Who and where are you?

I am an artist and poet, my husband and I live and work in a rural area just north of Green Bay WI aka Packer country. We have come to call our hometown, the Kissikimee of Wisconsin, you know the middle of nowhere just 15 minutes from everywhere.

How did you get started art blogging?

I have to be honest I started only because I was told I should. For the life of me in my native’ I could not imagine how this was going to help me market my art. I have come to understand people have an innate sense of curiosity about art and artists. I was completely dumbfounded about what I would blog about. At the same time there seemed to be some negative chatter around the idea of blogging about yourself. I set out to interview some fellow artists to fill the space. Though it was not a bad idea, I found that many artists are more than willing to share their art, but seem somewhat reluctant to share their processes, or thoughts behind a piece. After a while I realized my entries seemed contrived and more like an artist Crit than an interview. It made me think back to the simple foundation I learned in a technical writing course in college, “Write what you know and dream about the rest” Well I may not be sure of who I am most days, but I do know my art, my processes, and inspirations and dreams behind each work. Once used that knowledge, pick a work of art and used it as a springboard I felt I was on surer footing. And I found that process simpler to start, and very useful even in interviewing others.

Any tips for other EBSQ art bloggers?

I find that I the beginning I was caught up in the hype of blogging. After all this is about marketing and requires some serious planning. Doesn’t it? When you find yourself caught up in the numbers game ie how many hits, likes and followers you have, it can be pretty discouraging. I kept asking myself with all the other blogs people are reading who is going to find time for yours? Then I would look at other artists blogs and see they had more followers than I and I felt totally defeated. I became a comment junkie, if some post went without comment I would wonder what was wrong ? Is it the art or the writing? It became an endless spiral to something that is supposedly FUN! It was some time before I realized that the biggest concerns were not how many would hits, followers or comments. But what is your standing with the search engines, where are you placed? If you can get a potential customer to “google” you, can they find you? Can they find your work, auctions, website ect? Google honors new and frequent content on blogs so if you do it right your blog should appear on the first or second page of the results. And you are able to direct them from there. I am also fascinated with where my audience comes from, I love looking at the analytics, it helps me fine tune just who my target market is. It was vindicating for me to learn that most of my audience aka potential patrons come from far out of state. I learned my art is better received on the coasts and even overseas than the conservative Midwest region I live in, I have to take that into account when I am in the studio. In reality I will probably never meet any of them, but thanks to blogging, we can connect. For me it is like having lunch with good friends, expect I do most of the talking and never blow my diet! Does it get better than that? My best advice would be commit yourself to it, Be bold, make it about your passion, your art. There is no greater patron aphrodisiac than the evidence of an artist’s passion indeed I believe they will not purchase art without it.

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

When I am working in my studio, I start out in silence, the inspiration phase tends best attended by silence it keeps my mind and spirit free lead unencumbered with clutter. However once it is time to translate the vision into reality, I find music blaring, just this side of ear splitting a great catalyst. I have rather eclectic tastes and wander my way through, Selah, LeAnn Rimes, Adele, one of the 3 tenors (my favorite being Carreras), Elton John, Streisand and when I grow tired Heart will always bring me around with Magic Man and Crazy on You.

What’s coming next from your studio?

I find myself drawn to giving my hand drawn, painted originals a 2nd life in digital. I have been entranced with pulling my finished works into Photoshop and Painter and reworking them into completely new digital paintings, with virtually no recognition of the beginning original, the same painting in another dimension if you will.

http://almaleeoriginals-artscape.blogspot.com/