A behind the scenes peek!

Dispelling the magic around creating art prints

Nov 15, 2023

Come behind the scenes with me for a peek at the process of getting artwork ready for sale!

If you don’t want me to spoil the magic around the business of art, then just disregard this invitation and mark your calendars for the grand re-opening of my online Gallery Shop on Friday December 1st and Saturday December 2nd. If you’ve received this via email, then you are on the Insiders List and you get early access on Thursday November 30th starting at 6:00pm eastern!

If you’re not on the Insiders List, you can sign up by clicking the button here:

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It took me a while to be able to speak out to the universe that I want to sell my artwork!

Why do I want to do this? The biggest reason is the thrill that comes from knowing that someone thinks my artwork is good enough to buy. That is very validating! Especially if that someone is not related to me and therefore under no obligation to be supportive!

Another big reason is that creating art fills me up like a delicious dinner. And creating art is doubly rewarding if I can share that feeling with the people who hang my artwork in their space. It’s a special honor to convey my energy via my art to all who see it.

Here is a kick in the pants reason: one of my brothers, who had the task of sorting through all of the works of art and sketchbooks my mom created during her lifetime, asked me what I’m planning to do with the art I create. I offered some to my kids but there’s a lot left, and I keep making more!

A final reason (though I hesitate to admit this) is to satisfy the productivity marm that lives in my head. Wanna see what she looks like:

Although I love her glasses, she’s always reminding me that my art activities must make money in order to be deemed “worthy.” Perhaps you’ve heard of “internalized capitalism,” which is the idea that productivity and self-worth are tied together. I’ve been trying to disrupt that pattern so maybe this isn’t a great reason to offer my creations for sale. Maybe it’s enough to say that I am selling my work so I can buy more art supplies, an endlessly engaging hobby in and of itself!

If you’re still with me, here is a list of all the things involved in selling original art and art prints. At least, all the things I’ve identified so far!

The first step is obvious. Create good art. Or I should say create “good enough” art. I need to keep the bar low enough to hop over. The expectation to create “perfect” art is an insurmountable obstacle because perfection is untenable. My inner critic has used the perfection obstacle to stop me in my tracks before. This time, I want to show up, and that will be a win! My job is to show up, create art, and offer it for sale. I’m not in charge of what happens next. That’s up to you!

The second step is to make prints. I will be selling some original artwork but I want to add prints as an option at a different price point. I haven’t offered anything for sale since my Reimagining Mary Art Show in 2020, so it’s been a while. Figuring out how to make prints requires a surprising amount of time and mental energy! How hard could it be to create a digital file from an original work of art?

Let me share with you all the considerations involved!

There are two options for converting an original piece of art to a digital file - taking a photo of the piece or scanning it. Taking a photo of art work requires great lighting, no shadows, and maybe a much better camera that I have on my Iphone 13. I could have hired a professional photographer.

Here is my first attempt. You can see how gray the background of the photo is on the right compared with the white background of the original piece on the left.

My second attempt involved using a makeshift light box with two studio lights on either side, a white board propped up in the back and a large white piece of cardboard leaning on me as I reached around it to take the photo. The results showed a much whiter background!

For my final attempt, I’ll use a tripod to suspend my phone over the original to remove any hand shakiness. Then I’ll send the jpeg out for printing for the final comparison.

The second option to create a digital file is to use a good scanner. After scanning, some color corrections are needed to ensure the scan accurately reflects the color palette in the original piece. I don’t have photo editing software, and I decided against using the scanner embedded in my printer and my iphone to adjust the colors - that’s how I usually edit my photos. I’m looking for something a little more professional so I’m exploring these two options:

The local camera shop charged me $2.50 per original with just a bit of color tweaking. The results for two of the pieces were acceptable but the colors on the third piece looked washed out. Can you tell the difference between these two photos? The one on the left is the camera shop version and the one on the right is from my iphone. Computer monitors vary so the difference may not be apparent. Although the iphone photo is more intense and true to the original, notice the differences in the backgrounds!

A local boutique graphic designer who specializes in fine arts reproductions charges quite a bit more to scan and make detailed color adjustments, so hopefully the result will ‘wow’ me! I won’t know until my order is ready later this week. That’s another thing about outsourcing these tasks - I’m at the mercy of their schedules.

Once I can compare the results of the two scanners and my iphoto captures, there are quite a few more decisions to be made:

Where should I have the prints made?

The prints must be printed on archival paper to protect the investment of my collectors. I prefer a matte finish because it looks a little more elegant. I want the prints to feel good as well as look good so how thick should the paper be? I’ve ordered some paper samples and a Christmas card as a test.

I’m leaning toward an online printer of fine art prints called IPrintfromHome.com. Every print they make is archival. I’ve been happy with their quality when I’ve used them in the past for my Reimagining Mary prints. Having the prints made at a chain photo shop or a big automated operation would be the quickest and cheapest option. But do their prints compare?? Are their prints archival? Inquiring minds want to know!

How should I present and package the prints for shipment? Should I add mats? What color mats? What size mats? What kind of mailer? How much will postage be?

And I have barely thought about creating pages for my website Gallery Shop and marketing the sale!

Well, all of these considerations keep the gray cells active, for sure! Do you like the behind the scenes peeks into my art studio? Let me know in the comments!

Artful Spirituality

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