Artwork + Website Feedback

I've been doing some artwork that I think would be of interest to the folks here and I was hoping perhaps I could get some feedback on the work, the site, prices, concerns as a potential customer, or anything related. I have lots more original work that I could turn into prints, but the process is costly and I'm not sure if there would be enough interest to justify further investment.

I am from a technical background (professionally), so I do not have many artistic or social contacts to draw from. And I am looking for customers that are more car people than art people anyway. Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions.

The website is: www.motorsport-studio.com

Examples of prints:

These are paintings, not pics? Holy crap, nice work! There are so many details in these prints that they look like the real thing.

I like the website too. Simple and straightforward, well laid out, no annoying music.

The only suggestion I can make is adding some kind of watermark across the middle of the screenshots to prevent someone from just taking them off your site and using them somewhere else without you getting credit.

Bob

Wow, way cool. Same as above.

I like your website very much. As mentioned, it's nice and simple, but it looks good and gets the information across nicely. Your prices seem fair, too. A watermark across the prints is probably a good idea.

I can't get on your site. I keep getting the "Problem Loading Page, Server taking too long to respond" message. Anyone else experiencing this?

I would be willing to replace the GT40 next to my name with your GT40. Very Nice.

Extremely cool stuff; your chrome reflections are particularly stunning. Good website, too.

jrw1621 wrote: I would be willing to replace the GT40 next to my name with your GT40. Very Nice.

Not trying to be rude, but just an FYI your avatar is actually of the newer Ford GT.

Carson wrote: I can't get on your site. I keep getting the "Problem Loading Page, Server taking too long to respond" message. Anyone else experiencing this?

It loads almost instantly for me.

Correct you are about the GT40 vs GT. Consider it a terminology error on my part. Still very nice artwork. I especially like the scoop feature detail on the blue Mustang. That and the Chevelle detail could make for a great series along with similar done on other iconic makes.

Thanks for the replies and thoughts. I guess there's nothing fundamentally lacking from the work or the site, I just need to work on getting the word out. I've thought about watermarking everything, but I know I can't sell the prints for any less and still be viable, so I don't think the images could be used for profit by someone else. Anyway, they look alright on a small computer screen, in real life at full size is how they are best viewed for maximum effect.

jrw1621 wrote: That and the Chevelle detail could make for a great series along with similar done on other iconic makes.

That is exactly the kind of thing I would like to continue to do if there was some interest, I attach two recent pieces that aren't on the site. I like the details, I know what it's like to work little details of a car over and over to get them just so, and some of the closeups really enhance the individual pieces that make up the whole.

Nice work - there's a lot of time in those details. Website is nice and simple. - You can increase your site traffic by posting a few of these on the hamb - they have a regular friday art show

I love it. You should watermark them. Once the word gets out i see a lot of these as wallpaper on computers, a watermark could get some potentional customers to your site.

Love the Rossi print.

I would say the prices are actually very good considering the level of detial.

Beautiful work - kudos. The website design doesn't match the level of artistic quality of the prints though.

You might try working up a display and getting some vendor space at the local car shows. Get some business cards printed up to hand out as well.

I have been thinking about putting together a display, it is tough to juggle real work, shop work, life, etc. But yes, without really putting an effort into 'getting out there' it may be difficult to get things going so a display is on the horizon. I have an unfinished retail space in a downtown area that could be turned into a gallery, the question is whether that would be worth the time and money to get it ready for a gallery as opposed to letting a retail tenant put in the investment to get it how they want.

Business cards are cheap. Print some out and pass them out anytime the subject of art comes out in any conversation. Hit up car shows/meets and pass them out there. I'm trying to do something similar. Car show season is coming up and I'm getting ready for it.

Do you have a Facebook page for your business? It's basically free advertising. If you have one, I'll add it.

Your artwork is incredible. When I get my own place, I may very well get a print for myself.

I agree - the work is gorgeous. The website may not reflect the quality of the work, but doubt that will put any potential customers off. My only concern is that there weren't always bigger versions of the pieces once you clicked on the thumbnails. That could keep buyers away. I also agree that you should watermark your online images.

A fellow gallery owner's constructive criticism: Fantastic work. Reminds me of Don Eddy. I'm a bit confused though:

We are motorsport and racing enthusiasts who also like art. We work with several different artists on the original, commisioned oil paintings from which our prints are made. We do not reproduce other work. All of the original paintings are on display at our gallery.

Unless I'm having a tough time navigating the site, there is zero information on any of the artists...not even names? It's tough enough to sell the importance and value of photorealism...doubly so with prints as opposed to originals...even more so on a website, I'd guess that with no artist information, you could say it'd be exponentially more difficult. People want to know something, anything about the artist, or at least whose work they're buying.

That'd be my 'first and foremost' area of concern.

Also, I'd consider limited edition signed and numbered prints in addition to the open editions, but you really need to get some artist bios up.

Best of luck!

Let a retail store occupy your space and cut them a slight deal if they "allow" you to sell your paintings on the wall. Trendy local bars and coffee shops are good places to try to sell prints because people can look at them on the wall in a nicely presented format. That and alcohol.

3Door4G - I have been thinking about doing a facebook page, maybe I will do that.

Poopshovel - Thanks for your thoughts, your questions about the pedigree of the artists highlights one of my prime concerns. You're not mis-navigating the site, there IS no mention of the artists, no bios, no flowery quote on their motivations and thoughts on their subject. The prints are intentionally 'signed' with a logo instead of a signature. My hope was that the logo/brand would take the place of a signature, the signal to a potential customer that this is one of 'those' prints. I cannot sell the prints for less (and they cost much less than comparable prints of similar content and quality), and I know that I really like them, and I hope that would be enough.

I liken the process to aftermarket parts where the design is executed by fabricators, or other such skilled but nameless tradesmen, where the customer has no idea who actually welded up their header or designed their cylinder head port. And in this I do have direct experience that shows (to my horror) that a customer will spend more money for a lesser part because of the brand name, and in so doing pass up a better part at a better price. Though this may be for the most part true, I cannot accept that it MUST ALWAYS be true. For these prints at these prices I was hoping that the value would be in the prints themselves, not the 'reknown' of the artist.

There are several places selling racing/motorsport/car art where the 'artists' are entirely fictitiuous, and exist no where outside of the website where their bios are placed for the sake of 'pedigree'. Clearly this is effective, because in reality how could a customer verify that any of it is true? But I cannot in good conscience do this, and so I choose to leave it at the simple truth, the paintings are original and a direct result of my (Motorsport Studio) vision for what the art should be, and the prints make them affordable. Is that not enough if the price and product are right? Or perhaps it is all the more reason to give the gallery a try, so people could see the actual full size prints, which are much more compelling than a small picture on a screen?

Ross D - I had a commercial tenant for many years prior and there is some real work associated with that as well. Also there are 2 vacant storefronts adjoining mine so prospective tenants have alot of leverage for pricing and terms. And my shop is underneath so with machine tools and general wrenching the better the rent I could negotiate with a tenant the less likely it would be that I could work in the shop whenever I chose. But it may be the better choice in the end.

grpb wrote: My hope was that the logo/brand would take the place of a signature, the signal to a potential customer that this is one of 'those' prints.

grpb wrote: For these prints at these prices I was hoping that the value would be in the prints themselves, not the 'reknown' of the artist.

In my opinion, If you want to sell this way, you need to advertise. You need a good logo and you need to spread that logo around. T-shirts, ads, etc need to be seen so people are at least somewhat familiar with the product before they even see any of the work. In business, branding is everything. The name needs to be almost more important than the product. As an example, think of how people are willing to pay excessive prices for Ferrari-branded merchandise without ever owning a Ferrari. For many people, being associated with the brand even by wearing a hat or shirt is worth paying money for.

I also think someone (Probably you) should step forward and represent the face behind the brand. Let people know who you are and what you're trying to do. It makes a much bigger impression than just having a faceless website. Having a biography of yourself or a blog will keep people more interested.

I'm interested in your business right now. I really like the artwork and what you're trying to do. But a lot of that has to with the fact that you're posting here and I can interact with you.

If I just randomly came across your website without knowing anything about it beforehand, I probably wouldn't be very interested in purchasing anything, because I wouldn't be getting the additional "feel good" feedback from feeling like I supported a small business or from feeling like I developed a relationship with the company. This kind of stuff seems small but I think it's very important for the growth of a small business because it's the kind of thing I can't get from a large one.

People really like the personal touch. That's why I still think it might be a good idea to have bios of your artists up, if you could find a way to do it without compromising your business model.

Further on the topic, you get a lot more word-of-mouth advertising with a name. If someone was looking for a wall painting, I might recommend your site, and the person I recommended it to would take my suggestion into consideration along with any other suggestions he had in mind.

If I had a name, I could say something like "I bought a print from Bob/Steve/Joe/whateveryournameis at Motorsport Studio and he really set me up" it makes a bigger impression. I'd also plug your business more enthusiastically if I felt I had a personal relationship with the business, just like I'd be more willing to go to a certain shop to get work done on my car if I got a recommendation from someone who had a good experience with the people there.

Here's a link to my site. I feature people's cars every week, and every week I get new fans on the Facebook page and new followers, because people like the fact that I'm interacting with them and using their cars as inspiration. I'm not even offering product yet and I'm already creating a (very small) following. Link

"there IS no mention of the artists, no bios, no flowery quote on their motivations and thoughts on their subject. The prints are intentionally 'signed' with a logo instead of a signature. My hope was that the logo/brand would take the place of a signature, the signal to a potential customer that this is one of 'those' prints."

Yuk. My condolences to the artists. You're doing beautiful work, maybe someday you'll get credit for it.

3Door4G - Thanks for your thoughts, I will have to give it some serious consideration. I prefer to be behind the scenes, not an upfront kind of person. But you gotta do...

Lesley wrote: Yuk. My condolences to the artists. You're doing beautiful work, maybe someday you'll get credit for it.

Is the implication that the artists are not compensated? Or that all artists sign their works in order to "get credit"?

If the first, obviously the artists are compensated, and it is because of these costs that I submitted the post, to see if it would be worth continuing. They are not a trivial cost.

If the second, any artist is free not to take commisions for which they don't like the terms. They can get credit any day for their own works. And at some point I think it would be great if these artists did break out on their own. The same as any number of commercial artists, graphic designers, and other true artists that aren't often recognized or credited directly. But when I commision one of these pieces it is for specific subjects and a specific look, it isn't necessarily the artist's own vision, which is probably why signing hasn't been a serious want on their parts.

My thought was that I could get quality prints of real paintings to an audience that is often stuck between a bikini girl on a corvette poster, or a very expensive piece that is beyond their means. A big part of the price point means not using artists that are 'names'. Otherwise I couldn't afford to offer anything, and like lots of other normal people would just lust after all the other beautiful works that I can't afford.