Wendover Art Group, Barclay Butera's line - Faith and Trust

Several months ago I was contacted out of the blue by an employee of Wendover Art Group who said they would like to use some of my artwork as prints.  They would pay to have the pieces scanned (HUGE scans!), then they'd put them on their site and sell them on demand.  I would receive a check each quarter if/when my pieces sold.

Barclay Butera, a well-known designer, had seen my work and felt like it would be the "next big thing".  That was quite flattering, but I had no clue if these guys were for real or not.  I had my doubts - internet scans abound - so I checked them out as well as I could.  I spoke with people who knew of them and who knew about licensing artwork, etc.  It was a brand new thing for me.  What I found out sounded good, so I decided to go for it.  Everything was quite rushed because they wanted to have the prints available for a big furniture show coming up.  Mark Staples, a fine art printing specialist here in Richmond, did a great job scanning the work in record time, then he and his assistant Carol sped the scans to Wendover.  It all happened so fast!

A couple of months later I received a check for a reasonable amount of money, and just last week I received another one.  I like it!

Today I was sending someone a link to Wendover's website, and, for the first time, was able to find my pieces there.  Here's the link.  I am fascinated to see what they've done with my pieces!  For example, "Evoking Beach" (above left) is upside down, and it's been printed 22"x26".  The original is 6"x9" (right).

In the contract I signed, I gave them permission to alter the pictures and to change the sizes, etc., so I'm not complaining.  It's just fascinating to me to see them once the changes have been made.

If these were my nudes, I wouldn't have agreed to allow such changes, but I made a choice about these.  They came out of a period of my life when I was in pretty dark despair some of the time.  Chris had been out of work for about 9 months, and I was feeling scared.  Despite that, I decided to step out of that fear and, in faith, to rent a cottage at the Outer Banks for a week so we could get away and find our centers again.  When I arrived at the beach, I pulled out my paper and pastels, sat at the picnic table on the porch, and began to draw.  I gazed out onto the ocean, at the sand, at the sky, and drew what I saw, moment after changeable moment.  I don't know if I spoke much for a couple of days.  Through those drawings, I re-gained my center and released my fear.  A day later Chris got a phone call from a company ready to offer him a temporary job.  It wasn't perfect for him, but it was perfect for us for the time being.  It gave me the assurance I needed that all was well and all would be well.  I could trust the Universe that we would be OK.

These drawings have come to symbolize that assurance to me.  Wendover called just as I was starting to think about quitting my "day job" to become a full time artist.  I decided that this was the Universe's way of letting me know all was well, all would be well, I could quit my job and trust all would be very well.  So I released my attachment to the images with gratitude for their part in my life.

These are the same pieces which will be on display in Petersburg at the Petersburg Regional Art Center from now through the end of April.  The Opening will be this Friday from 7-10.  Perhaps I'll see you there, and you can tell me about times in your life when your faith was restored.

UPDATE:  8/6/2012

I am still selling my artwork through Wendover.  Last Spring they decided to license several more pieces, this time in hues of brown and tan. Last week I received a check for prints which had sold. 

It has proven to be a wonderful relationship with Wendover, and I couldn't be more pleased.  It's amazing to receive income for works I did a while ago but which continue to sell through the magic of the internet.  I'm so grateful!