I’ve got into the habit of posting a regular article about the latest sales of my artwork – not particularly to brag, but to remind me what is popular among my collectors. It is always difficult to know what will catch the eye of someone looking for a print for their wall (or a jigsaw puzzle) and the ones that I think are dramatic and interesting don’t always (or often) end up in a shopping cart and finally on someone’s wall! So, these articles can be seen as a combination of my efforts on social media and the prints that strike a chord for someone.
I spend some time on social media – hopefully not so much as to allow it to rule my life – and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and now Mastodon. Even better, you could sign up for my newsletter and be the first to hear of new stories and posts.
December was another good month for sales with 13 different products being ordered. One was mug, there were three jigsaw puzzles, and the rest were prints of various sizes and designs. The most popular print was this panorama of the overlook at Coopers Rock State Forest near Morgantown in West Virginia. Almost Heaven, indeed:
This image was taken in October of this year using my drone flying over the canyon looking towards the sunrise. I tend to go to the overlook early in the morning, partly for the rising sun, but also because few people are there, and I don’t want to annoy anyone. One person from Ohio and one from Lynchburg, VA will soon have this wide panorama on their walls!
My social media efforts must obviously be working well with people with an interest in West Virginia, as I also sold another print looking down towards the river in the distance taken in 2020:
This one will end up on the wall in Oakland California. West Virginia lovers can be found anywhere!
Move just a few feet and you find this view of the overlook itself which was sold as a jigsaw puzzle:
And then move just a little further and we see this panorama of Cheat Lake itself. This was one of the earliest images I took when I moved to Morgantown in 2016 and is “sort of” the view I have from my home. I say “sort of” because I went down towards the lake and stood at the top of an eight-foot stepladder to see above the trees and then removed the electrical wires that seem to hang across every view in the USA. I have this one as a metal print in my home, so I was definitely pleased to see someone in Pittsburgh, PA will be able to look at it every day!
And finally, another collector decided that this view of Woodburn Hall at West Virginia University would make a nice gift perhaps? This was a large print on canvas and went to a buyer from Crofton, MD.
From one small part of the world, we leap across to the city of Xiamen in China where a buyer from Austin, Texas purchased a print of my digital watercolor of the skyline of Xiamen:
Heading back towards the USA, my digital artwork was chosen by a buyer from Nathrop, CO of this lonely turtle on the beach at Moloa’a on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The original photo was OK, but I thought this warmer digital painting treatment made for a nicer bit of wall art, but this was actually ordered as a jigsaw puzzle. Pretty tricky I would have thought!
Finally, I sold one of my railway images of the Western Maryland Railroad from Cumberland to Frostburg to a collector from North Potomac in Maryland. I took this way back in 2011 when we took a photographer’s day on the railway with the opportunity to get off and capture the train racing by. An excellent trip!
Thank you to all these people who have chosen my images to decorate their homes or offices!
My prints are available with free shipping in the US and Canada from Pictorem and also from Pixels/Fine Art America where many other products are available. Both sites offer a 30-day money-back guarantee to make sure you are completely satisfied.
Alexios N.
31 Dec 2022Congrats Steve! Your West Virginia photos with fall colors look great! Wish you a happy new year!
Steve Heap
31 Dec 2022Thanks Alexios! Yes, I seem to have a market for WV images! Happy new year to you!
Steve Estvanik
31 Dec 2022Like the way the train splits the landscape into green & brown! Were you riding on the coal tender or one of the freight cars? Great you got to get the shot. On the steam train down from Darjeeling, local kids (& some trekkers) would jump off on one of the steep switchbacks & run down to jump on again at the next curve
Steve Heap
31 Dec 2022No, the train had proper carriages and we all got off, took up our positions as the train reversed and then it came back up the line as we took photos and videos. Then it came back for us! It was all planned for photographers.
Bob Decker
31 Dec 2022Congratulations on the sales. You’re hard work is paying off. I’m often surprised by images that people choose to purchase. In your case they all seem like obviously good choices.
Steve Heap
2 Jan 2023Thanks Bob – it is interesting to see. I obviously am developing a nice market around my area of West Virginia. I need to build on that knowledge!
Loren
4 Jan 2023They’re all beautiful images! Congratulations on your well deserved sales!
Steve Heap
4 Jan 2023Thanks Loren! It was a good December to be sure. Hope you are keeping well!
Bill Swartwout
20 Jan 2023I am not surprised that you sold a nice variety of prints in December. I can also understand why your West Virginia work is becoming popular – you have some outstanding photographs there.