Painting: Under the Blue Light

It took me a while to finish this piece, but it is finally here.

It’s funny how each piece takes its own course. This one took a while, and lots of changes. I took so many pictures that I was able to create a video, with all these frames.

Below is a wonderful poem written by Wendell A Brown, one of my dear friend of the web-sphere. You should go check his blog. He wrote it specially for this post. His words are a blessing to the world. Many thanks Wendell!

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There was a certain air of confidence every where
The moment I began to feel his eyes embrace
I knew that this would be a fantastic piece

As I felt the soothing energy alive within his face

 

There actually was a surprisingly shy moment
Where he let his guard down allowing me to see
That though his image seemed so very perfect
I begin to feel a genuine and selfless humanity

 

One would see this painting when its finished
They would surmise that it showed so much more
But in the moments which  the creative spirit flowed
There was really one thing he let me know for sure

 

That He only agreed to sit down and let me paint him
Understanding within me there was a genuine real need
To capture this side of his truly gentle  wonderful spirit
Because he saw he could not hide his truth from me

 

That through the  gorgeous smile and handsome looks
I could see the true charade played with others each day
And he wanted to finally end his daily ruse with  life
Letting his seemingly perfect self slip so very far away.

Etsy Shop About page has been updated!

Reading an Etsy article made me realized that a new look was available for all Etsy owners.

So, without delays, I updated my shop.

This is how it looks and you could check it out by clicking here

Below is a sneak peek…

 

Copyright Visual Arts

Some of you asked me, when am I going to post new paintings? 😀 The truth is that I delayed the new posts in purpose for a very simple, yet important reason: Copyright issues.

I took a few weeks off last December to do some remodeling around the apartment. I did not paint, but I did read and listened to instructional videos about marketing, licensing and sharing art online. To tell you the truth, the information was overwhelming.

In short, I decided to copyright every painting I create from now on.

Below, I included a list of sites to explain some of the whys and the hows in connection to this subject. I e-filed my first copyright a couple of weeks ago through the US official site. The step by step process was easy to follow and they do have a link “How to Register a Work“. Nothing to be afraid of 😀 ! One thing I should mention is that it costs $35 for each time you submit a request. However, the good news is that you may include multiple unpublished pieces of art in one single application.

The keyword is “unpublished“.

To make it simple:

–  Published Art: A single application must be file.

–  Unpublished Art: As long as all pieces have never been published, you may include it in one single application.

This is the reason I am holding off on posting new paintings. My plan is to file an application by the end of each month. I also want to copyright some of my published pieces, but that will take time.

Remember, this includes photography, illustration and any type of visual art.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week! 😀

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Resourceful sites:

http://www.copyright.gov/eco/

http://www.copyright.gov/

http://inventors.about.com/od/copyrights/a/copyright.htm

http://www.artbusiness.com/register_and_copyright_art_for_artists.html

Painting: Smokey Eyes

I know some of you already saw this piece, but I just noticed that I never created a post for it.

So, here it is, trying to do at least three faces. This is the second titled “Smokey Eyes“.

I will post the third piece tomorrow. I used acrylics on this one too, but the third piece will be in oils. Size is 30 x 40 on stretched canvas. I used mostly a knife palette to spread the paint. It was as much fun as the first one.

Thanks for visiting! 😀

My First Art Fair Experience – In one word “Fantastic”

It was Fantastic, not because I sold some pieces of artwork, but because I had the most amazing experience and (tent) neighbors.

We (Rob  and I) started to set up at 5:30 am, just like all the other artists. My level of enthusiasm was high. I greeted everyone that passed by. It helped break the ice and introduced ourselves to our neighbors. However, it was not the time for chatting. Everyone was on a mission to build their tents and get ready before the crowd arrived.

Once the art hanged neatly and the cars out-of-the-way, I changed my clothes and got our coffee fix. It was time to relax. Then we realized, we didn’t have chairs… heehee. Thank God the metro-rail was close by. Rob went to buy a couple of comfy chairs at a near by Sporting Goods Store. He saved the day! 😀 (lesson learned!)

Saturday was slow, as the experts said, but it gave us a chance to talk to our next-door fellow artists. Mano, the artist, and his wife Cucki, which by the way he won 1st Place in his category. Two amazing souls. At the end of the day, people zipped up their tents and went home. We knew that because our tent didn’t have a front (to close it up) we would have to take the art with us. That meant upload the car again, bring it down at home, reload the next morning to take it back to the event. In other words, a mission!! But like angels in disguised, Cucki and Mano, offered us to leave it all inside their tent. We didn’t have enough words to express our appreciation. They saved us!!! And we’ll forever be grateful for their generosity.

Sunday was busy! The weather was cooler, but still lots of sun. The good thing was that there were trees along the sidewalk, providing shade throughout the day. I had a chance to interact with the fair goers. It was a great experience. Some friends that I hadn’t seen in years, came by to visit. It was such a joy! 😀 I also had time to talk to my other next-door neighbor Witha, the artist, and her husband Bill. Witha also won 1st Place in her category. Adorable people as well. Rob talked to Bill the day before. I spoke to Witha on Sunday and she also gave me good pointers.

Through out the event, both neighbors (to my left and right side) were incredibly kind. They gave us years of advice (the does and don’ts) about fairs, tents, set up and much more. Positive energy was flowing all around us. And to keep that energy going, below is a list with the advice they shared with us and my experience about the event.

Things I learned:

– Make a List of everything that you need and will take to the event.

– Bring comfy chairs

– Don’t seat inside your tent, be close by and let people look at your work before approaching. 

– Have lots of business cards. In my case, i took my cute and a bit expensive ones (don’t do that) and the postcards with all my info. I realized that some people loved my little cards so much that took way too many. So, after a while I had to hide them and replaced them with the postcards, which cost nothing compare to the tiny cards. Below are some pictures of both types. If you would like to place an order for the tiny cards, here is the link.

– I believe on clearly pricing your art. Some people shy away because they don’t know if they can afford it. 

– Also, before I forget, a sign with your name or web address is important. I made mine with canvas. It was super easy and cheap compared to banners.

– Be ready to give discounts! If I saw someone interested, I immediately offered a % discount. Yours could be 10, 15 or 20, just make sure to know how much you are willing to sell it for. Some people will take what you give them, others will ask for more. 

– To make your set up fast and easy, know exactly where your art will be hanged. To do this, I put the tent up at home and hanged all my work as I wanted it, and then took pictures to remember how it was. If later, you want to change things a bit, which I did, it is much easier. The cheapest and most effective way to do mine was with chains. I will try to write about it and post it later, with pictures.

– If possible, have someone to help you through out the event. I was blessed that Rob was there the first day and my mom the second. There are times you need to go to the bathroom, eat, take a break, talk to clients or just do nothing. 

– Be ready to talk about your art, the process, why you choose that medium, how does it make you feel, etc. Some people love to ask all kinds of questions, to get to know the artist. Most people buy art because of how the piece makes them feel, but remember this is also an investment. You could help close the deal by answering the questions with confidence and enthusiasm. I helped me sell four pieces. Yay!!

– A good way to break the ice is by asking which piece they like the most. Usually, they tell you and the reason why they like it. If not, ask why. Introduce yourself and then ask them their name (most important, remember – I was so nervous that the second they uttered their name, I forgot.. heehee).

– When you sell a small piece, have a bag to put it in. When you have a big one, have the plastic to wrap it around. I totally forgot about it!!!

– One of the most important lessons was the tent. First of all, it needs to be white. Not only because it is a requirement in most fairs (I got lucky this time) but because light reflects better. I opened the top of the wall in mine a bit, to help with the light. There is so much to talk about it that I thought it would be best to share with you a post about it below. This article was written by Mona Majorowicz. Check it out! 

 

Tent: Shop around, eBay and Craigslist, are great places to get used tents. It will be much cheaper. If you are planning to attend a few shows per year, it will be a great investment to get a commercial type hut, new ones could cost up to $2,000. There is a lot of things to consider when buying a tent, but I found this amazing article by Mona Majorowicz listing all the different types of tents and the cons and pros about them.

 

 I hope this post shade some light on how to prepare for an event like this one.

Have a great week!! 😀

These are the more expensive ones. Good to pass around to potential buyer.

 

 

 

How to Promote your Paintings, Art and Photography

It took me a while, but it is finally here.

Below is a list of things I do to promote my paintings and get my customers to return for more.

I learned that the most important thing to do, is to have your own webpage, as I call it – an Official Website. This website is your portfolio online. Consequently, no matter where you are, you will be able to show your work to any potential customer, gallery or interested parties. Besides, it is a great presentation tool.

I have my page at Big Black Bag. I like their setting and it is easy to navigate. Plus, you have many option for promotion and e-commerce. They offer a 14 day free trial and if you like it, you can choose from their many monthly of yearly fees.

I also have many other social media site where I post new paintings and events. If you haven’t set up a page on Facebook, I recommended. It is easy and another amazing tool. Through my Facebook Page, people have contacted me to do commission paintings, invite me to galleries, take part in fairs and even bought some pieces. Besides, it is free to create a page.

I don’t use Twitter too much, but it has also bring me some sales. I try not to bombard people with my paintings. I also share articles about art and other useful information. Besides, it is free to create an account.

I also have an Etsy Shop. If you haven’t heard of Etsy, you need to check it out. It is growing incredibly fast. I had many sales through Etsy. In addition, the director of RAW found me through this site. And that was not the first time people have contacted me to inform me of other venues. Etsy is where I have had the most commissioned paintings requested, sales and contacts. It is free to create a shop. However, it cost .20 cents to post your item and a % when you sell it, but it is worth it.

Another recently found site is Daily Paintworks. I was surprised to sell a piece the second day I uploaded my work. I am still trying to get familiarized with the ins and outs, price range and best sellers, but I had and average of one per month. You do however need to be aware that this is like Ebay, but they only sell art and they do charge $12 a month to be a member.  Most sales are of small pieces, but I think it is worth it and another tool to promote your work.

The other site that I love, but haven’t had much time to log in lately, is Fine Art America. My experience has been all positive and had many sales. This site offers prints of your work, which is a great way to earn royalties. In other words, it is like Art.com, but the royalties are better. Each print you sell here, you choose how much money you would like to receive for them. They also have great tools for promotion, like coupons, blogs, event posts, announcements and much more. It is also a great community of artists helping each other. The fee is $30 yearly, to be able to sell prints of your art. By the way, this site is also great for fotographers.

The latest page I found to promote and get information on the latest events, venues and awards is See.me. I cannot tell you much about it, even though I signed up a few months ago. I became interested because a friend recommended the site. In fact, I am so new to this one that I only have 7 supporters … heehee. It seems that when people click the “SUPPORT ME” bottom (no money required, just a post on Facebook) I get a chance to win awards and promotions. This is how it goes: with 9 SUPPORTS (or clicks), one will be eligible for the life changing Grand Prize / with 19 SUPPORTS, be featured in a See.Me Facebook gallery seen by hundreds of thousands / with 99 SUPPORTS, be featured in a digital group show at SCOPE Miami 2013 during Miami Art Week. If you like to help me on this quest, just click on SUPPORT ME. It will post on your Facebook or Twitter.

I also have profiles on the following sites, which I don’t log in much, but it gets my name and work out there:

LinkedIn

Behance

Saatchi Online

RAW artsits

Let’s not forget your blog. This is an amazing way to get connected with artists around the world. To get inspired, to share your work and give each other support. I don’t rely on this site for customers, I love the friendly atmosphere, great articles, fellow artists and bloggers.

I hope this post helps you promote your art and hopefully, get some sales. 😀

Have a Fantastic Day! Thanks for stopping by.