Showing posts with label professional practice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label professional practice. Show all posts

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Preparing for Portrait Artist of the Year - Gail Reid shares her experience and tips

Gail Reid has sent me what I regard as one of the best ever blog posts I have ever read regarding how best to prepare for the Portrait Artist of the Year heats.

It contains absolutely no spoilers but does reveal in detail how somebody who is serious about doing well prepared for her heat. (It's also been cleared by the production team so she's not doing anything out of order or against the "keep quiet about everything until your episode has aired" contract that you have to sign when you participate).

I have to confess, in my very many reviews of heats of Portrait Artist of the Year I do get very frustrated every time I hear an artist say "this is the first time I've ever painted from life" and I  often wonder why people enter such competitions on television if they don't prepare properly so they give themselves the best chance possible. 

So it's lovely to be able to share this blog post - not least because she highly recommends my blog as part of the preparation!

Gail Read and her self portrait at Battersea Arts Centre - just before filming starts!

in the weeks running up to filming day, I practiced hard on unsuspecting friends and family and honed my process to a tee. So until it’s aired, I can share my practice runs, palette, brushes, and the process that I evolved to do my best on the day.
Her blog post Lights, Camera, Action covers (in order):

  • What is PAOTY? - in which you do get to see her self portrait - which complies with all my recommendations! ;)
  • Program researchers (Storyvault/Sky TV) - in which Gail highlights all the stuff which happens between application and arriving at Battersea - and highlights one really good option for those so inclined!
  • My research - what she does prior initially to get herself ready to start practicing - which includes reading my past blog posts about the heats - in which I give tips serviced from what happens in each episode / stage of the competition.
I cannot recommend the Making A Mark blog enough. SO much information, I binge read lots of posts, hoovering up tips on everything from canvas size to how best to talk to the judges. Here is the post about entering this year’s competition.
  • My starting point - she highlights why drawing people is something she is used to doing (which to my mind explains the quality of her practice portraits)
  • Practice runs - her approach to practising painting 4 hour portraits - and what she learned
  • Her Sitters and the portraits produced x ? - I'm amazed at the quality of her practice portraits. One the basis of which I'd say she's a dead cert to be shortlisted if not win her heat. For one thing she's not just doing heads and she is including hands - which I've been recommending for some time. When everybody else does heads, make sure you stand out and produce a good upper torso portrait! So her portraits are:
    • Grace (whole figure) - which made me think how much nicer it would be for sitters if the production team gave them proper chairs!
    • Izzi (profile figure sat at a table with lots of context) - an example of why it's always wise to remember you might get one of the slots which mean you get a side view!
    • Ray (upper torso with hands and backdrop) - people need to test out whether they can manage the backdrop as well as a portrait. This one taught her about lighting.
    • Cilla (upper torso with hands) - an interesting one re the need to raise the sitter up as close as possible to eye level. Excellent observation!
    • Debbie (whole figure) - always good to practice painting the whole figure!
    • Caroline (whole figure) - a really interesting one with an emphasis on posture and really excellent boots! I wonder how many people practice painting shoes?
    • Angela (head only) - an experiment with a head only and tighter crop
    • Other practice - there's more! Including during her holiday!
    • Glen (upper torso with hands) - an interesting experiment in the use of a tablet and photo to refine details after blocking in and initial work in the first half of the time period - done two days before the date of the heat.
If anybody else has got approval from Storyvault/Sky to post blog posts before their episode airs do let me know. I'm happy to share! :)

A Final Tip

For those wanting to enter PAOTY next year, I'll probably be posting the Call for Entries for Series 11 - to be filmed in April 2024 - in early October 2023, round about the start of Series 10 being broadcast.

So if you want to get ahead of the rest who are not reading this blog post, I suggest you start practising now - and getting that self-portrait licked into shape!

For those wanting access to MY PAOTY TIPS - you can find them in my reviews of the various episodes which are listed below.


Reviews & Learning Points (PAOTY Series 5-9)


Series 8 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Autumn 2021)


Series 7 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Autumn 2020)


Series 6 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Spring 2020)


Series 5 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Winter/Spring 2019)


Series 4 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Winter / Spring 2018)

Posted by Making A Mark on Thursday, July 13, 2023 0 comments
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Thursday, June 30, 2022

Artists - Do you have a Profitable Side Hustle?

I know a number of artists whose taxable income comes from a portfolio of activities and income streams - and notably includes a side hustle.

I'm thinking about writing about the type of Artists' Side Hustles which have proved SUCCESSFUL in

  • diversifying the activities of a (would-be) professional artist (as in "I'm aiming to make all my income from art")
  • generating another income stream 
  • reducing the risk to your economic wellbeing when all art sales suddenly dry up.

Copyright Making A Mark Publications

What is a Side Hustle?

READ MORE......>>
Posted by Making A Mark on Thursday, June 30, 2022 0 comments
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Sunday, August 02, 2020

I'm building websites in August!

This August I'm building websites for artists and will be back blogging regularly again in September. Apart from the off post here and there to say "I've finished xyz!" 

I do need sometimes to block out time to do things which keep getting postponed or bumped by the here and now.

Two NEW Websites


My BIG AIM is to see whether I can get two new websites with enough content so I can at least publish them as they have languished in draft for too long. These are:
  • Tips for Artists 
  • Fine Art Materials Guide for Artists

TIPS FOR ARTISTS


Basics and genres
TIPS FOR ARTISTS: Basics and Genres

FINE ART MATERIALS GUIDE FOR ARTISTS

Fine Art Materials Guide - for Artists
Fine Art Materials Guide - for Artists: some of the sections


PLUS Updating Existing websites with new content


ART BUSINESS INFO FOR ARTISTS


I had a lovely day yesterday, getting the introduction to the Professional Practice Section of my Art Business Info for Artists website sorted.

Given the number of people currently being made redundant and hoping they can make a go of being a full-time artist I decided now is the time to get this section sorted!  I'm hoping to start a series of posts in September about things new full-time professional artists need to know about - or anybody aspiring to be one ASAP.



As a result of which content is better organised and the content also flows better on the page

So we have:
  • Professional Practice - This has content organised into three sections as follows:
    • Business HABITS for Organised and Effective Artists
    • Real Life as an Artist: Business PRACTICES
    • DEVELOPMENT: as an Artist and Manager of an Art Business
    • Please tell me what I've left out!
  • STARTING OUT: TIPS ​for an Emerging Artist
    • What you "need to know"
    • PLUS practical advice ​for working as a visual / fine artist
READ ON If you want.....
      • to be a success as an artist
      • to avoid failing as an artist
      • to be successful selling 'daily paintings'
      • to sell your art online
      • to exhibit your work
      • to be more productive
      • to be an artist as well as a parent
      • to develop your career
      • to get representation by a gallery
      • talk about the art business online
This section covers: various aspects of making a career as a professional artist - including
  • being a professional artist - definitions
  • the reality of earnings by artists
  • building a portfolio career
  • professional standards and contractual relationships
  • how to avoid legal problems & cons
  • reality checks
  • ​useful websites for learning more about the business of being an artist
PLUS on separate pages
The working lives of professional artists
The working lives of professional artists
 

At the end of the Professional Practice page there is a form in which YOU are invited to tell me about the things which you need to know more about or things you find challenging.
  • If I've got content covering your knowledge gaps on the website I'll point you towards it
  • Your comments will also influence the order in which I address topics.
Posted by Making A Mark on Sunday, August 02, 2020 0 comments
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Monday, November 12, 2018

What is a semi-professional artist?

There are two ways of looking at what a semi-professional is.
  • Either they are somebody who is receiving payment for an activity but NOT as a full-time occupation NOR relying entirely on it for a living
  • Or they are somebody who is spending a lot of time on an activity and aspiring to reach the standards normally associated with a professional - and money doesn't come into it
Or maybe both in varying degrees?

I've often commented in my reviews of art challenge programmes on the television about the blurring of the lines between "professionals" and "amateurs". Examples include:
  • people who have worked as trained and professional illustrators or designers or architects in the past now declaring themselves as amateur artists
  • art students who have just graduated declaring themselves to be professional artists - because that's what they are trying to be
  • people who have an art degree and a full time working role in relation to art - but only paint in what they consider to be an amateur capacity(i.e. not trying to make it their full-time job)
So I thought it might be interesting to discuss.....

What is a semi professional artist?


Crop of a Photo by Chris Curry on Unsplash

The best way of coming at a definition is probably by trying to define the boundary either side.

The professional artist


Back in 2011 I wrote How do you define a "professional artist"? It generated a lot of interesting comments

This is how I defined a professional artist
My definition of a professional artist is purely pragmatic - it's an artist who makes their living mainly or entirely through their art.

So for example, that might mean a professional artist was somebody who was a practising artist who sold their art in galleries, also taught art in a school or college or workshops and maybe did some illustration work as a sideline.
In every other occupation, professional is defined entirely by occupational standards e.g.
  • I was at one time a professional accountant - because I had qualified by passing the professional examinations of my institute and been admitted to membership of professional institute recognised as such by the government (Charter status etc). Doctors, dentists, lawyers and many other occupations which have a "duty of care" implicit or explicit within their professional role have very similar preconditions to being termed a "professional". 

For some professional standards are defined somewhat differently e.g.
  • a professional golfer or tennis player or football player is somebody who does it full time and plays in what are recognised as the leagues or competitions for professional players

Sometimes people define it according to whether or not you get paid, not what standard you have reached
  • in some contexts, professional means you get paid for doing what you are doing - and hence can no longer rank as an amateur or enter competitions for amateurs.  (Remember the disputes for a long time about who could/could not compete at the Olympics?)

Sometimes people define it according to how much you get paid for the value of work you produce.

Which leads us on to......

What is an amateur artist?


In the UK, there is a very simple definition of an amateur artist - in the "hobby" sense.
READ MORE......>>
Posted by Making A Mark on Monday, November 12, 2018 0 comments
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Thursday, July 19, 2018

Work-Life-Artist #2: Linda Blondheim

This is the second in my series of posts about working artists - looking at what they get up to when NOT making art. 

I'm very pleased to have Linda Blondheim talk about the actual reality of being a working artist and coping with the challenges which life throws at you from time to time.

Through her paintings, Linda aims to create a visual record of the rural landscapes and trees of Florida.  See the post I wrote Linda Blondheim paints the Florida landscape and trees when she was hunkering down last September from the hurricane which hit both Florida - and her country studio.  It also contains links to some of the practical tips for artists which she also writes for her Art Notes blog which covers the reality of being a working artist.

If you an active and practising professional artist (i.e. earn most or all of your income through making and selling art and related artistic activities) and would like to participate in the series please read the note the end of this post.

Linda Blondheim - Landscape painter, Florida


Orange Lake by Linda Blondheim 
acrylic on canvas, 18×24 inches

What does the "real life" of being an artist actually involve?


  • Wearing multiple hats, including good marketing skill, business knowledge, including forecasting and understanding current economic trends both local, national and international global issues. 
  • Flexibility in art and business trends are key to success. 
  • Nurturing collectors is key. 
  • Painting

Is it like what you expected?

Art school did not prepare me for the realities of being a full time artist. I made many mistakes along the way. It is many more times difficult than I expected.

Where/who did you get your ideas of what "real life as an artist" was going to be like from? Were they right?

I have painted since childhood. In the early years, I had a romanticized notion, which was reinforced by my college professors, who did not have to sell art to pay the bills.

Making a living


How do you actually "make a living" (e.g. keep a roof over your head / pay the bills / have a studio / plan for retirement)?

I have two studios, one in the city which is my retail studio and one behind my home in rural north Florida. I sell paintings from both, as well as Daily Paint Works, Etsy, and my own web site.

What percentage of your income (roughly) do you generate from making art?

100%. I have no other income streams.

What percentage of your income (roughly) derives from being involved with art?

100%

How do you aim to be making a living in future?

I will paint as long as I can hold a brush. One of my dealers gave me some good advice years ago. He said to work at painting and build a huge body of work when you are at the height of your skill. You will have these paintings to live on when you can no longer produce good work. I will have good paintings to sell if I can no longer paint, though I pray that never happens.

Time allocation


What percentage of time do you have each week for actually making art? (Is this more or less than you expected?)

I work seven days a week. Most of my painting is done for about 3 hours a day. I am a very fast painter and produce paintings every week.

How do you typically spend your time each day or week or month?

I am very much a person of routine.
  •  I work from 8 to 11 AM each day on marketing, social media marketing, updating my web site, post on my blog, and answering emails each day. 
  • At 11AM I go out to my studio to paint until 2 PM. 
  • I take a rest from 2 to 3:30. 
  • I walk on my nature trails at 3:30 and then paint until 6 PM. 

Upland Florida Palms by Linda Blondheim 
oil on canvas, 20×24 inches, wide gold frame

Challenges and surprises


How difficult is the real life of "being an artist"?

Mostly it is difficult to sell in Florida from June-August. It is brutally hot and I live in a college town, which empties out for the summer.

I have to save for 9 months and live off the savings for three months.

In terms of the reality of working as a professional artist.....

What do you find your biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge is competing with retired painters and beginners. There are droves of retirees going into the art field now and they do not have to make a living from art. They like the idea of making extra money and charge low ball prices.
Many people have no idea that professional artists have to charge for the art education they paid for and the many years of training and name brand they have earned.

What has been your biggest surprise?

I think my biggest surprise has been that I can make a living, doing the job I love and what I was trained for. There were many long years of desperation to achieve this.

What are you much better at doing that you expected to be?

Marketing. I taught myself all of the skill I have.

Improving and succeeding


Do you work on yourself to improve or do you work at your job to improve?

Constantly. I research technique and I force myself to study subjects I am not skilled at.

Beyond the art, what do you think makes an artist successful today?

  • A serious work ethic,
  • consistency in skill development both in front of the easel and in business.
  • Good social skills,
  • real care for collectors and friends.
  • Honorable behavior toward other artists.

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of becoming a professional artist that nobody told you about?

I would have studied business and marketing as well as art.

What was the best bit of advice that anybody ever gave you about "real life" as a working artist?

Never think about defeat or giving up. I am successful because I know I will survive as a painter, and I'm willing to do the hard work to make it.

and finally......


What do you think of the idea of trying to create a free resource online? 

A marvellous idea. Helpful to all. 

REFERENCE:
Her 'town' studio is located at 1510 NW 13th Street, Gainesville, FL, inside Padddiwhack.

More about the Work Life Balance for Artists


About the reality of working lives of professional artists

If you'd like to participate in a series of interviews with professional artists - to be published on this blog and linked to in a resource page on Art Business Info. for Artists looking at what they're doing when NOT making art, this is what you need to do
  1. check out my blog post About the reality of working lives of professional artists.
  2. contact me and let me know if you're interested
  3. I'll let you know what the waiting list is like and answer any of your queries.

Posts and Pages


  • Work-Life-Artist #1: Catherine Ingleby | Making A Mark 
  •  COMING SOON: two new pages on Art Business Info. for artists
    • Being a Professional Artist: TIPS
    • Artists Talking About Being Artists
Posted by Making A Mark on Thursday, July 19, 2018 3 comments
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Work-Life-Artist #1: Catherine Ingleby

This is the first in what I hope will become a series of interviews with professional artists about the reality of their working lives.

The aim is to build up a series of reference points for those who contemplate a career as a professional artist - and need to know more about what life as a professional artist is really like.

I'm developing a page on my Art Business Info. for Artists About the Working Lives of Professional Artists and these interviews will also be listed on that page as a resource.

If you're interested in participating in the exercise see my note at the end about what to do.

Below my questions are in bold and Catherine's answers are not!

About the working life of Catherine Ingleby


Catherine Ingleby in her studio

A really useful exercise to do, I keep being asked similar questions so great to formulate ideas into some form of clarity! Hope this is ok.
You can:




What is reality for a working professional artist?


What does the "real life" of being an artist actually involve?

The reality is, and perhaps partly because I have children, that it is a structured job, I have a strict weekly routine and generally take weekends off.

Is it like what you expected?

I have found I spend much more time dealing with business aspect of my art than I perhaps would have predicted. I employ someone to do some of my invoicing, accounts, and liaising with galleries and clients, but at the end of the day probably spend as much time in the office as I do in the studio. I also pay an accountant and lawyer for financial support and advice - something I wish I’d started a lot earlier!

Where/who did you get your ideas of what "real life as an artist" was going to be like from? Were they right?

I envisaged a much more sociable, interactive (fun?!) lifestyle whereas the reality of life as an artist is that is largely quite solitary.

I think that art school created a false impression that working life would be much the same as school studio life, just better funded!

Kwande Quartet by Catherine Ingleby

Making a living


How do you actually "make a living" (e.g. keep a roof over your head / pay the bills / have a studio / plan for retirement)?

I paint full time, and the income divides roughly into thirds between original sales, commissioned work and reproductions sales.

What percentage of your income (roughly) do you generate from making art? 

90%

What percentage of your income (roughly) derives from being involved with art? 

10% from teaching/lecturing

(Catherine lectures at schools and colleges on developing a theme for a series and a career in the arts; and to adults on the business of selling art.)

How do you aim to be making a living in future?

I enjoy the lectures as they provide a break from the solitary studio, and also give me the opportunity to build my client list, but I do not want to do more than I am doing now.

At the moment I am restricted by school age children, however I can see in the future I may wish to expand in that area. I also plan to increase my sales of prints, and related merchandising.

Time allocation


What percentage of time do you have each week for actually making art? (Is this more or less than you expected?)

I work approximately 6-8 hours a day, and occasional weekends when under deadline. It is a lot less than I would like, but I found that having restricted hours makes me far more focused and productive than pre children. I probably spend two or three evenings working too.

How do you typically spend your time each day or week or month?

READ MORE......>>
Posted by Making A Mark on Wednesday, March 14, 2018 4 comments
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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Plagiarism: Major corporates vs Indie Artists

I've spotted another case of what appears to be gross plagiarism of work by an indie artist.

This one has now made it to Bored Panda - see Zara Accused Of Stealing Designs From Independent Artists, And Here’s The Evidence so it'll be viral in no time at all (13k views in 22 hours!)
  • Do please share with any illustrators and designers you know who post their work online. 
  • They might also like to check out the Zara website for work which shares an amazing similarity to their own.
Below is the image featuring on the shoparttheft.com website page which highlights the various concerns. It invites designers to go to shoparttheft.tumblr.com to submit comparison photos and links so independent artists can be supported.
Image created to demonstrate the nature of alleged plagiarism
Once is a mistake. This many times is inexcusable. Global fashion retailer Zara appears to have stolen dozens of artworks from over 20 independent illustrators, designers, and brands including Tuesday Bassen (whose particularly awful case has gone viral) and Adam J. Kurtz (that's me). Help us hold the company accountable to directly address this glaring intellectual property infringement and fairly compensate these artists.Shoparttheft.com


The big mistake Zara made was implying that they are so big and have so many visitors that they can ignore a few complaints
The thing they forget is that

  • there are an awful lot of indie artists who have an awful lot of indie artists friends 
  • the internet is awfully good for highlighting matters of concern to indie artists around plagiarism 
.....and I'm pleased to highlight their concerns!


Who are these designers?

  • Tuesday Bassen is an award-winning Illustrator and the force behind Shop Tuesday. She creates designs for pins and patches, clothing and home goods. She lives in Los Angeles. Clients include The New Yorker.
  • Adam J. Kurtz is a Brooklyn-based artist and author whose first book, 1 Page at a Time: A Daily Creative Companion has been translated into fifteen languages. He says his design and illustration is rooted in honesty, humor and a little darkness.

More examples of plagiarism highlighted on this blog


Long time readers of this blog will recall I like to highlight blatant examples of plagiarism. Past cases and posts include the following

Luc Tuymans - the famous Belgian painter


The prominent Belgian painter Luc Tuymans was found guilty of plagiarism by a Belgian Court in 2015.

Plagiarise at your peril - the Luc Tuymans case (Jan 25, 2015) examines:
  • the facts and reporting of the case
  • the copying of photographs by artists; and 
  • the use of 'parody' as an exception from the law on copyright in the European Union
  • the importance of country in relation to copyright
  • a key issue relating to freedom of expression and appropriation art
There are a number of examples of major artists thinking that the law on copyright does not apply to them. Tuymans is just one of them.

This post earlier in 2016 highlights Copyright infringement - recent lawsuits involving artists which includes
  • Litigant Mitchel Gray vs Jeff Koons
  • Litigant Donald Graham vs Richard Prince and the Gagosian Gallery
  • Litigant Ally Burguieres vs Taylor Swift
  • Litigant: The FBI (re. Kungfu Panda and Dreamworks) vs Jayme Gordon
  • PLUS Associations of lawyers specialising in intellectual property
This week I came across a different approach to copyright infringement on an artist's website. The message on the website didn't look to dissimilar to those you see on many websites with respect to who to contact if you want to reproduce the art. What was different was that the link went straight to a firm of lawyers in the USA who specialised in copyright and trademark infringement. Suddenly one knew that this particular artist meant business - in the literal sense.

The American Watercolour Society Controversy


One that should be read by all art societies and organisers of art competitions awarding prizes to hyper-realistic paintings!

The posts included:
I think it's a very great shame that Mark E Mehaffey AWS doesn't get to include AWS 'Gold Medal Winner' in his resume.

Is copyright infringement always clear cut? Lisa Congdon vs Cody Foster and various photographers


Are stories of copyright infringement as clear cut as they appear? This episode had two stages.

Plagiarism online - more posts

Plagiarism comes up on a regular basis on this blog. Here are some key posts I've written.
  • Plagiarism or 'passing off' - it's got to stop - this is a very long post which relates essentially to principles relating to plagiarism and derivatives. The post has been revised since first published for the reasons stated in the introduction to the revised post. The original post - and the revised version - were prompted by the daily painting movement and "Duane Derivatives". This post got a lot of visitors and an awful lot of comments. It includes definitions of both plagiarism and derivative art.It invites readers to have a discussion - with an educational intent - about what is and is not OK in relation to copying, plagiarism, imitation and derivative art.
  • Make your own art! - This followed on from the above. It focuses on why original art is best and why every artist has it in them to be a complete original. 
  • If you don't want your artwork stolen..... - Artists can learn a lot about how to handle copyright issues from photographers.
  • Plagiarism on Facebook - This is about people who claim other people's artwork as their own - and highlights a case study of an example on Facebook. This is not uncommon. It's an issue which every Moderator of a Facebook Group needs to be aware of - and MUST take prompt action when it is highlighted with proof.  This post focuses on:
    • Why do people copy other people's images?
    • How can you tell if somebody is copying?
    • What should you do if you see somebody copying?

More about Copyright for Artists


I recently had an article published in the June edition of The Artist magazine in the UK about How to protect your art online.

Extract from my Article about How to protect your art online

I don't profess to be an expert however I have been following cases and looking for expert information and advice online for the last decade or so.

My website Art Business Info. for Artists has a section all about Copyright for Artists which provides a reference of information available online about copyright, trademarks and brands for artists. Specifically:
Other blogs posts include

Copyright & Pinterest


Plus a major initiative on my part when Pinterest created the functionality for blatant copyright infringements
Posted by Making A Mark on Tuesday, July 26, 2016 1 comments
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Monday, November 16, 2015

Lucian Freud Archive of Sketchbooks and Drawings gifted to the nation

A Lucian Freud Archive of sketchbooks and drawings has been gifted to the nation by The Estate of Lucian Freud in settlement of £2,940,000 Inheritance Tax following the artist's death in 2011. 

The Archive comprises
  • 47 Sketchbooks spanning his career from the mid-1940s up until his death
  • additional drawings; 
  • a collection of 162 childhood drawings and 
  • a collection of letters from Lucian Freud
A Sketchbook Drawing from the Archive of Lucian Freud
allocated to the National Portrait Gallery, London,
as part of the Arts Council England’s Acceptance in Lieu Scheme
Copyright: The Lucian Freud Archive
The Freud Archive's permanent home will be the National Portrait Gallery which hosted a fantastic exhibition of his portraits in 2012 - Lucian Freud Portraits. It became the Gallery’s most visited ticketed exhibition. 

See my blog posts about the 2012 posthumous exhibitions about Lucian Freud which all opened in London in February 2012
I now know what the "very exciting exhibition" next year that the NPG staff could not tell me about last week! The National Portrait Gallery plans to:
  • make the archive, which has never been published or exhibited, accessible to the public.
  • display a selection of representative items from the archive in early summer 2016. 

The Lucian Freud Archive


Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011) was one of the most important and influential artists of his generation. 

The importance of the Archive is that it will:
  • invaluable insight into his working practice - several drawings show the beginnings of portraits, such as Lord Goodman’s, often starting with the nose and eyes before developing outwards.
  • how he used his sketchbooks - he apparently used them as they came to hand rather than in any chornological or or thematic sequence. One of the sketchbooks – originally an 18th Century ledger – contains drawings of Caroline Blackwood that relate to Freud’s early masterpiece Hotel Bedroom, 1954. 
  • be a major resource for the study of his work - they enable researchers to trace the evolution of Freud’s portraits from the stage of initial conception.
  • extend its understanding of the artist’s portrait work - the archive includes numerous studies which relate to major works by Freud now in significant collections. 
  • give added context to the two works by Freud in the Gallery’s Collection, a 1963 self-portrait in oils and a charcoal drawing of Lord Goodman. 
  • compliment the Gallery's portraits of Lucian Freud including 
    • a FrankAuerbach etching; and 
    • an extensive collection of photographs by David Dawson, Bruce Bernard, Cecil Beaton and others.

The Childhood Drawings


The collection of childhood drawings by Freud date back to when lived in Germany, before his family fled to England in 1933 when Hitler came to power. 

His mother used to keep and archive all his childhoold drawings which she then annotated with a date to indicate his age at the time he drew them and a place to remind where they were living at the time. I saw a number of them in the exhibition of his drawings at the exhibition of Lucian Freud Drawings opens at Blain|Southern Gallery - and was extremely impressed. They're absolutely fascinating - and you can see some of them in my review of the exhibition

The Acceptance in Lieu scheme

  • The Acceptance in Lieu Panel advises on whether property "accepted in lieu" is of suitable importance and offered at a value which is fair to both nation and taxpayer. 
  • AIL enables taxpayers to pay inheritance tax by transferring important works of art and other important heritage objects into public ownership. 
  • The taxpayer is given the full open market value of the item, which then becomes the property of a public museum, archive or library. 
  • In the last five years (2010 -14) the scheme has bought objects to the value of £150m into public collections (see the Cultural Gifts Scheme and Acceptance in Lieu Report 2014)
Posted by Making A Mark on Monday, November 16, 2015 0 comments
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Monday, March 20, 2006

"Making their Mark" - an audit of visual artists

Having a blog called "Making a Mark" means that you tend to find out about all the other things with a similar name - one of which is an audit of visual artists in Scotland which was commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council and published in 2003.

When I set up this blog I decided that due to the reality that few artists make a living from selling their art, one of its purposes should be to share information and comment on influences on the development of art careers. So I thought it might be a good idea to highlight some of the main findings. So having duly got my written permission to quote from the survey from the Scottish Art Council - here goes!

Bit of background - the Audit was commissioned to provide evidence of the characteristics of the visual arts sector in Scotland and the contribution made by visual artists to the economy. I suspect there was probably some rationale behind it which related to the Council's own funding agreement with the government.

Making their markAn audit of visual artists in Scotland 
- Summary Report
Published by the Scottish Arts Council
"Making their Mark" - the summary report is an interesting read. It tells us about what sort of aspirations artists had in Scotland in 2003, what sort of challenges and difficulties they faced, and what opportunities artists identified and what their views were on their needs for continuing development. Although the findings are specific to Scotland, it's unlikely that the themes are very different from those experienced elsewhere in the world judging by comments I've seen being made in various art forums on the internet.

I personally found the extent of the level of professionalism in terms of initial art education/training and gallery/agent representation both in Scotland and elsewhere to be most encouraging. However, the levels of income being achieved and the level of attention to and spend on marketing and further professional development are rather more negative.

I've summarised the summary(!) of the main findings below. They cover a variety of topics:

Practice
  • Media: 60% of all respondents working in the visual arts are engaged with the disciplines of drawing and painting - but there is fair degree of cross-over between different media and new technology is having an impact
  • Exhibiting: 94% of respondents had had work exhibited in the previous 2 years. One third had exhibited internationally and a similar percentage has undertaken an overseas residency
  • Professionalism: 27% had agent or gallery representation; 19% were represented by an overseas gallery or agent; Respondents were highly trained - 45% are graduates and 37% hold postgraduate art degrees
Working conditions and artists' resources
  • nearly 40% of artists have access to a dedicated studio at home;
  • older artists are more likely to have a studio at home; younger artists are more likely to rent a studio
  • 18% are tenants of a publicly subsidised studio (28% of urban-based and 3% of rural based)
  • 63% of those who don't have a studio said cost was the main bar to having one
  • of those who have a studio, their main concerns are heat and lighting costs, security of tenure and working conditions
  • the report suggests home based studios might have a negative impact on effective communication and networking with peers and wider networks - which can affect professional practice
Information
  • the survey identified a clear need to signpost funding schemes and creative opportunities more effectively
  • a variety of sources are used to obtain information - the majority use the Scottish Arts Councils; 66% use a-n The Artists Information Company; 41% use the Internet and 15% get their information from other artists
Income and tax
  • 38% of visual artists are self-employed with most of them earning their main income from art - although only 7% are registered for VAT (on their gross turnover)
  • The report concludes that the levels of income being earned challenges the viability of artists' practice. Levels of income are low compared to the national average and levels of professional qualification;
  • Although over 80% of visual artists regard art as their profession,
    • 82% are earning less than £10k gross from their art
    • 10% earn between £10-20k and
    • only 7% earn in excess of £20k from their art.
  • 40% of under-35s are making art with no income attached and 44% of younger artists rely on grants and awards for income; by way of contrast some 49% had received no support at all from public or private funds
  • earnings other than derived from their artwork come from a variety of sources:
    • 66% derive income from other arts related practice (teaching art 37% and arts related occupations 27%)
    • 24% earn income outside art
    • 25% derive income from benefits and other financial support (while 53% receive no form of state support)
Expenditure
  • average spend on practice (by those who responded) was £5k
  • average spend: materials 30%; then around 10% spent on each of premises, equipment, assistants/assistance; travel and framing
  • only 2% was spent on each of research and professional development/training
Opportunities
  • around two thirds of artists identified a significant untapped opportunity to develop sales of contemporary art in Scotland. This opportunity might be better exploited by raising awareness of opportunities to buy contemporary work, more effective use of art fairs and developing buyers confidence
  • artists were very clear about their continuing professional development needs - identifying prime needs as being
    • improved marketing and promotion skills (60%)
    • fundraising skills (40%)
    • IT skills (40%)
Barriers
  • Artists believe their contribution to culture, society and the economy is not fully recognised (57%) - this offers the opportunity to highlight the role artists can play in communities. Interestingly those located in rural communities felt very much more valued than those living and working in urban settings
  • Individual practice suffers from the need to generate income from other work (60%) with under 35s feeling this particularly strongly
  • Artists want to invest more of their time in:
    • research and development of their work (60%)
    • production of their work (60%)
  • Artists suffer from poor or localised structures only for promoting their work. Main promotion vehicles are:
    • informal, rather than formal, networks. Almost 50% of the respondents indicate this as being the primary way they promote their work
    • private galleries (44%)
    • their own (modest) publications (42%) [I wonder if this included their own websites?]
    • broadcast media (9%)
  • Marketing and promotion were identified as a key professional development need by artists. Nearly 40% of artists feel the need to invest more time in promoting their own activity
    • only 20% of artists believe galleries are the most important for promotion
    • only 10% consider informal networks and public galleries to be the most important for promotion (despite the fact that almost half use informal networks and 36% use public galleries for this purpose)
  • Three-quarters of women felt they were unable to develop their practice to its full potential compared to 55% of men - with the inability to afford childcare being a barrier to 40% of artists who are the primary carers of their children.
  • The collective voice of artists is difficult to hear. Membership of artists organisations is very unevenly spread. While 55% are members of one of five organisations, 43% of respondents not a member of any sort of organisation.
  • Only 13% of respondents felt that "bias" or a "closed shop" mentality was an issue or barrier to them.
This is the link to the full report for those who'd like to know more.

    Can I just highlight [read "very small boast" hence very small letters] how, during the course of writing this post, I learned to do nested lists in html as part of my continuing drive to improve my IT skills! [big grin!]
    Posted by Making A Mark on Monday, March 20, 2006 1 comments
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