Archive for category artistguide
EBSQ Friday Five
Posted by Amanda Makepeace in artistguide, membernews on February 1, 2013
1. Winterwood – EBSQ Artist Mark Satchwill, may be best known for his portraits, but he proves he can paint anything with this wonderful winter landscape.
2. EBSQ January Exhibits – Today is the first day to vote in January’s online exhibits. We have two shows: FOTM – Mixed Bouquet and Norse Mythology.
3. Getting Ready for the Circus Show – Claudia Roulier shares how the background of her paintings evolve.
4. How to Choose the Best Social Media Outlet – Don’t have time for multiple social networking sites? All you really need to do is pick the right one for you and your art. This article from EmptyEasel.com shares some great tips!
5. Stay Connected with EBSQ – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Forum
7 Art Portfolio Best Practices to Start 2013 with a Bang!
Posted by Amie Gillingham in artistguide, Howto on December 27, 2012
Day of the Dead New Year by EBSQ Artist Susan Brack
Ok, I admit it: this is a repost from last year. But the advice is just as timely. Get ready for 2013 with these 7 readiness tips.
Is your contact information up-to-date? Make sure we have your current private email address for lost password retrieval and public contact information for people who want to learn more about your art. We’ve often seen members post that they do commissions but don’t offer a contact method for potential buyers. If they can’t connect, you’ve lost a sale.
Are your website and blog addresses still correct? How about your eBay and Etsy IDs? Again, if we don’t have the right information, people aren’t going to be able to find you or your work at your preferred sales venues.
An addendum to the above: Have you linked to all of your current venues? And have you unlinked venues you no longer use? If you’re primarily selling at FineArtAmerica, but you only have a link to an abandoned eBay account, you’re squandering an opportunity to direct interested parties to work that’s currently available. We suggest you consider removing venues you aren’t actively using or maintaining. This includes placeholder websites and blogs that haven’t been updated in over a year.
When is the last time you took a serious look at your artist’s statement? Do you have a “Hi, I’m new,” message that you posted back in 2007 and simply forgot about? Or notes about your Spring cleaning sales from last year? Are you talking about your photography or sculpture when you’re now showing a portfolio full of abstract expressionism? Have you done any new shows or changed galleries? Don’t forget to add this new information to your CV.
Have your commission prices changed? If so, don’t forget to make these edits if you have pricing listed on your commissions page. Or maybe you don’t do commissioned work at all anymore–you can always turn off this feature by unchecking the “commissions available” box in your profile tools.
Are you showing your newest work? While we do have members that update their portfolio as soon as they have something new, others simply upload a handful of work when they join and forgeddaboutit, letting their portfolios collect cyber dust. When was the last time you added something new? Every time you add new art to your portfolio, that piece shows up on the front page of EBSQ, which in turn brings more people back to your portfolio. For best success, we strongly suggest you upload new work monthly, or even weekly. “Post and Pray” does not work.
Is it for sale? If so, you can add in a PayPal “buy it now” button directly in your artist statement. You’re also welcome to link directly to other venues where a specific piece might be available. (Just make sure you update your information if it’s already been sold!)
Have another great tip for getting your portfolio into shape? Please share it in the comments below!
PS Not yet a member? Grab a great deal on EBSQ Artist Memberships through 31 December 2012!
Expanding Your Art Expertise: 4 Ways To Use Your Talents
Posted by natasha in artistguide, Business of Art on November 1, 2012
In my latest blog, I’ve discussed the importance of expanding your art beyond the work itself. Not only for your own personal evolution as an artist, but in a financial aspect. Everything has it’s seasons and sometimes business slows down for work. I notice for myself, the typical seasonal slow downs are holidays, back to school and summer time. Everyone is off on vacation, away from home or busy dealing with the juggling of school plays or sports practice.
For some artists, taking a break is great. For the rest of us, we need to find other ways to make money. And while our goal is to create other automatic streams of income by art licensing, we should consider our potential in working on creative projects that aren’t entirely related to our fine art.
For example, doing projects in design, mural art, teaching an art class to kids or adults and even helping put on events for other artists is an example of things we could do outside our typical work.
KEY is to find ways to make money when the art isn’t selling or sales slow down.
5 Ways To Use Your Talents: Read the rest of this entry »
EBSQ Friday Five
Posted by Amanda Makepeace in artistguide, Events, membernews on June 29, 2012
1. Purple Mountain Majesty – Artist Cynthia Agathocleous might just be one of my favorite abstract artists at EBSQ. Her current style, geometric, is mesmerizing!
2. Mission: Small Business & EBSQ- Help EBSQ qualify for a $250,000 grant from Chase and LivingSocial! This grant to support Small Businesses would go a long way.
3. When Drawings go Ugly – Ever have one of those days where your pencil and brain are not connecting? EBSQ artist, Michele B. Naquaiya has some great tips.
4. Shutterbug – Photographer and EBSQ member, Michael Glover was featured in the magazine Shutterbug! Congratulations!
5. How to Get your Art on Greeting Cards – I’m not talking about one of those sites where you sell your own greeting card. This article at Empty Easel is about submitting your designs to greeting card publishers. Excellent resource!
Have a wonderful weekend!
EBSQ Friday Five
Posted by Amanda Makepeace in artistguide, membernews on June 22, 2012
1. Cuban Coffee, Lime and Creamer – Sounds like a perfect way to start a Friday morning, doesn’t it? It’s also a beautiful painting by EBSQ artist, Maria Soto Robbins.
2. Make your own refillable journal – Elis Cook has a tutorial for sale on Etsy you won’t want to miss!
3. EBSQ 12 in ’12 Update – June is the halfway point for the 12 in ’12 Challenge. I posted an update on my blog. Are you participating in the challenge?
4. Guest Blogging Strategy for Artists – EmptyEasel.com has an informative article on guest blogging. Writing a post for another blog is a proven way to generate interest in your own blog.
5. Do you have an article you think should be in the EBSQ Friday Five? Email me at: amanda[at]ebsqart[dot]com.
Have a great weekend!
Pinterest For Artists: 5 Creative Ways To Share Your Work
Posted by natasha in artistguide, Business of Art on January 20, 2012
by Natasha Wescoat
The newest craze in social networking is the highly attractive and addictive Pinterest. Drawing artists, designers, jewelers and other creatives, it’s a fun place to compile your favorite things, pictures you love or sharing dream ideas. Immediately, when I was introduced to it, I couldn’t understand why you would want to use this site. It reminded me alot of the popular fashion bookmark networks and we already had Facebook to share our obsessions. Why use Pinterest?
This is where it gets interesting…
1. It’s completely visual. Sharing and communicating with picture is it’s angle.
2. Demographic serves well for creatives and a buying crowd.
3. It’s newness means less spam, less noise.
PINTEREST IS PERFECT FOR ARTISTS!
Looking back: Our Ongoing Blog Series on Art and the Economy
Posted by Amie Gillingham in artistguide, Business of Art, Resources on January 10, 2012
Savings Banks are Back in Style by EBSQ Artist Theodora Demetriades
So, yeah, it’s 2012. We’re nearly 5 years into this “we’re not calling it a Depression or even acknowledging we’re still in a Recession.” How are you doing? Still making art? Still buying art? Still have a roof over your head? Have things gotten better? Worse?
January is always a reflective month, and I thought now would be good time to take a look back at some of the posts we’ve produced over the past 4 years that delve into how to keep creating in this tanked economy.
From 2010: Guest poster Julianne Carson delves into why cheaper isn’t better and how you can support local artisans with your wearable art purchases.
Artist Guide: Anybody Selling Anywhere?
From 2009: Guest poster Ron Jumper Jr. takes a hard look at why the arts are suffering and offers concrete strategies to ramp your sales back up.
Artist Guide: Not Taking Risks is Foolish
From 2009: EBSQ Art Blogger Natasha Wescoat writes about how to use calculated risk and reactionary tactics to drive your art sales and marketing strategy.
Open Thread: Survival Stories for Artists
From 2009: The meat and veg of this article is in the comments where you share YOUR stories of surviving as an artist in this economy
Open Thread: Finding Balance between Life and Art
From 2009: When life is weighing heavily upon you, it’s easy to let your art fall by the wayside. Here are 4 strategies for getting back on track and reclaiming your artist-self.
How to Keep Being an Artist Without Losing Your Soul…Or Your Shirt
From 2008: This appears to be my first blog post that expressly deals with how the economy was/is driving so many artists out of business. This was a seminal piece that explored concrete solutions to stay creative for less.
So. How relevant is the above advice to 2012? Have you taken any of the advice? Did it help? Is this a topic you want us to continue to explore? What wisdom do you have for other artists half a decade into the worst economy of many of our lifetimes? We’d love to hear from you in our comments.
Ring in the New Year Right with These 7 Portfolio Readiness Tips
Posted by Amie Gillingham in artistguide, Business of Art on December 27, 2011
Have a Steampunk New Year by EBSQ Artist Susan Brack
The new year is fast approaching. We thought now might be a good time to offer some concrete ideas on how to get your portfolio ready to rock for 2012:
Is your contact information up-to-date? Make sure we have your current private email address for lost password retrieval and public contact information for people who want to learn more about your art. We’ve often seen members post that they do commissions but don’t offer a contact method for potential buyers. If they can’t connect, you’ve lost a sale.
Are your website and blog addresses still correct? How about your eBay and Etsy IDs? Again, if we don’t have the right information, people aren’t going to be able to find you or your work at your preferred sales venues.
An addendum to the above: Have you linked to all of your current venues? And have you unlinked venues you no longer use? If you’re primarily selling at FineArtAmerica, but you only have a link to an abandoned eBay account, you’re squandering an opportunity to direct interested parties to work that’s currently available. We suggest you consider removing venues you aren’t actively using or maintaining. This includes placeholder websites and blogs that haven’t been updated in over a year.
When is the last time you took a serious look at your artist’s statement? Do you have a “Hi, I’m new,” message that you posted back in 2007 and simply forgot about? Or notes about your Spring cleaning sales from last year? Are you talking about your photography or sculpture when you’re now showing a portfolio full of abstract expressionism? Have you done any new shows or changed galleries? Don’t forget to add this new information to your CV.
Have your commission prices changed? If so, don’t forget to make these edits if you have pricing listed on your commissions page. Or maybe you don’t do commissioned work at all anymore–you can always turn off this feature by unchecking the “commissions available” box in your profile tools.
Are you showing your newest work? While we do have members that update their portfolio as soon as they have something new, others simply upload a handful of work when they join and forgeddaboutit, letting their portfolios collect cyber dust. When was the last time you added something new? Every time you add new art to your portfolio, that piece shows up on the front page of EBSQ, which in turn brings more people back to your portfolio. For best success, we strongly suggest you upload new work monthly, or even weekly. “Post and Pray” does not work.
Is it for sale? If so, you can add in a PayPal “buy it now” button directly in your artist statement. You’re also welcome to link directly to other venues where a specific piece might be available. (Just make sure you update your information if it’s already been sold!)
Have another great tip for getting your portfolio into shape? Please share it in the comments below!
EBSQ Tips for Awesome Art Blogs
Posted by Amanda Makepeace in artistguide on November 29, 2011
Have you run out of ideas for your next blog post? EBSQ Tips for Awesome Art Blogs will feature some of the more creative posts our artists are taking advantage of to spice up their blogs.
Gifted by S Olga Linville
Today’s Tip: Giveaways
There is some debate about whether artists should giveaway their art. Should you giveaway a large painting? Probably not. But why not something small, like an ACEO or a fine art giclee? No matter what side you take, giveaways are a great way to attract visitors to your blog. Who doesn’t want something for FREE?
What does it take?
Blog giveaways don’t have to be complicated. All you need to do is choose the artwork up for grabs, set the dates of the giveaway, and explain to visitors how to enter. The most common way to enter a giveaway is for visitors to leave a comment on the blog post. You can then assign each comment a number and put those into a drawing for the winner. Many bloggers use Random.org for their drawing but some just throw the names into a hat!
If you are unsure about your giveaway post it never hurts to see how others organize their giveaways. Check out my own holiday giveaway! I used WordPress’ feedback form so visitors could enter without leaving a comment but the rest is no different than your basic giveaway.
Rules of thumb:
1. Be sure to make it clear if your giveaway is open to international entries.
2. Don’t forget to share the news of your giveaway with as many people as you can!
A few EBSQ artists who have taken advantage of the “giveaway” post include: Melia Newman (Blog), Amanda Makepeace (Blog), Sara Burrier (Blog), Maria Soto Robbins (Blog), and Vickie Miller (Blog).
3 EBSQ Articles for Holiday Selling
Posted by Amanda Makepeace in artistguide, Business of Art on November 15, 2011
The holiday shopping season has already begun, but it’s never to late to get your EBSQ portfolio or shop in shape for holiday shoppers. EBSQ has some excellent articles with tips and tricks for the trade. Here are just three:
Most people like to feel like they are actually holding that piece of art. They want to see the texture, the size, the edges; they want to be able to investigate the piece like it was in their hands. This refers to the art on stretchers, but close up details still apply to cloth canvas artworks too, of course.
Besides the fact that some people are already leery about purchasing things online, you want to help demystify them from hesitating from purchasing from you. You want to gain their trust, and help them understand the product/artwork you are offering in full.
They want to know what they are getting! Simple as that.
How to Write About Your Art
Melissa Morton
First, let’s look at why we should even want to write anything about what we do. The main reason is to connect with the people who view your work. People like to feel connected. This is true in all aspects of society and it is a valuable tool when it comes to promoting ourselves and selling our art. When I was working in a gallery, I can not tell you how many times people came in and asked for information about an artist or a particular piece.
If you are thinking, “A connection…thanks for the general and not very helpful bit of information,” let me elaborate.
When someone sees a piece of art that they like, they often want to know about the person that created it. A general bio on file takes care of the basics but often people want to know more.
How to Price your Art
Sonya Paz
There are so many facets to consider about when creating a work of art, because this category and subject can get very detailed and is quite broad based on each individual and style of medium. Whether you sculpt, paint, sketch, weld, to the many mediums and styles of painting, colors, textures media etc., you can spend more time in trying to determine what the final masterpiece will be priced at that what it took to create it.
First of all, don’t shortchange yourself, YET, be very practical. Now, this is not to say that you should give your art away but at the same time don’t give your potential customers unrealistic sticker shock either. Listed below are a few different methods that may work for you, these suggestions can assist you in some of the wandering questions that we have all experienced at a point in our artistic careers. Try one or all of these, experiment, you may find one that works well for you, based on the size of the piece, time measure and pace yourself. As you get started with this it can give you a better idea of your scale for pricing.
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