Craig - I haven't read the whole thread so forgive me if this has been mentioned. One of the most effective things I have seen at a convention (comic book) was an artist who displayed multiple high quality images (same size) of his work through various stages. The images were displayed chronologically from beginning to end. One of the good things about his approach is that people stopped to look at the images and this have him a chance to chat them up.


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Jamie and Alex,

Both great ideas. Along with Alex's idea, just a short spiel about the process that creates the longevity of your paintings. in one of your threads, you explained the different stages just setting up the paintings, which was very interesting. The quality of your work that, even before one drop of paint hits the canvas, was very interesting. Don't give them too much to read, but just a short paragraph at a few stages would be good.

My thoughts
 

Graig, just my $0.02.

First, even if you don't sell a thing at a National in my opinion the exposure is priceless. I had never heard of you until someone posted photos of you and your paintings on another sports card board. Since then I've spent a great deal of time following your work and you are by far my favorite sports artist, period.

Second, To help people afford your work have you ever considered letting people set up an account with Dean where smaller payments could be made over time? Say for instance someone could submit an image to you and an initial $500 deposit which secures the image to be painted for that person unless they default on the account. Then, the person could make say $500 quarterly payments to there account until the painting is paid for. You could even not start the painting until the person has paid at least half of the agreed upon amount. If the person doesn't make additional payments or pay on time the "account" could be cancelled, the image freed up for someone else to select and you/Dean could keep whatever had been paid to the account up to that point (zero refunds). This idea may sound silly to you or others but in my opinion it would allow far more people to afford your work.

Just a thought. Take care.

I haven't read the entire thread, but have you thought about doing a raffle? Each person throws in $20(or whatever you put it at) and once you hit $1,000 you do a drawing. Whoever the winner is gets to choose what image they want for the painting.

An affordable way for those that don't have the money to buy one of your paintings, and great exposure. I'd be interested in that.

Something along those lines...

Nate,
They did that acouple months ago m

Damn, I missed it.

Nate, there will be another. There was a hiccup with getting a sufficiently-large print/scan of the winner's original selected image, but now that an alternate selection has been made and the painting is progressing (see thread here: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=188067 ), a follow-up raffle is being planned for the fall.

Graig,
Your work is absolutely stunning!
Now, as a collector with very limited resources I can only dream of one day owning one of your paintings.

I wonder if many people simply do not understand WHY your work (again, not that it DOESN'T, just that people don't understand) commands so much money. I think many people see a painting and think, "oh, cool...probably took a couple of days to make..."

My uncle is a great artist...I have shown him your work and he has explained to me the intricacies of what you do....but it wasn't until he told me, as an artist himself, what your work entails that I finally understood the prices associated with your paintings.

I commend you for this thread, for your openness to feedback and for your clear and articulate answers!

Andrew

Nate,
Don't miss the next one.

I hadn't logged on for a while so I missed it to. I'd definitely be in for the next one. I've briefly skimmed the raffle threads and had one question: was there a limit on the number of chances you could buy? IMO the raffle is another great way to have a little fun with the hobby.

Paul,
The limit was 5. But after a certain date, the 5 limit would have been waived, but we never reached that date, as they sold out.
There probably will be a little change this time, thinking of max of 2 for first 3 days, then going to the 5 number. giving everyone a chance to get in.
But we are still just beginning of talking about this. It was a lot of fun, and work.

Sounds good. Thanks for the info Bill.

Thanks for more of your thoughts, everyone!

Paul, Dean has always been totally up to accepting payment plans like that since the beginning. When someone commissions something, the normal path is to do the deposits in thirds: the first 1/3 is to really lock your place in the queue so that you're in on that specific price structure and so I can purchase the necessary supplies and secure image rights to get started. The second third is due when I'm halfway into the piece, and the third is due upon completion.

He's always been willing to work with those who requested to pay in more installments, as long as they were serious about it and could commit to it. The most important thing that he always advises is to get that first one to him whether you know what you want or not, as then you get locked into that original rate and have the time to decide. Of course, all considering you know that you actually want to have something painted.

Andrew, thank you for those kind words. I guess the whole pricing issue varies from person to person. They're definitely some who don't really understand why some artwork costs what it costs, but in the end, a lot of those types can be the ones who aren't really interested in it - which is totally fine. But yeah, that side of things really is tough. It took me a long time to be at peace with it, and still, even now it feels a bit weird to talk about. I tell a lot of young artists that it's completely natural to feel awkward about pricing out your work, but also that it's such an important concept to learn about grasping, nonetheless. In order to justify what you ask for monetarily-speaking, the process of artmaking needs to be held in high regard and treated with respect. In other words, an artist's time, level of skill and experience all need to be valued much like anyone else's in any kind of workforce. If a lawyer can justify charging hundreds of dollars per hour because of his/her expertise, abilities, education and history in the field, should an artist should feel any different about his/her trade?

Regarding the raffle stuff, I'm DEFINITELY excited to have another one. I'm just really glad I was finally able to land the image needed for John's painting, so once that one's done (or close to it), we can think about having another one. Hopefully it'll be received just as well!

Graig

That's cool Graig and good to know. I thought it was always at least 1/3 at a time and whenever you were at a certain stage with the painting the money would need to be paid. Thanks for clearing that up.

Hi Graig--

I think your work is stunning, and I would be interested in buying or commissioning a piece at some point in the future.

If I were to do so, I would only do it if I could see your work in person first--and I'm much more likely to attend the National than to go to any one specific art gallery. And a little window to my soul and budget--I would probably never spend more than $7500 on any single sports item. That's really my ceiling (now) on fun stuff to put in my house. I'm sure you can create something worth more (and justify the price), but that's too rich for me.

The National has enough high-dollar sports collectors/investors in attendance that I think it would be worthwhile to show your work, understanding that most people didn't go there looking for art. Still, if someone saw something really cool this year, maybe you planted a seed in their head, and that will turn into a sale next year.

Regarding the smaller, less expensive pieces--you're certainly opening yourself up to a much larger group of collectors. I can't think of any reason not to offer them for sale, and $599 seems like a very good price for an original piece of art by someone with your skill.