What artworks are appropriate for FAE?
FAE sells original paintings, sculpture, drawings, fine prints, and photographs that are of good quality and in good condition. Artwork must meet at least one of the following conditions:
- Be secondary market
- Produced early in an Artist's career
- Remained in Artist's hands after he or she was no longer actively working
- Is part of an Artist's estate
FAE does not sell recently created artwork by active artists, reproductions, or limited edition prints.
Is my estate or collection a good fit for FAE?
Artist Estates:
Generally, the Dealers who are granted access to sell on the FAE site look for artists who have been professionals; that is, they derive a substantial percentage of their income from the production and sale of their art. This might include studio art teachers, full or part-time artists, or illustrators. It is important that the artists achieved a reasonable level of acceptance in their fields while they were active, which can be evidenced by an exhibition history that includes solo and group exhibitions in a fine art gallery, university gallery, or a fine art exhibition space. This, along with awards, fellowships, grants, and scholarships related to their artistic career, and accompanied by a good history of sales, makes an artist a strong candidate.
Marine, Western, Southwest, Wildlife, Sports, Aviation and other niche artists may be of interest as long as they have excelled in their specific field and are acceptable to an FAE Dealer. Even major Naïve, Outsider, Memory and other talented, untrained artists may also be of interest.
Each Dealer will determine how much of an artist's estate is actually marketable based on each artwork's quality, condition, and perceived salability. They may also suggest test marketing a selection of works from a large estate to determine marketability and price points.
When approaching a Dealer who has FAE access, please send them an email that states your interest. If you have a professional website that includes your most current resume and images, please include its URL.
Collections:
Even though a Dealer will sell significant individual artworks on FAE, it will take at least four or more works, consigned from the same Seller, for the Dealer to consider marketing the artworks as a collection. To promote a body of artworks as a collection, the Seller will have to be willing to provide the Dealer with an image of the Seller, be it the Collector/s or the entity from which the collection came from, along with any information that would help the Dealer promote the works as a Collection. This could be in the form of catalogues, newspaper clippings, or images of the artworks as they were hung in the collector's home or business.
How do I contact a Dealer near me?
On the FAE footer menu, you will find a list of active FAE Dealers. We suggest you contact the Dealer closest to your location. If one is not located near you, there probably will be one soon. Contact FAE at [email protected] to let us know what you have, and we can make recommendations.
What is a Reserve?
A Reserve is a commitment, made by a Buyer, to purchase an artwork at a specified Serrace® level. For this commitment, FAE guarantees the Buyer exclusive rights to purchase the artwork at the Serrace price level Reserved, when and if that Serrace level is reached. When a Reserve is placed on an artwork, all the Serrace levels beneath the Reserved level disappear.
A Reserve can be placed on an artwork by going to the artwork's detail page and clicking on the Reserve button associated with the amount a Buyer is willing to pay. The Buyer will then be required to provide a shipping address and credit card information. If Serrace drops the price of the Artwork to the Buyer's Reserve price, FAE will automatically charge the Buyer's credit card the full amount of the purchase, including sales tax, if applicable, and the Buyer will be notified of his/her purchase.
If the full purchase amount exceeds the Buyer's credit card limit, FAE will charge 10% of the Reserved price to the credit card. The Buyer will receive an email from FAE with information on how to pay the remaining balance of 90%, along with applicable sales tax, via ACH or wire transfer. In accordance with the Shipping FAE user agreement, the balance must be paid within three business days from the date of purchase.
Once payment in full has been received by FAE, the Buyer will immediately be able to track the status of his/her Reservation under the Reservation History tab of the Account. The Dealer who placed the artwork on the FAE System will contact the Buyer to arrange for shipping.
What happens if another Buyer purchases or places a higher Reserve on an artwork?
If a Reserved artwork is purchased by another Buyer before it reaches its Reserved level, or a Reserve is placed on a Serrace level above the original Reserve, the Buyer who placed the lower Reserve will be notified by FAE that their Reserve is no longer active.
What happens if I cancel my Reserve?
As the inappropriate use of the Reserve system can affect another Buyer's interest in a work, the Buyer will be charged a fee equal to the greater of $150, or 10% of the Reserve price placed on the Artwork for canceling his/her Reserve. This fee will automatically be charged to the Buyer's credit card.
What if another Buyer initiates a purchase before my Reserve activates?
If a different Buyer initiates a purchase of a work just before it drops to a Reserve Serrace price, that Buyer's credit card purchase will have to be completed before the designated time of the drop to the Reserve or the Buyer who initiated the Reserve will automatically acquire the work.
Why are there two different FAE app Targets?
FAE Live View Target:
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FAE Room Target:
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Although the two app Targets used by FAE seem to perform the same function, the programs they provide information to are very different. Each target design is customized to provide the specific information needed by each program.
- The FAE Live View app Target shows how a selected artwork will look on a wall of the user's home or office by creating a real time image on the screen of an iOS device.
- The Rooms app Target is designed to be attached to a wall in a home or office so it can be incorporated into digital images of the room in which it was hung. When these images are uploaded onto the FAE site, user-selected artwork images can be placed over the target in the room images, and manipulated to appear as if they are really hanging on the wall in the room.
To see how to best use each of these targets, watch the tutorials on the front page of the FAE website, Two Ways to See Art in Your Room.
How am I sure the Live View and My Rooms Targets are printed correctly?
FAE Live View Target:
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The Live View Target should measure 7 inches on each side or 177.8mm. If it does not print within a tolerance of 1/16 of an inch, try printing at 100% with the printer's "scale to fit" or "fit to page" option unchecked.
FAE Room Target:
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This Rooms Target should measure 6 inches on each side or 152.4mm. If it does not print within a tolerance of 1/16 of an inch, try printing at 100% with the printer's "scale to fit" or "fit to page" option unchecked.
What are the Room Image specifications and limitations?
Room Images must contain a leveled and sharply focused Rooms Target and meet these specifications:
- File name must be less than 50 characters long
- In a JPEG format
- In the RGB color mode
- Less than 10 megabytes in size
Note:
The FAE image uploader will resize a large image down to 2,000 pixels on its largest dimension. Images uploaded smaller than 2,000 pixels will remain at the same pixel size they were initially.
How do I create the best possible Room Images?
For best results, follow these important tips:
- It is important that both the Target and the camera are level when taking a Room Image. To ensure that the camera is level, line up both sides of the camera's image viewer with a wall junction, a bookcase edge, the side of a window or any other vertical room element. When all vertical lines in the room and the sides of the image viewer are parallel, the camera is level.
- It is important that the Target is in sharp focus. After framing the intended shot, tap the FAE Target where it appears on the screen of an iPhone or iPad. A smaller focus box will appear around it. This focuses the camera in on the area of the Target. If the larger center focus box reappears, focus on the Target may be lost so tap the Target again to reset it.
- Do not photograph the Target straight on. The View creation app currently works best when the Target is photographed from an angle off axis from the perpendicular.
- Take multiple images of each Targeted wall from different locations in a room. This is insurance against an out of focus Target or a camera that was not level when an image was taken.
How do I level a Target if I do not have a level handy?
Creating a simple level using the side of the Target:
If a level is not available, a quick and easy make-shift level can be devised using:
- A small piece of clear magic tape
- A 14-inch length of thread
- A small paper clip, washer, safety pen, or anything that can be used to weight one end of the thread
- Tie one end of the thread to the weight.
- Tape the other end of the thread to the upper left or upper right side of the paper edge.
- Place the Target on the wall and rotate it until the edge of the Target and the thread are parallel.
- Tape the corners of Target down so it is flat to the wall.
(Although Post-it® notes or painter's tape work well on most surfaces, FAE recommends testing the tape before applying it to prevent marring a wall.)
What is a "pull date?"
The "pull date" refers to the exact date and time an unsold artwork is removed from the site and no longer available for purchase. Unsold works may or may not appear on the FAE website again.
How do I get back to where I was on the FAE website?
The back button is your best bet here. You should be able to return to were you were in previous pages by using the browser back button. To return to the default settings on a page, click on the menu item for that page.
How many Projects can be created per account?
Although there is no limit to the number of Projects, Rooms, Views, or Saved Searches you can create, FAE recommends deleting Projects or Project elements that are inactive to keep your workspace less cluttered.
Why should I sign up for Mobile Alerts?
If a user signs up for any FAE Alert, by default, they will receive the Alert via the email address they used to log onto the site. There is an option to also receive text Alerts in My Account/Profile for Mobile Alerts. These are faster and more reliable, as they are not susceptible to spam filters and other issues related to email use. There is a test feature that we recommend using to be sure that the connection between the website and mobile number is active. The user can stop Alerts from being sent for a period of time by unchecking the Send Mobile Alerts box.
How do Alerts work?
Artwork Alerts:
Artwork Alerts relate to a specific artwork and can be activated by clicking on the Alarm Clock icon, located on the icon bar under any active artwork thumbnail. Placing an Alert on an artwork in Browse Art will automatically place the work into ArtTracker; however, removal of an Alert will not remove the artwork from ArtTracker, so this will have to be done manually.
An artwork Alert may be edited by clicking the highlighted alarm clock icon and checking or unchecking the options. Unchecking all the boxes and saving will remove all Alerts to that artwork and the icon will no longer be highlighted.
Alerts can also be removed in My Account/Alerts.
Saved Search Alerts:
In Guided Search, any combination of selected search criteria may be saved, named, and assigned to a Project/s. An Alert can also be set at this time that will rerun the search on one of the specified Alert schedules. If any new works have come onto the site since the Alert was last run that meet the saved search criteria, FAE will Alert the user via email or text with a link to view the newly added works. From My Account/Saved Searches, any saved search can be edited or deleted.
Why should I save a Search?
One of the most powerful tools FAE has made available is the Saved Search. From the Guided Search Screen, a user is able to create complex searches and save them. While saving the search, the user will be able to:
- Name the search
- Apply an Alert to the search that will rerun the search on a predetermined schedule
- Create a new Project, or connect the search to other, already active Projects
To rerun a Saved Search manually, go to Guided Search and use the drop down list in the upper left to select a Search. The newest works added to the site that meet the search criteria will appear at the top of the search column.
A named Saved Search can be edited by selecting a Search, adding or removing attributes, and then saving the search again. Also, under My Account/Saved Searches, a user can, edit, delete, or run any of their Saved Searches. Even if there are no matching artwork records in the FAE database that meet your search criteria when saved, if set, an Alert will let you know when a work has been added that does.
What is ArtTracker?
ArtTraker should be thought of as a favorites list. Works can easily be added or removed from ArtTracker by clicking on the Heart Icon on the icon bar beneath each active thumbnail. A user can filter by Project and by artist to quickly determine which artworks of interest are in danger of being removed from the active site.
What is My Rooms?
My Rooms is where images of Rooms that have been uploaded to the site, via the Add-a-Room uploader or directly from the FAE Mobile App, are stored. Each of these Room Images should incorporate a leveled FAE Rooms Target, clearly visible where an artwork is desired.
For best results, Room Images should be carefully composed making sure
- The Target is in sharp focus
- The camera is level*
- The camera is level*
*A camera can be leveled by lining up the left and right sides of the camera's preview screen with vertical elements in the room such as a window frame, edge of a book case, a door frame, or corner of the room. When these elements are seen to be parallel with the sides of the camera, it is level.
All images should be less than 10 MB in size and be in a JPEG format. The FAE program will size the image to 2,000 pixels at its longest dimension.
What is My Views?
My Views is where Views are stored. A "View" is a Room Image that incorporates a Target, over which an artwork image from ArtTracker appears in proper scale and perspective. This combined image makes it easy to see how an artwork will look in most any room environment.
Although creating a View can be initiated from several other places on the website, this is where all Views can be reviewed, edited, attached or unattached to Projects and be shared. If there is an artwork image in ArtTracker and a photographed Room Image incorporating a target in My Rooms, they can be combined by clicking "Create New View" in the upper right corner of the My Views page.
What is a Project?
FAE created the "Project" to establish relationships between various elements of the website. Each Project carries a user-defined name or title used to link together selected works of art in ArtTracker; selected Rooms in My Rooms; selected Views in My Views; and selected Saved Searches in Guided Search. In the main menu tab titled Projects, FAE provides a Project Dashboard for Buyers to monitor and edit their Projects.
How to create one or more Projects:
By clicking the Heart or Folder Icon under any active artwork's thumbnail image, Buyers have the option to add and/or assign a Project as the artwork is copied to ArtTracker. Projects can be assigned or unassigned as needed from the folder icon.
A Project can also be added, assigned or unassigned while editing a Saved Search in Guided Search (located in Browse Art). No matter where a new Project is created, once it is saved, it appears in all Project locations until the entire Project is deleted from the Projects page.
How to name a Project:
Although any name can be used when creating a Project, FAE recommends using a name that relates to a specific client and location. For example, if the Project name "Smith LR – Over Fireplace" is assigned to any artwork, Room, View or Saved Search; each is then associated with the Smith's Living Room.
How to use the Project page:
By clicking the Project tab, located on the Main Menu bar, users can view a list of all active Projects with the most recent Project addition on top. Clicking on a specific Project will bring up its Detail Page. Users then see filmstrip overviews of every artwork, Room, and View, along with a list of all Saved Searches assigned to the Project.
What elements make up a Project?
ArtTracker:
Artwork images in this filmstrip are from ArtTracker. Unassigned artworks can be assigned to this Project, previously assigned artworks can be unassigned, and Buyers can see the Artwork Detail Page for any artwork.
My Rooms:
Room Images in this filmstrip are from My Rooms. Unassigned rooms can be assigned to this Project and previously assigned rooms can be unassigned.
My Views:
Views in this filmstrip are from My Views. A new View can be created here by selecting an artwork image in the ArtTracker filmstrip, then selecting a Room Image from the My Rooms filmstrip, and clicking on the "New" button above the My Views filmstrip. Also, unassigned Views can be assigned to the Project, and previously assigned Views can be unassigned.
Saved Searches:
Searches listed here were originally saved in Guided Search (accessed through the Browse Art page). A selected Saved Search can be run from here and then edited. It can also be added or removed from the Project. To delete a Saved Search, go to My Account/Saved Searches and click the delete button.
Note:
This is where client or Project notes can be kept. Notes created here, once saved, cannot be deleted or edited while the Project remains but will disappear, along with the rest of the Project, when it is deleted.
How do I delete elements of, or an entire Project?
Removing any item from a Project will "unassign" it from that specific Project, but will not remove the item from any other Project to which it was also assigned. If no other Project was assigned to the item, it will appear as unassigned.
The same occurs if an entire Project is deleted. Deleting a Project will "unassign" it from all connected items, but the items will remain connected to other assigned Projects.
The Project folder located on the icon bar beneath the thumbnail image of each artwork, Room or View turns gray in color when it is unassigned. The folder is highlighted when the artwork has been assigned to one or more Projects. Saved Searches can be removed from a Project, edited or deleted in My Account/Saved Searches or in Guided Search.