Art Archive Featured Artist: Teresa Haag

Meet the artist from the Art Archive . When you look at Teresa's work, you'll see cityscapes filled with the hustle and bustle of urban life - the images seem to echo chatter. But, look carefully. You will see text showing through the colored blocks, as if the pictures themselves have something to say.

Teresa stumbled upon newspaper painting when she ran out of fresh canvases, an experience that marked a turning point in her artistic career. Menus, newspapers and book pages became ways to fill her urban "portraits" with life and sound.

Chatter quickly grew about Teresa's works themselves. Read on to find out how Teresa's presence at outdoor exhibitions has helped her provide representation for the gallery and clients, and how she balances the business side of the artist's work with her success with reproductions.

Want to see more of Teresa Haag's work? Visit her.

Now take a look at the creative process of one of our talented artists.

1. YOU FOCUS ON BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES, NOT PEOPLE. WHEN DID YOU START DRAWING URBAN LANDSCAPES AND WHAT DO YOURS ATTRACT IN THEM?

The buildings in my works are my people. I give them personalities and fill them with stories. I think I do this because when you draw a person, it distracts from what is happening in the background. People viewing the piece focus on the face or what the subject is wearing. I want the viewer to feel the whole story.  

I also just like the feel of cities more. I love the whole atmosphere and the chatter. I like the hustle and bustle of the city. For as long as I can remember, I have been drawing cities. I grew up in Rochester, New York, and my bedroom windows overlooked the chimneys, windowless walls, and chimneys of Kodak Park. This image has stayed with me.

2. YOU USE A UNIQUE DRAWING STYLE AND DRAW ON THE BOARD AND EVEN ON THE BOOK PAGES. TELL US ABOUT IT. HOW DID IT START?

In a past life, I was a sales representative for a medical company and traveled frequently. On a trip to San Francisco, I took a picture of Powell Street with a hill full of cable cars and I couldn't wait to draw it. When I got home and uploaded the image, I realized that I had no blank canvases - at that moment I was painting only for myself. I decided to glue some newspapers onto the old canvas to create a new surface.

When I started to paint on the newspaper, it instantly connected to the surface. I liked the texture and movement of the brush, as well as the element of finds under the paint. This was the moment when I found my voice as an artist and became a defining moment in my artistic career.

Painting on newsprint has gone from a pleasure to how it feels to the thrill of filling the pieces with sound. I hear people's stories, I hear cities talking - that's the idea of ​​chatter. Starting from chaos and creating order out of it when I paint is very nice.

3. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT THE PAINTING IS DONE?  

I'm notorious for overworking pieces. I think I'm done, I step back and then come back and add. Then I wish I had a "cancel button" to uninstall new additions.

I think it's about realizing that the piece is complete, that's the feeling I have inside. Now I put the piece away, put something else on the easel, and live with it. I might find something to touch up, but I don't put on big strokes of paint right now. Sometimes there are a few parts that I completely redo, but this rarely happens now. I'm trying to respect the feeling, not fight it.

I work with a lot of transparent color blocks to show through newspaper text, and at first I painted over too much of the text. Over time, I became more confident, leaving it open. There is a piece called "Disrepair" with a slight shade of gray on one part that I decided to leave alone. I'm so glad I did it, it's the best part of the piece.

4. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PART? HAVE YOU SAVE IT OR WITH SOMEONE ELSE? WHY WAS THIS YOUR FAVORITE?

I have a favorite piece. It is part of Powell Street in San Francisco. This is the very first job on which I used the newspaper technique. It still hangs in my house. This is the moment when I realized who I would be as an artist.

Learn art business strategies from Teresa.

5. HOW DO YOU FIND THE TIME BETWEEN ART AND BUSINESS AND SALES?

As artists, we must be as business people as we are artists. Before pursuing art, I worked in sales for ten years and earned a degree in marketing. My experience has given me an edge over artists who never had a career and come straight from art school.

I have to devote the same amount of time to both sides of my business. Marketing is fun, but I hate updating my books. I reserve the 10th of the month for sales and reconciliation expenses on my calendar. If you don't, it will suck the creativity out of you because you keep thinking about it.

You also have to get out of your studio and meet people. I love doing outdoor summer art shows because it's a great time to meet new people and really practice tailoring your artist's message and statement. You will learn what works and what doesn't.

makes it so easy to keep track of all sales and people you meet and where you met them. I can come home from the show and attach contacts to that particular show. Knowing where I met each contact from makes it much easier to follow along. I love this feature.

It is important to have a system in place. When I finish a piece, I take photographs, post information about the piece to the Art Archive, post the new piece on my website, and post it to my mailing list and social media. I know every step I have to do after painting which makes the business side a lot smoother.

Also, the worst thing is when you sell a painting and don't properly document it, because if you want to do a reproduction or retrospective, you don't have the right images.

6. YOU ARE SELLING A LIMITED EDITION PRINT ON YOUR . WAS THIS A GOOD STRATEGY FOR YOU IN BUILDING FANS OF YOUR ORIGINAL WORKS? HOW DID IT HELP YOUR SALES?

At first I hesitated to make reproductions. But as the price of my originals started to rise, I realized that I needed something that people on a smaller budget could take home. The question was, "Am I devouring the market for originals?"

“The numbers at the end of the year have confirmed that the prints are worth it.” – Teresa Haag

I have found that people who buy originals are different from those who buy prints. However, matting and tracking down the various releases takes time. I am going to hire an assistant to help me with these tasks. The figures at the end of the year confirmed that the prints are worth it.

7. ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS ON APPLYING AND WORKING WITH GALLERIES?

You must get your job there. It's all about who you know. When I first started exhibiting my work, I held as many exhibitions as possible: outdoor art exhibitions, indoor group exhibitions, fundraising at local high school exhibitions, and so on. Through these channels, I was introduced to people who connected me to the galleries.  

"If galleries have to do real work to validate your work, you'll end up at the bottom of the heap." -Teresa Haag

You must do your homework and not just submit your work to galleries. Get to know them and find out if you are the right fit for them or not. First make sure you're talking and follow their rules. If they have to do real work to check your work, you will end up at the bottom of the heap.

Be consistent in your images! Some artists feel that showing range is good, but it's better to present consistent and cohesive work. Make sure it's similar to the same series. You want people to say that it all belongs to each other.

Would you like to see Teresa's work in person? Check her out.