Art on the Bay

a cooperative program of the

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and the St. Michaels Art League

 

INFORMATION FOR ARTISTS

Art on the Bay is a cooperative program
of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) and SMAL to:

• enhance the experience of visitors to the museum by having artists painting plein air on the museum campus each Saturday during the prime months of May through October.
• sell original CBMM, nautical and Eastern Shore oriented art in the museum Gift Shop
• expand opportunities for the Art League members to show and sell their work
• and potentially to use original images for other merchandise sold at the CBMM Gift Shop.

Art on the Bay has several distinct segments.

Monthly Plein Air Painters

Volunteer artists from the Art League are invited to paint plein air anytime! In fact, plein air painting is seen as a draw to enhancing the visitor experience. For that reason we may paint on-site with no admission charge.

• Hours – The museum opens at 10 am, and it is best if artists can be working on their art in the window from 10am to 3 pm. Artists may arrive earlier to catch the early morning light if desired. The gate between the main entrance and the gift shop is unlocked. Of course, they may work later if desired including night times.
• Sales – The plein air artists may sell the piece being worked on and may also bring several completed pieces to set by their easel and offer for sale. Paintings brought for sale shall have a tag showing the artist’s name, title, medium and sales price. Sales will be handled by the museum Gift Shop including credit card charges and collection and payment of sales tax. The artist may give the tag to the purchaser to go to the Gift Shop to effect the purchase or accompany the buyer there with the work.
• Commissions – The art sales will be subject to a 20% commission which will be split between CBMM and SMAL. The gift shop will send a reconciliation of sales monthly and a check less their 10% commission, to SMAL at PO Box 1215, St Michaels, MD 21663. SMAL will in turn send payment to each artist with sales that month. The artists do not need to report sales tax on the sales as it is being done by CBMM.
• Painting List – Artists who bring several paintings for sale must provide a list of the painting to the Gift Shop, on the Saturday that they are working, with the information on the tags. There are no size or framing standards for art brought by the artist other than that the subject material should be appropriate for the bay or Eastern Shore.

Original Art in the Gift Shop

The CBMM Gift Shop wishes to re-establish the offering of original artwork provided by members of the St. Michaels Art League. we have been showing our work at the shop since 2021.

Walter Urbanek (walt.urbanek@gmail.com) will keep a list of interested SMAL artists and assign them to one or more months which will vary according to expected monthly visitor volume. He will inform you at least a month in advance of your selection. Artists must be current with their SMAL annual dues.

Two artists will be drawn randomly at a time. Each artist may provide up to three pieces each. the Gift Shop may choose to display some or all of them at a time.

• Standards –
  • Framing – All art will be appropriately framed with hanging wire (no saw-toothed hangers). Art using extra deep stretched canvas may be unframed if the sides are fully wrapped and painted.
  • Label – A tag must be attached with the artist’s name, title of the painting, medium and sales price.
  • Original – All art for sale must be the original work of the artist. No prints or giclees.
  • Size – Art provided for sale in the Gift Shop may be no larger than 20” in any dimension including the frame.
• Commissions – As with the art sold by plein air painters, sales will be subject to a 20% commission split between CBMM and SMAL. The Gift Shop will handle all sales including collecting and paying the sales tax, and will send 90% of the art price to SMAL which will pay the artist’s share.
• Drop-off/Pick-up – Deliver your artwork to the CBMM Gift Shop starting the first day of the month(s) you are assigned. Take down is by the last day of the moth(s) assigned.
• Deliver to the gift shop with a filled out SMAL identification card containing your name, artwork’s title, media and price.  Copy the same information on a separate paper so the Museum can enter your artwork into their stock system.

 

Merchandising

The Gift Shop may desire to merchandise some of the original art offered in the Gift Shop, printing images on such items as coffee mugs, shirts or similar items. The Gift Shop will buy any art that they desire to merchandise for 80% of the price as with other sales. SMAL will take no commissions on items bought by the Gift Shop for resale or merchandising. By selling a painting to the CBMM Gift Shop the artist recognizes the CBMM’s right to use the image in prints or on other merchandise as they desire.

 

Please address any questions to:

Walter Urbanek (walt.urbanek@gmail.com)