Free Cards Winner ~ Why Does Art Cost So Much? Guest Blog Posts from Artist Amy Buchheit

A fellow artist and friend of mine, Amy, has been answering some tough questions on her blog: Fantastic Journey: Amy Buchheit's Art Adventures


Why Does Art Cost So Much? A Five Part Series Written by Amy Buchheit

An Excerpt from Part 1 of the series:
"This conversation cannot start without discussing the most prevalent myth about artists – that all (or most) artists starve and live as paupers, mooching off those around them. The perception of the starving artist is a cultural conversation, most prevalent in the United States."
Read More on Amy's Blog

An Excerpt from Part 2 of the series ~ Materials:
"The creation of art involves the purchase of materials, the time to produce the work, and in many cases, framing or other presentation costs. After the piece is complete, there is the expense of entering traditional exhibitions, the cost of a professional photographer to shoot images of the work, time spent on marketing, more time on creating non-traditional exhibition opportunities and the general expenses of running a small business."
Read More on Amy's Blog

art: "Change", 40x30", acrylic and mixed media on canvas, © 2005 Amy Buchheit. All Rights Reserved.

An Excerpt from Part 3 of the series ~ Presentation:
"One of the biggest expenses is marketing or presentation. Marketing is all about presenting your product or service to the marketplace with the intention of drawing customers in. Artists accomplish this in many ways including promotional post cards, professional stationary and framing their work (in the case of 2D artists). The intention is to create a recognizable brand that conveys value to collectors."
Read More on Amy's Blog

An Excerpt from Part 4 of the series ~ Time Is Money:
"The wise and respected Benjamin Franklin once said, “Time is money”. If this is true, a dollar value has to be placed on every minute of the day. An artist spends a large amount of time doing things other than producing art, and this time needs to be considered in the value of an art work."
Read More on Amy's Blog

An Excerpt from Part 5 of the series ~ Getting The Work Seen:
"Something is lost when the rich smell of linseed oil, delicious quality of thickly laid texture or the thrill of connecting to the artist by being in the presence of their handmade creation is replaced with a reasonable facsimile*. For these reasons, it is in the artist’s best interest that their work be presented directly to a live audience."
Read More on Amy's Blog

Thank you Amy!
Visit Amy Buchheit's website

The Free Cards Winner for last week is Cécile Mary! Thank you all for playing ~ have a wonderful week,

Love & Sincerely, Katie