Quality, Delivery times, and Client Input

Quality versus Price or Price versus Quality

After getting a wonderful commission for some artwork, there are some considerations to consider. There is quality to price issues, delivery times, and client input. First, there is a price to quality ratio. Quite a few artists I have met are of the opinion that you give sufficient quality for the price quoted. Actually the reverse is the proper way to think of the ratio. As an artist you should have a certain non-negotiable level of quality that you out into each and every piece of art that you create. That quality equates to a certain price. Then do not budge more that 5% from that price. Reason is that in many cases, the client will forget that they agreed to a lower level of quality for a lower price. When you deliver the completed artwork, then you have to resell the concept of lessened quality for a lesser price. Besides, as a pride issue, would you really want to put out substandard or subpar work for a subpar price? The client who foisted this on you is proud of their “negotiating” skill and brags to all his friends. All the braggarts’ friends see is a sad and low quality artwork that he bought because of a low price. Is that the reputation you want to be tarred with – a low budget, low quality artist? Don’t think so. Artwork should make the soul soar to a higher level, not fall to earth like a lead balloon.

Delivery Times

Make delivery promises set in concrete. Your client expects you to deliver the right item in the right time frame. Anything else is playing into the old lame game of artist as tortured soul, poor business person, etc. Also gives the customer if they are shrewd an opening to renegotiate the price downwards. Or you can invoke penalty clauses if those are in your contract for the artwork. Penalty clauses are a quick way to lose any and all profit in a project. On-time delivery is a sign of a professional artist.

Client Input

All people feel that they are creative. Be aware of this when accepting custom work. You need to listen carefully to the client, take notes, and if possible try to work in some of the clients’ notions. Ultimately though, the client asked for you based on your previous work. The client may have some great insights that will help your work tremendously. Sometimes, you have to diplomatically ignore the client suggestions – preferably not in their presence though. If your design is strong and thoughtful enough, the client will forget all about their hot trendy ideas and embrace your ideas. In fact the client may just congratulate you on how well you translated their ideas to the “perfect” artwork for them. That would be wonderful.

Copyright 2008 Carl Wright

Buying art from an artists studio

Payment can take many readily familiar forms – cash or check. It can also include credit cards, debit cards, Paypal, barter, etc. Cash and check are pretty straight forward. Any artist can take those.

Credit Cards

If an artist is a little more sophisticated they can also take credit or debit cards. Basically this is an arrangement where the client can charge their purchase to their existing credit cards. With a little effort, an artist can get a merchant account and start taking credit cards. We found on average, that the ability to take credit cards boosted the individual sales amount as well as boosted the number of sales by about 30%. Not to shabby!

Paypal

A twist on credit cards, and a easier way to become a credit card merchant , for an artist, is to open a Paypal account. With Paypal you can take credit cards, travelers checks, etc. through your web site. Also can be used in a pinch for a sale that pops up at the studio. Very handy. Paypal is only good though if you make sales through your studio, near a computer.

If, as an artist, you do art/craft shows you will need to have a conventional merchant account though a bank. You can become a “paper” merchant – one who takes credit cards and physically calls each sale in. This is different from the normal merchant who just swipes a credit card through a credit card reader and the card is automatically verified.

Barter

Finally, barter. Barter is a hard mechanism to get right. For us it has worked well a couple of times, but you have to have the right ingredients. You first have to have two equally willing parties. Dumb as that sounds, most times one side of the barter arrangement is more keen to do the deal than the other side. There should be an established price for services from both sides of the arrangement. For instance, we did a barter about 7 years ago with a vet. We traded some art (which was priced at our normal standard price) for veterinary services (which were also priced at his normal price). This worked out well for both parties since the vet loved our work and we loved his services. He got the artwork he wanted for his business and we got a credit on our account that we used up over several months. A very good way to go.

Most times though, barter is used by people in an unequal transaction when the value or prices of services are murky. The artist usually comes out poorly, we have found. To illustrate, a client comes in and wants to barter for some art. You have done no business with them but they are eager to “do” a deal. The client wants a custom artwork and wants to trade accounting for your business for a year. Sounds good. As an artist you can spend more time doing art and less doing accounting. What a deal turns into a Faustian bargain.

After the artwork has traded hands, the accountant wants to change your accounting style from single entry (the simplest) to double entry (a much more complicated method). Next they become quite imperial in their demands that you do all the accounting for your business their way. Then when tax time comes, they make out your income taxes poorly, and give you very poor advice about paying Social Security taxes. All of this causes you to do the years taxes over your way and refill out the income tax forms. A very poor barter. This can happen, so be forewarned.

Those are the main ways we have found to pay for artwork. We prefer anything that is a cut and dried transaction. Also a cut and dried transaction gives both parties what they want now, for the client: artwork now – for the artist: money now. Barter can get messy because to utilize the full extent of the services for the artwork sometimes the party with the artwork decides that they have paid enough and gets rid of the remaining credit. Makes for hard feelings in the next transaction.

Copyright 2008 Carl Wright

Expectations When Visiting an Artists Gallery.

Managing a sale of art versus art-seeing expectations

There are two viewpoints that are at contretemps when it comes to visiting an artists studio/gallery. The artists and the clients. Unfortunately both camps have to get over their pre-conceived notations of what is to go on. That does not mean that you can‘t have those thoughts – just that the thoughts have to be tempered with reality.

For the artist the client visit will be objective and to the point. The artist thoughts are that all visits are going to lead to quick sales. In addition, the client is, or should be, focusing solely on the art in the room or wants to discuss a commission today and give the artist a down payment to get the process started. The thing to be avoided is the client speculating or doing “blue sky thinking”. This burns up the artist’s creative time. Unfortunately for the artist, he has been surrounded by the art for a while and knows it cold. He is familiar with all the nuances and details. The artist just knows, from his point of view, what the best piece is and that the client should be happy with the artists decision and buy the artwork.

From the client point of view, all of the above could not be further from the truth. The client is coming to see the art – yes, but and this is a big but, not necessarily to buy. Above all the client wants to browse the art, discuss the motivation behind the making of it, engage in some small talk, almost anything to get away from a quick commitment/buy. The client does not want to be rushed into a quick decision, particularly if this is the first visit to the artist’s studio/gallery. Occasionally, there is also the expectation that the artist’s work that the client saw elsewhere has now taken a radically different course either in design, subject matter, color, etc. So there is bound to be some conflict here.

The key is to understand that each side – the artist and the client - both have valid points of view and that their mutual destination is the same. Eventually the client/artist situation will work itself out – though from personal experience – never in the artist’s time frame. The artist always wants it quicker.

Visiting an artists studio for better pricing

Some Clients visit artists studios to, in their mind, receive better pricing. Some clients, and to be honest some artists, buy into the notion that the artist can sell art cheaper through their studio/gallery than through their gallery representation. Some clients actually befriend artists to get their “artist friend” to make them a piece of art. There is a reason artists sell through galleries – that is so that they do not have to invest in the time and money to meet and greet clients on their turf. This frees up the artist to produce work to supply his/her gallery network. This can also be seen as profit for the artist. All businesses like profit.

Most times the client well understands that they are taking advantage of the artist. The client also does not care that the artist, by selling his work at a wholesale price, is undermining his galleries. To the client, this is a one time transaction and a good deal. The artist though, has driven a stake in the gallery/artist trusting relationship that is so necessary to sell art. No wonder galleries are so leery of artists selling their work independent of the gallery.

When artists have their own stand-alone gallery, the artwork prices should also be exactly what their galleries sell work for. Clients in this instance think that since the artists gallery is not on prime real estate that they should pay less. To turn the tables a little bit, if the client was in the artists position, should they lower their price? Just because the overhead component is less than a typical gallery do you use bargain basement pricing for a limited edition product? Not in conventional economics and not in a real world scenario.

copyright 2007 by Carl Wright

Visiting an Artist’s Studio/Gallery

The Zen of the Artist's Studio/Gallery

At some time or another most people would like to visit an artist’s studio, if nothing else to see how another profession works. This is understandable since a lot of jobs are seen as routine and boring. But with Art, (break out the soft lyrical music, the soft-focus lens, and the dreamy voiced narrator) it’s different – or at least the vast majority of people think so. Even my brother thinks that.

Full-time serious artists are like any other business person. They must make money, and a profit, to pay for their mortgages, new tools, supplies, kid’s education, etc. The typical artist does not have a stipend or money from a rich parent to endlessly dawdle over a particular project. It may seem like it, but they do not – trust me. As an artist you have to earn your way, just like any other business person.

Full-time artists for the most part have a full-time dedicated space that they work in. It is easier for them not to set up and break down their studio day after day. The setup/break down routine is a disruption to the process of getting started and proceeding with the work for the day.

With a full-time studio, comes a certain form of organization for the artist. This style of organization usually does not work well for the visiting patron who is used to seeing a completely hygienic selling space. The typical client – that we usually see – is one that has an aversion to mess, clutter, and loose organization.

Importance of an Appointment

To see a client requires the artist to make the studio presentable, so that the organization of the studio is not a distraction. I am not talking about day-in day-out maintenance of sweeping the floors, vacuuming, washing brushes etc. that is taken for granted. Putting away all the normally used tools of the trade, arranging the artwork on the walls and pedestals tastefully, putting out fresh flowers, leaving some art magazines, that mention you, carelessly left open to that page, etc. is the name of the game. As an artist, the job is to make it easy for the client to buy, by making it appear that you work effortlessly.

That is why it is important to call for an appointment. The client does not want to be embarrassed to see the artist in their less than immaculate studio. The artist does not want to be embarrassed by the clutter and what the client infers from the mess of the studio. Let’s not talk about the mess on the artist from working at their medium. Without an appointment this is a lose/lose situation.

Artist Gallery Solution?

There is also the case of an artist(s) having a gallery space on their property, like we do. Aha, this is the answer to the problem you think. Alas no. To properly take care of a gallery requires a person there staffing it full time. Yes the artist could do their art to some degree, but not with full concentration. Also this opens the artist up to client questions like: “Oh – do you give lessons? That looks easy! Do you get paid for that? Why do you paint/carve like that – that’s wrong!”. The artist’s time gets taken up while other clients, possibly paying clients, are slipping out the door. As the saying goes Been There-Done That.

One solution that we also have tried, is to have me greet all the customers who come up and accompany them into the door. Looking at it from the customer’s angle is instructive though. Since I sculpt with power and pneumatic tools I am usually covered with a fine coating of dust that leaves a cloud behind me as I walk. Think of PigPen in the Charlie Brown comic strip Peanuts.

Imagine a nicely dressed – not overly dressed- couple out for a leisurely weekend. They want to see the local artists – since a lot live around the area – and come up to our gallery without an appointment. This 6’4” man comes out, dressed in jeans and flannel shirt covered head to foot in a gray dust wearing a respirator mask and ear protectors. He looks like an escapee from a Sci-Fi movie of renegade oversized bugs. This is not a good first impression. The client will worry about getting filthy just from being within 5 foot of this creature. This artist look is also not conducive to getting top dollar for the artwork. All the while, the client is looking for a graceful way to get away without being condescending or judgmental. Even if the artist manages to get the clients in the door of the gallery, the client’s overwhelming urge to leave colors their entire visit and subsequent encounters.

Now envision the same couple but met by someone who is cleanly dressed, and not overwhelmed with dirt. Naturally the whole encounter will be better, some art can be purchased safely, and the couple are not feeling threatened. See what a difference an appointment can make? The difference between a one-time visit with no money changing hands and the possibility of a sale and the begining of a long-term relationship.

copyright 2007 Carl Wright