Using Quality Materials

I'd like to discuss the difference between using artist quality acrylic paints vs craft grade or student grade materials. I was taught in college to always use the best quality paint whenever possible, and it wasn't until I started working as a professional artist that I truly understood the reasoning behind it all.

The difference between good acrylic paint and bad acrylic paint is fairly straightforward. Lesser quality paint tends to have more filler than pigment.So when you paint you'll notice that you may have to go over an area several times to get opaque coverage, whereas with artist quality paints it may take only one pass. The fillers become obvious when the paint is dry, as it usually has a chalky finish. Light fastness is another obvious difference.The term lightfastness describes a pigment's ability to resist fading when exposed to low or moderate light. Low grade paint has less pigment in it to begin with so it tends to fade significantly quicker than a quality paint.

At the end of the day it doesn't mean that an artist has to use the most expensive paint on the market. It means that an artist should maintain a standard of quality when selling their art, even when it's online.

Working Online vs working for galleries

This post is in reaction to a specific gallery's reaction to some of the work I'm selling online.I don't want to rehash the old debate as to which is better, but I want to share my personal experiences since I've experienced both sides of the fence.

Firstly I want to say that after 5 months of working online, I love it.Being in the driver's seat is priceless. I also enjoy the ability to personally connect with the buyer, whereas in the gallery there is absolutely no contact with the artist only a salesperson.Seeing who and where the artwork is sold is a great feeling.

Many uninformed people will argue that selling art online devalues it. The truth of the matter is that artists make on average only 15-30% of a gallery list price. A friend of mine recently sold a piece for $2000.00, he received only $400.00 for it. $400 dollars is on par with much of the good work being sold online. By removing the middle man the artist still receives what he would have from the gallery,and the collector can buy a piece without a 700% markup.

Retaliation from a gallery is also common. A gallery may lower an artists prices or put them in a clearance section to keep artists in line. Sometimes they just won't push your work at all.At the New York art expo 2009 there was a seminar on how galleries could counter artists selling their work online.Maybe they should learn how to grow and change with the direction of art instead.

In the end there will always be artists and there will always be people that love art. What's changing is how the art is sold.

Ebay store progress

It's been nearly five months now since I've started an ebay store and i wanted to chronicle our progress. I've sold about 80 pieces in varying styles in spite of a "down economy".I'm still trying to figure out the ins and outs of selling online but I believe the store has surpassed my expectations. I haven't quite found a specific style that sells consistently but the variety of work is enjoyable to paint.

I'd like to thank all the great ebayers who've supported our store, especially all the repeat buyers.I hope we can continue to forge more relationships with other collectors in the future.