ARTIST FRUSTRATION!
Blog Entry Dec 1, 2008 11:23 am
This business of art really sucks for the artist. I am so ashamed to say. It is damn near impossible to make it "happen" for yourself.
I have some painting prints up in a very busy Park Slope Restaurant. They have been up for two months. None sold. I really don't know why. The prices were very good considering the art and how I had inserted objects into the frames to support the imagery and to make them more exceptional.
It is very frustraiting. I have since learned (again) that the collectors only want originals, the prints are for those that can't afford the originals. So I spent a day and did 7 paintings and 3 drawings. They have been uploaded on my art site www.DGWILSONART.com. They are very nice, decent works. Abstract paintings and drawings of stuffed animals intended for parents and families.
The Abstract art is done by the artists because we can do them quickly. The business of art is also about volume...not just quality. This is because the collectors only want originals. To make enough originals we need a large volume of paintings. This is a stress and abuse of the artist. In effect I have to become a machine or "Sweat Shop Worker" to make enough paintings to sell too cheaply.
What is the point? This is not art to me, and a true defination to "Art Whore."
THAT is why artists have another job on the side (or two) because the bills still need to be paid. We have to take our time and do paintings in our style, that we enjoy, as well as make them commercial enough for others to enjoy, then we still need to sell them. This takes a long time. To survive, another job makes the bills...but we are often tired from the other work which affects our paintings.
I feel like I can't "Stop and Smell the Roses" I can only paint them!
Again, the only way for artists to really survive on their art is to sell prints. Mass produced images that can be sold to many, many people. This allows the artist to work on their art, AND pay the bills...so they can produce better art.
To make this happen the People that are not typical art collectors need to realize the value of local artists. AND the art world needs to accept the prints as art.
The sale of original paintings, cheap enough to entice someone to buy the art, only makes the ORIGINAL paintings cheap in my mind! They are not the best quality of art from the artist because they are done quickly enough to be sold. AND the art that the artist loves, the work that they poured their heart and soul into MUST be sold at the prices the ARTIST wants...not what the "market" demands they price their work.
Do you understand? The artist has to paint to survive, wants to paint because we believe that our art has a value and further we hope that we will make it big too. The people need art, and will do better in life if they have more art around them...but it is always taken out of their hands because of the price!
If ONLY Digital or Jet Ink prints were available, and the art world accepted them as a viable investment then we would all improve. But it almost seems as if the collectors are a bit selfish. They want the original art, not a print because it is worth more. BUT they set the prices for the art based on the sales of that artists' work. (If they sell a lot they can charge more. An "Emerging" artist has to sell cheap because they have not sold a lot yet.) This forces the artist to give the collectors too much for too little.
Les Baranay said, "When an artist says that the Originals are not for sale, collectors say, 'When he grows up, give me a call.'" Can you believe that? If the artist does not want to release the originals I believe that is THEIR choice and if the collectors want it they have to accept that. This is a position of power for the artist...their way gives them power OVER the artist! Why is that acceptable?
Because we need money. It would be a whole different matter if what we drew, painted, etc actually SOLD right away! I mean if I knew that I did 4 drawings and would earn $100 THAT DAY that they were done I could accept that. Still sucks (because if I stop working I am still not earning!) But I could accept that. WHAT HAPPENS though is we do the art and it sits around in a gallery, store, or our own studios collecting dust. BUT THE BILLS keep coming!
So where does that leave me? I want to create, but realistically to sell original art I have to create many of one thing, like a hundred drawings of stuffed animals. This will allow enough collectors to get one. Which will increase my "name" and exposure to their community. I will have to sell them very cheaply to intice them to buy. As I said this only makes me a slave to my art, not a person helping others get healed.
I have a few ideas, of course, as to how to play the game and still win. It takes money. At this point I feel an investor would be best for my art empire, simply because I believe all I need is to advertise what we have and to make more.
I guess that is it. If only the world saw artists as a positive outlet for their businesses and stopped forcing artists to work for too little we would actually produce more work, better work that could be used for more products.
Also, it is interesting to note that there are companies out there now trying to have "contests" for artists to design their shirts. Isn't that funny? It is closer to what I desire for artists but not quite there. It seems too, they have discovered a contest will give them more choices and cost them less than having artists design up what they want. (This of course is the "job" for an artist to do to make the bills...when they go home they do their own work if they can. This of course limits the quality of both arts. The companies discovered that by allowing the artists to do their own work at home is Cheaper for them BUT ALSO yields better work! Doesn't this prove what I am saying is viable?
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