Art scammers – Part 2

Time Tested

I’ve already written about the art scammers, who contacted me through my website, and Daily Paintworks back in January. I thought they had gone away, but they’re back. I want you to know what to look for if you’re approached by these scammers. Here’s what was sent to me last week through my contact form here on my site..

Name: Mathew Duncan

Email: mathewduncan79@gmail.com

Website:

Comment: Greetings!
My name is Mathew Duncan from Washington DC. I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website on my laptop and i guess she likes your piece of work. I’m also impressed and amazed to have seen your various works too, You are doing a great job. I would like to purchase a piece of artwork (16×20 Acrylic Landscape Painting on canvas – Time Tested $325.00), if it is available and ready for sale as a surprise to my wife on our anniversary. Also, let me know if you accept check as mode of Payment.
Thanks and best regards.

Time: April 11, 2016 at 3:20 am
IP Address: 105.112.18.90
Contact Form URL: http://katiejeannewood.com/contact-katherine/
Sent by an unverified visitor to your site.

This almost looks legit, which is why I’m warning you about it. If I hadn’t been contacted by scammers before, I wouldn’t have picked up on it. You know how I know this is a scam? Because it has the exact same lines in it that the other scammer sent me. His wife likes my artwork, and looked at it on his laptop, just as Handy’s wife did. These men really should password protect their laptops. They have some wild, out of control women, who visit my site all the time. Also, like the other scammers, he picked one of my largest and most expensive paintings available.

I’ve always wanted to be a private detective when I grow up (for real), but I guess I’ll have to settle for playing one on the internet. I decided to dig a little deeper into this. If you contact anyone through WordPress, we automatically get sent your IP address at the bottom of the email..you can see it up there ^. 99.9% of the time, I pay no attention to anyone’s IP address, but since I’m 100% sure this is a scammer, I wanted to see where “Mathew” was really writing me from. I had a strong hunch he wasn’t writing from DC.

You can look up any IP address for free. I choose to use the first two sites after doing a Google search for “IP lookup”. On both sites, his address came back as Nigeria, Africa. Need I say more? I typed “scammers” into my Bing search bar and “scammers in Nigeria” was the first thing to pop up.

We all want to make sales, and it’s always exciting to think someone likes our work. However, if someone isn’t clicking the Buy Now button, and asking you to take a check instead, it could be a sign you’re dealing with a scam artist. I’ve had a no check or money order policy for years because I don’t want to take any chances.

If he can write me a check for the painting, why can’t he use his debit card to purchase it through Paypal? Makes no sense. If someone doesn’t have a debit card to go with their checking account, it’s highly suspicious.

After I wrote the last post about art scammers I got an email from an artist who thanked me for writing it. She said she had been scammed by Handy..the same guy who tried to scam me in January. She did a Google search, and found my blog post. She’s now in the process of getting back thousands of dollars. He did the old “I’ll send you a check for much more than the painting is priced, and you refund the difference.” This scam has been around forever. I was surprised she didn’t know about it. The check he sent her didn’t clear the bank, but the refund check she sent him did. He stole her painting and money. I sincerely wish her the best of luck getting it all back.

If you do still accept checks or money orders for your artwork, make sure it’s made out to the exact amount, and that it clears the bank before you ship the art out. Money orders can be fake, also.

Before this post was scheduled to post, I got yet another email..this one is almost exactly like the first one I received back in January, except this guy’s name is “Paul”, not “Handy”, and he’s from CA, not MA…

Name: Paul Moore

Email: pmoore525@gmail.com

Website:

Comment: Greetings!
My name is Paul Moore from California. I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website on my laptop and i guess she likes your piece of work, I’m also impressed and amazed to have seen your various works too, : ) You are doing a great job. I would like to receive further information about your piece of work and what inspires you. I am very much interested in the purchase of the piece (in subject field above) to surprise my wife. Kindly confirm the availability for immediate sales.
Thanks and best regards,

Paul Moore

Time: April 18, 2016 at 1:51 am
IP Address: 172.102.215.5
Contact Form URL: http://katiejeannewood.com/contact-katherine/
Sent by an unverified visitor to your site.

This IP address came back as Miami, FL, which is a long way from CA, but I can see how you could get the two states mixed up. smh

If you are getting the same messages sent to your inbox, and you think there’s nothing you can do about it, there is! Report it to the FBI here, and let other artists know about this scam.

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On the Easel – new bird paintings

Katherine Jeanne Wood - chickadee painting on canvas 01

New bird paintings were painted last week. I only painted 4 of them because I ran out of canvas. Oops! I hate when that happens. I’m getting an order ready for Dick Blick now.

Katherine Jeanne Wood - chickadee painting on canvas 02

There are reasons all the photos are black and white.

1. I love b&w photos, and haven’t posted any in a while.

2. Sometimes color is overrated, and overwhelming at the same time.

3. I don’t want to give away what the paintings look like just yet.

4. I’m considering doing another black and white series, and want to get a feel for how it will look.

Katherine Jeanne Wood - chickadee painting on canvas 03

Katherine Jeanne Wood - chickadee painting on canvas 04

And, that’s a sneak peek into my studio from last week.

These paintings will be shipped off to the Stage Coach Gallery in South Dakota soon. If you’re in the area, stop by, and say hello to Mary.

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Intimidated by blank canvas? Here’s a painting exercise for you

one of my art journal pages from 2009

Sometimes, as artists, we take ourselves way too seriously. We feel pressured to produce amazing works of art to fill up our shops, blogs, and social media. In our minds, we have to paint perfect paintings, yet do perfect paintings even exist? I don’t think so. All this pressure we put on ourselves makes facing a blank canvas daunting at times. I’ve even found myself scrubbing the toilet, and mopping floors – doing anything to get out of going to my studio to paint. When I realized what I was doing, I was disappointed in myself. If you’re an artist, I’m sure you’ve been there, done that, too. Maybe you’re doing it now, procrastinating by reading this page. It’s okay, you can keep reading, just get yourself to the studio, and do this exercise when you’re finished. 😉

One way I’ve learned to deal with a blank canvas is to give my insufferable brain a rest. If I’m being too serious, and hard on myself, it’s time for some playtime to turn things around. Feeling pressured to create the next great masterpiece slowly starts to dissolve after I open up one of my art journals. I feel the knots in my shoulders softening, as I give myself permission to do whatever I like. You won’t find any perfect paintings on these pages. I purposely make a lot of bad art.

I didn’t notice the white heart until I uploaded the photo here. Love happy surprises like this!

Sometimes I draw my cat, Harold, and write him a note. I have no idea what it says because I gave myself permission to have bad handwriting, so I scribbled. These pages are messy, and fun to create. We all should be having fun in our studios everyday. If you’re not enjoying yourself, and it’s all about work, work, work, it gets old and boring. Trust me, I know. I painted well over 500 paintings to sell last year. Believe me, it wasn’t all cupcakes, glitter and lollipops. It was hard work, especially when it came to photographing and listing them all. Some days it felt like I was glued to my office chair. From the outside looking in, it probably seems like all we do is have fun and play with our crayons all day, but in reality? It’s a tough job with long hours, which artists take it very seriously. So when I’m doing these pages, it gives me a much needed break from all that, and allows me to relax.

Besides having fun, I also get to keep all of the paintings for myself. I don’t have to share them with anyone, if I don’t want to. When you’re a working artist, keeping something just for yourself means a lot. If we want to sell paintings online, we’re pretty much forced to put everything out there. I happen to love this art journal of mine, and I especially love that it’s mine, all mine. It has about 100 pages in it, and very few will ever see the light of day online. That keeps it sacred and special to me.

You know what happens when I do this little exercise? I’m forgetting about my worries of making something perfect or pretty. I’m playing, having fun, not thinking of the outcome. I don’t care what it looks like as I’m painting or after I’m finished. I’m in the moment, moving paint around. It loosens me up, and keeps me moving forward. I’m not sitting on the couch with the remote in my hand, giving up on art or myself. Heck no! That’s no way to be a real artist.

After making a couple pages like this, I’m grabbing one of those blank canvases that has been taunting me, and I get back to work. I’m well on my way to making my next painting, and probably several more after that because once I start, it’s hard to stop. Ideas keep flowing.

I hope you try this exercise. If you do, let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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On my easel – a pink abstract painting

abstract painting progress shot No 1

I had a range of paintings on my easel last week – florals, birds, landscapes, portraits and abstracts. Whew! I didn’t have a chance to take progress shots of them all, but I’d like to show you how this abstract was created.

progress shot No 2

finished pink abstract painting

This one is larger. I think maybe 16×20 inches.

The finished paintings are hanging in my shipping room until they sells. Seeing all this pink when I walk out there makes me so happy.

A special thank you to Sheila, who sent me this postcard in the mail.
♥♥♥

Tips for buying paint on an artist’s budget

This is part two of the painting on a budget series. If you missed the first one, you can find it here. I wrote about buying affordable substrate when the high cost of canvas isn’t in the budget.

There are two types of paint for artists to use – student grade, and artist professional grade. You can probably guess that the student grade is cheap to buy, and the artist grade is pricey. Now, if you’re on a budget, you might think that buying student grade will save you money, but it actually won’t in the long run. I’ve had to paint over some of my earlier paintings because the color faded, and turned dull and muddy in just a short period of time. I learned my lesson on buying cheap paint.

Also, I always have my customer in mind when I buy art supplies. I don’t skimp when it comes to paint because it never seemed right or fair to me to cheat the buyer like that. A buyer is giving me their hard earned money, so in return I should give them a high quality painting. It only makes sense to me. However, that doesn’t mean I haven’t learned a couple ways to save money on paint, and that knowledge I want to pass along to you.

Tip No 1: Mix your own paint colors

This is a MUST. It saves me a ton of money because I’m not buying every color under the rainbow when I shop. I’m only buying the primary colors, plus black and white. Sure, I’ll buy an exotic color or two if I have the extra cash. If I don’t, I know I’ll be just fine making my own.

mmm..looks like blue frosting, eh? 😉 I wish!!

Mixing your own colors can seem intimidating at first, but it’s easy to learn. If you’re not sure how to do it, I suggest you read 1500 Color Mixing Recipes by William Powell or The Color Mixing Bible by Ian Sidaway. Or do a Google and Youtube search for mixing paint, and absorb all the free information you can get on the subject. It’s free! You don’t have to spend a cent, and your budget will love you for it. Here’s a great video for beginners..

“Do 50 paintings with this color palette”

It’s good to experiment. Example: yellow and blue makes green like the guy shows in the video. However, black and yellow mixed together makes my favorite shade of green. I never use yellow and blue. So, don’t be afraid to experiment. When you’re first learning, start by mixing a tiny amount on your palette, and do some tests.

Tip No 2: Look for different brands of artist quality paint

Another paint savings I discovered a few years ago – it pays to shop around for different paint brands. Instead of buying Golden paint, which can run over $130 for a 32 oz jar of cad red, the alternative could be SoHo Urban Artist paint. Their byline is Artist Quality at Student Quality Prices – Artist Grade Acrylic Paints! It is exactly that, and has saved me thousands of dollars over the years. Soho has a rich, creamy texture that I love. The cost of a 500 ml (16.9 oz) jar of acrylic is roughly $11. If you buy two, you get 33.8 oz, and you save $108, if I did the math right. I don’t know about you, but the thought of saving a hundred bucks thrills me to no end. Plus, you get a tiny bit more paint on top of it.

I can tell you from experience that the colors are super bright, especially the reds, and the savings can’t be beat. I have the 32 oz jar of Golden cad red in my studio, and the Soho brand. I actually find myself reaching for the Soho jar first, time and time again. Don’t get me wrong, I still buy some Golden paint, too, but I actually like the consistency of Soho paints better. And before you scream at your screen, “but Katie, Soho red paint is a hue, and Golden is a cadmium red.” I already know, and I still like Soho better. Try it, and tell me what you think. You’ll never know until you try.

So where can you buy this paint? There are a couple places selling it online, like Amazon. Jerry’s is the only one I trust, so I buy there in bulk about 2 – 4 times a year. I tried buying it at ASW Express, and it was a horrid experience – not once, but twice they failed. I will probably write about it sometime.

And, in case you’re wondering, Soho also has affordable oil paint. These cans are only $15. Try buying an entire can of oil somewhere else for that price. It’s more like hundreds. I haven’t painted with the oils enough to form a strong opinion, but the couple times I’ve used it, I thought it was great. Give it a try, and let me know what you think.

Be sure to sign up for my newsletter. Starting next month I’ll be giving away a painting, each and every month. You MUST be signed up to receive my newsletter to be eligible to win.

Also..

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New Art by Katie Jeanne video

If you’re on Etsy, you’ve probably heard that the site is changing, yet again. Unlike in the past, this time I’m pretty happy with what they’re doing. If you’re not seeing the new layout yet, you will soon. They’re rolling it out slowly.

Mine hasn’t changed yet, but I already know what it will look like because we were allowed to do a little customizing behind the scenes. The new layout is going to have a much larger banner, and our shop’s thumbnails will be larger. It’s also going to bring our about page and feedback to the front.

Another plus, they added the ability to upload a video to our About page a few weeks ago. This is the one I made for my Art by Katie Jeanne shop. I hope you enjoy a sneak peek into my studio.

On my easel & filing a claim for a lost painting with USPS

Shh! Your Life is Beautiful
Prints are available here

I know I said a while ago that I wasn’t going to post my portrait paintings anymore. I want to keep the look of my blog and website cohesive because I mostly paint florals, birds, and landscapes now. However, this portrait has a story behind it, so I thought it was worth writing about here.

Back in November I sold, and shipped this painting off to China. About a month and a half after I shipped it, the buyer wrote me saying she hadn’t received it yet. I checked the tracking number I had given her, and it looked like it hadn’t left the USA. It was somewhere between my studio and Chicago. I thought maybe the tracking number hadn’t been updated. It was the busiest time of year, right before the holidays, so I wasn’t too concerned. I’ve heard horror stories of packages taking 6 months to a year to ship overseas. I told the lady it was on its way, and we should probably wait a little bit to see if it showed up. I showed her how to look up the tracking information on USPS.com, so she could track updates.

She wrote to me again about 6 weeks ago, and the painting still hadn’t arrived. I checked the tracking number, and it hadn’t changed. It looked like the package had gone off the radar. It was time to file a missing package insurance claim with USPS, so that’s what I did. It took them about a month to get back in touch with me. Because it was an international shipment, I had to wait for China to research what happened. I got an email that read like a form letter saying we were going to proceed with the claim. Unfortunately, I’m not dealing with a real live person to ask any questions, so I’m just going to assume it was somehow lost or perhaps stolen.

The reason I’m writing about it today is to urge artists to keep immaculate records when you ship paintings out. USPS asks A LOT of questions because they don’t like paying out money on insurance claims. I had to send proof that I had shipped it. Not only did I have to fill out a form online, but they also sent me more paperwork in the mail to fill out, and mail back in.

progress shots
You’re not seeing double, I promise.

If you ever need to file a claim with USPS, you have to provide them with a printed sales receipt, and proof that the item was worth what you claimed it was when you purchased insurance. If you don’t have that information available when they ask for it, the insurance you bought is useless.

I’ve filled the forms out, and mailed it in. Now to wait some more. In the meantime, there’s the nice lady buyer to think about. She’s been waiting ever so patiently, and has been so sweet and understanding through all of this. I feel just horrible about what happened, and that it’s taking so long to correct. I thought I’d try to fix it in some way by painting another portrait to offer her. It’s not exactly like the original one, but I’m hoping it’s close enough, and she’ll like it.

oil paint palette

I had extra oils leftover on my palette after I had finished, so I figured why not? I went ahead and painted another one, so that’s why you see two on my easel. I hate to throw away paint. If the buyer decides she’d rather have a refund, I’ll be listing both in my shop.

Shh! Your Life is Beautiful
No 3 and No 4

It was great practice. I haven’t painted a portrait in about a year, and it’s been a while since I painted with oils. I felt nervous before I started, but I was quickly back into the groove in no time. I don’t know if it was the fumes or what, but I felt a little giddy painting with ~~butter~~, I mean, oils again. Need I say it was FUN? 🙂 I started to miss portrait painting, at least a little bit, so I figure why stop here? I’ve got my other shop in good order, so I can take a little break from the flowers. Those who think portraits are my best work will be happy. 🙂 I’ve been asked repeatedly to re-paint one of my paintings titled Little Dude ever since the original sold a few years ago. It’s now on my to-do list. I just might blog about it, despite my “no portraits” rule here on my blog. Rules in art are made -just- to be broken, I say. 😉

******

Remember when I used to do “on the easel” posts every week? I had nearly forgotten about it, until I started writing this one. I’m thinking of making it a weekly or biweekly topic again. Maybe on Tuesdays?

8 things I would tell my beginner artist self

miz katie painting heart rocks

Eight things I would tell my beginner artist self, all said with love and heart rocks, of course. 🙂

1. You don’t have to like every painting you paint. It’s impossible, so chalk it up to a learning experience, and move on. Buy some cheap black paint, and gesso. Learn to use them – black paint + a few coats of gesso = brand new surface to paint on. You won’t even remember what the bad painting looked like when you’re finished. The next painting might be one you fall completely in love with. Please realize there are going to be A LOT of bad paintings…really really bad ones. The sooner you do this, the better. It’s okay that your painting stinks. You tried sooo hard. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Instead, pat yourself on the back, and give yourself an A for effort. Keep moving forward. Your next painting just might be your favorite.

2. When you’re using a photo as a reference, remember that a camera is a machine. You are not. Your painting is going to look like a painting, not like a photo. Stop trying to paint a photo, and concentrate on painting a painting.

3. You don’t have to be so serious. There is no such thing as a perfect painting or a perfect you. Besides, it’s so boring to be a perfectionist. You will never be satisfied with your work if you keep thinking this way. You’ll spend all your time beating yourself up, and what fun is that?

Art by Katie Jeanne - filler 29

4. Focus. I know it’s a big art world with lots of things to learn, especially when you first start out. However, you need to focus, and stop trying to do everything. You will spread yourself too thin, and get confused. If you really want to paint, and you do, start there. Making clay pots, learning to knit, and making candles all day errryday won’t help you improve your painting skills. (haha okay, I’ve never actually made candles, but I did buy a how to book once) Fight the fear that’s keeping you from doing what you really want to do. Learning to knit isn’t scary. Calling yourself an artist, painting, and putting your work out there is absolutely terrifying, tho. Deep breath. You can do this.

5. You don’t need every art supply known to artists. You just DON’T. You will waste a lot of money, and you’ll end up throwing or giving it all away. Buy gesso, paint, canvas, and varnish. Start there.

Art by Katie Jeanne - collage of birds

6. Paint A LOT. Until you get super comfortable around paint and canvas, you’ll need to paint every single day. It will get you over the fear. It will seem impossible, at first, but start with a series of 100. When you’re done with that, start another one. Never stop. Before you know it, you’ll have painted thousands of paintings. That first series of 100 will look so small in comparison.

7. Do something to move yourself forward every single day. If that means finishing a painting, finish it. If it means starting a new painting, start it. If that means offering a painting for sale online, do it! Stop waiting for the perfect time. The time is NOW.

8. You will learn soon that being a successful artist boils down to one thing – painting. If you’re painting, you are successful. Period. If you stop making art, you will be miserable. All you’ll do is sit around wishing you were painting. It’s a waste of time, even if you do it for only one afternoon. Get up off the couch, turn Netflix off, and go be successful.

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Tip No 1: Mix your own paint colors

Tip No 2: Look for different brands of artist quality paint

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