Email from an artist who wants to be a business person
August 7, 2008 by admin
Filed under Pacific Art
Here is a hilirious email from a wanna be artist who still thinks like a sorry business man…..
Their Jaws Dropped When I Told Them I Was Invited To Show My Work In A
Important Art Gallery
How it happened to me and how it can happen to you
If you’re like me and you have lots of artist friends, you know that every
one of them secretly wants to be in a major gallery, and they all want to
be in a museum. Who wouldn’t? Being in a top-tier gallery can be your
ticket to success. It can increase your collector base and can bring your
prices up — which drives your income up — and it might get you noticed
by a museum. So you should have seen the faces of my friends when I told
them I’d gotten a call from a major gallery that wanted to feature my
artwork. Their jaws were hanging down and they were speechless. Though
everyone was very happy for me, I could tell they were a little envious.
“How did that happen?” they asked. I told them what I’m about to tell you.
Here’s my story.
The Struggle
When I started painting, I thought it would be easy, but nothing could be
further from the truth. The more I painted, the harder it got, as I
realized how much I was missing in my work. How did they do that, with the
light, the color harmony, the edges, the composition, the brush strokes? I
painted like a madman to try to master my craft. My dream was to get good
enough to sell my work so I could quit my job and be a full-time artist.
And my dream came true!
My Insecurity
Though I received compliments from friends and family, I thought, “What do
they know about art? The only way I’ll really know if my work is good is
if people buy it, I get believable complements from other artists I
respect, or if I win awards.” But, frankly, the best validation I could
receive was to be invited into an art gallery that I know sells quality
artwork. To start out, I did some art shows. The first show, I put up the
tent, painted a huge body of work, and sold my first painting! I was on
top of the world. I’ll never forget that moment. But then my insecurity
kicked in … maybe they had no taste. So I did another show and sold six
more. What a boost to my ego. “I’m ready,” I thought. But finding a
gallery wouldn’t be easy.
Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You
When I started the search for a gallery, I looked online for galleries
that sold paintings and where my work would fit. I sent e-mails off to
several and never heard from any of them. So I put together some nice
portfolios with pictures of my work and sent them out. Again, no response.
I spent hours chasing galleries on my own and got nowhere. Finally, I
started calling around, and, frankly, it was a little embarrassing. “Send
us something and if we’re interested we’ll get back to you,” said one
fellow. “We’re not looking for any artists at the moment,” said another.
It seemed like doors shut every time I turned around. It got very
discouraging.
How I Was Discovered
They say you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. I
think it’s the same with galleries. Not only do they have to be looking
for an artist at the time you reach them, you have to fit their style and
what they’re looking for. The odds of finding the right fit are pretty
slim unless you contact a lot of galleries a lot of times. I learned that
the problem is that galleries receive so many unsolicited presentations,
e-mails, and photos from artists that they don’t even look at most of it.
I had to find a way to get them to look. And I had to find a way to get my
work in front of hundreds of galleries. That’s when I discovered Artist
Advocate.
The Perfect Partnership For An Artist
I learned that this magazine, Artist Advocate, is sent to 6,500 art
galleries around the U.S. and some other countries. The entire magazine is
designed to showcase the work of artists who are looking for a gallery
(either a first gallery or an additional gallery). Because the art
galleries can easily look at a lot of artists in one place, it makes their
job easier. And because they look at every issue, I can keep my name and
artwork in front of them frequently. I want to be there when they are in
the market for a new artist. So I bought a listing in Artist Advocate and
put images of a couple of my best paintings in the ad. Signing up was easy
(I did it online with a single click), and all I had to do was e-mail them
the images and the information about me. Because I could put it on my
credit card, I didn’t have to come up with all the cash at once. And they
did all the artwork for the ad.
The Unexpected Happened To Me
No matter how much self-promotion I did, I never could have reached this
gallery. “Hello, we’re opening a new gallery in Chicago,” said the lady on
the phone. “We saw your work in Artist Advocate, went to your website and
looked at more of your work, and we like it. We’re interested in carrying
your artwork.” Just like that. There is no way I could have known of a new
gallery opening up, but it was the former director of a gallery that had
received the magazine. The chances of my stumbling into this were next to
nonexistent, no matter how many e-mails and portfolios I’d sent.
So Why Not Just Do It Yourself?
Sure, you can do what I did and do your own promotional e-mail and
mailings. If I bought a mailing list, I might end up with a bunch of frame
shops that call themselves galleries. And my mail or e-mail might end up
in a pile to be viewed someday, if it doesn’t go to the trash or the spam
filter first. Plus, the cost of a list, the mailings, and the time would
far exceed the cost of a listing ad in Artist Advocate. These people at
Artist Advocate have a great list of galleries that sell original
artworks, and, because Artist Advocate shows a lot of artists in one
place, it makes the selection process for galleries easier. There is a
better chance they will read it and see my work than if I become one of
the hundreds who are soliciting the galleries every year. Plus, I’ll be
one of a few artists highlighted in this magazine, which means I’ll stand
out. And the galleries will probably keep it, so they can refer back to it
when they’re in the mood to find new artists. Artist Advocate solves the
galleries’ problem AND it solves mine.
The Beauty Of My Freedom
The best part about finding this gallery is that now I don’t have to set
up tents and sit in the rain and hope someone buys a painting. I was able
to quit my job and now my gallery sells my artwork for me — and they put
it in front of people who buy art, not people looking to fill time on
their weekend. They are getting higher prices for my work than I could on
my own, and they promote me so I don’t have to promote myself. Best of
all, I can paint again, and let others focus on marketing my work.
What About You?
Are you looking for another gallery or a first gallery?
Do you want to focus more on painting?
Are you uncomfortable calling galleries and asking them to look at your
work?
Can you easily reach 6,500 galleries on your own?
Sign up for the next issue of Artist Advocate. Deadline to book an ad is
August 18, 2008.