This is my wrap-up post, the previous two are just behind this, start at the beginning if you are new to the thread. To all, thanks for following it, give me some feedback.
THE NOW--2013
Well, last year was an improvement over 2012.
In 2012, I had open heart surgery with a bunch of by-passes and new valves. It kinda put a crimp on my art-making and sales.
In 2013 I was a lot stronger and healthier. I passed out at a couple of shows, while setting up, from that pesky atrial fibrillation. Got that fixed in August and it has been smooth sailing since.
Here are some of the lessons and trends I gathered from last year. (Don't forget I am a 2-D guy so my observations are swayed that way.}
People loosened up with their spending in the early year, the winter months in Florida. Shows in Jupiter, Bonita, not Naples though, New Smyrna Beach and others improved.
People were quicker to come out with the credit cards. Still, most wanted a deal, most were not content to just pay the listed price, especially if they were buying more than one item.
I saw a pleasant uptick in the $100-$200 price range. Nearly doubled 2011 results.
High end sales were better.
In Florida they have big,tall walls, they need big work. Heck, a 26"x36" piece is a dink on most walls. So people with the right work did very well.
Most of my friendly competitor photographers sold large panoramics on canvas and did well.
Painters with tropical themes, and wildlife, flourished.
The trouble is that there are too many shows in Florida on any given weekend and it dampens the need to buy, now, at the show.
Naples has a ton of shows, and most of them suck. Lots of wealth there, but they treat us as a pleasant day out walking the dog at the show.
Speaking of wealth, the middle class of America has been savagely wounded, and their spending may never come back with the way our economy is going.
This does not bode well for us. We need them. We need to fill their walls with art.
The housing industry in Florida is slowly waking up, but way too slowly.
Now, at any given show, there may be a few good whales walking and looking to buy. The competition and price points are enormous. There are only so many of them to go around. So a few, artists, prosper, and the rest go home with diminished profits.
Face it, most of us sell to the middle class. Not many of us get to sell to the uber-rich. We need those middle class people and they are evaporating in front of our eyes.
In May, when I headed north for the summer, I started strong, but by late September, it was poor-city for me.
I live in Saugatuck,MI for five months and do the midwest shows.
June shows were a mixed bag, Cincinnatti was a passable show, Columbus was its usual killer, and Boston Mills is slowly sinking into "who-cares" territory.
July brought South Haven, a pleasant one-dayer, then a very down Krasl. This usually always is strong for most of us. Last year, it stunk. Then came Ann Arbor, another show slipping in oblivion.
August brought several small shows where I barely made a paycheck.
September brought the one-dayer at Upper Arlington (it is slipping badly) and then a great-killer Saint Louis.
Then it was back to home in Ybor City,Fl.
My fall ended up being one of the worst in the last 12 years. I barely survived.
OK, so what did I learn from all this.
First, you gotta keep coming up with fresh, new work. I had a new body of work for 2012, it got me into great shows, but did not necessarily translate into great sales. I hope to build on that.
I think a photographer needs to have 40-60 marketable images working for him in at least three price points. Of course, the bulk of your sales will come from the top 30 per cent.
The trend in photo right now definitely leans towards canvas work, with work on aluminum starting to catch on fast. Work on paper under glass is considered old school.
Once they learned to put a white undercoating base on aluminum it made the color image so much brighter. The process is costly, so you end up with a lot of money tied up in the inventory til you move it. A certain number of people love it.
The people who come to shows anymore are not as savvy as we saw in the 80's and 90's.
Part of this has to do with the lack of art education in our country. People have no history, and thus no passion for art. It is mostly a design market. That is not going to change.
To illustrate that, think about this scenario. Two women show up at Naples and I have a great photo of the second Coming of Christ, on canvas. They start swooning over it. One women reaches for her credit card and then her friend does the "kill-the-sale-move." "Margaret, you can't buy that, there is no purple or gold in your room." End of story, end of sale.
I encounter people all the time who ask what those numbers are on the mat below an image. They have no concept of a limited edition. Many don't know that 1/1 means a one-of-a-kind.
The shows have learned to use us as a marketing diversion to bring in a x-number of patrons who they can market expensive vehicles, cellphone plans and real estate to. Many times these people get the prime booth locations and we are relegated to lesser places.
The hand-held device works against us.
Too many are engrossed in looking at it while not really looking at the art. It is hard to have a sustained conversation with a patron because of constant blips and alerts on their cell-screens. Kids are the worst. They are our future and it doesn't look good. They would rather photograph your art with their phone, to share with friends, rather than buy anything.
With the advent of digital cameras and ones on phones, everyone is a photographer now. It is not as easy to "wow" them with great original art. Most, don't care. They would rather have big screen TV up on the wall.
When I visit most people's houses, I see very little art ever hanging on the walls.
Couple this with the increase of buy-sell booths showing up at our shows and it portends a tough future making a living in this biz.
Too many show promoters will gladly take the booth fee even if it is BS. They don't want open spaces. Too many of the shows are way too large. When you have 250 artist show at a mid to small location that means a lot of artists are only going to get little slice of the pie.
2012 saw an increase of shows who allowed their deadline for submission to pass, and then extended it. Why? To grab more fees. This will only get worse unless we can shame them and call attention to this practice on social forums. If they want us to adhere to their prospectus then they have to do, likewise.
2012 has seen the continuing rise in the price of the booth fee. Trouble is sales are not increasing. We are in a biz with increasing costs and diminishing sales--this is a poor business model and most cannot survive doing it.
Social media is probably a boon for most of us. We can now stay in touch with friends instantly. We can help, pronto. Need to know about where to ask for a boothspace--get on the internet. We are able to put new work out on sites and gather attention to it. Possibly even sell some of it. We can get instant feedback about any given show now. No need to wait for results to be printed. Just ask those who you trust.
The process of our biz has made our lives one continual journey of applying and paying for shows. There no quiet times anymore.
Everybody wants results now! We live in the era of instant-gratification. The lust for it is insatiable.
This biz tends to favor the richer artist. If you have plenty of moola, you can buy your booth first day it is available. Prime spots go fast. Double booths are scooped up quickly. Tough shit if you are waiting for that last sale to clear in your account before you can buy your booth. Heck, a lot of us have to wait til the last moment to buy a space because money is so tight.
I had a tough dilemma in December. Good thing was I got accepted into some really good shows like Gasparilla, Winter Park and Main Street Fort Worth. Bad thing was, all these booth fees were due by Dec. 15 at the latest. December is my worst month of the year. My holiday sales and shows always suck. It is the worst time to have to come up with $3400 in booth fees.
I am quite sure I was not alone in this dilemma.
With the increase in booth fees rising, it inhibits new people from entering into our biz. It is now very costly and not for the faint of heart. That is not a good trend.
It is becoming increasingly harder for an artist to make a real living in this biz and pay all the bills that come due.
With that said, here is what I see coming in the future. Some of this is happening now, others are coming, later.
FUTURE TRENDS
Booth fees will continue to escalate.
The day of the $50 jury fee is coming, sooner than we want.
Many promoters will politely continue to turn a blind eye to buy-sell. They want all spaces filled no matter what it does to a show.
More and more, the "Square-type application" will come to the forefront.
With it will come embeded chips in the cards, no more magnetic strips.
This of course means a new generation of card readers, probably at higher costs.
The Biggart-Waters flood insurance act will have a profound effect on sales in homes near water in Florida, especially. Thus, a diminished market of walls to be filled with art. This is not good.
Travel costs per mile for artists will escalate when Congress finally addresses the revenue shortfall for highways in America. Right now, it comes out as a small per cent of every gallon sale of gas in America. If they come up with a user fee, where you are taxed by the distance you drive in a year, we all will be severely affected. Won't see as many long road trips to shows. Sausilito, forget about it, same with Cherry Creek. Only the very rich will afford it. Which leaves the majority of us out of it. Artists will have to be more regionible.
Fewer young artists are drawn to our biz anymore. We are an aging group. Your health will be a major issue for you in the next decade.
Staying on top of blood pressure, eating lowfat and low salt will become imperative to living well. A weekly exercise program where one achieves a steady aerobic workout for at least 45 minutes, three times a week is a must. Maybe cutting back on eating so much of that show food will help. Forget the fries, eat kettle corn, it is better for you. You must keep yourself strong and supple. The show setup and teardown is an arduous task. You are only as good as your back and legs are.
I just don't know how well one can live off sales from their website. This is one dicey area, I see very few who are successful at it. The website is a valuable tool, but is not an end itself.
WRAP UP
I want to end on a most positive note.
Can you hear the explosion of fireworks in the air? The big bands are playing.
If not, take another hit.
Swallow some Jack and listen on for a few more lines.
I am 68 and hope to be doing this when I am 78. My goal is to evolve from being a photographer to being a painter by age 72. It is a daunting goal--but I am goal-oriented.
I had open heart surgery and got a second chance. I take my health very seriously, and I want all of you to do the same.
As I said in the first blog, WE ARE IN THE GREATEST PROFESSION IN THE WORLD--PEOPLE ENVY US.
I wake up every morning of my life with purpose. There are never enough hours in the day, I could always use more. I have a burning passion to create new work and it propels me. As long as it can sustain me, I will die a happy man.
I love this site, and the blog especially. It re-awoke a passion for writing in me that I kind of repressed in my twenties.
Hope you all got good things out of this series. I think it has been a unique experience explaining our business. It is one hell of a life's journey.
Aloha, and much success to all in 2014. Nels Johnson
PS. To date, I know of nobody who has done a comprehensive, analytical look at our industry like I have just published.
