How to Transfer or Sell Historic Tax Credits in Louisiana: A Practical Guide

If you’ve completed (or are planning) a historic building renovation in Louisiana, you may be eligible for valuable state historic tax credits. These credits can significantly offset your state tax liability—but what happens if you don’t need all of them, or can’t fully use them? The good news: Louisiana’s historic tax credits are fully transferable, which opens up new possibilities for property owners, developers, and investors alike.

Here’s what you need to know if you’re interested in transferring or selling Louisiana historic tax credits.

1. Louisiana’s Historic Tax Credits Are Fully Transferable

Under Louisiana law, state historic tax credits may be sold or transferred from the person or entity that earns them (the transferor) to another Louisiana taxpayer (the transferee). Better still, these credits can be transferred multiple times, without limit. This makes them a flexible and powerful tool in structuring historic rehabilitation projects.

For example, suppose a developer completes a $1 million historic renovation project that earns $200,000 in state historic tax credits. If the developer only has $50,000 in Louisiana tax liability this year, they can choose to sell the remaining $150,000 in credits to another taxpayer who can use them.

2. Notification Requirements: Letting the LDR Know

To keep everything above board, both the transferor and transferee must notify the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) about the transfer. This written notification must be submitted within 10 business days of the transfer.

Failure to submit the required notification in a timely manner may result in the transferee being unable to use the credit until the LDR receives proper notice—so don’t skip this step.

3. Transfer Processing Fee

Each transfer of historic tax credits is subject to a processing fee, set by the LDR through formal rules and regulations. Make sure to account for this fee in your transaction budget and confirm the current fee amount directly with the LDR or through your tax credit advisor.

4. Important Considerations Before You Transfer or Buy Credits

• Carryforward Period Doesn’t Reset: The five-year carryforward period for using the credit begins when it was originally earned—not when it’s transferred. So, if a credit was earned two years ago, the buyer has only three years left to use it.

• Compliance Matters: Failure to properly notify the LDR can delay or even disallow the transferee's use of the credit.

• Eligibility of the Credit: If the seller didn’t have the legal right to the credit (for example, if they didn’t meet the program requirements), the LDR may disallow the credit—even for a buyer who paid good money for it. Always verify the credit’s validity before transferring.

An Example: Selling Credits to a Louisiana Investor

Let’s say Jane owns a historic commercial building in Shreveport. After a certified rehabilitation project, she earns $120,000 in Louisiana historic tax credits. Jane’s business won’t owe much state tax this year, so she chooses to sell $100,000 of those credits to a local investor, Mike, who has high Louisiana tax liability. Jane and Mike work with their tax advisors to structure the deal, complete the necessary paperwork, pay the transfer fee, and notify the LDR within 10 business days of the sale.

Mike can now use the purchased credits to reduce his Louisiana tax bill, and Jane benefits from a cash infusion that helps her recoup her investment faster.

Who to Contact with Questions

If you have questions about how the process works or need help determining the value of your credits, the Louisiana Department of Revenue is the overseeing agency. However, working with an experienced tax credit consultant can simplify the process and help you avoid common pitfalls.

Ready to Explore Your Tax Credit Options?

If you're wondering whether your building qualifies for Louisiana historic tax credits—or if you’ve already earned credits and are considering transferring or selling them—our team is here to help. We offer free consultations to assess your project’s eligibility and can guide you through the application process, including Parts 1 through 3 of the historic tax credit application.

Reach out today to schedule your consultation and learn how to make the most of Louisiana’s generous historic tax credit program. Whether you're a property owner, developer, or investor, we're here to help you unlock the full potential of your historic project.

Restoring a Landmark: The Steeple Restoration of Historic St. James AME Church in New Orleans

The month of May is National Historic Preservation Month in the US, and we wanted to take this opportunity to provide a project update on a very special place in New Orleans. We’ve had the honor of serving the congregation, under the direction of Rev. Dr. Demetrese Phillips, of the Historic St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church located at 222 North Roman Street. The project just received permit approval this morning! Special thanks to Rev. Phillips and the all-star project team, including the initial support of the Preservation Resource Center that made this work possible.

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The St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in New Orleans stands as a monumental example of architectural beauty and cultural significance. Constructed in 1848 and remodeled in 1903 by the architectural firm Diboll and Owen, the church has long been an important landmark in the city. A testament to the resilience and faith of its congregation, it is also a symbol of the profound role African American communities have played in shaping New Orleans’ history.

Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the church is recognized as a prominent example of the Victorian Gothic Revival style, and is listed as a local landmark. Its defining architectural features include pointed arches, stained glass windows, blind arcading, corner pinnacles, and its central open spire, which together contribute to the church's reputation as the most stylistically ornate AME church in Louisiana. 

A Vital Preservation Effort

Due to the inevitable effects of time and exposure to the elements, the church had begun to show signs of deterioration. The steeples, including the central open spire and pinnacles which are integral to the church’s visual identity, required repair and restoration to preserve the architectural integrity of the building. The project focused on rehabilitating the central open spire, restoring missing wood and refinishing the exposed metalwork, and reconstructing a missing pinnacle. The pinnacle located on the southwest corner was detached from the church’s facade during hurricane Katrina in 2005, and later went missing as the church worked to repair other critical damages.  

After nearly two decades, the restoration became possible when the church was awarded a grant from the Preserving Black Churches program, administered by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The grant application was developed with the assistance of the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, whose advocacy and technical support helped bring this vital work to fruition.

Project Team and Approach

The project is being led by Mia Kaplan Studio (MKS), with Mia Kaplan serving as the historic architect and preservation consultant. Known for their expertise in historic architecture, MKS has taken a meticulous approach to ensure the work honors the church’s original design while utilizing modern technologies to enhance the restoration process.

The team includes Marais Consultants, who provided structural engineering expertise to ensure the stability and safety of the new pinnacle’s attachment. Franklin Construction & Design, the general contractor for the project, has overseen the restoration work, ensuring that all aspects of the project are executed with precision. The restoration of the church’s intricate woodwork was handled by Thomas Edick Design, while HJM Machine was responsible for the metalwork, restoring the church’s delicate features to their former glory.

Combining Tradition and Innovation

The restoration process has employed a blend of traditional and modern techniques. To document the church's existing conditions, the team relied on time-honored methods, including detailed hand measurements and sketches. These practices ensured that the intricacies of the church’s design were accurately captured.

In addition, modern technology has played a crucial role in enhancing the documentation and preservation process. Aerial drone photography provided high-resolution images of the steeples from angles that would otherwise be inaccessible. The team also employed photogrammetry, a technique that generates precise 3D models of the steeples. This technology allowed the team to verify measurements and evaluate hard-to-reach areas, ensuring the accuracy of the restoration. A historic preservation plan and drawings of existing conditions were provided to guide the team to produce shop drawings that detailed the materials, construction methods, assembly, installation, and attachment methods to the historic building. The new pinnacle adopts the same appearance and materiality of its remaining counterpart, but now includes structural strapping and hurricane ties to resist high velocity winds in the future. 

Drone imagery of multiple perspectives is imported to a program that converts imagery into point clouds which come together to form a 3d scan of the object.

Compliance with Preservation Standards

Throughout the project, the team has adhered to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, which are designed to ensure that historic properties are preserved with respect to their architectural significance while also allowing for necessary repairs and updates. These standards have guided the restoration of the steeples, ensuring that the work both respects the church’s historical legacy and supports its continued use.

A Step Closer to Completion

As the restoration project nears completion, the work has already received a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic District Landmarks Committee, which ensures that the project complies with the city’s historic preservation guidelines. The restoration plans are currently undergoing plan review and approval, with the final installation of the missing pinnacle expected in the coming months.

This significant phase of the project will mark the return of the church’s facade to its former symmetry, restoring an iconic feature of the church’s architecture. The careful restoration of these structures will ensure that St. James AME Church continues to stand as a vital cultural and architectural landmark in New Orleans.

General Contractor Jarrod Franklin of Franklin Construction & Design (left) and woodworker Thomas Edick of Thomas Edick Design (right) examine and discuss the progress of constructing the new church pinnacle. Photo by Mia Kaplan (MKS).

Preserving a Legacy

Beyond its architectural significance, St. James AME Church is a profound cultural landmark. Built by a congregation composed of both free and enslaved African Americans, the church provided a sanctuary during a time when enslaved people were excluded from worship in local Episcopal churches. Its construction marked a turning point in the lives of many, offering a space of inclusion, dignity, and spiritual refuge.

Today, the Historic St. James AME Church remains an active and welcoming place of worship under the direction of Rev. Dr. Demetrese Phillips, where long-time members continue to gather beneath the same stained glass and soaring ceilings their ancestors helped build. The current restoration effort not only preserves the church’s physical structure but also honors the skilled craftsmanship and historic dedication embodied in every element of its design.

This project demonstrates the importance of preservation as a means of honoring our collective past. By restoring the steeples of St. James AME Church, the project team is helping ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to experience and learn from this remarkable legacy—one built by a powerful community whose contributions remain a primary thread in the fabric of New Orleans.

Recent Publication

Routledge’s publication, “Architectural Conservation in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands: National Experiences and Practice” is now available to purchase at major retailers and online via Amazon. The book, written by John Stubbs, William Chapman, Julia Gatley, and Ross King, includes numerous contributions from scholars throughout the world. MKS’s Mia Kaplan worked on the cover design of the book and contributed two essays in the book about Critical Heritage in practice and the cultural impact of atomic testing in the Marshall Islands. These topics resonate closely with Kaplan’s approach to preservation as a conversation between the past and future and uphold some principle considerations when working in cultural environments.

Here’s a description from the publisher:

The fourth in a series that documents architectural conservation in different parts of the world, Architectural Conservation in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands: National Experiences and Practice addresses cultural heritage protection in a region which comprises one third of the Earth’s surface.

In response to local needs, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands have developed some of the most important and influential techniques, legislation, doctrine and theories in cultural heritage management in the world. The evolution of the heritage protection ethos and contemporary architectural conservation practices in Australia and Oceania are discussed on a national and regional basis using ample illustrations and examples. Accomplishments in architectural conservation are discussed in their national and international contexts, with an emphasis on original developments (solutions) and contributions made to the overall field.

Enriched with essays contributed from fifty-nine specialists and thought leaders in the field, this book contains an extraordinary breadth and depth of research and synthesis on the why’s and how’s of cultural heritage conservation. Its holistic approach provides an essential resource and reference for students, academics, researchers, policy makers, practitioners and all who are interested in conserving the built environment.

Please let us know if you get your hands on a copy of the book, and feel free to share your thoughts!

Memphis Revival

Upcoming Event:

An Evening with Art and artist Mia Kaplan.

May 25, 5-7pm

Office of Carlton-Edwards. 717 Racine Street. Memphis TN.

Memphis Revival. #1. (Green Flag)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 27”l x 26”w x 4.5”d

Charcoal Lily, 2023

Enamel on Aluminum and Steel mobile.

Memphis Revival. #5. (Basilica)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 43”l x 50”w x 5.75”d

Memphis Revival. #8. (Poplar)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 54”l x 48”w x 6.25”d

Felt Lily, 2023

Memphis Revival. #2. (Lamar)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 40.5”l x 40”w x 7”d

Charcoal Lily 2, 2023

Enamel on Aluminum and Steel mobile.

Memphis Revival. #12. (Union)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 30”l x 30”h x 6”d*

Memphis Revival. #4. (Peace)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 22”l x 22”w x 5”d

Memphis Revival. #9. (Summer)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 42”l x 39”w x 6”d

Memphis Revival. #6. (Riverfront)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 25”l x 26.5”w x 5.5”d

Memphis Revival. #7. (Little Window)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 23”l x 19”w x 4”d

Felt Lilies 2, 2023

Memphis Revival. #10 (Blue Road)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 38”l x 31.5”w x 6.25”d

Memphis Revival. #6. (South Main)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 25”l x 26.5”l x 5.5”d

Memphis Revival. #11. (Cathedral)

Mixed media wall sculpture - 41”l x 37.5”w x 5.5”d

Journal Entry: 5/20/2023

After years of burying my head in learning the practice of architecture and historic preservation, I’m happy to announce that I am finding more energy to resume my studio practice. My studio at night is a magical place. Maybe not what you’re thinking - it’s filled with objects that I think are interesting, books, paint drip edges all over the walls, books, and unfinished work…a lot of unfinished work. The occasional vase of flowers.

I’ve started working my day job in architecture primarily from this same place…it’s a live-work paradise. There’s a desk area of the studio that is devoted to architecture, which is nice because throughout the day I get immersed in the process of designing, writing, and video conferencing, and get to walk by my paintings to think about them on my way to grab a coffee. Somehow, this new normal has alleviated the pressure I used to feel when it was just me and the art all the time. Part of it is not having to rely on something that involves creative risk to provide for my family, and the other part is that my practice feels more precious and is informed by all the conversations I have throughout the day.

If the work feels a little more resolved and peaceful, it is because I have become that way. If it comes across as an absolute mess, then so be it.

I can talk a little about where the work comes from…Memphis Revival is intended to reference a “revival” movement in architecture as well as the “revival” of a spiritual mission or the literal return of life to something. Memphis is where I attended college and received a bachelor’s in Drawing from the now-defunct Memphis College of Art. As an 18-year-old living away from home for the first time, Memphis is where I came of age as an artist. The use of color, form, and brushwork is reminiscent of my experience living there for five years. I was quickly enamored by the city’s patina, the beautiful people, its history, the thick heat and electricity in the air, hand-painted signage, the artistic influences of so many artists living there and passing through, and the overall spirituality of Memphis as a city.

Hope you enjoy the new work. Thank you for following along on this creative journey with me.

On Undoing Bias and Limitations

Journal Entry. Sept 20, 2020.

Raveling. Unraveling. Divided. United.

I’ve been meditating upon the physical nature of words that have been used to articulate the emotional state of things. My mother came by for coffee and we shared this sense that underneath all of this, we are expressing an underlying need having to do with a connection to others.

We’ve been taught and conditioned to think of ourselves as individuals. We build walls (both literally and metaphorically) for the sake of organization, delineation, management, or protection…and we destroy walls for the sake of reimagining what already exists. Nature does this too, which is why I find fallen trees and roadside flowers so inspiring!

While our editorial instincts have shown to help us in survival, I think to a large degree our editorial biases have been influenced outside of our awareness, and often to the detriment of things we desire, ie., a sense of belonging and unity. When I feel myself judging, I try better to listen and understand. When I see something destructive, I try to see the potential of reimagining what exists.

The processes of listening, observation, documentation, deconstruction, and reconstruction are the threads that tie my work together. But lately, I have been reinventing the rules and assumptions that have informed my work.

For example, I had this rule about not working from photographs. I felt that in a way, it was a matter of cheating and that working from photos took away from the authenticity of painting and drawing from observation. I still believe these things, actually. However, the aquarium paintings I did in 2014 occurred after taking a trip to the Aquarium of the Americas and being inspired by the atmosphere of the aquarium tanks. I wanted so badly to paint them but knew that I wouldn’t be able to set up like I could in the woods, so I took photographs and later came back to the studio and painted the scenes. I felt guilty when I looked at them. They did not fit into the work I was doing, and so I folded them up and put them in my flat files.

Last week, I was going through my files and saw them so I pulled them out to have a look. My oldest daughter came to the studio for a visit and said how much she loved them. “Mom, you should show these to people!” So I sheepishly took a photo and posted it onto my Instagram feed. That day a very good friend, who had been fawning over my work for a while let me know that he really needed one of these paintings. The look of joy on his face when he saw it in person for the first time is seriously the reason why I chose art as a profession. There is nothing so simple and beautiful as connecting to each other through creativity.

The experience got me thinking that the rules I have about working from photographs are probably unnecessary and might even get in the way of me doing my work, and this unnecessary shame about it kept me from sharing my inspiration and creative output with others. It made me reflect on how the rules that we make for ourselves do this in other areas of our social sphere, and how important it is to remove these unhelpful limits so that we can maintain connectivity with each other. Specifically, I am suggesting the importance of not limiting ourselves to conversing with people who are always in agreement with us or the idea of remaining open to learning by seeing something from another point of view.

Why else are we here if not to keep each other company and work together?

Bonus: Soundtrack for Aquarium paintings shared via Jimmy Byrne:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=beIDKFwXam0&pp=ygUTZmlzaGluZyBmb3IgZmlzaGllcw%3D%3D

Upcoming exhibition: New Orleans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ann Marie Auricchio | Mia Kaplan | Erica Larkin Gaudet

February 6 - 27, 2021

Opening reception: Saturday, February 6, 10 am – 6 pm

OCTAVIA Art Gallery - 700 Magazine Street, Ste 103. New Orleans, LA 70130

In keeping with our commitment to exclusively showcasing the work of female artists for 2021, Octavia Art Gallery is pleased to present a three-person exhibition featuring the works of Ann Marie Auricchio, Mia Kaplan, and Erica Larkin Gaudet. Employing the use of line as expression, these three New Orleans based artists convey stories of the energy existing in our everyday world, abstract representations of nature, and movement of female figures.

Ann Marie Auricchio uses the language of painting to explore a deeper perception of time, place and the complexities of emotional and cognitive associations we make with our world.

Auricchio’s paintings materialize from the convergence of frenetic energy, environment, light/shadow, obsession, anxiety, meditation, history, memory, and a pure visceral response to both physical and psychological places. The creation of Auricchio’s work relies on a balance of experiences and observations from both inside and outside of the studio.

Ann Marie Auricchio earned her BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1994. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions in New York, Maryland, Colorado, and Louisiana. Auricchio has also worked extensively as a scenic artist nationally on film, television, and theatrical productions and is the owner of AM Creative Finishes LLC.

Mia Kaplan is a painter and sculptor. Her work is driven by an interest in transformational qualities and patterns found in nature as told through her personal process of documenting life in the marshes and swamps of her hometown, and through sculptural abstraction of natural borders, landscapes, wildflowers, and refuges.

Kaplan earned a degree in Drawing and Printmaking from the Memphis College of Art and is currently pursuing a dual Masters degree in Architecture and Preservation Studies from Tulane University. She exhibits nationally in galleries, museums, and public places. Her work has been included in many publications including Artforum, Food & Wine, Fitness Magazine, New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles, Country Roads Magazine, Modern Farmer, The Louisiana Review, and more. 

Erica Larkin Gaudet is a sculptor who primarily creates abstract figurative forms in metal. She forges and transforms the rigid material until she achieves the appearance of fluid lines, soft curves and subtle gestural movements. She strives to portray expression, energy, movement, womanhood, motherhood, and fertility through her work.

Larkin Gaudet received her BA in Sculpture from Loyola University in 1991. Her works have been included in public exhibitions such as The Sculpture for New Orleans Poydras Corridor Public Art, LA; The Joan Mitchell Foundation Public Art, LA; Louisiana Presbytere Museum, LA; Downtown St. Joseph SculptureWalk, MO; Scope Basel, Switzerland; Hibernian Sculpture Park, LA; and the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, MS. Larkin Gaudet is the founder of the Erica Larkin Studio, Larkin Gaudet Furniture LLC, and Studio Waveland Gallery.

The Ultimate Refuge

It’s not an escape if you go there to heal. Your imagination is a refuge. It’s as much alive as any forest, and it is a place worth documenting and saving. It’s a place worth sharing and showing to others - so they remember that they have one too.

Documenting what “is” has a place. It’s easy to judge and evaluate something that is already “there”, something to agree about, or to be “right” about.

The danger in placing more value on realism is the fact that we are telling the truth, whether we like it or not, through our interactions each day, as told by our openness or closed-mindedness towards discovering new ways to see.

Realism leaves a small window to the outside world, and many times artists aim to see through that lens and fall short due to technical or spiritual deficiencies. When an artist does truly speak in realism, you’ll find that they use representation to say something beneath the skin of their subject.

Artist Marc Dennis. YOLO, 2018. Oil on linen - 40 x 40 inches. A perfect example of a brilliant realist. Click the image to see more of his paintings.

This discussion brought to mind a quote by John Lennon. Lennon said “My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all”.

While realism remains an important discipline, and one of the various ways that enable an artist to “resolve his fragments in man’s subjectivity”, as Rothko said, it often does so at the expense of understanding the deeper nature of one’s own voice - trying to look “real” or “good” might get in the way of depicting a more honest reflection. These reflections are found in realms that can only be accessed in moments of thoughtful interpretation.

When you hear that voice and start to get to know it, you’ll hopefully stop caring about existing definitions of reality. You’ll use whatever means of representation that make sense. You’ll break rules, make mistakes, and let me tell you - it hurts. But the joy when you get that moment of recognition with a work is worth it. And when you share your work, and someone else gets it too, there’s a connection there that wasn’t there before. These are feelings and connections that can’t be bought - they MUST be made. This is the practice of humanity. There’s a responsibility to learn how to speak even more clearly, maybe even in multiple languages.

The sound of your voice has been there this whole time, and it matters.

Happy 2019.

On Family and the Architecture of Growth

Since I can remember, I have loved drawing. And yet, over the years, what has defined me is something beyond the process of recording. As life’s challenges approached, my choices in navigation have revealed what is most important. In the face of loss, I found creativity. This creative phenomenon can be traced throughout history, not just in my own story, but in that of wider scopes of communities and civilizations.

Leonardo da Vinci, A deluge, c.1517-18

The beginning of hurricane season is a reminder that from loss, we change. We can never get back what has been washed away but have the opportunity to take what is left and redefine our environment. When I was a kid, one of my favorite past times was trailblazing through the woods. My family lived walking distance from one another, and so whenever one place got boring, I could hop on my bike and ride to my aunt’s house, or go see what my grandparents were up to. As an adult, I still live a couple of miles away from where I grew up. This sustained proximity, while not necessarily the same as it was when I was a kid, has been the literal inspiration for the majority of my visual output. I am still learning new things just by having a morning coffee in my backyard.

Family, or the way in which one thing relates to others, is essential to all things we experience in life. To broaden this scope, “family” also refers to anyone who makes up one’s day to day existence. Family is the foundation from which we build all things. In the spiritual definition of “father” and “mother”, we see family as a framework from which all things emanate. Today we can reframe the familial structure while still maintaining the output of raising a complete human being. Is it not extraordinary how humans have evolved to claim an expanded definition of love and family?

I’m not afraid of losing myself in the process of growth. In fact, I am anticipating the discovery of new passions. I am praying to abandon whatever limits I might have and trailblaze through a forest that I have never known. Because I know that in navigating these woods, I have a basis for it all. The basis for all of my work, regardless of medium, is the personal dynamic of my observed relationship between things. 

wikipedia.

Architecture is building upon the past, or as Leland Roth so marvelously put it, “Architecture is the chambered nautilus shell of the human species; it is the environment we build for ourselves, and which, as we grow in experience and knowledge, we change and adapt to our expanded condition.” In moving forward, we have the potential to change for the better. Embracing and Learning about the past gives us the foundation from which we build. Likewise, embracing and learning from the present allows us to reflect upon our observations.

The Nautilus has become my inspiration as I begin building yet another chamber.

wikipedia.

The Buddy Rich Principle: How Art Makes A Living

While finishing up some sculptures, I decided to put on a playlist of Buddy Rich's drum solos.

When I'm working, It feels like going underwater in the sense that whatever is going on outside of the studio is no longer there. As I worked with Rich's music as my backdrop, experiencing one solo after another, the vibrations and intensity of his performance running through me, I began to see a pattern.

There's something that he does in almost every solo that is the same. While each of his solos are complex and unique to each performance (he did not "practice"), there's this pattern of escalation that occurs where he is pattering it out so fast and then it reaches a climax before opening back up into the main theme of the song. These were live recordings, so you could hear the crowd responding to this moment. 

There is a threshold that I think every artist encounters when they get praise for their work. Praise can be great, but it can also inhibit growth. When your work makes people happy, you have the option of getting paid to do it. While Art exists beyond commerce in a world of progress and natural conception, the transition between doing your work and getting paid for it has a lot to do with one's personal level of comfort with making people happy, and a willingness to learn a little about documenting your work. 

“If you have any requests, keep them to yourselves. We don’t play requests!” -Buddy Rich

Making people happy is not painting whatever they want, or following existing trends which have already proven to be successful. That, in my opinion, is not creativity. However, when an artist trusts their own voice, they have the ability to use that voice to continually grow. When one embraces that doing their personal work brings joy (or whatever feeling you're going after) to others, there is a reciprocity to creativity that has the potential to be channeled into commerce.

When Buddy Rich did his wild accelerations, he was being what he had been his entire life - a force of nature, and that signature style became the trademark of his prolific recording and performance life as an artist. He was introduced to art from an early age, embraced that which brought both he AND others joy, and made it into a living.

Hand-painted Antique Waterlily Chair for the Louisiana Children's Museum

My studio, being an extension of who I am as a person, has always been an entity for giving and sharing when possible. Sometimes, I donate work to causes which I see create a massive positive change in the world. 

Children, in my opinion, are the most important cause. It's not because I don't think other causes are worthy, but as a naturalist, I've learned that good seeds don't grow into beautiful trees without a support system to help them be open-hearted, imaginative, and productive citizens.

That's why I decided to add a new recipient to my select list of favorite causes. The Louisiana Children's Museum in New Orleans has been a part of my world since my own childhood. As a parent, I now see the impact and benefits that the museum provides to children. 

So this year I took one of my favorite chairs, an antique fiddleback variety, and turned it into a functional painting of waterlilies - one of my favorite companions out here in the marshes.

I hope you will consider joining me to support the Louisiana Children's Museum. If you like, you can bid on the chair, get more info about their Chairish the Children event, and make a donation to the museum here: https://501auctions.com/lcmchairish

"Onward" From Concept to Completion: Steel Sculpture Commission

Artists get into big sculpture for different reasons. What got me into steel was a friend who believed that I was more of a sculptor than a painter. 

Outdoor sculpture is such a different process than say, stretching a canvas to complete a thought. Safety is a major concern when tons of steel are involved. While some artists claim to do it all from start to finish, I have no shame in saying that when something could cause major harm, my course of action is to partner with a niche professional to ensure my clients have the most enjoyable and safest experience with their artwork.

The most creative fun occurs in the design phase anyway! This is where I visit the site and gather visual information to think about as I conjure up gestural renderings in my sketchbook. Often times, a client doesn't get to see these sketches because they are literally all over the place - I jot down anything and everything that comes up, and find how these things can be honed into one conversation between forms.

On this particular project, the client knew they wanted the piece to be called "Onward". It was a steel commission for their private residence along the beach in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The client wanted to pay homage to the location of his home, which was once "Camp Onward", the first integrated girls' summer camp in the state of Mississippi. Capturing the lighthearted spirit of little girls playing on the beach became my goal. 

Detail from "Onward" sketches, drawn from wild sweet peas picked from the client's yard.

A detail of my sketchbook shows how I got inspiration not only from the client's wishes, but also from what was naturally growing on the site. I immediately spotted the delicate little pink flowers of wild sweet peas growing nearby, and used them as stand-ins for the "girls". I drew them up close to study their movement, and compared them to my figurative studies of children making playful gestures. Other things which inspired the work were the sea birds, the clouds, butterflies, and the way wind affected the movement of trees. 

After some time to sketch and focus, I created a few pieces in maquette form, and invited the client over to see them in person. When working by commission, it is natural to want to make a client happy, but I've learned that it is best to show my personal favorites - pieces that I would make anyway. My personal favorite of the group ended up being their personal favorite too. 

Rendering of "Onward" maquette in initial location. 

The initial placement for "Onward" was to be as a focal point along the home's driveway. The client and I were first considering raw steel to allow the work to oxidize naturally as I had with an earlier work, but because of the work's proximity to the sea, a solid coating of paint was needed to provide protection from the harsh elements. To create a modern contrast to the landscape and also bring forth the piece's spiritual nature, a solid white was chosen to bounce spiritual "light" onto the viewer.

In natural form at Manufab in Bay St. Louis. The piece gets welded at the joints before getting a nice coat of paint. 

When possible, I enjoy partnering with local shops. The people who work in steel shops are usually creative as well and have fun working on art projects like this as a break from the usual bridge building project. The client worked closely too with a good friend who was a landscape architect to ensure the work had a spot that offered protection, and so instead of placing "Onward" near the driveway, they decided to place the work beneath the huge oak trees on the front lawn. This added another visual element to the work, because on sunny days the light shines through the branches and creates silhouettes on the solid white surface of the sculpture. 

"Onward", installed beneath the branches of a majestic oak along the beach in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. You can see the shadows starting to creep in from the left as the sun crosses over the sky.

Commissioning a big steel sculpture is a wonderfully fun process, and is often times a community effort. As an artist, I enjoy the dialog of creating a site-specific and unique work for my clients to enjoy and share with others. The client had four mini versions of this work created for each of their four children. The process overall doesn't have a set time limit, but on average and without delays, it could occur in as little as 8-10 weeks. 

The most rewarding part of creating big outdoor sculpture is that it is enjoyed by the public in a way that does not require a complete understanding upfront. Wondering is encouraged. Sculptures like this tend to take on a life of their own after completion, and when created for a particular place, the work inherently becomes a part of it. 

Art Installed: Mixed media Painting in Bedroom

Artists are notorious for having interesting living spaces. Many of us collect things, and tend to have stories about our belongings, as most collectors do. The idea of minimizing all of that to create a space that reflects total balance and minimal placement seems counterintuitive to our nature. But over the years, I have come to admire and even wish for the help of a gifted interior designer in my own sphere. A great interior is a work of art in itself - a collage of textures, color, form, and all with a purpose to affect those who enter.

When designer Colleen Waguespack shared this shot of a bedroom she designed for a friend, it brought me such joy because many times when I am creating these paintings, I am not thinking about where they are going...I'm not conscious of matching furniture or whatever. I'm trying to work through something on my own terms. My work keeps this energy of being alive, and it takes a designer like Colleen to take this raw material, and turn it into a place that works for a greater good. A livable extension that provides a sanctuary for someone else. 

"Drenched in Paradise" Mixed media on canvas - 42 x 54 inches. This piece was created during the rainy Spring. I had this beautiful speckled king snake living just outside of my studio. I would look for him each morning as I walked past. You can see him slithering across the bottom of the painting.

Art Talk: Bob Dylan and The Ocean

Last night, I had the honor of giving a talk to the Slidell Art League, an organization of local and regional artists in Slidell (my hometown) Louisiana. 

Visiting Artist Talk, Mia Kaplan

Slidell Art League

June 12, 2017, 7pm

Christ Episcopal Church, Slidell, LA

Good evening, fellow creatives. It is an honor to be here with you to tell you a little about my work, and where it comes from.

It's appropriate that this meeting takes place in a church, for I feel, and maybe some of you agree, that practicing art is a way of life and a belief system for coping with the tides. This practice was something that found me at an early age. My parents met while attending the School of Visual Arts in New York. Like many eccentric artist couples, they didn’t stay married, but remained tied together by two little hearts as my brother and I found ourselves flying between New Orleans and Newark.

 Before I started creating with the intention to understand the world around me, I was entertaining myself one day by colorizing black and white photographs at my father’s photography studio. I was around 8 years old. He came to see what I was working on, and I told him I was not happy with my work because I had trouble staying in the lines. He told me “you know sweetheart, there are a lot of great artists out there who don’t color in the lines.” I’ll never forget the look on his face. He had no question about my potential, and to this day I have both a love of lines and a playful disregard for the rules about them.

 I learned a lot of about the Art World from being a gallery director in my early twenties. A mentor once told me it was like High School with money, though I find that navigating this path doesn’t really have one right way. I did however reach the point in my life where I felt I needed to choose between two paths: that of becoming an art dealer, or of becoming a developed version who I had always been, an artist.

My work, in essence, is about understanding both my interior world, and the exterior world. I think all art accomplishes this purpose without having to think about it too much. In Bob Dylan’s recent Nobel Prize acceptance speech, he connects his work in music to the stories that connect us as humans, and named a few particular examples of literary works that affected him by leading the way as he followed his own path. In the end, and in his charming dylanesque way, he says that the most important thing he has learned is to not think too much about what it all means. That part is not in our hands.

This statement rings like a major fire alarm in the halls of Art Academia. It’s roaring ablaze because it comes from a place of high regard, and it’s so, so true. We can’t help being people, and the most important thing we can do is to create something from it all in a way that brings us peace and allows us to spread peace. To have this wonderful relationship to ourselves where we are the eternal ball of clay, and we are in capable hands, with no burden of proof needed. Fret less, do more.

 I began my current trajectory in painting and sculpture by unlearning what I learned. I decided to start by spending more time out in the woods near where I grew up. Many of the relics from my childhood were lost in Katrina, but I noticed that somehow the wildflowers came back with no difficulty. I started to notice that nature just keeps going, in spite of the devastation, and so I painted my childhood home as told through the triumph of our landscape. These are from Big Branch Marsh, Bayou Paquet, Bayou Liberty, and Bayou Bonfouca.

 This past weekend, my family took a camping trip to Fort Pickens Beach. It turns out, my relationship to the sea is defined by the process I undergo in overcoming my fear of being eaten up by a shark. This fear exists in a place that is sort of logical...I mean, there are sharks, and people have been eaten by sharks before...at least that what I’ve read on the internet...but this fear also exists in a place that doesn’t make any sense in the largest picture….what are the chances, really, that the shark knows I’m there? What are the chances that he will indeed smell out the remains of the tuna sandwich I just enjoyed?

And so, I have decided that my fear of the shark is nowhere near as important as my desire to jump in the ocean and play in it for hours. I hope you all will find this connection between living life, and making your art, if you haven’t already.

 Thank you all for having me this evening.

###

Click here to see more of my Louisiana Landscapes.

And Here's Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize Talk - a good listen. <3

Art Installed: Jewel Toned Paintings Inspired by the Darkroom

Today's install is courtesy of Ann Connelly Fine Art in Baton Rouge, LA.

Ann Connelly has been in the art consultation business for well over 20 years. She represents contemporary artists whose focus leans towards botanical abstraction. 

Her latest install features three of my jewel toned paintings on paper, which were framed by the gallery's framing experts, hung over a fireplace in a newly designed living area. I usually don't get excited about art matching the furniture, but I have to comment on how much I love the velvet pillows and orange table, that make this otherwise monochromatic space a design jewel.

Art Installed: Jewel Toned Paintings. Image courtesy of Ann Connelly Fine Art.

When Ann shared this picture on her Facebook page, a commenter asked if these were linocuts or lithographs. I guess the printmaker in me is alive and well - I do think in terms of layers and building imagery like a printmaker, which is why I studied Printmaking in combination with Drawing at the Memphis College of Art way back when. 

As I was working on these, I was reminded of the times I used to help my father process photographs in his darkroom. He owned a photo studio in Clinton, NJ., and I loved being in there with his music blaring while we would process pictures together. He would sit at the enlarger and ask me to hand him the paper, make the exposure, and then hand it back to me so I could then place it in the baths of developer, stop, and fixer. The red darkroom lamps cast their light on every surface, making the experience feel like a dream, and when we finished our work, the door would open and the rest of the world, with all of its bright lights and demanding colors would come flooding back in. The darkroom was like our refuge back then.

These pieces are NOT prints, or photographs, but are done the slow way - painting by hand. The monochromatic tones were masked off to set the stage for the drawings (which I did from some of the paper sculptures I have in my studio) in paint using a variety of brushes and even sticks to create the lines of the work. 

I hope you enjoy them! To see the rest of my jewel toned paintings from this series, visit my page on Ann's website. 

Palette Study: Observing life as an open-ended mood board.

A large part of my artistic practice is based on real-time observation and recording. When I first started painting landscapes regularly in 2008, I was using it as a way to reset my mind. All that gets accumulated over the years, in my case all that I had learned about art and being a working artist became a burden to the person within me who just liked to make things that felt right without concern about who "likes it" or not. Particularly in school when I was asked to write about the concept for bodies of work before I even started making them, I struggled. 

Later on, I came to understand why writing is introduced in the beginning of the creative process as a planning method for organizing thoughts before action, but of course not everyone goes through the front door of thought. In fact many artists who I relate to on a personal level share my method of reflecting upon creation. This process of creating a statement based on an amass of actual experience presents quite the challenge, because I could easily work from photos and make an entire body of work about Tokyo without actually being there, but I believe being there and working through the experience of being there makes the quality of my work more authentic, and it is my belief that we need authenticity in our lives - not just vibes, but a true understanding of what makes the vibration what it is. So what happens if I make a shift in my way of thinking about how things should or shouldn't happen? Do we all arrive at the same result when experiencing a person's art either way, or can YOU tell the difference between surface work and the deep stuff?

And so I carried around this conundrum when it came to mood boards...rejecting the idea of collecting stimuli that was not taken directly from personal experience. How much easier it would be to collect images of things that already existed from all over the world instead of relying upon myself to create a personal palette from observational scratch. Maybe I chose the long way around with my rules and such, but in doing so, I can tell you what's growing in my back yard because I've been there studying it for years. I have become quite the expert in documenting the subtle temperature changes in color found in the landscape as seasons change, the corresponding palettes and blooming cycles. So it seems that I have been creating mood boards all along - but in reverse! I'm delighted to share with you a brief synopsis of my findings, in the form of these swatch palettes, with selections of my favorite colors from each time of year.

October/Fall Palette. Marsh painting from Big Branch Marsh NWR. 

Autumn is about letting go of all the beautiful things we relished in Summer, embracing the natural transition of life into earth. My favorite colors in Fall are actually the ones that play between the crisp, soft blues on cold days and the golden wheat, chestnut, and deep earth tones that create a wonderful foundation for their evergreen accents. Without a foundation of these yellow ochres, raw siennas and burn umbers, we wouldn't have the same appreciation for the rest of life's colors.

January/Winter Palette. Painting of trees in my backyard in Lacombe, LA.

Winter palettes are distinct from Fall palettes because they largely represent the evergreen population which gets so much play during the holidays versus the bold changes that occur when leaves change, but my favorite thing about Winter is moments is when I feel so c-c-c-cold, and then the sun comes out. So while the color palette is rather stark - icy ultramarine blues, muted bark tones, and deep cool greens, there is that wonderful hint of peach which represents the sun hitting the bark of the cold trees, and this peach becomes more prominent as the year continues. 

Spring Palette. Painted from the gardens in my front yard which house a variety of lilies, wildflowers, grasses, jasmine, and a Japanese Plum.

There is no time of year that rocks the world of minty greens, sunshine hansa yellow, corals (remember the peach?) and plum hues like Spring. A lady I adore once described her friend's style as "fauvist at heart", and I think that's really what Spring is all about...pastels balanced against their bold complements. 

June Palette. Painted from Bayou Liberty in Slidell, LA. 

When people discuss hallucinations from heat of the dessert, I can relate from my own sphere. It doesn't take an ounce of peyote to feel the electricity of a hot summer day in the swamps. All of the colors are on fire, with perhaps a little relief in the delicate summer blooms, but Summer is and will always be the most passionate palette in my book. My favorite colors from this time are the deep cadmium yellows and reds, the cobalt and prussian blues.

In between the changes throughout the year, there is one thing that seems to remain consistent, and that is the colors that happen at dawn and dusk each day. When mixed with these seasonal palettes, we experience a complex harmony in our environment.

And so this idea of studying nature is not new, but following the path of studying these small changes has given me an appreciation for details that I had missed when I only knew the surface, and a deeper connection to life itself.

I'll leave you with this look at the seasons according to artist David Hockney, where he documents the same path from his hometown at different times of year, and how he used his love of painting these changes to influence how others see the world.

Another Year of The New Normal: Adapting to Inspirations and Technology

Embracing the Leap

A week or so ago, my LinkedIn profile informed me that I was celebrating another year at Mia Kaplan Studio. I can still remember the moment I decided to make the leap into the unknown, having had a salaried job during the day and painting at night, working in a place that was ok but far from my dream, and finally reaching the point where I decided that I needed to make some drastic and serious changes.

I quit, I jumped, and I admit there was panic at first, fear that "living the dream" was but a masked nightmare that involved rolling around on the floor screaming in simultaneous terror and delight, unsure of which feeling was real, like falling in love before the lights turned on. It wasn't until I learned how to chill out, and looked around to discover that I had survived, that I got behind the wheel of my ship and found the patience to learn how to navigate my new life. 

My "new normal", as I lovingly call it, was created by making a list of what I wanted each day to be like: waking up surrounded by people I love, having positive working relationships based on shared values and a common goal of making the world a little more delicate and thoughtful. I shifted my focus to conversing primarily about things that mattered to me, and worked hard to become a listener.

The Internal Work

This internal work took years, and is best described as a shedding of skin, an undergoing of rediscovering things I had forgotten about myself. On occasion I would assist my husband on his photo shoots, and one of our subjects was a gifted jeweler named Katy Beh. The photos were for an article being written discussing rituals, and we photographed her at home writing on yellow steno pads. Each morning, she told us, she would write without any specific goal, just to empty her mind, and I found this fascinating, much like my own process with sketchbooks in the morning. So I tried it at times when it wasn't appropriate to draw, I simply wrote whatever was on my mind that morning. It was cathartic, and deeply satisfying to empty my thoughts onto the pages and move on. My new writing ritual turned into the inspiration for the yellow notebook page patterns used in "Flowers for Peggy".

"Flowers for Peggy". Painted Aluminum Wall Sculpture. Photo: Cedric Angeles

The second major change I underwent was unexpected. My cousin Scheherezade in Los Angeles convinced me to join her on a couple of Angelino escapades, two of which were an 8-hour white tantric yoga workshop, and a five day transformational training program called M.I.T.T. (Mastery in Transformational Training). I was just going at first because she asked me to go, expecting nothing aside from my hopes of being good company for her.

It is hard to illustrate the effects of these experiences, but when I was referring to the rediscovery of things I had forgotten about myself, these experiences provided such insights. I had forgotten about the special powers I have had since I was a kid, powers I feel that we all have of clear intention and intuition, but for whatever reason I stopped trusting these powers. So I took them back! 

Managing Inspiration

Here's how it happens: you're walking along and suddenly something grabs your attention. It speaks to you. It could be a thought or an image, or the way pine needle trees grow in my case. The thought of managing something so organic as coming across and collecting fleeting moments of inspiration might seem like a buzz-kill, but I see it the way many people have connected to shopping, as a "retail therapy" of sorts whose transaction involves no salesperson or intermediary.

It IS possible and even considered normal among workhorse creatives to develop a system for collecting thoughts, and lately I have expanded my repertoire beyond the sketchbook and yellow steno pads to include technology. Apps like Evernote are an example of how technology has entered the picture to assist in the creative process by allowing one to collect and categorize information, and even share it with others. I was not into the idea of "mood boards" at first, but to manage visual information and reference, Pinterest is like having an endless supply of cork boards to find common threads in a big picture. It wasn't until I added a bunch of pins of my work to my Pinterest page that I was able to see a large volume of my work at once, and it helped me understand what I was doing. Furthermore, Pinterest suggests similar pins to complement imagery, which is revealing to see how something so personal fits into the aggregation of everyone else's imagery. My favorite discovery from Pinterest was the popularity of my line drawings for boards about tattoo ideas. Maybe I missed a calling as a tattoo designer? 

The External Work

So I find myself currently in an external phase, having renovated this old mental house, I have been working lately on physical projects. Using technology as just another tool in my workshop. After all, we live in a time where 3D printers can print a bust in marble using fifteen photos of a person. We are not so limited by our physical capabilities, but by our belief in our own potential as human beings. There are less limitations between our ideas and our output now more than ever.

#OWNIT & #WAYSTOGROW Campaigns for Intuit Quickbooks.

On this journey, I have acquired an unexpected love of Math for the harmony it creates, and thus I love and use the new Quickbooks self-employed app to keep my business in order. I use it because it makes a lot of sense for my business type as a freelancer, and instead of sitting behind a computer, I can categorize things and even send invoices on the phone while sitting out in the woods. Really. I have done this many times.

So I suppose it isn't quite unreasonable to imagine, but a delightful happenstance that I was recently part of one of their recent campaigns for web advertising. I'm not going to write much more here, as there are now six videos. They asked me all sorts of questions about my approach to business, and how I give back to my community and balance personal life with business life. 

Just in time for tax season, right? :) Hope you enjoy them.

https://youtu.be/4Fx4kt2qA9k

Fall Blooms Along The River

River Gallery Sculpture Garden presents artist Mia Kaplan’s latest addition to her installation in the garden along the Tennessee River. “Blooms Along the River” is a continuation of the works she installed during her exhibition earlier this year. 

Kaplan is a multi-disciplined artist who works in response to natural environments. During her last visit to Chattanooga, she painted her sculptural blooms entitled “Chattanooga Reliquaries” while drawing the palette compositions directly from the surrounding landscape this past May. 

To celebrate the fall months, Kaplan will return and once again paint from the sights and sounds of Bluff View Arts District en plein air (a term coined by the French for works that are created “in open air”. )

She will be bringing primed pieces in and will be finishing them on site in the days leading up to the opening. Visitors are welcome to observe and meet the artist at work on October 21 & 21, between the hours of 10am and 2pm at the River Gallery Sculpture Garden.

About River Gallery Sculpture Garden:

River Gallery Sculpture Garden located in the beautiful Bluff View Art District opened its sculptural gates May 1993. The garden was designed by landscape architect Joe Baasch and is located on a two-acre outdoor space. Overlooking the beautiful Tennessee River, the garden features a formal garden, meditation area, and an informal garden with a recycling mountain stream. 

Purchase of sculpture and information on the annual exhibit are available through River Gallery. 

River Gallery Sculpture Garden is one of the 195 sculpture gardens selected worldwide for listing in the International Sculpture Center's Sculpture Parks and Garden's Directory. The garden is further recognized with a listing in the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Gardens.

Contact River Gallery at 800-374-2923 for more information.

Le Bon Voyage

Summer greetings! 

Opening this Friday and through the month of June will be a landscape exhibition curated by my friend and fellow artist Carlyle Wolfe at the Southside Gallery in Oxford, MS. The exhibition focuses on landscapes of Mississippi, and so I had a couple of paintings from Bailey's Woods (the woods behind William Faulkner's home, Rowan Oak) to share. 

Currently on view is my solo exhibition at River Gallery in Chattanooga, Inside/Out. River Gallery is part of an incredibly charming arts district founded by a visionary effort of the Portera family. If you want to visit Chattanooga (and you should, it's a gorgeous place), make sure to visit and stay in the Bluff View Arts District. It's walking distance to the Hunter Museum as well. 

Click Here to listen to a radio interview I had with Richard Winham of WUTC, Chattanooga's local NPR station.

I am now preparing for my next solo exhibition that opens in September at the Isaac Delgado Fine Art Gallery at Delgado Community College in City Park, New Orleans (seriously one of the prettiest spaces for showing art in the city). 

Here's the Isaac Delgado Fine Art Gallery during a student interior design show. Look at that window! 

There happen to be a couple of new articles about Melissa Martin and our creative collaboration in the Mosquito Supper Club this past year. Foodie alert: There are RECIPES in these articles!

"Summer Brunch" Written and styled by the style maven of New Orleans, Valorie Hart with photographs by Sarah Essex Bradley for New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles Magazine's Summer issue.

The other piece can be found in the Summer issue of Modern Farmer Magazine. Here's a shot of Melissa behind my "Dancing Palms" painting:

I'm looking forward to the days ahead, but for now the ceramics studio is finally getting going, and I'm sinking back into my happy place, into my process in the land of swampy bliss.

With love,

Mia

The Commission Process: how to commission a work of art for your home or office.

The question of "how do I commission a work" comes around often enough to discuss. I love commissioned work because it allows me to bring conversations I have with the work's owner into play. Of course, finding a piece that speaks off the bat to you is always a great feeling, but sometimes it's just too large or too small for the place you have in mind. Or maybe you fell in love with a piece before and missed out on buying it. This happens a lot too! Don't fret. Commissioning a work is an exciting process that is not so mysterious.

There are some understandings that must be made here, and of course I'm speaking on behalf of my own procedures. Firstly, I am not an artist who recreates the same painting over and over again. Some artists do, but I won't. When I used to work in an art gallery, I experienced first hand a customer walked in, pointed to a piece and said "I own the original", and the painting in front of him was an "original" too. He paid good money for a piece that was being done over and over for profit, and I witnessed the horror of his realization. So understand that commissioning a piece might involve using a similar palette or subject matter, but is NOT considered an agreement to reproduce a previously created work. This policy maintains the studio's integrity and the value of owning an original work. 

So the process begins most easily when you are open, and works with almost any fine artist. Share the guidelines you have about the work you want. For instance, you could share your budget, the size of the work you need, the palette, desired materials, and any images of previous work by the artist.  From here, the artist will determine if this is a project they can take on, or there may be something existing in inventory that already fits the vision.

If your guidelines are accepted, then you will agree upon a price and a deadline for completion of the work. In order for an artist to begin working on your piece, you will pay a non-refundable deposit. For smaller works, the deposit is usually half of the purchase price. For monumental pieces, a design fee covers the design phase of the work, and the remainder is addressed during production and installation of the work. When your piece is complete, your remaining balance is due before your work is delivered. Keeping communication open is important if there are any delays or changes to your agreement. 

When your commissioned work is completed, host a party to celebrate it! Seriously- Art collections are a wonderful way to share ideas and conversations. If you're in business, hosting a party at your office to celebrate your new art is a great way to catch up with your community. Artists will enjoy meeting like-minded people who may also appreciate what they are doing and decide to get a piece as well. An artist with more collectors means that the work you have commissioned builds in significance and value over time. You're investing in an artist's vision, and your own vision as a person or company. That's the art of patronage, and the difference between matching the couches and creating a meaningful art collection. 

Photograph by Björn Wallander for Architectural Digest. 

Feeling inspired? Check out these amazing homes and businesses whose owners are visionaries and collectors: 

Hotel Tivoli, owned by artists Brice & Helen Marden- http://hoteltivoli.org/hotel/

Chicago collectors, Larry & Marilyn Fields- http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/on_the_wall/fields_collection_tour-51676

Berlin Collectors, Ingrid & Thomas Jochheim- (watch the video)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/christophnoe/2015/12/21/art-collector-homes-inside-ingrid-and-thomas-jochheims-berlin-apartment/#78042e786ced