The Art Business Journey by artist and Solopreneur Mary Kamerer
Mary Kamerer is an impressionist oil painter and solopreneur based in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she paints landscapes of surrounding areas, especially the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Her artwork has been collected nationally and has been featured in publications such as American Art Collector, Fredericksburg Literary Review, Art Guide Artists Directory, Ballantyne Magazine, VoyageATL, SouthPark Magazine, and QC Exclusive, where she was named one of the “Twenty Women Who they shape Charlotte’s Art Landscape.”
In her artist statement, Mary shares, “The Carolinas offer a wonderful variety of landscapes, and I am enchanted by capturing the charm and simplicity of life in the rural South,” This is evident in her paintings that emphasize light and shadow. They depict the natural beauty of the marshes, trees, and flora along the local greenways.
As the main business owner with an artist’s heart, Mary is looking for tools to help her run smoothly.
This led her to the Artwork Archive. Here is her story.
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Why I Traded My Notebook for an Art Archive
When I started my business in 2017, I recorded my sales by printing images of my paintings, cutting them out, and pasting them into a notebook.
This method worked for the first year, but I quickly outgrew the laptop. Tracking images, sizes, prices, customers, and locations was too confusing. Our tax accountant recommended Quicken, so I bought it and tried using it, but it didn’t suit my specific artistic needs.
Then, I discovered the Artwork Archive.
I tried the free trial and realized it was exactly what I needed to keep organized. It only takes me a few minutes to add a new image and fill in the details. When I have a sale, the platform immediately prompts me to fill in this information for accurate record keeping.
Artwork Archive Enhances my studio workflow and gallery partnerships
Every time I finish a painting, I print out artwork labels for my monthly browse – I like to add a QR code for shows so collectors can be linked to my website. Add any information I want to include so customers can contact me even when I’m not around.
Additionally, I use the inventory feature to consolidate art for a specific gallery.
The gallery owners I work with appreciate that I can provide them with a link to all available works, complete with artwork thumbnails.
Streamline Gallery Communication and Tax Preparation with Artwork Archive’s Report Building Tools
Recently, when I visited a gallery to drop off my artwork, I realized that the site did not have a printed list of all my works. However, within minutes I went to the Artwork Archive page, selected all the pieces for this gallery, generated a link and sent it to the owner – the gallery was so easy to work with.
Gallery owners appreciate the professionalism of the inventory reports generated by Archive Artwork. This instills more confidence in me and my ability to maintain my side of our business relationship.
Additionally, I use the Artwork Archive to generate taxes each quarter. My accountant loves reports and says I am the most organized artist she has!
By leveraging these report-building tools, you can efficiently manage your studio workflow, strengthen your gallery partnerships, and save valuable art-making time.
