The Portfolio

I promised #4, so here it is:

4. PORTFOLIO. Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on a portfolio to bring to NYC to the Surtex show to show greeting card publishers, textile designers and everyone else mentioned on the list in the last post. I have never been able to stick to one style, but I have been focusing on the style I like to call 'Whimsical Coffee'. This style is lighter than my whimsical acrylics on canvas and may or may not portray coffee. It always does involve coffee somehow, though.
Yes, I know I have a problem. But back to art.
When I have a little more time, and after I attend the first Art Licensing workshop on Saturday in the Big Apple, I'll lay out the order for my portfolio. For now, I'll leave you with a few important attributes of a successful portfolio:

   a. Great work. This may seem obvious, but your temptation will be to show everything you have in order to convince a client how much you can do. If you're like me, and have a couple of styles, you can do this, but each piece must be able to stand on its own and have a 'wow' factor.
   b. A great story. Design your portfolio like a three-act play. Smashing beginning, incredible middle and super climax. Put what you feel are your best pieces in these positions. Of course, as I said, it should all be smashing, but the reviewer will be flipping through it probably pretty quickly. You need to make an impression and end with a bang. Most important: get a second opinion. Don't try to self-edit. I've found that looking over someone's shoulder (without speaking!) as they thumb through my portfolio actually lets me see it as they do.
   c. Neatness counts. Need I say more? If a print or photo of your work is bent or smudged, get another one. Snapfish.com, or Rite Aid (believe it or not) print stunning photos, usually fast. Make sure your Photoshop file is clean. If you scanned your art, get rid of dust the scanner may have picked up. The client sees every page as a reflection of you and what kind of working relationship (s)he will have with you. Make it easy for them to want to hire you.

More to come!

Raining Hearts

I did this piece for the 2011 Surtex show portfolio. I'm developing these cute long-faced girls for a happy, 'chick-flick'/'chick-lit' line of art for greeting cards and gift and paper items.

'This Too Shall Pass'

'This too shall pass' is a phrase someone shared with me during a particularly difficult time recently. Cliches don't usually appease me, but somehow this one does. It promises that bad times--and good times--will pass. As I am going through this trial, I'm throwing myself into work. I couldn't help but think of the marketing implications which can also be applied to 'This too shall pass'.

I love creating but tend to fall a little short on the 'marketing' part, as most artists do. In fact, I would rather be in my studio--or somewhere--creating than trying to go sell it to someone. Also, with a history of word-of-mouth business, I must admit that I didn't feel the need to be proactive about promoting my work. When I did start sending samples out, contacting galleries, in short, doing all the stuff I've always done, I got either few responses or the dreaded 'sound of crickets'.

I couldn't understand it. While there are artists who are more talented than I am, I am no hack. I have done work for one of the Presidents of the United States, have illustrated books, done portraits, etc. So what was wrong? It wasn't the work; it was where and how I was marketing it. I wasn't washed up as an artist; I just needed to clean out the barn, revamp some stuff and think of other vehicles where my art would shine and, more importantly, sell.

As I write this, I am only writing at the 'epiphany' stage. Hopefully the epiphany turns into paychecks and more work, and I believe it will.
In coming posts, I'll describe what I am doing and how successful it is. For now, I am getting ready for the Surtex art licensing show. I will be attending a workshop on licensing my art (i.e., selling limited usage rights to original art for use on surfaces, textiles, packaging, on paper, gift and greeting card products and much more).

For now, I am taking a few steps:

1- PRODUCT. My first step is product. Because I will be taking my portfolio around the show, I am either creating new or editing old art to be suitable for the markets mentioned above. Some of these pieces come out well, others not so much. I am trying to stay loose enough in my ideas to let them lead to others, or just remain sketches for a later time. I am designing borders separately so that in Photoshop I can lay particular paintings into them to make them 'show' well. A buyer needs to see how my art would look on their product (their tile, mug, sheets, t-shirt, etc.)

2- RESEARCH. Something I neglected at comic book shows or book shows was to research what companies would be at the tradeshow and whether my style would fit their agency (or whether it was different enough to fit!). Some of these companies require reservations before the show in order to look at your portfolio. I need to take a day or so and email the companies to whom I want to show my portfolio.

3- APPLICATION. Creating the art seems to be the least of the work that needs to be done before the show. Companies like seeing what my art would look like on their products. In Photoshop, I will wrap my art around a mug or place it, repeated, on bed sheets. Never assume art directors can visualize. Most can, but why not close the distance between your work and them handing you a contract because they liked what they saw on their product!
More to come, of course, the next step being a PORTFOLIO!

Just like my problems will pass, trends do too. Trends in marketing and art change. Good economies pass, as we've seen, and so do bad ones. A bad economy is no excuse for not selling. If anything, it is a great time to experiment with changing your modus operandi, stepping back, looking at what is successful and what is not, and putting together new work. Your work may change from what you presently come up with, and that is good. It's growth. Like God prunes bad and useless things out of your life so new growth can come, you can do the same with your art business. 

A New Take on Old Art

I hate to call my art 'old', but some of it is, so I am recycling it.
The new collage style I've been doing (well, for a couple of years) lends itself well to me using pieces of the art I've already done. In cutting up old drawings and canvases and adding small found objects, I'm getting closer to a style I believe will be marketable to licensing companies.
In case you're new to licensing (as I am!) that could potentially mean seeing my images on the greeting card racks at Target or on linens in the mall.
No, it's not a space at the Guggenheim lit with a pin spot, bearing a five-digit price tag, but this art is fun to do. Because it's fun to do, it comes out looking rather stunning!

At Home

Amazing how things can change in a year. Economy tanked. I moved back to West Chester. Freelance work is coming in and creativity is high. I am looking for a 'day' job, but my resume seems to be written in Mandarin Chinese, because no one even acknowledges it (this, after 13+ years of not even needing a resume to work). I would love to travel, but the farthest I go these days is whatever is in a 50 mile radius. That includes one of my new assignments: Forensic Artist.

Philadelphia is 55 miles from me, but I have no problem, even in heavy traffic, with being excited about my destination: a local city morgue. Yes, while others are out at movies or restaurants, I am with the non-living. The projects are either facial reconstructions from skeletal remains (when there is only a skull or the face is totally unintelligible) or postmortem drawings (when the face is intact).

At first, I thought I would be seriously creeped out. I was at the Broward County M.E. for a drawing previously and the smell about knocked me out. And that appointment was in the morning. On this first assignment in Philadelphia, however, I had to go down there at night. All the zombie movies I had ever watched came back to me. But, as I entered the place and noticed the smell was minimal, I realized I could work for the hours I needed to in the autopsy room where they put me.

With my back to the wide expanse of the room (the room was about 50 by 75 feet, fading into the blackness of another autopsy area), I heard noises behind me (at least I could swear I did), and turned to look, but, alas, there was nothing there. So, enough of the drama...I completed my first facial reconstruction on a skull found in the city in about 13 hours. I was able to eat in the break room (even when they brought a decomp into the next room), and I drove home that night pretty excited about the work.

Choosing to have the radio off and letting the cool Philadelphia breeze in through the window, I sobered and my heart started hurting. It wasn't the hurt from the depression I've been fighting since March of this year--and possibly for longer; it was a hurt for these people lying in a cold refrigerator who would never get to do anything else. I wondered how many had a relationship with God and how many didn't. I could expound on this, but there's nothing to say. It was like a pain in my heart, a thought, and then a resolution to do better; not to be deceived by the temporal feeling of depression due to circumstances or not enough money or being single or missing my friends in Florida or any of the other things for which a spoiled American child like me may want, real or perceived.

I can't say I've succeeded at it, but while I try, I'm going to be putting faces and, hopefully, identities on people who can no longer speak for themselves. Maybe if and when a family member or friend comes forward, they will think of what comes after. Maybe they will appreciate everything they have and will know that while quantities of money, friends, possessions and experiences fluctuate, time always disappears quickly. Hopefully they will learn to love God and hold His hand as they step forward into things they formerly feared but now will embrace, good or bad.

Collage Fine Art

I'm working on a new technique, using the tile mastik I already use. It will encompass the piles of sketchbook drawings I have, which are piled in my flat file. This serves a good purpose, as I'm not doing anything with these, and may have to move out of my apartment soon. It's not a lofty or masterful reason for this technique; just convenience. And I know it will make good art!
I got some small wood-cut stars today; a few about 2 inches and a few 3/4 inch ones. I'll glue them onto this first piece, and use one as a stencil. I love using small found objects in paintings, such as integrated circuit boards, stamps, letter stencils, coins, and anything else I find.
Some of the more abstract pieces will be translated onto clothing. Total fun! I'm glad God made me an artist!

Ow

Just smashed my fingers in my glove box. It was the last straw to an already tedious day.
Cuz of the injury, I'm typing slowly. Sorry. You'll have to read slowly :)