Dean Cameron: Serial Entrepreneur, Art Collector, Producer of “Where’s Art?” TV Series Interviewing Artists

 

Dean Cameron

Dean Cameron

Dean Cameron is busy creating new and innovative features for his online gallery Flootie.com. Although he humorously refers to himself as a “Serial Entrepreneur in need of a 12 step program,” he also says that Flootie is his focus and at the top of his list of priorities. “We are all about “Concentric Marketing,” says Cameron of his online gallery– “Currently our programmer is developing a single point registration system to be rolled out very soon. Next is an “auto share” feature that allows artists to post a new work on Flootie and have it share to all their social media accounts at the same time. Saving them time to create more artwork.”

Although he’s not ready to divulge other innovations that he has in the works just yet, Cameron reveals something of the process, “I have assembled a focus group of artists so that I can have their perspective on some of our plans. Let’s just say it this way….I abhor the term “Starving Artist.” To me it says the same thing as “I am a terrible cook so please come to my restaurant.” You will hear people say that oil is the #1 world commodity and coffee is #2….I dispute that notion. I feel that artworks are the worlds #1 sold product. From Huts to Mansions and every business in between displays artwork. It is truly a matter of putting the right artwork in front of the right customers. I don’t intend to make it sound easy, as it is certainly not. But if we can support the artists by helping them build their “brand” and offering a vehicle that arms them with tools they have been lacking previously, then maybe we can make a difference.”
Memorial to Empty Hearts, Paula Rosa

Memorial to Empty Hearts, by Paula Rosa, featured on Flootie.com and Magicraftsman Studio

You’ll find the Magicraftsman Studio gallery featured prominently on the Flootie homepage. The gallery is in the Pacific Northwest area of the USA, in Spokane, Washington, and was founded by artist Roch Fautch. Working in conjunction with Dean Cameron and Flootie, this gallery space is made available commission free to imaginative and thought-provoking artists–both local and international.

Roch Fautch and Magicraftsman Studios also sculpted a set design for Dean Cameron’s new art TV production studio. Ever busy, Cameron describes the development of his Unit 219 TV studio space–“We built a new office for our producer and myself to better support the post production work we do in video. On top of that we have built a state of the art TV production studio with chromakey green wall and LED lighting, pro sound and our “soon to be unveiled” sculptured set design from our artist friend Roch Fautch and Magicraftsman Studio.”

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Cameron works closely with artists in a variety of ways, and uses TV interviews with artists to promote their work. Cameron produces his Flootie TV series in his new Unit 219 space. “The Studio resides in a building I own and we are calling it “Unit 219 Studios”. It is a large Commercial “Condo facility.”

Flootie TV Studio office

Flootie TV Studio office

The art on the Flootie TV office walls (in the photo above) are pieces in Dean Cameron and wife Pam’s private art collection. “My background is as a “collector” and supporter of the arts and artists and I served for several years on numerous boards in our region. The Spokane Valley Arts Council has done great things in bringing original art to collectors in our region. My wife and I own approximately 200 original paintings and many are from regional artists and many of those are Flootie artists as well.  I have primarily been a professional and/or business owner most of my adult life in various industries. My skill set is in Relationship development (Sales and Marketing) and I have worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies as a supplier to them. I have always had a great love for the arts (no skill whatsoever to make art) just a profound respect for the artists and their works. I see so much in the way art is presented to the public that has not changed much in eons of time. We live in a changing world and I think we have some idea’s that can make a difference (many are still in development and are what I like to call “game changers”).”

Cameron says, “TV and Radio production was a potential career choice of mine waaaay back in High School. It is a whole different world today in the digital realm. Our Producer Jani Behrs has a 30 year background with the BBC. I like to write our shows and interject our “Benny Hill” type comedy in our shows so we may appeal to a much broader audience and capture their attention for our artists interviews. We strive to make Flootie TV unique, entertaining and most of all fun! And we do have fun…”

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“Jani produced our first video for Flootie and all the “Flootie University” video’s that were designed to explain the features and benefits of Flootie to our users. We were invited to create a TV show by our local station CMTV and had an open book as to content and style. Jani and I seem to click on how we build these shows. I would also be remiss if I did not mention our character “Art Formee”. The name came to me as a way to reference artists and buyers in the same breath. He has come to life in our TV Shows (of which I am the straight man to his comedic insults). He is played by our good friend and AWESOME musician Charles Swanson.”

Jani and Dean share the role of Director. “We have 3 studio camera’s, LED lights and remote microphones. There is more equipment at our disposal if needed. Jani runs one camera and my son John Cameron runs another (he studied video production in school as well). The Flootie TV production team is rounded out by our Super Ninja Internet Programmer Adam Townsend. Usually much of the show is shot before hand with our vignette’s. We bring in two artists and it is Jani, John and me (and the artists of course). Then post production happens and they are all “knitted” together into a 30 minute show.”

 “We will be continuing with interviewing our artists who are regional enough to make it to our studio as well as present opportunities for our artists outside the region to submit video of themselves, their stories etc…for our “Where’s Art”? segment. Currently Flootie TV is seen on 11 public access stations in 8 states and growing.”
Here is an example segment of “Where’s Art?”  https://youtu.be/rP6BxfPGvFo WHERE’S ART Marcella Rose Segment on Flootie TV and a couple of short and fun videos…

FLOOTIE TV – 1-800-bad-dali  If all the wretched drug manufacturers can do it, so can Flootie TV!

“We are going “off studio” for our next show. It will be a special episode that centers around our “Artists Forever” Grant Program. We will shoot from a local Gallery and tie into the three video’s we have already completed where we give grants to elementary school arts programs to support the purchase of art supplies.”

Where does Dean Cameron get funding for his Flootie projects? “Subscriber artists pay a small monthly fee for the use of the marketing tools on Flootie. We also ran a “pARTy on” T-Shirt campaign to help us raise funds. The rest is financed by me and my wife,” he says rather humbly.
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Cameron and Flootie support and work to promote other art galleries as well. “We enjoyed a cooperative event this past summer called “The Summer of Flootie” where our friends at Pacific Flyway Gallery (now called Spokane Gallery) displayed Flootie Artists works for the months of June, July, August and it culminated into an outdoor BBQ and art show event. We plan to do more co-op events with others as well.”

Cameron relates that his”Master GOAL” was established long ago, saying, ” I learned a long time ago that business plans need to be flexible as they change based upon opportunity. Much of what we laid out on the original website has changed. It does come to me somewhat naturally (Serial Entrepreneur in need of a 12 step program again..lol). Sometimes I need the art to distract me from pursuing other idea’s…SQUIRREL!!”

To relax and unwind Dean Camera fly fishes–and sent this photo to prove that he does take some time off.

“This is me Fly fishing near our cabin on the Kettle River in NE Washington State,” says Dean.
Dean Cameron fly fishing

Dean Cameron fly fishing

Flootie.com: Where Marketing Art Is an Art

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Flootie.com: Where Marketing Art Is an Art

By Dean Cameron

Artists don’t have to starve. Galleries can thrive. Art collectors can make money, not lose it. And Flootie.com is here to make it happen.

With far fewer galleries than artists in the world – and most of those in metropolitan areas – placing those finished masterpieces before the public eye can take as much effort as creating them. That’s why more artists, galleries, and collectors, are showing and selling art online– and Flootie.com leads the way.

On the cutting edge of the digital art revolution, Flootie.com uses innovative technology and inspired ideas to bring art to a growing online population of art lovers and buyers. We don’t sell art; we simply give artists, galleries, and art collectors the tools to do so. More than 11,000 page views in the last month alone says we’re doing it right.

At Flootie, we embrace the traditional artist-gallery-collector relationship that has worked well for so many years. At the same time, we reject the notion that online sales necessarily undercut gallery sales. Artists don’t have to bite the hands that feed them in order to succeed.

Artists, galleries, and art collectors need each other; each is as essential as the three legs of a stool. Flootie.com brings them together on one site, allowing visitors to browse by artist, gallery, or private collector. What’s more, when a subscriber clicks the “fan” button on an artist’s profile, we’ll notify her via email every time new works by her favorite artists appear on the site, no matter whether the artist, a gallery, or a private collector uploads them.

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Finding new fans has never been easier, thanks to Flootie’s “concentric marketing” system. Like ripples in a pool, our social media network triggers thousands of shares every time we post, starting with our 10,000-plus contacts comprising arts professionals and enthusiasts. Instead of “fishing with a blindfold,” hoping someone with an interest will take our bait, we target potential buyers in an on-purpose marketing system.

Does it work? Our expanding database and ever-increasing number of visitors tells us that it does. We hear success stories all the time, too, such as the artist who had never even shown her paintings but now, two weeks after joining the Flootie.com artists’ community, she’s getting fans and emails from viewers praising her work. She’s well on her way to her first sale.

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We love success stories almost as much as we love art. We’ll go the extra mile every time to help artists succeed, even offering support on the phone day and night. And we’ve got a lot of new features up our sleeve: a screensaver tool allowing fans to download and keep online photos of artworks; an art events calendar, searchable by city; an art marketing blog featuring guest posts by artist members, and more – all for $14.95 a month.

We keep our price low because we know the “starving artist” syndrome is no myth — not for now, anyway. Flootie.com aims to change that by helping artists to help themselves. We’re giving artists the tools they need to succeed, now and in the future. Why not join us today?

Twitter  @americanfineart

ArtFinder Alerts Art Buyers of New Available Artist Works

ArtFinder is a marketplace for people to discover and buy affordable original art online from a wide range of international artists and galleries. ArtFinder is a top curated online art gallery. Chief Executive of the ArtFinder site Jonas Almgren was quoted in the widely read BBC article on More Art Sold Online Than in Galleries, along with representatives of other top sites, such as, Saatchi Online and Artsy.

Some artists we know who recently opened up shop on ArtFinder– Gabriella Cleuren    Agent X   Leon Sarantos   Sharon Sieben   Marie Kazalia

ArtFinder has many advanced settings for tracking sales and shipments of your art, as well as for interacting with other ArtFinder artists and site Users. As an ArtFinder artist, I receive email alerts when a User (aka potential buyer) follows me or favorites one of my artworks. I can then follow the User back and  review the User’s profile to see all the artists the User has followed. With this new understanding of the User’s tastes, I may add images of my other available artworks to meet the User’s interests. ArtFinder sends the Users following me a newsletter containing images of my newly uploaded available work.

A recent ArtFinder newsletter (excerpted below) alerted me to new artworks available from artist Gabriella Cleuren–with cropped thumbnail images that enticed me to visit her portfolio on ArtFinder for full views of each work.

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More Art Sold Online than in Brick and Mortar Galleries

The Saatchi Gallery was based at County Hall 2...

The Saatchi Gallery was based at County Hall 2003–2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to this BBC article, more art is sold online than in galleries. This is the first I’ve read of this. Over the past few years there has been an ongoing debate, and even a snobbery perhaps against online galleries. It seems the tides have turned!

Read this article, including a quote regarding Saatchi online gallery sales vs physical gallery sales—http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23054641

PLEASE NOTE: Keep trying the links–you may receive an error message, but you will get through to the article if you keep trying.