Art Marketing ~ Life on the Dark Side

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Let’s be real here. Art does not Sell Itself.

Most Artists stink at marketing their own work. It’s hard to sell yourself. It’s hard to sell your baby. Not everyone thinks your baby is as cute as you do, but that’s OK. Many folks will see what you see, but sometimes you have to gently help the process along.

There are so many great books on art marketing, that I don’t want to rehash the obvious. I will provide you a few recommendations of my favorite business building books.

Over time, I’ll share with you some things I know to be important in marketing my art and developing a following and collectors. I’ll share with you the Good, the Bad and the Ugly tactics and results of my efforts.

Stay Tuned!

Joy & Laughter
~Rosemary

I'm aiming for the emotional honesty of Van Gogh and the promotional skills of Coca-Cola!

 ~Dion Archibald

Must Have Books

How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist: Selling Yourself Without Selling Your Soul by Caroll Michels

Guerrilla Marketing for Artists: Build a Bulletproof Art Career to Thrive in Any Economy by Barney Davey

Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat

It Only Took 18 Days

On June 9, I was offered a One-Person Show at the Hillman Center for Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, PA with an (original) opening reception day of June 28.

OMG! That's ONLY 18 days away!!!

The gallery space has two separate areas and could fit around twenty-ish pieces of framed art. I had seven pieces framed. 

First Stop:  Panza Gallery!  Mark and his daughter, Jennifer worked with me to frame eighteen pieces within my practically non-existent budget and my absurd timeline.
 
Next on the list was designing an exhibit invitation. Designing the invite was easy. Agonizing over printers - well this is a post (rant) in itself.

Then comes the supporting marketing collateral for the exhibit. My Biography & Artist's Statement just needed to be printed on nice stock and framed. My dear friend and Marketer in Crime, Nadine Ostrowski, helped me whip out a Press Release. All that's left is the exhibit catalog and artwork tags.

Monkey Wrench! We found out that we had a conflict of dates with the PGA Seniors Tournament held across the street. They close the road except to PGA VIPs. So we had to change the dates for the opening reception. However, my timeline didn't really change. I was scheduled to escape to the beach and the only day I could hang the show was June 27.

On June 27 we pick up framed art. Twenty-one pieces total were framed, one of which was a triptych and two others were diptychs.  My incredibly awesome husband, Paul, helped me hang the exhibit in just a few hours.

The real work was done in just 18 days!

Now I could relax and enjoy a previously planned beach vacation

Last on my task list was promotion. I hit all the local newspapers and online calendars in a few hours then promoting the exhibit on all the social media until the opening on July 11.

Understand one very important thing here. I Could Not Have Pulled This Off WITHOUT the Help of a AWESOME Support Team. 

If you don't have a great support team, that could help you pull a rabbit out of a hat, then begin to build those relationships immediately. You Never know if someone is going to offer you a prime opportunity to showcase your work.

BTW, The opening reception was a hit!

Thank you to all who helped me pull this off and those who support my artwork

Joy and Laughter
~Rosemary

Numbers Game

Developing a fan base is a numbers game. If you throw enough stuff at the wall, something is bound to stick!

Typical marketing reach is you need to touch a prospect at least 3-10 before they even think about buying your stuff. Reality is more like 25 times before they take action.


If you're my friend, it's OK not to LIKE my Facebook Fan Page, but I will be eternally grateful if you SHARE my link with all your friends.

You see, it's all a numbers game, the more people I can reach, the quicker I find my fan base.

I don't need Everyone to LIKE my work, I just need a few people who love it enough to buy it or share it with their friends.

 Please help me reach my audience. I don't know where they are! They aren't sporting tattoos on their foreheads saying I love Hand Painted Photography. There are no neon lights over their heads flashing Art Lover.  My only chance of reaching them is with your help. Please share the links to my Facebook website and my website with all your friends.


Who I Want to Reach:
Gallery Curators & Owners
Interior Designers & Decorators
Art Consultants
Corporate Art Buyers
Art Lovers
People that like pretty places

If you know someone from the list above, I would really be grateful for an introduction.


And Don't Forget to:
Sign Up for News & Updates:    http://eepurl.com/AtCA1
LIKE  Facebook Fan Page:   https://www.facebook.com/HandPaintedPhotography
Visit my Website:    http://www.handpaintedphotography.com/


Thank you for your support. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me. I hope you can also take the time to promote other American Artists.


Joy & Laughter
~Rosemary

I get by with a little help from my friends,
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends,
With a little help from my friends.
~The Beatles

Reprieved!

Elysian Fields

New Opening Reception Date!

Due to conflict with the PGA Seniors Tournament, the opening of the Low Tides & Bucolic Daze exhibit at the Hillman Center for Performing Arts has be rescheduled to: 

Thursday, July 11, from 7pm - 9pm

Hopewell Rocks

 You see, The Fox Chapel Country Club is hosting the 2013 PGA Seniors Tournament. The Hillman Center is across the street from the club and much of the parking is needed for the PGA. Couple that with limited access to Fox Chapel Road and you have a nightmare. And to be quite honest, I would like to have some warm bodies show up for the opening!

The exhibit will be unofficially open for viewing if you want to take a break from the Tournament and wander across the street to the Hillman Center.

If you are attending the Seniors, you'll find me trailing Freddie Couples, Mark Calcavecchia (although Brenda is really my hero here!) and of course Greg The Shark Norman.


Joy & Laughter
~Rosemary

Whirlwind!

In just 18 days I have a Art Exhibit opening at the Hillman Center for Performing Arts.

Now, this all happened in the last few days. On Wednesday I was offered the opportunity to exhibit my Hand Painted Photography through the Summer!

Verklempt!

No Time to be Verklempt! Too much to do. Framing, Press Release, Postcards, Catalog.

Extra Special Thanks to Mark Panza, Framer Extraordinaire!( Be sure to visit his website http://www.panzagallery.com)  Without his expertise I would not be able to get it done!

More Soon! Info: www.HandPaintedPhotography.com

Low Tides and Bucolic Daze

Pinfish Point

Elysian Fields

 

Hand Painted Photography

Opening Reception: Thursday, June 27 from 7 – 9pm.

The Hillman Center for Performing Arts
423 Fox Chapel Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15238

 

Joy & Laughter
~Rosemary