Saturday, December 24, 2011

Starting Crime Novel Illustration!

After a lot of preparation, I'm getting started on the book cover for a crime novel by JJ Marsh called "Behind Closed Doors." I have had skype calls with the publisher and the author in the UK and Zurich. I'm excited about how this oil painting will turn out and how it will contain elements of the story within. Wish me luck.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Selling to Friends and Family

I met a few artist friends in Indianapolis recently and they had questions about marketing and setting up their business. I'll share a piece of advice I gave them.

You need to determine early on exactly how much you are going to charge your old college roommate, aunt Sharon, the lady who sits next to you at work, or a neighbor. It's easy to hem and haw when a personal friend or relative asks for a price because it's uncomfortable to ask these people for money, but here's my point. In the beginning, ALL OF YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL BE PEOPLE YOU KNOW PERSONALLY! If you can't look them in the eye and give them a straight answer you're dead in the water. Figure out a specific price point, then a discount for friends and family and go for it. I'll let them make payments if that works best.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

S.F. Art Shows

I just returned from city by the bay, where I attended two large art shows. The Fort Mason show has been in existence for many years now and featured some of the premier galleries in the US, as well as a few from overseas like South Korea and the UK. I had a good time and was inspired by some of the art work. It's natural to want to roll my eyes from time to time but I'd have to say that for the most part I saw a variety of artistic expression that was both sincere and well executed. The art world is full of people who take themselves a tad too seriously, but I think the economic situation of late has brought a number of people down to earth, if only temporarily. Still, I enjoyed conversations with different artists and gallery owners like Jack Fischer. He was an interesting person and has promoted interesting work for a long time now. My good friend Rich Ortiz was there enjoying the scene with me. We talked to a really cool sculptor who divides his time between the US and Italy.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Starting series of Victoria, British Columbia.

I travelled to Victoria a while back for a conference and stayed an extra day to take in the sights of this beautiful capitol city. It really is a little gem and everyone I talk to who has visited raves about it. I took some great photos and will be completing a series of the following paintings:

1. Don Mee restaurant at dusk in Chinatown
2. Fan Tan alley, also in Chinatown
3. Harbor boats at dusk
4. Victoria Harbour water taxi

Stay tuned...