Read more about the article #28 Hosting a Home Art Show

#28 Hosting a Home Art Show

A home art show is a great way to show and sell your art in a relaxed setting. Invite your artist friends for a larger show and get the benefit of inviting all of their contact lists. I’ll talk about the nuts and bolts of putting on a home show, from how to choose other artists, creating the invitations, setup, what you need to make a sale, promotion, and food, drinks, and music.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Trina Slade-Burks (Episode #29) at her event Collaboration IX. This event was an art show and also a book signing.

Be sure to check out Episode #30 when I talk about how you can approach retail space owners about doing a pop-up show.

Read more about the article #27 Anthony Burks: Creating Beauty with Colored Pencils

#27 Anthony Burks: Creating Beauty with Colored Pencils

Artist Anthony Burks is a native of West Palm Beach, Florida, where he lives with his wife Trina Slade-Burks. Anthony and Trina have built a successful business where they create pop-up art shows, providing exhibit opportunities for up to 70 artists at a time. Anthony is also a fine artist who works with colored pencils, watercolors, and charcoal, and he produces many series of amazing artwork. Be sure and check out his website to see more of his beautiful artwork.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Anthony Burks, Sr.

Cry Freedom -- Lion 38" x 26"
Crested Caracara
Eminent Buera, 48" x 48"
Yesha Yahu, 48" x 48"
Humpback Whale
Combat on Literacy
Inauguration
Abasi Hanif
Red Elephant
Nikk
Nicole Escalera
Ramel Jasir
Mardi Gras 2

Here are some of the things we discussed on this episode (click on the names to follow the links):

Anthony’s website: anthonyburkscollection.com

He can also be found on Facebook and Instagram.

Anthony’s business with his wife Trina Slade-Burks is the art consulting business A.T.B. Fine Artists & Designers.

The large pop-up gallery show that A.T.B. puts on every January is CONTINUUM WPB Arts.

Anthony created the 2018 African Diaspora show and showed his work there.

Here are some takeaways from this episode:

  1. If you are having trouble getting your own artwork seen, why don’t you start with a home show?
  2. Invite other artists to display at a home show, and you and they will reap the benefits of inviting all of your collectors.
  3. Other artists will also assist in running the show, from helping hang up the artwork to promoting the event.
  4. Add something to the show that suits your personality and traditions. Anthony and his wife cooked a great meal for the artists and attendees, in his family tradition of hosting friends for Sunday suppers.
  5. Consider making your artwork in a series, so that you have pieces that will go well together in a show. You may even have a collector that will want to buy multiple pieces of the series because they will go well together in their home.
  6. Ask other artists to collaborate with you on a piece of art. It may be a fun experience, it may expand how you think about your own art, and it may double the number of people who will see your art, as you’ll benefit from their list of clients as well.
  7. When hosting shows, use local businesses for food and drinks.
  8. Give back to your community by teaching classes to students who may not have the opportunity of art classes in school anymore.

Be sure and listen to my interview with Anthony’s wife Trina as well, as she talks about their business and all the shows they have hosted. You can hear that in Episode 29.

Read more about the article #26 The Many Incomes of Art

#26 The Many Incomes of Art

On my podcast, I interview an artist every Wednesday.  These artists are visual artists, meaning they create artwork that you can see, like ceramics, paintings, jewelry, or fiber art. But what I’ve discovered in my interviews is that selling their original art is not the only way they make income. They’ve learned that they can sell their prints, license their artwork on products, teach in a classroom, teach online, teach all over the world, make public art like murals or sculptures, write books, and so much more. These Show Notes will give you lots of information about the many ways you can earn income as an artist, some you may have tried, and some you may not. Click on the links to get more information. 

Listen here or download from any podcast app.

Artist Renata Rodrigues (on the left) has done body painting as an unusual source of art income.
Renata has also done her own makeup and acted in the South Florida Fairgrounds Fright Nights in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Artist Craig McInnis is shown here painting a mural in a public parking garage.
Here is a mural that Craig painted in the business Respectable Street in West Palm Beach, Florida.

For the photos above, you can find out more about artist Renata Rodrigues on Facebook and artist Craig McInnis on his website.

I’ve done a couple of mini business episodes that will help in selling your original art. Be sure to check out Bonus Episode #4 Approaching Galleries: How to Find Them, How to talk to Them. 

Bonus Episode #14 is all about Calls to Artists, and there are some good links in the show notes that tell you where you can find these opportunities to display and sell your art.

To sell your artwork online, check out this article by ArtPlusMarketing: The 15 Best Websites to Sell Art Online.

The Abundant Artist gives you tips on how to sell your art online here.

Design Sponge gives 10 Tips for Licensing Your Art.

ArtsyShark has a couple of good articles about licensing. Check out How to License Art to Manufacturers and Should You License Your Art?

And finally, visit artlicensingshow.com to see how you can connect with licensors.

Teaching your art techniques can be a great source of income. Here are a few good articles that will help you get started:

lachri.com Start Teaching Your Own Art Classes

emptyeasel.com How to Teach Art Classes in Your Own Home

A different kind of art class is art tutoring. This may be a way to help students who are enrolled in an art program or who want to audition for an art program. Check out drawpj.com 10 Tips for Supporting Your Art Career by Teaching Art.

Consider making public art, like murals or sculptures. Here are some articles to find out more:

Project for Public Spaces Design and Review Criteria for Public Art

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Questions to Consider when Planning your Project

The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council has an excellent article on Mural Making 101.

Also check out the Kickstarter Blog’s The Process: Making a Public Mural.

Public art and mural opportunities can be found on callforentry.org.

I’m no expert on publishing books, so you really should talk to other artists who have gone through this process. I did find one article that looks good: Publisher’s Weekly The Indie Author’s Guide to Self-Publishing Art Books.

I also found this article in Gwenn Seemel’s blog: How to Publish a Book of Your Art.

Hopefully by listening to my podcasts, you will become not only inspired but encouraged by these artists and what they do. If there’s an unusual way that you’ve earned income as an artist, please let me know, and I’ll talk about that in a future episode.

Read more about the article #25 Beverly Ash Gilbert: An Artist with an Eye for Color

#25 Beverly Ash Gilbert: An Artist with an Eye for Color

Beverly Ash Gilbert’s artistic medium is color, but the actual materials that she grabs could be fiber, beads, paints, flowers, or photography. She has written five books, her most recent about the art of nuno felt. Beverly tells us how she developed her first books and how she got them published. She also hosts art retreats in painting and fiber arts at her home in Whidbey Island, Washington, and teaches workshops in other parts of the world.  

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Beverly Ash Gilbert with one of her beautiful nuno felt shawls.

Shawl made in the style of nuno felt.
Charcoal Leaves purse
Elemental Dreamer by Beverly Ash Gilbert
Moon Rises at Sunset by Beverly Ash Gilbert
Color Wheels from Eye for Color
After a Day Sailing by Beverly Ash Gilbert
Wander with Color, made by Beverly Ash Gilbert in her beadweaving technique. This technique can be found in her book Beaded Colorways.
Beverly's beautiful home in Whidbey Island, Washington, where she hosts art retreats in painting and nuno felt.

Here are some of the things we discussed on this episode (click on the names to follow the links):

Beverly’s website: beverlyashgilbert.com

Her instagram

Signups for Beverly’s art retreats will begin on her website on September 5, 2018. You can learn about her retreats on Whidbey Island here.

You can find her books here.

Here is one of her instructional PDF’s for a jewelry class. This is a great example of how to write class instructions.

She took Kelly Rae Roberts’ class on business, and you can learn about it here.

Here are some great takeaways from this episode.

  1. Partner with others and use their expertise when considering writing a book or when branding your business.
  2. Take classes to learn more about the art business. Beverly took a business class from artist Kelly Rae Roberts, and she recommends Tonia Jenny’s course on how to write a book.
  3. Think of your blog and classes as content for a book.
  4. If you’d like some examples of how to write instructions for your first classes, look at the PDF’s of her classes that are available on her website.
  5. When teaching far away, teach at multiple venues so they can split the cost of your travel.
  6. When students are traveling far to take classes from you, teach a few days of classes and offer a supply package for them that they can just buy from you.
  7. Consider e-books as a publishing option for an art book.
  8. When considering teaching an online class, be sure that your art is very good and unique, and that you have taught in person for a while.

I hope Beverly has gotten you thinking about how you can expand your offerings as an artist. Teaching classes at local venues are a great way to add another form of income to your business, and perhaps later you’ll consider writing your own book.

Read more about the article #24 Art that’s Good for the Environment

#24 Art that’s Good for the Environment

In episode #23, I spoke with Jennifer O’Brien, the Executive Director of Resource Depot, which is a reuse center in West Palm Beach, Florida. She had a lot of great ideas on how artists can help the environment, and I’m going to talk about a few more here. I’ll give artists suggestions on how they can try to reuse things, leave as little waste, and decrease the toxicity to the environment.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, CastBox, or Stitcher.

See if your area has a reuse center. You never know what you may find that you can use for your artwork or studio.
Here's an example of making art using unusual materials. I made these three strands using metal pieces from my Dad's work bench.
Here's a closeup. You can see plumbing parts, tools, nails, washers, and a part from a door lock.

To find out if your area has a reuse center, check out the website for Lancaster Creative Reuse. They have a Directory of Creative Reuse Centers in the United States and around the world.

You can find out more about reuse programs at the Reuse Conex website.