So this past weekend my art was displayed at the Houston Museum of African American Culture for an event entitled “Rock the Bells”. The event was fantastic and I made many contacts there. I feel blessed that I am able to participate in events such as this one to display my art for the world to see.
Now for those who know me know that Art is my hobby, not my career. It is a passion of mine that I have always had and I have been fortunate enough to make my hobby into a company. Okay back to the point, so…. At the Rock the Bells event I had a man approach me at the end of the event asking me to show him which paintings were mine. I was more than happy to, and I showed him the 5 pieces I had there. Those who know art, know that the costs of my paintings are fairly inexpensive compared to some other local artist out there. Anyways, he was interested in one of my paintings that sell for $650 on my website. He stated he was eager to purchase it right now and would like to take it home tonight, and wanted to know what is the lowest I could give it to him, so being reasonable I told him $600. He gave me a counter offer of $300…..YES THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!! I laughed it off as though it was a joke, and then quickly realized this fool was serious. I explained to him that that is the cost of one of my giclee prints and that there is no way I could honor that.
He then pulled the “do you know who I am” card…. Ummmm HELL NO! You don’t look like a star, you are not the curator of a popular museum, and you are not a known dealer, sooooo ummmm “no sir I don’t know who you are”. I guess he was offended and began to talk to me as though my livelihood was dependant on me selling my paintings. After 15 minutes, of back and forth I simply said “Sir, I am flattered that you are interested in one of my paintings, but I can not take your deal it is simply out of my hands”. Of course Mr. Big Ego walks away and tells others in the facility to tell me who he is….
Now, Lord knows I wanted to say much more than what I did, but I would not let this dude get the best of me. He must be use to dealing with painters who are struggling…. But as for me and mines…. I have a full time career and doing very well on my own. THANK YOU!
So at the end….the moral of the story is…. Don’t treat me like I am a starving artist. In fact, don’t treat anyone like they are a starving artist…Respect their time and creativity.
I am sure you want to know who this guy is…. Well I will not say his name, but apparently he was a medical doctor who is a collector. Not impressed…. Sorry!
Maybe I am tripping... I don't know. But at the end of the day......
I am an artist and I’m sensitive about my shit! ~Badu~
