badly dealt with by art dealers and others. When counselling artists, she finds that these situations occur because artists are not aware of their bargaining power. She comments that these unnecessary dilemmas and frustrations are created by middlepeople who have usurped power from artists and by artists who allow their power to be usurped.
"Artists, by the fact that they are artists, have power. Artists provide thousands of nonartists with jobs! Examples of nonartists who depend on artists for jobs include dealers, gallery staff, curators, museum staff, art administrators, critics and journalists, corporate art consultants and advisors, federal, state and municipal employees, teachers, framers, accountants, lawyers and art suppliers. Yet more nonartists than artists make a living from art and nonartists make more money from art than artists! This inequity exists because artists, the "employers", individually and collectively have not yet recognized their power." (Caroll Michels)
Did you have a 'well heck yeah', moment when you read the above quote? Are you feeling some righteous anger surging up? Well folks, I say it is time we take back our power!!!!
[Caroll offers a website of helpful resources here (click the highlighted text) and she also has a website.]
"Picasso, as he so often did, said it best: An artist must be two people – one who knows how to paint, one who knows when to stop. We all know the old anti-abstraction anecdote about the chimpanzee who, given paper and colors, does a creditable “painting” which is subsequently entered into the local art show and wins a prize. What is less well known, is that left alone, the chimp will continue to apply color to the paper until he gets restless, then will roll the paper into a ball and eat it. What of those chimpanzee paintings the popular press loves so often? Ah, they were snatched away from the chimp by a curator at the moment he or she thought they were most ripe and ready. Who then is the artist?"
above written by Henry Geldsahler, from The Business of Art (edited by Lee Caplin)
In defense of animals I do think that they are capable of creative efforts that are beautiful and I have seen my share of bad abstract art done by people. Still, point taken we do need to know when to stop. Humans, like chimps can be guilty of overworking a piece. Yes roll it into a ball (um don't eat it) and don't enter it into a show! :-)
It has been a very long time since I have written a dare we discuss post - so let's get chatting...
I am currently reading books on art marketing (more about this in an upcoming post). One of the books has a quote that has started me thinking. Here it is:
"Listen carefully to first criticisms made of your work. Note just what it is about your work that critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping." Jean Cocteau
Do you agree? Do you do this - that is, seek criticism, analyse it and then go forth capitalizing on the very things that the critic didn't like? I believe that we do need to become aware of what is unique about our art.
But what about when we need to improve and grow? Perhaps an artist has received criticism that if listened to would help an artist become better at their craft. What about the source of the criticism? I think that matters. We all know that judges of a juried exhibition can have different opinions on the art that is being viewed. So, I guess I flip flop on this. I get the point that is being made. Yet I can't say I have done this. I haven't had a critique of my work that was harsh nor revealing. Maybe I should seek one?
Over to you dear readers, what do you think of this notion of listening to first criticisms? Has this worked for you?
(If you have never commented before, please feel welcome to write. I thank you for reading and I am interested in what you think.)
I have resorted to tricks to try to keep motivated - I have been rotating my art and my reference photo. I am now working upside down which has given my brain a new image to fuss with. I was getting rather bored with the old image! This is really becoming more of an abstract piece and now that my brain is no longer processing petal shapes and ideas of flowers (because it is upside down) I imagine this could get even more abstract. I shall try to rein this in as it has gone about as far in that direction as I want. At this point I think the drawing is almost done. Later this afternoon it shall be time to post the work in my studio. I want to look at it for a while to see if the movement and flow are working. This piece went off to an unexpected place and I need to assess if this is a good thing!
And yes I am antsy these days. I am blaming it on the incredibly mild weather we have been having. The goats are frisky and so am I. I have found it hard to sit still and work at my drafting table. I want to be out doing something! So I grab another cup of tea, I get up and put on a different CD, I check my email (well the computer is right in front of me and a girl only has so much discipline) and I look longingly out the window.
This morning was another mild one, with such lovely sunshine. Here is Roosty and some of his girls (If you are new to my blog and you are not sure what a rooster looks like, Roosty is the grey with black markings chicken on the left, a very handsome fellow and I never tire of looking at him).
Yesterday I realized it was time for a change. I turned the barn radio dial from my favourite classical station to an eighties greatest hits sort of channel. This weather calls for some serious dancing and singing in both the barn and the studio. Things were at high volume and rocking during milking time! (not to mention later in the studio) :-)
Once outside, I dawdle and play with the goats, brush them until they are ready for a show ring somewhere and then I reluctantly make my way back to the house. It seems early but yes, spring fever is here!
I shall sign off by sharing this morning's view of chicken bottoms...have a great weekend everyone.
At the risk of sounding like a public service announcement, have you visited your local library lately?
While a lot of us have given up on TV, I have found a use for the thing - watching interesting and informative DVDs, taken out on loan from my library. My local branch is a small library but it is part of the larger Ottawa library system so the DVD selection changes often.
The DVD on Toulouse-Lautrec was quite enjoyable. I can't say I was very familiar with his body of work and goodness, did the man have a knack for line - his draughting skills were incredible. I learned that his aristocratic family had inbred to keep the family line pure (his grandmothers were sisters) and as a result he suffered congenital health conditions that plagued him all his short life. For a fellow born into aristocracy, I found it odd that he would love the seedy area of Paris known as Montmartre - think of his series of posters for the Moulin Rouge. The poor chap died at 36 from complications brought on by his alcoholism and syphilis. I managed to get a bit of sewing done whilst also getting a wee dose of art history!
Another DVD recently watched, brought me up to speed on Edgar Degas. His love for the ballet dancer's figure is well known but watching the movie made me really think about what it must have been like to be so consumed with a particular body type. I would think that if I was drawn to portraiture, it would be because we humans are so infinitely different - some taller, some shorter, some heavier, some leaner. But his gals were all young with the same figure (more or less). Interesting... I learned that he was a crusty chap, lost his friends, rejected the label of Impressionism, mocked Monet and others for their en plein air landscapes and he never married as he believed that the artist must live alone. Of course it is very sad that at the end of his life his eyesight failed to the point of near blindness, especially cruel for a painter. While I was quite familiar with the paintings by Degas, I knew nothing of his amazing sculptures. Wow!
So if you don't have time to dust off the art history tomes on the book shelf, why not look for some arty DVDs next time you are at the library? If you don't see any, ask the staff. You never know what you might find.
When times are tough economically, inevitably the outlook becomes grim and the tone negative and we are all familiar with the starving artist myth. Negativity can drain the life out of our dreams and our enthusiasm. Without either of these, our motivation to do the work vanishes. So today, lets get a hope adjustment.
