Michelle Basic Hendry

Michelle Basic Hendry is an artist from Muskoka, ON, Canada; a couple of hours north of Toronto. Formerly a graphic designer, she turned to painting full time and now focuses on the incredible beauty of the Canadian landscape.

Having spent most of my life in Minnesota, including the far northeastern part of the state near Ontario, I look at her work with a mixture of happiness and longing. I grew up in the woods and farm country and Michelle’s landscapes brings that all back with an onslaught of emotion. I felt myself immersed in her paintings relished their beauty.

To experience Michelle’s work for yourself, visit her website. For a more personal glimpse into her work and her thoughts, visit her blog. And please enjoy this interview where we learn even more.

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OAM: What kind of art do you currently produce?

MBH: I am currently painting. My primary medium is acrylic. I have designed, created and exhibited stained glass, mixed media sculpture as well as paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolour in the last 4 years.

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OAM: How many different ways do you currently sell your art and which 1 (or 2 or 3) have worked the best?

MBH: I have sold primarily through exhibitions, both private and public, as well as through galleries. My most successful sales have been through the exhibition stream. I am currently with a new gallery and we have been off to a great start. I have my first solo show there this summer.

I have only really been showing art to sell for 4 years. Previous to this I ran a graphic design business and art was only a sideline. It was in 2004 that I decided to change that and began to create more seriously with the intent to sell. I set up a website first as a support to the exhibitions and the gallery and a few months ago I started a blog to reach further afield. I don’t use either to sell yet, but I think I should look at it. It is on my list of ‘to do’s’ by the end of the year.

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OAM: What additional avenue for selling your work would you like to pursue?

MBH: I have been considering the internet as an option. Up until now it has been a place to show my work, but I think it could be a valuable tool for selling smaller works and I am hoping that it might allow me to be a little more experimental - to try things that may not fit in with the work I do for traditional outlets. I have seen other artists that have had a good deal of success on-line and I am looking forward to giving it a try.

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OAM: Do you have any additional thoughts about selling your art online that you would like to share?

MBH: I think that selling original work on-line is a wonderful way to get original work out to people who might not otherwise have seen it as a part of their world. Art in galleries can been seen as exclusive and that the acquiring of it requires a degree and a mountain of cash. The internet can help to level the playing field for certain kinds of art and provide a forum for work that is driven by different motives. It is a ‘business’ like any other, therefore, I think that it needs to offer a different kind of connection between artist and art buyer. There is a great potential in this medium. The success of selling on-line will be in how well the medium provides and presents something that is unique and can, thereby, create a whole new market for it.

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Chris O’Byrne
www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com
www.YourArtMarketing.com