Home » Archives » December 2005 » My first (of many I hope) satisfied print customers (i.e. "buyer of prints")

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12/13/2005: "My first (of many I hope) satisfied print customers (i.e. "buyer of prints")"

Received in an email this afternoon (this woman is a writer who moved to "a very tiny hamlet in rural French Louisiana" from the Bay Area, and her email is very funny):

"Hi, Elise--

Just wanted to let you know the three prints arrived safely today, in perfect condition, and oh my god they are soooo GORGEOUS! I am simply floored. These are wonderful beyond my wildest expectations.

I took the tube to the framer, unopened, as soon it was delivered, and that was a bit of an adventure in itself...

The family that owns the local framing shop here in town is devoutly Pentecostal. And as soon as I walked in the door, I saw to my dismay that the three other customers waiting in line consisted of: a Jesuit priest having his vacation photos of the Vatican framed, an elderly Cajun woman having postcards of the Sacred Heart framed (the ones where Jesus has his eyes rolled way back in his head like a reprimanded adolescent), and a sweet little Baptist grandmother having portraits of her 17 grandchildren framed. And here I come, waltzing in with my great big bold wickedly beautiful NUDES! Woohoo!

It was a priceless moment when everyone gathered around to watch the Pentecostal father as he carefully removed the prints from the tube and unrolled them on the big table. I was taking bets with myself which one would have a heart attack first, and which would call the police.

Well, when they were finally revealed in all their stark naked feminine glory, there was an awkward moment of silence--the others were probably all eyeing the mailing tube to see whether the return address was from Larry Flynt or Satan, and I had just had the breath knocked out of me by how much more magnificent the colors actually were than anything my computer monitor showed and idly wondering if any of these people knew CPR or if the priest would just skip resuscitation and go straight for the Last Rites if I couldn't start breathing again--until finally the Pentecostal wife broke it by graciously saying, "My, those certainly are, um, pretty colors. Who is the artist?" And then the small town folks spent the next half hour naming all the Cajun Tomlinsons within a hundred mile radius of here, trying to convince each other that you were probably one of Them.

Anyway, I can't begin to tell you how much I love these prints. They probably won't be finished with the framing until maybe the 27th or 28th, but as soon as I get them home and hung, I'll send you photos.

Enjoy your holidays, and know that you've made me a very very happy person today!

Thanks again,"
Unrepentant Colorholic (actual name withheld to protect the innocent)

But honestly, this woman isn't a friend or relative or anything! She has really made my day as well. I hope that Holly will be equally pleased.

Replies: 17 Comments

on Wednesday, December 14th, Dio said

LOL - Great story! You can expect some new orders from that region soon then... ;)

on Wednesday, December 14th, Elise said

Maybe I found my niche market?
;)
Actually, I kinda know how that feels, I come from a small town and I used to do fairly realistic work (landscapes, portraits, etc.) when I was in high school and I know some people who knew me then still don't understand why I've changed the way I paint when I "used to be so talented".

Even here in Juneau there are some who really love my paintings and others who say "My, those certainly are, um, pretty colors."

It just goes to show how we all have different tastes and if we're artists then hopefully there we be a few others out there who share our own aesthetic. What did artists do before the WWW?

on Wednesday, December 14th, gadzookys@eathlink.net">greg said

oh mah! Ah dew declare ah'm havin' a spell of the vapors! :laugh:

Congrats on all those sales, and such happy collectors too. And which scandalous scarlet women were the prints of? I hope I can afford one soon!

So, before the WuhWuhWeb there were "galleries" that typically collected 50% of sales for the complex partnership that existed with the artists, dear. ;) Perhaps you should send Al Gore a check for half yer earnings ... just for tradition's sake! *snarf*

on Wednesday, December 14th, Elise said

Hi Greg, she bought prints of Under the Devil’s Club, Forget-me-not, and the Fiddlehead Forest.

I have actually had a couple offers from galleries but I can't get past paying those high commissions. I know they do a lot for their piece of the pie but I'd rather sell cheap and keep all the pie for myself.

The exception is the Juneau Artists Gallery I've mentioned a couple times, they are a co-op so the commission is only 10% + a monthly fee for rent and overhead and a share in working the counter.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, as I think something like that would be swell.
:laugh:

on Wednesday, December 14th, holly said

Hear that whizzing sound? That's the air being let out of my balloon. Well, crap. I can't top that write-up. I just got mine today, too. Um, they're gorgeous? The colors are indeed more brilliant than they appear and they have far more detail than I expected. The paper's lovely, as well. Nothing exciting happened with the unrolling, though. Just went into the bedroom and closed the door to keep Murph and the cats away, pulled 'em outta the tube, slapped some tape on the back and stuck 'em on the walls. They look real good!

(Joke! A joke! I can't get them to a framer for a couple days, so I rolled them back up and put them away. It's going to be hard to not keep pulling them out to look at them). Thank you, Elise-- they're gorgeous.

on Wednesday, December 14th, Elise said

You mean you didn't have someone on stand by with a defibrillator just in case you had a heart attack upon seeing the stunning colors!???

I'm so let down.

:laugh:

I did LOL when I read that you "slapped some tape on the back and stuck 'em on the walls"...har har...

I am relieved that they made it to you undamaged and

on Wednesday, December 14th, holly said

OMG- look! She just keeled over!!

on Wednesday, December 14th, Elise said

:O
Actually, I was blogging at work (oops, normally I *never* do that) from the reference desk, and a patron came up and asked a question at the same time my replacement came to the desk and I had to do a rapido post/close combo though really it was pointless cuz she could plainly see what I was doing...

anyway, the semester is pretty much over and I'm already in vacation mode, leaving tomorrow after work, and I'm soooo not in the mood to be here right now. I still have to turn in my grades though...yuck.

So, what was I saying????

Oh yah, I'm just glad that they weren't damaged and that you think they look real good.

The detail that the large format flatbed scanner picks up is quite amazing. If you scrutinize up close you might think there is a little *too much* detail, but I promise you once they are up on the wall (and I'll be checking back to make sure they don't end up in your tube grave yard of prints that will never see the light of day) and you're standing away from them a bit, that detail will look much better.

on Wednesday, December 14th, Elise said

Oh yah, I was going to ask how you thought the dark hair turned out on the Lupine Slumber print.

So...How do you think it turned out?
:confused:

on Wednesday, December 14th, holly said

The hair looks fabulous-- I was afraid it would be too flat, like it had been obviously painted over, but it looks as if it was painted that way originally. Please don't be put off by my lack of gushing-- understand that I unrolled these *alone* on my bed and realized I didn't have great control over them (they're a bit larger than I imagined-- even though I consulted a ruler when I ordered them), so I had time for a quick "Oh wow! Wow!" before rolling them back up, lest something happen that would turn my exclamation to "Oh shit! Shit!" Also, it's freezing rain today- dark and grey outside, which doesn't make for the best natural lighting conditions. They wil not go into the tube grave yard, I promise. I bought them to hang and hang they will. When I get the chance to have them out and really *look* at them, then I wil gush-- better build a dam.

on Wednesday, December 14th, holly said

(hours later): Oh wow. You can see all the brush strokes. I poked the kitty because I could have sworn there was a build up of paint there. ...Swoon...

on Wednesday, December 14th, Elise said

That's better!
:D
As for the hair, I put on several light washes of color so some of the natural texture from her blond hair would still come through, I was afraid of the hair looking flat and unnatural as well. Then I added some of that color to the kitty stripes and just a smidge to one corner of the yellow mountain. I was really happy with the finished result and it's a testament to the quality of that paper that with all my layers of watered down acrylic paint it didn't bleed or buckle or show any indication it had been mucked with from the front or back.

So, it's good to know that hand tinting will work with these prints as I seriously had no idea if it would work or be a disaster.

on Wednesday, December 14th, subi said

fyi: i have transferred my present jealousy from Rod to Holly and the unnamed woman from the midwest... oh and the TOmlinsons there claim you! they obviously secretly have a kindled joy and the naked and colorful women!!! :)

on Wednesday, December 14th, Elise said

Re-read that last sentance Subi, I'm afraid your English is beginning to sound a little like I imagine Swiss German to sound.
:confused:
And the mystery woman is actually from the South, Louisiana...Tomlinson is not a very common name really, I had no idea I had cajun kin folk!
:satisfied:

on Wednesday, December 14th, Opps said

oh, and by the way Subi, I'm nostalgic for you as well of course...you know that right!???
:(
(I accidentally posted this on the previous post too)

on Wednesday, December 14th, subi said

I meant " for your naked women" :O

on Wednesday, December 14th, Elise said

I know, I'm just teasing you silly!
:P