Living the Art Life: Creating,Selling,And Marketing Art in My Everyday Life!: Getting a Commission from Facbook!.

Living the Art Life: Creating,Selling,And Marketing Art in My Everyday Life!: Getting a Commission from Facbook!.: Getting a Commission to sell personal painted portraits with Facebook is   really, a lot easier than you think.  I have been successfu...

Living the Art Life: Creating,Selling,And Marketing Art in My Everyday Life!: Reasons you should consider Craft Fairs in your Bu...

Living the Art Life: Creating,Selling,And Marketing Art in My Everyday Life!: Reasons you should consider Craft Fairs in your Bu...:   Well , you think craft fairs are not your forte  as an Artist. Wait,  If you think that , you need to rethink your  business pla...

Reasons you should consider Craft Fairs in your Business Plan , as an Artist!

 

Well , you think craft fairs are not your forte  as an Artist.

Wait,  If you think that , you need to rethink your  business plan.

 Just getting started you need to  have an outlet that you can advertise and get the word out about your art business.


 You don't have to go to every craft fair every month. However, but you really need to add a few to get your business going locally .


 I usually go to maybe  3 or 4  craft fairs a year. Sometimes I miss a few. But it is a great way to make extra cash and get your art business cards out to let everyone know your are here .


 This not only gets you commissions  in the future, but getting known across the state and    in your town.  Believe me , they will be calling.

Whether they buy or not, give them your business card. and have a nice conversion with them about something you are both interested in
 

Also, run a raffle campaign on one of your paintings. Or run a discount on a specific style of painting.



Now , going to a craft  means you will have to design a booth and even maybe  sell something on the side to catch their interest.


Usually , I have on extra item that brings them into my booth besides my art.  I make  food items and package them in a mason jar with a creative tag and every one comes by. I price it very cheap so the people think they are getting a bargain.



People like bargains, and I want them to feel  like they are getting one. It will make them  believe your honest and trust worthy.



And then after that you can  pitch your art and also state that you would be honored for them to sign up on your email list.


Participating in a craft fair will also tell you what people will buy in art merchandise. What they are looking for in paintings and if you are a real entrepreneur you will monitor, tweak and adjust to be successful.



I enjoy the craft fair marketing because: 1. It puts you in the know on what is the going merchandise, 2.it gives me a chance to travel, and 3.it lets me meet new people and see new things.


I think of it as a vacation .

Even if I don't sell anything , I watch other artist  do their thing and learn from their selling scenario.



So, there is nothing that says you have to do craft fairs, but if you want to make more money and keep your strategies going, do one.




Sorry I did not get my lesson on painting a calico fall forest but it will be here soon . Still working on it. Thanks for visiting and leave some comment.










 

It's that time of the Year! For painting Pumpkins and ScareCrows!!!

Time for painting Pumpkins and Scare Crows!

Its  that time of year where the air is chilly, the trees are changing color and the leaves are all blowing by.

This is my favorite time of year, because color is everywhere.


I love just driving around and seeing all the colors of fall.

Sweater time and quiet time. Its nice just to get out in your yard and enjoy. Even the chilly days with a warm cup of coffee are just yummy.

Gran kids on the Farm!

Also,  the smell of burning leaves and the view of multi-colored mountain tops against a blue sky.


So painting pumpkins and Scare Crows is a very traditional  thing.

All the colors of orange ,yellows , blues, and maroon are vivid and exciting.

 Next week I challenge all of
you to visit my blog posts to paint a calico landscape focusing on the fall colors.

This will be a step by step tutorial for all.

Bring out your paint, hold on to your canvas, load up your brushes and lets get to work.   Monday or Tuesday will be the first segment of the calico landscape . Sign up to be reminded  with your email on this blog spot  and don't miss the fun.

Getting Art Commissions from your Roots!

We all have roots. I not talking about the roots on
 your hair shaft on your head. And I am not talking about roots as in with ancestors. I am talking about roots in your very beginnings as a Professional artist .That means the first time you began selling your art work.


  When you first started selling your art  work, you had first buyers. And as you continue to sell you will continue to have buyers. Some buyers will be repeat customers. And some buyers will buy multiples or even a group of your paintings.
 Some buyers will request a specific painting to their specs. Don't be afraid and don't turn them down. This will be the biggest part of your money  making business.


If you want to succeed in the art market you must have a
procedure of cataloging these customers.


With a catalog of your buyers and knowing their want and needs you can continue to increase your sales.

One way is by keeping in contact with them and adding them onto your emailing list  or catalog.  Every time you sell a painting you need to ask your buyer  if you  can place them on your  Email list.


This is the scenario of coaxing them to be placed onto your email list.

 Make a graphic designed card with your personal logo. This logo should have your contact info place  on it. 


I usually say:  I have  experienced such a wonderful customer

 transaction with You,( Name of customer). I would love to have

 your email  placed on my special valued customer list. Please

contact me if you have any objections to your email inclusion.

 Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to paint for you.

If you have any subject matter you are interested in being placed on

 canvas ,contact me.I would love to paint for you again. Sincerely,

 your name.


 With this  you are gaining permission to place them in your email

 catalog.  Most of them will respond with a yes. Some will not

respond at all. That is still a yes.  And occasionally , some will

respond with a no. But for every yes  responses  or no responses you will be making lots of money.

Now, once you get this permission, you can place them in a email catalog.  You will need to organize  your catalog with : 1. What you painted, 2.When you painted their painting,3. Size and  4.price.



If you did not get a direct email from them and you sold  on etsy  or ebay you can go to their profile and find their email address.



Ebay will have their address listed in your paypal transaction.

Etsy will probably have it in their profile.



While your  looking at their profile , look for more information on what they like and purchase . This will help you to paint pictures of interest and send emails to them of your present paintings.


This is What I call nibbling. If you know what your customers  interests , you can paint some pictures similar to their likes and send a text with a photo of the painting, interesting them in a purchase.

This is the scenario of every on line business ,so it a wonderful procedure and venue.


Holidays are very important to send emails to your past customers
enticing purchases  for gifts.


So, These are your roots and YOU must feed them to get your business going.


Find your specific way of cataloging them with the suggestions I gave you and get going.  You can Get an art  commission with your roots. Good luck, And more info is coming on living the art life.



 

Five ways to de- stress after an intense day!

Well , we all have a stressful day every once in a while. Especially when we come home from one of those days when we are totally bombarded  or everything has gone wrong that could.

    So , I have got five ways to take the edge off and shut the stress down.

All those tense feelings and emotions.


        First of all ,  Always have a change of clothes ready  when you come home. Get rid of that  tense day  by taking off those clothes that you experienced all those emotional highs and lows.  Put some clothes on that you either jog in , sleep in , or just slouch in. This will comfort you  even if you still have to make time for making supper.


Number two,  Make your favorite drink. Whether it is a big glass of Ice tea, Coke, Fanta , lemonade or even wine.. Find a glass or cup that you like and pour your favorite drink. I buy   clear plastic  wine goblets and fill it with diet coke and Ice to drink . They make me feel special. And in the winter ,I take a china cup, and make alfalfa tea in the microwave. Alfalfa tea is very relaxing and healthy . It has natural antibiotics and keeps me from getting allergies  and colds.

Three, Make a candle display. Light the candles up wherever you feel safe about placing them.    And place your favorite smelling candles in this display. Have at least 3 candles  and use colors you like  in your design. It is wonderful relaxing and watching them burn , just like when you were a child at a bonfire. I have a candle display in my living room with an old wire bird house with  a big goose behind it  ,inside the bird cage are two pumpkin candles and a vanilla candle.  They say lavender and pumpkin are the most natural scent to calm and relax .






Four, If you have children give them a chore or send them outside to play for 30 minutes. They can also do homework or write in journals. This will help you to  have some down time and calm time. Even your spouse can read the paper and wind down just like the children. NO television, unless its in another room and sound proof.



Last,  but not least take your drink and go outside on the porch or just outside. You always need a  quiet place outside . Just one of your own that has your favorite yard art , yard ornaments or even a waterfall. Spoil yourself. because you need a start over button for yourself . Remember there is nothing wrong with stop and smelling the roses. Especially if smelling the roses helps you make another day of supporting your family or self.

Seven art projects to teach about Constitution Day.

I don't know if you are aware of this , but I not just an artist selling my art work, I am also an   art teacher . I have taught art privately and publicly in the public school system for over 31 years.


And I am going to show and tell today about some of my art makings for our annual constitution.

First let me give you the big Fantastic production  of our Constitution Day program,.

The first grade performed their singing and presentation of the information of Constitution Day.

This is the stage that I designed for the Program .In revision the only thing  I would have done different was to  do a portrait of  George Washington since he did help keep the order during the suggestions and writing of the constitution.

There were  seven art projects  for  Constitution  Day.


 1. The first one the Third grade participated in was  the United States Flag Chain.

we tried to get as accurate with the stripes a possible.  Having 6 white stripes and 7 Red stripes.

Also we had to remember that the  Square that displays the 50 stars has to stop on the 6th stripe of red

and white. So , that being said this included a math project for the students

















2. Second Grade did the  United States flag  in hands . Whew!  Each child had to cut  five traced

hands out of white paper. And then one Hand out of Blue paper. And then the last one  five red

hands.  We then  pulled a piece of black  bulletin board paper  and cut it  4 x   6 feet . It was laid on

the floor and we began with the blue square of hands and precede from their making our red and

white stripes.

3. Kindergarten  hand pre-cut star about  12 inches by six out of white poster board.  They cut pieces of  red and blue strips  1/2 inch and glued them randomly to the white stars and then sprinkled glitter on them with glue.
We considered this lesson a introduction to a collage

4. We made a huge stuffed liberty bell and placed it on the left stage wall. The class  discussed the history and meaning of a patriotic icon  of the liberty bell .

Each student then cut out a liberty bell from blue construction  paper, and preceded fold the bell vertically . Once the bell was folded they cut horizontal strips in the bell with scissors.

Last they finished the  bell by weaving red and white strips of construction paper, measuring 

about a half inch.

5. The  third grade created a  drawing of the house of congress and then drew a perspective foreground. We studied the element of space and made patterns and patriotic words in the foreground lines.

Everything was colored red white and blue

6.The 4th grade made  patriotic hearts . These they placed on red construction paper. Using a ruler they divided the heart into thirds and then placed a line at the first third , the top of the heart .

The rest of the heart they made vertical and colored them red , white and blue.

These were placed on the wall around the hand flag. I think you can see them in the  hand flag picture.

7. Last were the actual drawing and coloring of the Flag by the 5th graders. It was fun remembering how many stripes are on the flag . How many stars are on the flag and why.

How many stripes are red and why. How many stripes are white and why. These pictures had a wall all to themselves.

What a great school project and learning experience we had  with the Constitution. Hope you can use these lessons.