Insane Imaginings, Random Reveries & Other Creative Cogitation

One job that I really stink at and I think I could improve upon is marketing me.  This blog is an extension of that effort, at least as far as adding visible, search-able, timely content online.

But what have I learned over the years?

No. 1 – Always be ready with the 30-second commercial.  Whenever you meet new people you need to be able to convey who you are and what you do in 30 seconds or less.  Practice it in front of the mirror and get it nailed down.

• Mine depends on whether I am marketing my day job as a knowledgeable small business tax accountant, OR my acrylic abstract representational art & magical realism to my prospective clients.  I don’t bring up both unless it happens to come up in subsequent conversation.
• If price point is an issue then I also have tailored commentary aimed at selling trinkets, such as greeting cards, refrigerator magnets and greeting cards based on my original art designs as well.
• The point is to know your audience and what message you are trying to convey to them before you open your mouth and be prepared with a short spiel that addresses this concern.
• Toward this end look for cues from you customers about what they are interested in – follow their eyes, ask them what they want, then listen to their answers and get them engaged in conversation.

No. 2 – He who quotes price first loses.  When it comes to selling my art I try to get my consumers to tell me what they think my art is worth rather than the other way around.  For trinkets though I am willing to lose as my time also has value.

No. 3 – Always have marketing materials on hand.  I usually carry around glossy business cards with an image of my art on the front and my contact information on the back. (I have accounting business cards too…) On the back of my art business cards, I have left a space on the back so I can make notes for my prospects on the card I give them if required.  I have several versions and I usually let my potential patrons select from among my jewels.  It is also a great way to find out which of my images is more popular at the moment as well.

• In addition to the business card, I also carry postcards and full-sized glossy brochures around with me too. Whether you actually need these kinds of materials is another question, but I do think that business cards are a minimum requirement.
• Whenever I sell art, a print, or my trinkets, etc. the buyer always gets another business card.  If I sell something major I will likely throw in a “gift” of a postcard too.
• Marketing materials should be up-to-date.  So rather than getting 1000 of a single card, which may be dated in a short period of time, spend a little bit extra on the upload fees and buy lesser amounts.
• I use Adobe Photoshop and a digital camera to create my marketing materials, I have found that the time and money I spent on getting good photographs and producing good marketing materials is worth the effort.
  • Digital cameras facilitate the transfer of images directly to your computer; you won’t have to scan them in. When I purchased my high-resolution digital SLR camera – it paid for itself with the first 20 images I took.  I have used it to create hundreds of images since then.
  • If you are a do-it-yourselfer, then you will want to learn how to take good pictures, learn basic image manipulation skills such as resizing, setting up different file types (.tif, .jpg, .gif), and learn how to place text on your marketing images.

I have no affiliation with Adobe, I just happen to have used their products for more than a decade.

• Most printers, online or otherwise will supply a template of what is required in order for them to print what you want.    Get these templates and use them to help you with your layout.  I use VistaPrint.com, which will allow you to upload images & place text for customizing your brochure or whatever.  I have never designed a product online at VistaPrint.com, but merely have uploaded my completed designs so I don’t know how well the online stuff works.  I have no affiliation with VistaPrint.com; I have just used their services for several years.  I have found them reasonably priced and satisfactory; YMMV.
• You may print your own business cards etc to good effect, but most home-printed jobs do lack the appeal of professionally printed materials.  Of course I understand that you may be operating on a limited budget, but if possible splurge on the glossy, full-color, card stock materials.

No. 4 – Know when to shut up.  Observe shoppers and learn the cues about when they are ready to buy and then let it happen.  If someone comes to you as a referral and already has an object in mind the sale may already be made, but you can kill it by talking the buyer to death.

No. 5 – The customer is not always right.  20% of your customers will take up 80% of your time.  If an eighty-percenter is also extremely budget-conscious you really should evaluate whether you want to do business with them.  Often times these eighty-percenters will be the same buyers who will create headaches after the sale, expressing continuing dissatisfaction with their purchase.  On tip-off is a shopper who does not know what they really want.  Be on the lookout for high-maintenance clientele and then figure out a way to diplomatically tell them to shove off.

To have a website or not? I have one and I think they are a good idea for any business.  Sometimes people will just want to be able to go somewhere and find out more about you.  If you do not have an online presence then you may be missing out on would-be contacts who may shop elsewhere if they perceive they have more knowledge about your competitors than you.

• There are venues where you can post your current designs and talk about yourself and have a linkable online address, such as MySpace.com, so there is no requirement to actually pay for a website if you are willing to work with what is out there.  I am not affiliated with MySpace.com, but I do have a MySpace.com page as jakebeckman.
• But for a little bit of money you can create a 1 to 5 page website at many places for a reasonable price – many of these services have prepackaged designs you can just plug your material into.  I don’t do that, but I do understand that many people do not possess the skill set to
• If you want to have a domain all your own then I recommend getting it separately from someplace like GoDaddy.com then pointing it to your website – why? Because some unscrupulous “free” webhosts will gladly set up a domain for you, but if you decide to change webhosts they may decide not to release your domain to you and any branding you may have developed with your domain goes out the window.  I am not affiliated with Godaddy.com but I have several domains listed with them.

Those are a few of the things I have learned over the years. Now it’s your turn to speak up. What have you learned? I would love to hear some other ideas about how you promote yourself as an artist.

Yours in Art,

-Jake

Artist, AKAJake.com Come Experience the Art!

PS. I am still looking for Sponsors & Contributing Patrons to help me pay the estimated $8000 it is going to cost me to attend this event.  Every little bit helps.

I have been called by other artists traveling to the Biennial & asked about hotels in Florence, shipping etc.  Since I have done my research I am posting the information here.  Given the sheer number of hotels in downtown Florence I get the feeling it has gone the way of Venice.  People don’t live there, they only work there.  Most of the occupants of the city on any given day are probably tourists these days.  I am also posting my research on flying as well. 

Although I could have booked my hotel through the hotel site itself, I opted for my travel agent instead.  Since I am an American Automobile Association (AAA) member so it makes sense for me to use them; I like the one-stop shopping thing: hotel, airfare, trip insurance etc.   Your experience with regard to using an travel agent may vary.  But even with a travel agent I did my homework first.  For example I really do not like traveling through most the major US hubs (Atlanta, JFK, DFW, Chicago etc.) if I can avoid it.  Also I could request that my connecting flights be in the same terminal, get decent lay-over times, and book aisle seats. It is a challenge performing all that via an airline website; often times if you get the out-bound trip the way you want it, you often will find the in-bound side is a complete nightmare & booking each half separately tends to really inflate the cost.   Given the sheer number of hotels in Florence, I did need to narrow down the field some before booking a hotel as well.  For me price, location and amenities, in that order, were important. 

Airport Research:  Try Googling “<airport name or city> airport reviews”.  The following websites may be useful too.  

•  SleepingInAirports.net  is a hoot to read. 
• Also check out http://www.airlinequality.com/Airports/apt_forum.htm.

Airline Research: consider http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/seats.htm

Hotel Research: When I went to research hotels in Florence I found the following sites useful:

• booking.com where you can put in the city, check-in/check-out dates, refine your search by star rating, facilities, hotel type, hotel theme, and district.  
• nyceflorence.com which has a handy little map so you can get close to the whatever landmark you desire – in my case the Fortezza da Basso  in addition to price, star rating & check-in/check-out dates. 
• I used hotel reviews at Expedia.com, to validate my impressions once I got some hotel ideas. 
• I hear that Utell properties are often recommended by overseas travelers according to my travel agent. 

I have quite accidentally and  ironically settled on the Hotel Arizona (ironic because I am a resident of Arizona).  It is about 1 mile from the Fortezza.  I am not averse to walking so this distance does not seem extreme to me and besides Florence has the reputation of being a great walking city.  Whether that holds true or not remains to be seen.  There were at least two other hotels which were a bit closer that I did consider: Hotel Basilea and Hotel Sempione but in the end Hotel Arizona won out in my research by a hair.  All of these hotels are 3-star hotels. For some that may be just a bit too high-end for others way too budget oriented, which is why your own research is required for validation. 

Initially I had a lovely flight set up with Lufthansa, but something happened in the booking, it could not be fixed and the price had just about doubled otherwise.  Now I am flying Delta Airlines & partners, which turned out to a little bit less expensive so I used the difference in price to buy trip insurance. 

Trip insurance: I decided this trip was too important not to have it.  It covers many things including benefits relating to lost or delayed luggage, replacement flights, hotels at connecting airports when flights are delayed cancel, since I included my hotel, it has a replacement hotel benefit as well.  I am traveling in winter which may present some weather related challenges.  Still, I consider trip insurance more of an incantation to be performed to ensure a good travel experience.  You may or may not think it is necessary.  My insurance is through Access America – I think I received a discount because of my AAA membership. 

For the record I do not have any business relationship with any of the airports, hotels, airlines, or websites mentioned herein, nor do I have a business relationship with AAA or Access America. I am not specifically recommending any airline, hotel, or website as I have little to no experience with them.  I do enjoy my AAA membership, but as with all such things, you have to use it to get your money’s worth.  I cannot say whether Access America trip insurance is good or bad as I have never filed a claim with them. 

Good luck in your travels and I hope to see you in Italy.

Yours in Art,

-Jake

Artist, AKAJake.com Come Experience the Art!

PS. I am still looking for Sponsors & Contributing Patrons to help me pay the estimated $8000 it is going to cost me to attend this event.  Every little bit helps.

In as much as I am deconstructing my canvases in hopes of getting the bag length + height + width under 62 inches so I don’t incur the over-sized bag fee, I have been researching possible containers for the art.  Since my stretcher bars are over-sized the packaging is not going to be carry-on because of the length issue-I am avoiding the use of cardboard, pressed-paper type tubes as I do not think these will be durable enough to survive the baggage monkeys.  Since I have done the research into long hard sided bags I am posting it.  Please remember as you read this that I am not affiliated with any of these vendors nor am I specifically endorsing their products. I have never used them. My first thought was sports bags, which quickly devolved to gun bags (golf bags are too long to meet the under 62 inch thing).  The hard sided gun bags I found that will accommodate something 36 inches long and still make the airline baggage size limit:

• Plano Molding Company makes several gun bags that may fit the bill, Model 1437 is an aluminum case, Model 10101 is plastic and Model 10303 is also plastic.  Go on line and enter Plano & the model number to research prices.  I found them from $76 to $150 each. If you have something slightly shorter they do have a really inexpensive bag 153500 which has an inside dimension of 35 inches which retails $31-$42.  I was bummed that it was just a wee bit to short for my needs. There are other plastic cases made by Plano which are still reasonable which have lengths up to about 53 inches, which would incur the over-sized bag fee but which the airlines would still likely carry for you as checked bags. I found these bags at Amazon, OpticsPlanet and many “case” dealers.  PlanoMolding.com is not easy to navigate although certain search terms will take you to a specific page that lists their gun cases (and archery cases).
• Pelican Bag (casesbypelican.com/thepelicanstore.com/pelican-case.com etc.) makes one bag that may fit the bill, Model 1700 – the least expensive one I found was $155 without the foam packing. Pelican also makes a longer bag.  These are very tough waterproof, shockproof, industrial-grade cases.
• Chicago Case (chicagocase.com) makes one Model 37135 – the least expensive one I found was $150.  Googling Chicago Case gun case will lead you to a plethora of legal actions/court cases involving firearms – which makes looking for their bag at vendors bit tougher. Chicago Case also makes bags in other dimensions.
• Americase makes a model 4012 which retails from $188. Americase also makes bags in other dimensions.
• In addition to these vendors who had bags that fit my specs there were others who had larger or smaller bags that didn’t suit my needs, but may suit yours.   skbcases.com, tzcase.com, hfc airsoft rifle cases etc.

Next up, tubular storage:  I Googled things like art storage tube, art shipping tube, telescoping shipping tube, large diameter plastic shipping tube, sometimes the results of a search suggest modifiers you can use to expand your search.  I found a lot of tubes for blue prints and wound up at some drafting supply places, but they would likely work equally well.  Most of these tubes are 3″ in diameter.  It is somewhat harder to find larger diameters and they do tend to be a lot more expensive than the smaller tubes – but I did find one 6″-diameter telescoping tube that was really cheap.  Please remember I have not tried any of these products, I don’t know the vendors etc.  This is just information to give you an idea about where to look.

• Village Supplies (artstuff.net) has a telescoping tube with a 6 inch interior diameter telescoping from 29 to 48 inches that retails for $17.
• I found a Plano Molding expandable tube designed for fishing rods that is at least 5 inches in diameter, and telescopes from 47 to 88 inches.  It retails locally for about $56, and I found it on Amazon too.
• Alvin Co. (alvinco.com) makes several products, Aluminum tubes retailing for $35  to $45, clear plastic (ice) tubes retailing for $12 to $16 of lengths up to 43 inches (these are clear plastic tubes so I was thinking if I wind up with a soft sided bag they would be useful as the customs would be able to see what’s inside without opening the tube), they also make a telescoping black plastic tube that goes from 27 to 50 inches retailing for $19.  In fact Alvin “makes” a lot more tubes – I don’t know if they buy them from Chartpak and others and relabel them or if they have purchased the rights from Chartpak and Axel Tube, but many of the tubes listed below also have “Alvin” equivalents. I even found a 6″ diameter telescoping tube 29 to 48 inches for $107.  Many internet retailers carry their products.
• Artbin (art.artbin.com) makes make a telescoping black plastic tube that goes from 34 to 60 inches retailing for $47. Many internet retailers carry this product.
• Dick Blick (dickblick.com) makes clear tubes as well 25″ are $10, 37 inches are $11.
• portfolios-and-art-cases.com has a variety of 6 and 8 inch diameter tubular art luggage from 31 to 50 inches ranging from $90 to $175.
• Chartpak has tubes that you can daisy chain together to make arbitrary lengths. Chartpak’s Rapiddesign has a telescoping tube that goes from 26 to 43 inches with a 3.75 interior diameter – watch out though many vendors are selling the smaller 3″ diameter one.  I couldn’t find the tubes on their website but I did find their tubes at various vendors. Recalling my comment about Alvin I wonder if they have picked up this line from Chartpak.
• Axel Tube also can be daisy chained together in foot long sections 4″ diameter – the basic tube is $19 and the sections are $8 each. Again it would seem that Alvin now has this brand as well.   I could not find the axle tube website; if you Google you wind up with either automotive parts or the YouTube wannabe.
• Flambeau (flambeaucases.com) makes a 3 ” diameter telescoping shipping tube that goes from 61 to 85 inches for those of you with really long stretcher bars. But were I you I might consider the fishing rod tube by Plano Molding as it has a larger diameter.
• Displays2Go.com has several 12″ diameter wheeled graphics tubes  (and even some larger diameters), which will accommodate art from 31″ to 71″ ranging in price from $124 to $230.  Again much of this stuff is over-sized according to the airline, but it may provide a means of packaging your art with reusable airline transport.  These are designed for road warriors who travel from convention to convention.   I think they are a bit pricey for my needs, but you may find their price reasonable if you plan to use the bag over and over.

So that is what I have found. I hope you find this information useful.

As for me, armed with the information I had about gun cases I started asking a few gun enthusiasts I knew if they had a gun case meeting my specifications.  It seems one of my friends actually has a Plano case and he will let me borrow it.

Another Artist talked to 2007 participant Ana Bikic. She said that most people did not sell anything at that Biennale.  She discussed the matter with the Italian Consulate in Miami and apparently did have better luck than I did with the Italian Consulate in LA; the Miami consulate said that since the art was not for sale, it was an exhibition etc, there would be no VAT – of course that was 2007 and this is 2009.  When she traveled, she flew with her art & she told US and Italian customs that the art was not for sale and had no problems (at least that is what I understood of the email I received).

Of course if you are still planning to ship your art, then other rules may apply.

Ana hung her art “tapestry style” without stretchers, but does suggest using something like Velcro to pin the raw edges back.  She said many artists did this in 2007.   She also suggested having mini parties at the show booths, as  in 07 the sponsors did not mind champagne being present at the booths.

Ana suggested something to hand out; her preference was cards.  An Australian Artist, Joy Engleman, suggested bringing 1000 brochures.  Just because the Biennale is not a selling opportunity does not mean that it is not a marketing opportunity.  So get your kit together and prepare something nice enough to hand out.

Well that is where I am at with respect to flying with art etc.  I hope you are having a great day.

-Jake

Artist, AKAJake.com Come Experience the Art!

PS. I am still looking for Sponsors & Contributing Patrons to help me pay the estimated $8000 it is going to cost me to attend this event.  Every little bit helps.

This blog is about how to incorporate the Golden Ratio into your compositions quickly, without the use of a calculator; after all who has time to figure out how much 36 x 0.618 is when you are out there in the fresh air getting into the creative groove.  The numbered indexes correspond to plates in the composite image below.

1. The gold boxes with dotted lines in the image below represent centered “golden canvases” with height and width corresponding to the Golden ratio.  There is one oriented vertically and one horizontally.  The dotted lines represent the Golden mean, possible places to divide the canvas in a manner that is pleasing according to the Golden ratio (1 to 1.618…). This image has been created with the assistance of a calculator and is provided to show that the trick that follows does work very well.
2. This trick illustrated will work on any arbitrarily dimensioned rectangular canvas.  You draw a line splitting the canvas in half and then in half again along the horizontal and vertical dimensions.  You may want to use a light color and hue of the medium you are working in so you don’t have to spend time erasing.  In the illustration, the black lines represent these divisions.
3. If you place a dot in the direct center of the four center boxes created by dividing the canvas you will arrive at potential places where the focal point should be.  The red dots represent these possible focal point locations.
4. In the illustration below notice how close the dots are to the intersections of our vertically and horizontally oriented golden means.  No calculator is required to incorporate the Golden Mean into your compositions. You really can just eyeball it, figure out where your focal points should be and pick one.  One of these locations will result in a focal point that is most pleasing to the eye if the rest of the composition supports it.
5. A Focal point is really the only thing that can flow outward off the composition, like a star.  In general the rest of the composition should draw you to the focal point.  Realize that lines intersecting where the potential focal points will divide the canvas according to the golden ratio; these are the bold blue lines in the illustration below.  The light blue shadings represent two possible ways of dividing the canvas, but you could just as easily choose another one of the means.
6. The last image is a simple illustration based on the principles just discussed.

Illustrated Lesson: How to Quickly Apply Golden Ratio to Composition

Yours in art – Jake

Artist, AKAJake.com Come Experience the Art!

Numbers, there are many kinds of numbers:

• The Natural Numbers, 1, 2, 3… are counting numbers that a child can figure out with their fingers and toes etc.  Depending on who is doing the definitions the natural numbers may or may not include the number 0,. Natural numbers do NOT include numbers such as that have digits after the decimal place such as 2.25 , nor do the natural numbers include negative numbers.
• Whole Numbers are the Natural Numbers plus Zero plus the Negative Counterparts of the Natural Numbers,  …-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3…; Whole Numbers are also called Integers.  Again Integers/Natural Numbers do NOT include numbers with digits after the decimal point.
• Rational Numbers are numbers that can be expressed as a ratio of two Integers (excepting division by zero), therefore are numbers like 1/1, 2/3, -5/8 etc.  Rational Numbers can include numbers whose decimal equivalent terminates such as -5/8 = -0.625, or numbers whose decimal equivalent does not terminate, but repeats instead such as 2/3=.66666…
• Irrational Numbers are numbers that cannot be expressed as a ratio of two Integers, for example, the square root of two.  Irrational numbers do not include numbers involving the Imaginary Unit.
• Complex Numbers are numbers numbers involving the square root of negative 1, also called the Imaginary Unit, i.  Numbers that are multiples of the imaginary unit are called Imaginary Numbers.
• Both Rational and Irrational numbers can be Algebraic.  An Algebraic Number is any number that can be found as a root of polynomial equation with Integer coefficients, such as the square root of 5, which would have the integer coefficient 2, or negative cube root of 10, which would have the integer coefficient -3.   Numbers like the square root of 2 are irrational numbers, but they are algebraic.  If n is the lowest possible degree of such a polynomial, the roots are algebraic of order n. The square root of two is algebraic in order 2, nevertheless the square root of two is an Irrational Number.
• Transcendental Numbers are NOT Algebraic.  The most famous transcendental numbers are Pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, and Euler’s Number, which is the base of the natural logarithms among other things.
• Just to complete the picture, Real Numbers are numbers that are NOT Complex Numbers.  They can included Rational and Irrational Numbers; they may be Algebraic or Transcendental.  Real Numbers cannot include numbers involving the Imaginary Unit, but Complex numbers can have Real Numbers as components.

Although some Transcendental Numbers, such as Pi and Euler’s Number are cool, they are not mystical, nor are they particularly rare; technically almost all Real and Complex Numbers are Transcendental, since the Algebraic Numbers are countable, but the sets of Real and Complex Numbers are uncountable. All Transcendental Numbers are Irrational, since all Rational Numbers are Algebraic, but NOT all Irrational Numbers are Transcendental as some Irrational Numbers are Algebraic (such as the square root of 2).

Now that some of language of numbers has been defined let’s consider the Golden Ratio, Phi. The Golden Ratio can be found in the proportions of the human body, the proportions of many other animals, plants, DNA, the solar system, art and architecture, music, population growth, the stock market.  It can derived mathematically, geometrically, or via the Fibonacci Series.

The Golden Ratio: the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger one equals the ratio of the larger one to the smaller one. Consider the whole length of something, lets call this length, C, where C is composed of two smaller unequal sections, A and B, such that C = A + B. Say B is the larger piece and A is the smaller piece. If C/B = B /A then the division of C into parts A and B is proportioned to the Golden Ratio.  This dimensioning considered most pleasing to the human eye, probably because these dimensions are found so frequently in nature. If (A+B)/B = B /A, then both equal Phi, the Golden Ratio.  Phi is approximately 1.6180339887498948482045868343…

Since the Golden Ratio, Phi, is the solution to the equation, x² - x-1 =0, which is Algebraic in order 2, Phi is NOT a Transcendental Number.

The Fibonacci Series is a series of numbers with a recursive relationship; it simply expressed as the sum of the preceding two numbers in the series: starting at 0 and 1, then the next number is 1=1+0, then number after that is 2=1+1, then 3=2+1, then 5=3+2, then 8=5+3, etc.  The first 20 terms of the Fibonacci Series are 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181…

The Fibonacci Series also frequently occurs in nature. We have 2 hands, 5 fingers, each finger has 2 knuckles and 3 segments-all Fibonacci numbers. The number of flat surfaces on a banana – usually 3 or 5 – again a Fibonacci Number. Flower seed heads often have a certain number of spirals to pack seeds in such a manner that the seeds have the same amount of space-the number of spirals is usually a Fibonacci Number. Plants also frequently arrange their leaves according to the Golden Section; If the entire circumference is proportional to 1.618 then the angle of rotation is usually 0.618, which is the lesser of the sections in the Golden Ratio 1.618 = 1/0.618. When the lesser section refers to an angle of rotation it is called the Golden Angle. The tendency of plants to wind themselves using the Golden Angle and otherwise arrange themselves with Fibonacci numbers is called Phyllotaxis; an estimated 90% of plants exhibit the tendency.    But not all plants follow phyllotaxis, sometimes sweet peppers have 4 chambers instead of 3, some flowers have 4 petals, such as a fuchsia,  or 6 petals, such as a crocus. Still it would seem that the Golden Ratio and Fibonacci numbers must have a connection.

Indeed, the Golden Ratio, Phi, and the Fibonacci Series are intimately connected.  As the numbers in the Fibonacci Series increase, the ratio of successive terms tends toward a certain number and that number is the Golden Ratio; in mathematical terms the limit of the ratio of successive terms in a Fibonacci Series as the terms go to infinity is the Golden Ratio. Lets see this in action: Keeping 3 digits accuracy behind the decimal, the ratios of successive terms in the Fibonacci Series are  Undefined = 1/0 (division by zero is not permitted), 1.000 = 1/1, 2.000 = 2/1, 1.500 = 3/2, 1.667 = 5/3,  1.600 = 8/5,  1.625 = 13/8, 1.615 =21/13, 1.619 = 34/21, 1.618… 55/34, 1.618 = 89/55, 1.618 = 144/89 etc.  As you can see by the 9th iteration the ratios of successive terms of the Fibonacci series have converged to the Golden Ratio to 3 digits of accuracy behind the decimal.

From an artist standpoint using 1.618 as an approximation to the Golden Ratio should develop pleasing ratio in the scales most of us work in.  Therefore if you wish to section 36-inch-long canvas into the golden ratio then 36/1.618 = 22.25 inches will be the larger dimension and 36-22.25 =13.75 inches will be the smaller dimension. Also  22.25/13.75 = 1.618 as it should.

Yours in art – Jake

Artist, AKAJake.com Come Experience the Art!