How To Accept More Payments For Your Art By Deborah Ronglien

Everyone should be able to own a great piece of art that they really want and oftentimes price can get in the way, causing collectors to hesitate pulling the trigger.

In today’s episode, Deborah Ronglien shares how she created “Midnight Blue,” an amazing Geode piece, and why offering a payment plan is important when making it affordable for the buyer.

If you are often tempted with the thought of lowering your prices in order to sell your art faster then let this inspirational talk about the business of fluid acrylic art persuade you otherwise.

This episode is sponsored by Acrylicpouring.com – the leading fluid arts website which provides fluid artists around the world the inspiration and tips they need.
If you are new to fluid arts and want to get started now then go to https://acrylicpouring.com/  to learn the 5 fundamentals of making beautiful acrylic pours for FREE.  Also, join their Facebook community where every day artists just like YOU are sharing their newest creations that just might end up on another one of these episodes.

Introduction:

Welcome to another episode of The Fluid Arts Podcast with your host Kévin White.  Here, we dive into the wonderful world of fluid arts, including acrylic pouring, alcohol ink, resin art, and more. Each episode contains a one-on-one session with talented artists who share their techniques, inspirations, and tips for creating amazing fluid art. Whether you want to earn a living making art or improve your work, this podcast is for you. So, please sit back and relax as we take you on a journey to learn more about this exciting and engaging art form.

Today’s special guest (Deborah Ronglien), a full time artist for more than thirty years, resides in Minnesota and has been a part of the Acrylic Pouring Facebook community since 2018! .

In this episode, we discuss “Midnight Blue,” a geode style piece with many striking embellishments (cobalt crushed mirror & diamond chips just to name a few), and how offering payment plans has resulted in getting more of her amazing artwork into the hands of her collectors.

Midnight Blue angle drfa resized 1

What is a geode style painting?

Geode style is kind of meant to look like an agate (gemstone/crystal) or a geode when you cut it open (an amethyst would be the most common.) It has that real jewel quality like when you open up the rock and you see all the crystals. So this is kind of to emulate that.

Geode paintings are also called “rainbow pour,” where you just pour in layers like what an egg or a geode would look in nature.

How did you create this geode style piece?

I work in layers so I start with applying my base layers down first. Sometimes I drop the embellishments (the crystals and the metallic powders) right into on top of the paint and sometimes I mix the metallic in with the paint. I would then let it dry and more often than not I will come back and look at it again to add another layer on top. 

On this particular piece, you may have noticed an area of white that now has a blue kind of lacing look in it. In order to create this effect, I took my cup of white paint, added a little bit of blue in there, and gave it a swirl. (not a lot). Then when I poured it out it resulted in this lacing effect. 

Then I did the rest of it with this exact style is just pouring out of a cup geode style

How did you choose these colors?

Oftentimes, if I’m looking for a color palette to inspire me, I’ll go on Pinterest and I’ll just type in something like “blue color palettes” or a quick Google search for “blue & gold color palettes.”

One of the things that inspired me this year is Pantone’s color of the year blue (that is kind of a navy blue.) It has been used in interior decorating now all year and I always look at Pantone’s color of the year every year.

Not all my paintings this year have been blue but I keep that in the back of my mind. I highly recommend you try adding this color into to your home décor to give it an updated fresh feel.

Some of the main supplies used:

I used liquitex basics for my paint mixture and floetrol as my pouring medium.

Embellished with Atlantic Blue & Midnight Blue metallic powders, cobalt & antique crushed mirror (which is the one that looks clear), and diamond chips.

supplies section

Who typically buys your artwork?

My buyers vary; They’re from all over the country and all different walks of life (especially with the acrylic pieces). They had seen my work just like you did and direct messaged me asking questions about it. And we kind of go from there.

One thing I found is that artists buy art, I’m an artist and I, I buy a lot of other people’s artwork.

Why did you start offering payment plans?

I lived through the 911 thing 19-20 years ago as an artist. At that time, people were concerned about the economy and how far their dollar would stretch. So I decided to offer payment plans and that’s what I’m doing again now, during the COVID-19 crisis.

I would say the last four out of five pieces that I’ve sold, have been through payment plans and I’m willing to work with customers if they get a paycheck every two weeks or whatever, I can work with that.

This has made a big difference for myself and my collectors. I really try to make it affordable by offering a payment plan and my belief is that everyone should own a great piece of artwork if they can.

Midnight Blue blk drfa 1 1

I just remember growing up and layaway being an option. You gave a down payment at the store and then you made payments when you could and when it was all paid for, you owned that product or that piece. That’s basically how it works and it’s pretty straightforward.

Lessons you’ve learned over the years:

There’s a rule in sales, it’s called, show them. If you don’t show them, they can’t see it. So post on social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube,etc.), and make sure you have quality video and photographs. There’s a lot of information available on how to best capture and edit from your phone and I ‘ve seen this make a huge difference.

How do you suggest I “show them”?

Sometimes I use a lot of the rooms 123rf.com. They have a lot of fabulous rooms that are fairly inexpensive and I like to stage them because I think it gives people a better idea of scale and what they would look like in their home.

Midnight BLue Chair

I love to do videos and angle shots so people can really see the dimensions instead of just having one flat shot of a painting. I’ve noticed that revealing angles, especially on social media marketing, exhibits the 3D quality of pieces that helps them imagine having it in their home. 

Midnight Blue drfa SQ 1

Normally, my photographs are pretty much the scale but I always put the dimensions in my video and photographs that I take right on my smartphone. If I take a picture outside then I don’t want the background showing but I instead try to focus on the art itself.

This post is a fraction of the fluid arts podcast, don’t forget to view it and share it with your artist friends. Also, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to join our Facebook community. Thanks, and see you in the next episode.

Deborah’s Media Platforms:

Facebook page

Website

Instagram

3 thoughts on “How To Accept More Payments For Your Art By Deborah Ronglien”

  1. This painting doesn’t look as if it has been resined (or is it?). If resin was not used, how did you adhere the crystals and powders to the painting?

    1. You are correct, I don’t use resin on my pieces. My pouring medium is floetrol and paint…no silicone. I add the crushed mirror and embellishments into the wet paint. Floetrol acts as an adherent. I like the contrast of matte areas nest to the sparkle. Thanks for asking!

  2. Farahnaaz Omar

    So you can get a geode style look without using resin? Also where do you get your embellishments from? I live in Brisbane Australia and cannot find much?

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin42
Share13