Lisa Call

Lines #25
Textile Painting – Mounted on stretched canvas
©2009
3" x 3"
Sold

Motivation

Today I asked my friends and followers on facebook and twitter “Why do you buy art?”

I received about 25 responses and then summarized them on a page for everyone to read. It’s here: Buying Art.

As an artist looking to sell my artwork, this information is quite interesting and very helpful. Most of the people that responded are artists so the larger art buying population might have a different take on things, or maybe not.

My hope is that over time a larger group of people will find that page and more information can be gathered (you can add your response to the page and vote for the comments you like). If this is interesting to you, please pass the link along to your audience and we’ll see how it goes.

Connection

My answer isn’t on there but there are some close ones. The feeding my soul one comes close. And the obvious – I buy art I love – art I’ll want to look at for years.

I buy art mostly from people that I know something about, many that I was introduced to online and have had conversations with. The story behind the art is part of the compelling reason to buy someone’s art. Owning someone’s art is a connection to the artist and part of the appeal.

Hugh McLeod has been talking alot about art being social objects. Interesting thoughts. He’s posts about considering collectors as art users are definitely something to think about.

 
Why do you buy art?

 
PS : The newest buzzword from gapingvoid is cube grenades. My small 3″ textile paintings, like the one above, would make excellent cube grenade. Want to start a conversation at the office? Hang a textile painting on the wall! [Update - the piece above sold a few minutes after I posted my blog entry but there are more available here: Affordable Art For Sale.]

Pencil Holders
By Paula McCullough

Pencil Holders

One of my goals when I decluttered my house earlier this year was to only keep things that I loved. I believe things definitely have an energy and keeping things about that drain that energy is not something I want to do anymore.

I am working on this down to the smallest detail. I used to keep my pencils in old coffee mugs that I never really liked but someone gave them to me. They were functional but ugly. Definitely not things I wanted to keep around but my pencils needed to go somewhere.

So along came Paula McCullough thinking she also should make some smaller affordable art and she made pencil holders from an old piece of gutter (details here). I immediately fell in love with them and bought two. I smile every time I see them sitting on my desk.

Yesterday I decided I wanted more so I bought the remaining 9 in the limited edition to use in my house and maybe give as gifts (if I can bare to part with them).

My original plan was to blog about them so others could share in their beauty and buy one also – er – oops. Guess you will have to purchase one of her amazing clocks instead since these are sold out. Check them out at Paula’s Etsy Store. Some day I’ll own some of these also because the white plastic cheap things from Target aren’t the energy I want in my house.

Pint Sized Mugs
By Cynthia Guajardo

Mugs

So I just mentioned the ugly coffee mugs. They had to get out of the kitchen also. I don’t drink coffee but I do drink peppermint tea and it tastes much better out of my brand new mugs by Cynthia. I stopped by her potters guild sale a few weeks back and bought these and a few other items that are currently packed away until the builders are out.

I keep one at the office and one at home and when my house is complete Cynthia and I are going to work out a trade so I can get more in exchange for one of my small textile paintings. Yay!

Cynthia also has an etsy store and I hear she will soon be stocking it with new work. Cynthia’s Etsy Store.

More Affordable Art

Art doesn’t have to be large to make a home beautiful. I think small details like these pieces of functional art can have a big impact on the energy of a home.

I also buy small art that has no purpose than to make my house beautiful, such as the ACEO I bought from Tina Mammoser a while back. It’s currently sitting in front of my modems on my desk top and adds touch of color to my world. She also sells her work online: Tina’s Etsy Store.

I’ve got a small but growing collection of this small art (most of it in storage awaiting the house to be completed) and am looking forward to adding to it. Buying art is always my favorite purchase.

Black Friday

Here in the US it’s Black Friday, the day everyone heads to the stores to start their christmas shopping. If you are like me and don’t feel like fighting the crowds you buy art as gifts online instead. Check out these artists that came together to provide you with a variety of art to choose from:

Small Art Showcase
Fine Art Department

And, of course, you are always welcome to purchase some of my artwork – see my page of small art for sale.

Multiple Income Streams

If you do any reading about small businesses one of the top pieces of advice out there is about multiple streams of income. Not putting ones eggs all into 1 basket. I’m very serious about supporting myself through my artwork and quitting my day time job. I feel this is advice worth listening to. The smaller affordable art is just one of many ways for me to make a living.

I love making the larger pieces and while I am not yet selling a substantial number of them each year, they also provide part of my income. I do believe they will always make up the largest percent of my income but I don’t want to rely on this income exclusively.

I don’t make nearly the profit on these smaller textile paintings as I do on my larger work. They are quite labor and time intensive for the size and price. I figure I make about $5-$15 an hour on the pieces under $100. Not horrible but certainly not in line with what I make as a software engineer.

While I could probably scrape by selling only work under $500, if I really focused on this segment of the market, that is not my intention. I view this as one of many ways of sharing my art and passion with the world. When combined with my other streams of income I believe I can make this work.

Fine Art Department

Tracy Helgeson, one of my favorite oil painters, wrote a blog post about her art selling experiences and talked about why fine art makes for a really great gift this year.

To that end she started a new blog showcasing artist that are selling their art directly to the public called Fine Art Department. It’s a really wonderful looking group of artist so again, if you are thinking about buying art this is another possible avenue to find just the right gift this year.

I find it interesting, and maybe a sign of the times that 2 artists have started this type of online collection recently (yesterday’s mention of small art showcase is the other example). Seems like many of us are feeling that selling our work directly to the public is a good option right now.

Construction Update

As you can see in the photo above the excitement today is about the walls for my new studio. Woohoo – I’m absolutely thrilled with how the studio is looking. Ten foot high walls – a high ceiling. I’ve wanted this in a studio for years and now I’m just a few months away from having it.

Construction photos – Nov 21. Studio walls and a few new windows.

I got my house cleaned up and put back together after all of this work and am ready to head to the studio this morning. I might have a few interruptions while they move electrical lines but I’m excited to get to work on some new pieces. I’ve already selected the fabrics and and going to work on a new piece in the Home series this morning.

ACEO #23
©2008
2.5" x 3.5"
Sold

Because That’s What I Buy

It’s taken me several years to come around to the idea of making affordable art. My first love is to make big expansive artwork. Given the time and materials involved in that process I can’t afford to sell my large textile paintings for only a few hundred dollars, which prices me right out of most people’s budget, including my own.

I started seriously buying art a few years ago and find that most of the art I purchase is under $200. I see a lot of other people buying art in this price range also. While I have saved my money and bought a few pieces in the $500-$1000 range that it doesn’t happen very often yet.

When I made the decision this year to actively look to sell my artwork I decided that this was a market that I wanted to participate in. I know that I very much appreciate the artists that make work at price points that fit my budget and it feels right to be able to do this.

Small Art Showcase

The impetus for creating my small artwork for sale webpage was to participate in an online small art showcase my friend Jeanne Williamson organized. (Thank you Jeanne!)

The website is now live and in addition to my work you can find small art work by 11 other artists working in a variety of mediums. The work ranges from $25-$500. Check out the website Jeanne created and get some holiday shopping done: Small Art Showcase .

I here there might be more artists coming soon so check back often.

ACEOs

Until this month I was selling my ACEOs for $21 including shipping. They are now $26 with shipping as I realized I wasn’t making much of a profit on them, between paypal fees, postage, materials and my time (to both make the ACEO, then photograph iand list on my website). While I want to make small art that is affordable, I also want to make some money while doing it.

Each of my aceos is created the same way I create my larger artwork. Each piece is cut individually (I never strip piece – for those that know what this means). Each cut I make and each color change in the work was made with deliberately.

On a very rare occasion I will have scraps leftover from a piece and will use those to make my aceos (I think this has happened twice), otherwise the pieces are made with intention, just like my larger textile paintings. The result is these are rather time consuming and if I want to keep making them it needs to make financial sense.

ACEO #23, above, was inspired by Markings #3, as was my small piece Markings #25. It is available for purchasefor $25 on my small artwork for sale webpage (near the bottom of the page).

A Series of Posts

I have much to say on the topic of affordable art so I’ve decided to write a series of posts so look for more thought on the topic over the next week or so.

Construction Progress

No post these days is complete without some construction progress. I think tomorrow I’ll have studio walls. Today they got one built:

Construction Photos – Wednesday – November 19
Construction Photos – Thursday – November 20

OC#9 ©2007 David Castle 12"x12"

Self Care

Lately I have been practicing abundant self care. I believe this is an important element to holding intent. Self love and self care are super important pieces to living the life I want. When I set an intent or a goal I find it easier to hold that intent or complete that goal if I am at peace with myself.

Here are some things I’ve done in the last month as part of my self care:

• Start acupuncture. I’ve thought out this many times but I wasn’t on first name terms with needles so I was never willing to take the leap. Then Alyson Stanfield posted a referral for an acupuncturist and I took this as a sign it was time to become buddies with the needles. I had my second treatment today with Renae Einspahr and I’m hooked. Good thing my insurance pays for this cause I can see it a frequent element of my self care.
• Buy art I love. I’ve always wanted to purchase some of David Castle’s art and now the piece above is part of my collection. I love his work. You can read about how he makes these amazing water media pieces on his blog.
• Drinking plenty of water is something I have to work at, it doesn’t come naturally for me yet. I’m working on adding this to my daily ritual as I feel tons better when I’m well hydrated.
• I decided to celebrate my sense of well being today by buying myself a big box of my favorite chocolates. Yum. Why wait for someone else to pamper me when I can pamper myself. Expecting someone else to treat me better than I treat myself is a recipe for unhappiness.
• It doesn’t matter what I’m doing or what the weather is like, I always feel happier if I’ve been outside for a while. I would like to fit a walk into my life every day and I’m working up to that goal. Last friday the sun had the first hint of heat in it peaking through the bite of the cold wind and on saturday it was down right warm. It felt incredible.
• My cats are really missing my kids. [they are in Europe with their father for 3 months. Two down, 1 more to go. The cats aren't the only ones missing them.] I’m spending much more time each day sitting and petting my cats. They are so excited to have me SIT DOWN. They have an internal radar for this activity and come running. "ohmygawd – she’s sat down and it’s not in front of the computer or sewing machine – quick jump in her lap!". Not only do the cats love it but slowing down like this has brought a lot of inner peace for me.

 
How do you practice self care?

Related Posts

Transitioning and Intent
Holding Intent – Part I [Realistic Goals]
Holding Intent – Part II [Excuses]
Holding Intent – Part III [Focus]
Holding Intent – Part IV [Enough Time]

 
[I said I'd talk about fear this time but I didn't want to go there tonight as the acupuncture and chocolate have lulled me into peacefulness. Next time.]

What is Art?

Many years ago my perception of art was Art. Big expensive stuff. Things that only rich people could buy. It was a very restrictive view point on what art can be and is. As a result I never considered myself the type of person that would ever buy Art. Instead I bought posters/prints of artwork I liked and paid ridiculous sums to frame the prints and then ta-da – I had Art, or at least a copy of it.

Some where along the way my opinion changed. Art is way more than the stuff we see in museums. The idea that I, myself, could buy art – original amazing art – was a revelation to me. I feel silly that it took me so long to get this (especially since I’m an artist) but doesn’t matter. I got it.

Now I buy art. I am an art collector. My collection is small and so far I’ve only purchased fairly inexpensive pieces but I love each one dearly and they make me smile.

Budgeting to Buy Art

A few years ago to aid in my art buying I carved out a small but important chunk of my monthly budget for art. Every month my bank automatically moves $50 from my checking account into a special savings account that I’ve titled Art.** If I see some art I want to buy I know I have money for it and I just buy it. It’s not a challenge to fit it into my budget as it’s already in my budget.

I’m saving up now for a larger piece so I haven’t bought much in a while but it’s so cool to think that in just 2 years I’ll have enough money to buy a piece of $1200 art. Effortlessly. The money will just be there. I never think about that money except in terms of buying art. It’s labeled art, it’s for art and I would never use it to buy shoes (okay I never buy shoes anyway – but you get the idea).

As my income goes up my art budget also goes up. Next thing ya know I’ll have one of those really cool houses full of amazing art that I just love. I used to be jealous of people that had this but no more – because I am building the same thing myself.

 
Do you buy art? Are you an artist? How do you budget for your art purchases?

 
 
** This is how I budget most of the big ticket items in my life. I use a credit union and have a bunch of share/savings accounts designated for special things, such as christmas and vacations. I love this hands off way of paying for things that might seem like a shock to the budget but in reality we know they are coming.