EBSQ Blogger of the Week: Melanie Douthit

Who and where are you?

I’m a full-time artist and freelance craft designer. I live in West Monroe, Louisiana with my husband and two children. I manage my creative biz from my home studio. I inherited my creativity from my grandmother who was of Anishnaabe Algonquin and French Canadian descent from Ontario, Canada. My father was in the United States Air Force and after his retirement, they settled in Louisiana where he was from. I was involved in the local art community in the mid-1990’s and around 2000 I listed my first painting on eBay. I joined EBSQ not long after.

How did you get started art blogging?

I took a creative detour around 2004 and got involved in the paper craft arena. I loved how I could incorporate photos and family memories with my artistic urges. I joined the design teams of several paper craft manufacturers and started selling designs to craft magazines. Blogging was what everyone in the industry was doing, so it was a natural path to follow. When I got back into painting full-time again, I started my blog for my art.

Any tips for other EBSQ art bloggers?

For people to be attracted to your blog, photos are a must – and if you are marketing your creations, then good photography skills are important. Develop your “voice”, and be real on your blogs. Don’t be afraid to share bits and pieces of your life with your readers. If readers like your art already, they will love getting to know the artist behind the creations. Since I only started my art blog a year ago (to be separate from my paper craft blog) and haven’t been faithfully maintaining it as I should, these are things I’m currently striving to reflect on my own blog. Sometimes don’t have any new art I can share, so I’ve decided to just be creative. I may go through some old or new photos and tell a story about it. I’m so thankful for camera phones because it makes a blogger’s life so much easier. If you are new to reading blogs, I suggest spending time reading a variety of blogs and making notes of what you connect with the most.

To make sure my blog gets some attention, I post a link to my Facebook page every time I post a new blog entry. My Face book “page” (separate from ID) is linked to my Twitter account so it gets posted there as well.

Another way to gain exposure is to participate in blog hops and network consistently with other art bloggers. I’ve recently opened up my blog to include guest bloggers, much like what EBSQ is doing here.

What’s your musical inspiration of choice when you’re working in your studio?

I love music while I create! I love having my creative biz at home because once everyone is at work and school, I can have my music as loud as I want and play what I want. My music varies from old rock, alternative, new country, soft rock and maybe some Louisiana Zydeco. I like to mix it up and keep it fun.

What’s coming next from your easel?

For the next six weeks I’ll be fulfilling commissions and creating gift size New Orleans themed art.

Thanks to EBSQ for allowing me to share with you. Happy Creating!

http://douthitgallery.blogspot.com/

Thank you Melanie for being an EBSQ Blogger of the Week!

If you are an EBSQ Artist and would like to be considered for Blogger of the Week just add us to your blogroll. I’m searching EBSQ profiles weekly for links to artist’s blogs. If you aren’t an EBSQ Artist, what are you waiting for?