Art Gallery and Fashion Style

Archive for August, 2010

Let me start by stating that you are an artist and this is not a war between the dealer and you. The dealers are there to work with you. So please do not have an attitude when you speak to a dealer; even if they tell you bad things. More than likely, you will learn something from a dealer that may help you in some way. Really.

You need to be aware, if you are not already, that galleries are part of a caste system created by academia, money and friends. If you do not have any money, friends or a significant academic background then your are in an almost impossible situation to secure a gallery to show your work. But just to let you know, those of you that don’t have these things, even if you did, that still does not guarantee your acceptance into a gallery for a long-term basis. Yet, it is not a hopeless situation for any of you. The following article will discuss how you might be able to wheedle your way into the system no matter what your circumstance may be.

First, the mechanics of securing a gallery. Go and get an Art Scene guide. You can find one at any museum or fine art gallery. In it you will find listings of galleries located all over the Los Angeles area with maps as to where they are located. Each gallery listing also includes the genre, or type of art the gallery handles; whether it is a photography gallery or a contemporary gallery exhibiting local artists. Take this seriously. If it says it is a photography gallery specializing in 19th century photographs, and your work is abstract painting, then do not bother approaching this gallery. The point is to find a gallery that suits your work perfectly.

Ok, so you have found the perfect gallery. They handle exactly the kind of work that you do. Now, call them on the phone. Most likely you will get the dealer on the phone or a receptionist of some kind. The receptionist’s job is to keep people like you away from bothering the dealer. So how do you get around this situation? Create a list of questions. Things you should include, “I would like to set-up a meeting with the dealer,” (mention his name as if you know him or her.) “My name is so and so and I am an artist. Is he/she they available on Tuesday or Thursday, February 14 or 16 at 2 p.m.?” The reception person will ask what is this regarding. Here is where you need to create a sort of scene that this person on the other end of the phone could not dismiss. Be creative with your response. Example: “Well, I have been an artist since I was 2 – drawing, painting, sculpting and I now have the culmination of 20 years of work. I am ready to exhibit this work sometime this year or next year. I would like to meet with the dealer in order to see if they are interested and to pick their brain about my work. I feel it is vitally necessary at this point in my career that I meet with a seasoned art dealer and I think that this person is the one I need to speak with about my work. I have researched all of the galleries in the world and this dealer is I think the person I need to speak with about my work. When do you think I could set up a meeting with them?”

You also need to have other questions on hand just in case you get a chance to chat with someone with some intelligence about the art world on the telephone. Take notes about whom you are speaking to and ask as many questions as seems reasonable WITHOUT BEING OBNOXIOUS. The next time you call, say hi to the receptionist by name.

If they ask for a submission of slides, reply politely that you would love to submit slides, but that you are keen on actually speaking with the dealer whether they accept you into the gallery or not. Instead, you would like to set-up the meeting with the dealer with absolutely no expectations on their part, and even if the dealer says bad things about you and your work, you are ready to face the music. This may or may not work with whomever you are speaking with, but in any case, be ready with your slides or photographs to send. Create a cover sheet explaining that you would most appreciate a meeting with the dealer at his or her earliest convenience. That you want to speak about your work whether or not they accept you into the gallery. If you have a biography or a sort of resume then send that too. It should include your date of birth at the top with your name address and phone number. Please do not forget this vital information. (You don’t know how many artists send stuff without thinking about these vital pieces of information.) Include a little description of your work, and include a self-addressed stamped envelope so that they can send the slides back to you!

Please, do not wait until you are 70 years old to have a conversation with a dealer about your work. Why is this important? I once read a story about Andy Warhol. He brought one of his first paintings of a Campbell’s Soup can to a dealer. The painting was leaning towards abstractions in that around the edges of the painted can were drips of paint. Abstract Expressionism was very big at that time. Well, the dealer asked Andy why there were drips all over the canvas. Andy replied it was because everyone was doing drips. The dealer then replied, “Why don’t you take the drips of paint off?” and history was made that day! That dealer still owns the Campbell’s Soup can with the drips and it is now a priceless work of art.

Dealers look at your work in a different way than say your mother might look at it. It is with a purely objective point of view based on commercial concerns and the sale of your work. Of course aesthetics and the connection to art history, along with other attributes may interest a dealer as well, but each dealer has his or her own style. Some dealers love abstract work. Some love still life and some love paintings of horses. So your style should correspond with the style of the dealer that is going to handle your work.

Also, I want you to think outside of your area. Why not consider Paris, Ecuador, Vancouver, Canada, or New York? Try other cities. You might get lucky. Practice makes perfect. The more you practice meeting and talking and setting up shows, the better you will get at it.

Finally, can a gallery save your life? Most likely not. Can they create connections that may help you grow and learn? Yes, they can. Do galleries still make stars out of unknown artists? Yeah, it happens sometimes. It happened to me a couple of times, but I had shows for hundreds of artists. I ran three galleries over a 12 year period in one of the largest cities in the world. Many headaches, heartaches and money aches later I am bankrupt, but I am filled with the experiences that would rival any movie star’s life. It was cool. It was interesting and it was for a good cause, artist’s lives.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Rico

Do you enjoy drawing artistic portraits of family, friends, or photographs? Some of the most celebrated art pieces in the world are portraits like the Mona Lisa, Vincent van Gogh’s self portraits, and Leonardo da Vinci’s self portraits. The popularity of portraits increased as cameras were available to make faster and more accurate portraits, but for many art enthusiasts photographs don’t have the same artistic enjoyment as paintings or drawings. Before you start down the path to improving you drawing skills you must realize that a great drawing engages the viewer to continue to look at and be pulled into the portrait. The viewer must feel like they are in the middle of a conversion with the person in the portrait or involved in the scene of the portrait. If you have ever wanted to draw portraits like the great artists, here are my 5 tips to drawing more engaging portraits using graphite or coloring pencils.

1. Don’t be intimated to draw the human form.

For many people drawing the human body, especially the face, is like meeting your favorite actor. You would love to meet that actor and make a good impression, but are afraid that you’ll end up being so nervous you’ll make a fool of yourself, so you avoid the situation altogether. Whether you are a hobbyist or professional don’t be intimated because your portrait skills will never improve that way. So try your best, but be ready to make mistakes and acknowledge them.

2. The portrait should make eye contact with the viewer.

This is also a basic concept of social skills. The best conversions you’ve ever had were with someone that made eye contact. Magazine ads, TV commercials, and public speakers all make eye contact with their viewers to engage them so they feel connected to the subject matter. A portrait subject almost always should be looking straight forward to allow viewers from all angles to be engaged by the eyes of the picture. This is why people say the Mona Lisa’s eyes follow you where ever you are, she is looking straight forward.

3. The portrait should have a mood that is expressed to the viewer.

Having the portrait subject looking forward is no excuse for lack of action or mood in the expressions of the face in the drawing. A person laughing expresses joy and friendliness to the viewer or a person frowning expresses distress, worry or anger. The expression of the subject in the portrait needs to be lively to engage the viewer to continue looking at the drawing and to be interested in the portrait. Also the background should reinforce the same mood as the subject.

4. Create the illusion of depth with shadows, shading, and clean edges.

A common mistake is to outline the subject in the portrait this results in a lack of realism. The portrait doesn’t look life-like but resembles a cartoon or anime character. It is fine if you are drawing a cartoon but is bad if drawing for realism. Also shadows should not neglected; make the darks dark, this will add layers of depth to the drawing to make it seem 3-D. Shading will also create realistic contours for facial features like cheeks and noses. Shading should be subtle and well blended. A good rule of thumb for creating realistic depth is to make sure that adjacent areas of the portrait have different grading of shading. For example, the bridge of the nose should not have the same shading as the tip of the nose since the tip is further out.

5. Practice drawing without hesitation.

It is easy to get discouraged from mistakes and not feel like you’re improving. Most likely you are improving; you just don’t notice the improvements. To overcome this potential stumbling block complete all of your drawings and keep them with their mistakes. Archive the practice drawings and completed pieces for a time and then look back to see your improvements. You will have an easier time seeing how you draw much better eyes, for example, than you did a month ago. It might be useful to put dates and notes on the back of each practice piece to catalog the progress.

Remember most of all drawings are for personal or public enjoyment. Show friends and family art pieces and use them as subjects for portraits. This way you will get feedback as to what the most engaging parts of the portraits are and how to improve overall. Soon you will have portraits that are so engaging that viewers won’t be able to keep their eyes off them!

Then see how far your drawings will take you. There are many people out there who appreciate good artwork. Don’t limit yourself. There are many ways to sell your drawings.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Timothy_Morales

If art is just more than your hobby and you intend to make some money through it, selling your art and crafts could be a brilliant idea. You could sell your work at farmers markets, craft shows, or bazaars. For those who are new to this field, here are five key tips that can help you sell your work successfully and at better price.

First tip is to target the children. It’s not to say that you should ONLY design for kids but you must cater to their needs as well. In events such as the ones where you are likely to display your work for sale, most families come as more of an outing. If you can offer something that the kids might like, or even the elders like for kids, you can be rest assured of some handy sale.

Second, always arrange and manage your art and crafts in the simplest way. Remember, it’s an art gallery and you are likely to have most visitors that like it well organized. So neatly arrange all your items and leave empty spaces as well.

Third, label the price clearly on items. If there is no price tag, most people might simply walk off rather than asking the price.

Fourth, it is better to take all that you have and sell less than take less and run out of goods when people are looking to buy. You might not sell everything that you take but at least it makes your display good. The more time customers spend on your counter, the better your chances of making a sale.

Finally, take any and every thing that are could probably need to enhance your art and crafts material at the spot should the need be. Carry extra brushes, pens, pencils, stapler, price tags, glue, pins, etc so make sure that you can manage any accidental situation.

I have been successfully selling my arts and crafts for a number of years. Since I began this journey I have had many relatives and friends wanting to know the secret to my success.

To help you out I have reviewed all the different art selling courses and put together my top list of what I think are the best programs available today and the one that actually helped me to succeed.

This course will help you to Immediately Make a Full Time Living! Selling Your Artwork, No Matter What Type of Artist You Are
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anne_Coster

The art prints are beautiful creation to collect. However, since these are intrinsically fragile, it is difficult to protect them properly. It is because prints can be physically damaged by the heat and humidity or when you display them in sunny room. Actually, there are some best ways to protect these creations. Just take a look at the following tips and get your art prints last longer.

If you are the artist, you can use care in the creation of the images. Or, if you are the collector, you can choose prints skillfully. If you are printing on acidic papers, it can make the art prints to yellow and crumble over time. Also, the use of tape, glue, or other mounting materials can cause the chemical of the print arts change so that it can potentially make them damaged.

The next thing that you can do for protecting your art prints is by displaying them wit care. The most essential factor that can make these creations damaged is the ultraviolet rays from sunlight. So, you have to avoid hanging your prints in the sunny areas. You can use blinds, curtains, or other framing materials for controlling the UV exposure. Also, you can use the acid-free backing paper and matting materials instead of using tape or glue.

The other great way to protect your art prints is by controlling the humidity where they are stored or displayed. It is because humidity can create brownish spots and molding on the print. Besides, humidity can also create attraction for the insects like silverfish which can eat holes in your art prints. Additionally, the acidic air pollution in major cities can also cause problems. You need to make sure that the humidity is at least 40 percents and it remains constant. Thus, you can be sure that your art prints are certainly safe.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alton_M_Terrell

Art promotion or a gallery exhibition is often a normal event in the art world. The same goes for a studio or gallery promotion. Unlike a one time, spectacle event celebration of an artist’s new visual art, performance art, sculpture or installation collection, an art gallery is a business establishment. Just like any, it needs a marketing plan and promotional programs to gain profit. When a gallery’s potential market is set in a local residential or mixed neighborhood smaller, more affordable print collaterals can create more of a personal and effective connection with customers. Below are some ideas on how to promote an art gallery or studio using small print materials.

o Postcards-Postcards are handy, highly artistic promotional mediums. Materials such as these can be well-received and appreciated, particularly when they feature famous art. Each postcard design can be unique. There is no need to go beyond budget on materials like this. Online print services today offer cheap postcards printing for bulk orders. What’s more, the design; such as post card dimensions, orientation, finish even paper stock can be customized according to a gallery’s image or concept. Postcards are highly personable and can be mailed as a birthday, anniversary, or thank you gift.

o Catalogs- Printing an art catalog not only serves a means for transmitting information but it is visually stimulating as well. Art catalogs can be given away as gifts for loyal customers. For first time artists and dealers, they can serve as nifty gifts that may increase recall or referral rates. Each catalog can showcase the gallery’s most successful shows, priciest collections, art sales, or it can be kept at the gallery for customer reference on art prizes, specifications, artists and availability.

o Calendars-Art calendars are an effective medium to showcase art, convey information, promote a gallery and serve a pragmatic purpose. Sending them as gifts to customers strengthens personal relationships and customer relations. Calendar prints are easy to design and print with custom or standard options offered by print companies.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nikki_Sabato