Selling Originals & Fine Art Reproduction To The World Since 1971 - 30-Day Return Policy On All Purchases! Enjoy!
October 15th, 2016
Image Left: Mustang Mama by Jim Rey
Having grown up in a ranching family, western artist Jim Rey naturally loves working with horses and cattle. His eyes light up when he talks about training his Border Collie or a particularly wary horse, the days he has spent gathering cows in the high county or following a herd of wild horses. The paintings of Jim Rey tell the story of cowboys as living remnants of a bygone era. The stories he paints are both his own and those of the people and places he knows and loves.
The work of Jim Rey is collected nationally and internationally. His art has been exhibited in the Fredric Remington Museum in New York, as well as in many noted shows and exhibitions. His paintings have been used by Bantam Books and Encyclopedia Brittanica. Articles have been published in magazines including Southwest Art, art of the West, artists of the Rockies and International Fine art Magazine. The work of Jim Rey has also been featured in such newspapers as The Denver Post, The Rocky Mountain News, The Durango Herald, The Vail Times and The Aspen Times.
Jim Rey and his wife, Sharon have recently moved from Southwest Colorado to a farm in the sand hills north of Mitchell, Nebraska, in search of wide open spaces and fewer people. The open plains to the south and east, the Rocky Mountains to the west and the cattle ranges to the north are an inspiration for his paintings of life in the American West.
Having grown up in a ranching family, western artist Jim Rey naturally loves working with horses and cattle. His eyes light up when he talks about training his Border Collie or a particularly wary horse, the days he has spent gathering cows in the high county or following a herd of wild horses. The paintings of Jim Rey tell the story of cowboys as living remnants of a bygone era. The stories he paints are both his own and those of the people and places he knows and loves.
The work of Jim Rey is collected nationally and internationally. His art has been exhibited in the Fredric Remington Museum in New York, as well as in many noted shows and exhibitions. His paintings have been used by Bantam Books and Encyclopedia Brittanica. Articles have been published in magazines including Southwest Art, art of the West, artists of the Rockies and International Fine art Magazine. The work of Jim Rey has also been featured in such newspapers as the The Denver Post, The Rocky Mountain News, The Durango Herald, The Vail Times and The Aspen Times.
Jim Rey and his wife, Sharon have recently moved from Southwest Colorado to a farm in the sand hills north of Mitchell, Nebraska, in search of wide open spaces and fewer people. The open plains to the south and east, the Rocky Mountains to the west and the cattle ranges to the north are an inspiration for his paintings of life in the American West.
Click to see more Jim Rey art
October 9th, 2016
No, I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty of building a stretcher frame, mitering the corners, and discussing what sort of pliers or automatic stretching and stapling machine you should use. I want to talk about stretching from the aesthetic point of view and explain the three basic options in stretching your canvas.
There are typically three different methods to stretch your canvas. These methods would be applicable to either a print on canvas, a canvas transfer or an original oil on canvas.
The first is the “Standard Wrap” method. This is where the canvas is stretched with 100% of the image on the front. None of the image is on the sides, and the staples are showing on the sides. This method definitely yells out, “Frame me”. Otherwise, those nasty staples and possibly the ragged edges of the canvas will show on the sides.
The second method is the “Museum Wrapped”. In a “Museum Wrap, ” 100% of the image is showing on the front with the image going right up to the edges, and the plain white canvas is showing on the sides.
In this methoed, the staples are on the back and do not show. The sides are then treated to the owner’s specifications. In many cases, the sides are painted black. In others, the sides are painted some color that is complimentary to the colors in the artwork itself. This should be the stretching method of choice where important elements of the image are run right up to the sides and truncating them by wrapping the image on the sides would compromise the image and the artist’s intentions.
The third method is the “Gallery Wrap”. Here is where the image is stretched around the sides of the stretcher frame and the staples are on the back. The image is taken right up to the back edge of the sides and shows on the sides.
Both the “Gallery” and the “Museum Wrap” lend themselves to be hung with or without a frame. However, if you use the Gallery Wrap and a frame, the image on the sides is lost.
In artwork like the new Rodney White prints on canvas, the different stretching methods become important issues. Rodney White is probably the hottest artist in America right now. His prints are full bleeds, where the image is all the way to the edge of the paper. He also paints words that are already truncated right up to the edge of the image. If you use the Gallery Wrap method, you are going to lose even more of the words that are an important part of his images. Go to [http://www.RodneyWhiteeBay.com] to view his work, and you will easily see what I mean. The “Museum Wrap” should be the stretching method of choice on these prints. It leaves you with the option of framing or hanging it without a frame. Either would work and would not interfere with the image.
In considering seascapes or landscapes, where the image is merely a continuation all the way to the edges, the “Gallery Wrap” is very effective. There are also many images where there is plenty of negative space or an abundance of sky and/or grass where this method is also effective and aesthetically pleasing.
Finally, here’s a little tip on hanging your “Museum or Gallery Wrapped” canvas. You may want to consider hanging it from the stretcher frame itself with no hanger hardware. I like my unframed canvases to hang flush against the wall. I achieve this by putting two nails in the wall about 6 inches apart, making sure I get them level. You can use small a carpenter’s level for this. Then I merely hang the piece on the nails. Use the proper size picture hangers if weight is of a concern. But most unframed canvases are fairly light. Make sure you use two nails so that it will stay level. That also works when hanging artwork with wire hangers on the back.
No permission is needed to reprint an unedited copy of this story as long as the writer's bio and the links are left intact and included.
Floyd Snyder owned and operated three framing galleries for nearly 20 years. After selling his business in the late 80’s and retiring from a successful career in the stock markets he has returned to the trade he has always loved and missed. He has established his own online store representing some of finest artist in the world at FASGallery.com.
To see samples of each version of stretching by going to FASGallery.com and follow the links to Wall Art, Canvas and view the stretching options.
October 4th, 2016
Losing the Copyright Battle
I recently had dinner at a Red Robin restaurant. RR, as you may know, covers their walls with posters and art prints.
I was sitting in a booth next to a wall with a big ugly black and white print of a cat drawing. At the table next to me there were two couples sitting there. They looked like your average to above averages, mid 30’s folks that could be lawyers, doctors, accountants, or some other profession. They were well dressed and sipping martinis.
One of them pointed to me, or what I thought was at me, but was actually just showing her friend the cat print and told her I wish I had that print for my daughter's room.
Her friend jumped up, pulled a camera out of her bag and came over to our table and asked if I mind if she took a picture of the print. She was very nice about it. I handed her a business card and said, I don’t mind, but I am sure the artist would not like it and told her that if she went to the website she could buy any number of cat prints that may work for her friend. She looked at me like I was crazy and said why should I buy one when this one is free for the taking?
I told here because what she was planning on doing was a violation of the copyright laws. She asked me if I was out of my mind and told me that if they did not want us to copy the art, they would not have it hanging on the walls where anyone can take a picture of it.
I told her that she obviously did not understand the laws and that if she would give me her email, I would send here some links. She got red in the face, told me to go F myself, clicked off several pics and went back to her table. She told the other gal and the guys what I had said and they looked at me and the girls both flipped me the bird. Their husbands (?) were laughing their butts off and high-fiving the girls like I guess you told that a******e!
These were probably very nice people. Very upper, middle class, well to do and well-educated people.
But that ladies and gentleman is what you are up against.
These people don’t know and they don’t care about copyright laws.
September 5th, 2016
Advertising Your FAA Artistwebsite (Premium Account or Website)
The purpose of this article is to address the needs of the artist on FAA trying to balance their time between creating their art and selling it.
You simple cannot do it all. Not effectively.
When is enough, enough and maybe too much? One of the biggest mistakes that I see FAA members doing is advertising with no advertising plan what so ever. They think that all they have to do is post a few times to Facebook or Tweet here and there and that's it. Or they are out there thinking they have to be on everything. Total market saturation. Neither one is the right way to go.
There are a lot of ways of advertising your FAA artwork. But in order to do that you first have to understand something about basic advertising.
Advertising on the net is not totally different then advertising main stream media. But it is different. The vehicles you use are obviously different but the basic concepts are the same. You have to reach the market place and prospective buyers with your product in a way that is most likely to give you results.
Let’s look at the different vehicles we see most often used by successful sellers on FAA.
Facebook is probably the number one, with Twitter number two. Then you have all the rest of the social media including G+, LinkedIn, About. Me and on and on. Equate those to off the net adverting vehicles like TV, radio, newspaper, billboards, etc, etc. Put these aside for a minute because, for the purpose of this discussion we are not going to use them to promote your AW on FAA but we are going lean form them.
Now let’s talk about the different approaches. To keep this as simple as possible, let's look at two different approaches to adverting.
First there is Direct Advertising or Target Marketing or Market Specific. Someone reinvents a new name for it every year or so, but it is still the same thing that it has been for 200 years.
Then you have Institutional Advertising, Generic, Top of the Mind Awareness and again all the new names people have come with.
I am assuming you have at least a basic understanding of the two different approaches above. Here is a very simple example of each.
If I have a photograph of a cowboy on a horse, I would target the western, cowboy, horse market using Twitter, FB Groups or any other vehicle where I could identify this people. I pretty simple stuff, I know, bear with me. I would do this my using the right hash tags and joining the right FB groups.
Institutional advertising would differ in that I would not necessarily even mention a photograph but would instead just be posting to Facbook or Tweeting "Visit FASGallery.com, see the best artwork on the net". I would be promoting the "institution" FASGallery to everyone, not to a specific photograph and not to a specific market. This goes to Top of the Mind Awareness. Still really boring I know, but stay with me.
What you are trying to do is the same thing All State Insurance has done with "The Good Hands People" or McDonald's with the Golden Arches. It is a form of branding. We do marketing surveys for specific industries. We ask people what is the first think you think of when I say "golden arches" or "the good hands people".
All of these things have to be taken into consideration of any advertising plan. But now we have to talk about the meat of that plan. How do you reach the market in a meaningful way that will get you the best results?
When you get ready to actually launch your plan, you simple cannot do it all. Everyone has limits. We are talking non-paid advertising but it still cost something. The currency is time. And you simply cannot be on Facebook, Twitter, G+, About.Me, LinkedIn, and on and on and on. Not effectively. It is just simply not the best use of you time because the frequency is going to be too thin to really make the impact you need to make. You will not reach the market penetration that you will need to be effective.
This is where we start talking about Vertical Reach and Horizontal Reach, the meat of any plan.
Most people are not in a position to where they can go for total market saturation. They need to focus, limit the number of vehicles you chose to use and then use them wisely.
Here is an example. If you were advertising on radio, and there was 10 radio stations in your market, more the likely you would not have enough money to be on all of them. You would have to choose. If your budget is $1000, you would be much better off running $500 dollars on two stations instead of $100 each on all 10. $100 is simply not enough to achieve decent market penetration. It would be a waste of money.
Vertical vs Horizontal: Vertical: $500 on each of two stations. Horizontal: $100 on each of 10 stations.
In this case your $100 simple will not give you the market penetration you need to get any decent results.
If you are still with me, we now need to talk about one of the biggest reasons, besides the cost why you cannot effectively do all of the Social Media outlets. With Social Media, unlike radio, TV, newspaper and other traditional adverting vehicles you have to build your own audience. You actually have to advertise you advertising vehicle. You have to build up your own followers and friends and circles; your audience.
For advertising to be work, you have to reach some level of market penetration. You have to be in that market, advertising your gallery, often enough to make an impact, to penetrate the market.
Think of it the same way all great speech writers do when they write a speech. To make a point stick in the audience's mind they know they have to repeat that point three times. "Tell'em, tell'em what you told'em and then tell'em again".
Applying what we have known about advertising for 200 years and from leaning what we have from radio and television, 50 tweets a day or posts to Facebook, will be more effective then 5 posts a day on ten different Social Media vehicles. It will also give you more time to create your art because you do not have to manage all of those different outlets. You can actually make fewer posts to a smaller market and have better results and at same time because you are getting better market penetration which will give you better results.
In closing (thank goodness) pick one or two, maybe 3 vehicles, build up a targeted market as best you can and do the best you can to penetrate that market. I personally think two is plenty and the two that I find easiest to build a following on are Facebook and Twitter. It is obvious that if you have the time, and can give the time, the more vehicles you can do a good jog on, the better off you will be.
As this applies to FAA, if you have 1000 images, you can afford to spend the time to be a more outlets. If you under 200, you cannot. You need to be creating art AND doing marketing. The fewer products you have the more effective your limited advertising has to be. The more important it is that you focus and get the biggest bang for your buck that you can.
But the bottom line is you have to have an advertising plan and you have to be committed to it and stick to it. Plan your work and work your plan as the old saying goes.
August 15th, 2016
FAA Views and Visitors
One of the questions that comes up most often from new member and some old is about the views supplied to us by FAA. Unfortunately they are not what you would think they are or what you hope they would be.
For the most part they are nothing more than web crawlers, bots, spiders, automatic indexer, ants, web scutter or one of the other names they have been called over the years. But basically they are all the same thing. They are computers that are programmed to scour the Internet for new content by the many different search engine companies. They can originate, and do, from many locations from around the world.
Every webpage in the world is visited by these bots to search for new content so it can be added to the various search engines.
The real thing you need to realize is that they are about 80 or 90 percent of all of your views. They are not human, they cannot buy a thing and do not buy a thing. Yes, someone will challenge that as say that there is no way to tell if they are a shopper or because there are people living in those cities that may very well be shoppers. And that is true. But considering that you have no way of knowing how to separate the bots from the live people, and noting to gain even if you could, it is a moot point. Suffice to say the vast majority are not shoppers.
I have a total of 12 retail stores on the Internet, 5 on eBay, Amazon and several stand alone sites. None of the counter of visitor data gathered from these sites include bot visits. For some reason FAA chooses to include the bot visits. Not sure I have ever seen any reason why, they just do. But that, imho, renders the visitor or views data nearly if not totally useless.
You will see threads go on and on about the bots and views but I have yet to see anything that I myself find useful. You may differ and should read at least some of those threads yourself so you can make up your own mind.
There is some small amount of validity that the number of views will give you a small bump in the search ranking. So some people spend a lot of time trying to get views from other members of FAA. I find this a totally waste of time. The tiny bump in the search is never going to amount to additional sales anywhere near as much as few sales will. And also know that other FAA member buy very little art from other FAA members.
To me, the time is much better spent advertising and marketing outside of FAA. That is where I spend my time. That is how I manage to sell on a daily bases. You have to make up your own mind.
Here are some other selling guides you may find of interest.
The "Work Smarter Not Harder To Beat The Big Guys" article has more about views and their value.
Selling Guides for New Members by Floyd Snyder
Advertising Your Artist Website
Response to new FAA member looking for advice – 25/75 Rule
Another Response To A New Member Seeking Help
A Few Reasons Why You May Not Be Selling
Work Smarter Not Harder To Beat The Big Guys
50 Effective Tips to Help You Sell You Art
June 22nd, 2016
As soon as you became a professional artist you also became a wholesaler, a retailer and a salesman, rather you like it or not. The old saying of "build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door", well it just doesn't work that way.
You can be the greatest artist in the world but if you fail to get enough people to see your work, it will not sell. And even after you get all these people to your work, it still will not sell itself, that is another misnomer.
So what do you know about advertising and selling? If you are like most artist, the answer is little or nothing. Why?
Why would enter you a field that is so dependent on advertising and selling and not prepare yourself properly to at least make an honest attempt at being able to perform the basic tasks of needed to be successful?
Selling is not just gripping and grinning and "talking" people into doing something they do not want to do. In fact, if you expect to have a lasting, repeat clientele, it is the exact opposite.
On the net you don't even talk to people in person. But you can still use basic selling techniques through your advertising and your first contact with your potential client base all the way through to the sale.
I ask people all the time if they understand the relationship of Pavlov's dog and selling. Do you understand the association of the Hierarchy of Needs and selling? Do you understand the selling is problem solving and not actually selling at all.
People scoff at me like I am nuts. But the same people are complaining that they know nothing about sales and they can't figure out how to sell their work. Why would anyone with no sales experience, no basic knowledge no understanding of selling, think they should be able to sell.
This idea that the best art will sell itself is hog wash. How in the world are people going to even find it to buy if you can't get it seen?
Most of the advertising on the net is writing ad copy. I see people say they post a hundred times a day on the FB but they don't see the results. Ya, because you have know idea on how to write effective ad copy. In fact I sees so much bad ad copy form FAA members that is not only ineffective, but is more likely to be solicit a negative response.
Do you know the difference between an aggressive call to action, and soft sell, a generic, top of the mind awareness ad and when and where and why to use them in different circumstances?
How about vertical and horizontal frequency?
This is not rocket science or brain surgery. A few classes, one on marketing, salesmanship and advertising will greatly improve you knowledge and better prepare you to achieve the success you deserve.
March 29th, 2016
Fyi: Facebook Groups
I started four Facebook groups for members of FAA to consider joining and posting their art work too. I though you may be interested.
Here are the links to the groups.
Over a year back I stated a Facebook group that has over 2300 members now. It is only for FineArtAmerica members. It can be found here:
FineArtAmerica https://www.facebook.com/groups/WesternArtBuyersAndSellers/
I also stated three other Facebook groups. One is for anyone that does western art and only western art and another is for anyone that does Seascape art and only seascape art. Here are the links:
Western Art Buyers & Sellers https://www.facebook.com/groups/1403150156590398/
Seascape Art Buyers & Sellers https://www.facebook.com/groups/1473698576246013/
I also have another Facebook group that is for anyone that buys or sells on eBay. Anyone with an eBay account can join and you can only list eBay items for sale so this one is not so much for FAA members but you are welcome to join if you do buy or sell on eBay.
eBay Buyers & Sellers https://www.facebook.com/groups/741852785862849/
If you ask to join the FineArtAmerica group, please us the same name exactly as the one use on FAA so it can be easily verified.
Enjoy! Floyd Snyder FASGallery.com
January 22nd, 2016
Bruce Cheever remembers his interest in art started as a child. His natural, artistic talent led him to enjoy success as an illustrator for many years, eventually leading to a career as a fine artist. During his years spent in illustration, he gained much knowledge, along with an ability of observation and discipline in the arts. He also credits his education at BrighamYoung University as a positive influence in his success. In this formative period of his
career, he also discovered an affinity for tonalism and luminism. The artist’s atmospheric and bucolic paintings are suggestive of Renaissance landscapes. This passion for the landscape is driven by the never-ending search for beauty.
Cheever states, "Art is a visual language and, as an artist, my hope is that my work is not just paint on a board, but rather a combination of inspiration, emotion, and skill to inspire the human soul. As primarily a landscape painter, I strive to evoke emotion in the spirit of those who view my work and to give them a sense of place within the landscape. My hope is that I can touch the chords of nostalgia and beauty that lie within each of us, and
further hope to inspire others to pay attention to the simple beauties of life.”
Today, Cheever’s studio paintings take shape from the inspiration he gathers from his travels. Whether painting a rural scene in the American West or a pastoral European landscape, his art is emerging with a style of its own. The artist adds, "My objective is to inspire others through art and to participate in reminding mankind that the world can be good if we consciously take the time to appreciate what is around us. I am inspired by the ordinary and moved by the extraordinary and feel that both are equal in beauty, if careful attention is given to both. I thank God for His gifts to me and the ability to share them with others. I simply believe that we are all given glimpses of divinity to sooth our souls, and that each of us is given
gifts to share with one another.”
Cheever is represented by Trailside Galleries in their Jackson and Scottsdale locations.He exhibits at many invitational shows, including showcases with Trailside Galleries, and he also participates in group shows with Settlers West Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, and Howard Mandville Gallery in Kirkland, Washington. He has exhibited at the prestigious Masters of the American West Show at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles, at the Jackson Hole Art Auction, and at the Arts for the Parks, where he is one of the top 100 winners. His work has been featured in Art of the West, Southwest Art, Western Art Collector, and American Art Collector magazines.
-End-
We are authorized dealers of Bruce Cheever Fine Art Giclees. For the best price on his prints visit our eBay Store at FrameHouseGalleryeBay.com, search on "Cheever" and make us an offer we can not refuse! I you would like more information on sizes or any other information email me at Floyd@FASGallery.com
December 1st, 2015
“Marketing is not an event, but a process . . . It has a beginning, a middle, but never an end, for it is a process. You improve it, perfect it, change it, even pause it. But you never stop it completely.” This is how Jay Conrad Levinson, author and co-author of several marketing books that includes Guerrilla Marketing, gives meaning to the concept of “Marketing.”
A marketing plan is a necessity for any business that hopes to thrive. And if you are a professional artist, you are running a business, like it or not. With that, you must consider the “big picture.” Think of your marketing plan as strategizing the specifics for a journey. Just as the captain of a ship charts a course for his voyage, an artist entrepreneur must develop a marketing plan. There are many things to consider.
First, spend some time and focus on what your objectives and goals are, whether they are primarily for recognition or for financial gain. Most importantly, the course set forth to reach the goals must be measurable in terms of its effectiveness. Is what you are doing helping you make progress toward your established goals? If the steps of your plan are not efficient, you are wasting time and energy. As the business owner, you are in the best position to analyze the appropriateness of the individual steps of your plan. Take time to ponder the details of your marketing course.
Look at your audience, and get to know your potential buyers. Will your plan be directed at corporate buyers, commercial projects, gallery affiliations, individual collectors, or others? Philip Kotler is the author of Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control, which has become a definitive source for graduate business schools throughout the world. He said this about knowing your buyers, “Authentic marketing is not the art of selling what you make but knowing what to make. It is the art of identifying and understanding customer needs and creating solutions that deliver satisfaction to the customers, profits to the producers and benefits for the stakeholders.”
Are you utilizing your resources in the most productive way so that your message is reaching your audience? Make sure you have a designated receiver (audience) of your message and that you are not just putting information out there without having a specific target in mind. A captain of a ship charts his course for a specific port and sets sail for it in the most expedient manner. The ship is not just out on the ocean floating around, and you can’t let your business just flounder around either.
Next, look at your timeline and what money you have to spend for your marketing plan. You must have a realistic timeframe established and the monetary backing to carry through with the plan. However, the plan must still be a flexible, on-going document. You need to continually check the current status of your business so that you know where you are and what changes need to be made in the plan along the way. Even though part of the plan may need to change in order to help meet the long range needs, it is also a living, breathing document that will still serve the day-to-day operations of the business.
A rule of thumb is to consider your customer first. Without them you have no business, at least not a thriving business. Whether you are planning a fair, show, or a first exhibit, you must have established you core beliefs about your potential customers. Prioritize those beliefs. This will help you further refine your target and generate options for your decision-making regarding your business plan.
Traditionally, many artists are not predisposed to marketing what they produce. If this be true in your case, then seriously consider getting someone with marketing expertise to help you with your marketing goals.
Creating your on-going marketing plan with your potential customers in mind is the most important thing you can do besides producing your artwork. In the words of Orvel Ray Wilson, President of The Guerrilla Group and renown speaker on marketing and management, “Customers buy for their reasons, not yours.”
October 13th, 2015
To use Facebook and maximize the potential you have to join and be active in groups. The number of friends and likes and comment are nice, but what really counts is how many people see your Facebook posts that are members of the art buying public and not just fellow artists.
Over a year back I stated a Facebook group that has over 2300 members now. It is only for FineArtAmerica members. It can be found here:
FineArtAmerica
I also stated three other Facebook groups. One is for anyone that does western art and only western art and another is for anyone that does Seascape art and only seascape art. Here are the links:
Western Art Buyers & Sellers
Seascape Art Buyers & Sellers
I also have another Facebook group that is for anyone that buys or sells on eBay. Anyone with an eBay account can join and you can only list eBay items for sale so this one is not so much for FAA members but you are welcome to join if you do buy or sell on eBay.
eBay Buyers & Sellers
