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Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Some Random Thoughts About Marketing Giclees

There are a lot of issues to marketing giclees so my thoughts may be way off base, feel free to use them, reject them or modify them in your own plans, should you choose to print giclees.

The first recommendation I would have is to always attempt to make the reproductions as close as possible to the size of the original painting. If a larger painting is shrunk down too much (or made too much larger), it messes up the integrity of the artist's brushwork which is an integral part of the artist's style.

Regarding pricing, I will start by talking only about UNFRAMED prices. Giclees normally sell for 10-15% of the price of the artist's originals. This is one reason a lot of artists aren't published until their prices are "up there." So if your 24 x 30's are currently $6,500 then the giclee would be $650-$850 or so UNFRAMED.

Don't underprice yourself or you'll get eaten alive by marketing, printing and unexpected costs. I would probably never go below $350.

Regarding framed prices, it obviously depends upon the price of the frame. Simply add the price of your frame to the unframed price. I would also mark up the frames, you can't afford to pass them on at cost because you'll have carrying costs.

Canvas or Paper? My inclination is to always reproduce as close to the original medium as possible. This means printing on canvas for most oil painters and on paper for most watercolorists.

Edition Sizes? I like small but big enough to make money and not sell out too fast. Personally I like about 195 in the edition with an Artist Proof Edition of about 20. Many people go much larger with success however.

I have no great expertise in marketing giclees, these are just some of my thoughts about the "right" way to do it.

Sincerely,

Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic

Author: Clint | 1 Comments | Post a comment | Topic: Marketing | Permalink

Friday, July 07, 2006
Stendhal Syndrome

In the July/August Issue of Art of the West Magazine, Tom Tierney and Allan Duerr wonder in their column "Straight Talk" why some people respond to art so strongly while others seem impervious to art's spiritual effects upon one's soul. As I pondered their questions, I remembered reading about an obscure psychosomatic "illness" regarding cases of people who exhibit extreme sensitivity to beautiful art. The phenomenon is called "Stendhal syndrome."

Stendhal syndrome is a psychosomatic "illness" that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art.

Marie-Henri Beyle, the French author known as Stendhal (his pen name), visited Florence in 1817. His book, Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio, describes his experience of the "illness." He actually became dizzy and confused by the majestic beauty of Florentine art. According to an Italian psychiatrist, Graziella Magherini, it happens all the time. Magherini observed and described more than 100 similar cases among tourists and visitors in Florence. Apparently Sensitive tourists enter the Uffizi, stand in front of paintings by Brunelleschi or Botticelli, and simply keel over.

I've seen similar effects upon visitors to art exhibitions that I've attended. People stand in front of paintings gaping, weeping, or laughing. Stendhal syndrome illustrates the amazing power that artists wield when they concern themselves with painting or sculpting, rather than making ridiculous splashes or preposterous gimmicks.

Speaking of splashes and gimmicks, I have to wonder if anyone has ever fainted in front of an Andy Warhol or a Jackson Pollock? How many tourists have collapsed in tears in the MOMA? How many have been elated to spiritual highs by the geometric shapes of a Mondrian? Although to be fair, I have to admit that the apparent appeal and popularity of Warhol, Pollock, Mondrian, Picasso and other modernists does leave me in a state of confusion, but that's not quite the same thing as keeling over from the sheer beauty of their works....

As Allan and Tom point out in their column, those of us who are art lovers "...respond to art because it feeds our souls and, simply put, makes our world a better place." If being a person who responds strongly to art makes me ill, then I don't want to be well brother!

Sincerely,

Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic

Author: Clint Watson | 2 Comments | Post a comment | Topic: Art Commentary | Permalink

Thursday, July 06, 2006
Local Color - Movie About Traditional Art

*** Apparently there's a new movie coming out called "Local Color." One of the quotes used on the site promoting the movie is from Nicholi Seroff (who I believe is the inspiration for one of the movie's main characters). "Common man spots bullsh*t a mile away." says Nicholi Seroff, meaning that while modernists took over the perception of art in the pop culture, the common man still knows beauty when he sees it. I wonder what Nicholi would say about most of the movies Hollywood puts out (excepting this one of course)?.....In any case, visit the following link if you want to see the trailer:

http://www.localcolornetwork.com

Author: Clint Watson | 1 Comments | Post a comment | Topic: Miscellaneous | Permalink

Wednesday, July 05, 2006
What Kind of Genius are You?

What kind of genius (artistic or otherwise) are you?

Wired Magazine's July issue has a story featuring the work of economist and art aficionado David Galenson. His theory suggests that creative geniuses come in two distinct types - Quick and Dramatic or Careful and Quiet.

I've just checked Wired's web site (http://www.wired.com) and they say they will be posting the reprint of the article on the site on July 11th.

He calls the Quick and dramatic types "Conceptualists", while the careful and quite types are called "Experimentalists." The heart of the theory is that the Conceptualists do their best works when they are young and then sort of fade away, while the Experimentalists get better, better, better over a long period of time, culminating with their genius works later in life.

Genius has traditionally been assosicated with the young Conceptualists, but Galenson's research seems to show that the older Experimentalists have created works of equal genius. Mozart was a conceptualist, but Beethoven was an Experimentalist. He is quick to point out that the Experimentalists were people who always beleived in their work and focused on it over a lifetime, he was not saying that everyone who is a bit older has some latent genius hidden inside of them.

We've all been envious of those young, early twenty-somethings who seemingly have it all. Think of discoveries of artists like Dan Gerhartz, Morgan Wiestling, and Jeremy Lipking. While I wish them all well, it is encouraging to know that there is still hope for the rest of us. Now all the rest of us have to do is just not die before we reach our creative genius peaks....

Author: Clint | 1 Comments | Post a comment | Topic: Creativity and Inspiration | Permalink

Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Happy Independence Day - We Are Free Indeed

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The
Declaration of Independence

Here in the United States, we celebrate our independence tomorrow: A
celebration of freedom. We celebrate the fact that we are free to "pursue
happiness." We are free to create our art works, even if they are
sometimes controversial in nature. And we have a "free" market in which
to sell those works.

Our founding fathers recognized the source of our rights, "their Creator."
Not the state. What a difference that one concept has made in the great
American experiment! Every freedom we have flows from that fact. Ol'
Uncle Sam CANNOT take away our basic rights or our freedoms!

Our founding fathers were wise men. They knew that if we could all
acknowledge that there was A HIGHER AUTHORITY than our government which
granted all of us our basic rights, then perhaps we could avoid the
tyranny that had afflicted so many governments throughout mankind's
history. So far, their experiment, with some exceptions, has generally
worked out.

I don't know what type of creator you personally believe in; however, the
one I believe in is reported to have said, "If I set you free, you are
free indeed!"

Let's celebrate our freedom, indeed! And let's remember those around the
world who are still not free. Let's hope and pray that our world leaders
will have the wisdom and strength to do the things necessary to bring
others to true freedom as well.

Happy Independence Day.

Sincerely,

Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic

PS: I've enjoyed browsing the artworks by our members. It's evident that
in the case of the artists that we work with, the Creator has also endowed
you with considerable talent. I am always in awe of what artists are able
to achieve.

Author: Clint | 12 Comments | Post a comment | Topic: Miscellaneous | Permalink

Friday, June 30, 2006
Art Scam Alert!

A subscriber sent me the following email. It is the best description of how the Cashier's Check/Art Scam works. I can't verify that this email is true, but it does outline the workings of the scam. I had another subscriber email me directly who did receive a fake cashier's check. She had not send any funds or art in her case, so it just cost her a bit of time, but no dollars.

Clint

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ART SCAM:

I received this email from an acquaintance, so I can't verify that it was true but it was interesting enough to pass on!

I received an email (from a MSN address) from a visitor to my website, inquiring about some of my paintings. This is not unusual. I replied by sending him the standard list of the prices of available artwork. I also looked up the address he sent me, which turned out to be an office building in Houston, TX.

Then I received an email back letting me know he was interested in purchasing one of my paintings, explaining he wanted to show it at an international exhibition. He asked for my address and phone number in order to send me a check. I replied by sending him my P.O. Box address and my cell phone number. (This is an excellent idea. I teach this in my writings)

About ten days later an envelope arrived (posted in Dallas, TX) with a cashier’s check for the amount of $8,550 - an amount much larger than the painting he was buying. So I emailed the client to let him know the check had arrived, thinking/hoping he was purchasing more than one painting. He replied that the one painting was to be sent to an address of an exhibition organizer in Australia, and that I was to send the remaining money there too using Western Union.

That felt all wrong. Luckily, my husband (a computer expert) was able to ping the emails I had received, they all originated in Nigeria.

On Monday morning I went to my bank and asked them to verify the check, but please to/ not/ cash it. The check proved to be a counterfeit, but such a good one that it would’ve been paid out by the bank without a
problem, if I had gone ahead and cashed it.

I asked them, what would happen if I had cashed the check? They told me: The next day the bank would’ve found out the check was a fake and uninsured, and my bank account would’ve been debited for the entire
amount. If by then I would’ve also sent my painting and wired the remaining balance, I would have been duped for over $16,000 !!!!!

I immediately contacted the FBI for advice. This is important:

The cashier’s check is considered/ contraband/, so it is crucial to make sure you do/ not/ keep it in your possession. If this happens to you, the best way to dispose of it is to contact your local FBI and explain the situation to them. They will give you instructions on what to do. In my case they will come by my studio this week to pick up the check, and look at the emails and the related IP addresses for further investigation. I’m to ignore further incoming emails from this person.

So please be alert! It is important to use common sense when dealing with potential customers. I have sold paintings to clients who visited my website before, but I was never asked to forward money. When you sell a painting, please make sure you receive a check with the/ exact/ sales amount (plus shipping). If it is a check from an unknown customer, please ask the bank to verify the routing number and provenance of the check before cashing it. Never ship artwork before you have made sure your payment is legitimate. If it seems too good to be true, it often is…

For more information visit the FBI cyber fraud website at:
http://www.fbi.gov/cyber/cysweep/cysweep1.htm

Here’s the description of the scheme:

*Counterfeit Check Schemes

A counterfeit or fraudulent cashier’s check or corporate check is utilized to pay for merchandise. Often these checks are made out for a substantially larger amount than the purchase price. The victims are instructed to deposit the check and return the overage amount, usually by wire transfer, to a foreign country. Because banks may release funds from a cashier's check before the check actually clears, the victim believes the check has cleared and wires the money as instructed. One popular variation of this scam involves the purchase of automobiles listed for sale in various Internet classified advertisements. The sellers are contacted about purchasing the autos and shipping them to a foreign country. The buyer, or person acting on behalf of a buyer, then sends the seller a cashier's check for an amount several thousand dollars over the price of the vehicle. The seller is directed to deposit the check and wire the excess back to the buyer so they can pay the shipping charges. Once the money is sent, the buyer typically comes up with an excuse for canceling the purchase, and attempts to have the rest of the money returned. Although the seller does not lose the vehicle, he is typically held responsible by his bank for depositing a counterfeit check.

Author: Clint Watson and anonymous | 0 Comments | Post a comment | Topic: Internet Scams | Permalink

Friday, June 30, 2006
Beginning Where You Can by Brett Busang

Today's guest author, Brett Busang, is an independent artist, curator, and, perhaps somewhat jaundiced observer of the people and places we most identify with the art industry: museums, galleries (and the people who run them); the critics, the press, and the taste-makers generally; and, of course, the artists themselves, good, bad, or indifferent. Expect to hear his version of the unvarnished truth in all its maddening complexity and fascinating paradox. Don't expect to be soothed, lulled, or vindicated necessarily - though he's a pretty normal fellow in many ways. Like the average person, he likes sunsets, the birthing of dogs and kittens, and 20-year reunions (just so long as they're not his.) He simply means to opposed injustice, elitism (in the degraded, populist sense of that word) cant, balderdash, and cowardice. He will also attempt to enlighten and inform as he either takes the irresponsible and unlettered to task or attempts to elevate the undeservedly obscure. He will also just write about things that merely interest him: artists dead and living; writers who are particularly visual; baseball and art; outsiders who matter; good art collections nobody knows about; outstanding people everybody should know a lot better. He means to champion artists who've been denied opportunities; and "out" those who do the denying. If you think the art world "works" just as it is, this blog is for you (though you won't like it.) But if you happen to think that the art world is a piece of creaky machinery at best - and a mess of obsolete, steam-driven, air-filled, factory-dead tootling at its worst - you'll think you're listening to your own weary little head tick away in the wee hours of the night.

You can learn more about Brett, read other articles he has written and view his artwork at:
http://www.brettbusang.com

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Beginning Where You Can by Brett Busang

A lot of collectors plunge into the business head-first and are either totally satisfied (and therefore impervious to critical thought) or they find, as they go along, that they were perhaps a bit too impulsive at the outset and might want to get rid of some of the dreck they purchased when they were green and, well, green.

Why not start modestly, people? There are all sorts of ways, both inexpensive and not, to do that. The most obvious is with student work. In some cases, it's as good, or better, than what is available in galleries. In others, it isn't, but it's cheap and will afford the untutored collector an opportunity to live with artwork that isn't necessarily "commercial." I would, in fact, advise anybody who is seriously interested in starting a collection informed by an evolving personal aesthetic to avoid purchasing artwork in commercial galleries. Put a year's moratorium on it, then come back. The honest collector will find he's already outgrown a lot of it, and will save his or her money.

A more honorable and legitimate way to acquire artwork in one's aesthetic infancy is to go to the print market. And by print, or prints, I don't mean the bastard stuff that's available at "print galleries" in the mall. You'll have to swing a pretty big cat to find an etching or lithograph in these places. And, if you do, it'll be drenched patriotism and/or family values. Or it'll show a cute little place off in a glitzy little corner thronged by pretty people who don't ever have to brush their teeth. If that's what you want, you should probably stop reading now.

There aren't many print galleries in our nation, so the beginning collector must seek them out. They are among us, however, and even a casual search will locate a few. The most famous is, of course, the Old Print Shop in New York City. It's an old, old family business that represents artists both living and dead. Most the beginning collector won't have heard of - but that's nothing. Most serious printmakers don't make it into the big-box style art history manuals that are force-fed college students. Oh, you'll see a Hopper etching or a Grant Wood print, but, by and large, printmakers aren't even the "artist's" second cousins; they're more like the jailbirds nobody ever talks about. Those dark, dark people who do something bad and get put away. When they do their time, or escape, they lay low for the most part and are rarely seen by civilized persons again.

This black-sheep situation is as disturbing as it is grimly humorous. Many great artists were printmakers. Rembrandt's etchings are among his greatest accomplishments. I'd rate Whistler on his etchings first and his paintings second. Hopper was known exclusively as a printmaker until his breakthrough watercolor exhibit in the 1920's. By that time, he was a middle-aged man.

But back to the Old Print Shop for a moment.

The Old Print Shop is a model of what print shops were, and still ought to be. You can go in there without an appointment and look around for a while.

Its wallspace is crammed with the work of mostly dead artists who had acheived some prominence in their lifetime, but have since slipped off the art historical radar. Martin Lewis is among its most famous alumnus. The Old Print Shop represents his entire estate. It was here that I also first saw Lewis' paintings, sparkling realist/impressionist sketches of American industrial sites and precipitous Japanese landscapes. All you have to do is ask and a salesmen will pull open a drawer and show you original Martin Lewis'. I think Lewis was one of the great interpreters of city life - New York City in particular. His fabulous noctures (though he didn't call them that) teem with exciting mysteries and almost-surreal dangers. No one could re-awaken an already-legendary place as Lewis could. He tapped into the great mood-swings of day and night; ecstasy and despair; longing and frustration; a sense of belonging cross-bred with the certainty of being entirely on one's own. His worried crowds bustle along stately boulevards or ratty old buildings the next generation will claim for its own tawdry designs. His workmen are sweaty people who have to get the job done - even if it's 3 a.m. and nobody's eaten anything since eleven. His people are not lonely, as Hopper's are, but the place they must negotiate is often oppressively present. Lewis' New York City is both exhausted and majestic; great and piddling; world-class both in its pretensions and excellences and pathetically homely among its wayward and forgotten. I breathe Lewis' air when I see his prints and I value them as I value Thomas Wolfe and Arthur Miller; John Cheever and Dorothy Parker; Charles Addams and E. B. White.

Lewis was Hopper's teacher - which is to say he showed Hopper the rudiments of the craft. Hopper ran with it in his own way, of course. Of the two, however, I prefer Lewis. Hopper would make his greatest mark, I think, as a painter.

In order to best appreciate a place like the Old Print Shop, it would be a good idea to go to the library and check out as many books on printmaking as you can possibly stomach. While I have no particular volume in mind, excellent anthologies of American printmaking have been available since the 30's. Thomas Craven edited a pretty good one back then. Joseph Pennell, a Whistler acolyte, and an excellent printmaker in his own way, put together the very best anthology I know - though it's hard to find. In it, he presented the best of both American and European printmakers up to First World War. It'll probably come up from time to time on amazon.com.

The greatest virtue of prints, aside from their artistic merit, is their price. Many of my friend Bill Murphy's prints can be had for less than $500.00. This is one of the great deals of the century. Here you can own an original work by a master printer for what a lot of gullible folk pay for a totally worthless, elaborately framed faux-print at a strip mall and think they're getting a good deal. I cannot emphasize the value. . .of this value enough.

[Editor's Note: You can see Bill Murphy's art work on our web site at http://www.fineartviews.com/4/lp_371/skin_/pg_agregator-artistportfolio.html/qr1_artist-id=375 ]

The work of Bill's Staten Island and New York City colleagues is similarly affordable. A rich collector could sneak into the exhibit a number of these artists are having right now at the Noble Maritime Museum and scoop up the lot without blinking. And he or she would have the germ of a wonderful print collection.

Privacy issues forbid me to tell you a great deal about a prominent print collector/art dealer who lives in Central Virginia, yet she an independent-minded person "of parts," as they used to say; she loves great prints and printmakers as much as I do and does the best she can to promote them. Her efforts have fallen largely on deaf ears, except in two cases. She is able to market the lively and irreverant imagery of a young man who is still very much rooted in working-class values, but can step back from them and take a hard look at their absurdities and contradictions. His satirical gifts are widely appreciated and he is at least moderately popular.
The more profound artist of the two is also insanely prolific - and indisputably master of the more finicky techniques required of an etcher as well the spontaneous, even gestural, drawing that's needed in drypoint. I wish I could tell you more about these people, but I must respect this collector and dealer's request that I not mention names.

What's behind this apparent indifference to, and lack of feeling for, this kind of work? I can't address all the causes here, but the most obvious, for me, is their rigor. Prints are essentially drawings and drawings are about structure and volume. It's much easier on the eye to appreciate these things in a painting, when they're "clothed" in color. The color makes 'em go down easy, as it were, and keeps them at bay. A print has nowhere to hide - but, then, nor do you, the viewer. To appreciate an excellent print, you must know something about drawing. You must also appreciate how drawing applies to the special process of creating a print on either a plate or stone and pulling it out, by hand, of the press yourself, or in the company of a master printer. It's not easy to learn these things. Nor is it easy to slough off the viewing habits of a lifetime - whereby "easy" color holds the ticket - and become addicted to "first processes" like drawing.

Yet why not? Collecting should not only cater to one's acquisitive instincts, but to one's curiosity, not only about art, but about the issues art must deal with: sin and redemption; the love of place and/or self; the denial (and necessary embrace) of mortality; joy and abundance; the infinite promise of being young and the crabbed compromises of getting older. Prints have always been, for the artist, the most personal of media. A great artist only needs a very small space in which to express a world of regret or triumph. Rembrandt conjures up a mighty cathedral in the space of a foot; he gives you a resurrection, not in a wall-sized canvas, but in something you can put in your pocket if you must. In prints, it is you, the collector, who are on view as well as the printmaker him (or her)self. Prints are not forgiving, but they will bring infinite joy and satisfaction to anybody who takes the time and trouble to wrestle with them a bit. Nothing is worth owning that's gotten with a checkbook only. And with most any print, your checkbook will stay loaded.

In my next installment, I'll talk a bit more about specific printmakers, particularly Americans, and where they might be presently available.

Brett Busang

Author: Brett Busang | 0 Comments | Post a comment | Topic: Art Collecting | Permalink

Thursday, June 29, 2006
Go with Your Gut - Andrew Wyeth and me by Brian Kliewer

A few years ago I was out driving through the country about where Spear Hill Rd meets the Cushing Rd in the South Warren/North Cushing area. As I came to the intersection, I saw the hull of a lobster boat sitting in a stand of pine trees. Just a hull, no cabin. It immediately struck me as a scene that I might like to paint, being so out of the ordinary. Have you ever seen a lobster boat in a forest? A local lobsterman (fisherman) had made a clearing near his house so that he could work on his boat. I drove by it several times and kept thinking that it would make a great painting. It sat there for at least a couple of years. Well, I never did get around to painting it and even later decided that it looked too much like something Andrew Wyeth himself might do.

(I do believe now that the reason I "never did get around to it" was because of this misplaced "respect".)

As I've mentioned on my web site, my studio is a short distance from the Farnsworth Museum. So...seeing original Wyeths is easy. Anyway, a year or so after that, I saw a new painting...there was my boat in the forest! Only, it was signed... "Andrew Wyeth."

If my "respect" for Wyeth hadn't gotten in the way in this case, a little "derring-do" would have seen me with a nice painting that would have been all my own even if Wyeth did follow me! "Go with your gut instinct!" has become my motto ever since.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: We post this message by guest author Brian Kliewer to emphasize the point that an artist should always follow his/her muse. If you're inspired, Do It!

To learn more about Brian Kliewer, visit his web site at:
http://www.kliewerstudio.com/

Author: Brian Kliewer | 1 Comments | Post a comment | Topic: Creativity and Inspiration | Permalink

Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Post New Works to Your Web Site Religiously

I'm coming to believe that developing the right habits is the most important step for success in every area of life. Habits drive our actions and actions drive who we are and what we become. We want to encourage good habits and discourage bad habits. Many accomplished artists I know have described to me the process of practicing their technique until it becomes "subconscious." In other words, they practice until their technique becomes a "habit." These sorts of habits make experts. Michael Jordan developed a habit of “nothin' but net.” Warren Buffet developed a habit of picking undervalued investments (and is worth over 40 billion). Richard Schmid has made it a habit of creating masterful paintings. Bill Clinton made it a habit of...well we all know about his habits …perhaps a bad example.

In any case, art, marketing and the Internet is my beat. And today I hope, dear reader, to offer you something useful in that arena.

Today I offer you a simple, seemingly obvious way to improve your marketing and increase the visibility of your art.

Here it is: Develop a HABIT of posting new art works on your web site religiously.

Think of it this way: A painting isn’t really finished until you’ve posted it on your web site. This accomplishes several positive objectives.

1. It keeps your web site current – an absolute must if you want people to come back again
2. It immediately starts “marketing” your new art work
3. It keeps you from having a huge backlog of works that “need to go on the site.”
4. It makes you determine if the painting is REALLY ready to go “live.”

As an art collector, when I hit an art site (especially one that I have visited before), I almost always look for a “What’s New” (or something similar) link.

If you want to take this concept to the proverbial “next level”, then make it a habit to also send an email announcing the new artworks on your site every time you post them. But I’ll save that idea for another newsletter….

Sincerely,

Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic

Author: Clint Watson | 8 Comments | Post a comment | Topic: Marketing - Web Site | Permalink

Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Develop Your Own Style

I can tell you from a marketer's point of view, developing one's own style is essential to gaining the eye of collectors. Collectors posses a sentiment of, "if it looks just like reality, I'll just take a photograph." One's personal artistic style for many buyers IS the "art" in the artwork. Without the style, it's just "work." While I never advocate painting "for the market", it is worthwhile to keep this in mind.

Sincerely,

Clint
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic

Author: Clint Watson | 2 Comments | Post a comment | Topic: Creativity and Inspiration | Permalink

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