Can I Paint Again Yet?

Whew! What a week!

I got it done though. My new gallery!

http://www.vinylart.info/why.htm

This is just in time, because that video I talked about a little bit ago is done too! It turned out amazingly! I'm so proud of it. Ryan at http://rhynomarketing.com did such a good job.

I've embedded it on my "About Me/An Introduction" page. If you want to see it in high quality, you can go straight to YouTube. Then if it doesn't start in HQ, you can click the HQ button in the bottom right of the video box. It'll take a bit longer to load, but the paintings look way better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjagBX3VFug

I also sent out my email newsletter this morning. Baby and Bookmans news were the main topics. Good stuff. If you'd like to be included in my mailing list, just email me and let me know!

http://www.vinylart.info/press.htm

Have a good weekend! I'll be back to painting next week. Some cool commissions.

Peace.

Up Front

Shelley has my work up front in the window at Wild About Music on 6th in Austin, TX. Very cool. Hendrix sold last month so I get to replace it with another piece on consignment.

She's been wonderful to work with from the start. The start is, after all, the important part in a relationship with a gallery, or really between any two parties.

Getting the issues squared away upfront sets up the guidelines and framework for the entire relationship, the whole tone. WAM's contract is stellar, and they even added a couple clauses on my request that clarified some additional points. I felt trusted. Even though they have an online presence, they don't yet sell my work online, but Shelley certainly wants to ensure that neither of us is undercutting the other. We even went through a price increase on her end successfully.

Now, I had the opposite happen with another gallery. I should've known, again, from the start as I was treated with suspicion and my integrity questioned based upon that gallery's experience with other artists. Among other things, they didn't want my last name to be associated with my work, and they wanted me to ultimately stop promoting myself online.

After some back and forth communication, we did initially arrive at an agreement and they signed the first contract they'd ever signed with an artist. Yep, they'd never made contracts before. I modelled the agreement after mine with WAM. So I was protected, if not insulated from their distrust. Eventually we ended our relationship as they couldn't understand me or look beyond their own hangups.

It's that communication that enables understanding. Yes, the structure of the relationship between artist and gallery, musician and record label, creator and distributor is changing, but if the issues are addressed at the outset, then both parties feel comfortable enough to readdress those issues and to consider new issues as they arise. Creatives and middlemen might live on different planets, but if Venusians (women) and Martians (men) can relate successfully, then we can too. Just be upfront.

Peace.

ON CONSIGNMENT - Jimi Hendrix 04/21/09

Original Copy (Or Don't Spoil The Broth)

Can you tell which is which?

I received the artist's proofs for this project along with the originals. Upon opening the box, as I wasn't sure what they'd sent, when I grabbed the clear plastic sleeve with the proofs in it and it flopped around I was confused. I thought the proofs were the originals! Holy crap! The scan even captured a bit of the shadow cast by the record onto the sleeve and the grooves are visible at the right angle.

I don't know how I feel! Man, I'm blown away at the quality, so I'm really hopeful the Hard Rock likes the result. At the same time, though... I'm just glad this is a very limited edition in scope. Not because I'm unhappy I did it, but because I feel like I let a little control go over my art.

I know I didn't really because of the stringent contract, but I'm used to doing everything, making every decision and controlling every step. I'm the kinda guy who doesn't ask for help. So this is probably good for me, learning to trust others to do what they do. I mean, I don't try to take control of how a meal at a restaurant is prepared beyond making sure my order is taken accurately.

Fortunately, for this first meal at The Repro Diner, the restaurant manager, the waitress, the cook, and the ingredients were all top notch. And the menu description was appealing and accurate.

Peace.

On The Cusp

I liked the inaugural poet's poem. It was oddly cold on the surface and warm underneath. It looked forward to the possibilities. I'm doing that now. Beck always does that with his music. He's one of those musicians, like Prince, who always sounds fresh. No matter what album you listen to of his it sounds innovative somehow. I love his uniqueness and creativity.

A cool thing about this record, which I bought new at a local record store, is that it came with an access code to download the album recorded at the highest quality possible for an MP3 directly from the vinyl master. So I get the record and the MP3s, which works out since I painted on the record. I did record the record with my iRecord as well.

I've sent the Santana and the Lennon to the gallery, and I'm waiting on the Mariah Carey record. It's certainly a relief to have the details all worked out. Now it's just the time pressure, which the gallery is feeling more than me because they still have to do the reproductions. So I sent the first two before physically receiving the contracts and initial deposit to give them more time. They did send me a scan of the signed check, and they still need the last portrait, so I felt okay about it.

I'll bend over backwards to be able to say "yes" to someone who wants my art. As long as you're on the up and up and I trust you're not trying to take me, I'll try to make it work. All you have to do is ask.

Peace.

Beck 01/28/09

What A (Re)Production!

Well, I've passed under the limbo pole without dislodging it or killing my knees. My nose did brush it, making it wobble for sure. For an afternoon, yesterday, it seemed all would fall apart due to a bunch of reasons. Let's just say communication can be challenging.

Here's what's going on. I was approached by a gallery in California that has a relationship with the interior designer of... are you ready for it?

The Hard Rock Hotel.

I'm not sure exactly how, but both he and this gallery had found my website and were interested in my work for one of their hotels in Florida. Lots of rooms. Time crunch. Uhoh. How could I paint so many so quickly?

The lady at the gallery explained that most of these projects use reproductions so every room's decor is the same. Ahh. Ok. But I hadn't liked the idea of reproductions. Hmm. Well, it would be done by a very high quality outfit that I'd actually heard of previously, it would be contractually limited to 23 high-end suites, they would be framed better than I frame them, and they'd be enlarged a bit. Interesting. Kind of pop art-ish. Kind of intriguing. Nice exposure.

Nice exposure indeed. That was what I focussed on, that and the valid connection of context and my work. I mean, the Hard Rock! I'd sent an email to their info@ address a long time ago with, of course, no response at all. They cater directly to my audience. My signature and logo will be on each piece and the concierge will have the gallery's contact information. And the lady said most artists who have participated in projects like this get approached again.

So, do I do it? First of all, I had to do a gut check. Some of you will say this goes against this statement. But I think this project will make me more able to explore my creativity. I started thinking about it and realized that if I were ever going to try reproducing these paintings on vinyl of mine, this would be the best scenario. Their contract definitely protects the artist in the right ways, clearly limiting the scope and size of the project as well as designating responsiblity and copyright ownership. They work with this high quality company and have an impressive list of corporate clients. All that was left were details in order for me to decide yes or no.

Those details almost killed the whole concept. Who I was going to do, on which albums, reproduced with or without the album cover behind were all sticking points.

But, I say strongly to all, it pays to stick up for yourself. If you have a line that if you cross it, you won't like what you see in the mirror, don't do it. And say you won't do it. And say why. Get forceful if you have to, even if you're uncomfortable.

I'm normally a mellow guy. It takes a lot to get a rise out of me, but asking me to compromise my artistic integrity is the wrong thing to do. In the most complicated set of choices possible for the project, legal reasons of the gallery and design choices of the designer led them to propose cropping an album cover image, enlarging the remainder to the size of a normal cover, and digitally superimposing my painted record on top.

They wanted to mess with the original album cover.

The whole point of what I do is to celebrate the art and creativity of the music and its artifact, the record album. The cover is an integral part of that. A lot of creative thought and energy goes into producing an album cover. Artistic careers have been forged from amazing, distinctive cover art. The fact is, I don't own the copyright for the cover art and couldn't even presume to begin thinking about messing with one. Worse still, the part they wanted to eliminate had both the band name and album name in it. You wouldn't even know what album it was anymore. It'd look like they'd stuck a piece of stock photography behind it. Man. Pissed me off.

So I said something, first in an email and then in a phone conversation. I thought that'd be it for the project.

Then, this afternoon, the gallery called and said the designer would go for a different album altogether. A better one, in my opinion, anyway. Wow. I was surprised. This whole thing has been unexpected, and I love the unexpected.

So it's on! The final piece will be a triptych of slightly enlarged, silver-leaf framed portraits with the album cover behind, printed on rag paper. The 3 portraits will be the John Lennon shown in my online gallery on its first row, the Carlos Santana shown above, and a Mariah Carey. Odd grouping, I think. But it is for Florida.

I know this might bother some of you who've kept up with me on this blog. But I've gotta try. I've gotta try in order to fail and learn. This might be a disaster. But then I'll know and I won't try something like this project this way again. With the smallest financial and time cost to me, I'll be afforded the most reputable partners in a project I could've thought to put together to potentially get my art to reach another level of attention. I am trying to take over the world, after all.

I would be interested in your feedback about this, positive or scathing.

Peace.

SOLD - Santana 01/27/09

(Custom)er

This Springsteen is for Barbara. She's buying herself a birthday present. Love it. On her blogger profile, she has so many to list for her favorite music that she had to repurpose the "favorite movies" category to hold more music.

Barbara is exactly who I want to be able to have at least one piece of Vinyl Art. She's buying it unframed for $100 shipped. I added the option to buy unframed pieces for people who have a cool idea for hanging the piece, or who would rather save up for a painting and like 5 CDs instead of just a painting.

I've been getting real good use out of the PayPal email invoices for commissions recently. It allows me to customize the invoice for you. All you need to do is contact me if you don't see what you want specifically in my online gallery, or if you want to buy multiple pieces at one time. You also get a more personal story to tell people wondering what the heck that is you've got on your wall.

Peace.

SOLD - Bruce Springsteen 09/03/08

The More Exposure, The More Exposed

I'm so excited about the exposure my work is getting online! I don't know what the consensus is on creating a list of links to blog posts about oneself, but Neatorama and Makezine are two recent additions to the list! It's certainly good for my Technorati Authority in any event since these two have rankings up in the 4000s and I'm in the 10s. I honestly don't know what the impact will be on the success of my artwork of all these social networking efforts, but the number of visitors to my gallery site has increased dramatically. I've had one person use the PayPal Buy Now buttons and two people follow through with commissions.

That said, the galleries where I've consigned my work are the steady sources of sales I have now. So BB King and Led Zeppelin are heading off to Wild About Music, and I'm painting a few this week for Primitive Kool. I'm trying hard to find a gallery/shop in the London area as I've gotten good feedback online from people in the UK. If you're one of those people, please let me know if you are aware of any locations I should contact about showing my work on consignment!

One post out there, http://cdnav.com/, was critical of my gallery site's front page (the blurb is 5 paragraphs down in the Jan 28th section). I'm glad to get feedback on it finally. They thought the graphical navigation was confusing with the OPEN sign not linking anywhere. From my website logs, though, it seems people aren't having a problem getting to the page where you can buy the pieces. So I don't know. Please,

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: http://www.vinylart.info/

and let me know if you have any site design suggestions! Peace.

SOLD - B.B. King 01/28/08

King's Symbolism Stripped To Reveal His Humanity

In going through my albums to get organized this past week, I found this record of Martin Luther King Jr. speech excerpts. After digging up this beautiful photo, I decided to paint it. I can pay hommage and celebrate anybody who has a recording on vinyl, after all. "I Have a Dream" is on side 2, so it's still somewhat playable. However, a reason I paint some of these portraits the way I do is to show the person as a human being, trying to capture their soul and the spirit of their Life. As this article discusses, too often iconic figures in history become reduced to a single moment, like with King's famous speech. I hope my paintings generally counterract the flattening of culturally important people, both visually and substantively.

I'd like to know what you think! How do you think my paintings characterize their subject? There are a good number of examples here on my blog, and you can also:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: http://www.vinylart.info/

and look through the online gallery. Do my paintings celebrate their lives and contributions to our culture?

Whew! PayPal Can Be Nerveracking!

I did get it to work though. Now in my website's online gallery page at www.vinylart.info/why.htm, there are a few paintings that I still have on hand which are available to purchase directly through PayPal using your account there or a credit card. I just pay a minimal fee for the transaction and it allows me to accept credit cards! Pretty sweet.

The rest of the paintings in the gallery are either sold or consigned to a gallery. I do work largely on commission however, so if there is one you are interested in me painting again or a different one, please let me know! I require payment upfront for commissions, but the time I need to get it to you is only around a month currently.

I'll be adding others I still have available to the gallery soon as well. You never know, I might've already painted the musician in whom you are interested! Just ask! But you won't know unless you:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: WWW.VINYLART.INFO

and, please, give me feedback either by E-Mail or comment here!