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The Frugal Artist
 | | Waiting for the Train by Janice Tingum 20"x20" Acrylic on canvas with painted edges $210 Available at The Third Street Gallery | | |  | In the Moment by Janice Tingum 20"x20" Acrylic on canvas with painted edges $210 Available at The Third Street Gallery | | |  | Color Splash #2 by Janice Tingum 6"x6" Acrylic on canvas with painted edges SOLD |
| Eleven Tips for Exhibiting Original Art: 1. Label the back of each painting with the copyright symbol followed by the year of creation and your name. 2. Provide contact information, such as your phone number, e-mail address or website, on the back of each painting. 3. Do not use saw-toothed picture hangers. Most galleries will require that the painting be wired across the back. Consult a local framing business for materials or services to prepare a painting for hanging. 4. If the painting is large, consider using Plexi-glass to reduce the weight of the picture. But be careful with Plexi-glass, it scratches and breaks easily. 5. Create interesting titles. I have found that when I give an intriguing title to a painting or include a background story with a painting, it generates conversation and further interest in the painting itself. For example, the painting on the left is, on its surface, a garden of tulips. But I spotted these particular flowers around Union Station in Chicago, IL, while waiting for a train there. Hence, the title, Waiting for the Train. This title and story has opened up conversations with viewers about the city of Chicago and has piqued interest in the painting, as well. 6. Package your paintings securely in boxes for delivery to and from the exhibit site. I've seen artists deliver art to an exhibit with no protective packaging, only to discover that the painting will not be hung immediately and will need to be stacked with other paintings for a day or two. 7. Label your packaging materials so that the curator can return them to you at the end of the exhibit. 8. Consult with the exhibit director prior to delivering your work to find out whether they have any specific requirements. It may be helpful to know whether or not you can tape picture labels next to the painting or need to provide your own hammer and nails. 9. If possible, visit the exhibit site while another exhibit is on display. Pay attention to how the art is hung - nails in the wall or wires suspended from a track. Size up the space to determine how your art can best be arranged, if you are able to provide input in this matter. 10. Find out in advance whether the gallery will be taking a commission and who will handle sales. 11. Provide your calling cards or brochures for patrons to pick up during the exhibit. |
| | | Interested in creating your own website and online art gallery?
* Microsoft Office Live has an offer that provides a free website, domain name and e-mail accounts. The free web site includes a spacious image gallery, tools for editing and requires no html knowledge, although html tools are available. Additionally, users can access helpful site reports. The website can be upgraded, for a fee, to include additional commerce and design features.
* Consider registering with a collective online art gallery, such as Yessy.com, to provide additional exposure of your artwork and to provide opportunities for viewers to make purchases.
* Squidoo - another free option for creating an online presence. Become a "lensmaster" and use the online templates to quickly design a webpage on your favorite topic. Includes the ability to upload images, create links and earn money through affiliate programs. View my lens by clicking the image:
If you are interested in creating your own Squidoo lens, I invite you to do so by clicking here: http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/referral/janicetingum.
When the lens you make through this referral earns its first $15, you and I will each get $5 in our Squidoo accounts.
* To save space in an online image gallery and to avoid delays in page loading, reduce image sizes before uploading them to the internet. Look for the option to "save for web" in photo- editing and document programs. * Sell your art on eBay as a self-representing artist. |
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| Sample offers and special deals:
Ampersand Art Supply (this link goes to the site's home page; click on "Sample Offers" for deals)
Watercolor & More is pleased to be an affiliate of MisterArt.com.
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| | Try This:
* Tear Mender Fabric & Leather Repair Adhesive works great as a masking fluid. Find it in the hardware store. It is just as effective as the masking fluid products sold in art stores and cheaper.
* Murphy Pure Vegetable Oil Soap Original Formula will clean brushes, even if the bristles have become stiff from use with acrylics and mediums. For best results, allow the bristles to soak in the soap for fifteen minutes and then rinse well. Repeat if necessary.
* Scotch brand Safe-Release (TM) Painters' Masking Tape is sold in the household paint department of hardware stores and is generally used to protect trim and windows when painting a wall. And it works on watercolor paper, too! The tape has a good adhesive hold and can be easily removed without tearing the paper. This tape is blue, but so are other tapes sold by Scotch. Look inside the roll for the Safe-Release trademark.
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| Mini Demo 
Coy Cats by Janice Tingum
To create the "Coy Cats" art card, I first painted glazes of watercolor paper in a checkerboard pattern on the paper. When that was dry, I cut out cat shapes from the Scotch brand Safe-Release (TM) Painters' Masking Tape and applied the shapes to the painted paper. The cat whiskers were also made from the tape. I then painted over the entire piece, including the tape, with Black Sumi Ink. I carefully blotted excess ink from the tape. When the ink on the painting was dry, I removed the tape. I used a fine paintbrush and ink to add final details.
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| | Six Tips for Selling Art at an Outdoor Market: Canopy - get one that can be assembled in a few minutes by just two people.
Transporting materials from your vehicle to the market site - think wheels, such as a rolling suitcase with an extendable handle. Another option is an industrial dolly.
Enlist help for set up and tear down.
Displaying unframed art - use a drying or storage rack for plates (dishes) or a metal magazine rack to prop up the paintings. These will hold several paintings, allowing customers to easily browse through them.
Protect an unframed painting by placing it on a piece of foam board or matboard and sealing it in clear plastic sleeve or shrink wrap.
Prepare for wind and rain. Test your display materials in your backyard before taking them to the market. If the wind knocks them off your picnic table, look for ways to better anchor the display. |
| | Deals of interest to artists: Savoir Faire - Fabriano Artistico offer of sample sheets of Extra-White and Traditional White paper.
Artist's Club - A site that sells books and supplies for tole and decorative painters. Awarding a $100 gift certificate for Artist's Club merchandise in monthly drawing.
Daniel Smith - Enter monthly for giveaway of products, supplies and gift certificates.
Yupo - Order a free sample packet of Yupo paper.
MisterArt.com - Purchasers are automatically entered into a monthly drawing to win a gift certificate in the amount of the purchase.
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| Recycled Art If a painting on watercolor paper doesn't work out, what do you do with it? Recycle it, of course. Give it a new life. Try one of these options: (A special thanks to Pat R. for suggesting some of these tips the day I was ready to throw out the art.) * Search for a smaller masterpiece within the larger painting. * Experiment with different cropping sizes and orientations. * Perhaps the offending area can be eliminated and the remaining portion will still work. * Dare to think really small, too, such as art trading card size. The cropped portion may have the potential for something beautiful. * Turn the painting over and use the reverse side. Did you accidently get paint on that side, too? You can either cut off those areas or be creative and incorporate the paint marks into your new painting. If you're bothered by the art on the other side still being visible, cover it up with a layer of acrylic gesso (this will help your paper lay flat, too).
* Hide the art-gone-bad with a fresh layer of acrylic gesso. When the gesso is dry, you'll have a surface ready for a new acrylic painting. Watercolor paints won't be able to soak in and work in the same way as if the surface were unprimed. But dig out your acrylic paints and you're ready to go! * Cut two paintings into strips, one vertical, the other horizontal, and weave together to create a new piece of art. This works well if the colors of the two paintings complement each other and if the patterns and activity in the two paintings don't compete. For an example of a woven painting, see Floral Weave.
* Tear the painting up for use in a collage.
* Cut the painting into strips for use as bookmarkers.
* If you think the painting may still have potential but you're stumped on how to proceed with it, put it away for three months or longer. Perhaps when you return to the painting the solution will be more obvious. |
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