Today's Paintings 4.28.09

American Basin (Commission)
Original 36" x 48" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics

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Oriental Blossoms VII
Original 60" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Two 30" x 40" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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First Dibs (After You)
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Oriental Blossoms VIII
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today was especially productive! I finished up two paintings--the American Basin commission, and Oriental Blossoms VII. I also had enough time and energy to paint another in each of the Oriental Blossoms and First Dibs series.

My patron in New York approved American Basin, so I'll be stretching and varnishing it tomorrow, and getting it shipped on Thursday. I'm excited to see what comes next from him. He has two galleries in the NYC area, and rents some of my paintings to businesses for their decor. I'm excited and grateful for the exposure in New York!

Tip of the Day
Shipping costs are an area where you have limited control. Within the continental US almost all online shoppers expect free shipping now--whether you're buying books, a pair of boots, or art. The major shippers are about on par with each other for rates. You can get discounts off of their standard rates by opening on account on their web sites and generating your shipping labels from there. Buyers like having a tracking number so they can check the progress of their shipment.

Depending on what you're shipping (how big and how heavy), you may be facing balloon rates going through USPS for oversized packages (84" length plus girth is the cutoff for their standard rates on Priority Mail). However, for smaller items, Priority Mail or Priority Mail Flat Rate is the way to go. USPS also provides you with free boxes, and you can print your shipping labels with postage from either the USPS web site (after you create an account), or via PayPal, and just drop them off at the post office or have your postal carrier pick them up. No waiting in line!

Quote of the Day
"Most people treat the present moment as if it were an obstacle that they need to overcome. Since the present moment is Life itself, it is an insane way to live." --Eckhart Tolle

American Basin Commission (update)

American Basin (Commission)
Original 36" x 48" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics

Most of my day was spent working on this commission for my New York patron. He's has two galleries there, and is one of my biggest fans. The commission work keeps streaming in, for which I'm very grateful.

One of the things I enjoy about living in Colorado is the extreme changes in the weather. Last week it was warm and sunny. Over the weekend it was cool and rainy. This is what I awoke to this morning:

Spring Snow - April 27, 2009

Tip of the Day
Include certificates of authenticity with the work you sell. This gives your buyers documentation that the work they've purchased from you is the genuine article. I also had business cards made up with an image of one of my paintings, and included my web site, email, and blog addresses. I send a few with every painting I ship so my patrons can share them with their friends and relatives who might also like my work.

Quote of the Day
"The thought manifests as the word; the word manifests as the deed; the deed develops into habit; and habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love; born out of concern for all beings." --Buddha

Today's Paintings 4.17.09

Abstract Sunrise
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Abstract Poppies II
Original 24" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery wrapped-canvas

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American Basin (Commission)
Original 36" x 48" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics

Today's work includes two new abstract paintings--Abstract Sunrise and Abstract Poppies II--as well as an update to my commission in progress--American Basin. The first two pieces are my newest forays into the world of abstracts. Abstract Sunrise is a new composition, and the poppies is the latest in the Abstract Poppies series. That painting's big sister, which I listed yesterday on my sales venues, sold today (woo hoo!). Sales of my work have been on a roller coaster lately, but in this economy I am pleased to be selling, period. Fortunately the commission work has been fairly steady for almost three months now.

Tip of the Day
How you list your work on sales venues depends a lot on the venue. Some venues allow you to use HTML, and others only allow you to enter text in the listing. For those of you who are familiar with HTML, you can design fairly elaborate templates for listing your work with few restrictions. For those of you who are not as familiar with HTML, you can use a familiar word processing program such as MS Word to create a document and save it as HTML for later publishing on your sales venue.

There are also organizations out there, such as EBSQ Art (ebsqart.com), and others which are free to join, which offer HTML templates you can download and modify to suit your taste. Also, many listing venues have an HTML editor built into their sites which function in a similar manner to a word processing program like MS Word. You can modify things like fonts, colors, add photos, etc.

Just like with a good meal, presentation makes a big difference. If you have the option to use HTML of your own creation or a template, it's worth it to invest the time into creating a good one for presenting your work to buyers. Just like having good photos of your work, as mentioned in yesterday's Tip of the Day (TOD), a pleasant, eye-catching template can make the sale for you.

Quote of the Day
"Never take anything for granted." --Benjamin Disraeli

American Basin Commission

American Basin Commission
Original 36" x 48" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics

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Original Patron's Photo

Today's painting is a work in progress on a commission I'm doing of the American Basin, which is in the San Juan mountains of Colorado. The original commission of this work was done from another patron's original photo (above). I'm often asked to do commissions from patron's original photos, usually with additional input of what else they'd like to see in their paintings. This version of American Basin is for a patron in New York who runs a gallery. I have this and a couple of other examples of commissions I've done on my web site.

Tip of the Day
Getting the word out about your work and getting exposure online may seem like an arduous task. Do I need a web site? How do I copy protect images of my work? Where are the best sites to list my work or display my portfolio? How do I manage my work if I'm listing on multiple sales venues? Are those emails I get stating they'll get my web site highly ranked in search results legit? Do I have to take credit cards on my web site to sell my work?

These and other questions will be answered through our workshop. My husband and I are teaching Selling Your Artwork Online at Colorado Free University in Denver, and will also be hosting classes at the Englewood Jerry's Artarama in the coming weeks for those of you in the Denver metro area.

For those of you who live elsewhere, or can't make it to the metro area for any of our class dates, we're soon going to be offering our workshop as an online offering through Colorado State University's Continuing Education online starting in May. Stay tuned for announcements of live or online class dates in my Announcements section (top right corner of this blog, and on my home page.

Quote of the Day
"Ah, the first step in humility: Listening." --Dr. Michael Beckwith