Beginning Oil Painting Workshops

The Beginning Oil Painting Workshop is designed for painters and non-painters alike who are interested in learning how to use oil paints. The workshop is taught in two back to back sessions so that participants can keep a continuous thought as they learn to work with oils. Sara Eyestone teaches techniques for mixing, glazing, and layering colors, and she introduces simple painting methods that enable each art student to begin a journey that can last a lifetime. She has compiled a supply list that that includes all of the basics, and she sends it to each registered student.

The next beginning oil painting workshop will be in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Saturday and Sunday, February 6 and 7, 2010. Saturday’s session will be from 10 to 1, beginning with a presentation and demonstration by the artist; Sunday’s session will be from 10 to 1. This workshop will be held in The Canyon Room of La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa.

The cost of this beginning oil painting workshop is $100, paid in advance. To register, please send your check to Sara Eyestone, Artist and Art Curator, La Posada de Santa Fe, 330 East Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501 or telephone the artist with your credit card number at 505 577 4991.

For a discounted room at La Posada de Santa Fe and no resort fees, please contact Jennifer Riek in the sales department of the hotel, 505 986 0006, or email her at jenniferr@lpdsf.com. Discounted rooms are reserved on a first come first served basis depending upon availability.

Art Marketing Workshops

“Sara Eyestone’s marketing workshops help artists  
find their way.”

Sara Eyestone's Creative Approach to the Business of Marketing Art is an intensely informative, empowering two-day workshop for artists of all levels of expertise who are interested in making a better living with their art. Eyestone has presented these workshops to thousands of artists over the years and is now writing a book on the subject.

These are commercial workshops, and the focus is business, not art.    
 
In this “Business Workshop” Eyestone helps prepare artists to be more professional by improving their organizational skills, re-pricing their original work, writing effective biographies and promotional materials, and creating impressive press packets.

Sara Eyestone introduces systems to make more studio time and methods for cataloging photography, art, mail, tax deductions, and finances. She shares sources for wholesale art and frame suppliers, publishing contacts, and valuable Internet information. The artist also presents ways to attract more press and personal appearances, including television and magazine articles. This workshop ends with a critique of artwork from each participating artist. 
 
With the information drawn from the “Business Workshop,” professional artists lay plans to create a collection of work, plan a one-person show, and learn how to license signature lines from their work, including art posters and prints. That, and art in general, is the focus of the second day of her workshop, created for the artists who have attended the first.

 “I believe that the best way American artists develop a large following is by having their art published and distributed internationally,” Sara Eyestone said in a recent interview. “It takes more than talent. Global exposure is what generates opportunities for artists who support themselves with their work.” 

 
The second day of Eyestone’s marketing workshop for artists focuses on success and elaborates upon information from the first workshop, adding sources and details about international art and trade shows, one-person exhibitions, and studio sales for independent artists. She tells artists how to find and approach top galleries and publishers, and how to license signature lines of products made from their art. Eyestone creates gallery agreements with the workshop participants and shares an outline for creating an exciting new collection of original work using a deadline system with the time management system she introduced in the first workshop. Sara Eyestone ends the second workshop with ideas that give artists higher profiles with more active roles in the American art scene.

Sara Eyestone’s next two-day Art Marketing Workshop will be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Saturday and Sunday, February 20 and 21, 2010.  Saturday’s session will be held from 9 to 4; Sunday’s session will be held from 10 to 1 with a critique of two pieces of each participants art to follow.

This workshop will be held in The Board Room of La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa and it is limited to 15 people.

The cost of this two-day art marketing workshop is $200 paid in advance.  To reserve your space, please send your check for $200 to Sara Eyestone, Artist and Art Curator, La Posada de Santa Fe, 330 East Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501 or telephone the artist with your credit card number at 505 577 4991.

For a discounted room at La Posada de Santa Fe and no resort fees, please contact Jennifer Riek in the sales department of the hotel 505 986 0006, or email her at jenniferr@lpdsf.com.  Discounted rooms are reserved on a first come first served basis depending upon availability.

A CONVERSATION WITH THE ARTIST ABOUT 
THE BUSINESS OF HER ART

When asked to tell the story of my career from a business perspective, I began by saying, “I was born artistic, and I have spent a lifetime developing my talent, my business, and my place as a woman in the American art scene. I am successful, and I am a good example for others who have talent and great expectations.” 
 
As a young, female artist in the early 1960’s, galleries insisted I sign only my last name to disguise my gender, which apparently gave credibility to my work. Women in the arts were considered hobbyists, and we were rarely taken seriously, while our male counterparts were considered brilliant or gifted. Why else would men choose to be artists when they could be doctors or lawyers or anything else? 
 
Other than the fact that my art sold, I had very little encouragement, but I took myself seriously, I stayed focused, and I worked hard at not only creating art but also at making a business of it. By the early seventies, my work with “Sara Eyestone” as my signature was reproduced as international art posters and Caspari note cards and sold in over 500 museum shops worldwide.  
 
Still, my publishers preferred that I discuss my life as an artist when interviewed, but never the business of art. That perpetuated the idea that artists are colorful people who know nothing about business. I maintain that most people, despite their profession, know very little about business, but if you are self-employed, you must make it your responsibility to learn. 
 
By the 1980’s I began presenting workshops titled A Creative Approach to the Business of Art for artists of all levels of expertise, at my Jersey Shore studio. In due course I became the first artist, male or female, to be honored as a business leader by the New Jersey State Senate. I was also the first artist on NBC’s Today Show. They filmed a five minute segment at my Jersey shore studio where I painted and talked about marketing art. 
 
Over the course of the next few years, Jersey Woman Magazine featured me on three of their magazine covers with articles about my art and my global perspective. National magazines like Art Business News and Working Woman Magazine also featured Eyestone articles about my approach to the business of art, while a feature article in Southwest Art was about the art, the artist, and my creative approach to business.  
 
In the 1990’s we moved to Texas. My son Joshua suggested that I approach The San Antonio Business Journal to create a series about the business of art. I telephoned the editor, and his reaction was incredulous! He told me in no uncertain terms that his was a serious publication, a BUSINESS journal, and if he were to even consider doing an article about the so-called art business, he would have other artists coming out of the walls wanting space!  
 
As soon as I got off the telephone, I called a messenger service and sent the editor my resume, press clippings, magazine articles, and a cover letter saying that he owed me an apology and that I would accept it when he called with the name of the reporter who would interview me about the business of art for a cover story. He called that afternoon! 
 
Things continue to change, but it is still difficult for artists everywhere to find venues that market their work. Having a business plan is my solution, and that plan should include publishing: reproductions in books, art posters, note cards and calendars distributed professionally makes artwork global. Every artist that becomes successful helps dispel the “starving artist” myths, and we all benefit from each other’s success.  
 
As for my own career, today I am beginning a new passage as the Art Curator at the elegant La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa on Palace Avenue near Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I will continue to paint for private collectors on commission, and travel between San Antonio, Santa Fe, and New York City to present career programs for school children, marketing workshops to artists, and beginning oil painting workshops that introduce art lovers and artists who work in other medias to the basic fundamentals of oil painting.  
 
Please let me know if you are interested.  
 
Sara Shreffler Eyestone 
 
New Mexico Studio 505.577.4991  
saraeyestone@yahoo.com Please put WORKSHOPS on the subject line.

Here is a selected list of some of the subjects Sara Eyestone covers in her marketing workshop:

• Presentations: subject, style, framing, pricing...

• Office and Business: file systems, check systems, slides, CD's, equipment, email, copyrights, tax numbers, and mailing lists...

• Promotions: biography, post cards, business cards, web site, flyers and brochures, personal appearances, events...

• Press: press photos, press releases, press packets, questionnaires, interviews, magazine articles, TV appearances...

• Shows: fairs and festivals, contests, juried shows, group shows, solo exhibitions, commissions, galleries, trade shows...

• Publishing and Distribution: finding publishers, limited editions, art posters, giclee prints, calendars....

• Licensing: brochures, packets, sources, shows, companies, signature products, royalties...

• Tax Deductions; Long Term Plan; Fiascos.

 
Below are letters from several of the hundreds of artists who have experienced Sara Eyestone's workshops: 
 

Dear Sara, You are the most wonderful and giving teacher. My head and heart are full of the beauty of my new adventure. I was out early this morning photographing my first zinnia and daylily... I hope the hollyhocks bloom brightly for you in Santa Fe! I will see you in January for your next Texas oil painting workshop.  Thanks again, Janie Arnold

Sara, Thank you so much for your time and effort with the [marketing] workshop this past weekend. I really appreciate getting a professional opinion of my craft. I know, without a doubt, your input will help me tremendously get to the level that I dream of.  I enjoyed the interaction of other artists, too...  Good luck to you, and I hope to see you again. Think red!!! Thank you, Rick Tolar

Dear Sara... I want you to know my workshop day in New Braunfels was pure heaven! As I reviewed my notes this morning I realized that I was no longer the same artist that walked into your workshop last Saturday morning. My mind has been whirling for days with your insightful and inspiring advice!...I am ready to go! Thanks again! It was truly a great experience attending your workshop. I know it will make a tremendous difference for my life as an artist! --Mary Ellen McKenzie

Dear Sara, You haven't any idea how much you have guided me through my efforts in art. Sara you are my mentor and I will never forget your generosity in sharing and guidance. --Love, Maria Kavalos

Dear Sara, Thank you so much for inviting me to participate in your workshop. Even though’ I’ve taken it before, I learned so much. Now I will block in painting time on the calendar every week. I think your workshop opens up the world to professional artists. We can channel our energies and the results will be greater. Best of all, just being around you, your energy and enthusiasm are infectious! I feel revitalized. Sincerely, Imogene Luhrman

Dear Sara Eyestone, I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your workshop and how informative I found it. I have made pottery for 25 years and I am ready to move into licensing my designs. At 57 years old, I’ve never made much money from my art work, and I’m finding I don’t have the stamina necessary to keep going to shows and art fairs. Thanks for all the useful information. I’ve already emailed the Javitz Center and also subscribed to their free magazine License. I’m putting your ideas to work... Thanks again, Sari Young

Dear Sara, Your business workshop was just what we all needed to head us in a more professional direction. Thank you for coming to Rockport. It would be a shame if all your marketing “savvy” were not more widely distributed. Your idea of writing a workbook is a good one. Again, thank you for being you, and please come back to Rockport sometime. If you come I want you to see my dome house and studio in the woods. Warmest Regards, Betty Shamel

Dear Sara, I just had to thank you for sharing your knowledge with me last month at the seminar at St. Mark’s Church. The information I received from you was so valuable to me! I am very interested in future seminars, especially the one you mentioned about doing a Trade Show or having a One Woman Show. If I can ever be of service to you in any way I hope you will call. You have showed me HOW to "do it." Jeannette Cuevas, "American Artist"