I have a fairly good web presence, one that I've built up over years. I am far less concerned with # of followers than SEO; I'm not looking for a fan base on Instagram, I'm creating a reference point online as a business tool. Though this year is looking up, I still sweat every potential sale. I've got bills to pay and I'm trying to do so by doing what I love.
Enter the email art purchase scam. If you haven't experienced this, it goes down something like this:
You get a random email from a potential buyer saying they found you online and love your work. Stoked, you respond, only to get asked to send money, your art, or both. At the second stage of the scam it becomes pretty obvious, but at that point they already have your email address.
Unfortunately, like a lot of scams, it must be somewhat effective. Artists lose their work, and may even lose money. It happens enough that if you search "artwork purchase scams" you get hundreds of thousands of hits.
Here's one I received just today. I deleted the sender's email, title of the painting in question, and changed their names, but left everything else as I received it:
Comment: Hello
I was checking thru the web and these particular piece ("xxx"oil on canvast) caught my eyes,am hoping is available for sale,please get back to me,hopefully we can proceed from there.
Regards
Rita & William
The first telltale sign its the poor spelling and grammar. Danger, Will Robinson! Since I don't publish my email address on my website, it comes through a comment form, which has the handy feature of giving me the IP address from which the mail was sent (or at least sent through). This one came from Turkey. Hmm. This isn't an exact science, but be wary of foreign countries for reasons I'll go into later.
I know part of us wants to believe that the work is so damn awesome that, duh, of course if people are "checking thru the web" and see it they will want to give us cash money immediately. Oh yeah, and they happen to be important collectors too, right? This is our egos/insecurities talking, not our brains. Art sales can (and often do) happen out of the blue, but it is very rare to be approached online or via email by someone you don't know. Also, there are hardly any specifics in the message. No small talk, no introduction, just straight to the chase and written hastily.
What if they are real? Let's just entertain that for a moment. How, exactly, are we going to get the work (in this case a 10' tall painting) to the potential client? Shipping domestically is a four-figure scenario and a PINA, what do you think it will cost to ship internationally? Who's paying for that, btw? Do you really think that someone willing to spend thousands of dollars for art is buying art randomly off the internet? Spoiler Alert: no.
I know people who successfully sell their work online. It can be done and done well. But the big difference is that they already approaching it as an online business, often with a time window for purchase. They also tend to use Paypal or a third party vendor of some sort to protect themselves. People who buy art tend to get excited. They tell you about themselves, where they are going to put it, where they live, so on. Dodgy solicitations that feel wrong, ARE.
There are variations of this of course, most notoriously the pay-to-play galleries or art publications. Most every reputable artist, gallery owner and dealer frown on the p2p "galleries." Don't do it. You may get that New York show, but no one will take you seriously, and an art career is an endurance event, not a sprint. Reputation matters. But that is another post.
Use the web. Look people up, check for known scams. Protect yourself and as importantly, protect your work.
ever onward
Main Street studio, February 2016, untitled, in progress
There's multiple paintings in play, which is my favorite way to work. I'm jumping from thought to thought, painting to painting, and the vibe is solid. It's good to come in each day and be faced with the next stage.
Look for an exhibition announcement next week.
Moves
Phaedra, 60"x 48", oil on canvas, Rico 2012-13
Yesterday, handlers came and packed up this painting bound for Kansas City. The studio feels lighter, and soon more work will head out the door, this time bound for Atlanta. I have been waiting to drop the news that I'm now represented by Pryor Fine Art in the ATL. This is incredibly exciting because Atlanta has been in my sights for a long time. The moment was right and we are very pumped about the relationship. My work will be included in their upcoming catalog and there's an exhibition on the horizon for later this year. Check back for dates and further announcements.
In other upcoming show news, I am about to secure a show in Greenville, SC. This is an exciting venue and the work will be on view during the huge downtown arts festival, Artisphere. Details forthcoming!
For all the latest news, be sure to check this blog or my News and Links page on my website.
#artisphere #yeahthatgreenville #painting #ArtAtlanta
Tickets to the Fair
If you find yourself in Palm Springs this weekend (and why the hell not, right?), check out the Palm Springs Art Fair. I've got some friends exhibiting in booth 314, Lyons Wier Gallery. Readers will recall this gallery hosted the group show (Unlimited Potential) I was in back in August of last year. Each of these gentlemen are destined for greater things, so if you're collecting get their work now. For real.
For those of us less fortunate mortals enduring the frigid southeast with nothing to look forward to except the "first in the South" primary, we can check out the Fair's website.
Big shout outs to my mates, you know who you are!
space is the place
My studio is not perfect. It is unheated, un-air-conditioned, no running water, to name a few. The heavy rains of winter have caused some new issues that I'm working with the landlord to resolve. But then, there is the space itself. I cleared it, I configured it, I built walls, and I tore down walls. In preparation for #NYC2017, I have the incredible advantage of being able to simulate the 2 large walls of the gallery space in my studio. This means I can hang the show before I ship it and get a real sense of how it will work.
Because this show is large (14 paintings), everything in it needs to be solid. Because it is a series, and holds religious meaning for many who will view it, the order of the work matters. Being able to play and configure while I'm painting is incredible.
Despite being hampered at times by climate, this studio and I have grown together over the past 8 years. The work that has developed comes form hours upon hours of working, writing, sketching and contemplating. Though I am on Main Street, I often forget the world outside when I'm working.
I am reaching a point where the amount of work I need to produce will require either serious upgrades to my space or relocation. I cannot continue to lose weeks due to cold. Climate control for a 100 year old warehouse is inefficient and expensive, but some days when I'm there I cannot image being anyplace else.
I'll make a big announcement soon via social media and on my site. Stay tuned.
begin again
untitled (in progress), oil on linen
Studio morning, three canvases in play working towards my solo show in New York next year. I ship a piece out to Kansas City later this month. It's happening, a result of the favorable unseen tides of fate combined with old fashioned hustle. I am three weeks away from my graduate defense, at which point I leave my midlife crisis behind me.
Focusing on the work, and solely on my art career has been invigorating and I feel a overwhelming sense of peace and focus. I feel the work I produce in the weeks ahead will rise to another level.
Having a solo show in NYC brings about a significant change in mindset. I know I have to bring it, that I will bring it. As I reach out into other markets, I realize that I've crossed some threshold in terms of my career. The single word that comes to mind to describe my current state of mind is "clarity."
The artistic practice, like meditation, is about beginning again. Each work must be new and fresh for me, or else it won't be for anyone else. If I've developed a style, I constantly strive for autonomy in each piece. Building a show is intense because there needs to be some cohesion, and especially so for this show, but any one piece should stand alone. More documentation as I push forward.
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