Posts Tagged ‘Selling Art’

No matter what type of artist you are the issue of copyright will come up eventually. It doesn’t matter if you are using image editing programs or just painting it is important o understand these issues and how they apply to you.

Copyright protects original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. Copyright gives you exclusive rights to an image allowing you to sell it reproduce it and make derivatives of it.

You own the copyright the moment you create anything in tangible form. The copyright lasts for your life plus 70 years. You cannot copyright an idea but as soon as the idea is executed into a work of art that copyright is owned by you. It is the way you execute an idea that holds copyright and not the idea itself. You do not need to register for copyright it automatically exists. But in the case of copyright infringement than registration makes it less tricky. You can register for copyright here:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl115.html

If you sell a work of art you still own the copyright. Unless the agreement is to sell the copyright with the work. A good way to make sure that this is clear is to include paperwork with your art sold that states that you retain copyright. That includes commissioned works. Owning the art is not the same as owning copyright. You can create prints and derivatives of the original.

A copyright symbol is not needed but it does make the copyright clear for those who are not familiar with copyright law.

In the case of derivatives; if you are using another artist’s work as a derivative you may do so and claim copyright provided that you could hold the two images next to each other and clearly see that they are different. Your end result must be completely different than theirs.

You may not use photos taken by another person as reference for a work of art that you are creating unless the photographer has stated that their image can be used in its entirety. However information within the photograph can be used as knowledge received and then used in your own work. For example: texture in tree bark or the shape of butterfly wings etc… Just be sure hat you are using the information as reference and not copying the image. In that case then your work is a derivative of the photo and not a copy of the photo.

You cannot create works based on copyrighted characters such as cartoons or superheroes. Those are owned copyrights.

Copyright law covers collage. The easiest way to stay out of copyright issues is to use elements created by you or purchase elements created for this purpose. If you were to purchase collage sheets from Michael’s you do not own the copyright to the sheets but you do own the copyright of what you created using the collage sheets.

In general if you can see it can become part of your art.

You are within your rights to make use of public building in works of art. This includes schools, churches, office buildings and such.

You can photograph private property provided that you are standing on public property. Privately owned venues such as movie theaters and concert halls are still public.

You can also include in your work public figures, people at the park, and cars in the street- provided that these are in public areas. If someone from a privately owned public venue asks you to stop taking pictures they can do so but they cannot ask you for what images you have already attained.

But publishing or selling is not the same. If you have a human figure in your work then you must get a model release to commercially publish this work and claim copyright. Newspapers are not required to do so but it is a needed step for artists to take as a lawsuit is possible with out a release. With that in mind it is a good idea to obtain a release when including private property in your work also. That also goes for painting/ drawing people. You may do so but if the work is intended to be sold then obtain a release from the person to avoid a possible lawsuit.

There is no international copyright that will protect you.

Needles to say the tentative release date for the Art Leads Application was missed.

It is a very cumbersome task to update the database. But I really want to makes sure that the database is completely up to date as much as possible. The database has also gotten larger! Here is an approximation of the database:

• 30,000 Advertising Agencies
• 800 Art Appraisers
• 300 College Art Departments
• 150 Art Fairs and Festivals
• 300 Creative Attorneys
• 2,500 Art Schools and Classes
• 24,000 Artist, Graphic Design and Illustration Studios
• 300 Artist Societies
• 6000 Artist Associations
• 7,000 Auction Houses
• 140 Art Consultants
• 150 Copy Righters
• 80 Arts Editors
• 12,000 Framing Shops
• 24,000 Art Galleries
• 300 Artist Guilds
• 15,000 Interior Designers (Art Buyers for Spaces)
• 200 Creative , Arts Magazines
• 500 Arts Managers
• 300 Art Museums
• 200 Native American Art Galleries and Museums
• 9,000 US News Papers
• 14,000 Photography Studios
• 60 PR Representatives
• 18,000 Printers
• 9,000 Book Publishers
• 10,000 US Radio Stations
• 1,000 Art Restorers
• 16,000 Art Supply Retailers
• 1,500 US Television Stations
• 600 Corporate Art Buyers

Before the application is finished we will be adding:

• Scholarship Providers
• Grant Providers
• Artist Competitions
• Art Opportunities/ Job Boards
• A way to include your own contacts
• Where to Find Local Art Buyers and Add Them

The coding of the program is moving forward in a productive manner. The application will allow you to view each record and visit the website or email the individual contact (where applicable) in each record.  You will also be able to compile a grouping of contacts ( by state, city, or profession) that will most suit your needs.  (event announcements, press releases, approaching an art gallery, sending catalogs or post cards etc.) This will allow you to print mailing labels from within the program or export in a mailing list format as needed. You will be able to do this as often as you need as the software will hold no limitations.

My hope is that this software will help you find representatives, collaborators, help you get published, find a printer for Giclees or other promotional materials, sell more art, and so on and so forth.

Please stay tuned…

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The internet is a big place and it takes time to build up traffic. The Social Networking and 2.0 sites are generally pretty good for big bursts of visitors. And it is very easy to find artist discussion lists and forums to advertise your signature file. But those outlets may not be enough to capture the targeted traffic you need to make sales.

You need art buying traffic. It is not easy to find a large group of art buyers in one spot- although there are a few forums for this. it can be difficult to harness art buyers from the internet since art buyers come from all walks of life and professions. There art buyers in almost every internet niche which makes it hard to target these individuals.

Where then does the art buying traffic come from?

There are numerous ways to grow traffic to your site. There are search engines, forums, commenting, etcetera, so on and so forth. The competition is stiff as you have to make yourself stand out from other artists. What happens when these methods fail you?

The is but one avenue for exposure that will continue to work for you even when other methods don’t.

Your exposure and your money are in your list.

Do you have a mailing list of those who have purchased art from you before?  If you don’t- you should. This alone can increase sales and encourage return art buying traffic. Make sure you keep your list clean by consistently adding new names and removing names that are no longer deliverable. One of the worst things you can do to your professional career is fail to keep up your list.

And then…

When you are ready- jump directly into the belly of the beast! It doesn’t matter if your list is large or small. You can increase exposure by adding these professional to your contact list:

• Local and surrounding Interior Designers
• Local and surrounding Members of The Chamber of Commerce
• Local Government Officials

Many members of each of these groups spend time in Galleries. Interior designers sometimes need to purchase art for client spaces and the Government officials and Chambers members are educated and respected individuals who understand and appreciate the value of art expecially from a local artist. I am not telling you to load their inboxes with tons of marketing stuff. But it is perfectly acceptable and professional to send them a snail mail  catalog. postcard, or presentation CD.

These individuals buy art. How will they buy your art unless you introduce yourself and your work to them?

The contact information for these groups is public information and is easily found by searching through Super Pages

or for contact information for members of your local Chamber of Commerce Look Here: 2Chambers

and for Interior Designers Look here: Interior Designer Dierectory

As more prominent business owners begin to collect your work you will gain exposure from the art buying public and art world professional whose art oppinions matter. This is a really good start to increasing your exposure and making more art sales.