Over the summer, I had the opportunity to visit a fellow licensed artist, Paul Brent, when he was participating in an Art Walk.
The town businesses stay open late once a month and feature the work of artists or authors as a way of bringing people downtown.
It helps promote their businesses as well as the creative people who get involved.
Having never participated in an Art Walk personally, I was excited to see what it was about.
I was amazed at the number of paintings - both watercolors and originals - Paul had done of local homes and seascapes.
Just as in the licensing side of his business, he can produce, produce, produce for the original art and gallery side of his business.
As I observed Paul and walked the rest of the businesses, I began wondering: how is doing an Art Walk similar or different to art licensing? The Art Walk was similar to licensing, in that Paul Brent was there presenting his brand.
His art, style and the way he interacted with shoppers were all a part of it.
Much like showing his art and interacting with manufacturers at a trade show.
A key difference was the subject matter.
In licensing, art often has to have a broader appeal - the beach should look more generic so it could sell on both coasts for example.
However, when selling originals in a beach community, people are more apt to expect art from the local area.
This is a great example of how you need to understand your customers - during the Art Walk, they were people who would potentially buy originals for their homes (yes, he sold a few!).
For licensing, the customer is the manufacturer who wants to sell quantities of a product, not one of a kinds.
While it is possible for artists to blend both licensing and original work sales into their business, it is important to stay clear about who the customer is for each and create accordingly.