This plein air acrylic on panel was completed in 90 minutes 18 inches x 16.5 inches by: Len Sodenkamp, (Fourth of July Creek) Stanley Basin Idaho 9-26-12

Autumn Afternoon Aspen 4 feet x 7 feet acrylic on panel (sold) by Len Sodenkamp www.sodenkampart.com

A magical place located about an hour and a half east on the interstate from my home in Boise Idaho. The falls are formed by the Snake River which runs right through the lovely city of Twin Falls Idaho and is absolutely a must see. From there it is easy driving distance to such world renown locations as Sun Valley and one of my personal favourites; the Stanley Basin and Sawtooth Mountains. Yellowstone Park is just a days drive as well. A person could spend a month visiting this area and only scratch the surface.

The Falls are appropriately named after the beautiful Shoshone people who have lived for thousands of years throughout this majestic geographic area.

Shoshone Falls Summer Evening is a commission work and is soon to be displayed at a local hospital accompanied by (3) other commissions depicting the four seasons.

Not to be cliché but here is Dictionary.com’s definition of Career

ca•reer 
noun
1.an occupation or profession, especially one requiring special training, followed as one’s lifework: He sought a career as a lawyer.
2.a person’s progress or general course of action through life or through a phase of life, as in some profession or undertaking: His career as a soldier ended with the armistice.
3.success in a profession, occupation, etc.

1. http://www.popphoto.com/news/2011/05/cindy-sherman-print-sells-39-million-auction-highest-ever-photograp

Q: What was the moment you knew you were meant to be an artist?
A: No defining moment created an urge for me to be an artist but the evolution of my increasing appreciation for art directed me to eventually want to make my own artwork.

Q: What has been the most exciting thing that has happened to you as an artist so far?
A: Working as an intern at The Museum of Modern Art is the most exciting experience for me as an individual and as an artist. I met living artists who thrive and live as professional artists. In many cities there is a negative stigma when people state “I want to be an artist” people respond with “That’s nice but what are you really going to do?” But art is a profession a lifestyle, a career.

Q: What is your artistic process like? Where do you find the inspiration for your art?
A: My artistic process begins with the set up. If I can set up my painting area then I won’t stop painting. The initial work is all I need to do to get started on a piece. Inspiration comes from anything or anyone. I work well with concepts, beginning with a conceptual thought is a great place for me to get ideas flowing about what to paint.

Q: Why is art important to you? Why should buying real art be important to people looking to purchase art?
A: Art is important to me because it communicates; it communicates to everyone. Art is not bound by a language or gender. Buying artwork made by an artist rather than a mass produced image is important because it is a story for the artist and it will develop a story with the owner. Artwork brings life to a home.

Q: Why did you decide to join ArtGalleree?
A: I joined ArtGalleree because this website creates an easy way for real art to come to your home. ArtGalleree connects people from all over the world to art all over the world.

But then I have to remind myself that how each person responds to art is in their mind not my mind. I can’t presume to truly understand what people think when they look at art.

Verbal feed back from people who like my work or better yet buy it; might have some interesting insights. To believe I know what others think is just egos assumption.

So at least once a year I ask myself this question: Do we create art for ourselves or others?

One thing that needs to be clear is who your audience is. Who do you want to sell your work to? The most common answer to this is ‘anyone!’ I recently had a number of new works showing in a group exhibition for the first time, and some of the price ranges were crazy (£50-£4000) – not crazy in a comparison with other works, but for individual pieces themselves. The majority of artists had submitted their work from across the globe, and were all relatively unknown. Most of the works were quite experimental, in the sense that they weren’t framed or were using a wide combination of mediums not usually associated with 2D work. What struck me the most was the number of paper-based works, unframed, that were priced in the thousands. Would you pay a lot of money for an artwork that was unframed, unprotected and could easily be damaged?

When pricing work, you always have to bear in mind that someone might actually want to buy it. It sounds obvious, but I know so many artists that get wrapped up in the process of making and their philosophy that pricing goes completely out of the window. To make your chances of selling greater, framing 2D work (particularly paper based) should be a given. Buyers will be less inclined to purchase work that isn’t framed, as they then have to go out (spending their own money) and buy a frame so they are then able to hang it. Most artists are aware that unframed works on paper are particularly vulnerable to ageing (fading, moisture damage) which in turn devalues the work and also won’t make your buyers happy in the long term.

There are a number of points I always bear in mind when pricing my artwork. Cost of materials, time spent creating and where I am showing. It’s so important to cover your basic material costs; there’s no point in pricing your work at £300 if the materials and framing alone cost you £450 – it doesn’t make sense and ultimately you are losing money, not making it. I have never seen my art practice as a business in the literal sense, but you do need to have a basic level of business know-how if you want to make a profit from your artwork and be a full time artist. The time you spend creating the work should really be high on the list too. If you have spent one month creating a sculpture (full time), if you were in a paid job what would you have earnt? Obviously it depends on the job, but the longer it takes, the higher the price. It’s also worth bearing in mind your success to date – have you been nominated for/won awards, shown at prestigious galleries/museums, had residencies, trained at art school/university? This all factors in to your reputation and art practice – your skills and experience have an influence on the work you create and what a buyer is getting as part of your artwork and you as an artist.

Working out the specifics of pricing isn’t as straightforward and is completely different for everyone, and so I’ll go into more detail on this in another post.

http://www.facebook.com/SamCliftArt