by admin | Feb 19, 2015 | Contest
The big exciting thing this week is that I began another Sculpture Giveaway. This is my third sculpture giveaway and I thought I should take some time to clear things up. There are two questions on everyone’s mind when I run one of these contests. Well maybe more, but two major questions are:
1)Why are you giving your sculpture away?
2)I want it! How can I get it?
Today I would like to answer these questions and give a few other insights along the way.
Why are you giving your sculpture away?
Well… there are lots of reasons. One of them is because I want to spread my artwork as far as I can. I am a believer that my artwork is only finished once it finds an owner who can appropriate it. I understand that my work does not fit everyone price point. Not everyone can afford to spend thousands of dollars on a bronze. Or even $500 on a bonded sand piece. I have many fans that would like to buy my artwork but just can’t afford it right now. This gives those fans a chance to own some of my artwork. Not only that but it makes me feel good knowing that my artwork is going to a good home! The two people who have won my sculptures so far have been very appreciative.
“Sure Daniel… that all sounds good an noble but why are you really giving your sculptures away? What’s in it for you” Okay, you got me. there are some benefits for me other then the good feelings I get doing it. When I give away a sculpture I gain many new fans. New fans means new buyers. This is a great way for me to be noticed and have my work shared around the internet. Many of you reading this blog might have found out about me through one of my sculpture giveaways. This is a way to advertize myself and my artwork. My hope is that my fans gained from my contests will someday become collectors of my work.
I want it! How can I get it!
This question comes in many different forms and is motivated by many different things. Some people want to know how they can increase their chance of winning while others want me to just pick them because we are “buddies” (I actually just had someone ask me this today.) If you are wanting to increase your chance of winning I can give you some suggestions. First you need to enter. You can do that by clicking HERE. The contest is set up in such a way to encourage sharing. You get one entry when you fill out the entry form but you get two entries every time a friend enters from your share link. Both of the previous winners were people who had shared the contest and received multiple entries. Yes there still is a chance you could be picked with just one entry but it is not as likely.
The best way to share is to use the share buttons on the page just after you enter the contest. The buttons are green and can be found at the bottom of the page. You can share this contest as much as you like. You could share it on your wall every day. This would not only help you have a higher chance of winning but it will also inform your friends about a cool contest, and it will help me out at the same time.
If you are wanting me to pick you over everyone else simply because you think I should, I can’t help you. See, not only does the app that I use to run the contest pick the winner at random for me. I wouldn’t do it even if I could. That would defeat the whole concept of the contest and would make it unfair for everyone involved. I want you and the rest of my fans to trust me.
So there you go! That is why I do it and how you can get it. One more question you might be wondering.
If you can afford to give away your sculptures for free why do you sell them for so much more?
Great question! The answer is simple. The sculptures I give away are not the same quality as the work I sell. The work I sell is made of high quality bronze (which is a very costly and labor intensive process) or Bonded Sand. Both are durable and high quality materials. The sculptures I giveaway are made of plaster. Plaster is great for reproducing work and is an inexpensive material, but it is not as strong and durable as the materials I sell my other work for. Some people would have me sell them plaster casts of all of my work. Something you need to understand is that although plaster less expensive it is still just as labor intensive for me. When I give away a sculpture I am working for free. I don’t regularly make plaster casts because I have a reputation to keep. When people talk about me I want them to say “He’s that artist that makes those amazing bronze figure sculptures” not, “He’s the one who makes those cheap plaster figure sculptures.”
So What?
So is it working? Are you enjoying the sculpture giveaways? I love to do them but it only works if people share and hopefully purchase. The fact of the matter is I can’t make a living giving away my artwork no matter how much I would like to. If you haven’t already, I invite you to consider starting an art collection of your own. And of course I invite you to include my work in that collection. You can see my sculptures available to purchase HERE.
By becoming one of my collectors you can help ensure that I continue to do my sculpture giveaways.
Remember! Subscribers to my email list get 25% off their first purchase from my site. You can sign up for my email list HERE.
I also offer payment plans for those of you interested. Just ask.
Very shortly I plan on offering many new relief sculptures for sale in bonded sand. Stay tuned.
Tell me what you think.
Have you entered the contest yet? Have you shared it? Do you have any suggestions to make the contest better?
by admin | Feb 5, 2015 | Artist Bio
This week I am going to break away from my regular format of updating you on the artistic things I did this week, and instead I am going to tell you a story. This is a personal and true story and in it I am going to talk about my childhood, and something that I struggled with as a child. I’m going to talk about God, and a little bit about art. You won’t see many pictures (Like the one below, which is only in this post because it is a picture of me when I was in High School) but if you read it to the end, I think it will be worth your time.
The Band Alter Ego, Comprised of Patrick Collier, Daniel Borup, and Jeff Stafford.
This was my band in High School.
I have been thinking about this story because this week I have been working on writing a new artist Bio. The one I currently have on my website is alright. But I don’t really feel like it tells my story. So I have been thinking about the person I am and who I used to be and the things that have happened in my life that have made me into the person I am today.
When I was younger I had what would be now called “Learning Disabilities” I am glad that I didn’t grow up in this day and age because the school system may have put me in special classes and gave me special help which although really does help many children I don’t feel like it would have been good for me.
My struggles mostly involved reading, and because everything other subject requires reading I also struggled in Math Science and History in addition to my English classes and anything involving writing. For quite some time I felt like I was stupid. In fact, Art was the only thing I was ever really good at. It was the only part of my life that I didn’t feel like I was lacking in something.
It didn’t help growing up with smart siblings either. To me it appeared like my oldest brother Breezed through school and didn’t really have to try to get good grades. All his teachers loved him; he was put in gifted and talented classes, and could do no wrong. My sister just younger than him would sometimes come home and talk about the test she had failed. Later I figured out that to her a B+ meant she was failing. My other brother was a certified genius. He had actually taken the tests to get into MENSA, the smart people organization. Needless to say, as the youngest child, I had a lot to live up to. I’m sure that they had struggles in their own way. But the point is, I felt pretty inferior when I compared myself to them.
Luckily my parents did a really good job of not comparing me to my older siblings. They would help me where I needed help and tried to cultivate my strengths. My parents were buying my oil paints when I was in 5th grade. They encouraged me to enter art shows at a very young age. My mother would read with me, play Phonics games with me, and constantly tell me I could do hard things. When I say constantly I mean constantly. Sometimes I would walk into a room and She would look me in the eye and say “Daniel, You can do hard things.” The funny thing is that I eventually believed her… I still do.
Eventually something clicked. My mother’s constant support and belief in me helped but it was more than that. It was God comforting me. One day I heard a scripture. This scripture said:
“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” –Ether 12:27
Wow! How powerful is that? To think that God cared about me enough to help me make one of my weaknesses into one of my strengths! Was it really possible? The stage was set and I was determined to learn to read. God was speaking to me and telling me the answers to my struggles. I did a lot of praying and a lot of scripture reading, and ultimately increased my faith in God. Soon enough I wasn’t half bad at reading. I could get through my Homework and it didn’t take me hours to do. I graduated High School and got accepted to college.
Because I didn’t do very well in my high school English classes, the college I went to made me take remedial English classes before I could do anything else. During that class I had to take a few reading and comprehension tests. I found out that I was reading at a Junior in college reading level! In about a years time and lots of help from God, I had changed from someone who dreaded being called on to read out loud, To someone who could read as well as a junior in college! If that isn’t miracle right there I don’t know what is. “You can do hard things” my mom would tell me. And she was right.
Not only did I get better at reading. I also started to enjoy it! I started reading fiction for fun. I started taking more English classes. I actually declared my minor as English Education. I passed the English Praxis Test certifying me to teach English in the state of Idaho!
Now how does this apply to me as an artist? Well, what am I doing right now? I am writing. I write a weekly blog about my art and I enjoy it. This is something I would have never thought I would be doing 15 years ago. I wanted to be an artist so I wouldn’t have to do things like read and write. Boy was I wrong. In fact I would say between being a Public School Teacher and being an Artist. I write way more as an artist then I ever have to as a Teacher. I apply for art calls, apply for grants, apply for shows, create content for my website and write weekly blog posts. All of these things require a lot of reading and writing. Without Gods help with reading I know I would not be the artist I am today. Am I a good writer? Well… that’s up for debate, but I do it, and isn’t that what really matters?
This is struggle I had in my life has had a very profound effect on me in my life. It is one of my defining moments. It makes me who I am, and it comes out in my artwork. Much of my work deals with human struggles and the strength of the human spirit in overcoming those struggles.
I hope that my story and my artwork will inspire you to be strong. To turn towards God, however you view him, and accept his help in your life. If I can help inspire with my art then I will have completed my mission in my life.
What do you think? Have you had similar struggles in your life? Can Art really inspire people to overcome their struggles? Has this story or my artwork helped and inspired you?
by admin | Jan 22, 2015 | Artist weekly Log, Progress Pictures
The start of this week was filled again with being a stay at home Dad while my wife was one a trip to Florida. Although much of my days were taken up with entertaining my children, on some nights I was able to get them in bed early enough for me to do some of my own artwork.
The first thing I started was a relief sculpture of The Good Samaritan. This sculpture is not at all complete by any means but it is far enough along that you should get a good idea of what it will look like. I still have yet to sculpt eyes, hands, toes, the background, and many other details. I will show the progress as it comes
Good Samaritan Sculpture By Daniel Borup Progress Picture
This is one of my favorite bible stories, I think it is a message that can apply to everyone, Christian or not. It teaches that we should treat everyone as our neighbor no matter what differences we might have. I hope that in the end that it will inspire people to be more like the Good Samaritan and treat each other as our neighbors.
The title of this post is The Good Samaritan VS. The Cyborg Yeti. I don’t mean to pin these two in some sort of cage match or anything but some other artwork I did this week was of a Cyborg Yeti. A skateboard company in Boise Idaho called Board Pusher does a monthly design contest. Although I don’t usually enter these contests I thought this one would be fun. I am a fan of the 1950’s Monster Movie Posters, and this was inspired by them. They usually feature a cool monster taking off with a beautiful damsel in a nightgown or something of the sort. Sometimes I do projects like this to change things up a little. One night this week in particular, I needed a break from the more serious Good Samaritan and so I did a Cyborg Yeti.
Cyborg Yeti By Daniel Borup
This was fun and there is a chance I might win a longboard with this printed on it and little money.
I started back at school and my week has been pretty full of getting my classes up and going after having a Sub.
Until next week may you all be inspired and creative.
Daniel Borup
