Avoiding Newbie Mistakes

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="05bfd5a3.jpg"> <div> <B>Avoiding Newbie Mistakes</B></div> <div> <B>6260 N.W. 19 Street, Sunrise, Fl. 33313 Toll Free 1-877-512-3333    Email: </B><A HREF="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com"><U><B>mike@mikealbin.com</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="05cd2043.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mike Albin.Com "><U>Mike Albin.Com </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="wd.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web design"><U>Web design</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="ma.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Articles"><U>Marketing Articles</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="sr.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Show Reviews"><U>Show Reviews</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mt.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Tools"><U>Marketing Tools</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="l.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U>Links</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#DDDDDD" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Avoiding newbie mistakes</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> At shows recently, I've had the pleasure of being next to a few artists who are new to the circuit. They're full of enthusiasm and hope, excited to be doing shows. They are just like we all were when we first started out. They've got big dreams of making their living at art shows and have numerous questions about how to actually do it. So I started thinking back to when Patty and I first started and what mistakes we made. I also polled fellow artists and art-show promoters and directors to see what they thought the common newbie mistakes were. I have to admit I was quite surprised by some of the responses I received, while others are exactly what I have been preaching for years in my column. </div> <div> One of the first and most unusual responses I got was from a veteran artist who questioned my reasons for writing the article in the first place. "Why help our competition?" the exhibitor asked. Shows are getting tougher and tougher all of the time, and more applicants means more rejection letters and fewer sales. It's tough enough without giving away all of this advice. If we give these newer artists all the answers and reveal all the things it took us years to find out on our own, how will that benefit us?</div> <div> This artist who wrote me had received a few rejection letters lately from shows he had normally gotten into and sold well at in the past. Those sting the most! You all know the shows I'm talking about: the kind you count on every year to pull you out of the doldrums and pay off a few bills. So if we all help out these newer artists, aren't we hurting ourselves and other veterans? I have to admit, I had never thought of it that way. Patty and I still receive rejection letters from art shows all the time. Apparently, it's my own fault! I've given out all of this advice to fellow artists, and now we can't get into some of our really good shows! My first wife always said that I never thought anything through. Now look what I've done! </div> <div> On other hand, when Patty and I first started out, we knew very little about booths, displays, which shows to do or how to get into them. And we were both extremely impressed with how helpful veteran artists were. It's one of the things we love most about being artists on the show circuit: how nice most artists are to their fellow exhibitors. So that's why I feel compelled to share all my advice with you. It's all about karma: Do good things for others, and good things come back to you. And if we get more rejection letters, we'll simply use them to motivate us to do better work, be more creative and find better slides, which, in turn, will probably lead to more acceptances, more sales at higher prices and more success in the long run. I know it still stings like crazy every time we get rejected, but I have to keep telling myself to focus and use that negative energy for positive results. </div> <div> So now, let's see what other artists and show directors came up with in order for Patty and me to create more competition for ourselves. The first piece of advice that all of the show directors came up with was to improve your slides or JPEGs of your work and your display - and not just the images of your display, but the whole booth itself.  </div> <div> "[Of] major importance … is to have a professional display," advises Richard Sullivan, former director of the Naples National Art Show in Florida. "I have seen far too many new artists trying to get by on low-grade displays and EZ-Up tents. I can only equate it to the three little pigs so often: one made of straw, one made of sticks and one made of bricks. Spend the effort and time on the best display available to you. Do not attempt to slide by with an amateur display at a professional art festival. [A professional display] will generate a better presentation, and it is SAFER. Also focus on a general theme. Do not try to have something for everyone in your booth. Having still-lifes, landscapes, nudes, portraits and botanicals all in one display just confuses your patrons. By attempting to please all of the patrons, you will unfortunately just be confusing them, and while you try to hit <I>all</I> the customers, you will actually just miss all <I>your</I> customers." </div> <div> Connie Light, director of the Belgavia section of the St. James Court Art Show in Louisville, Kentucky, has similar advice. "There is no question in my mind what my applicants need to do: pay for help taking their slides and setting up their booths," she says. "It amazes me every year how talented the artists are, and yet they send me slides that have little resemblance to what they hope to sell and certainly do not showcase their talent. Then they get to the show and set up booths that are so uninspiring and uninviting that tens of thousands [of] people walk by with nary a glance in their direction, and then blame the show for no sales. It is amazing to me. My advice is very simple: If you are not a good photographer, hire it done. Artists get one chance to make a good first impression! If your slides do not pass jurying, you will not get in the show. If you get in the show but do not showcase your work to its best advantage, you will not sell."</div> <div> But what specifically can you do to achieve this? "Walk shows, check out setups you like [and] ask a friend whose eye you respect for help with how to arrange your display," Light says. "Do something creative to draw the crowd's attention. Sit in your booth and work on your art, [or at least] sit in your booth and interact with the crowd. Folks at [St. James Court Art Show] develop a herd mentality: If one stops to look, the people behind that person have to slow down, and they will look also." </div> <div> Silly mistakes from new artists are common. "This year we got a booth shot that was the booth with the sides down on it," one director told me. "A booth shot needs to show <I>your work</I> inside the booth. That was funny. It is important to have good - really good - shots of your artwork. That <I>is</I> what the jury is looking at. … Also, keep your shots current and don't always send the same shots year after year. Be kind and friendly. Do not get too full of yourself. … If you tend to be a jerk, you may not get into the show again. … There are many artists to fill the spaces." </div> <div> As I've advised before, if you do not have professional studio-lighting equipment, a photography background, a tripod and a really good camera with really good lenses, by all means pay someone who does to take your slides for you. Years ago, all you had to do was take your artwork out back of your house in the sunlight and photograph it there. However, the competition has gotten too great in recent years for those kinds of slides to pass muster. One last thing on this subject: If you are using a professional photographer and are still getting too many rejections, you need to either use a different professional photographer - not all are created equal - or try creating new work for your slides. Showcase your skills and what makes you different. Be creative. Oh, and don't apply to any of the shows Patty and I are applying to unless you are still taking pictures of your work in your backyard. </div> <div> Most of the advice I received from fellow artists was similar to suggestions I've offered here before: Develop a mailing list and let your past customers know you are coming back to do a show in their area.</div> <div> "Whatever you do, keep the name and address of each of your customers," veteran artist Ruth Loveall advises. "I have heard artists say that they keep the names and addresses of each one who writes them a check. I use these names and addresses to send each one a card just before any art show that is in their area." </div> <div> You should also be collecting names and addresses from people who like your work but are not ready to buy just yet. Keep your business cards in your pocket, and every time you hand someone a card, ask the potential customer two questions. 1) Do you live around here? 2) Would you be interested in receiving my newsletter? Say to them, "Anytime I do a show in your area, I will mail you a little note telling you where and when I'll be in your area." </div> <div> I prefer collecting e-mail addresses and e-mailing everyone on my list. This way there are no printing or postage costs. You can also instantly get in touch. If you get to a show and find that you're in a different spot than you originally thought, e-mail people on Friday night after setup to let them know your new location. One quick note, though: E-mail newsletters sometimes are not as effective as paper newsletters. People receive way too much spam and sometimes disregard your e-mails, so I use a combination of the two methods. It's just not enough to show up at a show these days and hope you will sell. Communicate with your potential and past customers, and you'll do much better in the long run. </div> <div> Other artists offered a hodgepodge of great advice. "The most common error I see in new artists to the show circuit is the lack of asking questions about what to do in case of inclement weather," veteran photographer Michael Stipek says. "All too many of them don't realize that they need a sturdy booth structure and weights, even in what appears to be the most calm of weather conditions. And when it is pointed out to them that they need at least some weights, they want to know if they can tie into their neighbor's system! I guess a dryly humorous situation that I see in new artists is when a sudden storm comes up, or some showers or wind, the newbie will get upset that the show people didn't come around and tell them weather was coming in. For about $30, that is what I have a weather-band radio for: I know that, in any weather event, there just aren't enough volunteers/staff to tell everyone what to expect."</div> <div> "Make sure you have a `gold' membership to AAA," advises veteran Graham Hill. "Buy a Honda 1000 generator. Change your oil and rotate your tires regularly. Don't buy an EZ-Up. Get some good dog ties to anchor your tent. Don't bother with one-day shows. Don't do first-year shows. Have raingear in your car at all times. Get a GPS - you'll never regret it." </div> <div> Veteran potter Jennifer Kerr-Marsch also has some interesting tidbits of advice. "Sleep in your van to save money," she says. "Keep a guestbook in your booth, mail out cards when doing shows in the area, [and] carry a hammer and concrete nails (extra ones for the artist next to you). Have a fully stocked toolbox. Never devalue yourself or your work. Have your slides professionally done." </div> <div> I would have to agree with all of the above comments. If you are new to the circuit - on behalf of your fellow artists who want to help - welcome and good luck!</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>