Art Print Issues by Barney Davey

What is a Giclée? Summer Repost

Ed. note: I'm taking some time off for vacation. It's a good time to repost some of the most popular articles from the past. Here's one from April 2007 that gots lots of comments. Read it and you'll see why.

It can be a humorous adventure to go on Web sites where digital reproduction are sold under the Giclée moniker and read the vain attempts to explain: what the word means; its genesis; how to pronounce it; or to accurately describe the process of creating digital reproductions.

Poor desciptions and explanations are a detriment to true acceptance

The reality for the art industry is it really isn't a laughing matter. There literally must be thousands of poorly informed and worse written descriptions floating around cyberspace these days. Many with futile attempts to inform collectors and surfers what the heck is a giclée. The term has become as nondescript and amorphous as the word "print."  The more the word and its description gets mucked up, the more confusing the term becomes to the public and the less ability it has to be a powerful valuable descriptor.

The information to learn about the word and its genesis is easily available

There isn't enough space here to go into the history and meaning of the word. However, I do commend to you the following information and strongly suggest any who are truly interested in understanding what a digital print or giclée is to spend time with these links. They provide the best most accurate detailed history I've seen. It is from Harald Johnson, author of Mastering Digital Printing (Digital Process and Print). Johnson generously offers these excerpts on his Web site pulled from the above-mentioned book: What's in a Name: The True Story of "Giclée" and Digital, Fine Art Printing Comes of Age.

If there is a soapbox here, it comes from the frustration some artists and printers have with the loose use of giclée to represent digital fine art reproductions. When a term can be used to describe a homemade print coming off an Epson desktop printer based a low resolution digital photograph or worse, an image scanned from a garden variety photograph and also a meticulously produced digital print that might have taken hours just to setup the image capture and more hours to thoroughly manipulate the RIP software and printer calibrations to produce a masterful faithful reproduction on fine art paper or canvas, then the industry has a problem.

It's only taken a short time to marginalize the term

In a nutshell, the term "giclée" has become nearly as generic as Kleenex. Did you know that the words aspirin, thermos and fridge all started as a trademarked name and look at them now. Giclée itself has never been trademarked. But there are many companies now trying to incorporate it into a trademark, Tru Giclée, UltraGiclée and a handful of others are being bandied about as companies such as Epson attempt to get their brand into the process. News flash, these marketing maneuvers are not going to help the industry as a whole; collectors are never going to clamor for an UltraGiclee or any other trademarked process. They will continue to trust dealers and gallerists to guide them to purchases based on their interest in the artist and the art.

Another debate regarding digital printing is there are those who think it is bad for business for companies such as Epson and H-P to be exhibiting at shows such as ArtExpo. They believe it confounds the pubic, confuses artists and does nothing to elevate the process. Remember, the whole reason giclée got into the vernacular was an attempt to move away from techie terms like computer generated digital print. That sounds like something you can make at home whereas giclée has that hoity-toity je ne sais quoi quality to it.

Does the term serve your needs today?

I don't blame anyone for using the term giclée, but I also don't blame those artists and printers who are moving away from it either now that it has come full circle and no longer has the cachet of something special. To be honest, seeing pixellated digital prints from well known highly publicized artists at ArtExpo adds yet more negativity and cynicism around the giclée moniker.  That's another post, but anyone looking at this can see it is problematic for the business.

Back in the day long before the first digital print hit the market when Bill Humberg was editor and publisher of Decor magazine, there was terminology used to delineate a fine art print such as an etching, mezzotint, etc., from a reproduction. Graphics were used to describe high-end pieces designed as originals in the print medium of choice, i.e., serigraphs, linocuts and so forth. Prints was used to describe those pieces that were reproductions. At that time they were primarily offset lithography on paper. Even then you saw poster publishers using graphics in their company names, but at least there was an effort to bring order to the confusing array of terminology.

Lack of governance means its the wide open west when it comes to adopting standards

The problems with getting everyone in the industry to use standards for descriptions will never cease. There is no governing body, no real authority to monitor usage and make positive changes where necessary. Where we go from here is anybody's guess. As individuals you can help by becoming and staying informed about correct terminology, printing processes and the business of the art print market. If you can clearly articulate what is a giclée to a lay person, you will help yourself and the industry in the process. If you can suggest changes to someone using the term inappropriately, you will help. With the ease of access to voluminous information available to all consumers these days, it's more important than ever for all involved to be forthright and clear on what we are selling to the public. It's harder to fool them, although my recent posts on convicted felons Kristine Eubanks and husband Gerald Sullivan and cruise ship art auctions belies that notion.

If you have followed my musings, you know I champion having open editions on giclées unless the editions are truly limited to very small sizes such as 95. Consumers realize it's easy to run off more copies once an image is digitized. With open editions, there is never the worry that more than the stated edition size was sold...it is a non-issue. To me, the issue ought to be selling the intrinsic value of the art on the paper or canvas without having to resort to a limited edition marketing gimmick.

The need and desire for limited editions will never completely pale

There will always be a place for limited editions, I just believe the giclée market is not the right place for them. Some limited edition prints might sell well for years if they were open. Imagine how much money is left on the table when something like that happens. Sure an artist can continue to paint more like before, but there is magic with some pieces that can't be recaptured. Often neither artist or publisher can say with authority that a certain piece will get legs and sell through the roof. But experienced ones know it happens and they can count on it, but can't tell you why. Limited edition giclées shut the door on such possibilities.

See you soon!

If you want to follow the comments follow this link: http://www.artprintissues.com/2007/04/what_is_a_gicle.html

It can be a humorous adventure to go on Web sites where digital reproduction are sold under the Giclée moniker and read the vain attempts to explain: what the word means; its genesis; how to pronounce it; or to accurately describe the process of creating digital reproductions.

Poor desciptions and explanations are a detriment to true acceptance

The reality for the art industry is it really isn't a laughing matter. There literally must be thousands of poorly informed and worse written descriptions floating around cyberspace these days. Many with futile attempts to inform collectors and surfers what the heck is a giclée. The term has become as nondescript and amorphous as the word "print."  The more the word and its description gets mucked up, the more confusing the term becomes to the public and the less ability it has to be a powerful valuable descriptor.

The information to learn about the word and its genesis is easily available

There isn't enough space here to go into the history and meaning of the word. However, I do commend to you the following information and strongly suggest any who are truly interested in understanding what a digital print or giclée is to spend time with these links. They provide the best most accurate detailed history I've seen. It is from Harald Johnson, author of Mastering Digital Printing (Digital Process and Print). Johnson generously offers these excerpts on his Web site pulled from the above-mentioned book: What's in a Name: The True Story of "Giclée" and Digital, Fine Art Printing Comes of Age.

If there is a soapbox here, it comes from the frustration some artists and printers have with the loose use of giclée to represent digital fine art reproductions. When a term can be used to describe a homemade print coming off an Epson desktop printer based a low resolution digital photograph or worse, an image scanned from a garden variety photograph and also a meticulously produced digital print that might have taken hours just to setup the image capture and more hours to thoroughly manipulate the RIP software and printer calibrations to produce a masterful faithful reproduction on fine art paper or canvas, then the industry has a problem.

It's only taken a short time to marginalize the term

In a nutshell, the term "giclée" has become nearly as generic as Kleenex. Did you know that the words aspirin, thermos and fridge all started as a trademarked name and look at them now. Giclée itself has never been trademarked. But there are many companies now trying to incorporate it into a trademark, Tru Giclée, UltraGiclée and a handful of others are being bandied about as companies such as Epson attempt to get their brand into the process. News flash, these marketing maneuvers are not going to help the industry as a whole; collectors are never going to clamor for an UltraGiclee or any other trademarked process. They will continue to trust dealers and gallerists to guide them to purchases based on their interest in the artist and the art.

Another debate regarding digital printing is there are those who think it is bad for business for companies such as Epson and H-P to be exhibiting at shows such as ArtExpo. They believe it confounds the pubic, confuses artists and does nothing to elevate the process. Remember, the whole reason giclée got into the vernacular was an attempt to move away from techie terms like computer generated digital print. That sounds like something you can make at home whereas giclée has that hoity-toity je ne sais quoi quality to it.

Does the term serve your needs today?

I don't blame anyone for using the term giclée, but I also don't blame those artists and printers who are moving away from it either now that it has come full circle and no longer has the cachet of something special. To be honest, seeing pixellated digital prints from well known highly publicized artists at ArtExpo adds yet more negativity and cynicism around the giclée moniker.  That's another post, but anyone looking at this can see it is problematic for the business.

Back in the day long before the first digital print hit the market when Bill Humberg was editor and publisher of Decor magazine, there was terminology used to delineate a fine art print such as an etching, mezzotint, etc., from a reproduction. Graphics were used to describe high-end pieces designed as originals in the print medium of choice, i.e., serigraphs, linocuts and so forth. Prints was used to describe those pieces that were reproductions. At that time they were primarily offset lithography on paper. Even then you saw poster publishers using graphics in their company names, but at least there was an effort to bring order to the confusing array of terminology.

Lack of governance means its the wide open west when it comes to adopting standards

The problems with getting everyone in the industry to use standards for descriptions will never cease. There is no governing body, no real authority to monitor usage and make positive changes where necessary. Where we go from here is anybody's guess. As individuals you can help by becoming and staying informed about correct terminology, printing processes and the business of the art print market. If you can clearly articulate what is a giclée to a lay person, you will help yourself and the industry in the process. If you can suggest changes to someone using the term inappropriately, you will help. With the ease of access to voluminous information available to all consumers these days, it's more important than ever for all involved to be forthright and clear on what we are selling to the public. It's harder to fool them, although my recent posts on convicted felons Kristine Eubanks and husband Gerald Sullivan and cruise ship art auctions belies that notion.

If you have followed my musings, you know I champion having open editions on giclées unless the editions are truly limited to very small sizes such as 95. Consumers realize it's easy to run off more copies once an image is digitized. With open editions, there is never the worry that more than the stated edition size was sold...it is a non-issue. To me, the issue ought to be selling the intrinsic value of the art on the paper or canvas without having to resort to a limited edition marketing gimmick.

The need and desire for limited editions will never completely pale

There will always be a place for limited editions, I just believe the giclée market is not the right place for them. Some limited edition prints might sell well for years if they were open. Imagine how much money is left on the table when something like that happens. Sure an artist can continue to paint more like before, but there is magic with some pieces that can't be recaptured. Often neither artist or publisher can say with authority that a certain piece will get legs and sell through the roof. But experienced ones know it happens and they can count on it, but can't tell you why. Limited edition giclées shut the door on such possibilities.

See you soon!

If you want to follow the comments follow this link: http://www.artprintissues.com/2007/04/what_is_a_gicle.html

It can be a humorous adventure to go on Web sites where digital reproduction are sold under the Giclée moniker and read the vain attempts to explain: what the word means; its genesis; how to pronounce it; or to accurately describe the process of creating digital reproductions.

Poor desciptions and explanations are a detriment to true acceptance

The reality for the art industry is it really isn't a laughing matter. There literally must be thousands of poorly informed and worse written descriptions floating around cyberspace these days. Many with futile attempts to inform collectors and surfers what the heck is a giclée. The term has become as nondescript and amorphous as the word "print."  The more the word and its description gets mucked up, the more confusing the term becomes to the public and the less ability it has to be a powerful valuable descriptor.

The information to learn about the word and its genesis is easily available

There isn't enough space here to go into the history and meaning of the word. However, I do commend to you the following information and strongly suggest any who are truly interested in understanding what a digital print or giclée is to spend time with these links. They provide the best most accurate detailed history I've seen. It is from Harald Johnson, author of Mastering Digital Printing (Digital Process and Print). Johnson generously offers these excerpts on his Web site pulled from the above-mentioned book: What's in a Name: The True Story of "Giclée" and Digital, Fine Art Printing Comes of Age.

If there is a soapbox here, it comes from the frustration some artists and printers have with the loose use of giclée to represent digital fine art reproductions. When a term can be used to describe a homemade print coming off an Epson desktop printer based a low resolution digital photograph or worse, an image scanned from a garden variety photograph and also a meticulously produced digital print that might have taken hours just to setup the image capture and more hours to thoroughly manipulate the RIP software and printer calibrations to produce a masterful faithful reproduction on fine art paper or canvas, then the industry has a problem.

It's only taken a short time to marginalize the term

In a nutshell, the term "giclée" has become nearly as generic as Kleenex. Did you know that the words aspirin, thermos and fridge all started as a trademarked name and look at them now. Giclée itself has never been trademarked. But there are many companies now trying to incorporate it into a trademark, Tru Giclée, UltraGiclée and a handful of others are being bandied about as companies such as Epson attempt to get their brand into the process. News flash, these marketing maneuvers are not going to help the industry as a whole; collectors are never going to clamor for an UltraGiclee or any other trademarked process. They will continue to trust dealers and gallerists to guide them to purchases based on their interest in the artist and the art.

Another debate regarding digital printing is there are those who think it is bad for business for companies such as Epson and H-P to be exhibiting at shows such as ArtExpo. They believe it confounds the pubic, confuses artists and does nothing to elevate the process. Remember, the whole reason giclée got into the vernacular was an attempt to move away from techie terms like computer generated digital print. That sounds like something you can make at home whereas giclée has that hoity-toity je ne sais quoi quality to it.

Does the term serve your needs today?

I don't blame anyone for using the term giclée, but I also don't blame those artists and printers who are moving away from it either now that it has come full circle and no longer has the cachet of something special. To be honest, seeing pixellated digital prints from well known highly publicized artists at ArtExpo adds yet more negativity and cynicism around the giclée moniker.  That's another post, but anyone looking at this can see it is problematic for the business.

Back in the day long before the first digital print hit the market when Bill Humberg was editor and publisher of Decor magazine, there was terminology used to delineate a fine art print such as an etching, mezzotint, etc., from a reproduction. Graphics were used to describe high-end pieces designed as originals in the print medium of choice, i.e., serigraphs, linocuts and so forth. Prints was used to describe those pieces that were reproductions. At that time they were primarily offset lithography on paper. Even then you saw poster publishers using graphics in their company names, but at least there was an effort to bring order to the confusing array of terminology.

Lack of governance means its the wide open west when it comes to adopting standards

The problems with getting everyone in the industry to use standards for descriptions will never cease. There is no governing body, no real authority to monitor usage and make positive changes where necessary. Where we go from here is anybody's guess. As individuals you can help by becoming and staying informed about correct terminology, printing processes and the business of the art print market. If you can clearly articulate what is a giclée to a lay person, you will help yourself and the industry in the process. If you can suggest changes to someone using the term inappropriately, you will help. With the ease of access to voluminous information available to all consumers these days, it's more important than ever for all involved to be forthright and clear on what we are selling to the public. It's harder to fool them, although my recent posts on convicted felons Kristine Eubanks and husband Gerald Sullivan and cruise ship art auctions belies that notion.

If you have followed my musings, you know I champion having open editions on giclées unless the editions are truly limited to very small sizes such as 95. Consumers realize it's easy to run off more copies once an image is digitized. With open editions, there is never the worry that more than the stated edition size was sold...it is a non-issue. To me, the issue ought to be selling the intrinsic value of the art on the paper or canvas without having to resort to a limited edition marketing gimmick.

The need and desire for limited editions will never completely pale

There will always be a place for limited editions, I just believe the giclée market is not the right place for them. Some limited edition prints might sell well for years if they were open. Imagine how much money is left on the table when something like that happens. Sure an artist can continue to paint more like before, but there is magic with some pieces that can't be recaptured. Often neither artist or publisher can say with authority that a certain piece will get legs and sell through the roof. But experienced ones know it happens and they can count on it, but can't tell you why. Limited edition giclées shut the door on such possibilities.

See you soon!

If you want to follow the comments follow this link: http://www.artprintissues.com/2007/04/what_is_a_gicle.html

Easy Way to Put Your Website on Mobile Devices with .Mobi

Read Art Print Issues formatted for your mobile phone at:

www.artprintissues.mobi

If you don't have an iPhone, you surely know someone who does. The statistics for percentage growth of those using mobile devices to connect to the Internet are growing rapidly. Here is part of a recent comScore press release:

comScore: Mobile Internet Becoming A Daily Activity For Many

Number of people accessing news and information on their mobile device more than doubles in a year

Reston, VA. March 16, 2009 –comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported that the number of people using their mobile device to access news and information on the Internet more than doubled from January 2008 to January 2009. Among the audience of 63.2 million people who accessed news and information on their mobile devices in January 2009, 22.4 million (35 percent) did so daily; more than double the size of the audience last year.

Now, if you have a blog or Website and can afford $4.99 a year, you can get your website formatted for mobile phones, or Mobilized, using GoDaddy.com's free Mobilizer software.(For full disclosure, I work there for GoDaddy. However, there is no monetary gain for my mention here. And, all ideas and opinions expressed here are mine and do not represent the company in anyway.) Follow this Mobilizer link to test the software. It will let you see how your site will look using it. It's a free look and if you want to buy the .mobi domain, you can get it on sale for $4.99 a year. That's $10 off the list price of $14.99.

Notice the new formatting for Art Print Issues?

I have moved the left column to the right side of the page. That allows the blog posts to download first. This better accommodates mobile device users. Also, it helps those with slower Internet connections be able to start reading the blog post without having to wait for the left column content to load. I already had been contemplating doing this for the latter reason, the addition of .mobi to my communication arsenal sealed the deal for me.

How to Promote Artwork

I met Contemporary Folk and Urban Pop artist Anne Leuck Feldhaus on Facebook and am glad I did. Shortly after that encounter, I saw a mention from her about her first billboard.

Immediately, there were two things about the notice that impressed me. To begin, the implied confidence when one reads, "My First Billboard" is great! It says the artist is already thinking there are more in the future.

Confidence is contagious folks, let yours out of the bag. And, if you have to, fake it until you make it. Outsiders can't see you shaking on the inside. You will always be your own best promoter. No one can ever explain what is going on with your art or your career they way you can. Just don't let yourself get in the way.

The second thing I like about Anne's billboard is that it is striking and unusual. I realize if you are a landscape or portrait artist, you may have less opportunity for landing a billboard like Anne, but that should not stop you from seeking unique ways to get your art into the public eye. If you are a sports artist, can you find posters, programs or promotional literature in your area to vie for? If you are a pet artist, how about finding the local Humane Society, a large vet practice or an animal shelter group to work with?

There are synergies and opportunities just waiting for you to find them and to do something about them once you do. Get the idea for the connection first, think it through how your art can make a difference to the group you want to pitch. Don't think that because you don't know anyone that you are stuck. Last August, I published a post, Six Degrees of You. It offers lots of suggestions on how you can use your current relationships to reach out far beyond what you might consider possible.

Start to train yourself to think about ways to get noticed that are out of the mainstream. There is nothing wrong with pursuing galleries, building a following on Facebook or Twitter, or having an online presence on any of the myriad art sites aimed at collectors and consumers. Working at those activities is advisable, especially when one sees what have been traditionally reliable venues slipping closer to obsolescence than ever.

The reports from attendees and exhibitors at tradeshows this year have not been optimistic. One can count see the size of the venues dropping and feel the attendance has grown smaller. The trade magazines in their current slim sizes bear witness to their own lessened importance and impact in the market place. While they are not moribund, they are far from the peaks when a consistent program with them would reliably drive traffic.

While in the past it has been important to promote your art in creative ways. Now, it is critical. The attention span of consumers is fractured more than ever. The readership of newspapers and magazines is dwindling. Network audiences are growing smaller while online video viewing is increasing along with time spent on social media sites. Many expect to get breaking news on Twitter, not CNN and that trend is growing.

Thinking about and acting upon how to get your most striking compelling image or images placed or used in unusual ways ought to be moved to the top of your art business promotion criteria. It is okay to feel nostalgic for what was, but don't let it stop you from moving forward on what is. People are always going to want to own art. That is no different from the past. What is different is how they will first encounter art and artists. Seek ways to uniquely promote your art, you will be glad you did. 

Is an On-site Print-on-demand Giclee Printer in your Future?

Living in the future, none of this has happened yet - Bruce Springsteen

Lightning Source International is the printer of my book, How to Profit from the Art Print Market. The company does a great job of making it widely available to booksellers both online and traditional with its print-on-demand technology. I can order one or 100 at great prices, but I don't bother with fulfillment. It's easier to let retailers such as Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble handle it for me. Today, I got what could be a glimpse of the future for the art print market. It's the Expresso Book Machine.

Brick and mortar retailers of all kinds are now going to be able to offer high-quality books delivered immediately on site. This development has interesting and potentially widespread implications for retailers. Can you imagine buying your favorite book while waiting for your Caffe Latte at your favorite coffee shop? I can.

Can Giclee prints delivered on demand be available in retail stores be far off?

With the constant evolution of digital printmaking capabilities, I imagine it is only time before Epson or HP, or one of their many competitors comes along with a plan to put on-site on-demand digital fine art prints in local retail stores. If a company such as Allposters.com, which along with its sister site, Art.com are the largest retailers of art prints worldwide decide this is a market it wants to be in, it could bring yet another game changing development to the art print market. Granted, the print speed for making digital prints, aka giclees, is nowhere near the speed of making a book as shown in the video here. But, quality and speed continue increase dramatically.

Should such technology come along for the art print market, it wouldn't necessarily be just to the advantage of the big retailers like Art.com. I think it could be a way for local artists, perhaps art guilds, to level the playing field. As threatening such a development could be to established fine art giclee printers, it could also be an opportunity for them to create new markets for themselves as well. This is high concept thinking. There would be a multitude of details before an idea like would come to fruition.

Nevertheless, as much as things have changed in the business over the past decade, I think we are just beginning to understand the dramatic developments of the way visual artists will get their work to market in years to come. Stay tuned, the future is just around the corner. It's only promise is it will not be as we know things now and opportunities will abound for those who embrace the changes.

P.S. The deadline to register to win a Milton Glaser signed poster is May 31. Here is the scoop:

Milton Glaser Documentary Premiers May 22: You can win a signed poster promoting it or his book! ' http://bit.ly/bBxor 

Copyblogger: How Can Daniel Sell More Art?

When it comes to marketing on the Internet, there are so many self-styled "experts" who make outrageous claims using long copy splash pages to sell you their particular proven can't miss get rich by Friday types, it makes finding the ones who offer useful practical advice without the hype precious. Brian Clark is one who consistently delivers realistic workable solutions in a professional approachable manner that never insults his audience. If you follow his advice and suggestions, you are sure to profit from them.

His Copyblogger blog is one of the most well read and highly trafficked marketing blogs. This is with good reason. The information he provides is as valuable as any you can find. The regular Landing Page Makeovers feature should be must reading for anyone attempting to create Web pages that sell things. And, you will find his regular commentary is just a good as the nearly 60,000 Feedburner subscribers attests.

How Can Daniel Sell More Art?

Brian's post, The Golden Rule of Online Marketing, is a classic example why his advice is so valuable. In this piece, he addresses how an artist called Daniel could be doing a better job of letting people know he has art they might want to buy. He hones in on a fundamental marketing problem facing artists. That is, potential collectors have no idea they want what the artist has to offer until they encounter it. The trick is how does one effectively and efficiently find and influence them to buy?

Giving a Little Free Stuff to Set Up to Sell a Pricey Item is Smart Marketing

We all know giving small stuff away with a perceived value is a time-honored and effective way to build a list of potential buyers. Since Daniel sells art with rock musicians as the subject matter, Brian came up with the interesting suggestion to create rock trivia in some form and use it as the come-on to create interest in his art. I like the idea and think it would work.

I also added a comment of my own with a different take on the giveaway. That is to use complementary Art Cards to start a contest to win a free full-size print. I encourage you to go to the Copyblogger to get the rest of the details. Other examples of artists offering freebies with value are Hazel Dooney and Banksy. I blogged here about how they offer high-res downloads for their fans to print on their own computers. Dooney will gladly sign your copy if you ship it to her with an SASE (Self-addressed stamped envelope.)

Your Creativity Isn't Limited to Creating Your Art - Use It to Sell Your Art

Put your creative mind to thinking about what unique way you can come up with to take this idea and make it into your own. Let your mind wander and think about it as you drift asleep or are in the shower. Places and circumstances such as this, where you are not distracted by anything, are wonderful for getting brilliant strokes of inspiration.

Milton Glaser Documentary Premiers May 22: Register to win a poster or book!

Register to win a Milton Glaser Poster or book from Art Print Issues (Ed. note, the drawing has concluded and the winners notified)

For many, Milton Glaser is the personification of American graphic design.  Best known for co-founding New York Magazine and the enduring I ♥ NY campaign, the full breadth of Glaser’s remarkable artistic output is revealed in this documentary portrait, MILTON GLASER: TO INFORM AND DELIGHT.  From newspapers and magazine designs, to interior spaces, logos, and brand identities, to his celebrated prints, drawings, posters and paintings, the documentary offers audiences a much richer appreciation for one of the great modern renaissance men.

Artfully directed by first time filmmaker Wendy Keys, the film glances into everyday moments of Glaser’s personal life and captures his immense warmth and humanity, and the boundless depth of his intelligence and creativity.

The documentary premiere is set for May 22. Look for it at an arthouse theatre near you. You are certain to be delighted. 

Last year, I wrote a post reprinting, with Mr. Glaser's kind permission, his iconic 10 Things I Have Learned. To help illustrate the post, he kindly provided a marvelous image titled The Secret of Art. It neatly showcases his  eye and elegance, and his wit and wisdom.

Register to win a Milton Glaser poster like the one above or or a copy of his book, Drawing Is Thinking from Art Print Issues (ed. note The drawing closed and the winners have been notified.)

In honor of the film premiere, and to help raise awareness for it, we are conducting a no-obligation raffle where you will have the chance to win a poster like the one above or a copy of Drawing is Thinking.

 

The rules are simple.

• To register, follow this link and enter your name and email address.
• All entries will be placed in a spreadsheet. A random number generator will be used to determine the winners.
• Winners will need to provide a valid USPS address for free shipping. 
• Multiple entries, duplicate names and email addresses will be disqualified.
• The drawing will take place on May 31.
• Winners will be annouced here and notified by email in early June.

Jack Vettriano Paints Sexiness, Establishes Heartbreak Publishing

The Temptress - Jack Vettriano

"Jack Vettriano is the nation's most successful living artist – his prints outselling the likes of Klimt and Monet. In a frank interview the 'people's painter' talks about his obsession with women of a certain type, why he felt he had to leave Scotland and his ongoing battle to be taken seriously" -

 

Anne Mackenzie in Scotland on Sunday, March 18, 2008

 

Jack Vettriano is more than Scotland's most successful living artist. He is one of the most successful living artists of his era. Sales of his most famous work, The Singing Butler, are reported to make it the best-selling print in the world.

 

As with virtually all visual artists who have enjoyed astronomical art print sales, Vettriano has the uncanny knack of communicating viscerally, emotionally and cerebrally with his collectors. There is no way to fabricate such a connection. It has to come instinctively from the artist.

 

I paint what moves me - sexiness

 

In an article titled, "I paint what moves me - sexiness - Jack Vettriano interview", and from which the opening quote is taken, the painter has this to say, "I could turn out an abstract painting for you but it wouldn't be coming from the heart. What I paint is what moves me." With the sales of his prints and licensing deals that move astonishing amounts of work, it is apparent what moves Vettriano also moves many consumers worldwide as well.

 

Jack Vettriano establishes new art publishing company, Heartbreak Publishing

 

In February 2009, Vettriano established his own publishing company where he is co-owner. It is appropriately named Heartbreak Publishing.Unlike the most typical pattern of many successful artists who go off to start their own solo publishing venture, Vettriano's business model was established to publish his works  and other artists, photographers and designers including: Johanna Basford, David Brayne, Michael Clark, Jacqui Denby, Paul Manousso and Fredi Marcarini. Given the degree of difficulty in launching any publishing business, it is a remarkable and commendable undertaking for Vettriano to cast his net and include other artists.

 

It seems unlikely to me Jack Vettriano plotted to make paintings that would tap the zeitgeist of a generation in such a way to sell incredible amounts of prints and simultaneously pull in a half million or more in USD for his originals. It seems equally unlikely any artist could successfully calculate and execute such a plan. As with great success in any of the arts, there has to be an intersection where talent, ambition, the ability to touch and influence buyers and a bit of luck all come together to produce it.

 

Talent of another sort is required to continually create new works that sell well

 

The trick is to not be a one-trick pony, but rather to continue to mine the mother-lode. That requires staying in tune with collector tastes and  keeping interest in continuing to create new interesting compelling images that reflect an artist's style, but which also show growth. I don't think there is an art school or a business school that can teach such skills. Some of it is inherent or instinctual, some of it comes from gaining business knowledge, some comes from being managed in a way that leverages the interest in the artist's work without overcooking it, but rather a steady simmer.

 

At the end of the day, no one can simply coach Vettriano or any other really successful artist to flatly follow some pre-disposed plan marketing plan to create success. That is well and good, but it takes more. The smart artists take clues from wherever they come. It can be from family, friends and rivals. It can be from business partners, the daily news or notes from collectors. However, ultimately when Vettriano or any other artist sit at the easel, it becomes a solitary task to wring an image from imagination and talent.

 

The desire to sit at the easel and work on the painting has to be compellingly strong. In Vettriano's case it pulled him away from an engineering career and a marriage. You see it over and over where the need to create is so compelling it is life altering. Under the right circumstances you get a Jack Vettriano, or maybe a Bruce Springsteen who reportedly wrote 1500 songs before breaking into the big time with his music career.

 

The best bait will not make the fish bite. They come on their own terms.

 

When the magic that is in a would be best-selling image is released to the public, it gets a life of its own. Yes, it can be expertly advertised, publicized and skillfully promoted, but if the fish aren't biting, no amount bait will bring them in. Vettriano is a perfect example of that notion that the most successful artists help us define ourselves, express ourselves and connect us in communal ways.

 

Jack Vettriano has proven the community that shares an interest in his work can be vast and be vastly profitable for him. It will be fun to observe the success of his new publishing venture boldly launched in a most financially disturbing time. I wish him well and hope his success helps keep the interest in the art print market strong for artists, dealers, retailers, consumers and other new publishers too.

20 Reasons to Follow Me on Twitter

Twitter is all the rage these days with Ashton Kutcher racing CNN to be the first to get to 1 million followers and Oprah broadcasting her first tweet. This kind of publicity generates interest and at the same time it turns others off.

Don't despair, there are many ways to get value from time spent on Twitter. It's not just working to try and get a bunch of anonymous followers who may or may not have the same interests as you. If you decide to follow a bunch of people, get a tool like www.tweetdeck.com to help you manage the stream.

Some say we are in an age of oversharing, but that is what filters are for

The stream of tweets comes at you continuously and there is no way for anyone with a life to try and keep up with it. I liken it to standing in a fast moving stream with fish swimming by. You can't catch them all, so you take what you can get. I work days in marketing at a tech company. For security purposes, we can't get social media or personal email connections on our computers. Nor can we have a cell phone out. So, other than a quick Blackberry email scan at lunch, I'm out of the loop. It's just as well, the job is consuming.

If you find Facebook, Twitter or other social media interfering with your job and time management, you might consider self-imposed restraint and limit your access to certain hours of the day. It works for me. If it didn't, I would learn to live without all of it. That is, I like using social media and believe it adds value to my life personally and professionally. However for me, having it in proper perspective takes away any angst over how and when I use it. These are fun tools, but in nearly most cases, not game changers when it comes to your success.

Don't be concerned about missing out on the good stuff

If I let it, lack of daytime access could be a problem because many of my fave tweeps are daytim users. I'm usually on late at night with a different equally interesting crowd. With Twitter and Facebook, what I do is find those who seem to consistently put out tweets that have ideas or links I want to read.

Here is one solution for time shifting. If you click on the name of someone in their Twitter profile, or know their Twitter address, such as mine, which is: http://twitter.com/barneydavey, it will present their tweets in chronological order. Then you can quickly browse just their tweets to find those you want to read. You can also click on the star in the tweet to favorite it so you can get back to it for future reference.  

I do have some dialog with others in my tweets, but many more are either short ideas, observations or links to other items of interest. Naturally, most are art related, but occasionally I include a link from a recording artist or some other item of intrigue to me and perhaps you too. Here is a sample from the past weeks of some tweets I trust you will find interesting:

1. Art for Cash: An Artist's Guide to Selling Work Check Out These Local Places to Hang Your Art http://twurl.nl/qyqial
2. For New Hotels, Art Isn’t Merely Decoration http://twurl.nl/iq6pp3 Stills from from about Warhol art pool bottom http://twurl.nl/g882px
3. Joanne Shaw Taylor's "Bones" from her White Sugar CD flat out rocking blues singing and picking with serious chops! http://twurl.nl/14bogt
4. Winery settings for local artists' works add fresh flavor to Wine Country experience. I toast this concept! http://twurl.nl/jhbtqy
5. First Impressions of Facebook’s Ad Platform http://twurl.nl/m3bcna You'll find experienced insightful with this post.
6. Gatekeepers & Music Promotion Overload: The Good News = applies equally to visual artist http://twurl.nl/zs37mf
7. iPriest, David Hockney "It's absurd to call it digital art. That is like calling a traditional drawing pencil art. http://twurl.nl/0tkhim
8. Venus Envy. What a clever name for an all-female arts festival! This one has grown to be the largest of its kind http://twurl.nl/isk2at
9. Amy Winehouse and Linda Ronstadt "You Know You're No Good" Yowser! I'm gonna say it again...Yowser! http://twurl.nl/pzu55u
10. Way cool Gaping Void makes Purple Cow an art print. Geek art on commerce and marketing made w/old school serigraphy http://twurl.nl/qhd6a7
11. St. Louis Art Museum shows works on paper http://twurl.nl/qchihz they possess a freedom more self-consciously important works often lack
12. IMHO, not since Hendrix has anyone played the electric guitar with as much sensuality as Ana Popovic http://twurl.nl/nw34qn
13. Type Porn - 20 websites for font, letter and symbol enthusiasts - http://twurl.nl/4pcocc
14. Copyright Clearance Center teaches “Copyright Basics” with its animated educational video. Free stuff http://twurl.nl/yzdola
15. That's right, giclee lampshades... what next? Giclee couches! Giclee polo shirts....jeez http://twurl.nl/zajmxw
16. Time mag: The New Internet Start-Up Boom: Get Rich Slow http://twurl.nl/aa0zog
17. Entrepreneur mag: 25 Common Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs - Self-assessment Do you have what it takes? http://twurl.nl/v3r5f2
18. Digital Artist 2009 The first awards to showcase and recognize the best digital artists and designers across the globe. http://tr.im/iK9m
19. I love this newsletter. Read Magnolia Editions. You will agree it is truly magnificent and inspiring! http://twurl.nl/dxt3vk
20. Free topnotch serious university level learning. I did say free!! This is a great concept. Check it out! http://www.academicearth.org/

Art-Exchange.com Brouhaha Still Brewing

A four-year running discussion about Art-Exchange.com and its business practices has been raging on Wet Canvas, which is the largest artist discussion board on the Internet. A search for the term "art-exchange" there returns 21 results of different threads or discussions. Nearly all are started by artists asking for help, opinion and firsthand experience with the company.

The primary thread with "Art-Exchange.com...any opinions?" was started in June, 2005 and has more than 100 replies and 7500 views. This is an enormous amount of response and that it continues to stay lively nearly 4 years later shows the amount of interest and angst generated by the company's business tactics. The near universal response has been outrage and anger from the Wet Canvas art community. Discussion boards such as Wet Canvas serve a great need. The work as a communal watering hole where like-minded folks can gather and share their experiences, knowledge and shared interests.

The latest round of posts were started when a poster named David Miller, who introduced himself as the new president of Art-Exchange.com came on to try to defend the company. He was rightly disturbed by a comment that the employees there should be shot. We all know such talk is meaningless hyperbole attempting to portray the level of anger towards the company and its aggressive sales staff. But, on this point I think he has a right to be disturbed. Not so much, or not at all on reasoned explanations of how artists were treated and solicited by his sales staff.

Needless to say, the response was not pleasant to Mr. Miller's post. A request was put to him to provide artists who would come forth and tell about their positive experience with the company. A suspicious first-time newbie poster named Bill joined the conversation with a kind of passive-aggressive defense of the company. When challenged to prove he was not a shill by providing a Website or some evidence of a real art career, he lamely says he hasn't joined the 2000s yet and has no Internet exposure. He further says he is contemplating working with Art-Exchange.com. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

The discussion of this company is not isolated to just Wet Canvas. You can find strongly held opinions on www.artspan.com and www.artscuttlebutt.com. The later has unfortunately lost many of its older posts when its forum was hit with a hacker attack. It contained some lengthy posts and replies all pointing to artists who had poor experiences dealing with Art-Exchange.com.

There are lessons here. For artists, take the time to perform due diligence when being asked to put up front money for marketing assistance. For companies who have vocal constituents, don't wait years to try and correct a negative perception about the company. In this case for Art-Exchange.com, the ship has sailed and the cow left the barn. Perhaps Mr. Miller can turn the company around, but it will take a long time with an ongoing effort by the company to change its image with the artist community, especially those who participate regularly on discussion boards.

The final lesson is no matter how small or large your company may be, don't take for granted that customer satisfaction is paramount to your long term success. Caveat emptor.

Using Press Releases to Gain Publicity for Visual Artists (Part Three)

I trust you have had a chance to read Part One and Part Two of this series on press releases for artists. I'll go further and assume some of you are sufficiently motivated by them to get started using press releases in your art marketing efforts. I've said many times dollar-for-dollar and for time spent, nothing will give your art business a bigger boost than well placed publicity.

There are many things I'm pretty good at, including writing my own press releases. Here are a couple that have I've published on PRWEB.com:

How to Profit from the Art Print Market: Practical Advice for Visual Artists

Chinese Assembly Line Oil Paintings Create Concerns

Five Decades of Passionate Vision Exhibit Extended - this one I dusted up for my good friend Joella Jean Mahoney. It's not something I would normally do. but given her accomplishments and this honor, I had to lend a hand. It came out pretty good for an amateur.

Speaking of being an amateur; I have no intention of trying to tell you how to write a press release when there are so many very talented professionals who can run rings around any efforts I might put forth in that arena. Here are some helpful links to useful information I've collected:

Press Releases as Marketing Tools

PRWEB.com - the anatomy of a press release

The Publicity Hound - free articles from PR expert Joan Stewart

PRWEB Review - insight and great advice from on this service from Internet & SEO marketing guru Rae Hoffman.

How to Write a Great Press Release: A Sample Press Release Template - from publicityinsider.com

10 Essential Tips to Ensure Your Press Release Makes the News

Okay, now that you are convinced regular use of publicity should be integrated into marketing program, you are wondering how you get a press worthy release written. That is you are a lover not a fighter. Just kidding, you are an artist not a promotional writer. I can heartily recommend a great editing service for you to use. It is www.Gramlee.com. You buy words on the site. It's $9.95 for 500 words. That is about the average size for a typical press release. Its professional editors will polish your copy and turn it around in 24 hours or less. You get to bank any unused words for future editing needs.