On Thursday, January 18th, 2024 the monthly DAAL meeting had a panel of member artists who have achieved professional status in their fields. They included: Robie Benve, Bev Goldie, Steven Fisher, Dawn Petrill and Mac Worthington. Even with bone-chilling weather, we had quite a turnout and animated repartee.
Several questions were proposed by Gale Suver and Kyndall Potts, and each of the panelists responded in kind. Some of the topics included: social media, websites, paying for ads, online sales vs. traditional methods, gallery representation, what the league’s Fine Art America website does for members, how to increase hits on social media etc.
Scroll down to read the notes from the panel discussion.
Many thanks to Sidney Finneran for taking notes during the discussion!
Business Meeting and Announcements:
A call for member group exhibition at First Merchant’s Bank will open on Sunday at 3:00 PM. Details for entering it (space is limited) and dates for take-in would be Sat. Feb. 3 – March 30th (the day before Easter, and the take-in date for the Spring DAAL show.)
DAAL Spring Exhibition – Carolyn Prince, chair, – Take-in Sat. March 30th – Reception on a Sunday afternoon in April TBA, Take down, Sat. April 27th.
Elections for new officers – May 2024. If interested for consideration or if you have questions about roles, please contact Bev Goldie.
Juried Dublin Irish Art Competition – Sat. July 27 – August 24
Ohio State Fair Bazaar – will need a member coordinator. If interested or if you have questions, please contact Bev Goldie or Robie Benve.
Dublin Plein Air Paint Out – Saturday, September 14th, Gale Suver as one of coordinators.
Announcements:
Scholarship information sent to Guidance counselors. DAAL committee will meet in March to review and select 2024 winners.
Reminder to visit and participate online in the Dublin Area Artist Lounge and post #daalmember to your Instagram posts for further exposure.
Marvin Daniels submitted a group exhibition proposal to the Cultural Arts Center for the 2025 – 26 time period.
Panel Discussion
First Topic – Do you have a website? If so, how effective is it and do you get sales from it?
Bev– Uses FASO (stands for Fine Art Sales Online). She says it’s helpful because she can create a newsletter, blog, numerous online galleries and it puts her google listing at the top consistently when you google her name. She uses it more for social media referrals, and entering shows, not direct sales. She has not sold anything directly from it, but has used it to promote her work and present herself professionally. BevGoldieArt.com
Steven – Uses wordpress and developed his own platform at Fisherworks.com. He has sold from it as well as from his LinkedIn profile. His website helps him to archive his work too.
Dawn – Artatdawn.com is her website, which is on the Squarespace platform. Her graphic design background allowed her to design it and maintain it the way she wanted. Because it is a squarespace with a commerce section she has sold prints, cards and classes through it.
Robie – Uses FASO also. (Bev mentioned that Robie referred it to her. She also said that if you ask her for a referral to the site, you and she would each receive a month for free). She got to know FASO from entering several art competitions they offer for free on BoldBrush.com. They have free marketing live seminars, lots of resources for artists on their webpage, and a really useful newsletter. Both Bev and Robie have mentioned the responsive service too. Robie sells her work through their website.
Mac – has a custom website through Microsoft. He does put prices on his work, and also uses a “make an offer” where he has negotiated with people. To him Social media is everything – especially FB. He uses his FB business page to promote his work with paid ads to FB and Google. He says this is hugely successful for him and is the only way to get traffic to his business page. He suggested even only $3.00 per day to see what happens. Then he suggested to “invite” them to follow the site after they “liked” a post on his business page. He also warned about international platforms that sell work with the freight included, because international freight might wipe out any profit from the sale, no less bankrupt you.
Fine Art America website – How is it and how do members get on it?
Mac says it’s a huge site that makes its money from printed materials for the artists and customers. It’s hard to get found. However, it is an inexpensive way to start out and get your work online. DAAL members can have a “gallery” on it for free by getting the password from our Treasurer, Ria Waugh. Fine Art America also promotes your name online to help your name be seen in a google search. Robie has used them for having products like tote bags, ladies’ clutches, etc. with her art printed on them with nice results. FAA also has mat and framing options if someone wants to purchase a print of your work. DAAL receives a report each month about hits etc. from the site. You can also set up your own site very reasonably for $30.00/year, Mac said. He also warned that the competition is much greater to be seen on this platform, but you can promote your work by color, topic, medium etc.
To be a part of the DAAL group site on Fine Art America for free, you need a password from our Treasurer, Ria Waugh. You must be in good standing with dues as a member to be in it. Then you enter the contact information and download your work on the site. You can set your own pricing.
Social Media: what works for you and which platforms do you use?
~All six panelists use Instagram and Facebook to promote new work.
~ Mac talked a lot about starting a Business FB page, separate from your personal one. Use your name plus “Art” or “Paintings”, add your bio information, link your website, etc. Start small and grow organically.
~Same with Instagram – have a separate business account from your personal one. Several artists also suggested using it as a quick archival means to show friends, associates and potential clients. Suggestion from Bev: do three posts in quick succession so your phone page of images line up nicely in some type of consistent order. The three posts would be about the same work or works, but showing a succession of time in making it or exhibiting it or selling it.
~Bev implored people to not depend solely on social media to sell or promote their talent. Network, volunteer, suggest projects to businesses or organizations! Personally contact is always better, but the social media is your tool.
~Steven mentioned to stay consistent and on top of posting on a regular basis. It’s also possible to over post too, which turns people off. Efforts = Results.
~Mac also uses Google ads to boost traffic. These show up on the sides of your posts on FB.
How do you price your work?
Mac spoke for all of us by saying that it is a really hard subject, and it’s different for each artist. He spoke more about what NOT to do such as not to charge by how long it took you to create the work. NO ONE CARES! But, he did mention that comparing your work to others in the same medium, with similar quality in the same region was key to pricing correctly. He also said “make it sting a little”, meaning don’t underprice your work just to sell it. It reflects badly on you.
Robie spoke about the importance of pricing your work consistently, no matter if it’s in a gallery or if you sell directly. She charges by size.
Bev mentioned that DAAL has had speakers who give tips on pricing and it could be a whole meeting topic at another time. She also invited artists to visit galleries, look at how other artists price their work at our own exhibitions, and to talk with other peers for advice about their own work and path.
Is it worth entering juried shows, and why do it?
All the artists agreed that entering juried shows lets you and potential clients know if your work has validity. It increases the value of your work, and encourages galleries and clients to consider your work more seriously.
It helps in showing your growth and work ethic and gets you more recognized in different venues.
Other pearls of wisdom:
Take good photos of your work when you enter shows.
If looking for festival or gallery shows, check them out and visit them first.
It’s important to keep and maintain a good email list and stay in touch with those people.
The speaker at the February meeting will be Susan Rossiter, mixed media artist.
Thursday, February 15, 2024 at the Dublin library.
