Spring has sprung, and as John and Bogdan deal with everything from running a new nonprofit to planning for Comicpalooza, the season has meant a flurry of activity and challenges for the art couple. John talks about all of the exciting things going on in their art business, and the opportunity to write a whole new curriculum for teaching other artists about what running an art business can mean.
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Season 4, Episode 8
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John Bishop Fine Art is an art business run by visual artist John Bishop. John is based in Houston and partners with his husband, Bogdan Mihai, as owners of Buburuza Productions, LLC, and co-founder of the charity Aripa Arte. John is an abstract painter and illustrator, a blogger, a vlogger, podcaster, and creative writer. He has authored several children's zines and books, as well as co authored books on photography, and art business themes. He and his husband also own and manage a company in Romania, and travel often to Eastern Europe. He maintains a studio at Silver Street Studios in Houston. John posts a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creates a community, a conversation, between creatives in all sorts of fields at all sorts of levels. He wants to discuss what he's learning, what he's experienced, and whom he's met in his journey of running a freelance creative business. John's art explores how to turn mythic, archetypal symbols into individual experiences allowing us to see them in a new way, with fresh eyes. Join the conversation, the community, and share the journey together.

John Bishop: http://www.johnbishopfineart.com

Bogdan Mihai: http://www.bogdanfotoart.com

Bogdan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogdanoninstagram/

John’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnbishopfineart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnBishopart

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnbishopfineart

Buburuza Productions: http://www.Buburuzaproductions.com

Aripa Arte Nonprofit: https://www.aripaarte.org

There is an inherent flaw as an artist to try to be all things to all people. While it is vital that we experiment, find our style and our voice, and explore where are artistic inspiration leads, how we are perceived by potential collectors can make a huge difference in how seriously we are treated as fine artists. The problem comes then in making choices that either present us as exclusive, high-end, art professionals who command the high prices required for our name and excellence, or do we create stuff that sells so that we can afford to keep the studio open and food on the table. How do we as artists manage to live in both worlds without alienating our collectors or being accused of "selling out"?

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Season 4, Episode 7
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John Bishop Fine Art is an art business run by visual artist John Bishop. John is based in Houston and partners with his husband, Bogdan Mihai, as owners of Buburuza Productions, LLC, and co-founder of the charity Aripa Arte. John is an abstract painter and illustrator, a blogger, a vlogger, podcaster, and creative writer. He has authored several children's zines and books, as well as co authored books on photography, and art business themes. He and his husband also own and manage a company in Romania, and travel often to Eastern Europe. He maintains a studio at Silver Street Studios in Houston. John posts a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creates a community, a conversation, between creatives in all sorts of fields at all sorts of levels. He wants to discuss what he's learning, what he's experienced, and whom he's met in his journey of running a freelance creative business. John's art explores how to turn mythic, archetypal symbols into individual experiences allowing us to see them in a new way, with fresh eyes. Join the conversation, the community, and share the journey together.

John Bishop: http://www.johnbishopfineart.com

Bogdan Mihai: http://www.bogdanfotoart.com

Bogdan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogdanoninstagram/

John’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnbishopfineart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnBishopart

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnbishopfineart

Buburuza Productions: http://www.Buburuzaproductions.com

Aripa Arte Nonprofit: https://www.aripaarte.org

After a lot of thought and discussion, we've decided to change how we're branding some of our online content. Up until now, all of Bogdan's and my content lived on my YouTube channel, and while that has been working, it doesn't really present Bogdan in the best light. If there are people who are interested in Bogdan's work more than mine, it may be confusing for them to have to go to my channel to find his content. Conversely, those interested in my art may wonder why so much of the content is focused on Bogdan's work. We've decided to separate our content into John Bishop Fine Art, and Bogdan Foto Art, and to create a new YouTube channel called John & Bogdan to house our shared content.

Now that the new year is off to a good start, and the new nonprofit is up and running, we were able to host our first fundraising Gala celebration on March 1st. John is now creating new work for the Comicpalooza coming in May.

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Season 4, Episode 6
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John Bishop Fine Art is an art business run by visual artist John Bishop. John is based in Houston and partners with his husband, Bogdan Mihai, as owners of Buburuza Productions, LLC, and co-founder of the charity Aripa Arte. John is an abstract painter and illustrator, a blogger, a vlogger, podcaster, and creative writer. He has authored several children's zines and books, as well as co authored books on photography, and art business themes. He and his husband also own and manage a company in Romania, and travel often to Eastern Europe. He maintains a studio at Silver Street Studios in Houston. John posts a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creates a community, a conversation, between creatives in all sorts of fields at all sorts of levels. He wants to discuss what he's learning, what he's experienced, and whom he's met in his journey of running a freelance creative business. John's art explores how to turn mythic, archetypal symbols into individual experiences allowing us to see them in a new way, with fresh eyes. Join the conversation, the community, and share the journey together.

John Bishop: http://www.johnbishopfineart.com

Bogdan Mihai: http://www.bogdanfotoart.com

Bogdan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogdanoninstagram/

John’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnbishopfineart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnBishopart

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnbishopfineart

Buburuza Productions: http://www.Buburuzaproductions.com

Aripa Arte Nonprofit: https://www.aripaarte.org

Well after a year of waiting, the Aripa Arte nonprofit has finally been granted 501(c)3 status by the IRS. That means that we are now a legitimate, tax exempt, public charity and can take donations, apply for grants, get huge discounts, and actually do some good in the world. So exciting.

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Season 4, Episode 5
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“Art Life with John & Bogdan” is a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creates a community, a conversation, between creatives in all sorts of fields at all sorts of levels. We want to discuss what we’re learning, what we’ve experienced, and whom we’ve met in our journey of running a freelance creative business. John Bishop is a visual artist living in Houston, Texas. His work is largely abstract, and explores how to turn mythic, archetypal symbols into individual experiences allowing us to see them in a new way, with fresh eyes. Bogdan is a videographer and fine art photographer who constantly seeks to stretch the boundaries of traditional photographic work, with the added flare of his artistic eye. Both artists’ work can be seen online, or at their studios at Silver Street Studios, 2000 Edwards Street, in Houston.

John Bishop: http://www.johnbishopfineart.com

Bogdan Mihai: http://www.bogdanfotoart.com

Bogdan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogdanoninstagram/

John’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnbishopfineart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnBishopart

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnbishopfineart

Buburuza Productions: http://www.Buburuzaproductions.com

Aripa Arte Nonprofit: httos://www.aripaarte.org

This week's podcast is all about Bogdan's current trip to Romania. He has gone to Bucharest to meet with local artists, interview them, and purchase some of their work to offer context to the inaugural gala of our new nonprofit organization, Aripa Arte. Join John Bishop as he describes what the nonprofit is doing, what it hopes to achieve, and how you might can help make it a success.

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Season 4, Episode 4
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“Art Life with John & Bogdan” is a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creates a community, a conversation, between creatives in all sorts of fields at all sorts of levels. We want to discuss what we’re learning, what we’ve experienced, and whom we’ve met in our journey of running a freelance creative business. John Bishop is a visual artist living in Houston, Texas. His work is largely abstract, and explores how to turn mythic, archetypal symbols into individual experiences allowing us to see them in a new way, with fresh eyes. Bogdan is a videographer and fine art photographer who constantly seeks to stretch the boundaries of traditional photographic work, with the added flare of his artistic eye. Both artists’ work can be seen online, or at their studios at Silver Street Studios, 2000 Edwards Street, in Houston.

John Bishop: http://www.johnbishopfineart.com

Bogdan Mihai: http://www.bogdanfotoart.com

Bogdan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogdanoninstagram/

John’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnbishopfineart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnBishopart

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnbishopfineart

Buburuza Productions: http://www.Buburuzaproductions.com

Aripa Arte Nonprofit: httos://www.aripaarte.org

The new year is already proving difficult, and it's only week three. Between the polar vortex, issues with travel arrangements, and botched deliveries, our beautifully scheduled content calendar is already mixed up. That's ok though, because the beauty in having a detailed plan means that I can mix and match elements until the whole schedule makes sense again. That is exactly what I have been doing all week. We finished our Board Retreat with Aripa Arte (our new nonprofit), planned and realized our monthly open day, hosted a reception for our tenant exhibition at the studio, and got Bogdan off on a plane to Romania... all before the freezing weather stunned south Texas for three days. I literally could not shower for three days.
The exciting news is that our new book, Collecting Art: An Artist's Perspective is out and ready for downloading on my website www.johnbishopfineart.com. We decided to give the book away for free, hoping for an email and a subscription to our monthly newsletter. We have ordered some physical copies as well, and those will be available for sale in the Houston studio. I hope you will take advantage of the gift and give me some feedback on the manuscript. The whole purpose of the book was to create a dialog with our collectors, and build community around our art business. Give it a read.
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Season 4, Episode 3
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“Art Life with John & Bogdan” is a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creates a community, a conversation, between creatives in all sorts of fields at all sorts of levels. We want to discuss what we’re learning, what we’ve experienced, and whom we’ve met in our journey of running a freelance creative business. John Bishop is a visual artist living in Houston, Texas. His work is largely abstract, and explores how to turn mythic, archetypal symbols into individual experiences allowing us to see them in a new way, with fresh eyes. Bogdan is a videographer and fine art photographer who constantly seeks to stretch the boundaries of traditional photographic work, with the added flare of his artistic eye. Both artists’ work can be seen online, or at their studios at Silver Street Studios, 2000 Edwards Street, in Houston.

John Bishop: http://www.johnbishopfineart.com

Bogdan Mihai: http://www.bogdanfotoart.com

Bogdan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogdanoninstagram/

John’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnbishopfineart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnBishopart

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnbishopfineart

Buburuza Productions: http://www.Buburuzaproductions.com

Aripa Arte Nonprofit: httos://www.aripaarte.org

The new year has come, and the parties are over. As we turn our gaze to those end-of-the-year duties: catching up with paperwork; closing out annual processes; and looking forward to taxes, reporting, and the goals and objectives that should guide us through the months to come.

Every year we make some sort of trip, away from home and the studio, to give ourselves uninterrupted time to spend on the task. The hope was always to highlight the importance of what we were doing, and to remove the normal distractions from our day to day lives. This year, we stared at the list as though for the first time. I get it, something’s broken.

I get the impression that we’re using the wrong tool somehow. In my career in libraries, some of which were large organizations, we relied on strategic planning, goal setting, and work plans to keep the ship moving in a direction that was effective, reportable, and motivational to the many, many people involved. Is there a chance that we’re just over-managing the process?

I sincerely believe this is where we have been missing the mark. There is a distinction between my goals as an artist, and those of my art business. Those two realms are not mutually exclusive, but they must be approached differently. While someone may become a doctor to fight disease, or a lawyer to fight injustice, one opens a law firm or a medical clinic to earn enough money to make those things possible. If we are trying to earn a living from our creativity, we must distinguish between the business of art, and the art itself. Both can be important.

I need to make a distinction between my artistic life, and my business goals. As I see it, my business breaks down into three main categories; quality; celebrity; and income. If I imagine my goals being built on these three pillars, then I can understand how to formulate meaningful and measurable objectives around quality control, publicity/marketing, and financials. Certainly my “brand” as an artist is intimately tied to me. I am the business. But that branding can be separated from my personal life and reserved for my professional, creative product.

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Season 4, Episode 2
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“Art Life with John & Bogdan” is a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creates a community, a conversation, between creatives in all sorts of fields at all sorts of levels. We want to discuss what we’re learning, what we’ve experienced, and whom we’ve met in our journey of running a freelance creative business. John Bishop is a abstract visual artist living in Houston, Texas. Bogdan is a videographer and fine art photographer. Both artists’ work can be seen online, or at their studios at Silver Street Studios, 2000 Edwards Street, in Houston.

John Bishop: http://www.johnbishopfineart.com

Bogdan Mihai: http://www.bogdanfotoart.com

Bogdan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogdanoninstagram/

John’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnbishopfineart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnBishopart

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnbishopfineart

Buburuza Productions: http://www.Buburuzaproductions.com

Aripa Arte Nonprofit: httos://www.aripaarte.org

John discusses the new year, and plans he and Bogdan have for the art business this year. Rosa Ana Orlando will be speaking to a group of collectors this week, on what it takes to build, maintain, and ultimately divest yourself of an art collection.

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Season 4, Episode 1
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“Art Life Blog with John & Bogdan” is a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creates a community, a conversation, between creatives in all sorts of fields at all sorts of levels. We want to discuss what we’re learning, what we’ve experienced, and whom we’ve met in our journey of running a freelance creative business. John Bishop is a visual artist living in Houston, Texas. His work is largely abstract, and explores how to turn mythic, archetypal symbols into individual experiences allowing us to see them in a new way, with fresh eyes. Bogdan is a videographer and fine art photographer who constantly seeks to stretch the boundaries of traditional photographic work, with the added flare of his artistic eye. Both artists’ work can be seen online, or at their studios at Silver Street Studios, 2000 Edwards Street, in Houston.

John Bishop: http://www.johnbishopfineart.com

Bogdan Mihai: http://www.bogdanfotoart.com

Bogdan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogdanoninstagram/

John’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnbishopfineart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnBishopart

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnbishopfineart

Buburuza Productions: http://www.Buburuzaproductions.com

Aripa Arte Nonprofit: httos://www.aripaarte.org