It’s been quite a while since I updated the public blog! I mostly post on Patreon with updates & discuss anything else on stream on Twitch. These days, I mostly use social media for promotion since the ability to connect with people has really plummeted. The posts I make are gone into a haystack within an hour, and some take me 15-20 minutes per post to make. That’s not a very good use of my time as an artist & a person.
Celebrating an Art Sale
First, I want to celebrate a significant sale:
I sold the paintings of Mischief and Kami from Interface for the highest price I’ve sold a painting to date! It’s significant that a single painting of mine can be valued at $2,500 (not exact price, for privacy of the sale).
They say the real value is what people really want to pay for art, so there it is! It’s often a mystery whether collectors really pay the prices artists put on their work, and in my case — yes, they do. I hope that gives you confidence in the investment you made in supporting my art or any hesitation you have about buying a piece from me in the future.
If you’re interested in a print of this artwork, it is available here.
Reflecting on my studio again
When I look back at the past year, I think I am finally okay with the idea that I have a big art studio to myself. When I first moved in here, it was really overwhelming both in terms of space and the pressure to live up to what it means. It means I have to be an artist everyday and show up, working on multiple projects, 8 hours a day. I can say I do that pretty comfortably now. I rotate between art series, like the cityscapes of Montreal, landscape painting, animals, monsters, and some horror art. I feel like I have a cohesive direction as an artist with a clear separation between all these very different themes.
Are artisan markets worth it as an artist?
Another thing I sincerely put effort into the last 2 years is trying is artisan markets, and I’m starting to feel like they are not for me. Quite honestly, after all the expenses — the car, food, my time divided hourly, potentially an assistant’s hourly fees, the table fee — I barely make any worthwhile profit and I end the day very tired and stressed. I think I will do them occasionally for fun and connection since it’s lovely talking face to face to everyone, but be very critical of which ones I sign up for.
There’s many issues with artisan markets. The whole concept of making artists compete against each other is very counter-productive. I have better luck at larger conventions and festivals. At larger events, there is a variety of vendors, food, music, entertainment, and a more inviting, fun atmosphere. People don’t feel pressured to buy anything or awkwardly show interest, or feel singled-out because there’s just not enough people attending.
Ya’ll know it’s important for me to be geniune and honest… so to be quite honest, I think a lot of artisan markets could do much better. There seems to be a weird traditional formula of hosting in stuffy church basements that smell like bleach and doing only minimal organic advertising online and some flyers. It just doesn’t work and it’s not enough.
For the high table fees some of these markets charge (sometimes competing in price to a large convention), I would expect some investment into renting a better event space or partnering with a bar, cafe, restaurant or music show or other event, and some significant advertising like paying for some ads. It’s just not enough to make a handful of Instagram/Facebook posts near the event on an account that is mostly dead in terms of visibility and activity. I’m saying this because I think artists will blame themselves and think they failed by participating in these events, but I think it fails at the event planning and marketing level to begin with so you’re not set up to succeed anyways. These events have to be inviting, entertaining, and feel like it’s worth getting off the couch and attending, then well broadcast well ahead of time.
After talking to some vendors, I learned part of the issue in Montreal is that there is way too many artisan markets and the visitors get watered-down. Even on a good day, there just isn’t enough people coming into them because they’re so frequent and there’s so many. What a strange problem! There’s something to the exclusivity and scarcity of an artisan markets and community events in smaller towns that make people show up in droves. I’ve been advised that if I continue to participate, it’s more worthwhile to participate in the ones out of town. That’s crazy! It’s unlikely for me, since that significantly increases my travel fees by adding multi-day car rentals and hotel stays.
The alternative suggestion I received is only do the markets right near Christmas, which is fair… except that Montreal weather is unforgiving in the winter and it’s still a huge hit or miss depending on that. Some markets fall right on the date of a blizzard.
I’ll have to find some better in-person ways to connect with ya’ll in the future since I don’t aspire to be a travelling saleswoman. I don’t know, but maybe I’ll just find musicians or small festivals & ask to join them myself as a pop-up artist. If I do bigger markets, it’s most likely the Polish Festival again, Otakuthon, or Puces Pop.