Would you sell your work for a Volkswagen Bus? Find out how one artist chose to do so rather than make no sale at all. Selling your work out of your own studio is a common and often successful practice for many artists.  What are the best practices for doing so? If you do not have a gallery affiliation or if your gallery allows you to do so, this is a great way to earn money and expose your work to more people.

Open Studio / Studio Visit

Many artists share a studio in a building with other artists. These communal artist studios typically have a collective open studio once or twice a year. The big open studio event can be a great opportunity to expose your work to other artists, curators and collectors.  Other artists may work in a studio in their homes or in a studio apart from other artists. If you can find out when there are open studios in your area, it is a good idea to try to market your open studio with other artists or to schedule it for the same day and send out your invites so that you get more traffic. Other times you may meet with a collector privately in your studio. The best practices presented here can be applied to any open studio or studio visit.

Preparation

Make sure that your studio is clean and orderly. Some artists like to have their materials out as if they are working; others like to make their studio as much like a gallery as possible.

Brad Slaugh, "Running Out", Oil on Canvas, 1997, 24" x 36"

Create identification for your work. You may want to create labels with the title, medium, size, and year completed next to the work of art or you can create a list of works that people can pick up and take around with them. If you want to sell the work it is a good idea to include the prices.

Keep an updated mailing list and create an invitation for the open studio as an email invitation or as a printed invitation. The invitation should look well designed. Make sure you have someone proofread it before sending it. Encourage your contacts to bring others to the open studio. You can also use ArtBistro or other social networking sites to announce your open studio.

A word about mailing lists: It is usually best practice to send the email to yourself and BCC (blind copy) everyone on your list when sending a mass email. That way people know that you have kept their email address private.

Supply some drink and/or food for the occasion to make the event special.

During the Open Studio

Greet your guests and engage them in conversation. Be open and accessible about your work. You don’t need to tell them everything (and don’t go on and on so that they want to get away.) but answer their questions and ask them about themselves.  Do not be intimidating or standoffish.

Open studios are a great opportunity to network too. Meet the new faces. Don’t get so wrapped up in your friends that you do not meet people that who you do not know that come to your studio.

If someone expresses interest in your work or suggests that you should invite someone to your studio or contact someone, follow up with that person.

Brad Slaugh, "Night Chess", Oil on Canvas, 2005, 38" x 50"

Have a mailing list out on which people can write their email or mailing address. If someone signs that is from a gallery or a curator, follow up with them and invite them back for another studio visit when you have new work. Ask them if there may be an opportunity to show your work. If not in their gallery, ask for recommendations. They may have a friend who is curating a  group show that your work would be perfect for.

Brad Slaugh, "Cocktail Hour", 2002, Oil on Canvas, 46" x 96"

Brad Slaugh is my studio landlord. He is an expert on selling artwork out of your studio. He says: “Its about the list of people. Send it to your professional contacts and your friends and family. They will bring their friends and year after year they will bring their friends. Designers are a great resource they often know and bring great clients.”

Regarding selling your work, Slaugh says: “Just chat up the person looking at your work. Tell them the story of that piece. For example, ‘I painted that when I was in Italy last year….’ If they seem interested but say it is a little more than they’d like to pay, you could come down a bit, but you might want to try bartering. Ask them what they do. I’ve sold work for a Volkswagen bus, a scooter, 50 hours of legal work, and I have not had to pay for Great Harvest Bread for years.  There can be great benefits to bartering. Or of course you can barter for money.”

I have a friend who barters art for dental with a dentist that collects art. So there are lots of ways to make money from selling your work out of your studio. In our forum we have some threads for bartering artwork for goods or services.

When a price is agreed upon, and you have received payment make sure that the piece is delivered safely and packed well if they are not taking it with them.

Brad Slaugh, "Night Crawler", Oil on Canvas, 1997, 14" x 11"

How Do Artists Make Money?

The 411 on Non-Profit Galleries

You may wonder what non-profit galleries are or why you might want to show your work in one. Let ArtBistro guide you through all you need to know about non-profit galleries; and then take the ArtBistro tour of some of the top non-profits around the country!

Non-profit galleries typically show the work of younger lesser know artists, with sometimes edgier or more experimental work. Why is this the case? Non-profit galleries do not depend on sales to keep in business. They rely on donations and grants to run. However, depending on the gallery, they will take a commission on you work but usually not more than 30% of the price. Non-profit galleries typically do not “represent” artists or enter into contractual relationships with them, but you should sign a loan/exhibition form before you leave your work or at the time it is picked up. This form will often state what kind of insurance they do or do not have to cover reparations if your work is damaged.

Artist, Karina Skvirsky, gives her perspective on non-profit galleries. “I find that there is a lot of overlap between for profit and non-profit galleries.  They both provide exhibition opportunities which lead to exposure which lead to more exhibition opportunities.  There are, however, some interesting differences. Non-profits traditionally take more risks with the work they exhibit often showing work that does not have proven market reach.  Because of their non-profit status they also provide funding sources. I have exhibited in numerous non-profit galleries and feel that those galleries have helped me tremendously. In showing at these galleries I have formed relationships with the galleries and the staff members which has provided a base of support for my work over the years.”

Getting In

Many non-profit galleries have a submission program. Visit their website, or stop by to pick up the materials that you would need to submit to be considered for a show or for their artists registry. Some non-profit galleries hold a registry for artists that are open to the public. Curators look at these registries to find artists to exhibit in shows that they are curating. Some registries are curated and you need to apply to be accepted. Other registries are open to all artists such as Artists Space pictured here.

Elizabeth Hirsch of Artists Space says,: “The Irving Sandler Artists File at Artists Space represents a commitment to emerging artists over 30 years in the making. The file now exists entirely online – extending the mission beyond the walls of the gallery to an interactive site.  It has become a useful resource for artists, curators and arts professionals worldwide, further supporting the ideas of dialog and experimentation so central to Artists Space’s mission.”

Benefits

Non-profit galleries have fundraisers so that they can financially support their gallery. The fundraisers come in many forms but they usually hold auctions of artists work. The artist donates their work of art and the money raised from purchases goes to the gallery. This is a good opportunity to get your work “out there” and network. You can find out the person who bought your piece and offer to put then on your mailing list or invite them for a studio visit. You can also invite your friends who will support you to the auction to bid on your work! Auctions are fun places to meet other artists.

Volunteering

Volunteering is a great way to get to network with other artists and administrators. Your colleagues will likely ask about your work. Take that opportunity to invite them to your studio. Go and see their work too. Many artists overlook volunteering as opportunity to get your foot in the door.

Internships

Many non-profits have internship programs. They often take a few months for the whole process so start early. Interning is a great way to get to gain experience, get a look behind the scenes and make more contacts. The contacts that you make from an internship will be valuable for years to come.

Artist and curator, Letha Wilson” explains her relationship to non-profits: “In my case non-profits have influenced me quite a bit – first and most importantly as my introduction to the art world of NYC was as an intern at Artists Space. This internship led to a part-time job as the Artists File Coordinator which I kept as I went on to grad school at Hunter, and then worked there full time for two years after graduation as the Associate Curator. The great thing about this place its small scale and staff, openness to new ideas, and constant influx of artists / interns and new ideas. The downfall of course eventually was the time it took and eventually I left to give my studio work the time it needed to move forward.

Also as an exhibiting artist I have found the importance of non-profits is their often open structure to new artists, as that is what they do. A couple of shows I got in by answering an open call for a specific proposal, that was open for anyone to apply. This kind of chance is not possible at museums or commercial galleries, and it really gives a chance for artists to get their work out there and a foot in the door. This being said it also sometimes takes many many proposals and attempts before a piece will end up fitting with a show, so as usual try not to give up after one proposal is not accepted. The nice thing about non-profits in New York also is they get as much exposure as the other galleries and make your work available to that audience, and press persons, curators. etc. Additionally non-profits are usually pretty good about giving the artists at least a small honoraria and even a production budget in the best situation.”

Where are they?

The following is a guide to the many non-profit galleries in some of the art centers of the nation.

Manhattan, NY

Artists Space One of the first alternative spaces in New York, Artists Space was founded in 1972 to support contemporary artists working in the visual arts, video and electronic media, performance, architecture and design. The mission of Artists Space is to support artistic experimentation and dialog in contemporary culture.

White Columns is New York’s oldest alternative art space. It was founded in 1970 by Jeffrey Lew and Gordon Matta-Clark as an experimental platform for artists.Over the past thirty-seven years hundreds of artists have benefited from early exposure and support at White Columns

The Drawing Center has been a unique and dynamic part of New York City’s cultural life since 1977. The only not-for-profit institution in the country to focus on the exhibition of drawings, it was established to demonstrate the significance and diversity of drawings throughout history, to juxtapose work by master figures with work by emerging and under-recognized artists, and to stimulate public dialogue on issues of art and culture.
Brooklyn, NY

d.u.m.b.o Art Center Founded by artists in the wake of the first festival in 1997, DAC was the first non-profit arts organization in Dumbo. By attracting thousands of visitors and media attention to the once abandoned manufacturing area of Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), DAC’s role has been pivotal in the establishment of Dumbo as a recognized neighborhood and cultural destination.

NURTUREart In 1997, George J. Robinson founded NURTUREart Nonprofit Inc. to realize his vision of an organization dedicated to helping emerging artists. He began by mounting guerilla exhibitions in donated spaces whenever and wherever possible, starting a slide registry in a filing cabinet in his Washington Heights apartment. In 2006 NURTUREart found a bigger and better permanent home on Grand Street in East Williamsburg and long time volunteer and trustee Karen Marston took the helm as Executive Director. NURTUREart has grown into the dynamic organization it is today, playing a vital role in the cutting-edge emerging art community.

Rotunda Gallery BRIC Rotunda Gallery presents contemporary art, exhibitions, public events and an innovative arts education program. The Gallery’s aim is to increase the visibility and accessibility of contemporary art while bridging the gap between the art world and global culture in Brooklyn and the world beyond.

Chicago, IL

Hyde Park Art Center As one of the oldest alternative spaces in the city, the HPAC has an exemplary record of exhibiting a wide range of work by emerging artists through its Exhibitions Program. Panel discussions, gallery talks, poetry readings, music performances, open house events, and a series of short pieces by guest writers expand upon the approaches and ideas presented in each exhibition and engage a broad audience.

Contemporary Art Workshop The Contemporary Art Workshop celebrates its 55th Anniversary this year. It has been a phenomenal achievement. We have had the privilege of working with thousands of emerging artists for over five decades and providing them with exhibition opportunities and support at crucial stages in their careers. We have come a long way since our beginnings in the old Cyrus McCormick carriage building on what is now Chicago’s Magificent Mile.

Evanston Art Center Each year, the Evanston Art Center presents 6 – 8 exhibitions in its galleries at 2603 Sheridan Road. These include curated group shows, occasional retrospectives, regular student and faculty exhibitions, and a biennial juried vicinity show. Additionally, the Center’s EAC On Tour program brings exhibitions of faculty and student work to off-site locations throughout the community.

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Art Association Today, LAAA continues to play a central role in the Los Angeles arts community by providing our artist members and the public with exceptional exhibitions and programs, as well as a forum for exchange and education through lectures, workshops and networking opportunities. LAAA serves a broad cross section of artists of all mediums, career levels and socio-economic backgrounds, including those from low income communities.

Swift Gallery Foundation is an artist’s run non-profit curatorial organization for provocative art and culture based in Los Angeles, California. Swift Gallery aims to stimulate and support the arts in the broadest sense of the word – from visual art, sound, film and video, performance, architecture, to the humanities and sciences. Swift Gallery initiates, directs and curates exhibitions where disciplines intersect, boundaries blur, cultures multiply and new hybrids form, giving emerging artists time and space to exhibit their work, frequent lectures, studio space and audio-visual presentations.

Art Share about  Los Angeles is a community arts incubator whose mission is to shape lives through art, education and community action. Operating out of a converted warehouse in the Arts District, Art Share offers free art classes with incredibly talented artists. With TEN years of established service to the community, Art Share has had inspiring results in creating a variety of programs that address educational and social needs by using the arts, counseling, mentoring and technology as tools for change.

San Francisco, CA

Galería de la Raza The Mission of the Galeria de la Raza is to foster public awareness and appreciation of Chicano/Latino art and culture. Galería De La Raza is an interdisciplinary space for art, thought and activism – Galería organizes cutting-edge art exhibitions, as well as multimedia presentations, performances and spoken-word events, screenings, computer-generated murals and educational activities.

The Oakland Art Gallery is dedicated to enriching the cultural landscape of the Oakland Bay Area by exhibiting emerging and established professional artists. The gallery’s exhibition schedule focuses on exhibiting the richness and diversity of art, from traditional to new media, made within the Oakland/Bay Area as well as bringing to Oakland contemporary art from national and international artists.

The LAB is an interdisciplinary arts organization which supports the development and presentation of new visual, performing, media, sonic and literary art. We assist artists in the creation of new work and showcase work of the highest quality by emerging and underrepresented experimental artists. Of particular interest is work which crosses boundaries, encourages evolving artistic and social dialogue between artists and audiences, and develops the culture and community of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Seattle, WA

In a time of major advances in digital media 911 Media Arts Center envisions a future where independent voices thrive in a society that fosters diversity, innovation and artistic excellence.

Founded in 1995, SOIL is a collective and a nonprofit gallery established, supported, and managed by Seattle artists. SOIL exists as an experimental venue for artists and curators to exhibit, develop, and advance innovative art of diverse media and content.

Philadelphia, PA

BASEKAMP is a non commercial studio and exhibition space whose primary focus is to participate in the creation, facilitation and promotion of large scale collaborative projects by contemporary artists. Philadelphia is an example of a city whose visual art-world is currently in the process of self-definition. We have seen this as an opportunity to use the city as a home base to invite domestic and international collaborative groups in a joint experiment to develop new models of relations within overlapping art communities.

Crane Art Center Mission is creating a unique community that encourages and supports artistic production by both emerging and established artists and assisting the development and growth of Philadelphia’s creative resources, assets, and potential.

The FLUX Space We are an artist run organization supporting other artists through exhibitions, and public programs. FLUX enables artists to experiment in new practices for the purpose of advancing artwork, concept and thought.

Columbus, OH

ROY G BIV’s mission is to support vibrant, emerging artists by presenting exhibitions that increase the public’s awareness of the artists’ work while enhancing the cultural diversity of Central Ohio. ROY G BIV nurtures artists who choose to live and work in Ohio and who might not otherwise be able to find a venue to exhibit their work.

Madlab Gallery Because the Theatre’s mission is committed to expanding the parameters of contemporary performance, a theatre art gallery must be more specifically tuned in to its activities than the independent art museum. With its special responsibility to the patrons of both the theatre and the visual arts it should provide programs to enrich the experience of both. It should be willing to experiment, expand horizons and explore concepts in depth.

Atlanta, GA

Eyedrum is centrally located downtown at 290 M.L.K Jr. Drive SE, walking distance from the hottest new loft districts in Atlanta and historic Oakland Cemetary. Founded in 1998, this unique gallery continues to intrigue the community here and abroad, remaining critics’ choice for the best venue for emerging artists in town.

Boston, MA

The mission of the Green Street Gallery continues to be: To move contemporary artwork into contact with a wider and more diverse audience, to redefine the term “Gallery” by opening non-commercial exhibition venues in existing pedestrian traffic patterns and to educate people outside of contemporary art’s traditional audience and encourage them to experience today’s art.

Return to How Do Artists Make Money?

Virtual Identities, Real Space: Opening Success

ArtBistro and the Sego Art Center joined together to make a gallery show for ArtBistro users a reality. The opening last night and was a major success.  In short, the work selected for this international juried show was meaningful, probing and professional.  Over 600 visitors flocked to the gallery throughout the night. It was the the place to be and many commented to me how impressed they were with the show.

Several artists from the international competition came to the opening. One artist would have had to travel from China.

Artist, Pooneh Maghazehe flew in from New York City to be a the opening. In fact, she and her friend “Elizabeth Hamby”:http://space-and-place.blogspot.com/ created an guerilla art piece on the exterior wall of the Sego Art Center earlier in the week.

About traveling to Utah Pooneh said, “We’ve been really busy. I spoke at Brigham Young University to the art students there and tomorrow we are going to the Spiral Jetty. It has been great. Everyone is to nice and it is beautiful here.”

A video projection animation and two computer based works were in the backroom of the gallery.

I enjoyed seeing ArtBistro Artists’ work live for the first time and will tell you more about that next week. But I wanted you to know what a success the show is.  After the opening the artists, friends and Jason Metcalf, the show curator, took the after party to a local restaurant.  What a fun evening. I wish you were there!

Tour the show here

Read the Press Release

Art Center of the World Circa 300 AD

I’d never been to Eastern Utah and wanted to see the famous rock carvings, Flaming Gorge, and dinosaur bones that Eastern Utah boasts of.  It was time for a summer road trip! So we packed the car up, bought maps, filled up the cooler and went on our way.

Nine Mile Canyon is not nine miles long. It is named for the Nine Mile River.  It is about a 49 mile drive through the largest concentration of petroglyphs and pictographs in the world. I would highly recommend picking up a guide book at one of the local historical museums or dinosaur museums in the small towns of Eastern Utah like Vernal. The carvings are wonderful to find, but easy to miss. It is a little like “finding Nemo.”

There are an estimated 10,000 rock carvings, or petroglyphs just in Nine Mile Canyon. Pictographs are rock paintings – the artists used pigmentation to stain the rock and create an image. They were made for the most part by the Fremont Indians from as early as 300 AD to about 1200 AD when the civilization disappeared. The pictographs can be seen all over eastern Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. Most of what we saw were petroglyphs (where the images are chiseled, or chipped into the rock). The only rock paintings left in Nine Mile Canyon are under an overhang so the paint has been preserved. So, experts deduce that many more of the rock carvings could have had paint over them.

Our fist stop was up the far end of Nine Mile Canyon, Daddy Canyon. We were told it had a large collection of rock carvings.  I checked the guest book and a group of 30 had been there a few days ago. I thought, “Well these must not be too hard to find.” We checked the trail map and started up the canyon. I kept my eyes peeled for rock carvings up the 40-foot canyon cliffs.  As I walked I thought about these people and wondered how they would ever have been able to draw on rock that far up. It was a hot climb and after about twenty minutes, I still hadn’t seen any carvings. The trail winnowed down to just following the canyon wash.

After about 40 minutes of hiking, I was really frustrated…not a rock carving in site!  Were they so hard to see? I then realized that looking at the ground, there could not have been a group of 30 in that canyon a few days ago, and my footprints in the rock and sand were the only ones. I turned around thinking about the note I’d leave in the guest book. You are all LIARS! There are no rock carvings here!!

When I got back to the car I realized that the carvings were right in front of it! Just a few feet above my head! I felt pretty silly. The carvings followed the face of the main canyon. They didn’t go up Daddy Canyon at all. After a good laugh at myself, I went to explore the rock carvings. They were pretty incredible! All kinds of hunting deer or elk, and some alien like images. They didn’t just tell stories, but they had imagination too.

As we were driving along through the canyon it occurred to me that this was the center of the art world circa 2000 years ago, in Utah of all places!  We are lucky to still have this rich collection of ancient carvings. Unfortunately, many of them have been desecrated with shotgun holes and graffiti. Some of the graffiti is from the early 1800’s. It makes you wonder if it is desecration or adding to the historical record itself. I guess that peoples’ desire to make their mark for eternity does not die.

Note the bullet hole in the center of this “eagle” figure.

We got back in the car and tried to find more petroglyphs and pictographs down the canyon. We found many of them and began to be quite good and identifying where they might be.  The pictures here in this article are just scratching the surface of what is able to be seen. The valley was littered with old homesteaded ranches. It was beautiful. Many archeological finds have been made in the cave dwellings and burial places of the Fremont people. There was a lot of evidence that people still lived here and made good use of the land. There had been farmers in this valley for thousands of years.

Even though the carvings have been well preserved through time. Some have studied the carvings and what they might mean. But for the most part there has not been a lot of research into the carvings. I think that they did have artistic talent and it was employed in story telling and record keeping.  I think that embellishment of nature had to do with it too.  The carvings are located right where the people lived. Ancient wall paper?  It was very inspiring to see the continuum of the human story.

Originally posted on ArtBistro.com

How to Photograph Your Artwork Part 3: Lighting

DIY or Professional?

You can photograph your work yourself or have it done by a professional. This can be a difficult decision. Both are expensive, but if you enjoy photography and are planning to photograph your own work for a long time, investing in equipment will cost less than hiring a photographer every time you need to photograph your work. On the other hand it would be less expensive to get the work professionally shot if you don’t shot your work that often. To photograph your work yourself, you will need to buy some equipment. The quality and price of the following items can vary greatly. You may or may not need the top of the line in every item.

Basic Equipment

2 Tota Lights
2 White photography umbrellas
2 Light stands
Camera – digital and or manual (35 millimeter capability)
Light meter
Tripod
Wireless or physical shutter opener

Lighting your artwork is the most difficult aspect of photographing your work. The main principle is simple. Keep it even. But even lighting across your painting or drawing can be difficult to achieve. The following are two different ways lighting your work:

Daylight

Daylight is a good source for lighting your work. It will cover the surface of your piece uniformly (unless obstructed). However, if it is an oil painting the sun may reflect off the shiny surface and put a big glare on the photograph. A glare on the photography of your artwork is undesirable. You want to be able to see the true color in your art work and a glare makes that impossible. If you are shooting an oil painting that is showing a glare, wait for a cloudy, but bright day. That will help.

The other challenge with shooting in daylight is the background. You want a professional background and most outside walls or grounds are not what you are looking for. You can try black, gray, or white photo paper for a back ground by taping it behind the image or painting the surface with flat or matte black paint. Whatever you use you do not want texture or glare. You can of course PhotoShop the background out.

In this image of his painting “Jetaime”, Peter Everett effectively lit his work evenly and consistently. Notice how there are no “hot spots”: all the elements of the painting seem to have equal lighting and attention.

Studio Lighting

The best thing about studio lighting is that you have complete control over it. (I’ve tried to photograph my work before outside when it was windy and I almost destroyed a painting.) You need photographer’s lights, stands, and umbrellas. The stand will let you adjust the height of the light. The photography umbrellas will disperse the light evenly. The lights need to be equidistant from the piece and coming out at a 45 degree angles from the wall at opposite sides of the art. So, there is a 90 degree angle between them and the center of the art work. This will give you the best even lighting. Some paintings will produce a glare at this angle. You may adjust the lights to see if you can get rid of it. As you do that try to keep the lighting even on the surface of the work.

It is best if you use a light meter so that you can tell for sure if the surface of the painting is lit evenly. To do this you hold the meter in front of different areas of the painting and see if the light meter reading changes.

Lighting 3-D Work

Three Dimensional work typically needs to be studio lit rather than sun lit, unless it is sight specific. The backgrounds in lighting 3-D work was covered in Part 1. The best lighting to use is a light box that hangs above and slightly in front of the work. It will evenly gradate the background. Some artists make their own light box using tungston light bulbs grouped together and a translucent sheet of plastic at the bottom. This casts even light. If you don’t have access to a light box, you could try multiple sources of light. The goal is to avoid distracting shadows in the background.

Brian Christensen photographed this sculpture “office chair” with a light box, as mentioned above. Notice how even and soft the lighting is. It provides really nice effects. Also, notice that he used a sloping gray background, which gave a clean, even gradation to the background and shadows.

Lighting Installation Work

Installation work should be photographed with the lighting it is installed with and with optimal lighting so that it can be documented well. Two lights will generally be enough with the installation lighting, but in some cases you may need more. It is very difficult to get good shots of installation work. The lighting will not always be even, but one should do the best possible job.

Shooting your own work can be fun once you get the hang of it. It would be a good idea to show the photography of your work that you do to an art photographer or a friend who gets theirs professionally shot to get some feedback from them. They may see problems that you don’t and then you can improve you technique. If this all sounds too much for you, then hiring an art photographer will be your best bet. You work is worth getting the best photography possible. Good Luck!

Part 1: Backgrounds

Part 2: Warping and Proportions

How Do Artists Make Money?

I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine. He asked me, “So, how do artists make money?” After five minutes of explaining the different ways, I thought, Well, there is my next article.

How do artists make money? Many people who are not artists wonder about this, and many seasoned artists wonder the same thing! Of course artists know that to make money, you sell your work. But there may be other ways of making money that you could be reminded of. Here is a short description of some of them:

• Selling Your Work

Commercial Galleries
Commercial galleries typically sell artists’ works at a commission. The typical commission that galleries get is somewhere between 40 and 50% of the sale of the work. This is determined by the contract. Whether you submit your work for sale by consignment or enter into an ongoing relationship with a gallery, the parameters should all be written down in a contract.

Nonprofit Galleries
Nonprofit galleries typically show work that is young, edgier, and cutting edge. Depending on the gallery, they will take a commission — usually not more than 30%. Nonprofit galleries typically do not “represent” artists or enter into contractual relationships with them.

Out of Studio
Many artist sell their work out of their studio by arranged visits or open studios arranged with other artists. If you are represented by a gallery, that agreement may extend to “studio sales” or all sales of your work. If you do not have a formal relationship with a gallery representing you, you obviously retain 100% of the sale.

Online
More artists are selling their work online. Any commission from an online website would be determined by the terms of use contract that you agreed to. Different sites charge a different percentage of a commission. Anywhere between 1-5% is normal; 10% is on the high end. I just had a tour of Second Life, where there are a number of artist who are making interesting work. Second Life has virtual “Linden dollars,” but I do know of one artist who is raising “real” dollars for a charity through his artwork.

Private Commissions
Artists will do work on a commission basis. If clients want something of their work, but somehow personalized, like a portrait or a specific idea, they will commission the artist. The artist sets the price and usually asks for a percentage of the price up front. Again, if you have a formal relationship with a gallery or art advisor, any commissions that they bring to you or that you may flat out “do” may be subject to a predetermined commission or percentage.

Public Commissions
Artists are commissioned for public art usually in connection with a new building or construction project. For any public building in the United States, it is a law that 1% of the total building cost go to art for the building. Usually state and city art groups have the latest information of what program is currently accepting applications. There are also private funds for public art like The Public Art Fund and Percent for Art. When artists get a public work commission, they typically get 20% of the total cost of the project as an artist’s fee.

• Grants

There are many grants for artists. They are very competitive to get, but as one artist / mentor of mine advised me, don’t give up until you have applied ten times. Grants vary in how much money they give you. Some grants are privately funded and some are publicly funded. Some are given for a specific project that you propose and some are given outright for the work that you do. You can find grants to apply for here.

• Residencies

There are many residencies for artist to get “away from the world” and focus on their work. The length of the residency varies and the amount of money granted to the artist varies too. Some residencies actually charge money. But many will cover at least some if not all costs. You must apply for these residencies and have a flexible enough schedule to go. Many times the most valuable asset of a residency is not the money granted, but the connections an artist forms there with other artists and the guests that may come to see your work, which often include curators and other influential people in the art word. You can find residencies to apply for here.

• Museums and Art Centers

Artists generally don’t see a cent from exhibits in a museum. In some cases, however, they do. Installation artists are typically given an artist fee for creating a temporary installation. The fee can be set by you or the museum. Sometimes artists are given fees to exhibit in museums, but it is typically given to cover the costs of travel or incidentals. A museum may pay you for a lecture given about the work.

• Teaching / Guest Artist Programs

One of the most popular ways to make money as an artist is to teach. Teaching opportunities at a college level are competitive, but don’t overlook Guest Artist Programs. Sometimes you will teach specific classes; other times you will critique students’ work. Also, most colleges have a program to invite artists to come and give a lecture and to show their work to students. They will pay you for this and may pay additional fees if you give critiques of students’ work.

This article was originally published on ArtBistro

Second Life Tour

This is Arthole an installation on Second Life

I had a tour of artists on Second Life the other day by my friend Amy Wilson. She teleported me to different spaces where artists build virtual installations. It was very unnerving to enter this virtual world. It was not real, but the sensations I felt, were real. Being a newbie, I found it hard to walk in the direction I wanted to or see from the perspective I wanted to. But after about 30 minutes of trying to follow her around I pretty much got the hang of it.

I experienced a myriad of sensations. I was lifted in the air by one art piece and floated around. It felt great! I also accidentally lost my skirt (I had biking type shorts on underneath -whew!). I was really embarrassed. Feeling these sensations was perhaps the most interesting thing about the experience. I actually felt like I was there. The environments that I entered effected my perception of being in an enclosed space or an enormous space. When I looked at the artwork, I felt like I was looking at real work. And I was. In all intents and purposes, it does exist in a virtual realm.

“AM Radio” was my favorite artist whose work I was introduced to. It was personal, smart and very interactive. It was so fun I found myself laughing a lot.

What a field trip! I was exhausted after the tour as I would have been having walked through Chelsea for an hour an a half. Thank you, Amy for the wonderful tour. It is an amazing new world! Amy also writes for ArtBistro and is one of our favorite bloggers. You can see the article that she wrote about AM Radio here

My user name on SL is vav8 ansar, if you are on SL, please add me as a friend.

Welcome to My Blog

You made it! Welcome to my blog. I’m excited to start this new project. You’ll be able to keep up to date on what’s going on with my artwork, editing on ArtBistro, and snippets of life as it happens. I’ve already loaded some articles I wrote over the passed few months for ArtBistro. I’d love your feedback, as I’m a newbie at this. Enjoy!

An Artist’s High

I took down some posts on ArtBistro about making art under the influence of illegal drugs. We can’t really allow that content on our 13 and up site. A few weeks later I was making some art and it sparked my thinking about making art and “highs”.

What happened? Since becoming the Editor of ArtBistro it has been a challenge to keep up with my art career. A few months ago, an opportunity came to show at a gallery, The Sego Art Center. I was ready to make another large piece and was pretty excited at the opportunity. I’d done some thinking and sketching but nothing had really felt right or crystallized except I knew that it would be watercolor and that I wanted the result to be an organic shape rather than a rectangle. During one of my morning swims, the idea of the piece came to me.

I worked at my studio for several stretches of time and had worked out the format of the piece, a 12-foot tall watercolor. I collected source material for the jungle trees and made a drawing of how they would go up the wall. I made sketches of little “me’s” from acrobatic gymnasts and trapeze artists. I had a life size drawing and transferred it to watercolor paper.

Having done all of that, the pressure was on. I had three large pieces of watercolor paper and I was nervous about messing them up. One “oops” splash and I may have to start over and I did not have time to start over.

I turned on some of my favorite music and got to work. I started painting under layers and ideas of interesting color combinations and blending came to mind. I made bold and quick decisions about what should go where and experimented with how to make these trees interesting and individual. I was having a lot of fun and the watercolors were being completed much more quickly than I anticipated. All of the strokes I made were meaningful, right, and the color choices were having my desired effect. I was surprised and encouraged with the spontaneous ideas that were working out beautifully. I was having so much fun! A few hours flew by and I started to get tired. I quit for the day because I know that when I get tired I make mistakes. It was hard to stop though I was having such a good time.

During the drive home from my studio I felt mixture of surprise, satisfaction, pride in my work, euphoria, energy, optimism, and that anything I would do at that moment would turn to gold. I went home and I could not go to sleep. I can always go to sleep, but I was so energized and excited about the work that I’d just done, I couldn’t. It was adrenaline. It was then that I realized that I was on an “Artist High”.

I remembered that this has happened to me before on other projects. I even, in some cases, remember when and at what point I was at in the project when I felt the same feelings. This “high” feeling can be a very powerful motivator for artists especially amongst the difficulties of a creative career.

This article was originally published on ArtBistro.com

Photographing Your Artwork Part II: Warping and Proportions

Photographing your work can be tricky. But it is important to photograph it well. With Photoshop these days one can hide many photography sins, but there are a few things that are better handled with the photograph itself before you get the image into Photoshop. In part one, we talked about backgrounds in the photography of your work. In part three we will talk about lighting. In this article we will cover warping and proportions.

Warping and Proportions

When you take pictures of your work you really need a tripod. This will help in numerous ways. It will keep your camera from moving while the shutter is open so that your images are not blurry. (You don’t want your work to look like it is falling off the wall). You will be able to take your time adjusting the framing of the image with in your viewer to get it right. You can do this by moving the tripod incrementally up and down and side to side

Parallel Planes

The last reason is most important. A tripod will help you get the image proportioned correctly. You do this by making sure that the lens of the camera is facing the artwork straight on or is on a parallel plan to the artwork. If the lens is positioned slightly below the image but tilted up the artwork will appear skewed. Skewing such as this is not easy to fix in digital editing programs.

Correct Lens

You also want to make sure you are using the correct lens. A 35-millimeter and in some cases a wide angle lens are the ones that you want to use. Typically point and shoot cameras have the most difficulty keeping the artwork “square” to the frame. They easily distort the proportions of the artwork.

Part 1: Backgrounds

Part 3 Will cover lighting.

This article was originally published on ArtBistro