Balancing both is the challenge as my need to paint every day and create my own works is set against the demand to work with other artists and assist them to manage their artwork into a product that can be marketed and converted into a regular income. However what other job allows you to work with fantastic images every day?
2018 has started well with my work currently being exhibited in Sydney, Australia as well as the Guild Artists Exhibition 2018 in Stratford-upon-Avon and Battersea during May. So with my ‘artist hat’ on I must try to finish the multiple works still on the easel in time for this June’s exhibitions and Open Studios events. Tunbridge Wells is holding the ‘arTWorks Trail’(open studio) this June which represents 39 local artists based at eleven sites.
Wearing my ‘Fine art printer hat’ means the pressure is on to scan the images and produce fine art prints for shows as well as still manage my international clients’ works for both UK and International distribution. Tara Winona is an example of how this works in practice. Tara Winona is based in both Australia and the UK, so she required a central location to use as a base for the production of limited edition prints and distribution to galleries in the northern hemisphere. Tara understands that you need to be able to concentrate on your core product, as an artist you must produce work. Juggling two markets on opposite sides of the globe is extremely challenging. I liaise with galleries, art fairs and retail, turning her highly saleable work into a financial return in the UK, Europe and America. My services include stretching her finished canvases and for limited-edition print runs, scanning, preparation and framing. Tara says “Neal’s excellent service means I can keep the market in the UK and northern hemisphere going whilst concentrating on the market in Australia. Without him, this would be impossible. He has become like having a second me.”
Carole Robson is a watercolour and mixed media painter who uses my services to produce her digital art.
‘My digital art begins with my paintings, which I combine by layering them and then experimenting in various ways. I may alter colours, add a drawing or subtract parts of the images, searching always for an exciting abstraction. I find that it’s a very creative process, where the possibilities are endless and the biggest problem is often knowing when to stop.’
Artists generally find it difficult to turn their images into a product that will serve to increase their income from each image whilst retaining the integrity and value of the original and the prints. There is still an unfounded reluctance from some galleries and printmakers about the value of the Giclée Prints in the art market. However, each development in technology has enabled artists to produce prints which are affordable to the general art buying public rather than being an ‘exclusive’ product only for those with deep pockets. Art is for the masses, not the few. Many of my art buyers then use my services to help them source images for their home as well as to design and hang the works.
A good relationship between framers and printers/artists is essential to ensure a high-quality product is created and enjoyed for years to come. Buying prints is not just about the unit cost – the printer and framer offer you valuable advice and experience free of charge.
Local Events & Shows where Neal Scrase is exhibiting:
arTWorks Open studio event – 2 – 10 June.
artworkstrail.wixsite.com/artworks/town-court-farm
TWells Gallery – Monson Rd Tunbridge Wells – Mon-Sat
www.twellsgallery.com
www.NealScrase.com – 07876 219406
Town Court Farm, Tunbridge Wells.
art@nealscrase.com
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