Publisher's Synopsis
'Interview with an Artist' books were a marriage of the author's love of art and experience in business marketing prompted by observations that artists didn't really know how to get themselves marketed to art lovers or brand themselves for their incredible creativity. This volume of an ongoing series is a wonderful collaboration between the artist and author providing a peek into their world, heads, and creative talent. This hybrid 'magazine' and 'book' (MagaBook) was created to gain more traction in marketing the talented artist highlighted in this series to the world. There are not many marketing options artists can use to develop branding and exposure that won't cost them a fortune other than costly art shows or galleries (charging as much as 50% in commission fees). Social media grows exposure, but also takes work and lots of time to submit posts and share photos. Creating website-based shopping carts for sales and exposure is also a lot of hard work, time, and out-of-pocket expense. Few artists can make a living with their art. Most are weekend warriors. They scrape pennies to get artwork framed (matting and framing is expensive!) or create sturdy displays for sculptures or 3-D pieces. They pay as little as $50 or over $400 for a spot in a 'hot' art show, then travel to the venues to pitch a tent, stay a night or two, purchase food to sustain them for several days - all that effort to sell a few pieces. When you see a piece of artwork that is what you consider 'pricey, ' don't dismiss that price (what I call the ..". oh the artist just threw some paint across the canvas and they are charging $2,000 ... my cat/dog/bird could do a better job" mentality). They have spent a lot of time creating the piece, spent money preparing the piece for show, and invested time and money getting that piece to you - the buyer -in the best manner possible to entice you to buy. They may have spent thousands in tuition to learn their craft, or traveled to unique places to take the photo or paint the image in a place you will never be or visit in your lifetime. Each artist spent years of discovery, training, obtaining education, experimenting with various mediums, techniques, and methodologies - to get it right. Each artist has done research on paints or invested heavily in brushes, canvases, unique paper, expensive paints, carving tools, and sometimes pay extra for hard to find precious gems and metals. An artist has a studio to create the work - including art studios, bedroom corners, or even a dining room table - for which they are paying rent. Artists may have to pay models to draw regularly to hone their skills and styles, or become members of local art groups or organizations to access resources to make their artwork even better. In the world of art - something that is considered valueless to one person is priceless to another. Some artists complete commissioned work - and those pieces may take more time - to sketch out or design the piece, precious time used to ensure the buyer has what they are seeking. The design and planning takes time away from the creative time the artist prefers to use for their own ideas and designs. To an artist - everything created has value. As a buyer, don't expect the artist to sell their art short. Yes - every piece of art is 100% subjective for the value. At the simplest equation, the artist feels they have charged for the value of hours worked, the cost of the materials used, the expense to get the artwork to the venue for sale, and the value of a name as a brand when determining a asking price Enjoy the lovely pieces in this 'Interview with an Artist' magabook. Visit the artist's websites and social media pages to explore their collection. The photos should provide an idea of the style, colors, and types of artwork this artist offers to you - the art lover. Enjoy learning about how the artist thinks, creates, and delivers their unique style!