Tag Archives: art promotion

IAD Art Festival Opening

ProcreateAd850Procreate is hosting an ART CONTEST to celebrate International Artist Day – ENTER to WIN

The IAD 12 x 12 Anonymous Show Opening was a smash hit, with art lovers and collectors walking away with beautiful paintings from local BC artists, some masters.

There are still great paintings left … check out the 2 videos below …

Art & Culture insight from the Mayor of White Rock … Wayne Baldwin

Go FULL SCREEN and turn up your speakers

Some of these paintings are still available until October 25 2016 … 9pm BOOM Gone!

IAD 2016 Festival Events Calendar

Although the traditional IAD event is held October 25th, which was chosen in tribute to Picasso’s birthday, this year the White Rock Flagship Festival is being celebrated for the entire month of October!

The 2016 IAD White Rock Festival opens on October 4th at 6pm and will feature the much anticipated 12×12 Show where art buyers and collectors can score a huge find for a reasonable price. The canvasses are small, but the quality is high and comes from some of the most talented and respected artists in BC. During the first opening week, from the 4th to the 11th art aficionados will be able to sip wine from local vintner 1st R.O.W. Estate Winery, and listen to music by classical guitarist James Devon while they view and invest in art from the week’s featured IAD artists like Jill Holiday-Charouk and Richard Tetrault. Some artists will also be painting on site at the POP-UP Gallery located at 1459B Johnston Road in uptown White Rock.

October 6th at 7pm    Richard Tetrault, founder of the East Side Cultural Crawl
will give a presentation about woodcut printing.

On October 7th    Art & Wine Group Tasting Party where you will be able to create your own masterpiece under the watchful eye of three accomplished artists.

On October 8th,   Rod Lamirand author, will  read from his new book, The Eyes of the Arab Boy, and on the 29th he’ll read from his newest manuscript written over the past month at the IAD POP Up location.

Featured artists adorning IAD Festival walls on WEEK 2 will be photographers:
Marilyn Trenchard,     Wilma Maki,     Bonnie Ayotte,
plus the late Royal Academician photographer Duncan MacDougall.

Chinese performance artist, painter, and photographer Lei-Wei-Jun and Okanagan painter Mary Anne Jesperson will also display their work from the 12-19th. Mary Anne will be painting in person and will be available to talk about her work.

October 13, from 7-8:30pm   Maurice Cardinal, Promotions and Marketing Director for the IAD will talk about strategies modern successful artists use to raise their visibility and sell their work. He’ll also talk about art collectors and investors, and the shifting role of galleries, and how the internet and social media have disrupted traditional art buying networks. His presentation will address how it’s now possible for all types of artists, established and emerging, whether painters, photographers, musicians, etc., to expand their local and global market . . . admission by donation

October 14, 7-9pm   Art & Wine! Group Painting Session A great opportunity to explore and exercise your creativity.  Admission is by pre-registration (Limited number of spaces available – $50 fee) Three professional artists will be on hand to help budding artists create their masterpieces. No experience necessary! All art supplies, plus wine is included.

October 15th from Noon-2pm   Mary Mikeleson will talk about and sign copies of her book about her late husband, renowned sculptor, Arnold Mikeleson.

October 15th  from 2-4pm   April Lewis, Author “Lovingly Arrogant” and our local bon vivant raconteur will be on hand to sign her new book … musings from her newspaper columns, blogs and midlife experiences. Come and say hello!

October 17th from 7-9pm An Evening of entertainment by artist Brent Heighton. You never know what Brent will do, but you will be amused, entertained, and amazed. Come early, seats are limited … admission by donation

October 18th from 1-4pm   Bonnie Ayotte Photographer and Artist will be on hand for a Meet & Greet. Take a look at her work and ask about her inspiration.

October 20th from 7-9pm A rare evening with renowned White Rock artist Mike Svob who will be demonstrating his unique style. It’s your opportunity to meet Mike up front and personal … admission by donation

October 25th from 6-9pm The IAD GALA!  … which coincidentally, is also Picasso’s Birthday! “Picasso” is our theme for this year’s celebration. Pablo was born October 25, and in tribute to his memory it is also the “official date” of International Artist Day.

Everyone in attendance will have an opportunity to have their picture taken with Picasso, or at least a very good facsimile because you know, he’s long passed into the hereafter.

The closing of the 12 x 12 show is tonight which is your last chance to purchase an original painting by 50 anonymous artists for only $150 each.

Musical entertainment will be by classical guitarist James Devon

Wine by our own 1st R.O.W. Winery

Appies by the IAD Committee

Drawing of the Framed Rare L.E. Prints Door Prize

Admission is by donation

More to come, stay tuned …

IAD POP UP Gallery 2016

I’m Maurice Cardinal, IAD Partner and Marketing & Promotions Director.

Chris MacClure founded International Artist Day in 2004 and I got onboard just over a year ago to help introduce the IAD to even more cities around the world.

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Homebase for International Artist Day is in White Rock, and it is here where we have traditionally held our flagship event. White Rock is a sleepy little seaside touristy town just outside of Vancouver. It’s a beautiful place chock full of artistic and creative people – kind of like Sante Fe  or Carmel North. You can’t walk down the street or go into a coffee shop with bumping into a painter, photographer, musician, writer, or art promoter.

White Rock is between Vancouver BC and Seattle Wa … pure sunshine by the sea.

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The walls were bare last week in our POP UP Gallery, but enthusiasm ran high.

The pic above is of Chris MacClure (far right) and Marilyn Hurst  (far left) on site at the temporary space and making plans.

We took a look at our empty space on Friday afternoon, and by mid day Saturday it actually started to look like a real fine art gallery.

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Chris with a painting by Jill Charuk – a little higher Chris and to the right, perfect!

In years past we’ve celebrated International Artist Day on October 25  – a tribute to Picasso’s birthday, but this year the celebration will last for the entire month of October, which means an incredible amount of work for all of our wonderful volunteers.

Our GALA though is still on October 25th and promises to be a blowout event!

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We transformed an empty storefront into an impressive gallery in three days.

Artists started arriving Friday night with art deliveries, and by Saturday morning we had set up a Greeting & Signing in station. ArtistsSignUp1000-520SigningingIn1000-953

 

We are excited and will be ready to launch our 2016 IAD Festival on October 4 so come out and join us at 1459B Johnston Rd in UpTown White Rock in the street level storefront adjacent to the Bosa Towers and Rexall Drugs.

Our opening on the 4th starts at 6:00pm and goes to 9:00. The main theme of the day will be our well anticipated 12 x 12 Anonymous Show where local artists (well known & emerging), contribute small paintings  – ALL PRICED AT JUST $150.00 

You won’t find a better deal for fine art in the region so come early before the painting you want is gone!

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The Path of an Artist

The art world is confusing for most folks, including artists.

written by  … Marilyn Hurst

The information age has a hidden downside – the tendency to categorize, label or define to such a great degree often leaves little room for maneuverability and flexibility.

Paradoxically, immediate access to the internet brings many variables to ideas. Theories and long held beliefs are often quickly thrown into the foray without much research or fact checking. We need to be more flexible and adaptable if we are to stay on top of our game.

The “artist” label has as many definitions as there are those who pontificate them.

Academia, museum curators, art dealers, auction houses, art critics and gallery owners all differ in their ideas of art and artists, so how does one navigate their way around when each has its own set of rules, principles, and philosophies?

The truth is that whatever you decide will never be a right or a wrong decision. However, if you can’t follow your heart, you will eventually become lost. If your “heart” wants you to paint doe-eyed cats, well – don’t expect much of a career in fine arts, but you could have a good commercial career. A certain amount of experience and wisdom borrowed from a mentor is a good place to start.

Even if you’ve gained skill in your craft and a modicum of excellence, you still need to pay the bills to keep going, and this is where artists need to get truly innovative. Quite often artists don’t want to think about the “S” word – sales, as if it were something sordid.

One thing is certain though, if you can’t pay your way – you’ll lose your way!

Art groups are a good introduction to shows, exhibitions, and camaraderie, which are all important because the feedback from fellow artists and their humor and stories gives you confidence to keep going in the direction your work is taking you.

Successful emerging artists do what it takes to cultivate a following for their work. The reality is that you need devoted art buyers and investors to sustain your career over the long run. It’s not a good idea to label or judge another artist, their work, or even yours for that matter. The public will decide what is valid and will often support you if you are humble. It’s also important to realize art is a lifetime learning process, and the harder you work the better you get. It’s exciting for art collectors to see growth and expansion, and to know you have courage to continue despite the hard effort required to make art a profession.

In the beginning it’s probably best to not too strongly classify your style. The artistic soul evolves and you will inevitably explore many different genres over the years before settling into a personal “look.”

For confirmation of that ideology, just look to Picasso.

Marilyn Hurst

Art Investors & Artists

Necessary Evil … or a Good Friend?

written by … Maurice Cardinal

You’re an artist.
She’s an art investor.

The billion dollar question is …
How do you convince an art investor your work is worth their investment?

Unfortunately, you don’t, you can’t, at least not in such a direct way.

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Investors primarily make decisions based on their return on investment – ROI.

Many investors like Fashen, a DJ Art Collector, talk about buying art for their personal collection based on intuition and what they like, which to a point is true and often how many start, but the disconnect is that their gut isn’t your gut, and what turns you on doesn’t necessarily turn them on.

A marriage between an artist and an investor like Heidi Dillon starts with a first date. Back in the day it was simpler, not better mind you, just simpler. Galleries and agents exclusively controlled the market and they worked together to promote their investments. An artist needed to move in their circles and know how to hook an invitation to their party without making it look like they hooked an invitation to their party. An emerging artist somehow had to get on the “A LIST” of an art investor like today’s Torsten Butzen in order to rub shoulders with the art investment crowd at their SOHO soirees, but if an artist looked like he needed to be there the invitation most often never materialized. Playing available aloof was and still is a skill, especially for an introverted artist who would rather be alone in his studio doing what he does best.

That was then and this is now. The new place to be is online talking it up with the nouveau riche on social media. It’s still the same party, just a different venue and with contemporary conventions.

It’s called social media for a reason. It’s a place to be social.

It’s not called grumpy reclusive artist media, or I have a chip on my shoulder media, or the world is passing me by media.

The new online dating site for artists is all about increasing your visibility and credibility in front of people who have an interest in art and who have the potential to invest in it and more importantly show your work to their friends and colleagues. Investors love bragging rights, and just like a news reporter who dreams of breaking a front page headline story, an investor wants to be able to say, “I saw her first and recognized her talent before anyone else! I’m the smart one here and the one to watch.”

Why do art investors like Bob Rennie think this way? It’s because they make their money making good decisions. When they make good decision investors in traditional businesses have more reason to trust them, and when they trust them they buy the art investor’s commercial services, which have nothing to do with art and more to do with maybe auto parts, or textiles, and maybe real estate or natural resources like oil.

Everyone wants to look good and to be respected because they know how to pick the winning team, whether it is sports, fashion, or art. Same motivation every time.

For most nouveau riche art investors, art is not their main source of wealth. Art is a playground and place of distraction away from the pressure of world commerce. Collecting high end art to them is like your neighbor buying a numbered jersey of their favorite sports team. You get to identify with a larger entity and feel like you have a spiritual and community connection.

So how do you wrangle an invitation to an online date
and start the conversation with an art investor?

It’s easy. You first create a portfolio of work (which is the hard part and could take years) and then you start to talk about it and the art world online. Facebook is alright, but not the best or a safe place to be due to copyright issues.

Instead, start a WordPress Blog and hook it to a Twitter account.

The secret is to go to the investor and don’t expect them to come to you.

Once you have your communication system set up and operating efficiently you can then start to crash the big parties, but before you do, take time to learn what the big players are interested in and what they talk about. HINT: It might not be art. Sit back for a while and just watch, and when you see an opportunity to contribute to the conversation slip in subtly and say your piece. Don’t get carried away with strong opinions right from the start, and don’t say too much. Whatever you do, don’t mention your art, or worse, promote yourself. Bragging is a career killer in any industry. You can of course mention that you’re an artist, but make them come to you. It’s the old 90/10 rule where you lean in 90% of the way for the first kiss, and wait for the other person to lean in the rest of the way to seal the deal and lock lips with you. Don’t be over eager.

Who are today’s Art Collectors?

They come in all shapes and flavors from the ultra rich like art investor Dakis Joannou who will often share their collections in semi-private invitation only spaces and who do it for tax breaks, to risk-taking collectors who specialize in emerging artists and who are truly excited to be involved in the art world and buy what they love. Plus there are new era collectors who buy exclusively online and who used to go to art galleries and artists’ studios, but now recognize the ease of using social media to find treasures. Some investors are pseudo socialites who invest for prestige and to create the perception of wealth. There are also lifestyle buyers who love the artists as much as their work and follow them religiously. And lastly, art investment manipulators who buy through hedge funds and purchase only the most expensive pieces as speculators hoping the price will increase rapidly so they can dump it for a profit.

They all have their idiosyncrasies and it is up to you as an artist to decide who works best for you at the time.

The art world has been hit by “disruptive marketing” just like other industries, and if you know how the process works you can leverage it to your advantage.

Here’s a small cross section of Art Investors:

Heidi Dillon
Heidi Dillion Art Investor Article
Heidi Dillon Website
Heidi Dillon Blog
Heidi Dillon Twitter
Heidi Dillon  Instagram

Fashen an Art Collecting DJ
Fashen Art Investor Article
Fashen InstaGram
Fashen Twitter
Fashen Facebook

Torsten Butzen
Torsten Butzen Art Investor Article
Torsten Butzen InstaGram

Dakis Joannou
Dakis Joannou Blouin Art Investor Article
Dakis Joannou Forbes Article

Bob Rennie
Bob Rennie Bloomberg Art Investor Article
Bob Rennie Website
Bob Rennie Twitter
Bob Rennie Facebook

Here are 9 more Art Collectors from ArtNetNews …

Looking for advice in this respect? Contact Us, we can help!

A Celebration of Artists!

 

An Introduction to International Artist Day – IAD


* Birth of the IAD

* IAD Mandate & World Events

* Challenges Artists Face

* Bursaries for Emerging Artists

* Promoting Fine Art Shows

* Funding for Artists & Shows

International Artist Day was launched in 2004 to honor the contribution artists make to society.

We’ve grown steadily in popularity around the world, and over the last few years have seen our events hosted across North America and in countries like Saudi Arabia, India, Spain, Puerto Rico, and many more.

Artists and their supporters in cities everywhere celebrate International Artist Day. With the help of municipal and corporate sponsors they promote festivals and events designed to increase the visibility of art and artists in a wide variety of genres from painting, to writing, music, the digital arts, and everything in between.

Our mandate is very simple;

To celebrate the contribution all artists make to society by promoting and raising their credibility and visibility locally and around the world.

That’s it!

International Artist Day – Since 2004

Please visit the IAD WEBSITE …  

the IAD on Twitter