I don’t mean to whine, really I don’t, but this is becoming a frustrating trend.  We give lots of advance notice of these calls – they are every other month – and we tweet, and Facebook, and add reminders to the newsletter.  “What do you want to know?”  Yes, we get some questions – but I have to say I’m beginning to get as many in the day or two before the call as we get for the whole call.  And that’s too late!  We need time to review our question options, prepare good answers, etc. etc.

SO… PLEASE submit your questions by the deadline so I don’t want to pull my hair out, OK?

The next call is on Wednesday, May 30th – 5:30 pm Pacific / 8:30 pm Eastern and everything in between.  Paul Brent will be doing his third annual SURTEX Show Recap / Trend Report AND answering some questions… (that’s where you come in…)

Head to www.AskPaulBrent.com and give us some great options – the whole community will be the better for it.

Here’s to your creative success -

– Tara Reed

Art licensing agent Alicia Dauber of Licensing Liaison and I are teaching the Basics of Art Licensing – Part 2 together on Sunday so I asked her for some quick tips that I could share.  Here is what she had to say -

Although most agents are interested in seeing  new work and meeting new artists, please keep in mind that the trade show floor is not the place to review your portfolios!   Trade show expenses including the cost of a booth are extremely high and the agent has spent thousands of dollars to be there.  They have to make it pay for themselves and the artist partners they represent by following up on as many appointments as they can for the artists that are currently in their stable.

It is absolutely acceptable to unobtrusively leave a business card or flyer on their table while making a note of the agent’s  name for future follow up after the show.  If the agent is not busy speaking to a client when you walk by, a quick hello and that you would like to email him or her about your work after the show is completed is fine.

Have fun!!  Wear comfortable shoes, enjoy the show and the education about the industry that it brings you while being appropriate and considerate of those who have paid to be there to work.    And BEST wishes to you in your search for an agent!

This advice is great in regards to artists as well.  I love meeting people who read this blog, listen to the Ask Calls and more but it can be overwhelming to try and juggle meeting artists with the main reason I’m there – to meet manufacturers.  So if you are there and I’m busy – be sure to wave and if I’m not – say hi!

Alicia and I would love to see you on Sunday in our class – click here to get all the details.  You can register in advance or in New York – your choice!

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

The updated 2nd edition is on sale through Tuesday, 5/15/12. Why pay $67 next week when you can get it for $57 now?

Get all the details at www.ArtLicensingInfo.com/get-started.html now.

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

Saying what you mean doesn’t mean saying everything you think of course.  I’m not hurtful or saying things out of spite – I try to speak my truth but only when it is asked for or when a situation has an impact on me.  If you are wearing something I don’t like I promise – I won’t walk up to you and say “What on earth were you thinking?  That dress is hideous”.  No… that isn’t effective or even honest communication (well, I might not like the dress but “what’s it to me?”  Nothing – so it’s none of my business.)

I’ve had a rule in my relationships – with girlfriends, family, my fiancé – that goes like this:  SAY WHAT YOU MEAN.  If you don’t, we will assume to did and act accordingly, you get to deal with it if you don’t speak your truth.

So if I say, “Do you want Italian or Chinese for dinner” and you say “I don’t care”, I hope you don’t care.  Because I’ll assume you really have no preference and I can decide.

What does this have to do with art licensing?  My question to you is this: do you communicate clearly in all that you do in your business?

When you send an email, call someone, run and ad – do you clearly state what you do and what you want the other person to do.

Here’s an example, I say:  I create art for licensing.

The person I tell thinks, “Great.  Good to know.”

I forgot to communicate what I’m looking for: Call me when you need art.  It’s a very important piece of the puzzle.

This friendly communication reminder came to me while a song was STUCK IN MY HEAD the other day – “Call me Maybe”.  I discussed it with a few artists on Twitter and it was clear that she is… umm… well, not so clear.

She gives a guy she thinks is cute her number.  She wants him to call her right?  Why give someone your number unless you want to hear from them.  But then she says, “Call me maybe.”  Does she want to be called “Maybe” like it’s her name?  Or is she being coy, sending an aloof message of “oh, whatever, call me or don’t – I don’t care”.  It’s unclear.

Don’t be that girl. (or guy)  Feel free to enjoy the song but when you communicate – especially in your business – clearly state what you are looking for so you are more likely to get it.

Umm… if you want, ’cause, like, I don’t want to be bossy.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

From the SURTEX website – here are the details:

What is it? It’s a unique theatre where you can gain insight and inspiration from world-renowned trend forecasting companies! Daily presentations will focus on the latest trends impacting industries as diverse as home and accessories, textiles, tabletop, fashion, paper, stationery, packaging and gifts, through fabulous imagery and insider commentary.

When? Thirty-minute presentations are scheduled throughout every single Show day – starting at 9:30am and ending at 5:30 (Tuesday sessions will end at 4:00pm). See schedule.

Who? A total of nine companies will be represented, and share their perspectives of what’s ahead in color, design, styles, attitudes and lifestyles. See and hear the visions of Edelkoort, Inc., Trendease International, Milou Ket, Stylesight, Trend House, Inc., Carlin International, LA Colors from Amsterdam, Mudpie, and Jo-An Jenkin’s TrendPulse.

So, if you will be at the show, be sure to check it out.

Won’t be attending or want more about trends after SURTEX?

Paul Brent will be doing his third annual SURTEX Show Recap / trend report on the Art Licensing Info Ask Call on Wednesday, May 30th. Get all the details and submit your questions at www.AskPaulBrent.com

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

Oh the movies of my youth… or early adulthood as is the case with A Few Good Men.  Crazy thing happened… as I sat down to find a video to share, this scene popped in my head and seemed fitting.  I found the clip on YouTube and turned the volume on on my computer (I don’t like it making noise normally – one of my quirks!).  Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson start talking and my son yells in from the other room – “hey! I’m just about to turn that on – it’s coming on tv.”  How’s that for synchronicity?

He asked why I was watching it and I told him it was for a blog post.  So here it is…

I’ve been getting quite a few questions in my inbox lately… and I’m sorry but especially this time of year, right before SURTEX, I can’t answer them all.  I wish you would put your questions into the hat for the next Ask Call – you can always see what’s coming up at www.AskAboutArtLicensing.com… but that’s a side point.  Anyway, back to the questions.

There are many artists upset about the cost of trade shows.  Upset that it isn’t quick and easy to connect with manufacturers and start making big money over night… I’m a little upset that there seem to be so many people who think this should be free and easy.  So this video clip came to mind – Jack Nicholson thinks the military and civilians can’t handle the truth and I’m beginning to wonder if the average artist can handle the truth about what it takes to make it in art licensing.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Can you handle the truth about art licensing?  You have to invest in yourself and your business to make it in this industry.

Did you know that if you want to own a McDonald’s you have to have at least $500,000 in personal assets to even be considered?  Want to make donuts?  You need $250,000 liquid assets and a net worth of at least $500,000 for Dunkin’ Donuts to consider you.  I could go on but you get the idea… it costs money to start a business and these examples should make art licensing look dirt cheap!

Trade Shows – yup!  They cost money.  And they cost more than a few hundred dollars.  Exhibiting at a trade show is an investment in your business – you should be ready to exhibit before writing the check but if you feel that you are, you need to invest in yourself and see what happens and not email me complaining about the costs.  I have been writing my checks, I’ve been learning my lessons… just like everyone else.  It’s a process – some will succeed, others won’t.  It’s up to you to figure out if you can make it happen.

Software – again, yup!  Costs money.  Artists who are working in this industry have commercial software.  I don’t know of any that are making a living with Photoshop Elements – artists in business are using the Creative Suite version.  Or Illustrator – those are the two most common programs and I would say they are standards that manufacturers expect.

Website – you need to be online.  Thankfully this is a smaller dollar item – register a domain, use a blog, you can usually have an online presence for $100-200 per year and you can get creative there too.

Art Supplies – whatever you use to create you need to get somehow.  I don’t know of any Art Banks, like Food Banks, so you will need to spend money on your art supplies.

I think I’ve more than made my point.  This is a business and you need to treat it as such.  It is so discouraging to see and hear artists unwilling to invest in themselves and see if they can make it with their creativity.  Instead they complain and want everything to be free.  Sorry – it’s not.

A few other “truths” while I’m on a roll…

• It isn’t fast money.  Even if you get a deal shortly after you look into licensing, it takes time before you see the money come in.

• It is competitive.  There are a lot of artists trying to license their art.  More people know and are talking about, more artists are being displaced from other jobs and giving this a shot (I know of more than a handful who previously worked for manufacturers but are now on the artist side of the business)… you have to bring your A-Game as my dad likes to say.

• Not everyone will be successful.  Just because your friends like your art doesn’t mean it’s a fit for licensing.  (And, by the way, NEVER say that to an agent or manufacturer – it makes a less-than-flattering first impression)  Art for licensing is art for commercial purposes – will it help sell products and is it as good as or better than the rest of the choices the manufacturers have?  (Go back a point if you missed it – it is competitive.)

• Only you can decide if you want to take action.  You can talk about it for years.  You can get tons of opinions.   But in the end, until you show your art to someone who can license it and see what feedback you get, you just won’t know.  No one is going to do it for you.

• This is hard work.  and long work… and lonely work.  Most of us work alone in our homes.  The internet has made it a lot easier to connect with others and feel a sense of community but overall – you are on your own.  It’s up to you to motivate and get the work done…

Now, I’m going to go back to preparing for SURTEX…

A show for which I will be flying across the country, staying in a hotel in Manhattan, bringing products and art and my iPads for my booth which I am paying for.  I invest in this show every spring  because it is a key component in building my business.

If you are going too – see you soon!  If you are exhibiting – may you meet great companies that are a good fit for your art.  If you are taking classes – I’ll be teaching The Basics of Art Licensing – Part 2 with agent Alicia Dauber of Licensing Liaison on Sunday so maybe I’ll see you there.

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

Updating the book to be even better has been on my to-do list for some time.  I finally had the energy and inspiration to just “get ‘er done”!

The 2nd edition has some additional content, has been slightly reorganized and is in a more user-friendly format than ever before.  There are worksheets to get your organized and on your way.  As always – you can register and get the first chapter for free to see if art licensing seems like something you want to investigate at all.  (It isn’t quick money and it isn’t for everyone – this chapter will help you run for the hills if it really won’t be a fit for you or you will be intrigued enough to dig a little deeper.)

To celebrate the new edition, it is on sale for $57 through Tuesday May 15th.  You can get all the details at ArtLicensingInfo.com/get-started.html

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

The artist described their work this way:  I paint that which is meant to cause shock and aw, and educate not decorate.

Well… I don’t think this artist understands licensing at all.  Art that is licensed is used to make products more appeals to consumers.  Does the average consumer want to be shocked by the image on their coffee mug first thing in the morning?  I think not. Do they want to be educated (I’m really not sure what that means but I don’t think they are talking about ABC art for kids) by art on their shower curtain? Again, I don’t think so.

The purpose of the art is to help sell products.  It’s commercial.  It’s – dare I say – decorative?

Find your niche – the way or ways of making money with your art that make you happy and that are a fit for what you do.

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

P.S. I don’t think you will find an agent by leaving information in the comments of a blog post – the post gave details about how to contact the agents, definitely a better way to go.  Be proactive because I highly doubt they come to look for artists in the comments of a post from months ago.

P.P.S.  If you are looking for an agent, we have a great list of agencies and their contact information on the blog – click the AGENTS tab at the top!

Trying to stay on this wave, get ready for SURTEX, get art done for clients, get paperwork done for college, get ready for the last part of my move, deal with re-modeling surprises… and, keep up with this blog – is tricky!

As I was driving on Tuesday I was thinking, “What should I blog about?”  I knew I needed something but wasn’t sure what… then Michael Bublé came on the radio.  “I just haven’t met you yet” – a fun love song that makes me smile.  I remember the feeling of not having met “him” yet and now the happiness of planning our life together… but then my brain went into analogy land…

This love song is very similar to the journey of the professional artist.  You know what you want… you look, you work, you create, you try… and you are often frustrated and alone.  You just haven’t met your clients, your calling, your business mojo yet…

So today, I want you to listen to this song regardless of where you are on your journey.  Starting out or managing your dream business.  As the tile setter told us for weeks when we had no toilets in the house and wanted to know when the floor could go in so I didn’t have to go to the store to use the loo… “It’s a process.”

Finding love is a process.

Building a business is a process too.  Have the faith that Micheal does in this song that you will find what you are looking for…

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

As we think about Thomas Kinkade and his recent passing it gives all of artists who license our work a moment to think about his career and what we have learned and can learn from it.  One is that we are all mortal yet our legacy can live on after us. Thomas Kinkade had become, in addition to the “Painter of Light” and the “Most collected artist in the world”, the highest grossing artist in art licensing. He also managed to straddle that line between decorative art and fine art.  Where most artists fall either into one or the other, Kinkade put his recognizable images of cottages and backlit landscapes on just about every imaginable product and was a major hit in  “collectables” when others brands and collectables as a category tanked in the 1990’s.  Other categories he excelled in were decorative home accessories, gift and stationery. His licensing made it to the level of housing design and set new standards for multiple categories. And while his art was panned unanimously by art critics who called it everything from kitsch to lurid his loyal fans remained true in their love for his work. Though he was also criticized for his numerous limited editions that were not so limited, some up to 250,000 prints in one edition, his work remained an affordable piece of art for many who admired his work.  Originals on his website are selling for $17,000 to $75,000, still quite modest compared to other well known fine artists.  His art as well as his reputation will be with us for a long time and the potential for other artists to assume his mantle in art licensing has yet to play out.

The story of his stellar rise is always accompanied by references to investors and marketers who created the entity Media Arts Group , Inc. headed by chairman Kenneth Raasch.  As licensing artists we can all use the help of experts in marketing but the excesses of Media Arts’ claims and even Kinkade’s involvement in the marketing scheme ,where he eagerly carried out the painting assignments and self aggrandizement, went way over the standards set by other artists in the past.   Raasch quite cynically commented in annual reports how the company targeted conservative Christians by Kinkade embedding Christian symbols in his work and naming paintings after Bible verses.  It has also been pointed out by critics that this demographic is not generally educated in art collection and was ripe pickings for high pressure sales techniques.  Media Arts traded on the NY Stock exchange for several years until its final bankruptcy and Kinkade’s eventual buy back of the company. Kinkade’s company was investigated by the FBI, sued for millions of dollars by franchise gallery owners with one settlement totaling $2.8 million.

Many of the artists in licensing can live their brand in relatively anonymity yet with the celebrity Thomas Kinkade sought and attained his life attracted the scrutiny of the press and the public began to see the inconsistencies between his art and his life in his later years. While Thomas Kinkade will always be remembered for his ability to build a brand in art he is another example of a celebrity who set his standards for himself and his brand too high for his own ability. His attachment of his art to Christian ideals did not, in the end, allow his personal life the latitude for error. Much like Tiger Woods, Kinkade could ultimately not live up to the ideals he portrayed to the public.

For artists, society actually gives you quite a bit of leeway for personal behavior. Non-standard, even aberrant, behavior is tolerated and even expected from artists, think Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and Picasso. Kinkade set himself up to fail both as an artist by proclaiming himself “Greatest, Best, Most Collected”, and as a human, “Christian, Family Man”. But, as they say, America like a rags to riches story, but loves a riches to rags story better and redemption to riches again even better. Kinkade should have only lived long enough to redeem himself. I do believe he was a talented artist but a bit of humility could have helped his reputation and his personal life. As my son Anders, the Greek scholar, would say, the Greeks have explained all of this and you only need to read the Classics to guide your life. Will Thomas Kinkade and his art be vindicated as was Norman Rockwell or will his art be like the Beanie Baby craze, to be remembered as a brief lived consumer phenomenon on sale at bargain prices on e-bay? Only the future holds the answer to that question.

As a closing comment, as a licensing artist we each must decide for ourselves where to draw the line with marketing claims and attention grabbing events.  We need to remember that in pushing the limits this can either gain us recognition or spell doom to our financial welfare and legacy.  Thomas Kinkade pushed the limits and now the rest is history.

If you want to learn more about how to Brand Yourself for Success in Art Licensing, be sure to check out Paul’s teleseminar replay.

It is full of usable information to help you evaluate, plan and manage your art brand. We so want you to consider this information for your business that we are offering it for a discounted price of $47 thru May 1st – simply use code BRAND when you checkout to get your discount.

Here’s to your creative – and well branded – success!

– Tara Reed