John Bishop Fine Art : Podcast

I usually work in series, creating enough work to fill a room for an exhibition.  So I might create 10 to 20 pieces that fall under a common theme.  I do that two to three times a year, but at other times, I’m just creating work that allows me to experiment, to play with ideas, materials, and to explore new ways to tell a story with my art.  I’m currently exploring the idea of using recycled mater...

Be careful what you wish for.  That's an old threat that actually has a great deal of meaning to me.  I have recently been selected for a 28 day artist residency program at Art145 in Superior Arizona.  If you would like to help, I'm running a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds for the residency.   https://gofund.me/408ea00a1 I have been so humbled by the support people are willing to...

People have been collecting objects they find beautiful, powerful, or valuable for as long as there have been people. We sent our dead into the afterlife with tombs filled with treasures. We looted conquered civilizations. We purchased, bartered, and stole art to build vast collections and museums. Collecting is part of who we are. An art collection has long been equated with success, stability, a...

Did you know there are patterns in the way you collect art? What does your art collection say about you?  You may not be consciously aware of them—I’m not sure I am either—but they are there. While there are certainly people in the art world who would love to analyze what drives our purchasing decisions, I sometimes wonder whether it’s more important, and perhaps safer, for us to understand those...

We often ask: Why do we collect art? It’s a surprisingly difficult question to answer. Unlike collecting objects such as coins, art collecting isn’t purely about accumulation. Memories and emotional connections matter more than the objects themselves. Sometimes it’s hard to explain our motivation because we fear getting it “wrong.” People collect for many reasons: Institutional preservation (libra...

I was invited as a guest onto a podcast yesterday and of course, I said yes.  If I have learned anything over the years, it's that anytime you have the chance to talk about your art, take it.  The podcast is a Houston based production called THNX: A Feelgood Podcast, with host Rand Mintzer.  Rand and I chatted for about an hour about everything under the sun, and the whole experience was deli...

I have joined the Professional Artists Association's individualized coaching program. This year-long program focuses on my professional art career, and very specific goals. My coach, Cristina, meets with me virtually via zoom, and monitors my progress, keeps me accountable, and answers questions I have along the way. With my new coach, I've created a list of five revenue streams that I w...

John shares how he has enrolled in the Professional Artist Association's accelerator program complete with online coursework, webinars, and one on one coaching.  It was a significant investment, but one that hopefully will see him into the next phase of his art career.  John muses on this new development while painting an abstract piece.  You can watch the video podcast at  https://youtu.be/V...

An essential tool for sales is to know what needs your product fulfills in potential customers.  So if we can apply the same measure to our art businesses, we can better approach what our collectors desire, and understand why they might buy our artwork over another.  I've been journaling today, and came up with 6 needs that I believe my art solve for my collectors.  What does your art do for...

Do you paint for local interest?  We recently had people come into the studio looking for artwork that represented Texas.  What a missed opportunity!  I do nothing that represents where I live, and there are alway people looking to buy artwork that reminds them of a particular trip, or a place where they once lived.  While I have no intention of just painting cows and barns, I do think it would be...

Spring has sprung, and as John and Bogdan deal with everything from running a new nonprofit to planning for Comicpalooza, the season has meant a flurry of activity and challenges for the art couple.  John talks about all of the exciting things going on in their art business, and the opportunity to write a whole new curriculum for teaching other artists about what running an art business can mean....

There is an inherent flaw as an artist to try to be all things to all people.  While it is vital that we experiment, find our style and our voice, and explore where are artistic inspiration leads, how we are perceived by potential collectors can make a huge difference in how seriously we are treated as fine artists.  The problem comes then in making choices that either present us as exclusive, hig...

After a lot of thought and discussion, we've decided to change how we're branding some of our online content.  Up until now, all of Bogdan's and my content lived on my YouTube channel, and while that has been working, it doesn't really present Bogdan in the best light.  If there are people who are interested in Bogdan's work more than mine, it may be confusing for them to...

Well after a year of waiting, the Aripa Arte nonprofit has finally been granted 501(c)3 status by the IRS.  That means that we are now a legitimate, tax exempt, public charity and can take donations, apply for grants, get huge discounts, and actually do some good in the world.  So exciting. ____________________________ Season 4, Episode 5 ____________________________ “Art Life with John & Bogd...

This week's podcast is all about Bogdan's current trip to Romania.  He has gone to Bucharest to meet with local artists, interview them, and purchase some of their work to offer context to the inaugural gala of our new nonprofit organization, Aripa Arte.  Join John Bishop as he describes what the nonprofit is doing, what it hopes to achieve, and how you might can help make it a success....

The new year is already proving difficult, and it's only week three.  Between the polar vortex, issues with travel arrangements, and botched deliveries, our beautifully scheduled content calendar is already mixed up.  That's ok though, because the beauty in having a detailed plan means that I can mix and match elements until the whole schedule makes sense again.  That is exactly what I h...

The new year has come, and the parties are over.  As we turn our gaze to those end-of-the-year duties: catching up with paperwork; closing out annual processes; and looking forward to taxes, reporting, and the goals and objectives that should guide us through the months to come.  Every year we make some sort of trip, away from home and the studio, to give ourselves uninterrupted time to spend on t...

John discusses the new year, and plans he and Bogdan have for the art business this year.  Rosa Ana Orlando will be speaking to a group of collectors this week, on what it takes to build, maintain, and ultimately divest yourself of an art collection. ________________________ Season 4, Episode 1 ________________________ “Art Life Blog with John & Bogdan” is a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creat...

Join John as he talks about their new direction in marketing and public relations for John Bishop Fine Art and Bogdan Foto Art.  He discusses his current solo show, Earthen, on display at Silver Street Studios, part of the Sawyer Yards art complex in Houston, Texas.  John also muses on the changes he and Bogdan are making in approaching their collectors, and trying to change the focus of their out...

My solo show starts next week, and I am losing my mind.  Actually it's all very exciting.  Join John as he discusses what he's doing to prepare for his solo exhibition in Houston, and all the other things that seem to be happening at the same time.  How does one deal with all the stress and pressure?  It's all about doing your best, giving yourself a lot of permission to be human, a...

Trying a new format here for the podcast, where I only really talk about my art, and not about other aspects of what we're doing with the art business, and the new nonprofit.  I have to apologize, but I did notice that I show a couple of pieces of art on the video feed that you obviously can't see on the podcast, and I promise that I won't make that mistake again.  But join me for a...

We're back from Romania, where we met with artists and gallery owners to try to get a clearer understanding of how our new nonprofit, Aripa Arte, can best serve the needs of Romanian visual artists.  It was a wonderful trip, and together with the great opportunities we have for exhibitions here at home, and the continued work to build our own art business, things have been crazy busy around h...

Podcast episode where I discuss all that Bogdan and I are doing to try to expand our revenue streams, while still getting more views and subscribers from our social media channels and YouTube content.  Even when I look at all the other content creators out there in our niche, they seem to be far more concerned with inspirational messages and bragging about their giant houses, fancy watches, and cr...

John and Bogdan have recently started a new nonprofit organization called Aripa Arte, with the goal of helping contemporary artists in Romania and elsewhere.  If you have any ideas, input, or suggestions as to what kinds of information should be included in a curriculum for artists looking to learn how to run an effective art business, please contact John either in the comments, or directly.  Help...

Have you heard the saying that, if you want something done, assign it to a really busy person? I hope that’s true. In addition to all of our work with creating fine art, marketing, selling, keeping open studio hours, social media, vlogging, blog writing, podcasting, paperwork and keeping the government happy, we’ve decided that we should do more. What could go wrong? So, we’ve opened a new nonprof...