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As we welcome in 2015, the New Year is always abuzz with the
obligatory New Year’s Resolutions, predictions and forecasts. With the eclectic
mix of art professionals living and exhibiting in Boerne, many of these artists
and art professionals have various perspectives on what the New Year is going
to bring to the local, regional, and international art communities and market.
The quotes below are from a range of Fine Art Professionals
affiliated with Boerne through their gallery representations. Each person
provided a unique perspective on the New Year based on their role in the art
world; from previous president of the Boerne Professional Artist, to artists
who have representation in Texas and New Mexico, to artists gaining a foothold
in the local art market.
The professionals that gave us their perspective include Donald
Darst of Carriage House Gallery, Sidney Sinclair of J.R. Mooney Galleries of
Fine Art, Jim LaPaso of Texas Fine Art Treasures and Mark Holly of Texas
Treasures Gallery of Art & Artisans.
The conversations
with these individuals focused on a variety of topics and issues pertaining to
the following questions:
·
What is your personal art world perspective
for 2015?
·
What art trends do you hope would continue
into 2015?
·
Is the economic climate in Texas driving a
pessimistic or optimistic perspective outlook?
·
How do you see the Boerne and Texas art
community / economy growing or shrinking?
Donald
Darst
B.P.A. Member
B.P.A. Member
Professional
Artist
Carriage
House Gallery
“From
an art business perspective, both as an artist and a gallery partner/owner, I
am very optimistic. There have been some hard times for art with the economy stalling
but I believe we are well on the mend. The
Carriage House Gallery was even able to grow its patron base with creative
marketing and utilizing more e-commerce and social media. Continued investment and hard work paid off,
with sales this year substantially over last year.
I
predict an even higher increase in art sales now that we have higher
employment, great jobs in the energy sectors, increasing home sales and more new
home building. Collectors always bought,
but in my opinion, were a bit more cautious with economic concerns. They now have the green light. We should see an increase in collector
buying of original work especially of that by emerging artists.
There
are and will continue to be a lot of new buyers entering the market. Many are younger who have always liked art
but are now feeling they can buy. For the new buyers, a friendly and educational
environment will go a long way in building their loyalty. These new buyers, ardent users of social
media, will spread the word of their experiences. Smart artists will look for opportunity to
demonstrate their work and to spread art knowledge.
From
an art community perspective, art will continue to be a draw. This is due to sustained good news in the
economy. Businesses will up their
sponsorship of art endeavors to market to the younger patrons entering the art
market. Savvy chambers of commerce and
the visitor bureaus will recognize the draw of art for tourism, work more
closely with members of the art community, and start contributing to advertisement of art
even hosting their own art shows.
I
predict more collaboration among the members of the art community recognizing
that they can draw more patrons, create a more recognizable art presence, and
be a bigger boon for the community by working together.”
Sidney
Sinclair
B.P.A.
Member
Professional
Artist
J.R.
Mooney Galleries of Fine Art
“I
see the economy growing. Boerne can do nothing but get better, economically.
With all the new homes being built, the influx of residences moving here from other
parts of Texas and San Antonio, there will be a steady stream of economic stimulus,
which should positively affect the art market.
The
new generations who are starting families and moving to Boerne for the
nationally rated school districts, I hope are the next generation of art
collectors.
Based
on a certain demographic of spending, we already know they have cultivated
tastes and are in most cases, art appreciators. Once they see the dynamic and
vibrant art community, they will enviably want to support it and plug in;
whether it is through collectorship, business sponsorship, or in-kind
generosity.
There
is a certain Romanticism that drives people to the Hill Country – nature,
hills, and quality of life, which will continue to drive people to this area. This
makes me very optimistic.
As
a fine art professional and art teacher, a positive economic indicator for me
is that potential students are continuing to inquiry about studying with
me.
However,
we have to acknowledge the downtimes and valleys in the art market, by which
are always followed with the upturns.
I
think the art market if in a slump always seems to pull out of any recession,
and I believe this is true here locally in Boerne too. I feel Texas is
economically strong and will continue to be so through 2015.
The
Eagle Ford Shale and Natural Gas productions in Texas has improved the financial
structure that has allowed Texas and Boerne to weather some rough economic
storms that other parts of the country have struggled with. The artists in Boerne are truly blessed.
There
is a solid foundation of artistic support that has steady grown over the last
20 to 30 years with the Boerne Professional Artist. Here in Boerne, the artists like to help each
other out and want see each other succeed.
I think we will continue to see the growth of
artist based community initiatives with the City of Boerne, Hill Country
Council for the Arts, and other non-art affiliated organizations.
For
2015, I am hopeful that the people coming to Boerne will love what (we) the
artists do, and want to invest in helping develop careers, projects and
collections. As an artist, I feel very
optimistic going into the New Year.
Jim
LaPaso
Professional
Artist
Texas
Treasure Fine Art Gallery
I have been an artist all of my life, first with furniture building and
wood sculpture then metal sculpture maturing into kinetic metal sculpture. I have been sculpting kinetics for 18
years. At one time I had my work in 14
galleries all over the country. However,
in the past 8 years I have gotten several commercial clients and now have 32
major installations in the United States and abroad. I’m now in four great galleries and find it
much more manageable. I have great hope
for the 2015 art market. As far as the
future, I plan to keep doing what I have been doing - designing high quality
pieces that I love. I am very fortunate
to have the success I have and don’t take it for granted.
Mark Holly
Professional Artist
Texas Treasures Art & Artisans Gallery
So, as we near
the end of 2014 I sit here asking myself, how the market for fine art
photography has been in 2014 and what is likely to happen in the next few
years. This last year, in my opinion, has been one of slow but steady
improvement….Having said that, I must qualify it by saying that this is true
mostly for photographers who have begun to master the "three legged
stool" of success. First, an artistic vision especially for the
subject matter that is desirable in your market area, second, the technical skills
to bring a quality product to life and third, an understanding of how to
effectively market your artwork. If you visit the various galleries and
art shows in your area you will get an idea of the popular subject matter then
you must apply your unique style and vision. The second leg on the stool
can take time, and these skills include not only post processing software but
knowledge of the materials used to present your art both digitally and in
print. The third leg, marketing, requires face time with prospective
buyers as well as an effective and efficient use of email, social media such as
Facebook, Twitter, your website, etc. On a personal level, I have been
lucky enough to be able to show in the Texas Treasures Art & Artisans
Gallery in Boerne, the Kerrville Arts and Cultural Center (KACC), various
commercial buildings as well as an occasional art show. This has afforded
me the opportunity to get the much needed face time with art lovers which often
results in a visit to my website. I have the good fortune of a background in
computer science, previous ownership of a small gallery, printing, framing and
showing my artwork and an early start in analog/film photography allowing me to
develop my own style.
The future for
Fine Art Photographers who have begun to master the "three legged
stool" looks good, in my opinion. Since there are not many, if any,
accurate records of sales in this price tier one is left to speculate.
So, given my personal experience and conversations with dozens of other
photographers, I see a continuously improving market. The high end market
also shows increasing sales in the million dollars plus range giving us all
something to dream about. Digital photography is now widely accepted as
fine art and is available in major museums, galleries, and in the hands of
connoisseurs and collectors. I have seen reports of many younger people
entering the market which also gives us hope for the future. In addition,
the global economy will bring new avenues in which to market. The Chinese
ever increasing middle class and thousands of new multi-millionaires, in
particular, are currently driving a large part of this market. If our
economy continues to improve as expected and we suffer no global catastrophes
the future looks bright indeed!
