A Conversation on the State of Art Licensing

A Conversation on the State of Art Licensing with Lance J. Klass, President of Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing  by Carolyn Edlund, President, ArtsyShark I recently spoke with Lance Klass, President of Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing, who shared insights on industry changes and how to succeed in the business.   Lance Klass of Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing AS: […]

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Does an Art Education Matter?

by Jason Horejs | Owner, Xanadu Gallery Whenever I’m talking to artists about their biographies or resumes, the question of art education, or lack thereof, often comes up. Artists who have completed extensive academic training want to know how best to leverage that training to build their credibility. Artists who don’t have formal training, want to […]

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The Do’s and Don’t’s of Art Licensing #1 – Ten Secrets to Success in Art Licensing

The Do’s and Don’t’s of Art Licensing: Ten Secrets to Success in Art Licensing by Lance J. Klass President, Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing So much of the art that is submitted to us for review at Porterfield’s is just beautiful, and yet is completely unsuitable for licensing. I know that sounds like a contradiction. How […]

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Artists and Art Licensees – Are You Really Looking for Purple Art for Retail Products?

  I remember all too well the retail crash of 2008 and the deadline retail year of 2009, as much as I’ve tried to forget all about it. So what was the color of that year? What did the color mavens, the true color “experts” advise us to create and market? Gray. Gray added to […]

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Can You Prove You Own Your Art?

  According to Dids MacDonald, CEO of Anti Copying in Design (www.acid.uk.com), a non-profit membership organization based in the United Kingdom, “Ensure you have documentation to prove you own the IP rights – when it comes to proving your design ownership, an audit trail of the detailed journey from idea to finished artwork is compelling […]

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Agent Spotlight – Lance Klass, Porterfield’s Fine Art

An Interview with Art Licensing Agent Lance Klass, by Annie Troe This interview is reproduced with the kind permission of the interviewer and internet publisher, Ann Troe. All content is (c) Ann Troe.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You can reach Ann through her blog at http://annietroe.blogspot.com or via email at info@AnnGraphics.com  I first learned of Lance […]

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Monetize Your Time, by Mindy Hope Sommers

The most important thing I have learned as an independent artist is MIS, or Multiple Income Streams. When one pond dries up, another one is still flowing. During the recessions and roller coaster economies, MIS can save your sanity, not to mention your life. When you waste your time you are also, in essence, wasting […]

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A Word to the Wise on Copyright Protection

I queried my attorney about copyright infringements some while ago and just came across the email response.  It’s worth reading, understanding, and using for suitable action if you hope to protect your work from infringers.  The directions are short and to the point: “You can’t sue anyone for infringement (that means you cant enforce your […]

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Want to Keep Up-to-Date? Read Art Licensing Weekly

Art Licensing Weekly is a compendium created by Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing for artists and others who want to keep up-to-date with what’s happening in the world of art, licensing and art licensing. It’s completely free to subscribe, arrives every week in your inbox, and gives you a ton of great articles that you’d have […]

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How to Respond to Art Licensing Inquiries

You’ve just received an email from someone who says they’re interested in licensing some of your art.  That sounds like good news and cause for celebration?     Most artists, especially those who have never licensed their work before, would be excited, but possibly a bit confused as well.      I hear from artists all the […]

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Here’s What Surtex Looks Like and Why It’s Important!

This is a great little video, very well-done and informative, which might be the best introduction to North America’s foremost art licensing show.  Anyone who is curious about the show should see it: What Surtex is really all about

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Q & A on Art Licensing – How to Present Artwork

We receive lots and lots of questions from artists, and some questions and responses touch on important subjects for any and all artists who wish to promote and license their artwork. Here’s one recent query, and my response: Q – My question deals with targeting certain business for licensing. What is the best way to […]

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What Agents Look For in A New Artist

At our company, Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing, we receive anywhere from 500 to 1,000 inquiries each and every year from artists who are looking for expert licensing representation for their artwork. Make your work suitable and compelling for retail products The vast majority of art submissions are, in our opinion, unsuitable for retail products and […]

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Surtex 2013 Dates and Details Announced

Artists, designers, and licensing agencies have already begun to make plans for their involvement in Surtex 2013, the premier art licensing show of the year. According to show management, Surtex will return to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City from May 19-21, 2013. More Exhibitors and More Traffic The three-day show […]

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What is the Economy Telling Us About How to License Art?

It’s been a slow and sluggish three years since the retail disaster of the 2008 Christmas buying season, when retail sales declined precipitously, retailers were stuck with inventory they couldn’t sell and in most cases couldn’t return, and their suppliers – our art licensees – faced reduced demand, shrinking consumer confidence, and general confusion about […]

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Harnessing the Power of Social Media in Art and Design Licensing

For all the talk these past few years about harnessing the power of social media to promote your business, your products or your art, when it comes down to it, many people don’t know much about social media at all. Of those who do, many if not most don’t understand how they can use social […]

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Illustrators May Now Be Able to Capture Back Royalties on their Orphan Works

According to the Illustrators’ Partnership Orphan Works Blog, “a list of illustrators, designers and photographers has been made public who may now claim their reprographic fees.” At issue was a million dollar lawsuit brought by the Graphic Artist Guild against the Illustrators’ Partnership that was dismissed by the New York State Supreme Court when it […]

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A small insight into what happens behind the scenes in a blog…

People go to all sorts of lengths to raise the position of their sites on major search engines like Google, here and abroad. Searching for backlinks  One thing they do to try to optimize their search engine placement is to plant phony comments to articles on blog sites.  If their comment appears online, then the […]

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After Christmas, Think Catalogs!

What to paint?  It’s a question I’m often asked by representational artists.  Just as often, my suggestion is: paint Christmas subjects. The month that begins the day after Thanksgiving and lasts until late on Christmas Eve is the busiest buying season of the year. Do What Makes Sense! It always makes sense to paint to where the […]

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The Runaway License

    I know this title sounds like a John Grisham mystery, and while runaway licenses do have elements of mystery in them they’re anything but fiction. Unfortunately, they do exist, and they can be difficult to deal with, very difficult to control, but not always that difficult to extricate oneself from with some persistence. […]

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