Art vs. Commerce
I’ve only been involved in the fine arts side of the creative world a few years, but I caught on pretty quickly that some artists are uncomfortable taking their art beyond its original form for commercial purposes.
Sometimes the hesitation is because of the fear that others will think they’re “selling out” if they venture beyond the accepted reproduction prints – the old art vs. commerce argument that selling hats or T-shirts makes one less of an artist. But I suspect that most often it’s because of all the details involved in marketing, framing, packing, insuring, taxes, etc., etc.
It takes a lot of time, so can’t say that I blame artists. Selling really is a royal pain. That said, there actually are some creative rewards attached to creating a commercial line of products.
My personal reward is the creative challenge of getting every possible use out of something (perhaps this is a genetic inheritance from frugal Scottish ancestors) by scrutinizing a drawing that I’ve done, looking for bits and pieces that could be pulled out for a T-shirt, coffee mug, tote bag, etc.
Another reward is, duh, making money off the commercial stuff. Before the art purists run screaming, I must explain that I like to eat in good restaurants and have an incurable addiction to purchasing (and then reading) books. Those of you who can transcend the need for money might not understand.
But as much as I’m OK making money, I’m still pretty picky about both the art and text that will go on my commercial products, even if it is just a T-shirt or a hat.
I don’t use the entire work, as my whole drawings are pretty detailed and don’t lend themselves to small spaces. There’s not much real estate on a T-shirt, and you don’t want it to be so cluttered that it loses its impact.
For me, a T-shirt might be inspired by one character from a drawing, to which I might add text unrelated to the original work and then twist the art a bit. Or it might be inspired by the thought behind a drawing. A hat might just have a message and no art as there’s very little available space.
For example, my T-shirt – “Beekeepers Guard the Real Gold” – was inspired by the spring bee convention drawing I did as a donation to the Indiana Beekeepers’ Convention auction a few years ago. As I was drawing the beekeeper giving a lesson, I wondered why sane people would voluntarily take on the role of guardian to tiny stinging creatures that might or might not be potential assassins (similar to people who hunt and eat wild mushrooms in a culinary Russian roulette). I toyed with the idea that beekeepers really must be crazy.
Making the leap from that, I thought about golden honey versus the gold metal that humans guard as global wealth. When you think of the consequences if pollinators disappear – and honey along with them – it’s as important to protect this treasure as it is the gold in Fort Knox.
Hence, my T-shirt: “Beekeepers Guard the Real Gold” to perhaps inspire curiosity about bees, which in turn might produce more beekeepers – or a scientist who finally nails down and can convince the world of the true cause(s) of distress among pollinators.
On a lighter side, another one of my drawings, “The Drone Zone,” features a lovely Queen Bee in full makeup as she takes a mating flight. As I was drawing her, it occurred to me that, if questioned, many kids today would think of the famous singer Beyoncé when the name “Queen Bee” was spoken, since she is known as “Queen Bey” or “Queen B” by her fans and the media.
Not taking anything away from Beyoncé – I am a fan – I felt like the Apis Mellifera Queen deserved at least some recognition, since she gives her entire life to the hive (in a Borg-like way), with the end result being more food for mankind, right?
This musing about the entomology-challenged kids of today produced the T-shirt “Official Member of the Other Queen Bee Fan Club” featuring a drawing of the lovely Queen of the Hive.
The decision to market T-shirts was not a quick one – for me, time was a big factor. I confess I also was a little conflicted at first in working on commercial products, since I am new to the artist game. So I went to my personal Yoda – Google – to get some feedback and found a T-shirt featuring the Mona Lisa. Case closed – if it’s good enough for Leonardo, it’s good enough for me. I know, he’s dead. But he also was not wealthy, so I’m sure he would approve.
Which brings us to … drum roll … what to do with these T-shirts! How do I sell them?
Not to leave you hanging but that, folks, is a whole ’nother conversation, in the vernacular of the Midwest. Right now, my family marketing team (if you have a willing techie friend, spouse or child you’ve got a team) has narrowed in on Amazon Distribution to sell online. We are close to opening the Store, but again, it’s been a lot of work.
I promise I will provide more info about the commercial side of art from my perspective as we go along. It’s too much to cover in this one blog, but I’ll take you along for the ride. Fingers crossed we will get a response to these shirts, but if sales are slow there are other alternatives.
Stay tuned, you’ll be the first to know! In the meantime, I’m still drawing …