Art Business Blog

A well worded statement can be the perfect opening for your biography. Your personality will generally lead you into the construction of this brief paragraph. Many artists who have a talent to be nimble with words may decide on revealing something of their nature by playing with the media in which they work. I think one of my favorite examples is the statement by the gifted paper artist, Mary Lawler: "The nature of my work varies from time to time, but it almost always involves paper. I love paper, I write on paper, I collect paper, I hoard paper in drawers. I open a drawer, stroke the paper admiringly, then close the drawer. It's hard to put that first cut into a new sheet." Continue reading… 5 comments

As I write this blog I can't help but think how boring this whole business of art business must be to so many of you. I mean, you read blogs by Peter and Gary and Mike, and they spin such wonderful stories of art history, clandestine meetings of great painterly women in museums, and the phenomenon of creative discovery in the ordinary classroom. It makes me think of a program that was on PBS back in the 80's created by Steve Allen (creator of the original Tonight Show) that was the ultimate talk show called "Meeting of the Minds." He would script a gathering at a round table with himself as host and people from history like Leonardo diVinci, William Blake and Niccolo Paganini… Continue reading… 3 comments

One of the things that you as an artist need to think about when doing business with art consultants, galleries or designers is creating business forms to use for the many transactions that occur during the process of selling your artwork. Most, if not all, consultants and designers have forms that they use, but it's always such a pleasure to deal with an artist who has their own and who is prepared. It's impressive and tells the art buyer this is an artist who is organized and will more than likely be a pleasure with whom to do business. The reality is, it WILL make you more organized and you WILL be more successful in your business because you will always know exactly what the status is for every piece of artwork that is not in your studio… Continue reading… 2 comments

I love when we have the opportunity to actually meet our members. Betsy and I were in New York City on business, combination of ArtId and art consulting, and arranged to have lunch with members Zander Lassen (http://www.artid.com/members/zanderlassen) and Carla Mele (http://www.artid.com/members/CarlaMele) . We met at a mutually convenient cafe on the street level of Grand Central Station. By the time Bets and I arrived at the cafe, Zander had been waiting a while. To our surprise, we discovered that the restaurant staff had a bet on whether Zander was actually meeting someone for lunch since he had inadvertently arrived the day before! (We love it when our members are this exhuberant about meeting us… Continue reading… 2 comments

I want to add a postscript to my last blog about finding corporate art consultants. I completely neglected, shame on me, to recommend that you can also find consultants on the Internet. For example, if you Google "corporate art consultants" you will find a list of options from which to select. Some of these will be large consulting firms that are generally located in large cities like Chicago, Denver, New York, Los Angeles, etc. There will be listings of smaller firms in various locations all over the world, art advisers and appraisers, framers, professionals that conduct workshops and lectures. You may even stumble upon some sites that will sell you lists of art consultants at a cost that is generally around $75 - $100+… Continue reading… 1 comment

Over the next several weeks I will be writing about a variety of topics that pertain to art consultants and artists--how they find each other, what tools and/or materials artists need when approaching and/or dealing with consultants, what NOT to do, and other useful business pointers. There's nothing magical about all this, but you will need to remember to do what you do best--be creative! For starters, let's look at "where can I find art consultants?" Unfortunately, there is no central data base for art consultants. They spend so much of their time being organized with all details keeping their clients happy and searching for you that they don't even think about organizing themselves… Continue reading… 2 comments

One question that I hear frequently from fledgling artists is about how they should price their art. The following is an exercise to help you arrive at an asking price that is in line with what other artists with similar credentials to yours are charging for their work. First you will need to take some time to figure out where your base price should be. For example, figure out how much it cost to produce the work. If your materials cost $100 and it takes you 25 hours to produce the art at $15 per hour, then you would price the work at $475. When totaling the cost of materials, this should include canvas or paper, paint and brushes and also overheads such as electricity, rent of studio space or a model… Continue reading… 1 comment

Whether you're an artist, musician, or writer, all creative people suffer from the illusion that in order to feel successful, or to make it, you have to make it BIG. While it is admirable to shoot for this, there are many fulfilling and important steps along the way that would be missed if the focus were exclusively on the big kill. The concept that "process should be considered above product" applies not only to the creation of art but to the business of art as well. Ultimately, artists need to be preparing themselves for future recognition and sales starting from where they are at present.… Continue reading… 12 comments

As the resident art consultant for Minds Island, I thought it would be a good idea to share what I feel is relatively important information for artists to know. For almost 15 years, I have been placing art in a variety of healthcare facilities from specialty hospitals to nursing homes, corporate offices including Fortune 100 companies, and upscale small hotels. I am always looking for new art and artists with whom I can work since it is essential to my business. I need to be very conscious of my ability to present fresh, new work to established and new clients.… Continue reading… 33 comments