More Art Show Advice....

I apologize for neglecting my blog so very much lately- this time of year there are always a million things going on, no?
Here is another bit of art show advice since soon it'll be time to start applying to shows again!

This piece of advice is simple and specifically written for set-up day.
And that advice is:
Put on a happy face.

Set-up day is just the worst. It's such a cluster. But one thing I've learned about art shows is that most artists' personalities from set-up day to show-weekend are night and day. On set up day you may be afraid of your neighbors. They may seem pissed or unfriendly and I know you will think, "Ugh!! I have to spend all weekend next to THIS person!?!? Set up day is bad enough and now my neighbors suck too!!" The truth is they're just as stressed as you are. I've had plenty of shows where I am so intimidated by my neighbors on set-up day, but once the actual show starts they always end up being some of the nicest people I've ever met! You're all there with a common goal, and from my experience, 99% of the other artists there are genuinely interested in helping each other out.

Pretty much every artist is in an awful mood on set-up day. (Um... at least I usually am!) The plus side of set-up day is getting to see familiar faces that you may not have seen since a show the year before. Even if you're like me and are usually running late, can't find a parking spot anywhere near your designated space, and are setting up all alone- seeing your art show friends will always cheer you up!

Every show's layout and set up procedure is different, so you and a hundred or more artists are scrambling to get your stuff to your spot in the most efficient way possible. It can be quite confusing and frustrating, especially if it's the first time you've done a particular show. After a year or two, you're somewhat familiar with the procedure and that does help immensely.

If it's your first time at a show (or your first time doing any show at all!), take a deep breath and try to relax. Then try to find someone who doesn't seem too busy and who looks like they wouldn't mind being interrupted (i.e. it's probably best to avoid the artists who look like they are about to have an aneurysm because an entire set of Pro-Panels is one fastener away from tumbleing down upon them, or are holding up their entire tent with one hand while extending the legs, or have just injured themselves with their tent weights and are uttering strings of obscenities). Just smile and ask someone who seems relaxed (and familiar with the territory) for some parking/set-up advice and they will probably be more than happy to help you out.


And, at every show, I promise you.... there will be that POMPOUS *#$&!# who thinks they are more important than everyone else and will take their gigantic truck with the uterus logo on it (not that everyone with those trucks is a pompous *#$&!#, just some) and their humongous trailer and just barge on through the already convoluted disarray of vehicles, tents, and artists to get right up to THEIR spot. If you're in their way, they'll even start demanding you move. Yeah I've seen it!! Once they've arrived at their spot, of course, they will park their chariot in the middle of traffic flow (because why park it anywhere else and inconvenience themselves?) and remove everything from their uterus-mobile, set everything up, and refuse to move said uterus-towing-giant-trailer until they are completely done for the day and ready to leave the show grounds. Nevermind that the show rules almost always indicate that you park your vehicle as close as you can to your spot, unload as fast as you can (throw your stuff into a pile in your spot), and then have the courtesy to move your vehicle the hell out of the way so others can do the same.

I suggest putting on a happy face on set-up day for your sake and others'. You're going to have a lot going on and you just want it done and over with. It's easy to huff and puff around and snap at everyone who so much as breathes in your general direction, but the fact of the matter is that you're spending the entire weekend with these people and the economy is in the toilet, so you better find a way to enjoy yourself. Otherwise you'll be miserable.

Try to be nice, because the person who may be annoying the #*&@ out of you on set up day may end up being one of the nicest people at the show once everything is up and running!!

Basics of How to Make Prints (Part 2)

If you've moved onto Part 2 of how to make prints (digitally), hopefully that means you've got an image capture of the artwork that you wish to reproduce!

Once you have your image as a digital file, you can have prints made by a local print shop, or an online company, or make them yourself. Making the prints yourself is probably cheaper in the long run, but will require more of an investment up front (equipment, ink, paper, calibrating software if you choose to do so).

I now make most of my own prints, but when I first started selling prints of my art, I had my prints done locally or ordered larger ones from various online shops. Here are some of the online shops I've used with outstanding results:

www.imagekind.com
This site is great because you can upload lots of your images, set up your own online gallery, and it's free to join (there are paid memberships, too, with other benefits). Once your work is uploaded, you can just sit back and let ImageKind do the work when someone orders! You can customize the prices of your art and how much money you'll make from your prints. People can even order your work already framed, and the frame prices are very, very reasonable. You can customize and pick out the frame and mat combo for each piece of your art, or customers can also pick their own if they choose to do so. And, of course, you can order prints of your work from here to sell at shows and galleries.
My ImageKind gallery is here: http://SamanthasArtStudio.imagekind.com/

www.iprintfromhome.com
This is a pretty popular site for fine art prints. I've ordered giclee prints on Somerset Velvet paper from this website and have always been impressed with the quality. The more prints you order at a time, the cheaper each print becomes (a lot of print companies work this way).

www.canvasondemand.com
This is where I get all of my canvas prints made. A couple years ago when I started ordering prints of my art on canvas, I ordered from a few different companies to compare prices and quality. Canvas on demand wasn't the cheapest, but was the best in quality by far. After comparing 3 or 4 different companies, I knew there was no way I could order prints on canvas from anyone else. If I'm going to sell prints of my art, I want the absolute best that I can find, and these are definitely worth paying the little extra. I've recommended this site to numerous other artists because I truly feel they offer a superior product that you can really feel confident about. At art shows I've had a lot of other artists compliment my canvas prints- when you combine a quality canvas print with a great image capture, you'll get amazing results.

A couple notes about prints on canvas:
They are kind of controversial.... Some people (like me) love, love, loooove them. On the other hand, some will say "It's trying to be a painting but it's not." Prints on canvas can look so much like a real painting that it's hard to tell the difference. As someone without a ton of money to throw around, I love prints on canvas because they look so much like a real painting at a fraction of the price. I guess some people are afraid that if they buy a print on canvas, it'll be hanging in their house and a guest might make a comment like, "Ohhh, this is such a beautiful painting!" Then they will have to clarify, "That's not a painting, technically it's a print" and the sky will fall and all hell will break loose.

But here's why I love them so :)
When I was shopping at a fantastic artist's gallery in Montreal, the artist had her original works on display, and prints on canvas (in many sizes), and prints on paper (also in many sizes). As much as I loved her work, I couldn't afford an original. The canvas prints weren't cheap, but they weren't necessarily expensive, either. And the paper prints were nice- buuuut when you stood there in her gallery with a paper print in one hand (for, say, $30), and a canvas giclee in the other hand (for, let's say, about $90).... there was just no comparison. The canvas print was stretched and wrapped (no need to add in the extra cost of a frame), and the colors were so vibrant and rich- and it had such depth. Since I wanted something that looked as close to the original as I could get, I chose to buy the canvas print.

If you choose to make your own prints, take a lot of time and do plenty of research on different printers. There are so many out there and all have their own set of pros and cons! For example, when I was researching printers, I remember reading a lot about photo-printers and that certain brands are generally much better for reproducing black and white images. I knew I wouldn't be doing anything in black and white, so none of that really affected my decision on a printer. You may also want to check the costs of ink, and you can even find websites that break down square-inch cost of printing.
(Here is one that I've used: http://www.redrivercatalog.com/cost-of-inkjet-printing.html)

My boss at work had some great advice about buying a camper (I think it was a camper? Maybe it was something else entirely??) but the advice applies to many things in life, including buying a printer to make fine art prints:
"When you're shopping for a printer, buy your 2nd printer first."

All that means is, when shopping for a printer you may think "I'll buy a cheap printer for my first one and then just buy a better one later." Naahhh. Buy the best that you can afford first- this will end up saving you money. There's no reason to have two printers, one that works pretty good and your super-awesome-high-quality-fancy-pants printer. You'll easily drop $150-$200 on a printer that works decent, but why not put that $150-$200 toward a really, really good printer?- Some of which start at just $350-$400? (And go up- way up- from there.) Plus if you figure out exactly which printer you want, you can take your time and hunt around for a good sale. (And don't forget, you can also look for one used!)

Cyber Monday Promotion!! Free ACEO bug print...

It took mere nanoseconds of being online this morning to realize that today, everyone with an online shop is having special promotions! It IS "Cyber-Monday" after all- apparently the biggest online shopping day of the year!
In honor of Cyber Monday, I decided I'd start my December promotion today. A little early. Cause that's the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it.

Starting today, and for the month of December, you will receive a FREE print (of your choice) of one of my "30 Bugs in 30 Days" ACEOs with ANY order from my online gallery shop!! :)

Here's how to get your free insect ACEO print:

1. Go to my online gallery shop and place some goodies into your cart...
2. In a new tab or window in your browser, go to my flickr "30 Bugs in 30 Days" set of pictures (links are also available in my shop) and decide which of the 30 bugs is your favorite!
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/samanthasartstudio/sets/72157618274937415/
3. When you go to PayPal to check out, write the name and/or number of your favorite ACEO bug choice in the "Notes to Merchant" section. (If you can't find the "Notes to Merchant" link, you can also email me the details of the bug you'd like to add to your order.) If you'd like a specific color for the border of your image, please specify this as well!
   

The size of the print you will receive is 5" x 7", an easy-to-find standard frame size. The insect ACEO printed graphic will be the standard ACEO size of 2.5" x 3.5". It will have a colored border around it (color will be chosen from something in the image, unless you specify a color you'd prefer), which will make for easy framing and you won't need a mat! You can also cut down the image to 4"x6" or smaller if you like.

Here is an example:

Bug #5: Cicadas.

Happy Shopping!**

(** note: I do realize that I'm making a promotion post immediately following a post about shopping/too much stuff/consumerism etc. However, I happily and enthusiastically promote shopping handmade and/or eco-friendly.) :)

The Story of Shi... Stuff.

Since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, that means Lemming Friday is right around the corner... and it's the perfect time to share a wonderful and informative video about STUFF!

Think twice before you buy- do you really *need* that item? Is there a more eco-friendly or handmade alternative available?

(Here's a great teaser video about great bargains!)




And for the whole fabulous movie, visit this site:
http://www.storyofstuff.com/

It's a little long but very, very worthwhile and interesting.


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Basics of How to Make Prints (Part 1)

Online or at various art shows, I'm surprised by the number of artists who ask me, "How do you make your prints?" Coming from a Graphic Design background in college, I've done it for so long now that I take it for granted!
Since it's such a common question, I thought I'd make a blog post (or, two) about it. Hopefully other artists out in the Wide World of Internets will somehow stumble upon this post and find it useful.

(This post is about making digital prints from a computer, as I'm definitely not educated in the other traditional methods of printmaking. I'm also assuming if you're going to a pro to have it done, they'll know what file type to save it as- and if you're doing it yourself, you're computer savvy enough to know about different file formats.)

*** If you've got questions after reading this, feel free to ask them in the comments section after this post or email me. ***

There are 2 main steps in creating a print from your original artwork:
#1. Obtaining the image capture as a digital file.
#2. Printing said file.

The methods of doing these two things and all of the in-between is where you really get into the nitty-gritty.

Since this will be a little long, I'll make it a two-parter. This, part one, will focus on the
IMAGE CAPTURE.
There are a number of ways to get an image of your art onto the computer.

If you're not computer savvy...
The easiest way for those who are not computer-savvy is to take your artwork to a business who specializes in this very thing. You'll have to check your local (or in some cases, not so local) listings to find a place. For example, the best place I've found is about an hour and a half away: "American Art Associates" in Annapolis, MD. Most printmakers will do an image capture for you: You bring in your art and they essentially put it on an easel and take a very high resolution photo of your image. Their lenses and equipment eliminate glares and shadows. They put the picture onto their computer, adjust the color if necessary, do whatever other magic they do (I've never been part of this process) and save it. From there you can have them make prints for you, or you can ask them to save it on a disk for you for later use.

Pros of taking your art to a printmaking business for capturing the image and making prints:
1. These guys (and gals) do this for a living. This is what they get paid to do. If you're going to a reputable place, you can tell them what you want, sit back and relax, and they'll handle it AND make sure it looks great!
2. It's a lot easier than doing it yourself, aaannnnnd....
3. Much less time consuming than doing it yourself.

Cons of having a printmaker capture the image for you:
1. It can be expensive (depending on what your idea of expensive is...). An image capture of a large (over 11"x14") artwork, from my experience, can run $50 to $100 - maybe more. But since doing it yourself can be quite time consuming, having a professional capture an image of a large/difficult to photograph artwork is often well worth every penny.

Or try a little DIY.
If you are computer savvy and have some graphics software (Paint-Shop-Pro, PhotoShop, a myriad of others), you can try doing it yourself.
You can buy a scanner (they're pretty affordable, $100 and up) and scanning software (which should come with the scanner), lay your art on the scanner, scan it & import the image into the computer, and then save the file.

Pros of scanning it yourself:
1. After purchasing a scanner, it's basically free.
2. No driving around or making appointments- do it at your leisure.
3. If the artwork is 8"x10" or smaller and not glossy, it's a fairly simple and straightforward process. Lay it on the scanner. Open your scanning software. Scan it in. Piece of cake. (You can even eat a piece of cake as your scanner imports the image.)

Cons of scanning it yourself:
1. It can take up a lot of time. So even though the process is free, is it worth your time to sit and fool around with it?
2. If you've used glossy paint.... forget it. If your paint has any gloss to it at all, the light from the scanner is going to reflect off that and make white highlights. No good. And no simple way (that I know of) to fix it.
3. Large pieces can be a huge pain in the ass and take a very long time. When I have finished a 16"x20" painting (which is not that big), it takes me at least 4 scans to scan it in. Most scanner beds are about 9"x 11". Even an 11"x14" artwork will take about 4 scans to piece everything together all nice and neat.
Oh, and that whole "piecing together" process? That can take HOURS. And you need good graphics software to do it, too. Sometimes the colors in each scan might vary slightly. Sometimes you get shadows along a gutter (where your painting overlaps the edge of the scanner bed). Sometimes you've laid your artwork down slightly off from a 90-degree angle, so you might have to do a little rotating to get it to fit. The larger your artwork, the more scans you have to do, the more opportunities for unwanted shadows, rotations, overlaps, etc. It ends up being almost like putting together a puzzle.

(I scan most of mine myself because I'm cheap like that, and since my favorite place is an hour and a half away, I have to do a bit of planning to allow myself time to drive over there. Plus gas money of course, blech. Again, I'm cheap.... When I can afford to be. Meaning that if I've got an painting that is huge, I'll gladly pay to have it done. I'll emphasize again that it is worth every penny.)

Some artists have mentioned using a digital camera and taking a very high-resolution photo of their artwork themselves. You can try this if you've got a nice digital camera and, again, a little bit of graphics software. Be sure to *not* put your artwork in direct sun- it will be too bright and have much to much glare. Ideally, you want a bright but overcast day- or, if it's sunny, you want the art to be out of direct sunlight but in a bright place. No shadows.

Pros of using your own digital camera:
1. None of that scanning/piecing together business if you've got a particularly large painting or drawing. Woo hoo!
2. If you're out of the sun, no worries about glossy paint or shadows.
3. Affordable... obviously. (Unless you go buy a very expensive new camera!)

Cons of using a digital camera:
1. If you've got a very large painting, you're going to need to take a photo at very VERY high resolution to make large prints from the painting.
2. Wobble? You might need to use a tripod to take the best photo possible.

I've tried the digital camera method- admittedly my camera is almost 10 years old. I took photos of some paintings but the largest I seemed to be able to print them and make them look good was only about 8"x10". I'm by no means an expert on this method and I'm sure digital cameras have come a long way in the last decade!! If you've already got a camera and some software, you might as well give this method a shot and play around with it, decide for yourself- it couldn't hurt.


Okay, so by this point you have your image saved as a file. Now what?... See Part 2 :)
Coming soon!