Art Print Issues

An Artist Replies to Thoughts on Religious Art

Take a look at this magnificent photograph titled From Past to Present. It's from a well-preserved relic of an old church. One needs no further information to be drawn into the power of such an image. It elegantly and perfectly punctuates my musings on tapping into the religious/spiritual art market in the previous post here.

Jeffrey Stoner is a talented and determined person. He worked harder at getting a copy of my book from Amazon than a person should have to by persisting through some awful service and ultimately buying a copy directly from me. I pray (okay, you caught me, pun intended) other readers have not fared so poorly. After reading the post on religious art, Jeff sent this picture with this note:

Interestingly the attached image was my best seller in 2007 (I took the image in July) and is featured in the May 2008 issue of Black and White Photography (their choice of image).  It was taken within the Primitive Baptist Church in Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park.  While I really liked the image, I was amazed at the volume of sales. 

I started with a new gallery in Waynesville, NC this year and the first image of mine they sold is this one. It does make one think.

I replied with this:

You captured the essence of many things with that beautiful evocative shot. Nostalgia, nature, spirituality and yearning immediately come to mind. It is often the case the public will respond to certain art, whether visual, musical, etc., in ways surprising to the artist.

Serendipity happens randomly. It often occurs where hard work, talent and luck intersect. Jeff's image here and the resulting unexpected success from his having worked it is a perfect example. It reminds us all to be grateful for the blessings we have regardless of any religious affiliation. I'm sure many who purchased this image feel that way. No doubt, Jeff's rewards go well beyond the commercial success he's enjoyed from this inspiring image.

Art Trends - Is Relgious Art a Trend to Follow?

Last March, I published a post titled, The Next Big Thing. It prompted Watts Wacker, the futurist who was the subject of the post, to kindly sent me a copy of What's Your Story?: Storytelling to Move Markets, Audiences, People, and Brands, a book he co-authored with his long-time collaborator with Ryan Matthews. I've only begun to read it and already found it fascinating and I'm sure more ideas for posts will follow this one.

Books on Religion and Spirituality Fuel Bookstore Growth

To illustrate how things change, Wacker's book mentions the growth of certain sections within bookstores. In particular, the addition and expansion of books on religion and spirituality. These now important sections were non-existent or relegated to a few shelves just a few years ago. This caused me think about my own recognition of how religious art has grown in importance in the past few years. It coincides with a burgeoning Christian music and Christian bookstore movement and a general interest in secular spirituality of all sorts.

Cultural Trends Are Art Marketing Opportunities

Trends like these are strong indicators of interest and as such present opportunities for those artists who are personally motivated to tap into a movement. I can't imagine one attempting to make a foray here without personal interest and beliefs in what these things mean. To borrow a well-worn cliche, this is one where you need to walk the talk if you want to be taken seriously.

Interest in Non-traditional Spirituality Is Growing

It's not just traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs fueling interest. Alternative spirituality has never been more popular now than ever in the U.S. The popularity of the secular Website, Beliefnet, (Alexa traffic ranking 4,938)with features articles on God, faith, prayer, the nature of spirituality, society and ethics, with numerous resources and all religions respected, stands in testament to our desires to tap into, or explore some version of religion or spirituality.

My personal observation regarding the practice of religion is many people tend to take a little from here and there and few are dogmatic. That is, certain truths and customs can make sense to us even though they come from disparate systems of beliefs. For instance, Catholics who believe in the basic tenets of the Church, but don't abide by or believe in its stance on birth control. Or, an otherwise devout Lutheran who finds solace in the mysticism surrounding vortexes in Sedona, AZ.

These are not dichotomies, but realities we all live with and accept. Hidebound church leaders and purists may have difficulty when faced with such truths about their flocks, but the members rarely do. Certainly, the large number of those who have never attended regular church services, or do so sproradically on holidays, etc., realize religion and spirituality is both personal and complex. Many yearn for something to give meaning to their lives, but look for answers outside of organized religion. And, with our ever more closely knit world, it's ever more easy to understand and embrace beliefs from other cultures.

If You Have the Right Stuff, This Market Is Waiting

An artist who can put such mixed feelings and sense of devotion into his or her own work in a way that touches people may inadvertently create a subset within a growing market trend. Can you manipulate work within this context purely for profit? I seriously doubt it. One thing the overexposure to mass marketing and media has done is to give us all very effective b.s. detectors. When we smell or spot a phony, we walk away. When it involves those attempting to cash in on something like religion, we run away.

Creating With a Personal Vision - Getting Behind What You Feel Is Real

Given the growing interest often deeply held personal feelings and beliefs of many towards religion and spirituality, it seems those artists whose own beliefs and feelings align with these trends ought to be able to serve their own needs to be fulfilled as an artist and perhaps to satisfy a desire to express their own feelings in a way that might help or inspire others.

It may not always work this way, but certainly in this is a case, contributing to or building a body of work around a growing trend when the artist is personally involved would make for a natural believable fit for collectors interested in the genre. When you create what you are passionate about, the greatest reward may be in the doing.

By tying your talent, your heart, your head and your religious beliefs together, you create a formula sure to benefit you on multiple levels. If you are moved by these thoughts, then exploring religion and spirituality as a contextual concept for your creative output should be an easy step to take.

It's Not the Economy Stupid

The title of this post is a paraphrase of the mantra from Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. Then it was, "It's the Economy Stupid." The harsh point was used to focus his campaign on the single most important topic that helped get him elected.

It's Not the Economy Today Stupid

With the deteriorating housing market, rising cost of gas and food and other economic woes it would seem easy to say, (with apologies to Yogi Berra) we are having deja vu all over again. However, in my humble opinion, the economy is not the real problem for visual artists, authors or musicians. Not to discount the effects these things and a lingering war effort have on the situation. They admittedly are profound.

Changing Consumer Habits Are the Real Threat

The real threat is how the creative product of artists is being consumed and viewed. Print-on-demand, the Internet and other technologies are evolving at an incredible pace. All kinds of industries are reeling from dramatic changes in consumer habits. CDs for musicians are ancient history and the level of unpaid copied and downloaded product continues to rise despite efforts to abate them. Newspapers are suffering serious drops in readership. Their cash cow classified sections are being decimated by www.craigslist.org. Small retailers are plowed under by the voracious Wal-Mart juggernaut. Thinking about all this is enough to make a person throw up their hands and cry or maybe just throw up. But the former is not a solution and the latter is just messy.

Creating Self-determined and Managed Distribution Channels is Imperative

I have frequently commented artists need to find or create new alternative ways to get their product to market. Some will come from new products, or by utilizing existing technologies to create 2-D art or digital art to engage consumers in novel ways. As changes unfurl, challenges arise and some offer opportunity. It doesn't have to be high tech, it could be a new twist on old-fashioned high touch. My previous post here, Wired Art Marketing Idea, showed how Wired magazine and Xerox partnered to use technology to offer users a fun interactive way to personalize its iconic cover to anyone with a computer. It was a fun, effective bit of viral marketing for both companies (It worked well enough for you to read about it here a year later.) The post was an effort to say, "Think about doing things differently, much differently."

Christine Kane Is an Inspiring Real Deal

Christine Kane, is one artist who has embraced change and profited professionally and personally from it. I have, along with thousands of others, grown to greatly admire her on many levels. She is an accomplished successful recording and touring singer-songwriter. Long ago, she took control of her destiny. Through hard work and talent, she grew a profitable career as musician. She is also a successful blogger. Out of her blogging, she has grown a retreat workshop business. The success she is enjoying from her workshops is causing her to rethink her recording career and musical career.

Now, having her stop writing songs and recording would be a shame for her thousands of fans, but if it is where she wants to go or is driven to go, then more power to her for having the guts and ability to make such a monumental change. If you read her thoughts on her Web site or blog, it's easy to pick up how evolving market conditions out of control of musicians like her is forcing change. It is unwanted, as is most change, but is nevertheless inevitable. She has the courage, wisdom and wherewithal to envision it, do something about it and use it to enlighten and encourage others to make their own changes.

Her recent blog posts, Bake Sales or Blogging: What’s your Paradigm? and Creating vs. Getting are must reads. Give them some thought as they are certain to challenge some of your own thinking about your career, where it is headed and if you are on the right track. Will Rogers once remarked, "Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you don't keep moving." Christine Kane is an artist and business person on the move. Find whatever works from her model to employ in your own career and keep on moving yourself.

Wired Art Marketing Idea

About a year ago, Wired, a leading tech publication, offered its readers, anyone actually, the chance to create their own personalized cover, like the one pictured here, in a promotion sponsored by Xerox.

Good Ideas Never Go Away

Then as now, I thought it was a great idea. But, I put it away in lieu of other blog post concepts. It's stayed with me and I present it to you today as a way to stimulate your own thoughts on how you might think of creative ways to interact with your collectors and prospects.

The promotion was done as a creative way to show off the Xerox XMPie™ product line, which it had acquired in 2006. Specifically, it allows users to implement its Image Personalization tool to create the personalized headline and illustrate the versatility and ease-of-use of the program. I'm not sure what the price is for the program. It doesn't say on the product's Website. For those of you who own Adobe Creative Suite 2 or 3, you can download a free 30 day trial.

Employ Creative Borrowing to Invent Your Personalized Promotion Ideas

What's more important than the technology to readers of this blog is the concept behind the use of the technology. That is, borrowing on the concept to help you use whatever means, technology or otherwise, available to you, get in gear to think how to personalize your art for your collectors is what is important.

Giclées Are Just One Way to Personalize

The giclée process with its variable size capabilities is just one way you can personalize art for your collectors. I think this alone is underutilized as a way to truly serve customers' specific needs. Substrates are another way to personalize your work. New products are frequently being announced. These are but two examples of how technology can be used to personalize art. Can you imagine collectors willing to pay a nice premium for something personalized for them? I can.

Personalizing on a Small Scale Is an Advantage

If you are able to use the XMPie program to let your collectors and prospects have fun with your art and create a personalized printable product like the one pictured here, wouldn't that be way cool? How much good will, promotion and publcity you can generate with an ideal like this? In the right hands, the possibilities offer great promise on multiple levels.

Dont' Sweat the Small Stuff

Don't stress if you lack the tools or budget to use this program. The idea behind how to reach and influence your customers is the important thing. With a bit of creativity, you can come up with your own unique ways to get personal with those important to your career.

HDExpo Puts Art in the Hospitality Picture

Changes in the tradeshow scene regarding the art business have been frequently reported here. The traditional industry shows such as ArtExpo and Decor Expo are well off their peak years in size, as are the publications that support them. And, the total number of shows serving the industry are at lows not seen in decades. No matter what factors you use to account for the downward trend, they are sadly there and showing no signs of resurgence.

Tradeshow Woes Are a Problem Across Many Industries

It's not just art and picture framing shows that are on their heels. You needn't look hard to find evidence of contraction in all kinds of industries. Given such a multi-industry trend is surely a cause to wonder if there are alternative shows worth either attending or exhibiting for artists and publishers.

There Are Bright Spots To Be Found

One growing show growing increasingly important to many art publishers and self-representing artists is the HDExpo. It is the sister tradeshow to Hospitality Design magazine, which also is growing in size. These entities primarily serve complete design needs for hotels, restaurants and corporate centers.

Gaining traction in this market is a way to create a steady cash flow from a distribution source outside the gallery and online channels that are top of mind for most artists. Not to say the field isn't competitive. It is, but I have always maintained there is ample room in the most crowded fields for artists who bring a fresh perspective to the scene.

Hospitality Design Magazine Publishes Largest Issue Ever

As a former trade magazine rep, I drooled with lust when I saw the most recent at-show copy of Hospitality Design. At 448-pages plus cover, it resembles a mid-size city phone book. I hadn't seen a trade pub that size since the heyday of Decor magazine's show issues for New York or Atlanta many moons ago. The combination of growing importance of the HDExpo show and the size of the magazine puts an exclamation point on their momentum and the market they represent.

Las Vegas Is a Boom Town for Home Furnishings & Hospitality Design Shows

Las Vegas is also home to the World Market Center. It is the host site of the Las Vegas Market, which also is bucking the downward trend as a huge fast growing international home furnishing marketplace. The common wisdom for decades was no venue could successfully compete against the IHFC show and the concurrent shows in High Point, NC for the home furnishings market.  In just a few short years, the Las Vegas Market has proven there can be a viable alternative to the IHFC.

To Be An Effective Marketer in an Industry, You Must Be a Student of It

Effective marketing is a multi-year strategy. The first stage is to become educated about potentially lucrative markets important and new to your business. If you have your own designs on seeing your originals and reproductions used in the hospitality industry, learn all you can about the shows mentioned here and the markets they represent. You likely don't have the budget to tackle them all. But spending time studying them is a great first step towards getting your foot in the door at one of them at the appropriate time.

On the HDExpo Web site, go to Expo/Exhibitor List/Product Category Search. Start with the Artwork: Prints/Reproductions/Photography category and work your way through all the other appropriate categories for ideas on companies to approach, or to see what those exhibiting are doing on their on Web sites. It will be time well spent to study this terrific resource. And, of course, if you can actually go there, all the better. This year's May 14-17 conference and May 15 -17 exhibition dates are upon us. If it's too quick for this year, tickle it as a must for 2009.

Surtex Offers Artists Yet Another Alternative to Galleries and Selling Online

The Surtex show runs May 18 - 20 at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. Surtex bills itself as a licensing show for original art and design and offers a different kind of distribution and income from the hospitality business. Surtex is a terrific venue for artists who want to license their work. It's a show to walk the first year and then to decide if paying for exhibit space makes sense. Many artists are able to make connections there by respectfully and tactfully approaching publishers and licensors when they are not otherwise busy in their booths. The better you prepare for these shows, the better your experience will be.

On Being 60

The blessing I get from penning this blog comes from artists who let me know it helps improve their knowledge, and sometimes provides inspiration and steers them to wise informed career choices.

The mission for this blog is not to be about me. However, since this post comes on the occasion of my 60th birthday this week, I'm using it to muse on being 60 and offer witticisms such as, "Any day I wake on the right side of the dirt is a good day".

Not too old to rock n' roll

All in all, for one a decade past AARP age requirements, I feel pretty good and happy. I have not joined AARP as I am far from retired and look upon most of what the organization offers as self-serving marketing hype. But then I'm a cynic who doesn't need 10% discounts at Denny's or Best Western. On being 60, I may not be quite as happy to enjoy a birthday as little Eli pictured here on his first, but I'm darn close and pleased to report only one of us is wearing diapers and it ain't me.

0 - 60 in the blink of an eye

Becoming 60 is much like life in that it sneaks up on you and has you wondering just how one got there there so fast. Or, in my case and more pointedly, how I got there at all. Looking back, in my younger days I tempted fate more than I should have and I am grateful to more fully grasp the saying, "There but for fortune go I."

Now, being older and wiser, I'm thrilled to have ridden our earthly sphere 60 turns around the sun, and looking forward to many more. It's humbling to know my life has been lived in relative ease. Whatever quirk of fate blessed me to come forth under favorable circumstances is nothing short of astonishing. Sure, I could have taller, better looking, smarter, funnier with an abundance of wealth and unlimited talent. But in comparison to suffering from poor health or abject poverty anywhere, being a desperate parentless HIV positive child in Africa, or an average citizen of Baghdad praying for an end to violence, I have no complaints.

Sometimers is not age specific

When I couldn't recall something the other day, I remarked to a young clerk in a store waiting on me despite my gray hair I was not suffering from "Oldtimers." She told me I just had "Sometimers." I asked what that was and she said, "You know, it's like sometimes you just can't remember shit." Sounded good to me... now if my car keys just turn up sometime soon.;>)

My best friend and dear sweet wife, Mary, gave me a lively fun puppy named Maggie Mae for my birthday. It's hard to imagine a better present, but the Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream cake from Baskin-Robbins was a close second. The best gift anyone who enjoys reading this blog could give me is to let others know about it. When you are so moved, please tell the world about it, or at least your friends and acquaintances. I will be forever grateful when you do.

French Incent Buying Art - Guggenheim Vegas Closing - Using Whitey Ball in a Down Market - ArtExpo Vegas a Conservative Go

Signs of changing times:

• The announcement came last week the French government is so distraught over slipping in worldwide art sales, falling to third behind China, it is offering interest free loans for its citizens to buy fine art.
• It in a sad, but not completely surprising item, the Las Vegas Sun reports the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum there is scheduled to shutter next month...sigh. But, in the perfection of hindsight, looking at Vegas marketing then and now, it seems logical it would not work.

Sin City Is the Name of the Game

You may recall Las Vegas formerly tried to tout itself as a family friendly destination with water slides, the Wizard of OZ's Yellow Brick Road at the MGM, roller coasters and so forth. However, it didn't take long for the shine to wear off that idea before Vegas reverted to true form. It is, after all, called Sin City for good reason. The popular and effective "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" slogan that replaced the family theme has been successful because it pointedly captures the allure of Vegas.

In retrospect, the familiar saying, "You can't make a silk purse out a of a sow's ear" now seems appropriate to putting one of the most prestigious fine art museums in Vegas. As the Las Vegas Sun article points out, there were other problems, but at the heart of it, it just wasn't a good fit. The closing of the Guggenheim speaks volumes about culture, or lack thereof, in Vegas, and to a degree how specialized the interest and marketing of fine art is. The wisdom of crowds theory dictates the taste for Vegas is gambling, dining, nightclubbing, extravagant shows and forbidden fruit with not much energy or enthusiasm for fine art experiences.

In the tradeshow business, the take on destinations such as Las Vegas and San Francisco is they are great convention, but largely lousy tradeshow towns. Simply, the distractions are too powerful to keep crowds on the floor for smaller shows. Behemoths, such as Comdex, draw so many attendees they override the common wisdom. That said, it is only fair to note some small tradeshows such as the annual West Coast Art & Frame show do well there regardless. And in fairness to Vegas, there are but a a handful of cities worldwide that could sustain a Guggenheim museum.

You Can't Put Round Art into a Square Frame, No Matter How Glittery the Frame

The moral of the Guggenheim Vegas story is you can't force something where it doesn't fit. Put another way, swinging for the fences in an attempt to clear the bases with a Grand Slam homerun grandiose idea is not always a winning strategy. For art marketers, this lesson could not be more true, especially in a down economy. Looking back, the concept of an exquisite fine art museum in Vegas was a grandiose idea gone awry. The baseball analogy provides a nice segue to discuss employing a strategy called "Whitey Ball" for art marketers in a down market.

The Whitey Ball Strategy for Art Marketing in a Down Market

In the 1980s, the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team didn't have big hitting sluggers on its roster. Its huge ballpark with faraway fences didn't suit having them on the payroll. Instead, the team's wily manager, Whitey Herzog, used his creativity to build a team around speed and slap hitting singles batters. During his tenure, Herzog picked players who were fleet of foot with the ability to steal bases, move fast to plug defenses and thwart their opponent's offenses. Whitey always sought as many chances at bat he could get for his players. Essentially, he adapted his strategy to conform to what he had to work with. The results were spectacular with three National League pennants and two World Series appearances, including a World Series Championship in 1982.

Piling Up Singles in Today's Economy Is a Great Strategy

Whether you are an independent self-representing artist or a big time publisher, this is a good time to employ your version of Whitey Ball marketing. For those serious about sustaining and building their businesses, smart marketing is more crucial now than in good times. Maintaining your marketing edge now will, when the economy turns, put you far ahead of those who hunker down and do nothing.

NINE IDEAS FOR USING WHITEY BALL MARKETING WITH YOUR ART BUSINESS

1. Accurately assess your resources, opportunities and goals. Doing so serves to keep your expectations real.
2. Give your business every chance at bat it can get. Look for all the publicity and media notice you can garner - there are more opportunities than you realize. It all matters and it all adds up when you find and use them.
3. Shore up your defenses by tightening non-essential spending keeping funds available for the best opportunities.
4. Go for the single when you get to bat. The first step to getting a run is to get on base. The first step to getting repeat sales is to establish a relationship with a potential collector or gallery
5. Carefully weigh your options. When it comes to deciding how to allocate your marketing budget, employing the carpenter's credo to measure twice and cut once is a wise idea.
6. Renegotiate with your suppliers to get every discount, value added service and the lowest prices they can provide you.
7. Explore every viable means to diversify your distribution channels. Going forward, alternative, creative marketing is a fact of life no matter what the economy is doing.
8. Do whatever you must to make sure your customers are happy and your service is par excellence.
9. Don't buy into fanciful untried ideas (Or, if you must, start small and play conservatively. If it's good, you'll have time later to ratchet up your participation.)

Your Best Ideas Likely May Come From Doing Something You Were Sure You Would Never Do

To get creative, it helps to get outside your comfort zone. Try thinking about doing things differently, much differently. For instance, consider where have you not been, what have you not done and what you would never do. A marvelous brainstorming activity is to take a large sheet of paper and write down all the people, places and things you would never approach or do in your business. The harder you think about it and the more ideas you conjure up, the more likely your best out of left field (baseball pun intended) idea will come.

ArtExpo Las Vegas is a Conservative Go

Is there a correlation or lesson about the ArtExpo Las Vegas show and the closing of the Guggenheim Hermitage? Of course, especially if you believed Vegas had become an art mecca. I fell under that spell. Like many others, I was a strong proponent of the ArtExpo Vegas show last year. I devoted several encouraging posts on Art Print Issues and another on the very popular AbsoluteArts.com blog, where I contribute frequently.

My post show follow up was more sanguine. Like the folks at the Guggenheim and many others, I felt Vegas offered promise. Seeing the museum close and the ArtExpo show last year come off smaller than anyone would have hoped for and now in tougher economic times, it's hard to muster great enthusiasm for the 2008 show. Still, the industry is down to few choices for shows and this is one of them.

If you have the resources, ArtExpo Vegas can work to your advantage to exhibit there.

I met several self-representing artists who were thrilled they made the decision to go. The smartest advice is to go expecting the best, but also be prepared for something less than that. By doing so, you are poised to react to a good outcome and will negate the deflation of a bummer experience by having acknowledged the possibility of it. Exhibiting there, especially as unknown artist is akin to gambling, don't play with money you can't afford to lose. Go with a good marketing plan, use solid money management to keep losses to a minimum and play hard and smart and pray for a hot streak

What the artists with whom I met that had a great ArtExpo Vegas show had in common was they had unique well developed thematic styles that appealed to certain buyers with substantial open to buy budgets. In other words, in each case it was a single buyer that made the difference for them. This scenario is likely to happen again this year, but understand the buyers are selective. It doesn't mean your images aren't good if you don't succeed. It could be they are not right for those buyers who attend. Being able to know the difference only comes with experience. If you lack it, seek the advice of others to get an honest, if not brutal, assessment of where your art comes in.

The art print market is evolving and so are the venues and media that report on, promote and support it.

What we are witnessing is the rapid deconstruction of how things were done in the past. It is far from an art industry problem. You can find reports of all kinds of shows and media contracting from their once bulging sizes. It's harder to find where the business is going. Some to the Internet, some to targeted marketing and some to marginal players folding their tents.

To maximize your return, you need to pay close attention to help you understand how the business is evolving. Playing Whitey Ball with your marketing will help you sustain your business as you wind through the challenging times we find ourselves in today.

Art Marketing Lessons from American Idol

American Idol is a true phenomenon that offers visual artists marketing lessons. From humble beginnings, the Fox singing contest reality show program has grown to 27 million viewers making it the most-watched TV show in the US. Additionally, it is broadcast in a taped version to 100 countries worldwide.

The show makes for great water cooler conversational fodder for die hard fans. For others, including me, it is a guilty pleasure. I admit to overcoming smug somewhat elitist feelings of being too busy, too cool, too with it to spend time watching it. Somewhere around SeasonThree, I succumbed as it grabbed my attention. I imagine some reading this have noses turned up thinking what a crock. But, that's okay, different opinions make things interesting and you are invited to freely express yourself by commenting below.

Most reality shows seem to be about taking ordinary people and putting them in stressful situations so they will make fools of themselves for the viewers entertainment. AI plays this game too as it winnows the more than 100,000 contestants down to a select few. But, when only a dozen contestants are left, it becomes truly interesting as real talent is put to the test.

I'm sure some tune in to hear withering remarks from British judge, Simon Cowell. But, I believe more watch because they like the music, grow fond of the performers and enjoy the opportunity to participate and support them with their votes. The drama, talent and tension are played out in ways that offer lessons to visual artists seeking to create their own bond with an audience.

THREE TIPS TO REMEMBER

The judges are forced to provide commentary and insight. Most of it is forgettable, occasionally some tips are poignant classic reminders worthy of taking notice. Regular viewers hear the same repeated advice, which is spot on and can be boiled down to:

1. BE ORIGINAL - The contestants most often sing songs well known to the audience. When one takes material and makes it fresh and new into her or his own, there is magic when what is familiar becomes original. On the other hand, when a watered down version of a popular song is sung, it always falls flat.
2. MAKE GREAT CHOICES - It seems near impossible for a singer to make magic if they lack a true connection to the song. You've heard the phrase, "He could sing the phone book and it would sound good." That said, no one will buy a phone book song, nor will a career be made. The audience cannot be fooled by a lackluster performance or a terrific technical performance where there is no connection of the singer to the song. Those who take and own a song are always sent to the next round. It is those who don't, despite obvious talent, who risk being sent home.
3. PRESENTATION IS CRUCIAL - As a potential singing star, presentation is crucial. This includes hair, makeup and wardrobe. Moving well with confidence on stage and playing to the camera also are important. This means nonchalantly acknowledging the camera without being mesmerized by it. Most importantly, presentation is a matter of being likable, or admirable or both. When an artist's personality shines through the song and in the silly, sometimes cruel moments before and after singing, a further connection or bond with audience is established. When the song connection and the audience connection come together, you get what Cowell calls the "IT" factor. This as when you got it, you got it.

So, how does this all translate to a career as a visual artist?

BE ORIGINAL - In the observations of the common attributes shared by successful artists, I've long noted, even well before I wrote my book, the primary criteria or first matter is to create work that resonates with prospective collectors and to find interesting ways to repeat new iterations of the same theme. Be successful, be original, and by all means don't be afraid to be IT!

MAKE GREAT CONTENT OR THEME CHOICES - Often the most successful artists are not creating a brand new look, but rather reinterpreting a style to make it original for themselves. Nothing wrong with being a pioneer, but it's not necessarily a surefire way to amass collectors either. The artist who owns the look does not have to have invented it. You may have read it here before, but this adage is apropos and worth repeating. "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

PRESENTATION IS CRUCIAL - If the artist lacks confidence, or at least the ability to passionately portray confidence in the work, the job of selling the work falls solely to art. There is simply more to it than that. Perhaps  it's not fair, but most buyers would rather own a piece of art from someone they like or admire or both than from one who they don't. This is far more critical for self-representing artists than for those who work in relative anonymity in the stable of a large publishing company. But then in those cases, the publisher has to shine in the way it conducts its business. As for poster publishers, there arguably is no better example than Wild Apple Graphics of a company that knows how to shine a light on itself.

Seven Savvy Points to Ponder from American Idol

1. Don't let the critics deter you when you are right, but be smart enough to know when they are right.
2. The purest talent isn't always the biggest winner.
3. Find a niche large enough to carry your interest and to build  a market.
4. You can sometimes stumble and fall and still pull through if you retool to come back strong with work that touches your audience.
5. If you aren't particularly likable, you have to be interesting, admirable or compelling in some unusual way.
6. You can't bore people into success or buying your art.
7. If you become successful, use your clout to help worthy causes

Drawing the Line on Reproductions

Technology for better and worse...sometimes a little of both

For as long as the ability to reproduce art has been available, there have been those who have sought to use it for legitimate purposes, and unfortunately also for ill-gotten gain. There were numerous reports last month about a ring of crooks busted for selling $7 million in fake Picasso, Miro, Dali and Chagall prints, including a post here. These details come nearly on the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the conviction of Kristine Eubanks and her husband, Gerald Sullivan. That pair had been charged with selling $20 million in bogus art prints, many of which were made in their own professional giclée printmaker studio.

(This content is republished from the April 3, 2008 Absolute Arts blog where I am a guest blogger and where you will find an interesting running commentary on it.)

Personally, I quite enjoy that visual artists can reproduce their work and thus create a secondary cash flow from it. It gives them another price point and allows them to introduce their work to many more collectors as well. Seeing cases of fraud, as mentioned above, concerns me visual artists creating legitimate reproductions can sometimes find themselves under unwanted unnecessary scrutiny. As if making a go of it for most artists was not already difficult enough.

What Is Art?

Part of the romantic allure of the art business – yes folks, it is a business – is it is kind of Wild West when it comes to what one wants to do and what one wants to call it. By golly, the debate over “What is art?” rages on and has never really been satisfied. Surely, the folks at the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) can attest from regularly coming under siege for funding controversial works can tell you there is a wide range of sentiment regarding the question of “What is art?”

So, if we can’t decide on what is art, is there any chance we can decide on what is a print? The short and correct answer is no. The mixed use of terms in the business creates confusion that leads to anxiety and distrust.

What Is Investment Art? Can Giclées Be Considered Investment Art?

For many, buying art is more intriguing because one can also hope it may appreciate in time. Ask any of those folks taking part in the $200 million dollar class action suit against the Park West Galleries for its cruise ship art auction tactics. You can bet all bought with the idea of getting a great deal. Unfortunately for them it was only after being shorn did they realize they overpaid for art. It is the same mentality and likely the same herd, only on terra firma, that were taken in by the aforementioned couple of Eubanks and Sullivan who foisted their fraudulent works on their “Fine Art Treasures” cable TV show. In fairness, savvy buyers through the centuries have capitalized on buying undervalued art...and still do today. Tennis great, John McEnroe, says he's made more money in the art market than on the court.

We Should Rethink Limiting Digital Prints

I have for years championed the idea of abandoning limited editions for giclées. In fact, I blogged nearly three years ago on Absolute Arts with a post titled “Limiting Success” about it as well as on my own Art Print Issues blog. It just doesn't’t make sense to me for a variety of reasons; including it begs the question of why limit that which can endlessly be reproduced perfectly or as improvements come along all the better.

Limited editions also nicely lend themselves to some of the schemes mentioned here. I contend if the art is good enough, people will pay a fair price for it knowing it is in unlimited supply, which might help thwart some phony print schemes. Do I care if a recording artist sells millions of copies? Why should I care how many a visual artist will sell? If I want truly intrinsic value from a limited supply, I will pony up for an original, which is why many galleries have left the print/giclée market. They are tired of romancing the artist to a prospective collector only to lose the sale via the Internet when the buyer shops it. Selling originals avoids this problem, but it puts a kink in an artist's ability to leverage his or her work in the print market, which creates just another problem.

Regardless of what I have had to say, the fine art digital reproduction limited edition business remains strong, if not as vibrant as in its glory days. But then, you can say that about all kinds of businesses these days struggling to figure out how to survive in challenging changing times. Today, you can find many artists raking in big bucks selling limited editions in all manner of limited edition configurations. And, their galleries and they are not about to abandon a successful situation. Who can blame them? I merely argue they are leaving money on the table in the long haul by limiting editions.

How much did Greenwich Workshop & Bev Doolittle leave on the table?

Bev Doolittle's first giclées sold out nearly 4,000 pieces in a short time. Could she have sold more and still be selling them if they were merely numbered, but not limited? I contend yes. The early low numbers would ultimately have collectible value if the art is truly appreciable and not being Ponzied up by a limited edition marketing scheme. In Doolittle's case, I think the art would stand up to being open and sell well for years making he and her publisher more money with more happy collectors in the program as well.

A great image might sell well for years just as the back catalog of recording artists do. These steady streams of income could make a striking financial difference for popular artists and their families. Some, like the gifted watercolor artist, Steve Hanks, have retired huge editions on paper and are now releasing the images on canvas. I think Hanks would have never had to quit selling his work if the editions were they open and sequentially numbered because the work is enormously popular, timeless, compelling, representational and surreal at once. Instead, he’s had to resort to putting his watercolor work on canvas, which hardly reproduces as faithfully as his editions on paper.

Someone commented on my blog recently that giclées cannot be considered limited editions unless they are all produced at one time. The contention is they are a limited series instead. Once again, an interesting arguable take that further muddies the waters and heightens the desire for a ruling body to take hold.

Dead Artist's Estates Are Still Cranking Out Editions - So Are the Crooks - Who is Gary Arseneau?

To further stir the pot, there are many dead artists whose estates continue to print reproductions of their work. This, of course has been going on for years with the big names like Dali, Picasso, Miro and Chagall. While long gone, these artists remain in the news for the sale of both legitimate and fake reproductions of their work. Now along comes Gary Arseneau, he is a self-styled independent scholar, an artist, printmaker of original lithographs and a blogger. He is also the self-published author of books such as The Monument to the Victor Hugo Deception.

We ought to be asking, “Who is Gary Arseneau?” Is he a gadfly, or a crusader tilting in the wind trying to stem the tide of fake reproductions? You can only decide by spending time on his blog where he outlines in great detail his argument that the works of Rodin, Degas, Matisse, Duchamp and even Dr. Seuss that are being reproduced by their estates and heirs are fakes. He makes a heck of an interesting argument. Certainly, if you care about reproductions, buy them, produce or market them, you owe it to yourself to study his findings, read his arguments and come up with your own conclusions.

Is Having a Set of Enforcable Understandable Standards Too Much to Hope For?

Regardless of your personal opinion, the can of worms opened by Mr. Arseneau hastens the idea that establishing and enforcing true standards in the art world would be helpful. It is a crazy notion, I agree, but until a line is drawn on reproductions, the visual arts community will carry the burden of proving itself beyond reproach each time art of any value goes to market.

Artists Who Establish Authenticity and Transparency in Their Business Practices Will Win

As the world shrinks due to instant information and communication, being authentic and transparent becomes imperative. For those artists who find a way to embrace authenticity and transparency in how they create multiples or reproductions of their popular work and manage and market their business, there is ample reward awaiting them and their rightful heirs.

Advice on Working with Giclées & Giclée Printers

Congratulations! You've decided to create giclées of your work. Here are some important things to know. These items are by no means all you need to consider, but should help inform your decision on how to best proceed and succeed with adding giclées to your portfolio. The savvy suggestions provided here come courtesy of Barry Glustoff, master giclée printer and owner of Digital Arts Studio in Atlanta, GA. with a select few comments by me.

Tips for Great Results with Giclée Printing

Image Capture

Quality is essential to effectively compete in today's print marketplace

• The best result for your final output starts with your initial step, which is your image capture
• Quite simply, the most critical part of producing the highest quality finished work begins with a obtaining the highest caliber digitized file of your work available
• The adage, "garbage in equals garbage out" is an inarguable proven fact here
• Creating the best possible digital file of your work requires a professional's skills, equipment and expertise
• Although technological advances have brought costs down, professional grade digital scanners and cameras used for fine art reproduction still cost tens of thousands of dollars
• Equally important is the specialized filtered lighting needed to properly illuminate artwork, capture its subtle textures and details, and to eliminate glare from canvas varnishes and glossy paints
• The best latest 10-15 megapixels digital cameras using flash or outdoor lighting are still incapable of creating highest quality image capture

Selecting a Giclée Printmaker

Finding the right printer is more important than finding the closest printer

• When shopping for a giclée printmaker, look for those that do their own digital capture and printing
• Prices for this service range from $75 to $300 per image for color corrected, and proofed files ready for print
• Some printers companies waive this fee with a minimum print purchase causing you to weigh the pros and cons of paying a set up cost versus ordering more inventory than you need
• A first-hand recommendation or warning from someone else's experience might be the best criteria for finding your ideal giclée printmaker
• Make every attempt to contact other artists who have or currently use a printmaker you are considering
• Some printers, especially those only that operate exclusively online might appear to be full service or less expensive than others, but they may not be able to provide the attention needed to "get it right".  Or may be shipping work offshore without your knowledge

Tips for Working with Your Giclée Printer

They may be the experts, but you need to maintain control

• Your printer should strive to establish a cooperative, working collaboration with you, understanding your needs and goals, and able to easily communicate with you in "non-technical" language
• It is highly suggeted to maintain an actual print in your portfolio of each substrate you print on as a reference sample
• Don't let any printer hold your artistic property "hostage" in case you're not satisfied with their print quality
• It is critical you archive your own backup copies of your digital files for safekeeping
• Whenever possible, get actual printed proof copies of your work, printed on the canvas and/or paper type you intend to use. Don't be "fooled" by companies who refuse to provide this option
• Every giclée printer attempts to accurately match your work, but depending on equipment, types of inks, papers and skill, it is not always possible to get 100% accuracy. This is often the case when attempting to reproduce one media with another, such as printing a copy of an oil painting with water-based, pigmented inks
• The color range of the pigmented inks used in giclée printmaking is not always equal to the colors achievable with solid, pigmented oil or acrylic paint
• Seldom, if ever, will the original and the reproduction be displayed side by side. That said, a competent giclée printmaker will have a great understanding of color control and correction techniques and should attempt to make any corrections as directed by the artist, until satisfied

The Giclée Advantage

Print-on-demand has forever changed how fine art print reproductions are created and marketed

• Avoiding the costs associated with inventory. You don’t pay to print until you have orders.
• Creates a saleable replica from your original that is a faithful representation of your work
• Print on a wide variety of substrates, including paper, canvas, metal, Mylar, wood and more
• The color gamut range is higher than with traditional offset printing
• Multiple sizes are easily made within equipment and aspect ratio capabilities
• Custom projects for collectors are easily and affordably fulfilled