[Music]
hi I'm Peggy Ferran and you're watching
the understand photography show where we
talk about travel nature and fine art
photography today we're going to be
talking with fine art photographer rich
smuggler about working with galleries
that's something I think that a lot of
people are interested in the understand
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out anyway rich smuggler is here today
he's a fine art photography and he is in
museums and galleries and you know many
kolja he has many people collecting his
work he's uh he's he's got a large
variety of work
mostly specializes or what he's known
for is his abstract photography so
welcome to the show thank you thank you
for coming all the way over from Palm
Beach Palm Beach Gardens how long how
long a drive is that 10,000 love books
oh my gosh it's Love Bug season oh my
gosh you got to get those off fast or
they'll ruin your car and for those
people who don't know what we're talking
about in Florida this time of year the
love bugs are mating and they mate in
midair and they're all over the place
and most of them are on the front of
your car if you're driving down the
highway right you're gonna wreck your
car if you don't wash those up all right
so now you've been in and out of many
galleries over your career so you have a
lot of experience in this so you're a
good guy to talk to about this so if
what like why it isn't good to be in a
gallery I think you have to consider
what your goals are as an artist
sometimes people just want to be in
galleries because they think it makes
them feel good
purely a vanity reason if you're looking
to develop your business and create
portfolio of background that people will
look towards and admire and ultimately
purchase your hard work then I think
that's a goal that you have to consider
when you're getting involved with
galleries okay all right I mean of
course I think most people want to sell
their artwork even though you know
sometimes that brings it takes a little
joy out of it you know for the
photography photography as a hobby is a
lot more fun than photography as a
business yes so keep that in mind
everybody was listening it's only the
rare photographer who really can make a
living selling pieces off the wall
it happens less frequently than we would
like to say yeah and you have to keep in
mind how much work goes into it how much
cost goes into it and whether or not
it's cost efficient and goal efficient
when you're getting involved with the
vape the various galleries and museums
that you ultimately work with okay so
alright so so the main benefit to
working with the gallery is hopefully
they'll sell your art for you I don't
know about that okay I don't know about
that I think that it's more valuable for
your resume than it is for your
pocketbook
ultimately the resume will put more
money in your pocket but I think if
you're just starting in order to build
that resume you want to get into
galleries that will enhance your name Oh
see you know I hadn't thought of it that
way that's a great great way to think
about it
so what what do they accept are there
any downsides to working with a gallery
there can be I've had galleries that
have gone out of business on me and I've
not gotten to my work back from them oh
I've had galleries that have
disappointed me in terms of the way the
work is marketed or the after-show
interactions between myself and the
gallerist I've had disappointments in
the way the work has been displayed or
lit and we'll get into this in some
detail okay during the course of the
show the cost of putting on a show can
be prohibitive especially if you're just
not in a group show we're putting in one
or two pieces but if if you're putting
on a solo show and you have 15 pieces
that you have
to print and frame and transport that
could be we're talking thousands about I
just did it you know I was one of the
artists selected for the artist studio
tour here in Naples
it's a once-a-year thing and it's it
cost me a lot of money about I think
about $5,000 is what I guessed just of
just to get the pictures and I didn't
really make that much of it and so it
was kind of disappointing but it was
very prestigious so you have to say well
is that good enough to say spend $5,000
for a little sisty not just that all the
time and energy and heartache and your
buttons will pop with pride when you're
seeing your work out there in a
beautiful Museum opening night there's
there's no feeling quite like that
but then the show is over and time goes
by and you get a call from the gallerist
well come get your stuff and you have to
go pick up 15 pieces and guess what your
closet is already and maybe you only
sold one or two pieces which is okay but
now you have a lot of work to deal with
and it's it's this the side of the
business that people don't think about
when they're first getting into it all
right so let's say okay I want I I think
my work is good enough I want to get
into an art gallery how do I choose a
gallery first off or should I just
choose one or should I go like just
throw my stuff at everybody
no absolutely not you need to consider
location and quality of the gallery oh
oh good good point I mean if you have a
small gallery in your small town and
it's the only gallery in town and
all means but if you're in an urban
environment where there dozens of top
galleries and galleries that may not be
so top then you have to consider which
ones you want to get involved with go
online see what kind of websites these
galleries have oh see what kind of
artists they're showing see what they've
done in the past if you recognize the
names of the stable of artists who have
shown there and hold decent galleries
we'll have a list of their past artists
okay if you know any of those artists by
all means pick up the phone and say
listen Joe I was thinking of trying to
show my work what do you think of ABC
gallery what's what was your experience
is he honest here is he honest is he
fair to deal with
did he market your work well did he
stick to his word
could you put in a word for me huh could
you tell him could you give him a call
and tell him gee I know somebody who's
pretty good and would you consider
thinking about it we were talking to him
so that's a great great idea and I think
we had a lady on the show and Heather I
always make Heather work so hard she's
gonna have to look up the show number so
she can put it in the show notes but her
name was Karen Schulman and her high
school she's from Massachusetts but she
has a high school acquaintance he wasn't
even that good of a friend to her but
she knew him from high school and she's
you know retired so she's not young and
he's pretty didn't have to point at me
like that
[Laughter]
anyway she he's a pretty famous painter
here in Naples locally but he's done
very well here he's got a gallery right
on 3rd Street which is really expensive
place to have a gallery all this stuff
anyway she just called him up and said
you remember me from high school and I'm
a fine art photographer and so he it
started with a local show that he
included her in but then he helped her
get into another gallery that she's done
very well in so that whoever you're warm
leads is that would you call them people
that you know or kind of know or and I'm
just gonna hog the conversation to for
just a minute and anyone who ever
listens to this show knows that I harp
on this if you join your local art
Association you were gonna have those
kind of contacts
you're gonna meet other artists who can
help you okay
off my little soapbox about the Art
Association to start or be part of a
photography group
and I like small groups I think get more
information get more traction out of it
maybe five six people and you can shoot
together you can meet once a month you
can share information you can share
pieces you can get synergy from that and
you can also information about showing
in galleries if if one of them happens
to the in its certain gallery then they
could go to bat for you you tell you
about this place and you can get a lot
of information that way that's awesome
that's already that's such great advice
look at the list of artists see if
there's anybody you know and call them
so that'll help you get in the door or
it'll help to decide if you want to get
in the door ya know because if the guy
said I had a really bad experience then
you're like oh maybe I'll try another
one for sure and even if you don't know
any of the artists I think that most of
us are of a mind to be sharing some
aren't some people will hold things back
and be secretive but I think that for
the most part we are not hell-bent on
keeping other people down right and I
want to see people succeed and I would
do my best to get somebody into a
particular gallery and tell them all I
could about that particularly ours so
you might just call somebody even if you
don't know that it's the point you'd
call him cold it's it I like to
introduce myself I saw that you were
working with the gallery down the street
I was thinking about going there do you
have a minute if you're not willing to
meet me for a cup of coffee but do you
mind telling me a little bit about the
gallery I'm happy to send my information
over to you you can take a look at my
website and you can see what my stuffs
like and and maybe you can give me some
advice you'd be surprised what kind of
information you might get that's such a
great I love that I love that all right
so say you don't know anybody you're
just gonna go and cold and you decide
you kind of narrow down the galleries
that you want to apply I guess is that
the right word yeah sure and so how do i
how do I approach a gallery like who do
I talk to do I just walk in do I call
them I have done it a couple of ways
we'll be talking in one of our next
meetings about gallery competitions but
some of the galleries will have group
competitions they generate income from
that and that's one way to get your work
in front of them but I don't think that
that's the way that to really introduce
yourself to the gallery and if you are
geographically close to the gallery not
thousands of miles away uh-huh
I have physically just walked into the
gallery
and I would walk around I look at the
gallery
I wouldn't introduce myself as a
perspective artist for the gallery I
want to see how the gallery looks I want
to see if that's the kind of gallery I
want to be in okay and if it's not if
there's something about it that I don't
care for maybe they're showing what I
consider second-rate art okay
and I don't want to be there that's not
going to help me out oh then I'll just
look at the artwork I'll say thank you
and I'll leave after they say if I can
help you please let us have it but I'll
just leave if I like what I see I'll try
to figure out who the boss is
and then I'll go over I will introduce
myself I'll hand them my card and your
card has to be nice yes it does it's a
first impression yes and I would explain
to them that I'm a local artist
I have just moved into the area I've
lived here for 20 years and I've been
here before I admire your gallery here
I'm wondering if you have room down the
line to show a new artist's work here
now they may say no we don't do that and
okay that's fine but then keep talking
uh-huh and just don't take no for an
answer though
you may not get an answer just develop a
friendship say well I'm just curious
what kind of artist you usually have
here and do you have any competitions
down the line is there some way I can
show you some of my work and so forth
try to develop some common denominator
some thread where you can continue your
conversation I'm sure they'll be very
nice to you and then make sure when you
get back to your studio you crack no
crack open your computer and send a
thank-you note to the gallery with your
website perhaps if you do have a
portfolio book
which we can talk about at some later
date and I would bring that with me the
first time you just have it undermine my
shoulder so while you're scoping the
place out here let me just show you some
of my work may I leave this book with
you you can take a look at it but you
have to really recognize that these
gallerists especially the top quality
galleries are literally inundated with
artists who want to show their right so
on any given day I remember looking over
the shoulder of one gallerist computer
and there were like 25 artists that were
sending emails to try to get into that
gallery so how do you make an impression
sometimes you can't bottom line is
sometimes you can't but you do the best
you can and sometimes will break through
you know what I you met my nephew he's
here and he's trying to apply for his
first job and it brought me back to when
I was 19 I read how to win friends and
influence people by Dale Carnegie that
book changed my life so I'm making him
read it because what happened to me and
this was of course not an art gallery
but it was my first I was always a
waitress so I wanted to get out of
waitressing and do something different
and it was for a gym like to sell
memberships and but I was terrified I
was 19 and I had never done anything but
waitress so I go in there was an ad of
the paper and there's like like 12
people waiting to interview for the job
and that jut that books stuck in my mind
so I got I was like number 10 or
something I go in there and all I did
was say man you must be exhausted from
talking to all these people and I knew
from the minute she looked at me that I
had the job because I made it about her
not about me so what you're saying is so
good just to develop a relationship that
book is amazing you've read that book
right he likes it too because it's a
it's Dale Carnegie it was an amazing
writer so it's its stories and it's fun
to read but yeah establishing a
relationship with these gallery now okay
so let me let me go
though cuz I let's say I'm shy let's say
I'm shy cuz I'm not shy
but most people are shy so you walk in
but we all have a little intimidation
when we want something out of someone
right so you walk in and they're busy
and you're there for you know half an
hour and it's like should you just leave
because they're busy with other
customers just come back alright it's
important if it's important enough for
you to do it's important to come back to
come back okay so the next question is
so let's say you're there you're waiting
and then they finally get a break and
you say head like an introduce myself
and you know I love the artwork or
something talk about them first or their
artwork or the artwork I should say and
then you start talking and you realize
that this is not the right person to
talk to and you don't want to insult
them but how do you how do you get to
the owner well I think you have to ask
them directly I understand that you may
not be the person I need to speak to to
get my work into this gallery what's the
best way to do that they might say well
please send us an email with your
website or please send us a sample or
perhaps we'll set up an appointment
you'll come back you'll meet Joe he'll
be here on Fridays he talks to new
artists or whatever they do I don't okay
just ask them to say oh these are just
people yeah yeah yeah but it always
helps to have that warm fuzzy feeling
between you before you ask for something
sure and that's a skill that can be
learned yes get over the fear okay get
some confidence in yourself it's always
best to have an uncle to kick in the
door for you but sometimes you have to
kick it in yourself yeah we don't always
have that a warm approach is better but
cold calls are a way of life in business
and this is a business I'll give you an
example if we have a couple minutes one
of the best gallery experiences of my
life was a
a show in northern Tuscany that I got as
a result of somebody looking for artists
to participate in a show in Banja Deluca
northern Tuscany on LinkedIn he found it
on LinkedIn yeah I would have never
thought to look on LinkedIn for an art
show so I I responded and it happened to
be a family of artists a husband and
wife who were sculptors and painters
from Australia that owned a gallery in
this little town outside of Lucca in
northern Tuscany and they would look for
artists to participate in shows from
time to time and I sent him a note I
said I studied in Tuscany for seven
years
and I would be very very interested in
showing in your gallery and I sent him
my I website and within three days I got
it and though it back from him I
couldn't contain my joy oh my god yeah
we went up my wife and I went over and
we we brought the pieces with us
so you carried that how do you carry
pieces like in rolls we rolled oh and
then had him framed there yeah and I
could talk about the best a better way
to do that at some other point but we
took the pieces with those because I
really didn't know what kind of printing
capabilities they had there or framing
right so I put them all in tubes one big
tube and it took everything over about
15 pieces and we set up the show my wife
and I and we sat the gallery for two
weeks
the gallerists had two properties where
they lived in Banja Luka a little place
up in the hills and then a place right
across from the gallery and we they
rented their apartments it was right
across the street from the
Gallery and for two weeks best lived in
the town set the gallery and put on the
opening and it was really one of the
most amazing experiences in my life so
this was answering an ad basically how
did you see it on LinkedIn I I did you
do a search under or was it because you
had fine art on your tagline or it's
it's because they have groups they have
artist groups fine art galleries and so
forth so if you look under different
groups you'll find heart-related
individuals I don't spend much time on
LinkedIn I really probably should of
course I should do Pinterest I should do
you know do so many things really
exciting though and I've had quite a few
gallerist say I'm sorry not for us so
and that's a little more personal when
they turn you down at a gallery than if
a competition right where they you they
look at your work and say no sorry we're
not for you we're a competition it's
like one picture and you're you know
competing against 7500 people or I take
it all personally yeah but no you're
right you have to get over that and you
realize that there's so many fabulous
artists out there that you're just
swimming upstream with a lot of people
trying to make a hit yeah all right so
ok so let's say you know I I do my
wandering I talk to the owner or
whatever how many pieces should I know
you recommend putting together a book
right yes ok so you're saying this is to
try to get into a gallery right so you
have a book you you put together a book
of what they're about 20 pieces this
would be more of a retrospective of my
best work ok
that the best hits of Rich smuggler you
know but probably most importantly is
the website and your better pieces
should be on your homepage and
preferably they should have a moving
change of your pieces on the website so
they don't have to actually have to get
into the site to find them and they
should be your best ten pieces or so
okay okay if you if they look at the
book then that's even better yet because
some people are more touchy-feely they
they want to see the texture and the
color plus if you're there right then
and there you can just I guess you're
gonna have an iPad but I don't think it
would make the same impression the iPad
is good resolution but it's not not the
same often the gallerist will just go on
to there you give them your card they'll
go onto your website right there and
their own computer their own computer
and they're usually fairly large and you
get good resolution on most of the sites
okay
so having a good business card having a
book and having a good website those are
the three Biggie's that you should have
before you even approach a gallery you
should have a good body of work yes and
of course we talk about this all the
time your your body of work should have
its own unique look because there are a
lot of what have a lot of photographers
out there trying to get into galleries
so you have to stand out somehow and you
have to have your own unique look I love
that idea of having a book though just I
think that's a brilliant idea
just because it's right there they don't
have to actually type in anything or you
know it's right there and they can just
kind of look at it so what how many
pieces do you think you should have in
general before you go like on your
website do you need like hundreds of
pieces you need I mean what how many is
too little I guess is a good question
that that's a hard hard question to
answer
I mean I have hundreds of pieces on my
site but I have them broke
down into two different collective sites
and collections so if they want to see
my Abstract Expressionism there's about
20 pieces there that I may have 100 or
200 or 300 that I'm not showing on the
site don't show everything just show the
really really good stuff or keep some of
the good stuff back but and then I have
perhaps for travel photography I'll
break it in two countries and towns and
so it's not like here's a landscape
here's a bird here are people kids
playing here's a portrait there has to
be some tie to the to the link to the
pieces that are in each subset okay
and I agree with that because nobody
wants to look at a thousand pictures but
if you have a thousand pictures and you
have them in you know categories it's a
little bit so then you only have to look
at 20 pictures if somebody knows for
instance are interested in California
landscapes and they can go to that
section there 20 pieces there and they
can make a selection or if they want an
abstract piece and they can go or the
retrospective that section they can go
there but you don't want to keep people
searching and searching on your site
because they're going to get bored and
just say forget about you better have a
good website okay so a couple ways to
get in so far we talked about was just
going there and talking to them and the
other way was competitions to get in so
what if you get in then what happens do
they like just call you or email you and
say hey we like your work what do they
say what do they say to you what happens
next okay if it's a show they do
probably some get an email and then we
say congratulations you've been accepted
into our annual show please
send
send us the piece in a high-res image
I'm just talking off the top of my head
you'll need to get your piece here with
in such-and-such a date they'll give you
instructions on unwrapping no peanuts or
something like that and it has to be
here and accepted by our company at a
certain address by a certain dates and
it will need to be picked up or sent
home on a certain date as well they'll
usually give you a parameter the opening
will be one such and such a night you're
certainly welcome to come and invite
guests and how many people do you think
he might bring
so you're expected to go to the opening
no no not for a group show oh okay after
that no I mean there'll be like 3040
other artists there so they don't really
care you'll be invited you'd want to go
I mean it's a lot of fun well plus your
your networking and you might meet the
other artists which could help you in
your career at some point and and I
think is and correct me if I'm wrong but
if you're there isn't it more likely
that one of your pieces will sell than
if you're not there I think so I mean
somebody's interested then you can tell
them a little bit about the backstories
and they get to like you and you can
tell them a little bit about your art
and your philosophy maybe they'll start
to collect your work you don't know yeah
I say if you're not there anything can
happen right now if you get accepted
into a gallery in his solo show or maybe
just to show for a couple artists then
that's a whole different ballgame
because you'll be having a dialogue with
the gallerists about the show and just
because the gallery says yes rich we
like to have your work then that opens
up the door for a whole set of
communications that you have to square
away before this comes to be okay like
what well you're going to have to paint
contract that's scary you're a lawyer so
you maybe not not as scary for you but
well for most of us contract the whole
word is a scary word contracts can be
made with simple language with simple
concepts and you have to understand what
you want to get if that contract is
going to help you most gallerists will
have a a form contract and they'll
probably just put it in front of your
face and say sign here don't do it okay
there's some things you have to figure
out before you sign that contract okay
how long will your work be on the wall
how many pieces were you have in the
show how much space will be used up in
other words if you look around your
studio you find pieces that are nicely
spaced there they breathe some
gallerists will take works and just kind
of jam everything together because they
want to get as much merchandise on the
wall as possible okay so you have to be
insistent that your pieces will look
good on that wall okay you also have to
be insistent that the pieces are lit
well oh good point I've had a couple
negative experiences one here I'm afraid
to say at the Naples Museum here here in
Florida where I was in one of the
several shows that I participated and
they took my stuff and put it in the
back hallway by the men's room where
there was no lighting and here I invited
friends that come see my work and I was
embarrassed so yeah yeah other times
that I've shown here it was in the main
hall front and center so I felt proud
now you really have not much to
negotiate with when you're
group shows like museum shows but when
you're getting involved with galleries
the better known you are the more
successful you are the more leverage
you're going to have in terms of space
where the area gets shown lighting and
other elements that are important to the
contract some more elements to consider
what happens if a piece is broken while
it's in their possession in their
possession they need to be responsible
for that okay they may like they might
not want to do that but they need to do
that yeah what happens when the show is
over and your 15 pieces come off the
wall are they going to take those pieces
and put them in the back room and
continue to try to sell your work or are
they just going to say okay rich come
pick up your stuff because we know a
room for it here might they keep a few
pieces are they going to put your work
on their website hello to link your your
pieces to their site okay we talked
about pricing and we can get into that
at some point as well what happens
in your mind what do you do when you
pick up those 15 pieces of work haha are
you obligated to the gallerist if you
find somebody to sell your work
privately while your work is still that
with them yeah well that's one of the
big things that everyone needs to work
walk because I know some of the
galleries here say I will represent you
and put your work on my wall and sell
however we want an exclusive for
sometimes they'll say all of Florida
including anything you sell on the
internet that's not a good deal well it
can be it can be if it's a terrific
gallery and oh okay and they're working
yeah that's what I mean if they're going
to market you if they're gonna bring
people into the gallery if they're gonna
go out to the homes of the local
collectors and the local designers and
bring the designers in and say here's a
rich smuggler he's new to our gallery
his stuff would look great at this new
apartment development that's going up
let's bring a few pieces over there and
so what we can do okay and the gallery
this is going to say well I'm not going
to do that I'm not going to spend my
time and my money to do that unless you
give me Western Florida where all of
Florida or all the continental United
States I recently made a deal with a
recent gallerist a gallerist in Florida
where I gave him a certain geographical
location
I always able to sell my stuff on my
e-commerce site as long as the pieces
were of a certain size once they got to
be larger than that then I would have to
give him a certain piece of the action
but that was interesting though this
depends on you and your particular needs
and everybody's different well for most
people starting out though they don't
really know so they just these are
things that are good it's good to get
this out there so they they know what to
look for I'm sort of thinking about it
yeah if you're not selling your work at
all and somebody says I want an
exclusive maybe it's worth a shot you
know depending on what the exclusive is
due you wouldn't how long a contract
should you should you sign with these
people 30 days 60 days 10 years if you
don't have a real feel for the gallery I
would say six months with perhaps a
month-to-month after that that would
continue automatically unless either
side decides to end the contract by
letter mm-hmm
so think about this you're going through
all the trouble to bring work in and
it's sitting there and the gallery says
oh we're gonna run the show for the
month of December well that's pretty
good because that's season down here in
Florida yeah but how about if they say
well we're going to run your work for
July in August
yeah nobody's here twice as much time
but still ten ten percent of the people
probably don't keep your mind tuned in
to what's going on here
I don't be starry-eyed about getting
your stuff on the wall of a gallery it's
you could find yourself jammed up as a
result of it and you want to do the
right thing but
all right so what would be a good
contract I mean what does a normal
contract say like if a gallerist gives
you a contract what is that going to say
do they have a standard contract that
most galleries use most and what would
it be like exclusive limited to the area
exclusive to the area for a certain
period of time okay that they will be
responsible for hanging storing and
protecting the piece while it's in their
care okay that they would receive a
certain percentage of any piece that
they sell and what's the normal percent
forty percent fifty percent sometimes
okay usually no more than that do they
help you with your pricing or do you
come up with your own pricing first well
if you if you recommend or suggest a
certain phrase that they think is not
saleable then I'm sure they're going to
say something well most of the
photographers I know really underpriced
their stuff yeah I think that's a
problem I think that you need to
recognize the theory of of economics a
little bit that if you price something
so little people are going to think it's
not worth anything exactly on the other
hand if you price it too high then
people are gonna say I just can't I love
it but I can't afford it yeah other
people will say that the price of a
piece or any piece of art is that amount
that somebody's willing to pay but I
would recommend that the young artists
go online take a look at other artists
sites and see what the prices are that
they're going at and and six you know
fairly successful artists because you
can go and find out America and the
prices are all over the place and and
what you know the race to the bottom how
cheap can you go because you just want
to sell something and to the point where
you losing money that doesn't make sense
so many photographers do that it's hard
to understand why they think that's a
good idea I would rather not so my my
work at all
me to give it away well I would rather
give it away for free than sell it too
cheap i here's a gift but not here's my
thing that cost me $100 you can have it
for $100 well the irony is on a couple
occasions when I was in Europe I ended
up donating my work to to various
charities because for tax purposes it
was more effective for me than the
packing of stuff up and shipping it back
to oh right
and the the irony is that if I sold you
a piece of my artwork for $1,000 and
then something happened to that piece in
your home or your studio or gallery then
you could put in an insurance claim for
$1,000 if something happened at that
piece while is in my possession it's
worth the cost of the paper and the ink
yeah so it's worth nothing so once I
give it to you and you pay me money for
it it's worth $1,000 to you and it's
still worth the cost of framing right so
and printing printing and the rest of it
so when I was in Europe I was able to
make a donation of about 15 pieces but
if you add the cost of the framing and
the printing and the shipping and all of
that to get there it's not the cost of
the piece if it's old but at least it's
substantial enough to to make a
difference for tax purposes
okay oh that's interesting yeah that's
an interesting take so back to the
gallery so okay so you're gonna say
suggested pricing I want I think this
should go for you know $3,000 and here's
another question do they dictate the
size of the of the photograph or do you
or is that a compromise as well based on
how much wall space you're gonna get
that's the answer it depends on how much
rules it just came with it you want to
work with this person so you say what do
you think is the best way to go here
and they said we like to put on like one
piece for every four feet and we think
maybe along this 20-foot wall we'll put
on four or five pieces or other
galleries we'll say I don't care as much
as you want and which is a subject I
want to get into right now okay there
are some gallerists that are purely
selling space and they will rent the
space to you literally for you to put
your work up on their walls it's called
a vanity gallery and if it's so
important to you
as an artist to have your work in a
gallery and you're willing to spend
money just to rent wall space to put it
up there that's fine that's what you
want to do fine
that's not me and I have a different
approach towards what my goals are as an
artist but recognize that the artists
that are going to do that are also going
to take a percentage most likely of the
pieces they sell plus they're gonna
charge you for the cost so for the wall
space so keep that in mind when you're
dealing with some of the big galleries I
would stay away from galleries that are
showing their own work in the gallery as
well oh that's pathetic they are some
that I know and I won't mention them
here on this show but you want the
galleries to have your interests at
heart and not to be coming soon
coincidental with hers so if they're
working on straight Commission they're
probably gonna work harder than if
they're charging you for wall space
number one number two if it's Peggy
Ferran art gallery and Rich smuggler
wants to put his work up I'll put you in
the back room somewhere probably is that
they like my work I'll say something
cinnamon I want to show you might like a
little bit better yeah that's really
good advice keep your eyes and ears yeah
that is really really good stuff so all
right so they're they're selling okay so
do most of them if they accept your work
not just for like a group show but say
okay I want some of your work I'm gonna
hang it in the gallery for six months do
they start off most of them start off
with an opening or sometimes there's a
show sometimes there isn't okay I mean
they may just have open walls and they
bring hardest work in and they revolve
them in and out but you want them to
have a show because it's so much fun and
I don't think much work is sold during
the show but it's a great party it's a
celebration of what you do okay bring
your friends and your family and loved
ones and it's it just makes you feel so
damn good
ah and it's a good excuse for a press
release and all that other kind of stuff
keeping your name out there in the news
and oh you can do you use it I mean you
definitely use it but from a business
point of view it's remarkably important
but it makes you feel good inside uh-huh
is there anything else about the shows
that we should know well typically or an
opening show do they just have actually
I interviewed a woman who owned an art
gallery who she was experimenting with
closing shows as well as opening shows
and she wasn't sure the jury was still
out when she was on the show if it was a
good idea or not but so you've got your
opening show you're gonna use it for PR
you're gonna have a good time
don't drink too much but you're going to
use it in your website and your blog and
your any of your social media you want
to make sure that the show is well
advertised and that the gallerist uses
whatever forces they could summon to to
send out notices to their mailing list
how many people are going to be notified
what kind of food will there be I mean
are they responsible forward oh that's a
good point do you as the artist have to
pay for matters yeah sometimes we
brought the food something sometimes
it's them okay so it's something you
want to talk about and it's you're
putting on a show
yeah so you want to make sure all the
elements are in place now are you as the
artist responsible for bringing in the
bulk of the guests or is that their job
I don't think so I mean I certainly
bring in a lot I'm a point of bringing
all my friends because they made me feel
good I didn't but I don't expect any of
the people that I invite to buy any of
my work yeah they really know me yeah so
I really want the galleries to to bring
in the people okay okay this is just a
party flatout enjoy it is there anything
you should think about why you're at the
party I mean obviously you have to your
business cards and people are looking at
your art is there anything during the
party that you should think of yeah I
would stick by your or in other words
keep an eye out for people who you don't
know who were there because they're your
friends who are spending a little bit of
time looking at your pieces and politely
go over and say hi I'm the artist if I
can help you with any information about
this I'm right here I'll be glad to talk
about it that's the way I do it mm-hmm
people will just stay right by the wall
right by their pieces because you're
there selling cars people are kicking
their time yes yeah you want to be there
to help anybody who's willing to or
another idea is to just start telling
the story of the work if you see someone
looking at it say oh I'm the artist and
you know I had to get down on my belly
to get that or whatever I think however
you yeah you need to sell the piece it
might be an easy way to approach people
all right so what are some last tips are
some tips what are let's round this up
wrap this up wrap it up so getting into
a gallery what are your five tips I
don't know if I'm guessing the three
tips show up look professional
be confident have the right materials
with you we talked about the card the
book the website follow up with an email
thanking people just like you would in
business make sure that once you're
given the entree into a gallery that you
you work out and think out the elements
necessary for the opening and for the
after show what happens when the works
come down okay good good good thank you
for being on the show
I appreciate it you are a good guest man
[Laughter]
anybody out there feel free to call me
or email me you can look at my website
all the information is here it's rich
smuggler photo calm where you can email
me
rich smuggler yahoo.com got it and it's
SM UK le are not like the jelly no jelly
I'm hoping the audience will do a big
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I'm Peggy Ferran thank you so much for
watching the understand photography show
we will see you next Friday at 4 o'clock
Eastern Time
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