[“We Need To Talk”]
[“1 Corinthians 13”]
[“SMS Important Thoughts”]
[UPDATE: Please e-mail me at [email protected] if you want to pre-order, Thanks.]
Well, the plan is to start sending out the Bluetrain prints this week. It took a while to get the right fine art printer in place, and get the silk screens just right. For those who are unfamiliar with the process, we chose the somewhat labor-intensive process of silk screening, so I had to proof the edition and make sure each image was perfect. Anyway, they are being flat packed (shipping tubes could damage the print if people wanted to store them long-term) and hopefully shipped late this week
[“Bluetrain”]
Here are some notes on the next Edition:
1. Above are the three contenders for the next limited edition- “We Need To Talk”, “1 Corinthians 13”, and “SMS Important Thoughts”. The one that rings the most bells win, so let’s hear your comments below, Thanks.
2. Like last time, it’ll be a signed, Limited Edition of eighty-five, plus some artist proofs. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
3. This edition will retail for $400 apiece. Like last time, we’ll be offering a discount to those people who pre-order before the actual printing- $150 off- so $250 each [Plus shipping & handling]. Except this time there’s an added stipulation- only people who have signed up to my Crazy Deranged Fools Newsletter will be able to pre-order. So if you’re a CDF member, please be watching your email inboxes in the next few days, or feel free to sign up now, Thanks.
4. The print will be silk screened on pH neutral, French-made, archival paper- just as The Bluetrain was. Dimensions will be proportional to the images above with the rectangular ones being about 25″x36″.
5. If you have any specific questions or issues about the edition, I have set up a new email address to handle all the print-related business: [email protected]. Please address all queries and/or issues there, Thanks.
6. WHY THESE PRINTS RETAIL FOR ONLY $400.00 When the Bluetrain went up for sale, a number of people mentioned that they thought it was too cheap. Lots of people think that ‘good’ art needs to be expensive. That used to be true. We are all used to the idea that the web can make things more efficient and cost effective, but there are few products where this is more true than with art. Here’s why:
The art market is set up where there are ‘artists’, ‘publishers’ and ‘galleries’. As expected, everyone along the way needs to make a margin. The artist gets paid for his image, the publisher finances and contracts for the printing, and then markets the prints to galleries. It is a ‘charming’ 19th Century system. Unfortunately, everything gets very expensive. Quickly.
We’ve chosen to self-publish, and sell through the blog, even though I have been approached by many galleries over the years. I just don’t think that people who want to collect my work should have to pay for publishers margins, high real estate prices in trendy neighborhoods, gallery employee payrolls, free wine for the hangers-on, markups on the framing etc. All of these things jack the prices up.
Next thing you know, instead of paying $400 for a print, you’re paying $1500-$2000. Go hang in Chelsea [Manhattan] if you don’t believe me. Sure, fine art is traditionally expensive- it’s a luxury item after all, an indicator of surplus wealth etc- but with the Internet now so evolved, does it have to be this way? I’m not just talking about the old- fashioned, “We passed the savings onto you” angle. It’s more like, since you’ve invested in my work, I owe it to you guys to do my damnedest to see that your investment pays off over the long-term. And that’s more likely to happen at $400, than at $2000; do the math. Even if you’re never going to sell it, even if you got it at a steal, knowing that it’s worth far more than you paid for it makes you feel far better than the alternative. Of course it does.
Is self publishing risky? Sure it is. Am I planning to sell my work for far more than $400 in the long run? Of course. But, I do know that [A] there is nothing like a good deal and [B] the folks who support me early on will, in the fullness of time, be very happy that they did.
7. Yes, I will admit, taking the plunge into the art business is a nerve-wracking experience. Crazy, Deranged and Foolish, I know. I don’t care, frankly. I’ve worked damn hard for many years to get to this point. Fuck ’em if they don’t like it.
As Always, thank you for your love and support. Rock on.
[PLEASE LEAVE YOUR VOTE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. THANKS.]
