Friday, October 3, 2014

And My Biggest Fear is:

(I've accepted a Holloween Challenge to admit my fears) 

Snob. Yes, you read that right. Snob. Really, I think to myself. That’s it? You’ve held yourself back all these years because some people are snobs? It’s true. It’s not a fear of rejection. It’s a fear of irrational rejection, based on arbitrary rules made up Just to Reject by snobs. The kids in 3rd grade who wouldn’t talk to you because of your shoes or hair tie, for example..

How does this relate to my painting? Back in the olden days - say 1995, art dealerships were the primary source for selling original paintings. And because there were so few of them compared to the number of artists, they had an unreasonable amount of power. They borrowed inventory from artists, cutting their overhead dramatically compared to a store.. If  you were an artist you needed a Gallery With Integrity. If they had poor business skills it was a big risk. In the city I lived in, the snobs thrived!! One gallery had 360 artists - they had 3  artists show each month. And they took an exclusive for the whole state! Want to be taken off the market to say you had a gallery?  In other parts of the country, relationships between artists and galleries were very reasonable. I knew a dealer from New Mexico who opened a gallery here, looked at the 'provincial culture' and within a few months packed her bags and moved back. She knew what professionalism looked like.

I was offered a show in Portland in'97. It was during a time when my husband had been laid off and we were scrambling. I was running a fundraiser with a limited edition print and had several articles published in various magazines. My prints were selling well around the country, but they weren't replacing my husband's salary and we  had 3 kids under 7 at that point. It was precarious. The gallery in Portland had bought and sold several prints and they had six customers waiting for prints to arrive!  I suggested the gallery buy my smallest, least expensive painting wholesale, or the six prints for their waiting list (either would have covered my cost to travel and deliver more work).  They went to an Art Dealer Association meeting. The dealers as a group said artist must always deliver the art first and get paid later - even prints that were selling well. Was that snob or just bad advice? Since I couldn't afford to travel (but felt ashamed to admit it), they cancelled the order for the prints because they didn't want to offend the other art dealers by paying for them. They had wanted to add two more prints and had already published one of my paintings in an advertisement! I lost. The customers lost. And the gallery that made it's money on framing lost. Do you suppose they were afraid of rejection or afraid of a snob at that meeting? The moral of the story? Don't let a clique make your business decisions! And never fear a Snob.

Meanwhile I sold my prints directly to people in the US, Japan and Canada and enjoyed that immensely!! I always knew prints arrived in good condition because I called and asked.

 Boldly Forward is my new motto.

1 comment:

Shelley said...

Awesome Barbara!!

I just want to say that not only doing your amazing paintings inspire me, but your ability to truly speak and live your truth. Both through your art & writing! I am so touched by your desire to push through the fears, release them into the unknown and create a better space for you and everyone who has the pleasure of getting to know you! <3 Shelley