Gallery Wraps for your Fine Art
I love the presentation of a piece that is gallery wrapped. Wraps may not be the proper scenario in many cases but…for taking things on the road for street fairs and other venues like that, I think they are great.
Some of the great things about gallery wraps for me as an artist are;
1-They save me money when I am putting together a show. High quality framing is expensive.
2-They save me time, time in production, packing and unpacking.
3-I can easily protect my paintings. Custom made boxes are very inexpensive and I dont have to worry about glass.
4-A nicely wrapped canvas presents a “neutral” piece and keeps the focus on my work.
Obviously there are some challenges as well. I can hear the moans, groans and gnashing of teeth. You really have to cater your presentation to the location and the show. I am not thinking that a show made up of 50,000 dollar pieces, and hosted in an Antebellum home would be the proper place for a gallery wrap. On the other hand a high end show in a contemporary home a gallery wrap will work great.
Another thing to point out is that you don’t have the opportunity to make a back-end sell on a nice frame. If you have developed or want to develop a nice back-end income framing is one way to do it. I personally work with a professional framer for my clients. I know I leave some money on the table doing that but…I don’t like to frame, I would rather paint.
So for my work, most of the time a gallery wrap is good for an initial presentation. Even if you don’t want to use wraps for your large upper end pieces you might consider using them for smaller less expensive pieces or even for a print series.
So if you are interested in a very cool inexpensive way to wrap your images, check out Hahnemuhle Fine Art. They have been a favorite of mine for the high-end paper for some time. This new system for putting together canvas wraps is awesome.
Here is a video from Hahnemuhle’s PR office. This original video didn’t have sound. Kari from PR informed me a new video will be out in September.
You can get this wrap system from your local art supplie shop or you can contact Hahnemuhle Fine Art directly for the nearest vendor.
Digital Paint Magazine Release
A new virtual magazine publication has just been released. Master Painter John Derry and myself have started Digital Paint Magazine. The online publication is sparkly and fun. John writes in his “From the Editor” section,
Websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, mobile connectivity…the world is indeed shrinking. We now have a wealth of communication channels to choose from. Print-one of the elder statesmen of communication-is facing a strong headwind in this brave new world. Digital Paint Magazine is a small step towards combining the format of a print magazine with the now ubiquitous stream of digital communication.
A major passion of mine is exploring human expression. Art is a unique quality that defines what it is to be human. We all express ourselves in some way. It may be as simple as the clothes we wear or the style of our hair. Some of us discover ways to express our inner feelings in word , song, and art. Digital Paint Magazine will offer a look at a variety of people that have found expression through the new expressive digital tools.
It is our hope that these featured examples of self-expression-as well as a variety of educational content-will serve to inspire our readers to join the expressive renaissance that we are now experiencing.
DPM is a work-in-progress. No doubt it will change as we learn from our readers, as well as ourselves. One of the great joys of life is that we are always learning, always growing, and always expressing ourselves. So sit back, enjoy the ride, and challenge yourselves to further explore your own inner expression.
Welcome to the Revolution!
John Derry
Well-said John! We are pleased that the first issue is out and are looking forward to our readers, viewers and listeners to get involved. We want to serve up what is wanted and needed. Let us know if we are on the right track.
Rembrandt Goes Digital
I have often wondered what some of my heroes from back in the day would have thought about the whole digital revolution. Would many of them have embraced the technology and utilized it for a whole new movement? If so which ones? There is no doubt that the mainstream would have scoffed and that an image using pixels instead of paint would have been banned from the high-end shows. The thought of a pixel entering the Louvre would have buried the nearest hospital with heart patients. (still does)
That being said I was delighted to see a new digital spin from an old master. The Complete Rembrandt Lifesize is a new exhibition that opened last month in Boesingheliede, near Amsterdam, Netherlands. Full sized digital reproductions of all known paintings (317 of them), 285 etchings and more than 100 drawings can be viewed in much like they left Rembrandts studio. How cool is that?
Through digital artistry we will have the ability to see the full painting where there was a sizeable piece of canvas missing, the vibrancy diluted by time re-instated, and hidden details not viewable because of aging pigment now emerge into view.
The digital imaging of each of the 687 reprints was supervised by Professor Ernst van de Wetering. The photos were made under strong light and digitally processed. The post processing made it possible to visualize details that would normally not be seen by the average museum visitor.
Whats really cool about this exhibition is the images are organized chronologically. The exhibition brings together works from more than 100 museums and collections around the world. We can get a glimpse into Rembrandt’s mind. It follows his 45-year evolution from a young painter to possibly the most famous master of his day.
The Complete Rembrandt, Life Size exhibition will run through September 7th. A cursory check of cheap flights revealed 500-880 round trip. Amsterdam anyone?
Original article by CCTV posted here.
Art Pricing-Your Attitude Stinks up the Process
This post is in response to a conversation I overheard the other day at an art fair I was attending. The artist who whined the loudest was issuing verbal complaint regarding the lack of sales at the fair. I found it interesting because I knew that a few other artist I had talked to were doing quite well and were excited and upbeat about being there.
I overheard her loud complaints while I was standing in another artists booth space. As a bonified art and marketing geek I make it my point to check out as many spaces as possible when I go to any kind of art show. My ADD style of perusing had not yet brought me to her doorstep so I deliberately walked across to her booth so I could check out her work. (this is like a bad horror movie…you may see where this is going)
As I moved over and entered her space I didnt even get any eye contact. Not a smile a nod or a hello. Not a sneer, leer or even a snort. It was as if I didnt even exist. No love. Wierd, I was the only one in there at the time. After the cursory guy-type breath and pit check I decided I was clean and worked up the courage to approach her. Her work was really nice…very unique.
My question uttered forth, much like that of a school boy asking the new girls name. It was simple really, “Do you have prints available?” (I knew based on the original prices that a print would be a more likley purchase for me) My skin crawled as lady Godiva turned from her interior design magazine and set her stoney gaze in my direction. I felt I would lose bladder control as the velocity from her shriek-like answer threatened to tear my geek-glasses from my face. “I ONLY DO ORIGINALS!” Yikes! Stop,drop and roll man. I was out the doorway frantically searching for my wife and kids so I could save them.
C’mon. I hope she likes rice and beans sans beans cuz she aint selling no work that-a-way. Yep. True story by the way. Check this out though, first at a street show, expo or fair you cant control the environment or the type of person who comes in to see you. Variety is the spice of life here. Dont cha think it might make sense to leave the nicest high-end work at home? Use some prints, small sketches and less expensive stuff if your trying to drive sales.
In my opinion, the best way to treat shows that you dont get to control the enviornment, is as an entry to your marketing funnel. Showcase a high-end piece or two but try to cover your expenses with less expensive work. Use the opportunity as a marketing venue to start the ever-so-important relationship. Ask them questions about themselves, engage in the art of conversation. Art lovers enjoy talking with artists. You are the heros. Read Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and apply that information in an authentic manor. Be sure to have a point of collection via cards or clipboard so you can market to them down the road. (That should be the number one goal of most street shows or fairs).
You will find that you have more fun, make more sells on the spot and more opportunities for larger sells down the road.
Let me know what you think.
Twitter Tips
Here are a few more twitter tips to potentially boost your network of peeps.
Twitter, like much of social networking is about numbers. Â Quality and target is important but you need numbers, here’s why….the more followers you have the more likely that one of your tweets will be re-tweeted. Obviously if you have been following some of this Twitter stuff you know that you need to be providing good, interesting and relevant content first, that is the first thing to increase the chances of a re-tweet and not boring your followers to death.
A quick way to increase the number of followers is to follow people that you find interesting or that you share a common passion with.  I tend to follow artist and internet marketers…the two things I have passion for and do for a living.  Once you begin to start following these folks, many of them will follow you back if  they see you also have an interest in something that they like or do.  You can use the search tool in twitter or better yet, use tweet deck and the search tool there to really focus on your target market.
Another thing that will help is to have an appealing background for your page.  Have something that you put together yourself to be totally unique.  Link to your blogor website or a squeeze page with an opt-in for your free product. If you need a free background here are some free ones  http://www.tweetbacks.com/
Another cool tool I have talked about very little is the “Viral Tweet Generator”.  This is a piece of software basically that lets people send out a tweet about a site or or product that they want to promote.  It can be done with one click of the mouse and then they are taken to a special download page where they can get a free gift from your own site.  I dont have it set up for me personally as I just found out about it in the last few days.  Here is a free copy http://viralurl.com/ebooks4u/viraltweet
So there you have it…a few more fun tips.
until next time-
Tim
