Vulgalour Arts - Commissions OPEN and a Vauxhall Tigra Prints and Original

[vulgalour]

MORE CITROENS!

 

This time a performance offering in the shape of the Citroen BX 16v.  Buy prints here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/angylroper/works/37279138-citroen-bx-16-valve

 

[vulgalour]

You can get the Mk1 and Mk2 BX together on the same items here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/angylroper/works/37279519-citroen-bx-mk1-and-mk2

[vulgalour]

For March, folks voted that the Metro should take the top spot.  I've been ITCHING to have a good excuse to do one particular Metro; the Chairman.

 

[vulgalour]

If you're on Twitter, I'm now accepting suggestions for April's content here

If you're not, just reply below and I'll put them in the hat. The top 4 suggestions will be up for voting on, base on number of likes/frequency of suggestion. If there's no clear leaders, I'll make an arbritrary decision based on my personal tastes for which ones get in the vote.  Poll will go live on Twitter sometime in the last week of March or the first week of April, as I've been doing this year.

 

The artwork I create will then be available in the shop and, if it's done in traditional media, the original artwork will also be available to purchase.
 

 

[michael t]

Volvo 480? Angular masterpiece!

[vulgalour]

I've come to a crossroads with my automotive artwork.  Article 11/13 muddies the copyright waters even further on what I may and may not be allowed to post and is the proverbial straw.

 

Before I explain, I'll first state that I am grateful and appreciative of the wonderful folks that have commissioned work from me over the years, and bought prints from Redbubble.  There have been some fantastic people I've worked with that have given me brilliant challenges and I appreciate every one of you.

 

The short version is simply that the artwork isn't paying its way.  I've been putting off this decision for a while, hoping it would change, hoping more advertising etc. would help.  Fact is, all it's done is attract more of the sort of people I don't want to interact with or waste my limited time on.  The print shop chugs along but only a couple of items have actually paid for the work put into them, most items sit there making no money at all, offsetting negatively the items that do make money to a degree that in real terms, I'm making a loss on the time and materials invested.

 

It's very difficult to continue to create, interact, and be postive about something that just eats time and generates farcical requests and unrealistic demands.  I'm done with people requesting giant pieces of artwork for pound shop print money.  I'm done with people wanting photo-accurate depictions of cars that I'm supposed to magically create from rubbish references.  I'm done with people just being rude to me.  I don't care enough or earn enough to deal with that sort of nonsense.

 

Going forward I'm going to complete the Metro pieces and leave the print shop as it is and then shut down this wing of my work.  I've tried, REALLY tried, to make it work.  I'm now accepting that I cannot compete in this particular market place and focusing on work where I am more competitive.  It will free up some time for me to devote to more profitable ventures.

 

Finally, my apologies to anyone who is disappointed by this.  I know there's people that enjoy my work, have been supportive, and wanted to commission me or buy something some day.  Maybe in time I'll take on fresh commissions.  I'll be leaving the print shop running as it is, no point cutting off the small revenue it does generate, after all.  I'm also not looking for advice or to be persuaded to go another direction, I've given this avenue of my work plenty of opportunity to be successful and it simply hasn't been.

 

So thank you for your support, everyone.  I'll be closing with the Metro pieces once they're completed.

[shoddybanger]

That is some beautiful artwork you've produced! How could I have missed these.

 

I can understand your frustration. Trying to please others is mostly very difficult, and it only gets worse with creative work. Combine that with inconsiderate folk who don't have a clue as to how much work, time and resources goes into it all, and it's a wonder how creative professionals ever find the motivation to go on.

 

It's a skill to commission work, and judging by what I've seen online and elsewhere, quite a few people lack even the basic understanding and prerequisite character: when you address a professional, you do so respectfully and acknowledging that they are the expert in their line of work, and that their time and effort is worth a lot of money. You are commissioning an expert to work for you and produce a unique piece -- not buying some mass-produce for pennies to the pound.

 

Hope you still find motivation to produce art in some way or the other.

[vulgalour]

Thank you, I'm glad you've enjoyed what's here.  I still have the motivation, I have more profitable avenues I'll still follow and have been following for the past ten years.  I've given the automotive work four years to succeed and it's been an uphill struggle most of the way, so I gave it the best chance I could.

 

I'll probably still create the occasional automotive piece for fun, and I'll probably accept the occasional commission in the future.  For now, it's sensible to put it to bed as a serious concern and focus instead on the more profitable aspects of my work instead.

[LightBulbFun]

sad to see the things finish, but I fully understand why

 

best of luck to you and your other ventures, and I look forward to any other pieces you happen to do in the future for fun or such

[vulgalour]

Yeah cheers, DavidB, that's super helpful of you.  I'm sure you think that's hilarious.

[PhilA]

Sad to see an end to it, I smile every time I look at the picture of the Sprite hanging up in my office. My parents still have theirs hanging in the living room so in that aspect, for me, it was a worthwhile venture.

 

Sad to see red tape, beaurocracy and the general public bring it to an end, but it's your sanity and pocket book at the end of the day.

 

Excellent service A+++++ would do business again etc.

 

Phil

[brownnova]

Like others I have (quietly and from the sidelines) massively appreciated and enjoyed your automotive work. It’s sad to see you close off that avenue, but understandable too.

 

If you do car pics for pleasure please show them off because quiet though some of us are we certainly appreciate your work!

 

Thankyou for sharing what you’ve done with this corner of the inter web!

[Timewaster]

I'm not the sort of person who is likely to buy artwork, but your black on white metro is genius.

 

Shame it doesn't pay.

 

A kid in my class at school did some awesome cartoons. Made up all his own characters, and did caracatures of teachers, TV stars etc. A real talent.

 

He works in Argos.

 

Cruel world isn't it.

[Rocket88]

pm'd you

[SiC]

Congratulations on giving it a darn good go. Many people say they want to do their own business but never actually go through with it. You've done far more than many others in this world in that respect.

 

My older sister is an artist along with my brother in law. They both studied at Royal College of Art in fine art. Despite having that name against themselves, lived in London trying to make a name for themselves and getting some impressive commissions + into galleries, they never could make it pay the bills. She then went to qualify as a teacher which she did for a bit and now moved into higher education, teaching art. My brother-in-law is a Teaching Assistant.

 

However they are still making pieces and trying. You can't give up in the art game and it seems to be a lot about luck (And having rich parents who have influences).

 

Making money from art is a bloody tough gig.

[vulgalour]

I still make money from my art, just not the car stuff.  So I'm still a self-employed artist and that's still paying my bills.  I just have to focus on the stuff that actually pays its way.  I'm glad I took the chance with the automotive stuff and if commissions for it come my way in the future, I will take them on probably.  For now, I'll continue to focus on the artwork that does pay the bills with a better understanding of what doesn't.

 

I shan't be giving artwork up and what I've learned about how to draw cars over the last few years has helped with other pieces so it's not an entirely wasted venture.  This is more about making a sensible business decision.  At least now I can dedicate more time to other avenues and, hopefully, increase their returns as a result.  As things stand, small online businesses like mine are on quite shakey ground so it's a case of circling the wagons a bit to keep things steady until the wider economic stage sorts itself out.  People are less inclined to spend than they might have been and when it comes to luxury items, that's only increasing to be a problem.  Artwork is also considered relatively disposable by many so it's a small portion of the population who really seem to grasp the cost for bespoke work.

 

My favourite* suggestions over the last few years with car artwork have been:

Do it for the exposure.

It's not that hard.

It's not really work.

You shouldn't ask to get paid if it's something you enjoy.

Can't you just move it around on the computer?

Digital isn't real art.

I don't understand why I should pay more for it to be bigger.

Your prints are £x so why can't you do this [an entirely scratch drawn original] picture for me at the same price?

Can you send me [specific size and colour of clothing not offered by print shop] for the same price but with my car on it instead of the one in your shop?

I want it to look exactly like my car.  I don't have a picture of it, and I can't tell you what it looks like.

i want to know what you're spending the money on when I've paid you.

Can't you just do the artwork for me, send me the original, and then I'll pay you when I've decided if I like it or not.  No, I'm not going to return the original artwork to you if I decide I don't like it.

Why is it more in Dollars than it is in Euros?

I've seen this picture by another artist that's too expensive.  Can you do exactly the same but at half your usual rate and twice your usual size?

 

This is, of course, offset by the amazing compliments and support I've had, as evidenced in this thread.  Honestly, even if you only ever hit the like button on pieces you enjoyed, it made it worthwhile.  I know not everyone can afford to buy stuff - I can't afford to buy art and I make the stuff! - and that's okay.  Those that could, have, and those that have enjoyed the work have let me know, so you all cancel out the idiots and the selfish graspers.

 

So once again a big thank you to everyone that's been along for the ride.  There'll be at least two more pieces to come in the form of those Metro pieces I'm working on.  After that, there'll probably be more items but it will be incredibly sporadic, probably months or even years apart, and that's okay too.

[paulplom]

Very sad

 

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[New POD]

Mate. Don't give UP. JUST DON'T.

You have talent. Don't waste it.

Find a way.

[rml2345]

I've enjoyed your automotive work for the past four years and always promised myself that one day I'd have something commissioned but never quite got there. Sorry about that.

Sad to see it come to an end as an aspect of your business but at the end of the day you need it to pay bills and if it's not paying then there's no sense in persisting with the horrible shitstorm it often caused you. As many others have said, we feel privileged that you chose to share it with this corner of the Internet and I look forward to the odd bit done for your own amusement as they often result in your best work. You're a rare talent Mr. Roper and it's not many artists that can do what they love and live off it, so long may your more successful avenues continue.

[dollywobbler]

One of the nicest gifts I ever received was your artwork of Elly the 2CV - which neatly edited out the rust! I'd taken Elly off the road, because she was too rotten. I was heart-broken at the time - and skint. The artwork meant so much to me at the time. I still really like it today.

 

 

So, I'm saddened that the car art has ended. However, understandable. Give it a rest. Focus on other things. Hopefully you'll be back when you're ready.

 

The only way to make money at this lark is endless self-promotion and mainstream cars. Good on you for creating stuff you really love, but it's a tricky income stream. Which is why there is no Autoshite magazine.

[Mrcento]

I'm not the sort of person who is likely to buy artwork, but your black on white metro is genius.

 

Shame it doesn't pay.

 

A kid in my class at school did some awesome cartoons. Made up all his own characters, and did caracatures of teachers, TV stars etc. A real talent.

 

He works in Argos.

 

Cruel world isn't it.

 

Back in the day i was at college, i studied film and animation for a couple of years. On the course there was a girl, who was frankly one of the most artistically gifted people i have ever seen. I saw bits and pieces throughout the year and knew she was good, but it was only when she showed me a folder of her work where i realised just how good, cartoons, characters, set designs, costumes, photo-realistic portraits.... It was scary.

 

After the course, she applied for art college and was rejected.

 

The lazy fucker in the same class who didn't have an artistic bone in his body got an unconditional offer.

 

I strongly believe the reason was, her work was technically outstanding but likely on the nose. It kinda spoke for itself. His work was absolute shite, but the bullshitter he was meant he could explain it in such a way that made the selectors think it gave stick men meaning.

 

She gave up believing the uni knockback meant she plain wasn't good enough to do anything with it. Which was sad, but seeing how difficult making a career out of art, it seems talent doesn't pay.

[MikeKnight]

I live with vulg so have seen some of the "requests" he gets first hand.

 

It's made me question if the collective IQ of the general population even gets up to double figures.

[Datsuncog]

Like so many others on here, I've very much enjoyed your car artwork from afar and hoped that one day I'd be in a position to commission something for the garage wall (also that I one day may be in a position to have a garage wall on which to hang car-themed artwork).

 

While disappointed, I fully understand your reasoning and agree that it's better to focus on what pays and leave the car work for occasional one-offs, rather than trying to deal with the general public and their curious beliefs about what constitutes 'work'... 

 

 

As an aside, MrsDC worked for a while freelancing in the graphic design/mapping sector.

 

It was fairly soul-destroying, even for something that was more tech-based than creative - generally due to the unreasonable, contradictory and just plain bizarre requests from people who were fairly senior in well-regarded institutions, but seemed to have a tenuous grip on reality...

 

"We need the black to be less black."

 

"So... more of a dark grey?"

 

"No! It still needs to be black. Just not as black as you've done it."

 

"So, hold on, do you need the linework to be thinner then, to make it less bold, or do you want the background a lower contrast colour...?"

 

"No! The lines are fine, the background's fine - don't touch that. Just make the black less black."

 

**[Waits until the next day, then resubmits without any changes]**

 

"That's perfect! Why couldn't you just have done that the first time?"

 

**[submits invoice, which then takes upwards of ten reminders and four months to be paid. Rinse and repeat.]**

 

I'd guess you're familiar with clientsfromhell.net - I always thought it was maybe a bit exaggerated, but apparently not.

 

The same also applies to her yarncrafting. Sometimes non-knitters will notice something she's wearing, and casually ask if she can make one the same for them. It's always interesting to watch their reaction when she quotes them north of £1000 to cover the materials and potentially a hundred of hours of detailed lacework, even at minimum wage levels... 

 

"A woman at the market sells knitted blankets for £15, though. She must make money out of it, so I thought you'd be about the same price."

 

"Yes, but she uses a knitting machine to just make big stripey squares out of cheap recycled yarn. While that's fine, they're not handknits, and they're not shaped. £15 wouldn't even go anywhere near covering the costs of new materials."

 

"Eh, but Poundland sells wool, can you not just use that instead?"

 

"No, Poundland sells primary-coloured acrylic - this stuff is hand-dyed laceweight Shetland yarn and costs £35 a skein. That's why you noticed it. Do you know how many skeins have gone into this?"

 

"Errr…"

 

We've taken to archly referring to her knitting as 'productive twitching', as that's apparently what most people believe it to be. Never mind the years of practice. Never mind the cost of patterns, tools and yarn. Never mind the library of stitch dictionaries, shaping guides and charting software. If you like doing it, you don't need to be paid, right?

 

It's important to never undersell art. If something brightens a dark day and nurtures the wounded soul, then it's worth paying for in gold.

[vulgalour]

Scotty2: There's Allegro and Ambassador prints in the shop, available on t-shirts: https://www.redbubble.com/people/angylroper/collections/647562-austin

 

NewPOD:  I've given it four years and as much effort as I have the time to.  When you're a sole trader you have to do all your own promotion alongside creating all your stock and there's only so many hours in a day.  If a sector of my work isn't paying its way, it has to go, sad but true.  Plenty of other ventures over the years have gone the same way and I'm sure more in the future will too.  I'm not giving up, I'm still producing artwork 5 days a week for which I'm paid, I'm just knocking the regular updates and interaction on the car stuff on the head. I know I've a small core following of loyal and supportive fans of my work, and I really do appreciate that, unfortunately in business love and support no matter how genuine isn't going to pay the bills.  It hurts to make this decision because I know it will let folks down, I've been agonising about it over the last year, watching the figures, hoping something I did or promoted would change it.  I never got that lucky break with the automotive artwork, and when I did more mainstream stuff I got hit with copyright claims that cut off the ability to earn from that wing.  Automotive artwork is an uphill battle all the way, it requires so much time and research and tolerance with absurdity that I simply can't justify doing it on a regular basis.

 

If anyone wants to commission something I will be open to that.  Not at the moment though, the commissions books are jam packed with my other work and I may be unable to take new work on until May.

 

The Redbubble shop https://www.redbubble.com/people/angylroper will remain as it is, I have no intention of pulling designs or closing the shop as while it brings very little in, it also costs me absolutely nothing to leave it running.  I'll also be filtering the occasional piece in there both automotive and otherwise, as items are created.

[inconsistant]

From another quiet admirer of your work I’m grateful for all the great stuff you’ve shared with us over the years. I wish you well with the other stuff.

[vulgalour]

I did say there'd be more work, sporadically, months or even years apart.  So here we are nearly a year later, with some new content.  Happily, other topics I work on have been doing exceptionally well since I stopped doing the car artwork by commission and my work stress levels are much reduced so I'm going to stick to making stuff when I've time and a mind to, and sticking it in my little print shop.

Lamborghini joined the Do Not Draw list too, alongside BMW, Land Rover, and Jaguar, due to another couple of copyright strikes on a piece I had that was doing well by the standards of my little shop.

Let's hope SEAT don't have an issue with me drawing their obsolete stuff now that there's a Terra print available for all those Terra-rists out there.  It's available in four colours; red, yellow, blue, and white.

https://www.redbubble.com/people/angylroper/shop/?asc=u&collections=1262993

[vulgalour]

Dug out the pens for a change of pace recently.  Getting a lot of similar subject work at the moment and needed a change, so a Metro Chairman was the ideal antidote.  I can't recall ever seeing any artwork of a Chairman, not even promotional brochure stuff.

 

It's in the shop, as usual: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/45982659?ref=studio-promote

[vulgalour]

1959 Buick Invicta/Electra.  It's a car that's angry at both ends.  Decided to do something a bit different on this one and I really like the end result.

It's in the shop, as usual. https://www.redbubble.com/people/angylroper/works/45983235-buick-1959-invicta-or-electra?asc=u

[vulgalour]

NUNS!  REVERSE!  REVERSE!

https://www.redbubble.com/i/sticker/Sisters-by-angylroper/48640029.EJUG5

[vulgalour]

New addition to the shop will be this Hillman Imp which will be available in four colours.  This is the copper version just to whet your appetite.  Inspired by a photo of, I think, the Imp belonging to @Rusty Pelican because it's one of the best references I had of an Imp on Alleycats.  There will be blue, gold, cream, and this copper variant when I've got all the processing done.  Will probably also do a multi-Imp arrangement for those sticker sheets and repeating prints people like.

 

I'm not totally dead on the car art, just incredibly slow with it these days.