This year, at the suggestion from my neighbor, client, fellow business owner and friend, I began marketing myself as a custom, commission artist. That move has kept me busy! It seems people like the way I paint, though not always what I paint. I'm happy to oblige!
I found this link on LinkedIn : http://www.lklfinearts.com/ This company offers to paint photos onto canvas, similar to a service I also offer. They promise to do a good job at a 'Favourable Price.' This tells me they're cheap.
I'm always trying to learn new things, especially from competitors. So I checked them out.
The first thing I notice is the text is wrought with typos and grammatical errors. Now, several times I've gone to ArtofJohnFrench.com and found some typos that I've had to correct. I'm betting there are still some there. But this reminds me of the literature you get when you buy a cheap power tool. Obviously not an American business. A closer look shows that theses folks operate out of China.
Next, I looked at the photos on their website. It looks like an oil painting sweatshop, and I'm betting theses are just the GOOD pictures! One photo shows young Chinese people painting away on what looks like an assembly line. Another shows dozens and dozens of paintings stacked up in a small room. The nicest photo shows a sunlit, airy gallery with a few people strolling through. But there are two nearly identical paintings hanging almost side by side. Yep, it's a rubber-stamping, oil painting sweatshop.
I tried to find some prices, but couldn't without actually trying to order something and waiting for a quote. I didn't want to waste anybody's time, including my own, so I didn't ask for a quote.
There is some debate on whether or not price should be easily available. I think price should be displayed prominently, whether art is on a wall or on a website. This serves to 'qualify' me in a prospect's mind, as well as qualify the prospect. Even my base price schedule for commissions can be easily viewed on my website.
I decided that this is not a competitor, any more than a poster company was a competitor. See, when people buy art, there are all sorts of considerations, including price. Do they need to spend $300 on a painting, or will a print do? Do they need to hire John French, or another artist? Should they take the time to search for a good, local artist, or just contact the Chinese company?
So in a way, this company is only a competitor if I let them. But I'm not going to compete with a group of artists on an assembly line in China selling cheap art. I'm not going to compete with print shops. I'm not even going to compete with other local artists.
I'm going to compete with myself. I'm going to better myself as much as I can. I'm going to turn out more work, higher quality work than I did before. I'm going to create art that people will brag about, that they'll be happy to spend a little extra on. I'm going to keep people coming back. I'm going to get referrals. I'm going to get so damn busy that I won't have time to do all the commissions that folks ask me for. I'm going to have a waiting list.
This will create demand for my work, and give it value. People will know that they are getting one-of-a-kind art!
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