Here's an image of the Monte Carlo sign in Billings, Montana. Okay, then, so I'm an artist. This is what I do. Strange isn't it? I take pictures of neon signs then saturate the colors in Photoshop. Then I make very detailed prints of them and sell at stores in Southern California.
I have about 5000 images of signs from all around the world.
If you want you can email me at matthewbam@aol.com to buy one. They come framed (in silver metal frames, acid free mats, also). The picture (printed out at 10.75" X 14.75"), with frame, is a little less than 16X20 inches. The price of print and frame is $195, including shipping anywhere in the U.S.
My friend Betty over at AOL had a question about how you find places to sell your work.
I usually get to know the people before I ask, say, people in a furniture store or coffee shop. After I've visited a few times or gotten to know the people through other avenues, I ask them if they need photographs for their walls. If they say yes, I then ask them if I can sell them and if we can split the profit somehow.
Sometimes I cold call. This works sometimes, especially if you see some images already for sale on a wall of a coffee shop or inside a gift shop. Cold calling involves:
1. Finding a place (coffee shop, furniture store, antique store, consignment shop) that sells stuff that matches your images. For example, my images are mid-century modern, so I look for outlets that sell mid-century modern furniture and/or accessories or something similar (like contemporary furnishings). Use the Internet or just drive around to locate these types of places, and don't look only in your city, but surrounding cities also.
2. Preparing the best of the best of your work, framed, matted and ready to go. Have samples in a variety of sizes and put them neatly packed in the trunk of your car.
3. Phone the place(s) that you've found on the Internet, tell them what you have and ask them if they'd like to make an appointment with you to see them.
4. Go to your appointment with your images and make a deal.
