Keepin' It Coming!

Once The Salute to the Arts show was over, I thought I would have nothing going on on the art front. Wrong! I'm not the kind who can sit still for long. In fact watching TV lasts for about 30 minutes, and then I have to get up and do something new. I think it's important to always have something on the horizon - something to look forward to, since anticipation is always half the joy. If I didn't have something in the works for after the show, there would be this huge letdown. True, there was a huge letdown, but at least there are more upward slopes in the near future.

One of them is the 2-man show which I will be part of at a local gallery in two weeks. Today after school, I took her 24 paintings for the upcoming show which starts with an open house on September 12 from 5 - 8 at Gallerie M in St. Louis. Photographer Dennis O'Malley and I will be sharing the spotlight. His photos are in black and white with subject matter from all over the world, a great complement to my pastels with subject matter from around the US. I was really great to see my paintings hanging on walls. Last weekend, they were on the panels of my display booth, but that's nothing to seeing them on well-lit walls! We discussed pricing, and agreed to bow to the market's downward turn and adjust them just a teensy bit. We agreed that it's better to move art than to keep stockpiling it! Goodness knows I don't need 24 paintings sitting around my house!

Speaking of paintings in my house, we almost bought a HUGE painting at the art show from a Florida artist named Rasa Saldaitis. Unfortunately, our downstairs refrigerator kicked the bucket a couple of days before the show, and so Martha went out and bought a new refrigerator. There goes our artwork money! I'm sure the poor artist thought I was lying when I gave her the whole new refrigerator story, but for once it's true! My son picked out one of her prints from the kids' art tent, so I guess we'll live with that one (for now!).

I also met another great artist, M. Shawn Cornell at the show. He's from St. Louis and does his paintings entirely en plein air. He and his father started the Missouri Plein Air Painters Association, and they meet every weekend at different locations in the area, no matter what the weather is! They invited me to join them on one of their paintouts, so I think I may take them up on it this weekend, since it's a three-day weekend here in the US. I'm sure there will be a later posting about that experience.

So, although the big show that has been consuming me and my family's life since April is over, I have several opportunities coming up soon, and that's what it's all about!

Keep your eye on the future!

PastelGuy

In the Newspaper!

This weekend is the debut of my pastels at the Midwest Salute to the Arts, a juried show located here in Southern Illinois. Today, the local paper ran a feature article on me and my work. It was all very last minute! The reporter called me on Monday, we met Tuesday after my school ended, and she wrote it Wednesday so that it could be in Thursday's Lifestyle Section. Whew! After a two-hour interview complete with a photographer, I was pleased with the article (despite two typos!). See the link above to read it. How did I end up being the one artist chosen to be highlighted? Pure luck? No way! I made sure the right people knew about my work in a way that made my story very intriguing.

But getting the article in the paper got me to thinking about how artists really need to promote themselves. In my last blog, I gave some advice on how to express yourself with galleries, and some of that holds true for getting free advertising, too. As the reporter was leaving, I asked her how she picked me out of all the local artists who will be featured. She said it was because of the press release I had emailed to the paper the week before. Aha!

The trick to writing an effective press release is the spin. For mine, there were several angles I could have taken with this story:

1. I'm a local artist who will be showing work in the Salute to the Arts (SA). [boring!]
2. I'm a local artist who will be displaying his work for the first time at SA [better, but not much]
3. I'm a local teacher displaying my work for the first time [better yet - more interesting]
4. I'm a local science teacher displaying my landscapes for the first time [science and art together?! WOW!]

As it turns out, this is the angle used. I then wrote 4 short (2 - 3 sentences) paragraphs on topics that could be covered in the article, just to give them ideas, so they could see the potential. It was written in the third person, as if I were writing about someone else (I thought this would assuage my conscience, who was afraid I was bragging too much!). Then I gave them my contact information and my website so they could see more of my work. I had just about given up hope when she called.

So promote yourself! It's not bragging, it's spreading news.

Keep painting!

PastelGuy

www.matthewweld.com

The Gallery Experience

In preparing for this week's Salute to the Arts, I have been in contact with Susan of Gallerie M, the gallery in St. Louis which displays my work. She has been so easy to work with that it made me start thinking about how important it is for artists to have a positive working relationship with their business partners, the galleries who showcase their work.

On September 15th, I will be a featured artist at an open house at Gallerie M. Susan agreed to prepare the advertising materials a little early so that I could hand them out during this weekend's show. Although I haven't seen them yet, I did send some images over so that she could select one for the front of the postcard she will mail to her mailing list. As a last minute addition to all I have going on Friday with setting up for the show opening on Friday, I agreed to drive over and pick up a few hundred postcards. Twenty minutes later, I phoned her back, asking if I could borrow a couple of my paintings on display for the show. She said no problem, she would have them ready with the postcards when I drop by to pick them up early Friday morning. I guess when we're both willing to "scratch the other's back," it is a win-win situation for everyone.

However, I know this isn't true for all artists. Many don't communicate with their galleries, figuring that they are the 'artiste' and simple phone calls are beneath them. I couldn't disagree more. You are there for each other. While the gallery certainly needs the artists' works to display and sell, there are millions of artists out there, so the artist needs to cultivate a friendly yet professional working relationship with their galleries. Off the top of my head, here is a quick list of 5 pieces of advice for artists seeking gallery representation:

1. In communications, make sure your emails are free of errors - grammatical, spelling, mechanics, etc.
2. When meeting gallery owners in person, dress professionally. A casual business would be appropriate, I think. If there are patrons in the gallery while you are there, you don't want to give the image that the gallery works with ruffians.
3. Make sure you can communicate with your audience. Be able to explain your art - what it means, how you do it. And for heaven's sake, don't be offended when you're asked!
4. Walk that fine line between self deprecation and self aggrandizement. You don't want to seem like a pompous you-know-what, yet you have to be honest about your abilities and your accomplishments. You must have talent, or the gallery wouldn't have contacted you. Be gracious in accepting compliments, be honest about your abilities. No one can fault you for that.
5. Follow up your visits with a short note - just like your mom used to make you write to grandma after Christmas (or whatever holiday).
6. Keep your prices in line with what they are at the gallery. You certainly don't want to undercut them, and by the same token you don't want to ruin their reputation by making them seem like a bargain basement. I have a published price list that goes by size, so a 16 x 20 at the show this weekend is the same as it would be at Gallerie M, as it would be if I sold it to my neighbor.

My gallery experience has been very positive, and I look forward to a long relationship with Gallerie M. I hope that your experiences are/will be the same. I would be interested in hearing some of your stories.

Peace,

PastelGuy

www.matthewweld.com