BOC, LBC, and SK Art

I think I'm gaining a bit of a buddy in BOC. He's been coming around every night (early morning actually) and sitting on the bench on the deck and staring at my kitchen door. I look out it periodically through the night and whenever I see him I go feed him. Looks like the clever old fellow has me trained quite nicely! He now seems to actually like a bit of patting before and sometimes while he's eating. Of course he knows he'll get as much food as he wants and because he's been coming around regularly, he doesn't seem quite as hungry every time. Still, he eats one to one and a half cans of food every day.

I'm planning on making some cat shelters to put on the deck (part of which has a roof) or porch for winter shelter for any strays needing it. A nice shelter and a Snuggle Safe microwave warming disc will keep a cat nice and toasty. I had a couple of cats at my last place who liked outside and I was able to keep them nice and warm on the porch in a heavy box with some bedding and one of those discs. If the cat is right there when you bring it out and lays on it, it will stay warm all night. Alex (the cat with the solid gold kitty plumbing since his little urinary tract blockage problem late last year) was a porch kitty for a while. He absolutely loved his Snuggle Safe. I'd like BOC to be able to live out the rest of his life in the relative luxury of the house, but he seems so wary and set in his ways I'm not sure that will ever happen. The poor kitty is all beat up and has a bit of a limp going on one of his hind legs. He's certainly lost several battles over the years. I'll keep working on him and maybe he'll decide to give it a try. :-)

LBC has also continued his nearly daily visits too. While BOC mostly comes for food (but does seem to enjoy a bit of attention too), LBC loves to lounge around on the deck and get plenty of attention. He even likes to come in the house sometimes, but Oscar really doesn't like that at all and makes sure everyone knows it. One night Oscar jumped on LBC and I had a cat spat to break up. Not my idea of a good time. Anyway, LCB has his summer weight (which means he's skinny as a rail) and never turns down dinner (although a few times he's asked for a different flavour of cat food -- yeah he's picky!), but he is much more relaxed and easygoing than BOC. He's a great little cat.


Took the most recent batch of Steve's paintings to the photographer Tuesday. They should be ready by the time I got to the coop meeting Monday night. These are the pieces he was working on when he wrote this blog entry. They are really very cool. Keeps moving in the direction of the most recent set up on the SK art site. I think it's a good direction for him -- I'm not sure anyone else does though....

One of the small ones got somewhat smeared on the way here and although I was able to clean it up quite a bit, the smear is still apparent. I was so disappointed not to be able to fix it satisfactorily. Luckily the others are all in good shape. I'm going to suggest we not put it on the regular SK art site but cut the price significantly and then provide a link to a pic of it when I post links to the rest of the new work. It's still a nice piece, and it would be a great deal, especially for someone who just can't afford the regular price of Steve's originals. I'll ask Steve what he thinks of that idea.

Dramatic Chipmunk

This is just so cute!

ticking down

Less than one and a half hours to go on the two ebay auctions of SK paintings. I can't help but be a little nervous as I'm hoping for more bids. I do price them so if they sell for the opening bid we will be ok with that, but obviously I'd like them to go higher. The current prices are pretty good for these pieces, so if that is what they sell for, it's ok. Plus I can imagine the buyers will be very tickled with their purchase.

I think of these periodic ebay forays as useful for several reasons:

1) a way to check the pricing -- if the pieces sell at or above what we would charge on the website we're doing ok or possibly undercharging if the pieces on ebay go for a lot more (album art and such skews it higher and I know those prices aren't indicative for his body of work in general).

2) a way to promote Steve as a visual artist to people (primarily fans) who might not know about it. I'm still amazed at how many people buy less common Church/SK cds (such as Beside Yourself) at really high prices off ebay when they could get them for less from the Church Merch (even with fairly high shipping prices from the Church Merch!) or Karmic Hit. That makes me figure the people doing that aren't really familiar with the various Church/SK sites.

3) a way to generate some cash relatively quickly without having a sale on the website. This time we aren't doing this for quick revenue, but the possibility is there if a times comes where it is needed. Steve's website prices are fair, so we don't want to have a lot of sales which tend to train people to wait for the sale to buy anything. Many artists never offer sales on their work -- our current plan is to offer one short sale per year, on Steve's birthday, as an added incentive to buy and also as a thank you to the people who have supported SK in his visual art venture.

Many people who sell their art on ebay say they like their listings to end on the weekends because that's when people do most of their buying, but I've noticed that traffic to Church sites goes down pretty dramatically on weekends. I did 10 day listings for both of these pieces and I always screw up when I do those. I was trying to get the end to fall during the week (preferably not Friday either) for at least most people, but my brain apparently wasn't working too well, because it's ending during the weekend for just about everyone! Oh well, it will just add another piece of data to analyse. Next time I think I'll just stick to a seven day listing though.

So in about an hour and a half we'll know how these pieces went.

**Update**

Well the auctions ended.

The self portrait was the first one to go and someone did bid right at the very end. That bid pushed the end price from $185 USD to $202.50 USD. Not huge but the additional amount covers all the fees, so that's good. It's going to a guy in the Cleveland area.

Within the last half an hour of the auction The Hellbound Heart picked up another watcher and I really thought that person was planning on bidding, but that didn't happen, so that one went for the $405 USD it had been at for several days. I'm a bit surprised it didn't have more bidders and that it didn't go for a little more, but the difference between the starting bid and the final bid more than covers all fees, so it's all good. And this one is going to Taiwan.

It's great to be able to tell people Steve has collectors of his original pieces in Australia, the US, Canada, various European countries including the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. That also gives him more cred in certain circles.

I think I should have put Vanity up for auction as I've now had three people email me trying to buy it. I actually did strongly consider putting it up, but went with THH instead. You never know though, if I'd put Vanity up it might have brought quite a bit more, but it's also possible that some of the people trying to buy it now wouldn't even bother with it on ebay. I do think there are some people who love ebay and some who won't touch it so it's good to use both at times.

well crap

The exhibit of Steve's work I'd managed to get pretty much set up for this November is on hold indefinitely.

So look for several new paintings up on the SK art site soon -- some as soon as a few hours from now -- since I don't have to keep any for the exhibit now.

I know it can't be helped, but I'm so disappointed.

Best chain letter ever!

And since I'm posting it in my blog I'm even sparing you from having to decide if you want to risk not sending it on (yeah, like you would do that to your friends....). :-)


Hello, my name is Billy and I suffer from guilt for not forwarding 50 billion fucking chain letters sent to me by people who actually believe if you send them on, a poor six year old girl in Scotland with a breast on her forehead will be able to raise enough money to have it removed before her redneck parents sell her to a travelling freak show.

And, do you honestly believe that Bill Gates is going to give you, and everyone to whom you send "his" email, $1000? How stupid are we?

Ooooh, looky here! If I scroll down this page and make a wish, I'll get laid by a model I just happen to run into the next day! What a bunch of bullshit.

Maybe the evil chain letter leprechauns will come into my house and sodomize me in my sleep for not continuing a chain letter that was started by St Peter in 5AD and brought to this country by midget pilgrim stowaways on the Endeavour.

Fuck 'em!!

If you're going to forward something, at least send me something mildly amusing.

I've seen all the "send this to 10 of your closest friends, and this poor, wretched excuse for a human being will somehow receive a nickel from some omniscient being" forwards about 90 times.

I don't fucking care.

Show a little intelligence and think about what you're actually contributing to by sending out these forwards. Chances are, it's our own unpopularity. The point being?

If you get some chain letter that's threatening to leave you shagless or luckless for the rest of your life, delete it.

If it's funny, send it on.

Don't piss people off by making them feel guilty about a leper in Botswana with no teeth who has been tied to the arse of a dead elephant for 27 years and whose only salvation is the 5 cents per letter he'll receive if you forward this email.

Now forward this to everyone you know. Otherwise, tomorrow morning your underwear will turn carnivorous and will consume your genitals.

Have a nice day.

Billy Conolly

P.S: Send me 15 bucks and then fuck off!

BOC

Here are a couple of pics of BOC (Battered Old Cat) another stray tomcat that comes around. This guy tends to come around only when he is hungry or wants a safe place to snooze, so I don't see him nearly as often as I see LBC. LBC really likes the company, so I think he comes to visit just to visit as much as to eat sometimes. BOC on the other hand loves me when I have food and will let me pat him (and actually seems to enjoy it), but usually once the food is gone, he's ready to head back out.

It's hard to see all the scarring he has in these pictures, but he's pretty scarred up. He still gets around well though and doesn't seem interested in settling down anywhere right now.

tickled

I just got a call from the guy working at the art coop gallery I'm part of. One of my more expensive abstract pieces just sold! I'm thrilled. Knowing someone likes my work well enough to buy it really is a ego booster.

The larger (and more expensive) pieces tend to be slow sellers and this one is no exception. It has to have been in the gallery for at least three years. But the damned thing finally sold! woo hoo! And it does give me that needed incentive to get my ass down into the basement and get grinding the bunch of pieces I have cut for several small pieces. These pieces will be in the much more saleable $20-25 and under price range.

So now I'm going to take my renewed enthusiasm downstairs and get working. :-)

Yay!!

One of the SK paintings I listed on Ebay last night already has one bid! Woo hoo!!

It's always hard for me to decide what to try there and what price to start it and all that, so this is a big relief.

And now I just got an email from someone wanting to buy the Vanity painting! :-D

Update #3 -- The Hellbound Heart now has a bid too. Getting that first bid is always rewarding -- and a relief too. Whew!

would it piss you off?

Would it piss you off if you died and found there was indeed an afterlife and this world and all in it were indeed created by a god, but that god was the, umm, how shall I put this kindly...mentally challenged member of the god family?

That is, what if all the other universes out there got good, competent gods, and we got stuck with one who couldn't tell his ass from his elbow, so we got stuck having all sorts of needless illnesses and natural disasters and wars (because he couldn't figure out how to design people to avoid the tendency towards violence), and you found out after dying that no one else had to deal with all this sort of crap?

Would it piss you off if you found out that you got the crappy god?

Zekie!

This is my dog Zeke. He's a Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) mix (his mama was a jumper and got out of her kennel at an inopportune time...). We sometimes call him WLD -- Weird Little Dog -- because he is, but he's a lot of fun and is a great companion. His self appointed "job" is making sure the cats only do what he thinks they should do...it's a tough, neverending, and frustrating task for him. You've heard the phrase "like herding cats"? Well, Zeke herds cats. :-)

Thoughts on "the chair incident"

One of the comments by Andy L on Steve's blog yesterday or the day before made reference to "the chair incident" and got me pondering it again. I remember thinking while reading Andy's account of that incident "oh no, that's a bad decision."

Steve is fantastically creative and talented, and he does actually care about his fans on a much more personal level than many artists do. And certainly there have been times when he has very successfully made arrangements for various fans to be put on the guest list for various gigs. However, counting on him to always make such arrangements is risky. If it doesn't really matter if you get on the guest list or not, and he offers to put you there...well, go for it. But you have to realise he might very well forget what he promised. It's not an intentional slap in the face, it's just that type of thing isn't what Steve is good at. When he is touring his job is to turn in the best performance he can every show. That's it (and maybe do interviews and some of the driving). He sucks at the logistics part of touring and so it's not something he does.

Steve laughed at me in Chicago because I had tickets to every show I went to (I actually didn't end up using them but I had the damned things!), but I'm not going to ask Steve (or any of the others, but obviously Steve is the one I'd be most likely to have put me on the list) to get into their shows for free. I have two reasons for that. The first, and to me the most important one, is that how he makes his living and I will not ask him to just give me a part of his livelihood, no matter how small. Make no mistake he has been very generous, giving me several items I will always treasure (a couple have come later than the ones I ordered though! -- yes, I buy copies of anything he gives me which is or becomes commercially available), but they are offered by him, I never ask for them. The second reason I don't ask (and the one that is related to the topic of this post really) is that I'd be afraid he would forget! I tend to have quite a few social anxiety issues and would be absolutely mortified if I went expecting to be on the guest list and I wasn't there. And I know Steve, especially in the confusion and general unsettledness of a tour, is apt to forget, no matter his intentions. You also have to remember this is a guy who had to call a locksmith to open his car door when he locked his keys inside, only to find when the door was finally opened that the keys had been in his pocket all along. And he did that twice. So I buy a ticket.

As far as the chair itself goes -- if there is something you need for your health, you can't depend on someone else, you have to do it yourself. For years my mum couldn't stand for long periods of time (and what was long for her got shorter as she got older), so if we went somewhere where seating was dicey, we would bring a folding chair with us. My aunt (who has down syndrome) also can't stand for a long time and can't walk long distances or on uneven ground. So I bought a wheelchair for her. It's good for her to walk some, so I don't always use it, but if there is a chance I'll need it, I haul it out and pack it into the car. Is this a pain in the ass? Yes!! But it has to be done, so I do it. I have noticed that many people who have never before had medical problems tend to resist doing things like this because they don't want to feel like invalids. If it's your health, you can't depend on someone else to do it for you, you have to do it yourself. Maybe that sounds harsh, but if Andy or someone in his family had thought to bring a folding chair or rent a wheelchair, he and his friends and family, would have all enjoyed the show a whole lot more.

SK's art, part 2

Thanks for your comments on SK's art. I really appreciate it.

I/we periodically take a look at the prices of SK's artwork and try to decide if the prices are working (I do most of the figuring the prices and then I discuss -- well sometimes his response is only "ok sure" :-) -- them with Steve). Usually I do this at the end/beginning of the year, but it came up now (the addition of the 10x14 size and possible return of the 14x20 size -- he has the block of paper, but hasn't used any from it yet -- are what precipitated the re-evaluation). We try to strike a balance where Steve gets a good price for his work, yet it is still reasonably affordable for most buyers. A big part of why Steve started doing smaller pieces was to offer originals at a more affordable price. Believe it or not, Steve is very concerned with giving buyers a fair shake. The 9x12 size is not only the least expensive in terms of outlay but is also proportionally the most affordable of SK's original pieces. And we do offer cards and prints (using pigmented ink and archival acid free paper so they are more lasting) of just about every painting for those on a tighter budget.

Anyway, after doing a bit of calculating we decided to lower the price of the 12x16 paintings to $375 USD and the price of the 14x20 to $475 USD. This change keeps them more in line with the prices of the other sizes. The other sizes will remain at the prices I listed in my last entry. These base prices will remain for at least the rest of the year. And unless our costs go up dramatically between now and the end of the year or SK suddenly becomes "the next big thing" in the art world, I think they will most likely remain the same through 2008 also. Eventually I would like the prices of all the sizes to go up, but overall I think they are pretty good, both for the buyer and for SK.



Snowfaller, you brought up the celebrity aspect of pricing and it is true. Yeah, Steve can get a bit more for his pieces than many artists because he has fans that want them. It's a built in clientele. We all hear about the massively (commercially) successful artists and musicians, but for most of both it's a struggle to be get noticed and actually make money at it. You may have heard of an Irish artist named Guggi. He gets excellent prices for his work and his exhibition receptions are attended by many celebrities. He grew up with and is a good friend of Bono. He might well be making a living off his art even if he had no well known friends, but I seriously doubt he would get the attention or the prices he does without those friends. I don't think that's necessarily wrong though because the art market is tough and if you have a name people recognise or have famous friends, by all means use it. Steve's work is most likely priced higher because of who he is than it would be if he was Joe Smith from Peoria, Illinois (or Fred Jones from Bondi for that matter). But because he is known in certain circles it is also more sought after and therefore more valuable.

Art is tough because the pricing is so subjective. Artists with similar subject matter, style, size of work, medium, and experience levels may charge vastly different prices for their work and all think their prices are fair. I mean when you look at cars, all the cars within the same basic category are going to be similarly priced. Sure there might be a few thousand dollars difference between similar models, but once you know the price of one brand you have a ballpark figure for the rest of the brands. But art pricing is so subjective that knowing the price of one artist's work doesn't mean squat when you look at the next artist. Of course, if you are in a gallery the prices may be similar because the people running the gallery pick work that fits their clientele and so the prices are often more consistent. But if you are buying from individual artists you will find prices can vary wildly. One artist may charge $100 for a piece that another artist with a similar piece may charge several thousand for. It's very much a matter of you charge what you can get for your work.

Question about SK's art

What do you think about the pricing of Steve's original paintings? Just the originals, not the prints or cards. A bit of info about them: they are for the most part pastel (Sennelier brand -- regular and sometimes iridescent) and gouache (Holbein brand -- artists' gouache, sometimes metallics -- some of the metallics are a different brand) on acid free 100% cotton fiber watercolour paper (mostly Arches 140 lb rough, but occasionally he'll use other brands). He also occasionally uses coloured pencil for detail, but not that often now.

Currently the prices are as follows (all sizes in inches; all prices in USD):

-- 8x10 to 9x12 -- $150
-- 12x16 -- $450
-- 18x24 -- $675

Many of his earlier ones (Jesus in Bondi; Vishnu in Bondi are a couple examples) were 14x20 and were priced at $525 (actually the two mentioned sold for $695 each at a gallery), but I'm interested in what you think of the $525 price (if you want to comment on both prices that's fine too).

And some of the new ones I'm preparing to put on the site (so you haven't seen them) are 10x14 and will cost $250.

So what do you think of those prices? Are they too high? Too low? Pretty good?

For anyone who reads this and wants to answer but can't comment on here because you don't have an account (or if you just don't want to leave the comment on here), you can email me at hejstudio@gmail.com

I am interested in knowing what people think. Thanks.

serious moral question

A friend emailed this morals test to me a couple of years ago. I just found it again, so here it is.

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This test only has the one question, but it's a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision. Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous. Please scroll down slowly and give due consideration to each line.

You are in Florida; Miami to be specific. There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical proportions.

You are a photojournalist working for a major newspaper, and you're caught in the middle of this epic disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you...some disappearing under the water. Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury.

Suddenly you see a man floundering in the water. He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with the debris. You move closer...somehow the man looks familiar. You suddenly realize who it is. It's George W. Bush!

At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under... forever. You have the two options: You can save the life of G.W. Bush, or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world's most powerful men.

So here's the question, and please give an honest answer:
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Would you select high contrast color film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?

kick starting my muse

I think I must have a bargain basement kinda muse, and it's been off the job for a few years. I know I sure haven't done much to keep it going, so I can't bitch too much. Anyway, last night I decided to give my muse a bit of a boot and actually do a bit of work with the glass.

Well.... Nothing spectacular, no great flashes of creativity, but it's a start anyway. I really can't expect much at this stage anyway though as it's mostly setting up so I can get down to the more creative part. Mostly I just cut a bunch of fairly random pieces of various colours. Now I have to grind and foil them. Then I can start having more fun and actually put together pieces. That's when I will find out if I get anything interesting. I don't expect anything mind blowing of course, as these will be small pieces designed to be purchased mostly on a whim, so of course they won't be very complex or large.

The little stuff is what I need to be making now anyway, as it's what sells the most. It's amazing how much money you can make on $10-20 items if you have enough of them. One guy in the coop makes wooden bookmarks he prices at $12.50. Last year he had several months where he sold $1200-1600 per month, just in our little shop. I had one woman come in and buy a dozen of them, and she came in a couple of days later and bought several more. I had one month a few years ago where I had just under $1000 in sales with an average tag of $10. Those $10-15 items aren't the most stimulating things to make, but it's a hell of a lot more fun than working for someone else. And once I get a decent inventory of small stuff I can work on a few larger pieces. Often the larger pieces don't sell themselves, but make people more likely to buy the smaller pieces. It's as if they like to know I can make the more complex stuff, even if they can't afford to buy it.

If I can get myself in gear and make enough stuff, I plan to try to sell some online. I might give Ebay a whirl for a few pieces, but think that Etsy might be a better choice. It's smaller and designed for art and better crafts. The prices can still be low there, but there doesn't seem to be quite as much of a bottom feeder culture there as on Ebay. But before I start trying to sell online I need to fill up my coop space and keep my space there full. I'm paying to be a member there and I'm putting in the time working the shop. I need to make it worthwhile.