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Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

Do You Buy Your Own Work?

I buy a ton of my own work because I generally sell my work in person, and not on POD sites, but I also buy a lot of my own work for myself. I like to look at them when I work to inspire and remind me of why I do it, and why I choose to do it my way.

Does anyone else do this?

I just purchased a huge 40x40 version of this one in a floating frame for my studio. This one is really inspires me because it signified a big change in my life, and my art:

Photography Prints

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Mike Savad

9 Years Ago

i have, but not from here. i do it locally, and only when i need a gift for someone. its not often.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

Joseph C Hinson

9 Years Ago

I have bought from here in order to see the quality of the work they do. I also buy locally... and the quality is almost never as good as here, but is cheaper. I have bought one of the limited time promotions canvas prints from here that can easily make a decent profit to sell in person.

 

Edward Fielding

9 Years Ago

Why I'm I getting the feeling of deja vu on this question?

Yes, I have purchase my own framed work and cards.

 

Tamara Lee Madden

9 Years Ago

Yes for my portfolio.

 

Conor Murphy

9 Years Ago

The only time I purchase my own work is to buy Greeting Cards to give to the People that buys a particular painting of mine.

 

AM FineArtPrints

9 Years Ago

Yes, but not from here.

 

Tons of it, when I can afford to. :-)

I love to see my work in print, and seeing prints gives me a good feeling about what I'm sending out into the world.

 

Murray Bloom

9 Years Ago

I usually print my own on an Epson pro printer. For my own use, I wouldn't use FAA or any POD since the prices are relatively high. You'd probably do well to seek out a local printer which will likely be less expensive and give you better control over the finished product.

 

Marlene Burns

9 Years Ago

I don't usually buy my own work from faa.
I sleep with a fine art print broker.

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@Joseph I also do the quality check on some images when I am not sure how it is going to come out, and it really has helped me fix a few pieces that did not print well. I've been very satisfied with the quality of FAA over local printers. I buy and compare all the time. I have to know what buyers are getting before they get it. Nothing worse then finding out your work looks terrible because of bad printing because you didn't verify the quality.

@Conor I'm with you on the cards I think they make great additions, and you can send them to keep in touch when you have new work. I just ordered a large batch.

@Murray I deal mainly with large wrapped canvas prints so I can't really do that on my own. I can but I don't want too is probably more of an accurate statement...lol I use FAA because I know what I am going to get. I also use Imagekind as well because they produce some nice canvases as well. At one point I almost purchased a 10K printer to print my own work, but then I talked myself out of it because I didn't want the add more work to my already demanding schedule. Just didn't make sense unless I was going to make a small business out of it.

For those of you that answer yes, but not from here. Is it because you have higher standards for your own work, or is it a price issue?

Price has never really been a issue for me. I usually end up selling everything for much more than I spend on it. For me it's always been about the quality, and most of the POD services I use have all been pretty good. I put their prints next my real canvas, and I have been very surprised by how well the reproduction come to the real thing. Right down to the texture, sheen and smell. For canvas printing I have been very impressed.

 

Murray Bloom

9 Years Ago

Marlene, what's a borker?

 

It sounds . . . interesting. ;-)

 

why would I buy my own work? I can get it for free.
of course I'll pay for printing services but it is not buying my own work

 

Franziskus Pfleghart

9 Years Ago




If not even buy the other my images, why should I.


Art Prints

 

Tamara Lee Madden

9 Years Ago

Assume she meant "broker". ;-)

I'm on the fence as I don't care for 8x10s to be rolled.

 

Marlene Burns

9 Years Ago

Murray, it is a typo ;)

LC, if I print locally, I can see the quality of my work and adjust color as needed....and sign and number and do a lot of other things that an online POD site doesn't afford.

 

Murray Bloom

9 Years Ago

Knew that. Just pullin' yer chain.

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

So I guess what I am seeing here is that it has a lot to do with the type of work you do. Photography is much easier to reproduce locally than large paintings on canvas like I do. I don't have a local solution that I am happy with for that. I have a lot of contracts in the UK, and FAA makes it easy for me to have my work printed up over seas and not have to worry about shipping. That is why I added FAA as a supplier specifically. I guess we all kind of use these POD sites differently. I seems a lot of you use it for the artist profile, or artist website feature, but I don't even use the sales portions of these sites for my real work. I put up some random stuff, and even try to produce some works specifically for POD sites, but I don't really have the time for it, and it probably does more harm than good because it's just random stuff that I don't put much time or work into. It's more like looking at my sketch book of ideas of work that I am developing rather than final pieces. I can't put up my real work because I only sell originals, and limited editions. Prints would kill my business which is why I tried to spend some time creating some new work specifically for prints, but I just can never find the time to work on them. The ones that I do put up are usually for myself and stuff I want around my studio for my own inspiration. That's why I asked if anyone else does that.

 

Kevin Callahan

9 Years Ago

Yes, sometimes. I do on occasion I want to gift something or have prints sent to me to be signed before sending to clients.

 

David Lane

9 Years Ago

It's out of my price reach

 

Chuck Staley

9 Years Ago

I use an old man (well, he's my age...82) that has been printing for years. I give him TIF files of any size and I choose the exact canvas I wish to print on.

That way I really have quality control.

For smaller work, I print myself, using the same inks and canvas that the printer uses. That way I know beforehand what the enlargements will look like.

(Please watch your step. There are many dangling participles above.)

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

I think I mislead everyone with my choice of words in the title. I meant do you create work for yourself that's just for you. The word "buy" was being used creatively in the title, and literal in the first sentence. As in do you buy into your own work. I tried to clarify that in the first sentence by saying I physically buy my own work, but I also believe in it, and draw inspiration from it. What I really wanted to know and what I was asking so poorly was if you surround yourself with work that is just for your inspiration, and no one else?

Sorry for my poor attempt at writing creatively...lol

 

Would love to buy lots of my photography prints, the bigger the better, and send them as gifts or saturate the walls of my studio/home. I know many members purchase their own greeting cards to give as a 'thank you' to those buying their work. But, I already have enough of my original paintings decorating my home as it is; inspiration is everywhere I look, thank goodness!

 

Tamara Lee Madden

9 Years Ago

Oh! Most of my work is created for me. I like the process of creating and I'm compelled to do it. Sometimes I capture something with someone else that I know in mind but first and foremost it's for me.

 

I no longer have any idea what this thread is about . . . but, I'm enjoying it! ;-)

 

Chuck Staley

9 Years Ago

Yes, I do buy and hang my own work. I love my own work...

Chuck Staley Art Prints

If no one else bought it, I would still create more and hang it in my home.

 

Marlene Burns

9 Years Ago

ok, now we're on the same page, LC!
I don't paint for myself, no. I am in business to sell paintings....however, sometimes, I do need to hold on to one or two paintings for awhile....they will go into my personal collection but ultimately, the right price will move them on and out.

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@Marlene I find it hard to believe it all just about business for you. ;)

@Chuck Very nice work Chuck! Tell me about the one that hangs over your work area. Is that one somehow more important to you that is placed in your line of site?

@Tamara Are there ones that are just for you, and no one else? That's what I really want to know. You painted it with the intention of being just for you.

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@David Lane Haha, I know what you mean I can't afford my own work!

 

Roy Erickson

9 Years Ago

I have bought 5 of my own work - four from here and one from another POD. When you live in the armpit of culture in Florida - by the time I got to a printer that would/could print my work - it's just as cost effective to purchase it from FAA. I've purchased two of my digital abstracts (on metal) and two photo's (printed on canvas) from here

and I can believe that with Marlene - it's business. art is for some people - a business - you know. ?!?

 

Tamara Lee Madden

9 Years Ago

"Are there ones that are just for you, and no one else? That's what I really want to know. You painted it with the intention of being just for you."

Oh, just for me... Yes, some of the self portraits are just for me. A record of the moment/ the feelings.

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@ Roy, "art is for some people - a business - you know. ?!?" Yes but it all starts with the art, and if you have nothing invested in your art personally it tends to show. Which is why I said I find that hard to believe. The business has to always take a back seat to the product, because if the product sucks there is no business.

 

Suzanne Powers

9 Years Ago

I have been creating and photographing for about a year and a half. I really like my own work, think most would. Have a hunch if I started buying my art for myself (I would like to) should I show my work, some of it will come back and then where am I going to store all that art? Already have much of the space taken up with other stuff. Not having enough space to store my art concerns me somewhat.

You surprise me LC with selling paintings. I don't think you mentioned painting before and apparently have a ready market in Europe. I know you were the master artist with all that talent but I had imagined, since you are still recovering from a disability, you would not have progressed to such a degree. Good for you. I would think painting large canvases would be hard physically, it's not like working on a computer.

 

Bob VonDrachek

9 Years Ago

I have bought about 15 of my own prints so far. I am a major fan of my work and I think you should all buy some of it.
I want to buy from the same place I send my customers.
I sold a 30 in canvas to a neighbor recently and the quality was awesome. She knows where I buy my art and I tell her that it is the only place that I have my work printed because I trust them and have always been satisfied.

 

Marlene Burns

9 Years Ago

LC, I have been a professional artist since 1968....of cousre I enjoy painting...I've just figured out how to make my passion my career....that doesnt mean I I get so attached to my art that I yam doing it just for me....the goal is to sell so that I can continue to keep my passion aligned with the ability to pay my bills.

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@Suzanne The question is whether you create any art just for yourself, for your own personal inspiration, or viewing. Something you make and put in your studio or home and the rest of the world doesn't see. Seems that I do this quite a bit, but didn't really realize it. It was my girlfriend that brought it to my attention.

Well the kind of work I am speaking of would mean something special to you and wouldn't be among your normal work that you do for other people. This is what I am getting at. Work that you do for yourself. The painting I did above is for a specific spot in my work space. I want it there to remind me of a certain milestones, achievements, and specific reasons for why I create art in the first place. It serves as a reminder, and puts me in the right state of mind to work. I am curious if other artist do this, or something similar?

The large scale paintings are canvas prints Suzanne. I just paint at very high resolutions so that I can print them very large. There is no way I could paint them physically anymore. In fact I am even having issues painting them digitally, but they are in fact all still digital. I've been very lucky to be picked up by two studios in the UK for portrait work. I'm a very good portrait artist, but I don't advertise it. It pays well but not what I want to be known for....heh I only have one real portrait painting on FAA but I have hundreds of them. Interesting enough the reason this one is on FAA is because I wanted a large framed canvas version of it for my house which is kind of on topic. I just really connected with this one :

Photography Prints


 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@Marlene I am only asking if other artist do any work just for themselves. Not if they get attached to their work. I'm speaking of work intentionally done just for themselves for a specific purpose, or reason. I'm finding that I've been doing it a lot lately and wondered if other artists do this.

@Bob Haha yes that is the right attitude to sell your work! Way to promote FAA as well!

 

Marlene Burns

9 Years Ago

ok, so , the answer is still no, i don't.
i hang my work in my home and paintings sell off the walls...that's as close as i get.

 

Suzanne Powers

9 Years Ago

Marlene,

You have the satisfaction of seeing your new work all the time on your walls, even your new art (new is best!). I can see why you wouldn't have a desire to hang any for yourself, it's already there!

LC,

I like how you describe your digital paintings as "paintings." We all need to use that word when painting digitally instead of calling it "digital art" which is a general term and has not earned the respect it deserves.



 

Vickie Johnson

9 Years Ago

Murray, I too use an Epson printer to print out a lot of my own images. The quality of an Epson is much greater than any other printer I have used. I do not use a commercial printer at home. The place I use to print larger images of my work also uses the Epson brand. I create designs for T-shirts, hats and other clothing. To print those on heat press transfer sheets, I use an Epson printer with pigment inks because the images last longer and are more crisp on the clothing. Even for my black and white images, an Epson printer shows the areas that need work before making a final print. I have compared my prints to commercial printers and home printers. HP, Brother, and Canon printers don't even come close to Epson quality.

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@Suzanne I am a traditionally trained painter that paints. The way I look at it is that painting is a process or action. I am still doing that same process or action just with different tools. When you paint you get a paintings so it is the correct way to describe it. Usually when you are defining your work you use the Medium then Process to define it. Digital Painting, or Pastel Drawing, etc... Tools don't define our work, they just help classify it. I pick up a tool and make marks on a surface. I really don't care if it is a virtual surface or a real one so long as the end result is real, and it's what I designed it to look like.

 

Bamalam Art

9 Years Ago


I so agree LC Bailey. All my 'paintings' are done on a computer - not BY a computer: the mouse is my brush and I use digital paint instead of wet. I find it much harder. But nowadays it is the only way I am able to paint. All my paintings are done for myself, I just hope others will enjoy them too. If I could afford it I would buy them all off FAA, but I can't. It's nice to hear that their quality is so good though.

 

Bob VonDrachek

9 Years Ago

When I first got into digital photography I was amazed at all the ways photos could now be shared. Digital galleries online and e-mailing photos took photography into new realms and eventually Facebook and Getty Photo exposed us all to enough images to overdose on. Coming from the old days when Saturday Evening Post was the biggest deal in photography for the masses I have a certain appreciation for what was always taken for granted (in the old days) to be the end product of our work...a printed image.
I buy work from other artists to hang on my walls and I have quite a few of my own on display as well but aside from that I have a collection that I have no place to hang, can not afford to frame but love to pull off the shelf and look at a box of 14 inch prints. That is the size at which the price starts to go up so a 14 inch print is good value and an excellent size to appreciate the detail in a photograph. My last delivery was 7 prints for a total cost of $103 including shipping.

 

14" is my preferred print size, too, for my personal stash of prints. I don't hang my own work (except for a small, bathroom gallery), and 11x14 is the perfect size for easy storage and easy handling. If i decide to hang one, or give it as a gift, that size looks great when up-matted to a 16x20 frame.

 

Suzanne Powers

9 Years Ago

LC, Bamalam, thanks for your take on the value of the digital painting process! I just started a couple of weeks ago to draw and now I am filling in with some color. I need to go back and look at the Corel Paint video on the ABC's of painting that I poo poo'd this past winter when I bought my Wacom tablet.

LC, I just reserved "Steal Like An Artist," "Show Your Work" at the library.

 

I sold an original that my husband loved that was hanging on the wall in the t.v. room and replaced it with a FAA print, had it matted and framed exactly the same and hubby never noticed the difference. I also buy greeting cards for my personal use, and occasionally for resale at my vernissages.

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@Suzanne I love Austin Kleon's books they are very creative and fun books. Very easy to read, and great advice for artists. I read everything Seth Godin's ever wrote as well. Seth is great with business advice, and I love his perspective on creativity, the economy, and that everyone needs to be an artist of some sort in future. It's great entrepreneurial stuff. I generally read four or five books at a time, and I am always reading. I think knowledge is just as important as practicing your skill. I went to one of the best art schools in the world, and I am still learning something new every day thanks to books. I would dare to say that most of the things I find most useful were found in some art or philosophy book. My girlfriend is a manager at Barnes & Noble so I have access to a lot of books with her discount. Though I prefer to buy used books from amazon. I buy used books like they are vinyl records. I collect them. I love to hunt for them and track them down. It's amazing how much knowledge you can buy used for very little. I'll buy five books at a time for under $40. I am baffled that the pricing when you consider the amount of knowledge that you find in them.

One of the most important things I got from Austin Kleon's book "Steal Like an Artist." (It's not literal for those of you that think it's a book about stealing art ;). ) was in one of the chapters he says something to the effect that if all your favorite artist got together and collaborated on a new art series what would that look like. That was huge concept for me because I did imagine what that would look like, and in my mind it was amazing. I actually painted them in my new painting series that I am working on and it does remind me of all of their work in some way, but still unique, and clearly my style. I haven't really shown the work publicly yet, and I usually keep my real paintings off the internet completely but I guess it wont hurt to show one of them:

Achievement-3small

There are gems in every book I read, and they always lead to something new and interesting. You never to old to learn something new!

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@Mary Ellen That is so funny. I did something like that recently. My girlfriend has a favorite painting of mine hanging in the bedroom next to our bed. Someone offered me double what it was worth while she was on vacation. I sold it and ordered a new one from FAA before she got home....lol I told her of course, but she had no idea that it was a different painting, and nor did she care. She asked if she could have the profits since it was her paintings...haha

 

AM FineArtPrints

9 Years Ago

Price issue for me. I can print at lower prices and lower shipping costs, and with the same quality

 

Suzanne Powers

9 Years Ago

So you're tight with the money and wouldn't give your girlfriend any of the profits! Booo, just kidding.

Your work a appears to be influenced by architecture. The straight lines look like beams supporting the structure above and dreamlike with clouds. Do you also favor the cubism style? There are probably new styles more relevant, I'm just not familiar with them. I believe that will change as I expose myself more and more to abstract art.

I agree learning is very important. I'm loving books more and more, the possession of them is truly wonderful. The truth of the phrase "readers are leaders," I got from someone else, can be taken to mean leading in anything from artists to the art business. Yes, the prices on line are incredible! My list began to grow so I looked in my county library and had other books by Kleon beside the one you recommended. I'm going to do some more research on Amazon (ABE books is good too) trying to study graphics/illustrator and start to do some crowd sourcing as a graphic designer.

You sound passionate about reading and learning and may have the teaching gift? Especially if you like to talk, it would seem so...lol Only teasing! You have a lot to say, please don't stop! It is like listening to someone who has knowledge and experience. I'm just glad you feel like commenting on FAA, you could be somewhere else. I'm sure there must be other forums that have exceptional printing with a forum. I have the teaching gift so I am really laughing at myself, I can go on and on, sometimes I leave the poor individual far behind going off on my tangent. I usually write more than anyone commenting in the discussions and they must think "Oh no here she goes again!" It is refreshing to read your comments because one can tell you are a reader and have a lot to say, not only your opinion. These are the kind of discussions I look forward to because I can glean and so far you haven't seemed to mind my questions.

 

Suzanne Powers

9 Years Ago

Vicky, thanks for the testimonial and reminder that Epson printers do a good job.

Mary Ellen, I like to have note cards of my work too. I need to use them more often as marketing tools. I make mine from the heaviest card stock, bought a guillotine cutter and cut the size of a 5x7 print with a border folded. I match the colors of the image with colored paper and make an envelope. It's like sending someone a piece of art.

Andrea, you sound like an entrepreneur too. What is the name of the manufacturer of your printer?



 
 

AM FineArtPrints

9 Years Ago

Suzanne i'm not an entrepreneur but i can buy good prints at good prices at Digitalpix, an italian (online) printlab.

 

Melissa Herrin

9 Years Ago

I paint for me and what inspires me. I have my work hung throughout my house and sometimes I see something I want to change and I change it, LOL. I sold a few of my babies at the first art walk I was at locally. Folks really seemed to dig my works so I think Im not too off. I will be buying prints but not from here to sell at my next show.

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@Suzanne I use to own a ad agency in Silicon Valley so I had a lot of artists and designers that worked for me. I'm very comfortable talking to big crowds, and in lectures halls. I still do lectures on entrepreneurship and meet with very big companies and talk with their creative teams. I will probably write a book at some point, but I need to organize my thoughts before that will ever happen. That and taking a break from everything else. I have many interests including science, technology, psychology, and biology. I use a little bit of everything in everything that I do.

I am not a huge fan of cubism, but I love Picasso's cubism work. My favorite style is "color field" like that of Rothko. I also love the simplicity of Georgia O'keeffe's flowers, and desert scenes. A little of Dali's landscapes. Some of William Turners skies. I tried to take what I like from each, and make something interesting that fit's with my style, and expression. I think the results are pretty neat.

 

Diane Mintle

9 Years Ago

Yes...I have bought my own work...not from here yet. It was for gifts.

 

Floyd Snyder

9 Years Ago

If you are using a retail POD site to sell to your clients, some one is paying way to much. It is a simple as that.

I have posted the example a number of times where I saved abut 50% on an order for multiple copies on a stretched canvas.

To fill that order the each price was $105 plus shipping. I had my printer do them for $50 each and that included shipping to my buyer.

His quality is second to none and every bit as good as FAA.

FAA does great work but they are not a wholesale printer to the trade.

You don't have to use a printer in your own back yard. FAA is not in your backyard.

The is zero different between sending a file to FAA and sending it to a professional, wholesale to the trade, printer. In fact they are POD services in much the same was as FAA. The just don't offer an avenue to sell our work in most cases. Some of them retail to the public and some do not. One of the three that use retails, the other do not.

I am in California and I use a printer in Washington DC. I have been using him dating back to publishing lithos with him before there was Giclee printing. He also does work for the Smithsonian. I have been using this guy for years and I have never met him. We talk on the phone, but never met him in person.

I also use a printer in Denver and one in Los Angeles that I met at a trade show some years back.

If you are looking for a wholesale printer, go to a couple of trade shows or read the ads in the online art magazines. They are out there and most of them do great work.

If you are using a retail POD site like FAA to fulfill orders to your buyers, you are either leaving a lot of money on the table or overcharging you customers. Either way that is major flaw in your business plan.

That would be like one Ford dealer buying his inventory at retail from the Ford dealer in the next city over.

If anyone's artwork is selling for such high prices that they can absorb as much as 50% of the actual hard cost of producing the work, more power to you. But it is simply not the case for many people that post in these threads. Or at least I don't think it is. If I am wrong, then I stand corrected.

 

Suzanne Powers

9 Years Ago

Andrea, you may surprise yourself, if that is something you are interested in doing.

Franziskus, I'm not sure what you are saying, No, you don't hang your art in your home or No, don't look at my art! lol Go ahead and express yourself you already know one more language than I do!

Floyd, I think everyone agrees with you, it seems most of the commenters in this discussion sell at wholesale at least some of the time and that includes me. I just sold a canvas print from Houzz.com, I had to fulfill the order myself, it wasn't ordered from FAA. Thanks for the information though.

LC, I need to look up Rothko, he is probably a lot more contemporary of an artist than the cubists! I think your reading and study has helped you to achieve much at a young age. I see some of Dali in your work, it's interesting Dali's grandson has a gallery at FAA.

 

Roy Erickson

9 Years Ago

I have yet to find a printer - that will print a metal print to size 40 X 40 or larger that can beat the price on FAA. or most any other size.

 

Lori Childers

9 Years Ago

Enjoying this thread. Thanks all.
Printed some test prints 14" on different paper recently. (Locally) I'll frame some of the better ones for sale. Important for me to see them printed larger and not backlit from the screen.

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@Floyd, Sean is doing a good thing here, and if you don't support him, why are you here? Fulfillment partnering has always been his business model. You are basically on his site telling people not to use what he specifically designed the site for. There is a difference between cost and value. FAA provides value in more ways than printing costs. I personally use this site because I support Sean, and what he is doing. He solves a specific problem for me. One that a wholesaler is not going to do. Why, because they don't provide any added value. I don't mind paying higher cost if I sell more, and can reach markets that I otherwise couldn't. Plus all the added benefits that comes with each account. We all know we can get work printed up cheaper. That's not why we are here. Were here to support a company that's taking extra steps to help us, and doing a pretty good job of it. Unless these wholesalers are going to go out of their way to make my life easier like Sean, I'm going to give him my money so he can keep making my life easier. If the wholesalers were smart they would partner with FAA.

 

JULIO R LOPEZ JR

9 Years Ago

I have purchased a few of my items from Fine Art America as part of my quality control checks... and I must say I am very happy with their attention to detail and high quality of materials used. I then turn around and sell them to people who visit my studio. I love the fact that I do not do any more framing or cutting of matts (or I should say destroying matts and keeping a huge selection. FAA has allowed me to turn my studio into just that a real fine art studio and not a furniture production warehouse.

Zorro

julio-lopez.artistwebsites.com

 

Lonnie Christopher

9 Years Ago

@Zorro I totally agree with you there! That is one of the most important reasons for using a fulfillment partner like FAA. Dealing with framing is something I do not want to ever have to deal with ever again. Nor could I really. I just don't have it in me any more to do the physical work. There is so much more room to show my work now that the equipment room is now gallery space! I've literally doubled my space!

 

This discussion is closed.