Art Accounting 101

So now that the art show is over and with the end of the month it is time for an accounting - both of expenses and for my own decisions.  This little blurb is meant to help other artists when they are deciding what to spend money on for a show, or on their art in general BUT IS ONLY MY OPINION SO TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.

Money well spent

Business Cards - in prepping for the show, I used Vista print and ordered business cards and some 'postcards'.  I still have lots left for the upcoming fall art walks I will be at - so I think this was money well spent.  In the past I would spend time and money making my own at home.  Ink costs are outrageous for my printer.  Vista print was under $150 for everything I had printed (500 cards, 500 postcards).  worth it I think as I had much frustration at times getting all my business cards to print out properly.

Framing - I had every painting properly framed and ready for hanging by Vestate Molding in Edmonton.  They are AWESOME and I was very pleased with the quality and how quickly they got my framing done when I had a time crunch.  Their prices are competitive and even a bit better than other framers I used. Highly recommend framing as things look nice and professional.

Money NOT well spent - this is where I rant a bit.  I learned a lesson the hard way (money lost).  An artist I met recommended a company in Edmonton, which I won't name here, that I subsequently went to for some prints.  I WAS at fault for not clearly stating I wanted a FULL ACCOUNTING of all the costs to have prints done.  The guy who I met with had a way of chatting that was very circular, not intentionally, where he described the whole process but rarely came to a direct point of saying what the entire costs would be, I got it in little chunks, but not in writing.  It was recommended that I should get them to photograph all my artworks for printing, that I should not really do that myself as it is challenging to get the proper high quality digital images needed.  This would cost $50 for the first painting and $38 for the rest.  In hindsight I would have done this myself, as I am a decent photographer, have a nice Nikon D90 and some experience due to submitting images to art juries. TRUST YOURSELF!

This was done in week one, he recommended I return in a week after photographing so we could decide what I wanted  - giclees, lithos, prints and cards.  I had been told earlier I would get an email with all the images and samples of what they would look like in different size formats, etc.  I did not but he spent quite a bit of time with me when I returned, showing me examples on the computer.  

Long story short - I spent almost $700 getting photographs of 7 paintings; 2 giclees on canvas; 2 on paper; 35 prints and about 60 cards.  One of the Giclees on canvas was for myself so - $200 off that.  The remaining $500 I don't think I will ever recoup,  as you would have to print a large volume and subsequently sell them all and be a very in demand painter.  I refuse to return to the print shop, as they botched several aspects of the job - hanging one giclee upside down, printing another with major colour issue, 2 cards were not useable as they were dirty, one set of cards was not colour corrected, etc. They corrected the giclee's.  I don't think I thought the whole thing through well, as I would have realized how much I needed to get printed in order to make back money I spent.  From the opening I made $242 on what was printed and sold,  less the galleries percentage which was small.  All in all I am behind by about $300.

I would recommend CAREFULLY sitting down looking at all the companies available to get something good printed. Get references - although the place I went to was recommended.  LEARN how to take high quality digital images.  PAINT some good paintings for printing.  

CHOOSE the right type of printing for the setting.  I don't think I would get prints made for a gallery setting, maybe just some art cards.  I would get PRINTS in the $25 - $40 range for outdoor art fairs.  I would give customers who like your art, but say they can't afford an original, the option of you getting a giclee printed if they truly are interested, but not printing it beforehand - take a deposit then get a giclee on canvas.  Giclees seem pretty popular in some stores with high tourist traffic flow, so that is something useful to consider.  My rant ends here.

Gallery at the Arts Station