On July 3rd (2008) we made changes to this
page... we highly recommend that you read about these changes, they are a
reflection of a changing economic environment, rising fuel costs, and the
importance of keeping art in our lives.
For some art is a luxury purchase and for others it is an
expression of who they are. Tough economic times have caused many to
curtail non-essential purchases in favor of meeting basic human needs. Some
chose to decorate their homes with cheap imported art, which has resulted in
more of our dollars going overseas instead of into our economy. Just as
with the stock market, this is the time to invest in quality American art at
excellent prices.
The economy combined with the impact of having to
slow down has made certain changes necessary and wise.
My belief has been that most art buyers want
to see a sample of the artist's work before feeling comfortable with a
purchase via the webpage. As fewer people come through the gallery doors
it has become increasingly difficult to generate sufficient income to meet the
indirect costs associated with maintaining a brick and mortar gallery... this is
cause for change ! The low cost alternative to maintaining a facility is
by expanding our virtual gallery on line. In order to do this I must find
ways to assure you that the art that you are considering is a quality work of
art. To accomplish this we are willing to go well beyond normal expectations to
provide the information and imaging you need to feel comfortable with your
purchase. If our on-line descriptions are not enough, feel free to
challenge us to provide the information you need.
♦♦ ♦♦♦ ♦♦
Here is some information that I felt to be important
for you - the potential buyer - to know about purchasing art, "rarities" and custom
framing from the Steele Pointe Art Gallery, Art Brokerage and Custom Frame
Studio...
- This site is set up as a balanced commercial venture to
benefit both the artists and the Steele Pointe Gallery. Each artist - with whom we
have an agreement for the purchase and/or sale of his or her art - has been
provided with
a small internal gallery on this site for the showing of a sampling of their
artwork. Because many of the artists have larger collections of art than we
can provide room for on this site, we have linked our site to theirs to
facilitate a fuller viewing of their artwork. Those without links either do
not have a web-presence or have websites located on their employer's servers
(i.e. university servers) and cannot grant public access.
- Each of our artists has agreed to allow the gallery
to be the "flow through" for the purchase of their art by Gallery viewers. In
exchange for the visibility and marketing the artist receives by the gallery
representation the artist has agreed to provide the Gallery with a percentage of the sale
price... The Steele Pointe Gallery has limited the
maximum it will receive from a sale to 25%. As many of you may know, from your association with
artists and galleries, most galleries charge the artist between 35% and 50%.
As the price of the artwork increases the Gallery percentage decreases, with a
bottom line percentage of 5% on very expensive works. As a potential buyer
you benefit from this self-limitation, our percentages are not forcing artists
to raise their asking prices to offset out-of-sight gallery percentages... our
artists - rightfully - receive more for their creativity.
- As a buyer, we (the gallery and the artists) ask you
to always go through the Gallery to make your purchases... why? Because
the Gallery has a stake in your overall satisfaction... (1) we want to make
sure you get the art or items that you are asking to purchase, (2) we want to
make sure that the quality of the product and all descriptions associated with
the item are accurate, as we (the gallery and artist) have presented them to
you on the Gallery and artist's webs008)ites, (3) we want to insure that the items
receives careful and appropriate handling, and, that the items arrives at your
location in the same condition that they left ours, and, (4) we need to insure
that the Gallery-Artist agreement is not jeopardized and that our
gallery-artist relationship remains intact... a damaged relationship could
result in the artist's work possibly being made unavailable to future viewers.
- Purchasing an artist's work of art through the
Gallery's website can mean additional savings for you... for instance artist,
photographer Dave Levingston may have a $200 price tag on one of the limited
edition prints you found on his website... the Gallery, through our
relationship with Dave, can sell you the same print for $190. What you
don't know is that Dave has had to increase the price of his print to $200
because of a 45% gallery commission at a gallery displaying his artwork in
another state. If the print is sold through this Gallery, you will get a
$10 reduction in the price of the print and Dave will receive nearly $40 more
for his work than he would have received if he had sold the print through the
"other" gallery. In almost all cases, the bottom line cost of the item
purchased through the Gallery will result in a savings to you... and greater
peace of mind !
- Why don't we have a "shopping cart" system on
this site ? Actually the answer is pretty simple... a work of art that
you see "off site" will not load into a shopping cart system on this site, so
instead of offering a elusive patchwork system, we thought it best if you and
I talked directly about your items of interest. Our "Contact Us" section
has both our phone and email address.
- We accept Visa... Mastercard... Discover... American
Express... and, PayPal transfers.