I’m learning a lot this year about how to SELL my paintings. Here are some of the things I’ve learned: 1) It’s all in your mind. For various reasons in the past several years, I haven’t had the right frame of mind. If you’ve read ‘The Secret’ or believe in positive visualization, then you know what I’m talking about. For you to sell paintings, you have to believe that your paintings have value, that they are worth the prices you set, and that there are people out there ready to buy them. You have to trust that they will be …

For many years I’ve refused to talk about what my paintings mean. I would get frustrated when people asked me. “It isn’t about ME – it’s about YOU: I just want you to react, to have your own personal relationship and response to the painting, leave me out of it!” My stance was based on Magritte’s definition of art as mystery, a little bit of interest in Zen philosophy, and a general dislike towards speaking and arguing with people. I understand my previous opinion, and still support it – however I’ve learned that it just won’t work if I want …

Unlike many professional artists, I didn’t go to art school. I always figured I could learn to paint just fine on my own, through practice – and I was probably right. However, I’m just finding out that there is a great deal of business methodology that I missed out on. You see, fine artists, galleries, dealers and other art-scene people speak the same language. They do things a certain way; doing things in this way automatically opens doors for artists – they are ‘in the club’ and galleries assume they know all the rules and will be easier to work …

Answer: show your work as much as you can, whenever you can, however you can. This is not, by the way, what I used to believe. On my road to becoming a professional artist, I’ve always had my sights set on high-end galleries, with big spaces, white walls and high ceilings. Selling at a ‘crafts fair’ or art market seems cheap to me; yet here are a few reason to do so. 1) You can buy your way in. This is not true for any good gallery; you shouldn’t have to pay to exhibit in a gallery, nor should you …

“Sacrifice” 犧牲- 127x97cm- Oil on Canvas, 2010 Mixed media using real Taiwanese ‘ghost money’. The kid and his dog are dressed up as chickens using the paper money; there’s a happy contrast between the dour, unpleased kid and his dog’s expressions and the surprise of the chicken costume. Mr. KFC is actually a Chinese guy wearing a KFC costume – he’s holding a can of kerosene and a lighter with a gleeful expression. All is set to go up in smoke. Interpretations: forcing children into roles/lifestyle that don’t suit them, dressing them up as dolls for the pleasure of adults, …

德瑞克墨菲 (Derek Murphy) 展覽將於 5/15 (六) 晚上6~9:30隆重開幕 歡迎喜好藝術的朋友前往參觀 本期展覽將持續展覽至5月29日 千萬別錯過喔! 地址: 鹽埕區莒光街67號, 靠近捷運鹽埕埔站 New art exhibition (Derek Murphy Surreal Oil Paintings) opening 5/15 (6pm) in Kaohsiung at the Warehouse Art Gallery. There will be snacks, drinks and music. Also free posters to pick up of ‘Mao/hellokitty’ and ‘Happy Meal Buddha’. The Warehouse is near Pier 2 in the artistic center of Kaohsiung. Click here for the Facebook EVENT PAGE. Click the flier below to see the details.