Checking Out Latest Art Contests... Worthwhile?

Lately I've been looking into art contests to enter. I sometimes wonder if it's really worth entering these contests or not, since I'm not certain the kind of exposure that it really gives the artist's work. What kind of people actually look at these results, other than the artists? How much of the work brings about further commissions or sales of prints and originals? These are the things that matter. It means nothing if 10,000 artists know about you, but nobody buys anything. I have no desire to be another Van Gogh, who starves during my lifetime, only to become famous long after I'm dead.

A couple of the contests I've been checking out are the Linus Gallery's fantasy art competition. It's along the lines of the work I like to do, although a $35 entry fee feels a little steep, even if I do get 3 entries for that price. I enjoy true fantasy work, and this is something I would really enjoy doing some special piece of artwork for. However, the deadline is May 28. I'm not sure that I'll have the time to create something truly spectacular before then.

"Garganus"
pencil on paper, 4"x6"
The artist as a gargoyle

Another, similar, kind of competition that I'm looking at is the Slow Art surreal competition. Surreal can be fantastic or just simply weird. Another $35. But four images, at least.

These are, of course, advertising and promotional costs, and part of doing business. Like any advertising, you never know if it's going to pay off until afterwards. That's why for some kinds of advertising I wish they had a guarantee or worked on commission. Can you imagine the Yellow Pages working on commission from the sales they generate? I'm sure the company would fold. At least with the gallery competitions there is some exposure guaranteed, and those who win often get cash prizes or have their works shown in a physical gallery.

Another one I just noticed is the Slow Art "A Show of Heads". They are asking for artwork portraying the human head. Since there is one I'm already working on that does just that, it only seems good to get some extra mileage out of my work. These are more than online competitions, in that the works chosen are also put into their print magazine and the artists get more exposure this way. That, in itself, might be worth something.

Richeson 75 International, which supposedly gets something like 1 million hits a month, has a couple of contests I think that I'll enter as well. Of particular interest to me is their portraiture competition in July. They are one of the more expensive competitions to enter, at $30 for one image. But I also think they'll be worth it.

It is my goal to enter no less than 4 such contests for the remainder of 2012. There are four right here... Now get to work, Johanus!

Calgary Comic Expo... On a Wing and a Prayer

It's been many years since I've sold at a Convention of any sort. I used to sell at SF and Fantasy conventions back in the 1990's. It was usually profitable. I sold only jewellery. But now I've expanded into selling prints of my artwork, and am hoping to take some orders for armour. We'll see about that happening. It's kind of scary!

For me this was a "last minute" kind of thing. I only heard about the convention a month ago and decided to see if I could get into it. And, much to my surprise, a spot came up and I got in! I would much prefer to have several original artworks available - and the prints for them - that are centred around the SF/Fantasy genre. A lot of my work isn't. I know that I really enjoy that kind of art, though. Yes, I'm the eclectic artist who does things in all manner of genres. But not everything is appropriate for all shows.

Blue Butterfly - 3-1/2" x 2" ink drawing

The big thing about this show is that I will be using it primarily as a learning experience. It is certain that I will be going next year! From this year's show I will learn what kinds of things sell, and what I should prepare for next year. I will also learn the best ways to present myself at this particular venue. Plus it will help me for other shows that are upcoming. I have one at the end of May (it's really small, with the Knights of the Northern Realm), another in June, and another in July. That's one each month! The May show probably isn't going to be a great seller, but I do expect to learn from it, as well. I'm thinking that I will have to figure out a way to display my prints, perhaps some original drawings, and a good way to display my three-dimensional works. And by June I expect to have some print copies of my game, too.

Selling a role-playing game is likely to be a challenge, as well. I wanted to have the system completed by March 30, but have been unable to keep up with that schedule. This is partially my fault, as I haven't managed my time (in March) as well as I should have. I've learned from that, and am now working much more diligently! I've realised that I was spending too much time on my marketing efforts, which haven't been paying off. I have since learned that having an extensive portfolio is more important at this stage of the game. And so I will be doing more production. In fact, other than the couple of tax returns I have to get done this weekend, I will be spending all of my time preparing for this show.

I will be making a lot of prints of my work. Some of what I'll do is art card editions and originals (ACEOs). These are the small prints, about the size of a business card, which I will be selling. I can think of a lot of drawings I have that are suitable for this! Or at least a dozen or so. ;-) My miniatures, such as the butterfly series are well suited to such a size. The butterflies, however, were originally done with small writing cards in mind. I was thinking of printing these on some good card paper and then selling them as such. I know I'll do a lot of those. I just hope they'll sell!

I will also be doing several prints of my gestural drawings, some of my fantasy ink drawings, and taking stuff to see if I can get orders for my armour. There is so much to get done! As much as I'm looking forward to the show, however, I am going to miss my kids. I can't take them to the show, as they'd have to miss school on Friday, and their mom usually has them on Sundays, so that would also be an issue. So I will drop them off at school Friday morning and their mom will have them for the whole weekend. <sigh> I will miss them a lot! Maybe next year I can bring one of them with me. My son will be old enough to handle it. And there are some events he might enjoy...

So, if you're in Calgary next weekend, come by the Expo and check out my booth!

Martial Arts and Life Long Learning

Yesterday I participated in the annual Bushido Alberta Open, which is one of the larger open martial arts tournaments in our fair province. I fought in six events: longsword, double-stick, sword & dagger, dagger, single stick, and black belt (point) sparring. And my son, Daveed, sparred in the event for his age group (6 & 7-year-olds). I'm pretty proud of him for his participation! He did really well, when you look at it. Was that other kid actually seven? He's a giant!



Yes, martial arts is a big part of my life. I teach a class every Tuesday evening here in Edmonton. It concentrates mostly on weapons, and is a complete system (meaning that it includes all modes of self defence, from unarmed to using improvised weapons to specific training with a variety of weapons, historical and modern).

Back to yesterday... My kids were both with me, and they both said that they had a lot of fun! I, of course, enjoyed myself, too. I wouldn't do this if it wasn't fun. :-) I managed to take two medals, both silver (one doesn't look silver, because they ran out of bronze medals, so were using gold for silver, and silver for bronze... odd); one for the sword and dagger, the other for the black belt point sparring. I was so exhausted by the end of the day that I was surprised I managed to do that! The last fight was one of the better fights I've had in years, as the techniques were so clean and crisp against the other guy (and from him, of course), that it was a lot like poetry in motion. I wish I had been able to film it. Not just to see what it was from an outsider's view, but also to analyze my fighting to see how I could improve. Yes, I know for a fact that I can greatly improve my skills! But learning and improvement is a life-long endeavour, regardless of what skills one is referring to.

I know that the martial arts is something that I will do as long as my body is fit enough for me to move well enough. And even then I will continue to try and learn. One thing I learned is that I am sorely out of shape! I woke up this morning and could hardly move, my muscles were so full of lactic acid. Ouch! Even now raising my right arm is painful in the shoulder muscles. It gives me more resolve to get into better shape, though. I want to be one of those old men, when I'm in my sixties and seventies, who runs circles around guys in their thirties. Heh heh! But lots of work to do before that happens. I figure it'll take me a year to get into the kind of shape that I want to be, with working out on a regular basis (at least 3 times per week). I know what I'm doing at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning...

Making a Living as an Artist

I've often thought about doing an online sales site - selling controversial or unusual items, such as sex toys or an advice book or something similar - in addition to my art. Sometimes I think that such a thing would sell enough that I wouldn't have to worry too much financially and could spend more time producing art and less time worrying over my cash flow. Why does everything have to be so expensive?

Of course I could get by with a lot less if I didn't spend $1000+ per month on debts from the failed marriage to my kids' mom. But that's another issue that is taking forever to deal with. I just haven't been willing to declare bankruptcy, as I haven't absolutely had to (yet). That's another story....

Is it worth the time to even think about such a writing project? And what would I write about? I suppose I could write about dating as a single parent and fill an eBook with tidbits of advice in that area. I could even interview several single parents I know about the subject. That could be cool! But would it sell? Would it be  worth all the time and effort of writing it, let alone all the marketing it would take? Or how about sex as a single parent? Or just sex? Everybody likes sex. Right? Well, maybe not if you're someone I used to know... Again another story (one I'll probably never tell).

These thoughts are always inspired by frustrations in my finances. When you don't know exactly how much you're going to make in a given month, and whether it's going to be enough to cover your bills, there is some worry. It's not like I can go live at home with my parents if things get tough. I try not to tell my kids about exactly how tight things can be - there's no need to worry them. They're much to young to even think about such things.

So, is such writing a good idea? What about making an affiliate site, were I sell other people's things and take a commission from what I sell? I'm not sure that's worth it at all. I'd have to bust my butt to get people to my site, probably spend money on advertising, and still not be certain if it worked. The more I think about it, the more I think that I should just stick to making artwork and writing my own things. I truly love that! For me, doing the artwork isn't really work. Well, it is. And there are times when I have to force myself to start. But once I'm going, I get lost in the work and LOVE what I'm doing. Yes, I'd do my writing and artwork even if I didn't get paid for it. And lots of times I don't. Of course it would be nice to be able to say that I'm working on a certain series or project, and have someone express an interest and say they want to buy it before it's done. I'm sure that'll happen someday.

But for now I have to push myself to get those projects that other people want first. Then I can work on the things I like!

Some of the projects I am working on:

• a set of full metal finger gauntlets for a client in the USA
• a set of mitten gauntlets for a client in Calgary
• a coat of plates, based on one of the more complex Wisby finds
• Mythic Hero (my fantasy role playing game)
• a book on Western Martial Arts
• a series of erotic ink drawings
• the cover for Mythic Hero
• a fiction book
• a full circle leather cloak, lined with wool
• a couple of illuminated pieces of short prose

Those are things in progress now. There are also many projects that I would like to start, including:

• a comic
• a samurai tie
• a portrait of my kids
• "Zombie Love" painting
• a Norse helm, complete with knotwork brass covering the outside
• a metal top hat
• male and female nude "armour" torsos (these are sculptures, not armour; but they are armour inspired)
• several nude studies
• a few fantasy drawings and paintings (I need some models for this, too).
• a book on self defense
• a book on knife fighting
• an armour (metal) tie based on Celtic knotwork
• the final two drawings for "The Secret Places" children's book by Lily Enzinger (I'm glad I don't have a deadline on this)
• a metal crest and illuminated crest for The Academy of European Swordsmanship
• several other paintings:
• more in the zombie series
• a series of erotic painting with angels and devils
• a series of abstract erotic paintings
• a series based on the idea of the "Mythic Hero" in legend and history
• Several drawings:
• more in my butterfly miniature series
• a "Space Babe" series
• an "Armoured Babe" series
• several erotic ink drawings
• a "Career Babes" series
• an erotic male series
• and much more!

I have more ideas coming all the time, so inspiration is never a problem. It's time. It's money. I actually spend a lot of my time still doing other work to make ends meet, and art accounts for about 60% to 70% of my working time (and about 50% of my income). Maybe that's why I wish some of these internet schemes really were easy ways to make money. Of course they're not. And that's why I stick to my art and writing. I know that if I push these and keep plugging at it I will eventually make it in the field. I just hope I don't starve first!

Heart to Art

Explaining what my art is to me is never an easy thing. It's always complicated to explain something that is so broad and so diverse and has such an impact on my life. Art has always been important to me. In my high school year book everyone had to write what they wanted to be. I put "world famous artist". To me art has always meant more than just painting or drawing or sculpting. It also means writing. It means combining the two, which could mean illustrating my own work or someone else's writing. Or making the words themselves into a visual experience. 

"Split Earth" cuff bracelet

Yes, I do a variety of work. In the past year I've worried a lot about my art lacking a specific focus. I guess my whole life has been like that up until now. I've neglected my art career over the last decade quite a bit. In the 1990's I was in several juried shows, particularly for my silversmithing work, participated in group exhibitions, and had my work displayed in galleries throughout Western Canada. Could I even name one of those shows today? Nope... I lost all the information ages ago, probably when I moved to Germany, where I completed my MBA. That was a waste of time for me!

Well, maybe not completely. I did manage to visit some awesome galleries and museums. I got kicked out of the Louvre because I didn't hear the closing announcement and was still sketching and looking at work. <sigh> And I was about the 10th person in that day. I still didn't get to see everything I wanted, in that museum and several others. I'm hoping to go back again someday, perhaps when my kids are a little older. That way I can take them along and they can enjoy it, too.

I read a great quote from another artist earlier today:

"...I have stopped believing in a lot of what is thought of as art these days. It’s as if a couple of hundred, dull-headed middle-aged men and women – not just artists, but educators, curators, gallerists, and critics – have come up with a set of rules to define what real art and real artists are. The rules are vague and yet still as constrictive and moralistic as anything concocted by a Reformation cleric. Which is, I guess, exactly what one should expect since art became a kind of religion in the late 20th century, a cargo cult for the upper-middle-class, with the artists themselves playing make-shift shamen." - Hazel Dooney

It reminds me a lot of when I was in art school, back at the University of Calgary. It seemed that the professors were so pretentious and that if your art wasn't similar to theirs and what they thought art should be, it simply didn't matter. And even if you met all of the "technical" and other criteria that was outlined in an assignment, you could fail for their own judgement mattered most. It had to be the "art" they wanted it to be. And realism was greatly frowned upon at that time. It's one of the reasons that I switched my major from drawing to English composition (writing). And the dean of humanities almost didn't let me, because I had so many art courses that it was usually looked at as a double major. I bit the bullet and had art put on my transcript as a minor. Meh... I'm not sure it matters at all today. What I think matters most is the art itself.

Nowadays I make a lot of different things, artistically. I still do quite a bit of jewellery. And as drawing was my major, I do a lot of that. I sculpt. I make armour. I paint. My topics for all artistic mediums include landscapes, animals, people, historical and mythic subjects (my art professors hated that!), and some more controversial things. I'm very interested in fantasy, sexuality, and the human condition. And so I explore these things in my art and my writing. Even when I make jewellery I want it to be at least somewhat artistic. I rarely do anything that isn't like that any more (I'm glad I don't have to).

Art is truly the core of my heart. It is in everything I do and how I view the entire world. It influences everything I do - so it's no wonder it was such torture for me to be a full time accountant, which I did for a number of years (due to family pressure, particularly those I had married). I realized a couple of years ago that I had to live my life for me firstly. And then for my children. And that is all that matters, truly! My kids needed a sane dad. I was literally losing my hair and having a lot of health problems because of the stress of my life. And a huge portion of that was coming from doing work that I hated. Since I've been back to doing art full time, I've been healthier, happier, and easier to get along with. And my kids love that I can actually spend some real time with them! They their priorities straight -- they'd rather I spent time with them than worked tonnes and tonnes away from home to make a living. And being an artist allows me the flexibility to be with them on the days they live with me (they spend half of their time living with their mom).

With my kids I never have to explain my art. They simply accept that all the things I do are okay, and it doesn't have to fit into a particular style or genre or medium of work. I can make a leather belt with cool drawings all over it one day and the next day do the plans for a historical Norse Spangenhelm, complete with cool dragon knotwork in brass, then the next day work on an abstract drawing or painting, and a week later be doing something realistic. My son's favourite, of course, is when I draw monsters. He loves the fantasy theme work. And my daughter's favourites are my butterfly series and my fairies (sometimes I think I do those just for her) and one of my abstract paintings.

So, really, how do I define my art? There is no simple way to do so. I have to say that it is whatever inspires me, regardless of medium or topic, genre or style. My art ranges from the abstract to the comic, to realistic to fantasy, to wearable couture to the impractical and modern, from family oriented to sexually provocative. Maybe it's because I'm complex and don't fit into a simple mould. Nor would I want to. Life is much too interesting for that.