by Natasha Wescoat

SO SEXY…

You could say being an artist is provocative, risque, adventurous and I’d have to agree with you. Those flash in the pan successes, feast or famine moments and a fly by the seat of your pants lifestyle tends to be a part of the whole being an artist thing. One moment, you are experiencing the time of your life, the next moment you wonder if you’re on the street the in the morning. Your job requires that you feel, express yourself, use your imagination and create something that comes from that. Though formal schooling definitely helps propel your talents, it cannot help you imagine. It doesn’t give you passion. It cannot teach you how to ‘be’.

You are, inside, entirely and completely an artist. It’s a part of YOU.

We’re like rebels without a cause. We follow our emotions rather than logic, make heavy decisions based on dreams vs reality.

Having an art career therefore is like a contractiction. Being in this “sexy” vocation and adding the term career to it makes all sorts of complications. You have to logically weigh the pros and cons of your decisions, weigh out financial issues and deal with things outside your creative mindset. Being a career artist isn’t as easy as simply being an artist. Taking your personal gift and monetizing on that is one of the most difficult and harrowing experiences one could have.

[Continue reading ‘Sexy Isn’t Easy: Being a Career Artist’]

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Hello Sunshine Earrings by Vickie Millier

We’ve posted photography tutorials in the past, usually geared toward photographing 2D art. But we couldn’t resist sharing this great tutorial on photographing your 3D work, whether it’s dolls, jewelry, or other objects, found via Digital Photography School.  We know your art is awesome, so why all this fuss over how you photograph it?  Writer Natalie Norton sums up nicely:

I’ve recently spent a lot of time perusing sites like Etsy and other “small market” online vendors.  The other night I spent a considerable amount of time on Etsy searching for something very specific.  As I was sifting through the gazillions of similar products-alas, none of which ended up being exactly what I was looking for- I noticed a trend: If a product had a bad photograph, we’re talking the little thumbnail preview image here, I would not even click through to see the product details.

Natalie’s tips in a nutshell are:

• Turn of the flash
• Remove distracting elements
• Utlize Simple Staging
• Employ creative depth-of-field to highlight product detail

We strongly recommend your check out the full article at Digital Photography School.  Remember:  in the online environment, the quality of your photographs can make or break your art!

For further reading:

Image is everything: Photographing your art

Live Studio: Photography Basics

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by Natasha Wescoat

I hear this all too often from artists and others who want to start a business. They want to know how the successful artists/crafters do it. Why? Why else?

They want to be able to execute the same process in hopes of having the same success.

We all think that if we can put our art on the same sites, if we sell our work for the same amount in the same way, or that if we paint the same thing we will succeed.

There is no easy way to sell art, especially online. It is by far one of the most difficult things to begin and succeed in, but . . .

- if you are willing to go through the arduous process of building a business, then you have a possibility at succeeding.

- if you are willing to have your heart crushed, stretched, and drained in the emotional ups and downs that come with business and especially with working directly with clients, then you could succeed.

- if you are willing to put in the time to research, develop new skills, and learn all that you can about the other tasks involved in running a successful business (or if you’re willing to invest in a team who can), then you may be able to have whatever you want.

What works for others is not necessarily going to work for you. In fact, as we have said so many times before – your collectors will NOT be the same as another artist’s collectors. You each (hopefully) have a unique style that will attract a different audience of people. Learn what that is. Create and implement your business goals around your audience.

Ways to find your audience:

- experimentation

- research

- polls/surveys

- The experimentation stage is a huge investment on your part, because you are going to place your art in venues you are not sure are going to profit. Don’t expect to profit. Put aside time where you can spend doing this stage, because you can gain valuable information about your potential customers and where they are. This may be the most difficult to implement financially (as you may experience loss of money and time) but also the most effective.

- Research online and off. Attend art shows, read art blogs, participate in forums, message boards, and groups for artists and creative businesses. Observe and participate in the conversations. You can learn from others who are already in business what the ins and outs are, where they’ve found might work for those in your art’s genre category, and so on.

- Polls and surveys may be useful during the beginning and middle of your growing business. If you need to learn more about your customers and what they want, asking them questions may help you understand more who your audience/collectors are and where they come from.

Defining audience is one of the number one TO-DO’s on every business’s list. From there, plans will be more defined, properly focused and therefore more readily executed.

photo (c)2009 Ndesh

by EBSQ Guest Author Aja Trier

Ok. Since my Quit Your Day Job article was published on the Etsy Storque I’ve had a number of inquiries on how to ship paintings from new sellers. I’m going to post this here (mostly so it’s easy to find as I get more inquiries) but maybe someone will come across it and find it to be useful

I know the shipping aspect can be intimidating at first and can seem rather daunting. I actually go back and forth between shipping through a local shipping place and doing it myself, it depends on the time I have and the size of the painting. I’ve built a repertoire with the place I ship through over the past 4 years or so and finally took the plunge a few months back and it’s helped to have someone who can wrap up and take care of the really big ones instead of me fooling and fussing with it at home. When I do it I buy frame boxes and bubble wrap from them, there’s a bunch of sizes to choose from and I buy a good amount at a time. I have an account with FedEX and USPS.com and I have them pick the packages up. The accounts were easy to set up and it’s really convenient. You can also print shipping labels through paypal – hee’s there help explanation on their site – https://www.paypal.com/helpcenter/main.jsp;jsessionid=KT0DSyptYvvv5wHXdQynbdQplDtrc4WJGzS52hfKb4G8KJQn5ppC!-685170754?locale=en_US&_dyncharset=UTF-8&countrycode=US&cmd=_help&serverInstance=9004&t=solutionTab&ft=searchTab&ps=solutionPanels&solutionId=10773&isSrch=Yes

It’s really quite simple. You do need a scale – I got mine at Walmart for 10 bucks.

Larger paintings should really go through FedEX because of the cost and the shipping “zones”. 16×20 I’d send through FedEX. 11×14 can go just fine through the postal service.

For all of my small shipments (anything up to 12×12 or so) I use the free boxes you can get through the post office. You can order some online for free – they are for Priority shipments though so if you plan on sending your paintings first class you can’t use the free boxes. I always send Priority when I use USPS because it looks more professional and is faster for the most part. Here’s a link to order free Priority boxes – http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductCategoryDisplay?catalogId=10152&storeId=10001&categoryId=13354&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=11820&top_category=11820&WT.ac=13354

The place I go to for my other boxes orders theirs from uline and sells them to me at cost. It’s good to start a relationship with a local place cause there can definitely be perks! Take a day and shop around. A really large box for me costs 16.00 – that’s for a 36×46 box, unfortunately sometimes you gotta cut um down since they don’t always have the size you need) I have heard some people go to Michaels and get their boxes on garbage day, but you have to be there at the right time – they wouldn’t hold them for me and it was like 20 miles for me so I just broke down and bought them outright. But that is an option.

When I am wrapping it myself I wrap the painting in plastic and tape it to secure moisture from compromising the painting. Then a layer of bubble wrap is tightly wrapped around and taped. Another layer of bubble wrap is then wrapped around the first, bubble to bubble, creating a “pillow” that is extremely effective in securing the painting from damage. The pillow is then placed in a sturdy mirror box for shipment with more bubble wrap or paper if needed.

Please copy and paste this URL in your browser to see how these “pillows” look just before shipment – http://tinyurl.com/5ws4ah

Note that with international shipping, to most countries the largest stretched canvas you can send is 22×28 through the postal service. The postal service has strict dimensional guidelines – length+girth (a tape measure wrapped around the middle of the box gives you the girth) can’t be any larger than 79 inches. This includes Australia, a popular shipping destination. For places with the 79 inch cut off I offer taking the painting off the stretchers and rolling it in a tube. This doesn’t always work though. I can’t do this with gallery wrapped canvas, only with canvas that has staples on the back – I can take staples out of the canvas. Can’t rip it from that groove the higher end canvases have, and I won’t cut the canvas from the stretchers. It’s best to advise your patrons of these things so they are aware. That’s why in my shop I only show US and Canadian shipping prices for larger works. Canada has a 108 inch cut off, so pieces up to 24×36 can go through USPS. Any larger and it has to be sent through FedEX or UPS – which for an international destination can be a couple hundred easy. If a patron is willing to pay the actual shipping cost then by all means. But it really is exorbitant!

It looks like a lot to take in, and initially it is – but after doing it a while you’ll become a pro and it will be second nature Best of luck!

Be sure to check out Aja’s blog at Sagittarius Gallery

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by Natasha Wescoat

One of the best inventions of the internet being used today is live streaming video. The viewer can watch as the broadcaster does things live over the net, and chat with them via the chat interface offered on the particular channel.

Sites like Justin.tv, Ustream.tv, and Mogulus offer free streaming video channels to people who sign up. There are many creative ways artists can utilize streaming video for their audience.

THINGS YOU CAN DO LIVE:

– Have a chat session. offer a time and place to have collectors talk with you. Do a Q and A or candid chat with fans.

- Create art live. Creating art (no matter what medium) live on video can be a bit of a challenge for the artist who’s trying to focus on their work, but you give viewers the chance to see the work created. Collectors LOVE this! You can even watch as they give their input in the chat room. Maybe you can be creative and allow the watchers to participate in choosing how the work is created.

- Live Auction. Sometimes you could offer a studio sale live. Let viewers bid on pieces you show them live on video.

- Studio Cam. Just have a live video feed of your studio going on 24/7. May sound boring but people love the ability to watch your studio and see what your up to. Set it up so you aren’t partcipating in the conversation but give the viewers a camera feed to view your everyday work. Simple as that.

What are some ways you can think of for using streaming video to promote and share your work? What do you feel are the pros and cons of doing so?

If you take a gander at the Learn section of EBSQ, you’ll find several years worth of how-to articles on specific art-related projects like Cigar Box Purses and Felt Making. But did you know we also have how-to articles that address the business of art as well? Here are five of our most popular how-to articles:

How to Write an Artist  Statement

An artist’s statement is a short document written by the artist which provides a window into the artist’s world. It offers insight into a single piece or an entire body of work and by describing the artist’s creative process, philosophy, vision, and passion. It enlightens and engages while at the same time giving the audience – potential buyers, exhibition curators, critics, fellow artists, or casual browsers – the freedom to draw their own conclusions. An artist’s statement reads easily, is informative, and adds to the understanding of the artist. (read more)

Image is Everything:  How to Photograph your Art

Probably the single most important thing you can do to sell your artwork is to post good photos on your auction listing. Many of the photos I see on eBay have glare from flashbulbs, focus problems or poor color. The method that has worked best for me, whether taking digital photos or film photos is to shoot artwork outdoors. You will find that outdoor light is the best, even on slightly overcast days, and you won’t risk a flash glare on your work. (read more)

The Importance of Online Presentation

The importance of pictures shown in your auction is vital puzzle in the outcome of the sale.

Most people like to feel like they are actually holding that piece of art. They want to see the texture, the size, the edges; they want to be able to investigate the piece like it was in their hands. This refers to the art on stretchers, but close up details still apply to cloth canvas artworks too, of course. (read more)

The Lighter Side of Pricing your Art

There are so many facets to consider about when creating a work of art, because this category and subject can get very detailed and is quite broad based on each individual and style of medium. Whether you sculpt, paint, sketch, weld, to the many mediums and styles of painting, colors, textures media etc., you can spend more time in trying to determine what the final masterpiece will be priced at that what it took to create it.  (read more)

Artist Business Cards

 A professional business card can be a useful marketing tool for artists, and well worth the investment if you are trying to get your name out there. So, do you have a business card? If not, then it’s time to get on the ball and do something about it. (read more)

What other business topics would YOU like to see us address in the future?

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by guest contributor Torrie Smiley

First, let me warn you~  I have had no formal computer training.   There is no computer lingo in the instructions and lots of pictures!

Listing from EBSQart.com Gallery

Upload/Edit Art Case

You can add a PayPal button through editing your item or when you initially add your item to your Art Case.

Fill in the appropriate information for your listing.  I like to include a brief description about the composition, the specifics regarding materials used, and the purchasing and shipping details.  I separate these paragraphs with the funny symbol

This tells the computer to insert a space between the paragraphs.  I also use the curly-cue at the upper left of the keyboard and stars to separate different sections of the listing.  If you notice at the end of the listing after the PayPal button, I have included an EBSQ counter so I can watch the views of the listing.

Select the tab for Merchant Services. 

Under Create Buttons in the center left column, select/click Buy Now

You are now ready to create your PayPal button!

Fill in Item name.  I enter the title of my painting and the size.  Just to the right, I enter the painting name in the Item ID box.

Now, fill in the Price for your item.

Continuing down the page……

Next, enter your Shipping.  In my listings, I use a flat shipping fee that I enter by selecting Use Specific amount.

~~Don’t be frightened by the “pop-up” shipping information, just click it off if it does not apply to you~~~ (I always click it off)

You have now completed the basic information for a PayPal button and can select the Create Button.

(There are other options on this page that don’t pertain to me…but may to you; fill out these areas if you need them included with your PayPal information.)

Here is the “code” for your PayPal button:

Select/Click on Select Code.  This will highlight all of the text in the box.  “Right click” your mouse to copy.

Now, go back to you listing in your EBSQart.com Art Case:

Select the spot on your listing (artist statement for this piece) where you would like your PayPal button to be and “right click” and “Paste”

All done…..sort of…..

On my listings, I like everything separated out to make it easier to read on smaller computer screens.

The <p> is the symbol to add a space and I do this before I paste the PayPal code and at the end of the code to set the button apart with spaces.

Save your listing, and then check out your button on “View my Profile” public view. 

To make sure everything works as expected, open the listing as if you were a buyer and click your new button. 

If you were successful with your button creation, you should arrive at a log in screen to PayPal.com with your painting information at the top.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You can now sell your art directly from your gallery.  Pay attention to your emails from PayPal.  That is how you will know you have a sale!

One final note: once you DO make that sale, make sure to remove your button from your listing, or someone could try to buy the same item again!

-Torrie Smiley

Have a useful hack for the EBSQ website? Drop us a line; we’d love to share it in our blog!

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by Natasha Wescoat

Alot of the time, we talk about finding our target audience, about finding the perfect agent/business manager, or maybe getting those galleries/shops to hold our art. So when we do in fact get a nibble on that line – we’re all going bananas. You start to think everything is going to turn around and success is about to happen.

In the creative business, however, things change, people are fickle, offers pan out or they don’t.

Such is life. Such is the business of the arts.

Whether you are an actor, writer, painter, designer – all of these opportunties can come and go, fleeing with trends, staff changes, or money issues. You can become burnt out, frustrated, confused, disorganized. You may be doing all the work on your own besides creating the art. You do the photography, the design, the web maintenance, accounting, customer service, marketing and promotion, etc.

On your own it will be tough. On  your own you can only go so far . . .

What we have to do is to focus more on the core foundation within our business and career. We usually think money and opportunities first, when we should be thinking : TEAM.

A team is a support group gives you:

- financial support

- business support

- emotional support

- word of mouth support

- connections

A TEAM IS YOUR LIFEFORCE

A team should be able to offer you the guidance you need when you are down or indecisive. A team is there to support you and cheer you on as you take on new things. A team is there to let everyone know about you, to give you emotional support when you need it. They are the puzzle piece to our life!

Without a team, you’re just a one-man band hobbling the streets in desperation for pocket change! Really. Without a support group, you can only go so far. I know!

CONNECT WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE

And when I say we should connect with other people, I have to stress that you should connect with the RIGHT people. We all can learn and gain the help we need from others in different work.

Connect with more that just Artists.

Connect with people that get your vision and understand your work.

Connect with people who CARE.

So, how do you create your own TEAM?

- Find networks online to discuss and connect with other artists and business people. There are forums, social networks, and web groups like EBSQart.com

- Attend events and meetups. There is alot to learn from others in real life that we can’t get entirely in the interweb. Consider Tweetups (Twitter meetups), art expos, art shows, business networking events. It doesn’t have to be all about art. Look into events that will connect you to people of all careers who could be great friends and in turn be a vital part of your team!

- Ask for references. Know artists who already have a good team? Maybe there are some people who you don’t know personally and would like to get to know more and learn from. Places like LinkedIn are a great way of getting connections with people who can be a powerful part of your network of friends.

Having people in our team that can give us guidance and support are the lifeforce of a creative business. It helps us remain strong when things get us down. A team keeps us moving, evolving, progressing, and advancing. A team is priceless.

——————————-

Natasha Wescoat (natashawescoat.com) is a licensed artist and social media creative utilizing the web to promote and sell her art. Learn more about the artist at her official website or her blog, Natasha’s Art Candy (natashasartcandy.com)

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I’ve long been a fan of CRAFT Magazine, the sister of O’Reilly’s MAKE Magazine.  So I was saddened to receive the following in my inbox this afternoon:

Lately you’ve been telling us something that we’ve found increasingly true: Do-It-Yourself interests – from tech to fashion, science to crafts – are increasingly converging on the web. Our craftzine.com community is thriving. At the same time, print magazines are facing rising production costs and shrinking ad markets. Therefore, it makes less sense for us to publish two separate print magazines in the DIY space. Craft: Volume 10, our Celebration issue, will be the final issue of CRAFT magazine.

This will allow us to offer even more on craftzine.com. If you haven’t been hanging out at craftzine.com, please join us. It’s a wonderful place to find DIY projects, learn techniques, and share ideas.

We’re sorry to see you go before your time, CRAFT! But we’ll keep on enjoying your digital edition as well as your ever-fantastic and inspiring blog. Thanks for ten great issues!

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The following is a guest post from EBSQ Artist Shannon Fogl:

Tax time is upon us again. Time to get all your sales records together, collect invoices and calculate fees! However, if you’ve been using eBay this just got a lot easier.

EBay offers a free application you can add to your MyEbay section. Simply go to: http://pages.ebay.com/salesreports/welcome.htmland click on which application you’d prefer for ebay to show you your sales reports. Both are free and simple to use and print. I turn these sales records over directly to me CPA who loves how organized and convenient they are.

From the two applications available I find the PLUS version is better if you sell multiple items across multiple categories, or you are a power seller. If you sell solely in the art category, the original will have everything you need.

You will get an updated report every month with your sales and fees for eBay AND paypal listed in easy one page printable files. If you want to retrieve a whole years worth, they’re stored right on eBay whenever you need them. EBay will keep up to 3 years of records for you just in case.

Now you’ve downloaded this application, how do you retrieve it? Just simply togo your MyEbay page, and click on the My Account tab. A drop menu with come down with a list of subscriptions and applications available for buyers and sellers to use. The Sales Report Link for you will be toward the bottom of that menu. Once you click on the link it will take you directly to your own person sales report page. There you will find a second drop down link with summary reports for all the months you’ve been selling there. Just chose your date and it will generate you a sales report with all your actual sales amounts that month, fees to ebay you acquired, and costs to paypal. They even top it off with a nice chart of those sales and fees too!

I hope this has made tax time a little less stressful!

~Shannon Fogl~

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