Ruth Soller » Blog

Is it pure luck when an artist sells every piece in a particular show? Does selling work in an invitational museum show require expensive advertising in national art or art collector magazines? Of course good timing and connections with the right people are very important, as is having local or regional name recognition. Having just enjoyed my first sold out show in the Panhandle Plains Invitational, I'd like to share some tips which helped to make this happen.

• Ask for and implement advice from artists whom you admire. For years I attended studio nights with a favorite landscape artist, Michael Untiedt. When he referred me to an invitational show in which he thought that my work would succeed, I listened and sent my portfolio to the curator.
• Learn about what is selling in that specific show. My first year in the show my small, stylized Casa Azul sold. This encouraged me to send more stylized, colorful architectural pieces the following year. The second year I sold a larger colorful Loveland Feed & Grain Mill to a leading sponsor of the show; because she had grown up in that town. She later purchased another nostalgic painting of Loveland Depot.
• Attend the reception and meet patrons and collectors. Introduce yourself to show organizers, collectors, other artists and learn about them. Observe works that are selling. Who are the most popular artists? What are the best-selling subjects? Are your price points in line with artists who create similar quality works?
• Plan ahead for next year. My husband and I planned to arrive in the area a day before the reception in order to hike the nearby Palo Duro Canyon; so that I could take photos from which to paint local vistas for the following year's show. This tactic proved to be profitable.
• Promote the exhibition on all your social media outlets. I sent press releases to my media list, sent e-newsletters to my  e-mail lists, wrote blog posts, sent my blog posts to Blogger, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, and StumbleUpon,. This resulted in an interview published in the March issue of LEAPdirect.com Newsletter. My name was mentioned between Jack Sorenson and Veryl Goodnight, two very famous artists, in two articles about the show published in the Amarillo Globe-News.
• Follow up with your collectors. Ask the show organizer to give you names and addresses of your buyers; so that you may send them a thank you note. If you have a small print, notecards, or book containing your work; send this as a gift to your collectors. Keep your collectors informed about your show schedule and new works.
• Give credit to those who helped you along the way. I am fortunate that this show is curated by an expert on the Taos School of painters, that the show has a loyal and enthusiastic audience of collectors and patrons, and that the organizers and administrators of the museum are knowledgeable and motivated in selling the art. These individuals all contributed to my success in the show.

Lower Falls of Yellowstone (c) Ruth Soller

The Russell Museum events offer a broad and sometimes bold palette, including Ennis artist Bern Sundell's acrylic, "The Believer," to Colorado painter Ruth Soller's "Lower Falls of the Yellowstone," and Missoula artist Julie Chapman's "Harmony," all of which will be offered at this evening's silent auction sale at the museum. The Russell live auction Saturday night also features some colorful pieces, giving bidders a chance to brighten up a wall if they are not overcome by the boldness of it all.

     
Palo Duro Canyon (c) Ruth Soller, oil/linen         Texas Longhorn in Palo Duro Canyon (c) Ruth Soller, oil/linen

I'm thrilled to learn that these two of my oil paintings sold at the opening reception at the Panhandle Plains Invitational. Seven more of my western oil paintings are currently available in three museum exhibitions this March, including Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, and C. M. Russell Museum Silent Auction on Thursday, March 15, 6-9 pm. If you are unable to attend these shows, you may view these works and purchase them through the catalogs online at the following links.

As an artist I have been asked if I can “fix” a painting someone owns that is damaged or that the owner just wants changed. I always defer that repairing an artwork is a specialized skill which I do not possess and that I would not paint on another artist’s work.  I was fortunate to attend the Western Spirit Artists Seminar at Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in which Carmen F. Bria spoke about the difference between conservation and restoration of oil paintings. Mr. Bria is Director and Chief Conservator for the Western Center for the Conservation of Fine Arts (WCCFA) in Denver. Here is some of what I learned.

We are more likely to hear about restoration rather than conservation of an artwork; but the term conservation is much broader and includes the process of restoration. Conservation of oil paintings emphasizes actions that ensure a long life for the piece.

• Stabilization prevents further deterioration.
• Preservation is a priority.
• Respect for the artist’s intent.
• Reversibility.
• Restoration deals with aesthetic properties.

Restoration is concerned with making the art look good or like new. Oil paintings are built up in several layers from the surface down to the support.

• Varnish is the top layer.
• Oil paint may include several layers.
• Ground coat may be gesso or lead white.
• Support may be canvas or board.
• Stretcher bars may support the canvas.

Oil paintings will develop cracks over time due to problems occurring between layers. Adhesives used in restoration must be stable and not discolor with age. An oil painting with serious damage may require lining with another canvas underneath the original canvas.

Various light sources are used in diagnosis of the damage to an oil painting.

• Direct light may not reveal any problems.
• Raking light across the surface will reveal dents or creases.
• Transmitted light from behind the artwork may reveal holes or cracks.
• Magnification under a microscope shows damage to the paint surface.
• Ultraviolet or black light reveals areas which have been retouched.

Preventive Conservation controls the environment which affects a painting such as temperature and humidity or outdoor conditions which affect sculptures. Sources of degradation include the following.

• Natural aging includes cracking or fading.
• Environment that is too cold or too hot.
• Inherent vice in the construction of the work.
• Human error in intervention.

As artists we can directly increase the life of our paintings by avoiding writing on the back of a canvas; as the pressure will lead to cracked paint eventually. If we must clean an oil painting, we can use a soft badger hair brush to carefully dust the painting. We should not varnish an acrylic painting, because the varnish can never be safely removed. We can also educate our clients on ideal conditions for display or storage of our paintings in their homes.