The Inside Story:  Artist Rep Margaret Danielak

How an Artist Representative Promotes Exhibits
How to Get (and Keep) an Artist Representative
Artist Rep Margaret Danielak, artist Julie Snyder and Aletta de Wal at The Women's City Club, Pasadena, CA
How to Work With an Artist Rep and How an Artist Rep Works
An Interview With Margaret Danielak

How an Artist Representative Promotes Exhibits

When you read Margaret's letter, make a list of all the ways you can promote your exhibits. Margaret works every possible promotional avenue and engages the artists to partner with her. Note that the sales she makes are often after the event and a result of persistent follow-up. As Margaret says "it ain't over until it's over...and even then it ain't over!"

Dear Aletta,

My first big show of the year, "RED" which took place in February and March, was very successful. We had over 200 people attend the reception at The Women's City Club, and I sold a total of 15 pieces. I accepted some abstracts for the first time since taking over the space, and these works attracted a whole new crowd.
 
I used every usual means possible to promote the show including the LA Art Gallery Parties group on Meet-Up. The exhibit artists were very proactive as well, putting notices on their blogs and sending out postcards, which led to three of the sales. One of the things I've started doing is giving the press release to each of the participating artists, encouraging them to send and use it with their own accepted show image/s. Everyone feels more invested in the outcome!

My June Show entitled "Pasadena - Its Aura" was a completely different theme, featuring images of Pasadena Landmarks.

Colorado St. Bridge ©Russ Hobbs
The headliner artist of the show, Russell Hobbs, is a retired architect and war hero from WWII and the Korean War. Mr. Hobbs created over thirty beautifully rendered pen and ink drawings of our major landmarks. As part of his display, he asked local historians to contribute the histories of the buildings, printed and mounted alongside his pieces.

A Duncan Irwin House ©Russ Hobbs
As we prepared the show, I went to his studio and interviewed him with my iPAD, which I then loaded onto You Tube. I was also able to secure a TV interview for him, which the local station has decided to expand into a half hour program about the artist. We had the reception on a Saturday afternoon where Bill Bogaard, Mayor of Pasadena, was kind enough to speak to the history-loving crowd.
 
Bogaard-Danielak-Hobbs-July-2012
I have sold several pieces from the exhibition, and hope to sell more over the summer. As I always tell artists "it ain't over until it's over...and even then it ain't over!"
 
My current summer show "Come fly with me!" celebrates worldwide travel. (As in, first I give you Pasadena, and then THE WORLD!) On July 19th I hosted a wonderful reception complete with costumes. I dressed like a Cathay Pacific airline hostess complete with Chinese dress and white gloves and props. Someone lent me a vintage airplane propeller and fully lit two-foot tall replica of the Empire State Building. I played the music from Frank Sinatra's popular album of the same name. Several sales from this show are pending and I am doing my usual follow up to close them.

I hope you are well! Looking forward to telling you about my next exhibition which is scheduled for the fall, entitled "La Cuisine" - A celebration of Food, Wine and Restauranteurs.

Warm regards,

Margaret

Artist Representative Margaret Danielak is Curator of Exhibitions at the Women's City Club of Pasadena at the historic Blinn House.  She is the author of A Gallery without Walls, and specializes in exhibiting art in alternative venues.  For a more detailed explanation of how to work with an artist representative, check out: "Sell My Art! Finding & Keeping Effetive Representation." *Margaret is also available for consultations*

How to Get (and Keep) an Artist Representative

In the second annual A.C.T. Art Marketing Q&A artists asked questions about how to get an art representative. The short answer is to be noticed because you have a strong body of signature work, have a solid exhibition track record, and are professional about every aspect of your art business.

You'll find a more complete answer by Artist Representative Margaret Danielak in "Sell My Art!

Danielak - Tour of Women's Art - 2011

Finding & Keeping Effective Representation." Margaret gives you the straight story on the questions like:  

• Where do you go to find an effective gallery or rep? 
• What qualifications do you need before you approach an art rep? 
• How do you approach a rep? 
• How do you keep a rep? 

Artist representative Margaret Danielak, artist Julie Snyder and Aletta de Wal at The Women's City Club, Pasadena, CA

Aletta de Wal, Julie Snyder (www.juliesnyder.com) and Margaret Danielak  (www.danielakart.com) © 2011 Julie Snyder

In October 2011 I did my annual series of seminars at The Learning & ProductExpo: Art! in Pasadena where I met another group of fabulous artists dedicated to making a better living making art.  

Another highlight of the trip was time to get together with Margaret Danielak and Julie Snyder, one of the artists she represents, at The Women's City Club. With Margaret's permission and Julie's photo skills, I share Margaret's letter to me after our great visit.

Dear Aletta:

Thank you so much for the lovely dinner. It was great to see you!

Am very happy to tell you that I sold another painting yesterday during the installation of the current "Winter's Light" show at the Blinn House - home of The Women's City Club of Pasadena.  A lady came into the club to pay her dues, fell in love with Julie Hill's watercolors and bought one!  That is the 2nd "presale" if you will, from this show.  The first presale I made was to another Club Member who saw a "sneak peek" of a lovely painting by Christina Ramos that I posted the other day on Facebook.

I told you during dinner that I decided to accept photographs this time as well as paintings.  I wasn't sure how they would look in such a traditional venue.  I decided to dedicate an entire area to the work - put them all in one of the large bedrooms upstairs - and I must say, they look fabulous.  I've always wanted to have a theme - or shows within the larger shows - in different areas of the Blinn House and now I do.

My new IPAD 2 has become extremely handy in documenting my life as a curator.  We always talk about new technology and how important it is to stay current?  Well, on the last day of the the last exhibition, "A Touch of Gold" - which you saw when you visited the Club - I used my IPAD to create a film. I now have a 9 minute rough cut of a fully narrated art tour of the Blinn House - a film I'm planning to edit down to five minutes using IMOVIE on the IPAD.  Am planning to create a video for each exhibition in order to share the art with collectors and artists who live outside the area - post it on my website and blog and onto Facebook.

Thank you again for the great dinner.  I look forward to seeing you again soon, and hearing more about your soon-to-be released book!

Warm regards,

Margaret

Artist Representative Margaret Danielak is Curator of Exhibitions at the Women's City Club of Pasadena at the historic Blinn House.  She is the author of  A Gallery without Walls, and specializes in exhibiting art in alternative venues.  
 
I get a lot of questions from artists about how to get an art representative. The short answer is to be noticed because you have a strong body of signature work, have a solid exhibition track record and be professional about every aspect of your art business. For a more detailed explanation, check out:
"Sell My Art! Finding & Keeping Effective Representation"*

Margaret is also available for consultations*

How to Work with an Artist Rep & How An Artist Rep Works

Martha Richards, Executive Director, WomenArts and Margaret Danielak (Right) at the De Young Museum, San Francisco, CARecently I took a break from coaching artists to enjoying learning about the work of women artists - a greatly underappreciated group when it comes to museums! My friend and colleague Margaret Danielak led the tour, sponsored by WomenArts, at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, California.

As an art rep, lecturer and ArtNetwork Press author, Margaret produces innovative art-related events in alternative venues. Her company, Pasadena-based DanielakArt has exhibited the work of its artists at the California School of Culinary Arts, Heritage Wine Company, Vroman's Bookstore, the Fine Artists Factory, Sweetland Hall (All Saints Church), and Phantom Galleries LA at Homestead House in Pasadena among other locations.

Artists often ask me about how to get an artist rep. Margaret has the answer for you in "Sell My Art! Finding & Keeping Effective Representation."

I thought you might be interested in peeking behind the curtain to learn more about what it takes for an artist rep to do what Margaret does so well.

With Margaret's permission I share with you the letter she sent me after our great day.

Dear Aletta:
 
Thank you so much for coming to my Feminist Tour of Women Made Art at The de Young Museum on April 2nd, 2011.  Was so pleased that WomenArts of San Francisco accepted my proposal, which I submitted in January, and even happier to have the great turn out!  As I suspected from my tours of the Norton Simon Museum here in Pasadena, there is much interest and demand for that type of programming which I am pursuing with women's groups and museums across the country.  As we discussed, so much excellent art has been created by women over the years, and yet so many of these artists, and their outstanding work, has been forgotten or simply not included in art history books and classes.  (What a shame...it's like robbing history!)  
 
You asked about my other activities.  Last year, in September, I heard a serious "rumble in the art jungle" - that The California Art Club (CAC) was going to pull out of The Women's City Club of Pasadena at the Historic Blinn House in order to utilize another venue.  As a member of The Women's City Club of Pasadena, I was familiar with their art program, and thought "I can do that!"  So I wrote a detailed proposal nominating myself as their new Curator and pitched a new art program tailored to their needs.  I actually forgot about my pitch until five weeks ago when I received a call from the Club's Manager and the President, who told me that in fact the CAC had pulled out and asked if I would be interested in taking it over?  My jaw dropped and I said "yes!"   So here I am, having just sent acceptance letters to 17 wonderful artists for SPRING FORWARD: CELEBRATING WOMEN ARTISTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA which hangs April 29th.  The 50 piece show will be up for three months - May 1 through July 30.
 
In addition to that serious pitch, last year in September, I submitted a portfolio of my late father's paintings to Jose Vera Fine Art & Antiques in Los Angeles.  I had worked with their gallery last year on the BLACK INDIANS exhibition of Toni Scott's work, and liked them and their space very much.  They specialize in featuring art by Spanish speaking artists and artists of color, but are willing to make a few exceptions.  Fortunately, my late father's work of his landscapes of the Southwest filled the bill, and so, the day before I hang the show at The Women's City Club, on April 28th, I am dropping off 30 bright, colorful paintings created the last 20 years of my father' s life for the largest exhibition of his work ever and his first in Los Angeles - From Santa Fe to L.A. - Landscapes of the Southwest by Robert G. Stevens (1926 - 2004).  You know that I often rent gallery space for exhibitions - but this is not a rental situation.  I had to submit a portfolio to the gallery manager and the owner, Mr. Vera - and treat the entire proposal and now, the exhibition, as if I were the artist!  Am so glad that we already printed the showcards, (end of February) and sent out a major press release, (done middle of February) and taken care of reframing/framing most of the work so that I do not have to stress about it right now.  In fact, ARTSCENE, the big gallery guide for Los Angeles, just contacted the gallery manager about the show; they want to do rather extensive article about my father's career, which can only help attendance and sales!
 
Thank you again for attending my Feminist Museum Tour.  I hope to do many more.  I'm also looking forward to giving you updates in a few months about the new Art Program at The Women's City Club of Pasadena.
 
Warm regards,
 
Margaret Danielak

DanielakArt - Art Sales & Consulting Services
Curator, The Women's City Club of Pasadena
Web:  www.danielakart.com
Phone:  626-683-9922
Author:  A Gallery without Walls (ArtNetwork Press)  
Featured Selection: North Light Book Club

 

An Interview With Margaret Danielak

Art Representative, Margaret Danielak, is the owner of Danielak Art which, as it's name suggests, does not have a retail location. Daughter of a painter, and former production coordinator, Margaret sees possibilities where others see nothing.

DanielakArt currently represents an eclectic selection of artworks created by California based contemporary artists and Margaret's father, the late illustrator and landscape painter, Robert G. Stevens (1926 - 2004).

Margaret is also the author of the acclaimed handbook "A Gallery Without Walls, Selling Art in Alternative Venues."

Margaret is active in the Pasadena community, having served on the Junior League of Pasadena's Art Smart Committee (in association with The Armory Center for the Arts) on art projects for disadvantaged youth. She is a member of The Community Women of San Gabriel Valley, the Pasadena Arts Council and the Southern California Women's Caucus for Art.

A.C.T.: What prompted you to start your professional artist representative career? 

I am the daughter of artists and grew up in the art business.  My father, the illustrator and landscape painter Robert G. Stevens (1926 - 2004) had been in galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where my parents lived, but he lost his favorite gallery when the owner died.  It was 1999, and his sales, as well as the sales of his artist friends had fallen way off.  One day my mother, who had been assisting him in marketing his work, sent me a portfolio.  I showed it to several co-workers at the law firm where I was then working.  I immediately sold, on the basis of a photo featuring one of his images, a painting to a woman who had never before purchased original art.  I loved the experience of finding a happy home for his work, and that launched us working together and my role in being my father's art rep in California.

A.C.T.: What is your artistic theme? i.e. the signature of artists you represent?

My theme is also the title of my book: "A Gallery Without Walls."  I sell my artists' work without a traditional gallery, and also think outside the box with respect to promoting their work.  In addition, I sell work that is not the type that is well represented here in Pasadena.  I have eclectic taste, and so I represent a variety of art.  There is no conflict of interest style-wise with the artists - the audience/collector for one artist may not be the same for another artist I represent. In a word, my theme is variety.

A.C.T.: What makes an artist professional enough for you to represent them? What mistakes do they make?

Artists must have experience showing and selling work for at least five years before I will think about representing them.  I have tried to launch unseasoned artists from scratch - people who do not yet have a collector base of support - and have not been successful.  

I prefer to work with artists who create new work consistently.  I don't care if they have a day job, but my artists need to create new work constantly.  

I need quality inventory to sell, so my artists have to have lots of work available, otherwise I am wasting my time and theirs.  In addition, I want to see their voice reaching out to me with their work.  It needs to grab me.  I need to want to buy it myself because if it doesn't grab me enough to make me want to buy it, then I will not be able to sell it to someone else.      

The biggest mistake artists make is when they go around their gallery or rep to make the sale directly to a client.  Unless you are planning to give your rep a cut of the sale, don't do it.  The art world is a small one and your gallery or rep will find out eventually.  

In addition, when you part ways with your gallery or rep, make it pleasant and smooth.  You never know when you may work with that person again or what they might say to others in the art world about your professionalism or lack thereof.  

The other biggest mistake that artists make is to "come on to" a gallery owner/rep at a reception.  That is rude to the artist whose work is on display, and it is horrifying for the gallery owner who has only 2 hours during the reception to sell the work on display to collectors.  Just introduce yourself, get the director's or gallery owner's card and then call or email them and make an appointment.  I value recommendations by artists, dealers or gallery owners I know who refer artists to me. It's a great way to be introduced.

A.C.T.: Please describe a typical day, and a typical month so readers can understand how you manage your time, money and energy.

My schedule varies day to day, but here are some of my key daily activities:

Leading up to a show, which I have had on average four to six times a year (in past years as many as 16 shows in one year) my schedule becomes unraveled.  My husband takes over cooking since I tend to put my anxiety into the food, with poor culinary results.  I do whatever needs to be done to promote the show.  I write press releases, gather the electronic images that I need to represent the show, and contact the media to get coverage for it.  (Getting covered by the press is free...)  I send out physical and electronic invitations and follow them up with phone calls and notes to clients to encourage them to come.  I do everything to promote the show but run naked down the main street with a sign that says "come to the show...and buy art from me!"  Once the show is over, I call people again to follow up, and email them, because to me it ain't over until it's over (when the piece sells.)

If I could clone myself, it would be to do follow-up. Every day and every week, I do follow up activities.  For example, I wrote handwritten notes to each of my consulting clients this year before Christmas to thank them for their business.  I called my colleagues to wish them a happy holiday. I send out cards and call art clients to wish them a happy new year and chat up my artists including Toni Scott who has a one-woman exhibition on display at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles (CAAM). 

A.C.T.: What peak moments have you had as an artist representative?

One special moment was when I sold a large acrylic of my father's to local well-known art collectors.  They took down their beloved Millard Sheets painting, which had been installed in a prominent place in their home - above their fireplace - and installed my father's painting there in its place.  When I told my father that the clients had replaced a Millard Sheets (the dean of California scene painting and one of my father's heroes) with one of his, he was absolutely thrilled.  This was a high point for both of us.

A.C.T.: How do you define success and how do you celebrate it?

Making sales - large or small - makes me feel successful. Connecting with new artist clients and new collectors and finding a happy home for the art makes me feel happy. I celebrate each one with a glass of champagne.

A.C.T.: What challenges have you encountered in your business and how have you handled them?
 
The biggest obstacle I face is identifying new clients.  I have handled this by reaching out via new technologies, namely Facebook and LinkedIn.
 

In addition, Julie Snyder, one of my represented artists, is completely fluent in creating content via the internet and helped me load my 30 minute TV interview onto my website.  I simply let people know about the interview through LinkedIn groups. People went to my website, saw the interview and then contacted me.  I received emails from artists and potential collectors in India, Thailand, Denmark, London and New York.  Amazing!

A second major challenge has been to find appropriate venues for selling the work in person.  The venues I used in the past are not available any more. I am actively seeking to work with new venue owners to exhibit and sell the work.
 
I believe in smaller more targeted events as well as open public ones. Years ago, I created the Art Tea networking events for women. I sold as much as $12,000 worth of art by pouring tea.  Then with follow-up, there were further sales - as much as $20,000.

Another strategy is to create targeted fund raising events where people who attend are interested in acquiring art and have the money to buy it. I create events where they get to meet the artists and have a place to view the work in a more intimate space than a gallery.

A.C.T.: What opportunities has a professional approach to your career brought you that you might otherwise not have had?
 
Early on I started documenting what I do by writing articles about what I was doing.

I would not have had my book "A Gallery without Walls" selected for publication by a well known publisher in the field of art marketing, namely Constance Smith, Editor and Publisher of ArtNetwork Press, if I had not gotten to know her.
 
In addition, I would not have been invited to work with you conducting Teleclasses or offering workshops without building relationships.

A.C.T.: Who are your role models and mentors? What was the best advice they gave you?

My mentors include my mother, Wilkie, who was instrumental in getting my father's artwork into galleries, Constance Smith who published my book and also wrote the bible of art marketing, namely "Art Marketing 101", Art Consultant Patrick Ela who encouraged me when I was first starting out, marketing genius Murray Raphel and of course, you Aletta!

Best advice they gave me:  "Never give up.  Never surrender!"  (Which is actually a line from the film Galaxy Quest, but this sums it up!)

A.C.T.: What is your art marketing strategy? What promotional materials and actions do you use most often?

I am a true believer in following up on everything.  I keep track of who is interested in what and I am consistently following up with clients and potential clients.  I love elephants...because they never forget and neither do I.
The action I use most often is email as a form of communication, including the newsletter that I send out to my mailing list regularly.   I used to call people on the phone, and send out postcards but with newer technologies, and people becoming shy about giving out their phone number and address I am using email to stay in touch. This is an advantage if you have fabulous visuals to include.

A.C.T.: What changes have you experienced in the art market and how have you navigated them? What lessons have you learned?

In the ten years that I have been selling art, I have seen massive changes in communication.  When I first started selling art, the advice I heard from a well known art rep was that artists didn't need to have a website.  This was in 1999.  That changed overnight.  The artists I have met who have been the most successful at selling their work have rolled with the changes in technology, gotten a digital camera, learned how to use it, gotten a great website up and running, and made use of all available resources to show and sell their artwork. They are not wasting time complaining about it - they are just doing it.
 
They are keeping up with the times, and I have learned that I need to do so as well.  Remember the major lesson in that wonderful book you gave me, "The Art of Selling to the Affluent."  Affluent people do research on the Internet.  You therefore need to be visible there in order for them do research about you and your work.  Being in galleries is great, but you also need a strong web presence otherwise you won't seem real.

A.C.T.: What last words of advice would you pass on to artists who want to be represented?

Stars stand out and if you are one of them, you and your work will get noticed, but you will need to show your work consistently, and work hard to promote it to get there.  This is not a passive business.  Contrary to popular belief, art does not "sell itself."  You need to work your art.
 

If you want the benefit of more of Artist
Representative Margaret Danielak's wisdom and experience, check out these resources:

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