ArtMatters! Vol. #105 April 2009
Artist Career Training helps you make a better living making art.
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Words to ACT on:
Be Careful Out There
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 "Art and cultural property crime - which includes theft, fraud, looting, and trafficking across state and international lines -- is a looming criminal enterprise with estimated losses running as high as $6 billion annually." Federal Bureau of Investigation - Art Theft Program
Art theft is big business. And it's not confined to famous art pieces from big museums with sophisticated security systems at night and guards by day. It includes gallery dealers with a prestigious client list.
How often do we think that it will happen to us? Now that so many artists are showing in alternative venues without formal security, keeping an eye on your art is more important than ever.
It's up to you to keep an eye on your art, no matter where you show and sell. (You do make sure the places you show have both insurance and security, don't you?)
Take a minute now to learn from these real recent tales of robbery:
 Last week, a San Francisco Bay area gallery asked local art lovers to keep an eye out for three paintings stolen during the night. Someone purchased the art from a street vendor in San Francisco within a few days of the theft. Lucky for the gallery dealer, the purchaser was an honest person who saw a news report and returned the works to the gallery. A happy ending, but it doesn't always work out this way.
 An East Bay area jeweler in a high-end outdoor show was feeling good about $100K in sales. Her assistant tended the beautiful work in the booth at all times. Then the time came time to pack up. You know how that is - long days, lots of talking. Now you have to take down the booth and pack up before you can drive home. Almost done, they left her van open to load in the last few items. When they returned, the remaining stock, worth $350K, and her cash box were gone.
Even when you have insurance and take precautions, bad things happen to careful art reps and artists.
 "This
is a bittersweet month for me as I convey news of two upcoming great
events with news of the early end of our show in Pasadena's Historic
Playhouse District. We took down the Exhibition after I discovered
that one of Julie Snyder's lovely paintings entitled 'Bourbon Street
Balcony' had been stolen in broad daylight. We continue to work with
the Pasadena Police Department to recover the stolen art, and remain
hopeful of finding the piece." - A.C.T. Art Business Affiliate andArt Representative Margaret Danielak, Owner of Danielak Art and
author of"A Gallery Without Walls."
"One Friday recently, I went to visit 'gallery row' in Houston in the
early afternoon. This is in a rather well to do area of town. I parked
right in front of a gallery. . . very close to a fairly busy
intersection. While inside visiting the galleries, my truck was broken
into (without setting off the alarm) and my attaché case and my big
canvas art bag were stolen. My personal checkbook, two weeks' paycheck
and thousands of dollars worth of artwork and art materials were all
gone! One big hardbound sketchbook had over 120 finished pen & ink
and wash drawings in it! Over 2-½ years worth of work! |
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"Please note
that I did not have anything visible in the truck. It was all concealed
so as to be invisible from outside. The truck was locked. The alarm was
set. That is an automatic habit with me. However, evidently the thieves
were nearby watching when I parked and they saw me put my attaché case
down behind the seat and under the back seat of the truck. We normally
do that in the car: we stop several blocks before our destination to
move any visible items to the trunk. However, I had dropped by the
galleries on a whim and so was not planning ahead. . . I did not see
anyone nearby and so concealed the attaché after I parked and before I
got out.
Lesson One: Always conceal personal things before you get
to where you are going to avoid having criminals see you conceal it
when you get there.
"Through this very grievous experience I have
learned some other tough facts that most people are not aware of, so
hopefully you, my fellow artists, can learn from my hard knocks.
(1)
Your automobile insurance does NOT cover personal items in your car. If
they are covered, it is through your homeowner's (or renter's)
insurance. Therefore, instead of a typical $500 deductible, it is
usually 1% (sometimes 2%) of your home's insured value, so it can be a
deductible that is many times higher! In other words, usually much
higher than the value of anything stolen, so insurance companies seldom
have to pay on this type of loss!
Lesson Two: Assess the risk and
decide if you could pay for replacing your art inventory and supplies
instead of paying an insurance company.
(2) After the huge
deductible, there is also a 'cap' the insurance company puts on
personal items stolen from a vehicle. . . usually 10% of what personal
items are insured for in your home.
Lesson Three: Read the fine print to make sure your fine art is covered.
(3)
All of the valuable items stolen were my personal belongings. . . even
the artwork stolen was my personal pen and ink and/or charcoal drawings
and a few, small, personal plein air watercolors done on various
vacations in a little Arches travel pad that I kept adding to. One was
a plein air watercolor of the Art Students League Building in New York
City, one was a plein air painting of some favorite mountains in my
Arizona home town, another was a plein air watercolor of Big Beach in
Maui from when I took my wife there for our 35th anniversary. This
whole personal travel sketch 'kit' is entirely separate from the art
supplies I do my 'formal' painting with in my studio at home. I do not
show or sell my drawings or plein air paintings; they are done purely
for personal enjoyment; it's my favorite form of recreation and
relaxation. (I still have all my personal sketchbooks clear back to
when I was a teenager! Not a single sheet out of any of them has been
shown or sold.)
Lesson Four: Some things are priceless and irreplaceable. Care for them accordingly.
"However,
since I am an artist and I have shown and sold my finished, 'formal'
paintings before, and since I am represented by a gallery, the
insurance company investigator ruled that the stolen items were all
business property; and (proudly revealing this previously hidden
loophole) he announced the policy does not cover business property in a
vehicle! 'So I'm recommending we don't pay a penny on this claim!' he
victoriously proclaimed. I was dumbfounded! I have paid this insurance
company for over 30 years without a single theft claim only to find out
that I wasn't in caring hands after all.
Lesson Five: Build a
relationship with an insurance agent who cares about your art and
ongoing business more than saving the insurance company money.
"I
sincerely hope no other artists have to go through this agony; truly
like a huge mule kick in the gut. . . twice! . . . the second time from
people I mistakenly thought would be there to help!
"I sincerely
want to prevent my fellow artists from going through anything like I
did, and as the old saying goes: 'Forewarned is forearmed.'"
Thanks to long-term subscriber Wm. Kelly Bailey for sharing this sad story to help fellow artists.
Are we trying to scare you? Absolutely not - we care about your well-being and want you to be safe. Be careful out there!
We love to hear from you Aletta@ArtistCareerTraining.com or 650-917-1225.
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Prefer talking about your art business in person?
Get out from behind your computer and meet with artists in your local area who make a living making art. All forms of 2D and 3D fine art, including painters, photographers, sculptors, artists who draw, etc. are welcome. Discuss the business side of art, and get practical advice you can use right away on art marketing on the Internet and on the ground.
Register now for live Social Networking Events. We'll send you a map and info: Click Here A.C.T. MeetUp groups are $20 per artist.
What members are saying about the inaugural A.C.T. MeetUp in Los Angeles with Aletta de Wal and Robin Sagara:
"Where else can you get expert information in a relaxed atmosphere for only $20 and the cost of a cup of coffee?"
We saved one artist in Los Angeles several hundred dollars and hours of time with info on better (and cheaper) ways to do her web site and emailing. She also left with solid ideas on the next steps in building her career.
"If you want to make a living making art, Artist Career Training is the place to go."
Thanks for taking the time to invest in your art career. Now go make art and feel your creativity blossom, just like spring flowers.
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P.S. Quotes for when things seem to be running amok.
 "I am bigger than anything that can happen to me. All these things - sorrow, misfortune and suffering - are outside my door. I am inside, and I have the key." Charles Lummis.
"Your email came with the 9 requisites in ArtMatters! at just the right time--- THANKS. I am feeling better after reading it ---and have told the imaginary wolf at my door to BACK OFF ! It is so easy to fall prey to fear. I am 55 and have survived the tough times before . . . must remember not to watch the news and just make more sculpture ! My other motto is 'Something will happen. It always does.' Plenty of stone to carve, so at least I am rock rich ! Time to build inventory ! THANKS AGAIN!" M.J.
Thanks to M.J. for letting us know our newsletter is useful.
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The Art of the Steal
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The Art of the Steal: How to Protect Yourself and Your Business from Fraud, America's #1 Crime
by Frank W. Abagnale by Broadway
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Art Fraud Detective: Spot the Difference, Solve the Crime!
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The Art Contest: No Cheating Allowed! (Spongebob Squarepants (8x8)
by Steven Banks by Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon
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CONTACT:
Aletta de Wal
Director & Artist Advisor
Artist Career Training
www.ArtistCareerTraining.com
www.ArtBusinessLibrary.com
Call: (650) 917-1225 Pacific Time
aletta@artistcareertraining.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/artmktgmentor
Join me on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/aletta
Join my group Art4Life on SWOMI: www.theswom.org/profile/AlettadeWal
Meet me in L.A. www.meetup.com/Los-Angeles-CA-MeetUp-Making-a-Living-Making-Art/
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© 2009 Artist Career Training.
Aletta@ArtistCareerTraining.com All Rights
Reserved.
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