Eric Rhoads interviews Avalon Foundation President/CEO Al Bond and COO/CFO Jess Bellis in this week’s PleinAir Podcast. The Avalon Foundation hosts the annual Plein Air Easton art festival in Maryland.
Listen as they share the following:
• Best practices for artists on submitting paintings, selling art at festivals, and pricing your art
• The role we all play in keeping the plein air community healthy and growing
• The worst thing that can happen at a plein air event
• Using social media to engage with your collectors, and more
Bond explains the beginnings of Plein Air Easton: “While I really didn’t much about plein air at the time, I was looking for an event that was representational art related because we have a lot of resources in the community. The thing that really grabbed my attention was the notion that plein air is experienced not just as the final painting on the wall by the public, but also as the artistic and creative process unfolding right in front of you.”
On the business side and in regards to amateurs and professionals painting together at an event, Bellis says, “If you’re out there as a professional plein air painter and you’re participating in events that have more amateur painters involved, you are really acting as an example and an ambassador, but you are also creating a group of fans and collectors who will likely follow you. And the more engaged you can be with people who are interested in art and having art in their lives, the more you can be a teacher and a mentor, and I think the more popular your art can become.”
Bonus: This week’s PleinAir Podcast includes a Marketing Minute!
You’ll learn:
• Tips for organizing your time for creating and marketing your art when you have an already full personal life
• First steps toward getting invited to plein air events
Listen to the PleinAir Podcast with Eric Rhoads, featuring Al Bond and Jess Bellis here:
Related Links:
Avalon Foundation: www.avalonfoundation.org
Plein Air Easton: pleinaireaston.com
Meet Al Bond and Jess Bellis in person at the 8th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo, also featuring Joseph Zbukvic, Terri Ford, and many more!
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This is great but it would be more great if we could see this in printed form – podcasts aren’t for everyone.
Great podcast – thank you all so much! I hope to visit the Easton event this year and am looking forward to my first PACE in San Francisco. It’s great to hear the welcoming words for us newbies.