Bastards of Art: Too polished for folk art, too punk for fine art.

Travel.

Its hard to see the world from one spot.  If we are truly a product of out environment, we must change our surroundings to change ourselves. It is important for an artist to have a keen and perspective.

In this episode Matt and Jon discuss how travel has changed their life.  From there personal experience traveling the globe, they encourage you to get lost in the vastness of this planet.

This the third and final episode dealing with the reproduction of your Art Work. Starting with Episode 15, We helped you discover how printing your art work was not as simple as Scan-Print.  It is not impossible to get the look you want with your reproductions.  We hope that this series of podcast takes some of the mystery and fear out go the equation.

 

 

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Print and Display

As promised, Bastards of Art Podcast helps to explain in depth how your art work can be photographed or scanned for reproduction. This is single handedly the most frustrating part of distributing Art!  If it was only as simple as a “How to Video”.

The common thread in the entire CAPTURE-DISPLAY-PRINT process is rendering color intent.  What did we lose each step of the way and how do we get it back.

To help explain the most important part of CAPTURE, we asked Jon Michael Ryan of Tangent Mind to give us his expertise on how he envisions capturing light. Jon is a cinematographer but as he like to say, ” I push on presses red buttons and stare a lot”

Jon Michael Ryan

www.tangentmind.com

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Capture Display Print

In this Episode you will get an overview of how to turn your art into a reproduction.  If you are looking to sell fine art prints or just wanting to display your work on a web page, there are a few concepts that have to be discovered to retain the visual intent of your art.

Without a doubt most artist have seen reproductions of their work that look less than stellar. There is more to creating a reproduction that “scan and print”.  The good news is you don’t have to be a genius to understand this new language. A basic understanding will help to navigate the world of rendering intent.

The general break down is Capture, Display and Print.

Capture : How the image is converted to a digital file. (scanner, DSLR..)

Display : What platform the file is view. (monitor, iPhone television..)

Print : How to convert your project back to a physical image. (poster, banner, art print..)

In the following episodes we will break each step down a bit more but for now enjoy an overview of the printing process on this episode of TheBastards of Art.

 

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Ritual vs. Routine.

Switching our minds into work mode is not as simple as one, two, three.  We can get into an autopilot and set up our workspace but that doesn’t bring us into the moment.  Once you are set up, you can still not be in the right frame of mind to be creative.

A routine is a checklist of tasks to be completed.  It is designed to be mindless and remove stress.  Simple tasks like making coffee can be such a routine.  We are thinking about our day while we prep our coffee maker. The task list is so routine, you question if you even remembered to do it. Then you smell your morning coffee and thank yourself.

A Ritual is like a routine is the sense that it has a list.  The difference is the steps in the routine ask you to be more present.  If making coffee was a routine, you would slow down and take joy in each step.  As you measures the beans, to counting how long to grind them, weigh out your grinds to adding clean water and so forth.

When you start to add a ritual to you art life, you will find it bring in good energy to you and your moment.

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Relieving the Tension in Retention

It is Business 101 to know that it is cheaper to keep an existing client than to make new ones.  In this episode of Bastards of Art, we discuss how to concentrate your efforts on retaining the clientele base that you already have.

Do you still remember what it was like to be a client? You should walk yourself through how you conduct business through the eyes of your client.  Is it engaging, informative and efficient?  It’s time to reassess how well you are retaining your people.  We all get busy working, but remember, you’re prospering today because of the seeds you planted yesterday.

This podcast will expand on the following ideas:

Retention

1. Product and brand

Brand yourself.

2. Sell and Educate

What is life like before and after a client meets you?

3. Get personal.

Being consistent with your client and getting to know them as well.

4. Give good, get good.

Be efficient with you and your clients time. You will get out what you put in.

 

Do you do it? Do you practice it?

Practice being a client again.

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The Face of Networking

What is a better feeling than going to your eatery and having the person serving you know your name and how you like your food? Today’s business world has been hidden behind social media. It’s easy to post the hell out of your paintings and illustrations.  I have a few people I follow that I would love to see in real life!  Their work is so beautiful. The problem is there is a disconnect because I only get to see it on Instagram and I have never met the artist.

It’s time to suit up and get out there. Let’s Network!

Why

Networking in person allows people to see you.  It’s really simple.  People want to see who they are dealing with and how they carry themselves.  It is important to create awareness and recognition.  Give your new clients and collectors a strong handshake with a huge high five.

How

The best way to network is by joining existing social circles.  You may be into books, golf or even cycling. There are already groups out there that meet regularly that share that common bond.  It won’t take long to build a relationships with people that are already like minded.  When they find out what other assets and talents you have, you are going to be the one they trust.

You can also form your own groups.  It doesn’t have to be a about your painting or products.  If you are a runner, set up a running group that meets weekly.  Bring together a bunch of people that what to hang out.  We are social creatures so it shouldn’t be to hard.

Follow Up

After getting out there and spending a weekend at an Art Fair or Tattoo Convention, it is very important to follow up.  Give your new friends a phone call and tell them you enjoyed meeting them.  You can write a letter or even send a small gift.  This is how you start to build new meaningful relationships.

Don’t hide in safely in your studio forever! Let people meet you.  They are interested in your work and now they want to put a face with it.  Let your smile shine.

To Be an Entrepreneur

Many people have great ideas for the next big thing.  Having an idea and seeing it to fruition takes that certain someone. I sat down with Bale from Albuquerque’s Por Vida Tattoo to talk about his latest endeavor, creating a magazine entitled “Tattoo Marque”.

In this episode of Bastards of Art, Bale shines some light on how he approaches life as a young entrepreneur.  To his credit he has a built a successful tattoo studio, starting his 7th year promoting Duke City Tattoo Fiesta and has just finished his fourth issue of his new magazine.

There are a few character traits that one needs to accomplish such lofty goal. Bale tells us how he tackles his problems and pushes aside the obstacles that would have stopped other long before they started.

Seven Traits of an Entrepreneur

* Tenacity

* Passion

* Tolerance

* Vision

* Self-Belief

* Flexibility

* Rule Breaking

You can find what Bale has going for him in the links below:

 

http://dukecitytattoofiesta.com

http://porvida-tattoo.com

http://tattoomarque.com

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Episode 10

Marketing NOT Advertising

Turn your Likes into Gold! Actually, turn your Social Media apps and services into a productive tool.

Jonathan and Matt explain how to understand how to funnel your online content into real world meetings.  It doesn't have to feel so confusing.  Ever wonder what to post online to get people purchase your wares?

There are three basic ideas to this funnel effect:

* Set up social media tools.

* Have a Website with good information and a Contact Page.

* Set up an easy way for you to follow up on all contacts.

Sound pretty simple? It really is.  But there a a few thing you need to understand. When starting with step one, there is a lot of trial and error.  Get out there and see what works.  To actually track your progress, or see if people are even flocking to your web page, look at the analytics.  The internet tracks your every click, so it is very simple to see if you are getting the traffic you had hoped for.

You can look at your websites traffic to see how long people stay on your page and what they visit.  Are they clicking on that contact information page?

I will say that to date, (all 10 episodes mind you) this has been my favorite episode. Not only do I feel very strongly about online marketing, but Jonathan and I brought in an expert, Erica Skrivan.  Erica is an Account Manager at Kolbeco, A Brand Media Agency in O'Fallon, MO.  Together with her team, they can help anyone drive traffic to your closing sales. Erica says, "I mange client relationships, develop content, manage social media accounts, branding, PR, and much more..."

Please enjoy this episode of the Bastards of Art Podcast!  If you are interested in taking your online marketing to a streamlined performance, you can explore http://www.kolbeco.net.

Thank you

-Matt Hodel

 

Bastardsart · BOA63 Mixdown

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Bastards of Art Host: Matt Hodel

Matt Hodel is the owner of Ragtime Tattoo and Lillian Press in St. Louis Missouri.

Episode 9

Hobby vs. Success

In the book Devil in Paradise, author Henry Miller said something like "Eventually you will have to decide, what is your career and what is your hobby"

In context Miller was discussing his life with writing asa a professional, but everyone with a passionate hobby will fantasize about how to turn their love into a career path. How do you make a career out of doing something you love?

It is also said that you must pick your career before it picks you.  Jonathan and Matt discuss how frightening it was to do Art full time.  The path is rarely as nosey as our day dreams.

Enjoy Episode 9!

Also, please go to iTunes and leave a comment...

Thank you!

Matt Hodel

 

 

Bastardsart · BOA63 Mixdown

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Contact

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Bastards of Art Host: Matt Hodel

Matt Hodel is the owner of Ragtime Tattoo and Lillian Press in St. Louis Missouri. Working as a self-employed artist since 1995, he left his fine arts degree for a path in the low brow art world. He apprenticed for tattooing in the 90's at Iron Age Studios. From there he has traveled the globe working as an artist.

Today Matt splits his time between St. Louis and the Ozark Mountains. He enjoys Risograph Printing, landscape painting, and digital painting. Matt brings these podcasts to you the listener in hopes to inspire and motivate.

For other projects vist: Matt Hodel Design