Well, firstly, that is a good problem to have: That people want your work so badly that they are willing to sneak and connive to get them! I do know what you mean, though, as I have some pieces I always kept and if I used them in shows always had the NFS and "in artists private collection" Of course people always want what they can't have.
I began to think, maybe I should do a show where they all say NFS and people will be knocking one another over to buy them! ;)
I had a piece I didn't want to sell, it was a piece with two figures in oil pretty large work, I had a nice frame made for it and I had it in my shop (When I was foolish enough to own a retail shop). A customer finally convinced me to sell it at a ridiculous price (the only way I would let it go) and I always regret it to this day.
That was when I KNEW money was never worth more than the joy of a thing and so who knows what that money went to , but I can't recall, and I wish I could still look at my old painting.
I can't wait to hear about how your customer finally got yours and would have loved to been a fly on the wall when you went to retrieve the piece the customer had taken by switching them.
The world is a funny old place and the art world is the funniest of all places!
Definitely a good problem to have and I am very thankful for my passionate fans.
You are right, the harder something to get, the more people want something. When I saw your post last night with tired eyes, I was wondering why you would label your work as NSFW 😜 hahaha... NFS of course makes much more sense! Would be interesting to do a show like that and see all the people leave the gallery with paintings that were "not for sale" ;-)
I think, when you work as an artist long enough, we all have such stories. And we all have to part with that one piece eventually, that we should have kept. I often try to think of ways how to keep my originals and I am very thankful, with my prints selling the way they do. I still can't afford to keep my original work for myself, but at least I'm getting closer...
Oh god yeah, that other story... to weird to tell. In the end, the man turned out to probably be the best friend I ever had, but we don't always understand everything right away ;-)
If we steemian artists ever get to be in the same geograpical location at the same time I think it would be hilarious to do a NFS (not for sale ;) ) show and see how much more we actually do sell.
It is true that first impressions aren't always good and sometimes people who annoyed us or came into our life in a way less than pleasant at first can turn out to be blessings in disguise.
What I love about being an artist is society gives us a sort of 'pass' to any current morays or attitudes or taboos and we, crazy creatives that we are, can get away with saying the most odd things at dinner parties or going about the streets in 19th century outfits (I had a period where I wore literally 1900's clothing most of the time in my small town.) Because of that, though I met an artist who wanted to paint me and we became great friends and I even worked for him for a while when I was in my early 20s. It is a funny old life.
Sorry, I went off on a tangent again. Me and my long winded comments...Oh well, I'm an artist so you have to forgive me, right ;)
You know what, that's not a bad idea! We are in the same geograpical location... planet earth! I did a show with 70 professional female artists in 2015. Logistics were a nightmare, but it can be done!
"The one and only NFS show" None of the works are for sale, but you can buy whichever you want 😜
You are right, with artists being granted that special role. Its ok, as long as it isn't abused. Which unfortunately I have witnessed more than one time.
Looks like you used your extra "freedom" right. I'd love to see you in these clothes... do you have any photos?
yes, so true.
This what happened to me one time when I brought a painting in for framing to my gallerist. Following day he phoned me and asked if I sell it, he has a customer. This was a long time ago, when my hourly wage was about $ 2.- and you were living like Croesus if you made 100 bucks a week. I did not want to let this go, so to scare off the customer, I said 1,500.- - he called me back a short while later: SOLD!
To put this into perspective, my last hourly wage before retirement in 2006 was $ 26.50.
Unfortunately I never had a photo of it, except a corner of it is showing on an old studio-portrait of mine.
Haha, did that too once... long ago. The client actually added 100,- Mark tip, because I was so "cooperative" 🤪
I believe there are collectors out there that don't even take a second look if something is 'inexpensive' - they buy stuff for bragging rights to show their friends.
When I exhibited at the Grand Salon in Bas Säckingen, there was this nice young Italian artists, Elisa Bertolini, quite talented, who showed a striking large portrait of a homeless man - the price was one tenth of what other paintings there were. Pavlina and I counselled her about pricing. I said if somebody doesn't snap that up right away, then there must really be something wrong with the crowd. But you might as well just give it away.
would you believe € 750,-? I said she is nuts!