6) Concerning gardens and insurance

Beautiful Spring day today, although air still quite cool. Lots of activity in the pond and first frogspawn laid on Monday. Blue tits investigating the bird box with a view to seasonal rental. Makes me want to get out in the garden and start tidying up, but I’ve set myself the target of finishing a picture of two cats today. Open Up will be with us before we can blink and I want to get one more original painting done next week. Then I can spend the time over Easter framing work up and cutting endless mounts for the new prints. I also want to spend some time on the garden, the grass is ready for its first cut and I like the garden to be tidy enough to give pleasure when people visit for Open Up. My studio is on the first floor, which doubles as a conservatory and has a fantastic light. It also has a lovely view of the garden and I really enjoy watching the wild birds on the feeders and watching the garden change with the seasons. Its very much a spring garden, with lots of bulbs, azaleas and camellias, so it looks its best in early May, and from a distance you can’t tell the difference between grass and moss.
The big problem with our house is having an upstairs studio. Firstly, its totally inaccessible for the disabled and secondly, it adds further risks when opening up to the public. Until last year, Open Up took out public liability insurance for its participating artists/venues, but each year the premium climbed and it was limited to one claim. I contacted my household insurance company to see about cover last year but the add-on premium for the event was exorbitant. However, through the networking meeting held by Open Up this January, I had the chance to discuss the issue with other participants. It would seem that Gold Membership of the Society for all Artists (SAA), based in Newark, gives the best deal for what I’m looking for. I was already an ordinary member so for an extra £20 I am now covered for Public Liability 365 days/ year. This means that I’m not only covered for Open Up but also for when people visit to arrange commissions, choose frames or come for tuition. It pains me to have to live and work in such a litigious world but that’s how things are, and peace of mind is worth a lot!

5) Branching Out

Incredibly hectic week this week, only managed about three hours of art, but I have got the owl finished that I mentioned in a previous blog.
As a family we provide Homestay accommodation for Sheffield Hallam University and presently have a French student teacher with us for a month. Consequently, I’ve had to put a bit more effort into meals and housework. We really enjoy meeting the different people and it fits in well with working from home. The income evens out the drop in sales during the winter months. It was also my week to cook for the elderly people’s club at church so I’ve also been busy shopping and preparing a meal for 90+.
However, back to business…..
During Open Up in 2006 several visitors asked me if I had any cards or prints for sale, as they liked my work but were not in the market for original paintings. From my experiences producing charity Christmas cards for the Sheffield Branch of Riding for The Disabled, I knew that it wasn’t easy to make money on cards unless you had a good distribution network, enabling you to turn over large numbers. Not only is there the cost of the printing but also the expense of envelopes, cellophane wrappers and labelling. Because my paintings are detailed, they take quite a long time to complete and it isn’t always possible to charge as much as I would like (taking into consideration outgoings on frames, hanging fees and commission). However, I picked up a flyer on Giclee printing during “Art in the Garden” and on further enquiry discovered that they were not that expensive, especially if two pictures can be fitted side by side onto an A3 scanner.
Producing prints, therefore, seemed to be one way in which I could maximise my income from carefully chosen paintings which might appeal to a wider audience.
I took the first two paintings to the Printer in November to see how they turned out (I’d had mixed results from standard photocopying of artwork, and pastel paintings are a bit vulnerable at the best of times). I was delighted with the accuracy of the colour and the fact that they still looked like pastels. I was also very pleased to see that the original paintings were handled with due care and respect. Consequently, four more pictures followed and I’ve just delivered another two for scanning this week.
Cutting the mounts and packaging them up is time consuming but I keep a tenplate for each one that saves re-measuring every time. I’m hoping that I’ve gauged the market correctly and that the prints prove popular, not only for Open Up but also when I exhibit with The “Crosspool Artists” as an invited guest. Its all a steep learning curve!