By Michael Armstrong
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Should you sell your prints framed or unframed?  A few years ago, I was confronted with the wonderful problem of having several people determined to buy one of my artworks during an opening night celebration. I had the dilemma of having to disappoint everyone except the eventual owner of the artwork. First world problem I know , but that was the moment I started to explore the creation of prints. Prints now constitute almost half my cash flow and are an integral component to my art business. I’ll save discussion for the process of print creation for another day. Today’s blog post is discussing the pros and cons of framing my prints for sale.
 
For many years I sold my prints unframed. Sealed and protected in plastic with a card backing to prevent damage from bending or folding in the post. They were neatly and professionally packaged but I still had concerns that I was missing out on sales; especially face to face sales from visitors to my studio. The quality of my prints is exceptional, the price reasonable so I wondered where the final resistance was coming from. As an artist I’m familiar with the process of framing and I often buy unframed artworks, prints and photographs from young artists when I travel. I like the idea of framing these works myself and I’m not intimidated at all about the process. I wondered if my view was perhaps biased when people exclaimed how much they liked a print but still hesitated at the purchase. Is this wavering a hesitation at the prospect of framing? The unknown costs? The unknown process?
 
It was in response to this uncertainty that I decided to frame some of my prints. I thought it wouldn’t do any harm to have a range of my prints dressed up in a nice frame ready to hang on a wall. The decision made, I investigated options to proceed. I’ve often been disappointed with the quality of framing, for that reason I started manufacturing my own frames from raw materials. I even machined my own timber. The resulting frames were beautiful, and I felt a perfect match for my original works. The amount of labour and materials was extensive and added $300 to the cost of an original artwork but given the price of an original work I felt the investment was reasonable. $300 is not reasonable for a print though. 
 
The Frame Depot produce a range pre-made frames that found I could buy in bulk for a reasonable price (https://framedepot.com.au ). They had comparable designs to my handmade hardwood frames without the labour and materials cost. I had previously purchased a mat cutter for framing my original works and found the process straight forward and cost effective. I purchase my mat and foam materials for framing from Foam Boards Australia (https://www.foamboards.com.au). This combination, including my labour costs, allowed me to produce a range of framed prints for the reasonable price range of $120 - $140 depending on print sizes (A4-A3). This is exceedingly good value and the resulting prints in my opinion look fabulous. The thought now of presenting my prints to customers in any other format seems ridiculous and the argument redundant. 
 
I continue to offer unframed prints for sale for those that would like the pleasure or discount from framing them themselves. I have adjusted the way I display my prints, moving away from displays of plastic wrapped prints to framed, hung and lit prints to display them at their best.
 
If you’re interested in learning more about framing, the following YouTube video shows you how I go about framing my prints with the materials described above.

​The artwork in this video is Michel, a painting I completed from life in 2005 and only recently was able to borrow back from its owner to have a scan completed for print production. I’ve elaborated on the process of measuring up a mat for cutting below.
 
Measuring Up:
To further understand the detailed steps for measuring up the viewing window for an artwork to fit a frame please follow the following steps: 
 

1. Determine what the outside dimensions are for your mat and foam board by measuring the cavity in the frame. Frame Depot write these dimensions on the front of their frames for ease of use. In the video this dimension is 40cm x 50cm.
2. Cut pieces of mat and 5mm foam board to the dimensions of 40cm x 50cm. I source my mat and foam board from https://www.foamboards.com.au
3. Measure the artwork to determine how much you want visible through the viewing window in the mat board. For some works this is the outside edge of the canvas the artwork is on, for others it will include the white space around the drawing. In this example it was 24cm wide by 29cm high.
4. Subtract the viewing window from the outside dimensions of the foam/mat board and halve it to give you the distance from each edge:
   1. 40 – 24 = 16    /2 = 8cm
   2. 50 – 29 = 21   /2 = 10.5cm
5. Use these dimensions to draw your viewing window on the back of the mat board
6. Cut along these dimensions with the bevelled cutter

 
If you’re interested in supporting this blog please consider buying a Mike Armstrong print which can be found at his online shop:
 
https://traderspace.io/en/spaces/mike-armstrong-art
 
 
Author: Mike Armstrong
 
 

The creation of the internet promised to change the art market forever, seemingly crushing the monopoly that the traditional bricks and mortar galleries had as the gate keepers between artists and their audience. As gate keepers the galleries curated the ‘art world’, influenced trends, engaged with the media and promoted their pool of artists to their list of collectors. For this service galleries charged a 35-55% commission on all art sales, as well as charging the artist for the cost advertising, an opening night event and the transportation costs of shipping their art to the gallery for the show.
 
For the first time in the history of the world, artists are not geographically constrained. Social media and the internet allow artists to interact and market themselves to audiences in a truly global art market. More people can be exposed to an individual artists art than any other time in history. It’s quite staggering to think, but more people across the globe may have seen an emerging artists art through social medial than all the people who saw Rembrandts work while he was alive.
 
Over the last decade several websites have taken advantage of this technological advancement and claim to help artists reach potential audiences and achieve sales. Sites like Saatchi Art, Etsy and new Australian offering, Bluethumb. They claim to provide an easy means for artists to market and sell their work; but a closer look at their business model reveals this service comes at a steep cost.
 
Etsy
Etsy is a US e-commerce website focused on handmade and vintage items including art. It was launched in 2005 and represents one of the first and highly successful artistically focused sites on the web. Etsy charges its creators a small fee for every item listed within their inventory, roughly twenty cents an item every few months. They will also take a 5% transaction fee on every sale. This sounds significantly better than the 35-55% commission of old but with this introductory fee structure artists won’t get access to the wide array of tools Etsy has to enhance and boost sales. For that you need to pay $10 USD per month to get an upgraded account. They also offer a range of other enhancements like inhouse advertising to boost your items internal site profile, or an offsite advertising campaign. These come with additional charges like the 15% ad fee charged for offsite advertising. There are also in-person selling fees, payment processing fees, and even a Pattern fees of $15 per month if you want a pre-built shop template. 
 
Saatchi Art
Saatchi Art, originally Saatchi online, was started in 2006 as an online expansion of the Saatchi Art galleries and quickly grew to showcase the work of over 100,000 artists from 100 countries. Saatchi charges a flat 35% commission on original artwork sales but they get even greedier when it comes to Limited Edition prints. They take a whopping 50% commission on these prints and the cost of producing them is taken out of the artist share.
 
BlueThumb
BlueThumb has expended rapidly in Australia over the last 12 months, providing an Australian flavoured shopfront for local artists. They charge a flat 30% commission plus a $30 shipping fee, but they will coordinate the pick-up and transportation of your artwork. BlueThumb have placed some restrictions on the type of work they will deal with. They only accept original, signed artworks or limited-edition prints.
 
Sales Tax
Depending on the location of the buyer and/or seller sales tax may be required to be added to the overall cost of the artwork. This should be factored into any calculations you make for your own artwork costs. 
 
Comparison
 
The easiest way to compare these sites is to compare the final price of a single artwork sold on each of them. Using an original painting worth $500 to the artist, covering materials and labour, and excluding sales taxes. 
 
On Saatchi, to achieve $500 profit the artist would have to charge $675 plus postage.
 
On BlueThumb the artist would have to charge $680 but at least this price would include postage.
 
On Etsy the artist would have to charge approximately $526 plus postage and any monthly Enhancement ($10), or Pattern Fees ($15) or advertising (15%) $626….
 
 
These prices aren’t too dissimilar to what artists were getting charged by galleries in commissions prior to the advent of the internet; but unlike galleries, these online providers don’t have a network of collectors they’re promoting your work to. They aren’t managing your prices, exposing you to new collectors, curators, the media or sourcing reviews and articles in art periodicals, journals and books. These sites charge a premium for their service, but essentially what they do is host and display stock and provide a payment portal; pocketing a 35% commission for these services. These sites are quick to point out within their user guides that the artist needs to drive traffic to their page to generate sales. They provide advice on how to use social media and advertising campaigns to generate interest; but what their sites don’t inherently do is drive traffic to an artist’s art; not when 100,000 artists are all competing for attention. 
 
Every sale generated on one of these sites will be the result of the efforts of the artist. Either through their financial investment in advertising campaigns or their efforts of self-promotion through their social media accounts. 
 
Traderspace (www.traderspace.io)
 
A new offering on the web, Traderspace, went live late last year offering an alternative option for creators. Traderspace is built on the idea that the seller deserves to reap the benefits of their hard work. They charge a small monthly fee for the use of an individual ‘traderspace’, and the profits of every sale are 100% the artists. Do you want to list your products in a foreign currency? You can sell anywhere in the world in any currency. Do you want to offer services like a portrait commission or a photo shoot instead of stock items? It will help the artist do that through their listing and point of sale services. Do you want to offer the option to pay cash on pick-up? It has that option at the check-out if you want to include it. It will even let you sell items or services in exchange for crypto currency if you like dealing in crypto. 
 
 
 
This post is not being paid for or sponsored in any way to promote Traderspace. I was just so impressed with what they were trying to do, and as a fellow artist I could immediately see the merits of their system for my use case. They hadn’t built their platform specifically for creators but to me it was a perfect fit for the industry. I’m sick of organisations taking a cut of my profits and not seeing anything in return. 
 
I got to meet one of the developers during the beta testing phase of the application and agreed to have a play and offer suggestions. Every option I asked for to help me set up my own traderspace on the site the developer said yes to, and they’re now in the live version. He even agreed to remove the monthly fees so that way if you already had an online store like Etsy or Saatchi you could come and try Traderspace, and it wouldn’t cost you anything, no monthly fees, no commissions, no risk. The team at Traderspace believe in their product so much they were willing to put their money where their mouth is.  
 
You can check out the Traderspace I created for myself at https://traderspace.io/en/spaces/mike-armstrong-artYou’ll be able to have a look at the layout of my store and if you’re interested in giving it a go you can sign up for a trial while the site is completely free. 
 
Eventually the monthly fees for your traderspace will be reintroduced to cover the cost of the service. My traderspace was costing less than $10 per month, but with the introduction of an in-application social gold that is awarded for sales and reviews of my traderspace and importantly can be used to pay your monthly fees. This was further reducing my monthly expenses to nothing on some months. 
 
Author: Mike Armstrong

  In addition to being an artist Michael Armstrong is also a martial artist and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Black Belt and instructor at Redback BJJ Canberra Australia. Like art, martial arts has been a key component in his life since he was a child and has led to the achievement of several black belts, Senior Unarmed Combat Instructor in the Australian Army, and the coach of thousands of students over a three decade instructing career. Michael was recently invited to be interviewed on a Podcast called Behind the Black Belt and spoke at length about his art and martial arts journey. If you're interested in a behind the curtain look at my upbringing, family and the key moments that led him on his journey, please check out the podcast on all the major distribution applications or via YouTube on the link below.

In the interview Michael discussed the following topics:

• His upbringing in Papunya, Alice Springs and Melbourne Australia
• His Grandfather Jack Armstrong, Father John Armstrong and Mother Lynne Armstrong
• His wrestling experiences growing up
• His siblings
• His early forays in art, exhibiting, life drawing, art school and the role of the figure in his art
• His early Karate experience with instructor Shihan Frank Dimarco
• Joining The Australian Army
• Training with martial arts instructors and fellow students such as Wayne Williams, Chris Haseman, Bill Turner, Colin Crosby, Rob Williams, John Donahue, John Will, Tony Morris, Eduardo Diaz, Danny Weir, Declan Redman and Travis Faure
• His motivation and beliefs around martial arts training
• The impact martial arts and art making has had on each other
• The role of the Warrior Monk or Yamabushi in his life and art
• The role of martial arts and art in his current life

If you are interested in following up or interviewing Michael for your own podcast or blog please contact him through the CONTACT tab on this website

Oil based clays and plastilina like Monster Clay, Chavant and Roma are popular alternatives to natural clays for sculptors, artists and industrial designers. It’s ability to hold fine detail, its resistance to shrinking and the fact it can be worked and reworked for many years without cracking make it a medium of choice for many creators. Unlike natural clays, oil based clays cannot be fired in a kiln, their wax and oil content would cause them to melt. Instead a mould of a finished oil based clay creation is formed out of plaster or silicone which is then used to cast a bronze or resin art work. 
 
Oil based clays are commonly made from a mix of oils, waxes and natural clays; although the exact recipe of commercial clays is a closely held secret. Depending on the ratio and type of wax and oils, a firmer, waxy clay like Monster Clay or a more pliable clay, like Chavant, can be created. Because of the addition of expensive waxes, oil based clays are commonly more expensive than their natural clay counterparts. Australia doesn’t have a big market for oil based clays, which means they’re expensive and hard to find. After spending hundreds of dollars on importing expensive oil based clays I decided to try making clays myself. This particular recipe resulted from mixing and testing over 60 combinations of clays, oils and waxes, and is my favourite quick and easy recipe when I need inexpensive bulk clay in a hurry. It's consistency is softer than Monster Clay, feeling very similar to Chavant Le'Beau Touche. If you would like a waxier clay like Monster Clay, increase the volume of Hard Moulding Wax in the recipe until you achieve the consistency that you need. I've even created a video to show you the process as well as a complete list of instructions below.

Let me know how you go in the comments below.

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Ingredients:
550g of Hard Moulding Wax (I like the red, hard moulding wax from www.barnes.com.au)
1100g of Bees Wax (bulk beeswax can be purchased for around $23 kg (AUS), but with so many people taking up home bee keeping I’m finding I can source bees wax quiet easily for less)
550g Vaseline (supermarket Vaseline is easy to find but if you’re serious buying bulk will save you a lot of money)
275g Baby oil (supermarket baby oil is fine and cheap)
2060g Powdered Ball Clay (the cheapest ingredient and easy to find in pottery supply stores)
 
Equipment:

• Heavy based saucepan
• Silicone slotted spoon
• Induction cooktop with temperature control (I purchased a cheap one from KMART for around $50 AUS)
• Silicone cake tins (miniature loaf)
• Electronic scales
• Pyrex jug or bowl

Method:

1. Place the waxes, vaseline and baby oil in a large heavy based saucepan and gently heat the mixture to 80C/176F, stirring until melted and combined (Do not heat the mixture over 80C/176F otherwise the waxes will burn).
2. Place the powdered clay in to the saucepan with the melted waxes and oils being careful of creating dust as you pour in the clay. Leave the temp.
3. Stir the clay into the wax and oil mixture until smooth and free of lumps.
4. Pour the molten clay into the silicone moulds.
5. Once the clay is firm enough to be moved, place the full moulds into a fridge or freezer until completely set. The now set and cold clay will easily and cleanly be turned out of the moulds.
6. The clay bricks will be very firm when first created especially in cold weather. Gently heating the clay in the microwave in a pyrex jug will make the clay easier to work with. Be careful the clay can be very hot when first taken out of the microwave. 
7. Condition the clay by kneading small amounts of it until it is smooth and slightly elastic before use. 

SAFETY POINTS!!

• Work in a well ventilated environment to minimise risk of exposure to fumes and dust.
• When melting the waxes and oils together, do not heat the wax and oil mix above 80 degrees Centigrade or the waxes may burn releasing fumes.
• Wear a dust mask when handling powdered ball clay as the dust can cause damage to your lungs. 
• Be careful of hot clay when heating it in the microwave. Heat it gradually and test it regularly. 

This article was written by Michael Armstrong and cannot be reproduced in part or full without attributing the work to the author.

After a busy and successful exhibition period in Toowoomba, Michael Armstrong has moved to Canberra, Australia, and taken up residence in the Australian National Capital Artists studio complex in Mitchell. With no exhibition plans currently, Michael is instead focused on finishing off his Masters of Creative Arts and exploring his art practice in his new environment. 

Media Interview: Michael Armstrong conducted an interview with the Chronicle News in Toowoomba leading up his exhibition in December 2016. It provides an insight into his thought processes at the time and some footage from the show, for those unable to get to it Check it out here:

  I attended the Marie Ellis OAM Prize opening night gala as a finalist and was fortunate enough to be awarded the 2016 Prize for my work 'Traits of the Living, Dying' 2016. I recorded some footage and photos on the night and cut a quick video to share the other works.

Michael's Armstrong's work, Traits of the Living (Dying), 2016, was awarded this years Marie Ellis OAM Prize for Drawing. The finalists exhibition is currently on at the Jugglers Art Space Brisbane, and contains a fantastic array of contemporary drawing from across Australia. The 25 finalists were selected for the exhibition came from over 200 entries and demonstrates the prizes continued maturing as one of Australia's premier drawing prizes. 

Michael Armstrong's graphite work, 'Traits of the Living (Dying)' 2016, has been selected as a finalist for the Marie Ellis OAM Prize for Drawing 2016. The award aims to encourage excellence in drawing as an important foundation for any arts practice. 25 finalists have been selected with the works scheduled for exhibition at Jugglers Art Space during August 2016. The exhibition will be running from the 2nd to the 30th of August with an opening night on Friday the 5th from 6pm til 9pm. Details of the exhibition and other finalists can be found here. 

​The link below is to an article and photos from my exhibition on 1 July 2016 in the Toowoomba Chronicle. The night was a great success with a good turnout and some wonderful comments from the attendees. Unfortunately it was a 'one night' show; my study commitments preventing me from holding it over a longer period. I am currently looking at some other venues for options to exhibit the show again later this year. Follow me on Facebook to find out when the next show will be held and other news and images of my work.

http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/life-as-a-soldier-explored-in-art-exhibition/3058827/#/0

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