Sunday, January 25, 2015

A Google Search

The other day I did a Google search of my name, plus photography. Did it ever turn up some surprises, including, but not limited to, that one of my pieces may be purchased from WalMart, of all things.

Ebay--check.

Wayfair--check.

AllPosters--check. (multiple foreign versions too!)

Art.com--check.

Overstock.com--check.

Amazon--check.

Wonder how that happened? Wonder no more. In a word--SunDance.

Here's how it works...I send them images, maybe something like this:
Depending on whether they think they have a market for it, they either print it, market it, or shelve it for later use. They know their audience, many times choosing things I would probably never be able to sell myself. Or, maybe I'm wrong, maybe they are a better judge of what the public wants? The photo I linked to above, on the Wayfair website, is one I took on my way to Groveland while looking for black bamboo to plant in our yard. I never did get the bamboo, however, I did get the shot over Lake Minnehaha in Clermont!

One of the reasons SunDance likes me is because I keep shooting, which makes us a perfect fit for one another.
So, now you may be wondering more about how things appear on various websites, and in stores. I'll tell you what I know. Not too unlike me, SunDance sets up a booth at trade shows! There are big ones on either side of the country, New York and Los Angeles, or so I think, where buyers peruse the booths set up by art publishers, looking for the next big thing. SunDance has 80 artists now, so what I think they do is print something showing their work, as well as have more to show on an iPad. I'm pretty sure that is where they met the Hobby Lobby folks. Then too, they establish relationships with clients such as the folks at Kirklands who have purchased two different images of mine.

About two weeks ago, I got an email from Sarah, one of the owners of SunDance, who you may recall handed me that amazing check back in September.  She told me that a client was purchasing an image, (at one of the trade shows), and they wondered if I could "brighten up" my bio because they include that with the image. I did my best, however, when you are completely self taught, there really isn't all that much to say!

There is both a wall art division, and what they call licensing, which is when artwork is purchased for products. Just yesterday I got my monthly check, and under the licensing portion, I saw sales for a trunk. Don't know who, or where, that went, but I do find it interesting. Generally the licensing images are sold to manufacturers of things like shower curtains, apparently trunks, lamps and the like. Once SunDance gets paid, I get paid--10%.

More often than not, what they sell, and what I sell, are not one and the same, however, they have had success with the VW van that I shot in this very location, during my morning bike ride a few days after Christmas two years ago.
I've never seen that van again, although I'd like to. Speaking of vans, Friday morning, I drove through a neighborhood that I'd ignored forever. Much to my surprise I came across two vans on adjacent streets. I LOVE how the van matches the house!
Although I knocked on the red door above, and the green one below,
no one was home, either place. I wanted to get permission to shoot a little closer. Both of them are fun, but I think I'm most partial to the red one. :)

I came across this neighborhood on my way home from RT-Art, my longtime printers.  If you've been reading for very long you know that R stands for Roger, and T for Trish. These days Roger doesn't spend much time with the business, whereas Trish has taken on a bigger role since they moved into their new space.
Which, btw, they are filling up at an alarming rate. Roger is a master at storage solutions.
That bubble wrap is really something isn't it? The printer below is a new one. When I began with Roger, they counted about 15 artists who used them regularly. Well, these days, get this--they have nearly 800 artists on their books!!! Talk about growing a business! The couple sitting across the desk from Trish are new folks looking for a printer. They need look no further as RT-Art is the best!

Now you know how I make money from my photography. Any more questions?

Pretty soon this blog may need to change it's name to something like Skywatch, as, lately, I seem to be posting a lot that would fit that title nicely. I love how after a mostly gray day, the sun may finally come out just before sunset and the sky turns a lovely shade of navy blue. Looking out my east facing front door, the sky gets all dramatic.
The magnolias are blooming!! The morning sky is a much paler shade of blue.
As you can imagine, one of the reasons that I love having SunDance on my team is that I don't have to do much myself, other than provide the image. What is not to like about that? Don't get me wrong, I'm not really the lazy type, however, it is 43 degrees right now, and it is Sunday, so time to bundle up, and get out there to my own booth and see what the day brings.

That Google search--wow--never in my wildest imaginings could I have seen anything like this coming when Bruce convinced me that I could do something with my photography......

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