Learning more, and more, about marketing ones art.

Sunset, watercolor on clayboard, 22"x30"

I am hungry for more information about how to market ones art. The "left brain" part of being creative is often a puzzle for me, but with the help of others interested in this phenomenon, I am starting to get the hang of it.

The main problem I have with being an artist, and having to market my work, is that the marketing takes away from the time I have for creating the art. I am learning about balance in this respect.

On Monday of this week, I went with my husband, mother-in-law and uncle to see a wonderful film, "Van Gough, brush with genius." It was in the IMAX format, and I can honestly say that I have never before seen his brush strokes so closely. The film was well presented with many clips of the breeze blowing the grasses in the fields around Provence in southern France, parts of Paris, views of his paintings within Musee d'Orsay, and Van Gough Museum in Amsterdam, and at the hospital in St. Remy, France. There was, also, a running, first person, narrative in the voice of Vincent Van Gough which made the film even more interesting.

One sentance from the film that stuck with me was that Van Gough only sold one painting while he was alive, and now his work sells in the millions of dollars for any one piece. How ironic. This did make me realize that my work has already out sold his, and I am still producing paintings.

Another point about marketing artwork is that the more "famous" painters have really good P.R. people to promote the person, the brand, and the art work. I don't have "people" to do that for me, yet. But, who knows, that could happen. In the mean time, I will continue to pursue shameless self promotion.

I do have work out in the public's eye right now, and I am participating in an upcoming exhibition with other artists November 10 - 12, 2009, presented by Restart Fine Arts at the Four Paces Gallery located in The Pace House, 3057 Paces Mill Road in the Vinings area of Atlanta, GA. More information can be found by clicking on http://www.restartfineart.com/

If you have reasonable suggestions for me about how to market my work, please share with me.

As always, I invite you to visit my web site, http://www.susieburch.com/.

See you soon, Susie

The first post on my brand new blog.

I am launching into the 21st century by creating a blog about myself, my art work, and all the trials, and joys of living each day as it comes. Some of the entries will be personal while others will be about how I create art. Who knows what I'll come up with. Thank you for coming on this journey with me.

In September, 2009, fellow artist, Lorie Merryman, and I spent the best part of a week painting en plein air (on location, completing a painting all at one time) on St. Simons Island on the Georgia coast. The image above, left, is of the light house. The beacon from the tower has guided ships safely toward Brunswick, GA, for a long, long time. Everyone that has visited St. Simons Island has stood on the same spot to look up at the tower in wonder. Many folks venture inside of the historic home to visit the museum and to climb the light tower to be greeted with a spectacular view of the Atlantic ocean, and of the island.

The morning Lorie and I painted at this location, we met about a dozen people that were interested in what we were doing, and why we were painting on the island. Our answer was consistently that we loved to paint, we loved to be outside, we loved to meet new and interesting people, and we loved to be on St. Simons Island. During our adventure we both created 6 new paintings in 4 days. Wonderful, indeed!!

People often ask me how long I have been painting, and the answer is most of my life. I enjoyed spending time doodling with my new box of assorted Crayola crayons when I was very young. The only problem I had with coloring books was "coloring inside of the lines," because I always wanted to run the color over the edges to make the "picture" more interesting. I guess I have always walked just outside of the box where it is more exciting.

When I make art, my soul sings. Through my work, I share with others the joy I find in the simplicity of a flower, the quiet of a long country road, the nostalgia of an old bicycle left behind, as well as the appreciation I have of people working, or playing, or taking care of everyday tasks. Life is what we do, and that is what I wish to capture and preserve.

Please visit my web site at susieburch.com to see more examples of my work. I'd love to hear from you.

See you soon, susie