What every art society needs - an exhibition shop

There are lots of people who'd love to buy art but only some can afford to do so. Those who can't afford to buy the original art they like for the price it costs are however happy to settle for the next best thing - the digital fine art print or the fine art card - even if these don't come cheap!

Those who know their customers and markets well make sure they have sufficient stock of both prints and cards available for people to buy at exhibitions - and then display it well.  In other words, there's scope to operate rather like the 'proper' fine art print room at the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts - which does an absolutely amazing amount of sales because the art is so much more affordable compared to the rest of the art for sale. It covers all the bases and satisfies the depth of every pocket. (I'm not denigrating 'proper' fine art prints here so much as making the point that there are always buyers at every price point - but they are not always captured by every exhibition)

I'm starting my posts about the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists with a prompt for those who'd like to make their art society exhibitions even more successful.

Each year, I go to the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists and, in addition to very healthy sales of artwork I always see a very busy 'shop' area where people hand over wads of money for cards, prints and books by members or by the society - plus art materials associated with named artists. I know - because I've been one of the purchasers on a number of occasions.

It normally takes two people operating the card machines to keep the queues down. (This is also separate from the people covering the sale of the original artwork which happens in a different part of the exhibition)

The shop in the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists

This year they've relocated the shop, made even more room available and hung more prints on the wall and it's a pleasure to look at!  Plus they've started a line in SBA products.

Judging by what it looked like when I first took a look (some three hours after the exhibition opened) and when I left near the end of the Private View, visitors managed to purchase an amazing amount of products relating to both member artists and the society on the first day of their exhibition.  In fact it looked like they needed to do a major restock before they opened the following day!

The reason for raising it on my blog is I don't think I've ever seen another art society do it better - with the exception of the permanent shop housed in the Bankside Gallery which benefits members of the RWS and RSPP.

Never ever underestimate how much turnover and commission can be generated for the benefit of both artists and the art society through a well run exhibition shop.

Never ever underestimate just how much stock is needed for a well run and well patronised exhibition shop!

All they need now is a website which can direct purchases all year round to their members' websites.........

[P.S. If you'd like to offer your experience of and/or recommendations for DO's and DON'Ts for an exhibition shop please leave a comment below]

Review - 123rd Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters

Jennifer McRae's portrait "Conversations with Duncan" has won the £10,000 Ondaatje Prize plus the RSPP Gold Medal at the 123rd Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters for the most distinguished portrait of the year. Jennifer is not a member but was invited by the Society's President to submit a work.

In my opinion, it's a stunning work and it's worth going to the exhibition to see this painting alone. However there's another 215 paintings to see as well! You can see the exhibition at the Mall Galleries - it opens to the public from tomorrow until 23rd May 2014.

Here's a closer look at the head and the background of "Conversations with Duncan".

Conversations with Duncan by Jennifer McRae
A painting where you can play "spot the portrait' - contributions as comments please!
The wall of postcard sized drawings and paintings
includes her own portrait of Michael Frayn in the yellow jacket which is in the National Portrait Gallery
I spotted and recognised about 10 more at first glance - why not see how well you do?

......and below is the full length portrait.

What you don't see so well - unless familiar with Jennifer's wonderful "makes me green with envy" technique is that she paints in very washy oils. In fact she's the only oil painter I know who makes her work look like watercolour. Her works also has a quality which reminds me of Holbein - it's something to do with the draughtsmanship and the understated quality of much of her work. Never ever flashy and always unmistakably her own work. I recognised it as soon as I walked in and immediately commented on it being a very impressive work. I was in no way surprised to find she won the Ondaatje Prize - it deserved to!

Conversations with Duncan by Jennifer McRae
oil, 140 x 114c, (55 x 44 inches)
Not for sale

Flora Watson receiving her award

Prizes

The other prizes awarded were as follows.

The de Lazlo Foundation Award (£3,000) for the artist aged 35 years judged to have submitted the best portrait - won by Flora Watson for Studio 2C. I have to say I much preferred her painting in last year's show which I thought was wonderful. (see
Bulldog Bursary 2013: Shortlisted artists)

The Changing Faces Prize (£2,000) for the portrait which most powerfully conveys the energy of their subject, the directness of the gaze and an attitude that exudes openness and confidence - won by Saied Dai RP, NEAC for his portrait of Jonathan Miller.

I really liked this portrait a lot and I'm pleased to say this was the second painting I picked out at the beginning of the show as outstanding.  For those who enjoy painting in oils do go and study his technique which, on its own, makes this a portrait which stands out.  Saied is also a painter for whom drawing is very important and this emphasis is highlighted in the draughtsmanship  in this painting.

The Arrival of Spring - David Hockney's latest exhibition

Something like 85% of digital drawings in The Arrival of Spring sold before David Hockney's new exhibition opens tomorrow at Annely Juda Fine Art.  However the stars of the exhibition are a new set of charcoal drawings completed in Spring 2013 - and they're not yet for sale.  I imagine when the time comes they'll either be donated to a major art gallery or museum or they will be sold as a complete set - and if that ever happens it will take somebody with very deep pockets.

"Woldgate, The Arrival of Spring in 2013" - 4 of the five series of five drawingscharcoal drawings

"The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011"

The 20 colour prints in "The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011" were drawn on Hockney's iPad and were part of the set of some 50 works shown at the Royal Academy of Arts in his blockbuster show in 2012.  They were all drawn knowing that at some point they would become large prints.  In this show a few of them have become very large prints!  There's one new print in the show

The colour prints are now being marketed for the very first time which perhaps explains the very keen interest despite the fact that the prices of these small limited edition prints are eye-watering.

"The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011" by David Hockney
(Left to right) 1 January 2011, 4 January 2011 and 18 December 2011
The print on the right is a new one which was not included in the RA show and records winter rain

"The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011" by David Hockney
(Left to right) 18 March 2011, 25 April 2011, 1 April 2011, 18 January 2011 and 23 February 2011
139.7 cm x 105.4cm

"Woldgate, The Arrival of Spring in 2013"

"The Chinese say black and white contains colour, and so it can"
David Hockney

On the third floor are six series of charcoal drawings, all drawn on an entire sheet of Arches Aquarelles with the impressed makers name always bottom right - plus a video. These comprise

• 5 series of drawings - each series containing five drawings - all done between January and May 2013
• a series of drawings titled "Vandalised Totem".  which had been first vandalised and then cut down - made in November 2012, following a minor stroke
• a video made in winter 2010 of the road along Woldgate in heavy snow. 

Vandalized Totem by David Hockney
charcoal drawings 57.5cm x 78.8cm
signed and numbered
November - December 2012

He was making these drawings having recently suffered a minor stroke. The first drawing in November 2012 took two days but after that he says he found he concentrated more - and for the next six months he did nothing but draw in charcoal.

To me they're more sophisticated than the ones I saw at the RA - and I was very impressed by those!(see Review: David Hockney RA - A Bigger Picture - Making a Mark and Hockney is bigger than Van Gogh! - I visited the exhibition four times!)

One knockout aspect for me was the charcoal drawings - which were simply stunning. I never ever tired of looking at these - but only appreciated the relevance of him drawing trees and wood in charcoal on my last visit.

Gregory who runs the business end of Hockney back in Los Angeles said he felt that the drawings were different from the ones before.  To my mind, one very obvious reason they look different is because they're a considered series of five drawings of a place he now knows very well indeed.  Walking into the third floor space, one is immediately made aware of the impact of charcoal drawings when done as a series of drawings of the same space over a period of time. The drawings also remind you very much of the subtlety that charcoal has in the hands of somebody who knows how to use it.

Woldgate - from the Arrival of Spring in 2013 by David Hockney
(left to right, top then bottom) 6-7 February, 6 May, 12-13 May, 20-21 May, 27 May

I personally found that they kept reminding me of Van Gogh's reed pen drawings of the countryside and trees in Provence.  Hockney uses the same variety of in notations and mark-making used for trees and leaves and grass which felt very familiar and comfortable. (I'm a huge fan of Van Gogh's drawings - if you'd like to find out more about his drawings you can download the catalogue of the exhibition of Van Gogh's drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on their publications website - for free)

I definitely recommend this exhibition to anybody who is a fan of Hockney, a fan of landscape drawings, a fan of digital art or charcoal drawings - and if you're all of these, as I am now, you'll have a truly wonderful experience!

Plus the video of Woldgate continues to mesmerise - just as it did at the RA!

One of the nine screens displaying the journey along the snow road of Woldgate in 2010.
You can play 'spot the totem' as it used to be!

The catalogue is also excellent - very good reproduction and well presented.

The exhibition continues until 12 July and can be seen at Annely Juda Fine Art, 4th Floor, 23 Dering StreetLondon W1S 1AW.

How do you market an exhibition or open studios?

Here's a reminder of some material I highlighted on this blog some time ago.  This has been prompted by the fact that I've had about four different versions of the same question asked today - which all relate to how do you market art via an exhibition or open studios.

So here are links to my pdf article guides (on my website) about press releases and publicity. The titles contain the link to the page where you can download the free guide.

Neither guide is specifically about open studios but information contained in the guides is relevant to such events.

The art of writing a press release

Who is this guide for?	What does this guide cover?
This Guide explains what you need to know if: you’ve ever written a Press Release but lacked guidance on how to go about it; or if you’ve issued a Press Release but it failed to achieve the impact you had hoped for; or one day soon, you think you might want to write a Press Release......	This Making A Mark Guide provides guidance on  the really important and really difficult bit - being creative the essential but technically difficult bit - how to stick to the 'rules' of writing a press release so your press release gets read! the boring but very necessary bit - how to make sure it ends up in the right place All on no more than two sides of A4 - just like a good press release!

How to get publicity for art competitions and open exhibitions

Who is this guide for?

What does this guide cover?

This spreadsheet is for: organisers of art competitions and open exhibitions Board / Committee members of relevant art societies or organising groups people who think there's some scope to improve on current perfornance It helps you to: identify how to get publicity for an art competition or open exhibition how to keep costs down and get publicity for free how to make sure your marketing is both efficient and effective

This Making A Mark Guide provides a checklist of various action points - plus notes - associated with: managing who organises the marketing making the most of the opportunities for free publicity obtaining, sizing and processing images for publication information that needs to be published for artists and exhibition visitors organising an informative press release and press preview making the most of the presentation of prizes

4 May 2014 - Who's made a mark?

Society of Botanical Artists Exhibition Invitation

I'm back "on the book" this month - we're now at the editing / design / layout stage and refinement re images.  For those involved I may be getting back to you!

As before this post is a recap of:

• recent posts on this blog
• things I've seen and highlighted on my Facebook Page. Many thanks to all those who have 'liked' my Facebook Page in the last two weeks. It took me nearly 6 years to get to 2,000 likes and under two weeks to collect another 200! :)
• other items I've seen and bookmarked to include in this post - and there's a heavy emphasis on art exhibitions this week.

Art blogs

Artists

Say 'Hello' to Andy Wood - the brand NEW President of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour. Andy was previously the Secretary of the RI. He's one of a very few painters in watercolour to have broken into and become acclaimed within the Chinese watercolour painting community.  Last year Andy was one of the judges of the Shenzhen International Watercolor Biennial in 2013 (Facebook Page)

For those wondering whether a change in President means any change to the scope and style of paintings favoured by the RI, my guess is Andy would say that's up to the selection panel.  However, below I've included my photo of some of his paintings - as exhibited in the recent annual exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour.

Watercolour Paintings by Andy Wood PRI

Joanna Trollope, Author (left)
presenting Suzanne du Toit (right)
with the BP Portrait Prize 2013

Suzanne du Toit, winner of the BP Portrait Award 2013, has written an article for the BBC on her Top 10 tips for being an artist.

It proved very popular when I posted it on Facebook so if you missed it there why not take a look?

Botanical Art

• Following the RHS Botanical Art Show in the Lindley Hall, this my very popular annual post - Interviews with six RHS Botanical Art Gold Medal Winners (2014)
• I want to celebrate those who have overcome a lack of confidence enough to put their work forward for scrutiny and judgement.  Particularly those who then get a distinction in their Diploma - but let Jarnie Godwin (Sketchbook Squirrel) tell you about 'Enjoy What you Do
• If you ever fancy a change, these are the workshops in botanical art at the New York Botanical Gardens. 

Collage Art

• Anticipating that artists who have visited the Matisse exhibition will be stimulated to wield their scissors, tThe May Share Your Art project on The Guardian focuses on Collage Art. You can see the work being shared on A cut above: share your collages now - and I have to say they are absolutely fascinating.  Check out An Election Entertainment after Hogarth by Emma Richardson

Drawing and sketching 

• Shevaun Doherty (Botanical Sketches) wrote about sketching natural history subjects in Museums Sketching 
• I once went to a lecture by Gerald Scarfe at the end of which he drew in pen and ink - it's quite scary! This week he gave an interview to The Guardian 

In general, Gerald draws on thick cartridge paper which is approximately 83cm x 60cm (34 x 24 inches), although some drawings are smaller. He mainly works in pen and black ink, adding water colour later. - See more at: http://www.geraldscarfe.com/originals/#sthash.0jA8VzIr.dpuf

Landscapes

• I recently came across the landscape paintings of Mary Bentz Gilkerson who is a Professor of Art at Columbia University. This is her website and this is her blog - and you can find her workshops here
• Wanderarti takes urban sketching to the next level - I think. It's a website which focuses on the art that people are making about places but has not limited it to just sketching.  It includes an interview with Laura Frankstone. (Laurelines)

Miniatures

• Congratulations to David Lawton (Facebook) has been told he's qualified for membership of the Hilliard Society based on the quality of his work alone. David now needs to get himself a website (hint!)

Portraiture

• A selfie state of mind: How the British perfected the art of the self-portrait - is an article in the Independent which traces the involvement of British artists in the development of the self-portrait. Linked of course to the publication of a book! (‘The Self-Portrait: a Cultural History’ by James Hall, is published by Thames & Hudson)

Street Art 

• Jonathan Jones got sniffy with Street Art and Banksy recently. New Banksy? Whatever. Graffiti is just a tame in-joke for Guardian readers

All good fun. Sadly it has nothing to do with art. Banksy is a cultural phenomenon but not an artistic one.

Art Business & Marketing