Paging jinwicked …
Selkie, you are a fountain of help. I have been meaning to get prices out there, but I’ve been waiting till I finished coding a shopping cart. Looks like that’ll be a bit; I’ll get prices out right away.
picunurse, thanks very much for the kind words. They are digital pictures, constructed entirely inside a computer. I don’t know much about art, but I know a fair amount about business, and really your art is worth what someone will pay for them. And the more you believe (and project) they’re worth something, the more they’ll be worth.
selkie That would be marvelous! I’m really computer challenged. I do have digital pictures, but I have little or no clue how to get them from here to there.
My son, Michael, was a graphic artist in LA. He was my source for computer training. He died in 2000, and I just don’t have the heart for it anymore. If someone can talk me through it, I’ll give it a try, or I could E-mail a couple, and see if its worth it. I may even have to take out the hated digital camera, with instructions for the instructions, and take some new pictures.
Bill No thanks necessary. Your art evokes feelings of peace,but with an undertone of mystery. I think Michael would have liked them. 
His first love was fine art. He did other peoples’ graphics to pay the bills.
I think genetics in our family flowed up hill; I got my penchant for art from him. And, yes, even though they are computer generated, your beautiful pieces are indeed fine art.
Oh this is so much fun!
picunurse, I edited my profile options so you can now email me. Drop me a note and we’ll work out arrangements of how to send the photos.
This is fun!
Bill H. I have had some experience selling my art online. I started a metal art business about 5 years ago and for the most part it has supported me during that time.
My first step was to buy a domain name and have a friend build a website for me (this part did not go so well as it was never completed and I have not yet been able to find someone to revamp my site for a price that I can justify). Unfortunately, HTML is not my strong suit, but I see from your site that you have addressed that one already. Very nice art by the way. I have spent the last several years trying to find someone who could rebuild my site in “trade” for art but have not had much luck there. I’m afraid as far as the internet goes, I may not have much to add.
I’ve sold quite a few pieces on Ebay, although I lost interest after awhile. It seemed like once I factored my time into a deal I wasn’t really coming out that far ahead. It sure was fun watching a bid war on one of my pieces though.
I would advise you to put the bulk of your efforts into finding some physical retail locations for your art. I realize that this entails spending a fair amount of money to build up an inventory but if you can re-invest any profits you make back into inventory it really adds up quickly. My internet sales probably account for 2% of my sales over the past five years. Yet I have a handful of galleries which routinely spend upwards of $1000 on an order. It takes a lot of time and energy to build up a working relationship with a gallery but persistance does pay off. Wherever you travel, always be aware of possible outlets for your art. Wherever you go, be prepared to pitch your art. I have one gallery that I found while on vacation and just happened to have my portfolio and a couple of pieces ready to show. They bought them on the spot and have been one of my best customers ever since.
Also be aware of places which might not come to mind as possible outlets. For example I have found that many trendy type coffee shops will showcase your art in return for having some interesting things displayed in their establishment. I have sold many pieces through coffee shops and small restuarants. Many of which asked nothing in return. (by the way, the 10% commission you mentioned seems quite reasonable to me.)
Check out your local possibilites for fairs, art shows etc. A show can be a lot of work but I found it to be very motivational to me as a means to gain exposure and credibility. Not to mention the fact that it boosted my ego and helped me to believe that I really am an artist.
By all means, pursue the internet as one source of revenue but do not underestimate the value of physical locations for your art. People are much more likely to buy something that they can touch. There are many options that will present themselves if you are constantly seeking them out.
One last thing, try to avoid consignment whenever possible. There are times when it is necessary, such as the coffee shop/resturant approach, but when you are dealing with a retailer it has been my experience that consignment can be more hassle than it is worth.
If you wish to email me, you can reach me at the address below, or call me at one of the numbers on my site. I had many people help me along the way and I would be more than happy to share those things that I have learned.
Good luck in your artistic pursuits. I wish you all the best.
Mike
picunurse, you’re very kind in your assessment of my work. Very sorry about your son. Perhaps the love of art he passed on to you can live on in some way.
Bill Selkie put some of my stuff on this temporary website
http://www.bluefrogcreations.com/picunurse/
There are just a few things, see what you think. Can I run with the bigdogs?
I am strictly low-key these days.
I’ve sold my work in galleries and to private collectors, but since moving to Hooterville I just haven’t adjusted. (Not really Hooterville’s fault, by the way.)
I show of my photos on another site, and have sold rights to a few (meaning, a few) photos. One sale was pretty major (for me) though and paid for most of an iMac, so I’m not complaining. 
I also know that some people (OpalCat for one) sell things through Cafepress.com. The way it works is that you upload a graphic file (in suitable size and resolution) to Cafepress and design your own little online “store” with CafePress. Link to the “store” from your own site. Then the people can order prints, posters, t-shirts and other products through your customized CafePress “store”, and you get a cut from each sale.
The products aren’t high-end artsy-fartsy (t-shirts, prints, posters, mugs, etc.) but everything looks nice enough to me. I have a few t-shirts I ordered from Cafepress (one was of Bob The Angry Flower ;)) an I love them. I also have some posters. Good quality as far as I can see.
picunurse I like your stained-glass work and I am certain there is a market for what you are producing, most likely in the gifts and collectibles sector…
Bill keep up the good work!
…by the way, I like the updated site, much better… the way you present your art is very important and the new site has a much more professional feel and appearance to it.
I agree with Selkie’s comment about displaying prices if you are looking to sell through the site.
If any of you have really thick skins, you could buy a classified ad on Fark.com. They go for about 10 bucks, and should generate quite a lot of traffic, but you can also count on a lot of criticism, especially since quite a lot of the guys and girls hanging out there are photoshoppers and aware of exactly which filters are being used in specifically the computer generated works etc.
If you decide to give it a shot, it is more or less a must to join the community and hang out taking part for a couple of months before posting your ad, this will give you some “cred” and will also give you a chance to see what sort of reaction is given to the people who take out classified ads. I would suggest dropping the extra couple of bucks to get a TotalFark membership before posting your ad if you chose to do so, again showing that you are a part of the forum and not just some bloke wanting to cash in on their userbase (not that there would imho be anything wrong with that, ads is ads, but there is a vocal minority who take it upon themselves to trash the advertisers).
I’ve sold a few pieces on ebay, mostly because (1) I hate framing, (2) I was scared to death to face the public, and (3) my Hubby does tons of Ebay transactions & has had good things to say about it. IME ebay only really works if you’re willing to sell for cheap, like $30. But if you’re like me & you’ve got tons of stuff that you just want to get rid of (and you don’t mind hauling stuff to the post office), it can be a terrific outlet. I’m sure I’ll do more there in the future.
Re: other opportunities, I’ve worked a couple dozen “arts and crafts” fairs doing quick-sketch portraits, which go over fairly well (again, I sell for cheap, but I work fast when doing portraits). When I’ve scoped out the other booths they seem to consist mostly of stuff glued to stuff; I rarely see anything I’d call “fine” art. The really tony art shows selling high-end stuff are expensive to enter and difficult to get into - some of them charge $350/booth! I’ve heard from a lot of crafters that the market has been on a downward trend for the past two years, so don’t be discouraged if you didn’t sell as much as you hoped.
Another outlet that can be really helpful is a local arts organization. Some of them sponsor fairs, others have online galleries that you can join. The art fair that I’m doing next weekend is sponsored by a local arts organization and I’m optimistic about doing well there. I sold half a dozen pieces during their winter show and it was a real kick b/c these strangers actually wanted my work! So I wound up really glad I’d faced my fear about people rejecting me, otherwise I’d never have met those nice customers!
I have one word of caution for you though, Bill. I’ve been following your posts and I see you getting revved up about selling. And it is a validation, it is a nice thing to sell. But don’t be limited to what your audience is willing to bear, don’t go chasing customers with your artistic choices. Otherwise it’ll become just another manufacturing job. Give yourself time and opportunities to find out who you are artistically. And if you’re not already doing so, take the time to know your local art community. Chances are there are a lot of terrific artists in your neck of the woods from whom you can learn and who would enjoy seeing your work. Plus you might be surprised at some of the excellent teachers to be found in non-credit art-for-fun evening classes; many of them have MFA’s but just can’t find a professorship because there aren’t enough jobs to go around. And it’s likely they are working artists who could discuss the market with you.
There’s one more thing, Bill; I just have to be honest. It’s not really clear what you want from this career thing. But if you’re serious about being an artist, you need to get an education in art. From what I’ve read of your posts you’ve never taken a class; if I’m mistaken about that, then please ignore my posting. But it’s my impression you’re going at this thing cold and I have to say I can’t agree.
I’m not saying that nobody without a BFA makes good work, that’s clearly not true. And I’m not saying that you have to be recognized as gifted from the age of 3 in order to be an artist; that’s not true either. But if you want people to take you seriously, you need to put in the time and energy. You have to pay your dues like everybody else by at least taking some classes, studying some art history. I think it’s fabulous that you’re using this creative outlet and I applaud that - I believe everyone has some art-making in them. But if you want to take this thing to the next level, from hobby to career, then you need to do the serious work. As the CEO of a company I don’t imagine you’d hire somebody who wasn’t appropriately educated, somebody who just walked in off the street and talked about how much they enjoyed computers. Getting feedback from friends and SDMB is a nice start, but it’s not an education.
Too often people think of art as something that’s purely intuitive, and it’s not. There is a structure to it. People who leap to the top from nowhere are about as common as Michael Jordan. And being able to market yourself successfully only means you’re good at making money, not that you’re good at making art. Your educational investment will show in your work and you won’t regret it. Most teachers do respect their students’ work and can help you grow - and if you run across a turkey, just switch to a different class.
You seem like a really nice guy and I’m glad to see you doing your creative thing, but I just feel like you’re trying to take a lot of shortcuts to success. People are responding well to your work. Invest in it yourself.
picunurse, I really like your work. The abstract glass piece (the first one) and the two paintings are my favorites.
Selkie, I like yours also. Frankly, I’m a better businessman than I am an artist, and I think if you’re satisfying your customers and enjoying what you’re doing then you have everything. I don’t have much patience for holier-than-thou types in art or other places. I can see the commercial appeal not only in your work, but in your medium. Once you’ve made one ceramic piece, you can make a zillion relatively inexpensively and unlike my medium, what you sell is a much more tangible form, not a “computer printout”, as in my case. Also, what you sell strikes me as something with universal world-wide appeal, so I expect your art is ideal for internet sales.
by the way, Friends… For anyone who cares, I updated my website last night to include about double the number of pieces.
SkyBum, I really like your metal art. Actually, I like your web site as well. What do you feel you’re lacking there?
On eBay, what has your experience been as far as ideal pricing? I’m starting to think that if you’re not famous, $29.95 is about the right price there, which as you point out is pretty low for the effort required.
What you said about galleries intrigued me. For some reason, I assumed that galleries were all consignment places. I didn’t realize galleries buy art and then resell it. Is this the typical model? What is their usual expectation for a buy price compared to their sell price? Any other details of typical business arrangements would be appreciated.
I like your idea of persistance and being prepared to pitch wherever you are.
Thanks for the thoughts on restaurants too. What’s your experience as far as what the typical restaurant sale is? $20? $100? $300? I can’t see a $1000 sale in a restaurant, but what is the upper limit?
Thanks for all the great advice, and the offer to help further. I’ll likely take you up on that.
Bill The paintings? Really? I’m always afraid they look like refrigerator art. I need to find someone to teach me how to do a simple website of my own, so I won’t have to "depend on the kindness of strangers."Blanch DuBois I ain’t 
Bill Here in Seattle, the work seen in restaurant/galleries runs $300.00 to as high as $800.00.
I just thought a another venue for yours, Glass doesn’t lend itself to framing, so it doesn’t work for me, but up scale frame shops here often display local artists’ work in their frames. The one I’m thinking of will even allow the piece to be purchased without the frame. This particular shop doesn’t ask an consignment fee. They feel the benefit of having a practial setting for their frames is good enough.
yosemitebabe, thanks for the advice. I’ve looked into cafepress, and in fact have an account there that’s not connected to my web site yet. It’s cool, in that they handle pretty much everything operations-wise, but they have a pretty hefty cost, and they really sell stuff that is hard to charge better than $100 for. (and $100 seems pretty high to me). Coffee cups, mouse pads, etc. The biggest thing they have is a poster sized offering of the art, but not on nice paper, matted, framed, or anything.
Also, they don’t offer much in the way of marketing, but that’s likely the same everywhere web-wise.
None the less, I think they’re a good choice to offer low-end merchandise and I’ll likely use them.
Thanks.
Somnambulist, thanks for the compliments on the new site. btw, since your posting, I’ve changed it quite a bit more.
Prices coming shortly!