My name is Josh Baker and I'm just getting into the world of art shows as a landscape / cityscape photographer. My goal as of now is to do a handful of shows around the Chicago area next year and then rapidly increase my show schedule and possibly radius in 2017 and beyond.
Being in the midst of just starting out, I'm hoping to use this great resource to bounce ideas around. For anyone wishing to check out my work please feel free to visit www.bakervisuals.com
With all that said, here are a bunch of questions to start things off. I appreciate any and all thoughts and ideas you folks might have.
1) Canvas wraps vs metal (aluminum)? I've been checking out the local (Chicago area) art shows and have noticed quite the mix of materials being used. My first thought was that collectors / buyers would be more inclined to purchase a landscape image on canvas. However some artists have said that they have all but abandoned canvas for metal prints or other substrates / materials citing similar or better sales and lower production cost (I'll be using White House Custom Color and Fine Art America for production as of now). I'm curious if any other 2D artists have any thoughts.
2) Is the selling of matted prints worth it? Sure, almost everyone (2D artist) has a print bin, but are any of them making enough to justify the labor and expense of matting prints? I've seen on here and elsewhere that it might be better or offer only larger wall art pieces or limit the smaller pieces to image blocks or other more unique items. Could the slightly higher priced image blocks or bamboo prints be a viable alternative to traditional matted prints?
3) Special order vs cash and carry. Because of some startup budget constraints I was hoping to run my business on a custom order model. I've seen this around art shows and was curious what others thought. My goal is to pursue more of the higher end buyers then say the average bargain shopper. Granted, I'm sure this is everyone's goal at one point or another. However, is this special order model even practical these days or does the majority of buyers insist / expect to go home with their art the same day?
4) Has anyone ever tried creating one price per size of image across multiple materials. For example 8x12 as a metal, acrylic or canvas for $150. I made a spreadsheet of five substrates and figured my sale price and then averaged the five to come up with an average price. My thought was that this would streamline my sales process and uncomplicate it for any buyer since they would only have to know the image size to determine the price . Does this actually help sales or do people question the method behind it and end up potentially costing sales.
5) A dozen large images vs a couple dozen (or more) small images? I'm currently doing different layout designs for my booth (both 10x10 and 10x20). I'm quite divided over whether to stick with a dozen or so large images (40x60) or to go with maybe 30 or so smaller images such as 24x36's. I feel I have a decent portfolio of work that might benefit from being shown at the larger size however that also obviously cuts down on the variety of work shown.
I've done some mockups to illustrate my booth design concepts which I'll include to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. The mocked up images are all roughly 40x60.
Thanks in advance for any feedback to this long winded post.
-Josh
Josh Baker > Larry BermanDecember 19, 2015 at 6:42pm
Thanks for pointing me to this article. I especially took note of limiting the sizes to just two as well as not loading up on untested prints. One idea I had was maybe only having three copies of my top 8-10 images (as per 500px) in 5x7 & 12x18 print sizes (not sure what the matted size would be).
I know 500px might not equate well to the art buying market but it seems to be the best method I have to getting feedback on my images.
Sometimes matting a 5x7 in a 14 x 18 or 16x20 mat, especially when presented in vertical orientation, is spectacular. The larger space around it gives the image greater presence. Has to be the appropriate image, like a close up of a face or something. Sometimes we mat small horizontal images in vertical mat orientation. You can even do 6x9 images this way. Make sure you don't center the image in the mat, but leave much more space at bottom. You might benefit from reading Picture Framing Magazine and finding some of the specific books they've published discussing matting techniques. We often use three or more images in a set and frame them this way so they go together on a wall.
Josh Baker > Barrie Lynn BryantDecember 20, 2015 at 11:53am
The world of matting is certainly going to be an entirely new venture for me. I guess I never paid that much attention to the practice. Sounds like another area I'll need to dedicate some time.
Do you get most of your matting supplies from clearbags.com? I've been told and seen online that many feel they are the best supplier around these days.
No, I get most of my matting supplies from Montana Moulding, a picture frame industry materials distributor. I live close to Billings, MT and can go there a few times each year and pick up my stuff. I've had a good relationship with this company since 1998. I've used others, such as Colorado Moulding and Larsen & Juhl in Denver, but I prefer to get it from the folks in Billings.
You live in Chicago. You would benefit greatly by getting into Artists Frame Service, a custom frame store started by industry leader, Jay Goltz. He's one of the tops in the custom framing world. A frequent speaker nationwide, he's always presenting topics during the West Coast Art & Frame Show in Las Vegas, NV. I've met him. He's a great guy. If you know nothing about the framing world, you should learn something more than just where to get the best deal on mats and stuff. Learn about the design of things. Learn about trends. Learn what looks best with your work. Don't just try to do something to save money. As Larry states upthread, folks buy a lot of photography for decor. Well, Jay Goltz and his staff know decor and current market trends.
ARTISTS FRAME SERVICE WEBSITE They are retailers, so expect to pay some bucks to see what they suggest for your work. Once you learn something about it, get your stuff from a wholesale supplier and do what you can to do better than the others who do not care all that much about it.
Josh Baker > Barrie Lynn BryantDecember 20, 2015 at 7:00pm
Thanks Barrie for this recommendation. I certainly don't intend to slap the cheapest materials together but rather want to make sure that I'm not spending money that doesn't show a return in quality etc. I'll be checking into your recommendation shortly and will likely be investing in their knowledge for the foreseeable future.
Ultimately I hope to one day reach the level of "high end art". Where I can charge a slightly premium price for work that is regarded by buyers as being worth it in quality. Granted it'll probably take me 30 years to get there but I certainly have more time then money.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your knowledge. It's much appreciated.
Larry Berman > Josh BakerDecember 20, 2015 at 12:10pm
There are a number of resources like that available to artists who don't want to spend the time doing busy work.
Larry Berman
Josh Baker > Larry BermanDecember 20, 2015 at 1:49pm
I will be certainly looking into every way possible to streamline my business. Though I'm sure the costs will eventually outweigh the convience factor. I just hope that I can find the right balance in the first year or so.
Larry Berman > Josh BakerDecember 19, 2015 at 6:49pm
That's a web site only photographers visit. There's absolutely no correlation with selling prints to the public.
Larry Berman
Josh Baker > Larry BermanDecember 19, 2015 at 7:17pm
Have you found any means to test images prior to doing a live art show? While art shows are the gold standard I'm curious if anyone has another method to conduct "focus groups" sorta speak of art. It would be nice to find one small way of taking the edge off the gamble that seems to be this business.
Replies
Another issue when first starting out is printing too many untested images that you'll end up throwing in the trash over time. Here's an article I wrote that addresses that issue.
http://bermangraphics.com/blog/how-much-inventory-when-starting-out/
Larry Berman
I know 500px might not equate well to the art buying market but it seems to be the best method I have to getting feedback on my images.
Sometimes matting a 5x7 in a 14 x 18 or 16x20 mat, especially when presented in vertical orientation, is spectacular. The larger space around it gives the image greater presence. Has to be the appropriate image, like a close up of a face or something. Sometimes we mat small horizontal images in vertical mat orientation. You can even do 6x9 images this way. Make sure you don't center the image in the mat, but leave much more space at bottom. You might benefit from reading Picture Framing Magazine and finding some of the specific books they've published discussing matting techniques. We often use three or more images in a set and frame them this way so they go together on a wall.
Do you get most of your matting supplies from clearbags.com? I've been told and seen online that many feel they are the best supplier around these days.
No, I get most of my matting supplies from Montana Moulding, a picture frame industry materials distributor. I live close to Billings, MT and can go there a few times each year and pick up my stuff. I've had a good relationship with this company since 1998. I've used others, such as Colorado Moulding and Larsen & Juhl in Denver, but I prefer to get it from the folks in Billings.
You live in Chicago. You would benefit greatly by getting into Artists Frame Service, a custom frame store started by industry leader, Jay Goltz. He's one of the tops in the custom framing world. A frequent speaker nationwide, he's always presenting topics during the West Coast Art & Frame Show in Las Vegas, NV. I've met him. He's a great guy. If you know nothing about the framing world, you should learn something more than just where to get the best deal on mats and stuff. Learn about the design of things. Learn about trends. Learn what looks best with your work. Don't just try to do something to save money. As Larry states upthread, folks buy a lot of photography for decor. Well, Jay Goltz and his staff know decor and current market trends.
ARTISTS FRAME SERVICE WEBSITE They are retailers, so expect to pay some bucks to see what they suggest for your work. Once you learn something about it, get your stuff from a wholesale supplier and do what you can to do better than the others who do not care all that much about it.
Ultimately I hope to one day reach the level of "high end art". Where I can charge a slightly premium price for work that is regarded by buyers as being worth it in quality. Granted it'll probably take me 30 years to get there but I certainly have more time then money.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your knowledge. It's much appreciated.
I pay for hand cut mats from http://dixiematting.com
There are a number of resources like that available to artists who don't want to spend the time doing busy work.
Larry Berman
That's a web site only photographers visit. There's absolutely no correlation with selling prints to the public.
Larry Berman
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