"You'll Get Lots Of Exposure!"

Gotta Brand New Bag!

 Good "It'll be a great portfolio piece for you" Saturday Morning, y'all.

Well, I decided it was time to give away my three remaining portfolios. I could have done it two decades ago, or so. I sure get attached to stupid things!

How many times have we heard that phrase before?

"We can't afford to pay you, but it's for a big company and sure to get you lots of exposure!" Sadly, too many artists still fall for that "opportunity!"

At one time, when it was important to have them, I owned five portfolio cases. Some of my bags traveled, but they seldom traveled well. Many times, they returned with missing or crumpled acetate sheets. Sometimes, the zippers were so jammed that it refused to open without a struggle and would rip. Many times, the internal rings that bound the acetate cover sheets had to be wrenched back in line with the binder.

One owner of an art agency in Chicago still has one of my bags... somewhere. We had a contract dispute. I don't remember if not returning one's art was a negotiable part of the contract.

It was one of those "exclusive" clauses, ya know?

I shouldn't complain, though. A good friend from the Air Force Art Program and a Chicagoan, Jim Conahan, warned me about the owner, who he considered a rather shifty person. It didn't really matter though because I had little dealings with him.

The actual rep that got me the most work, I think her name was Antonio Dunbar, was incredible to work with, and she got me lots of work at "East Coast" prices.

It all lasted about one year. I considered losing that brand new portfolio, for any reason manufactured, a part of doing business. C'est la vie!

So many stories to tell. I do miss showing my work to new clients. Back then, it was an excuse to get out of the studio. Nowadays people scroll through your samples faster than they turned pages in your portfolio.

So funny. Inside one of the bags I gave away was a note that's gotta be thirty years old. The note, on company stationery, was from an art buyer apologizing for losing one of my samples and promising to find it and return it to me.

I believe she is currently, one of my Facebook friends.

Yeh... it's my third cup, ha. Badass Larry was his usual verbose self!

Copyright 2022/ Ben Bensen III