So my mother-in-law could charm the skin off of a snake. That’s a compliment-I admire her people skills, especially since I’m more like Katniss (Hunger Games!) and the best I can hope for is that people don’t actively dislike me. Which is a slight problem when it comes to marketing myself and my artwork-it’s not something I’m innately good at and I have to be careful that I’m not working against myself.
Now that you’re scared to ever meet me in person, let me proceed with my story.
So my mother-in-law met an art gallery director. And from what I gather she was pitching both me and my artwork and showed some of it to said director, who did not immediately recoil in horror, and in fact said “sure, send me an email”. So I did. The End.
Not really. First I asked for help in composing the email-what exactly does one say? Please don’t hate my art? Please love my art? (I didn’t say that, relax, I typed what my mother-in-law-a communications guru-sent me word-for-word). Then I googled art portfolios and what does one look like and how many pieces and what kind of photos and GAH I only have an iPhone camera and can I please throw up now?
And then I thought about the fact that I only have two showable pieces, which actually calmed me down and prevented the upchucking, because that turned this whole thing into a practice run. If my art was liked, awesome! If not, it wasn’t an actual portfolio, so it wouldn’t be a real rejection. That is, I’m sure, waiting for me down the line;)
Anyway, I took new photos. I didn’t touch them up much because I was concerned I’d somehow misrepresent them (never mind the fact that I usually do brighten/enhance/what-have-you). When I get to the point of sending my portfolio to more galleries I’ll have professional photos taken, so I don’t have to worry about that.
I actually like these photos. They’re not very bright but I love the coloring in the “Azmayan”; it’s so very rich and deep.
I haven’t heard back yet, and that’s ok. I might not ever hear back and that’s also ok. For me, an introvert who sometimes has a hard time leaving the house, merely working up the moxie to send an email with my artwork on display was enough. For now, anyway. This only reinvigorated my desire to build my portfolio and conquer the art world.
If you’re interested in prints of either of these works let me know. I have an Azmayan print on etsy for $25. Looking at it again the colors are a bit brighter than the original so I’m thinking I need a better scan of it BUT it still looks beautiful so it stays in the shop. I haven’t gotten the “Sun” scanned but it’s on my to-do list; if you’re interested in a print of that it’d be $45 (+shipping and possibly sales tax) for the 11×14 and $32 (+shipping and possibly sales tax) for an 8×10. Email me at wordsandwares@gmail.com with the size you’d like and we’ll work out the details.
Also, I joined Zazzle and I’ve begun utilizing some of my funkier, not-so-serious designs there. Apparently one needs thousands of products to actually get noticed; I figure in a couple of years I might reach that number. I also joined Fine Art America to see how that worked because they sell prints without me needing to front any costs. I’ll keep my originals in the Wordsremember Shop (which seriously needs a makeover but I simply haven’t had the time …). I don’t know what I want to do with my etsy shop; I’m thinking of converting it to a pen & ink zendoodle store. I’ll be all over the web!😉
Happy Thursday!
Wordsremember 