Tips for Phoenix Artists

I in no way have all the answers when it comes to the Phoenix art scene ( or anything else for that matter), but I've picked a lot of brains on the way and gone through a bit of trial and error and I thought I might help some of you avoid a lot of the error part. (By the way, still very open to your suggestions, so feel free to comment and tell me how wrong I am or what else I could be doing).

Quick Tips:

• Bring a guest book.
• Make prints. None of us are "too good" for prints. Some of the best have made their bread and butter on good prints.
  
• Make sure your prints are high quality. Don't sell the cheap stuff, and loose those 99cent store Frames. They're not doing you any favors.
• Get a license for every city you want to sell in.
  
• Get on Etsy.
• Be picky about presentation.
  
• Cards: I use GotPrint. 500 cards for about $10.
• Find a way to take credit card.
• Always rub credit card number for proof.
• ALWAYS CHECK ID. I hate how amazed everyone is that I check ID. Are you seriously just taking their credit card blindly? Check check check! For your benefit and for theirs.
• If you're making less than 50% profit, you're doing something wrong. You're an artist, not a factory.
• Etsy

First of all, prints.


Selling original artwork is wonderful, but it's not always viable, especially not in this economy. A few years ago, I was selling mostly originals without breaking a sweat, but our expendable income has gone way down for everyone, so giving everyone a more affordable option is the way to go.

Where to get prints? The question is cost vs quality, but not really. The most important thing is that you're customers take home artwork that will last a lifetime or at lest near it and that gives justice to your work. They're supporting you as an artist, so give them something worth it.

After a lot of shopping around, I found my giclee printer. He prints on paper, canvas, metal and cloth and keeps my profits where I want them.

His name is Maynard Breese and he's based out of Chandler, AZ. He stretches and wraps and has always worked with me to make sure all my work is the best quality, despite my many errors.

www.YourMemoriesOnCanvas.com

Secondly, presentation:

Always use polybags if you're not framing the prints. It keeps grubby fingers from grubbing up your work and does a lot to improve the look of your work. I get all mine from Jerry's Artarama in Tempe. They sell packs of 25 at just about every size I've ever needed: from 8"x10" to 24"x36". It's cheaper to buy online, if you have the time.
I also get all my matting and backboard from them. They also have pre-cut mats in packs of 5 or 10.

If you have mainly smaller prints (8x10 - 11 x 14), Samurai Comics in Phoenix has served me well too. They also sell small thick casings for Trading Cards. Very affordable.




Artwalks:

Not all shows are worth going to, which took me a while to figure out. I was overloading myself with every artwalk and show I could find and pretty much wearing myself out for no reason.

Bi monthly shows are best. If the show is every week, the crowd tends not to care and has no sense of urgency to buy your work because they "can always see you next time". These shows also tend to have a lot of hawkers which makes passerby's tend to avoid the whole thing altogether.

Jurried shows tend to bring the best crowds because they know the artwork will be worth taking time out of their day to come see. If they're expecting a random splattering of hobbyists art and hotdog vendors, the customers you get are not necessarily coming down to look at or buy artwork.

Also, remember that the artwork around you reflects on your own. So if you have someone selling original 20" x 24" paintings that look like your 5 year old niece could have painted with a $30 price tag, they're going to expect the same pricing out of you despite your quality and wonder why you think you're so special.

Chandler's First Wednesday Artwalk is a jurried show which charges no fee or percentage to it's artists. The crowd is usually really good with people who are always interested in what new artwork or artist they might stumble upon that night. Definitely one of my favorite shows, and one to check out even if you're not looking to set up. I've found some awesome artists there myself, and have a spattering of their work in my home now too.
One of my favorites would be the recycled metal sculptor, Michelle Geiss whose work is both unique and somehow affordable. When I walked up, I expected all her price tags to be at least twice of what they were.




I think doing First Friday is a no-brainer. Yes, things have gone up and down and there are new lame rules that have messed with the original down to earth vibe, but it is still an awesome event that thousands of people come to see and be seen.

There are a lot of ways to do this. You can buy a booth along Garfield St (which is what I've been doing), for about $45 -$50 a month (depending on how many months you want), or you can find a gallery in the area who offers space in their yard for you set up.

I'm not sure on all the pricing anymore, but I know that you can talk to Red Dog gallery and Conspire about setting up with them. Both get a lot of traffic and offer spaces about 10 x 10 ft.

Scottsdale ArtWalks
I'm pretty new to participating in Scottsdale Artwalks, but if you want to test run the Scottsdale Thursday Artwalk and you're not in one of the galleries, you can set up at The Festival Artwalk on March 19th in the courtyard in front of Su Vino Winery. It's located just down the walk from the Thursday Artwalk proper on Main st. It costs $35 to sign up, and I think they're running out of space, so if you want to do this one, I'd do it now. (Tax license needed)

Register for Festival Artwalk Here


Other upcoming shows I know about:

Glendale:
This Saturday from 11am-5pm-ish, at The Mighty Cup N Spoon. They fill their yard with artists and musicians, and I think this weekend they have some special cuisine for the day. As far as I know, there is no charge. I don't think this is coinciding with any other art event nearby this time, but the normal Mighty Cup N Spoon crowd is pretty art-friendly.
Free

Scottsdale: (Tax license needed)
Saturdays on the Plaza: A fairly new artwalk on the courtyard in front of the Su Vino Winery in Scottsdale, just down the walk from Main Street.
12pm - 5pm
$25



Privilege Sales Tax:
Some people I know have tried to get by without getting these, but they're really necessary to get into some of the better shows, and in the end aren't that big of a pain in the ass. Yes, doing taxes sucks, but I've found a way to do them and I'm terrible with paperwork, taxes, math and organization, so pretty much anyone can. In fact, you can do it all online if you like.
Most of them don't cost that much, and each takes about 5 minutes to get when you go to their offices.

Phoenix Privilege Tax License

Chandler Privelege Tax License.

You'll need to get one for each city you plan to sell your work in. I'm not going to put up a full list here, but it's really easy to google it, file it, pay for it, etc. Just get around to doing it.


I haven't tried any of the 3 day art walks, but I hear they are quite worth it. If you have info on those, please comment with info for me and anyone else.

I think that's all for now, but then again, it's late and my brain is no longer functioning how I'd like it to.

Hope that helps. Add more info as you like.