I’ve been a little preoccupied the past few weeks with being one of the 11 “experts” during the SmArtist Telesummit 2009. With the launch of my e-Book happening at the same time, my email box has been swamped with hundreds of comments and questions. Responding to each one individually has been a bit overwhelming.

Although I’ve had a fair amount of experience with public speaking, this was all new to me. It was especially important to offer valuable information to the 1000 or so artists who were paying good money to listen to me speak online. Preparing  my presentations took a lot more time and mental energy than I had expected.

Even though the presentations themselves were only an hour each, focusing on painting was a challenge. I did manage to spend some uninterrupted time in the studio, and actually finished 2 large 48″ x 48″ paintings I’d been working on for months. But mentally it’s been a right-brain / left brain struggle jumping from painting mode to public speaking mode.

Being invited to be a Panelist / Presenter at SmArtist Telesummit 2009  was a great honor. Ariane Goodwin Ed.D., founder of SmArtist, and her team are a wonderful group of professionals who offer an incredibly valuable service to emerging and mid-career artists around the world.

This was a fun and interesting experience which gave me the opportunity to share some of my hard-earned experience of the past 19 years. Hopefully it was helpful to artists out there who might save themselves the pain of making some of the mistakes I made early on.

I did learn something about myself though. I learned my calling in life is not to be an educator - it’s to be a visual artist. Period. Some artists can be both, but not me. Trying to do both dilutes the intense focus I need to create my best work. And ultimately, it’s my painting practice that not only gives me the most meaning in life, but also supplies my galleries with art that earns us all an income.

So my personal mantra is now Focus! Focus! Focus!

Well after much editing and fine-tuning, my E-Book for professional artists is finally launched  !!!!!!

Stand out in a Crowd with Dazzling Photos

It’s being published online by SmArtist. In it I share step-by step instructions and tips for artists to put their best foot forward through their portfolios and websites. 

Click This Link Below For More Information & Purchase Details

Stand out in a Crowd with Dazzling Photos

Three extra reports provide even more information!

Special Report #1: Your Guide to Digital Image Formats

Special Report #2: How to Organize Digital Image Art Files

Special Report #3: How to Archive Digital Images of your Art

I’m in my studio this morning bundled up like the Michelin Man trying to get warm. Even with the furnace full blast in the warehouse, I can still see my breath. There’s no insulation between the concrete block walls and the outside air and the big garage door leaks frigid air like a sieve.

Canada and much of the northern US states is in the middle of a deep freeze which seems to be lasting forever. Here at the Detroit / Canada border area our temperatures are hovering about 4°F with a windchill factor of about -25°F. brrrrrrrrrr

It would be lovely to go home and sit in front of a fire with a book today. I just have too much work to do at the moment, so I’ll just have to sit on top of my space heater.

Yesterday was the first day of the SmARTIST International Telesummit 2009. I was one of 5 panel “experts” conducting a round-table online discussion to about 1000 artist worldwide. Each one of us were given questions emailed in from seminar participants.

Here’s a 5 minute snippet of my answers to 2 of the questions.

SmARTIST Interview Just click to listen.

Just returned from 3 days of gorgeous, sunny 70°F in Dallas and greeted by a blizzard, 6″ of snow and a nasty 23°F.  It’s such a shock to the system.

This trip was a pretty intense working session.

4000 each of my 28 page Exhibition Catalog, Opening Invitation Card which will be inserted into the catalog, and a separate Self-Mailer Card were delivered. Mailing lists were coordinated and everything was sent out to the bulk mailing company for labeling and distribution.

Exhibition Catalog

If you’d like to download the Catalog in PDF format - click this link …Exhibition Catalog

Separate Self-Mailer

Opening Invitation

Before I arrived, the walls had all been painted in a variety of colors to make my paintings “pop” off the walls. Even though the exhibition  opens February 12th - March 12, they had already hung the show 1 month early for Preview. They had most everything hung, but we did a bit of rearranging and settled on pricing.

Alan Barnes Fine Art

On Thursday evening they had an informal mini-reception to introduce me to about 10 potential collectors. To my delight 2 of my paintings sold right away. Alan Barnes Fine Art is without a doubt THE most professional and enthusiastic gallery I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. I feel very blessed.

Tomorrow, I’m leaving for another quick trip down to Dallas for pre-exhibition meetings at  Alan Barnes Fine Art. There are a lot of details to go over during the 2 days I’m there.

One of the first things we need to do is finalize the pricing for my art. The exhibition will feature 37 small to mid-size paintings, plus 1 large 6-foot piece. Many of these paintings were shown at my Toronto exhibit this past August - September.

Generally speaking prices for art in Canada are dramatically lower than the US.  We only have 35 million people vs 350 million in the US for one thing. This means much fewer people to buy art in Canada. Another factor is that Canada is geographically twice the size of the US. With the exception of our 3 large cities Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, people are spread far and wide. It all boils down to supply and demand.

Often, after a Canadian artist begins to show in the US, their prices naturally rise with increased demand. Because it’s important to keep prices consistent in every venue to develop long-term collectors these artists may get dropped by their Canadian galleries. Even in the worst possible recession, Canadian galleries find it difficult to compete with the power of the American marketplace .

It’s always a major risk for a Canadian artist to show internationally, especially in the US. The glamor of a larger audience is alluring, but there are no garantees. Failure means coming back with your tail between your legs, faced with the reality of  re-building Canadian gallery relationships. It’s all very daunting.

Alan Barnes feels my work is seriously under-priced. That’s always exhilirating for an artist to hear. However, with the economy in the tank, it might be a delicate balancing act coming up with “just right” Goldilock pricing. It’s always easy to put prices up, but if you go too high and nothing sells, it can be a career-killer to lower prices later.

This is my first major solo exhibition in the US and I’m naturally a bit nervous. I’m very blessed to be working closely with a gallery director who believes in my work and sees this as a long term relationship. It’s very reassuring to be in such professional hands.

Even though the exhibit officially runs Feb 12 - March 12, Alan Barnes Fine Art will have it up for a month prior for Preview Sales. They are in the process of installing the signage and hanging the paintings this week and will want my input. Alan Barnes has also lined up potential collectors for me to meet.

Here we go !

Yesterday, I received a wonderful surprise email from Alyson Stanfield at ArtBizCoach in Denver, Colorado. For any artist hoping to make a career in this most uncertain business, Alyson is the best professional coach out there. She’s worked in museums and commercial galleries and knows the art world inside out. Her Blog is always a goldmine. Even a veteran like me always finds some little nugget I hadn’t thought of before. I’ve added her Blog to my Blogroll over on the right, so you can check out her posts anytime.

To my delighted astonishment she wrote about me on her ArtBizBlog called “Great Photos of Your Studio”. In it she posted a photo of my studio along with the suggestion to artists to let the public see where the magic happens.

A large part of being successful at anything is about who you associate yourself with. Growth and opportunities come from freely sharing information and ideas. I feel especially privileged to be associated with an amazing network of professionals.

Alyson first came to my attention through SmArtist Telesummit an annual international internet symposium which I signed on for last year as a participant. Alyson Stanfield was one of the 11 panelist / presenters and she spoke about the need for artist to have a Marketing Plan to succeed. She knocked my socks off with her jam-packed session.

This year, through an interesting chain of events, I will be one of the panelist / presenters for SmArtist Telesummit 2009, which begins in about 2 weeks. I’ll be speaking about “Putting Together a Winning Portfolio” and will be sharing the panel with Alyson who is returning for her 3rd year.

If you are an artist and want to move your career forward, there’s still time to sign on. Go now to SmArtist Telesummit 2009. It will be the best investment in yourself you’ll ever make professionally.

Time is such a slippery, nebulous entity. For some it drags on minute by endless minute and for others it flashes by in a blur. For me, time tends to whiz by with the velocity of a runaway train.

Staying focused on the moment we’re in right now is always a challenge, isn’t it? Our minds are either dwelling on something in the past or focused on the something that may or may not happen in the future.

2008 has been a very unsettling year for most people. Yet there is also a sense of hope and faith that the chaos we are experiencing will reorganize the world into a better place. As individuals, all we can do is live our own lives as fully as possible, minute by minute - one day at a time.

For me the New Year is a always a meaningful time. I like to sit with a cup of tea and review my journey of the past year. What did I accomplish? What mistakes did I make and what did I learn from them? Where am I going next year and how am I going to get there?

I also like do a complete clean-up in my studio for a fresh start right after New Year. This is a photo of my encaustic wax work area after spending several hours cleaning and organizing the creative mess.

The month of December was unbelievably full of To Do Lists. In spite of that, I did manage to stay super-focused and inspired during long days in the studio. The work seemed to flow naturally and I actually finished a series of 20 small encaustic collage studies. Can’t wait to get back tomorrow and get to work.