How to Make Free Money for Art Supplies

Quality art supplies are not cheap. Everything from pencils, sketchbooks, oil paint, stretchers, framing, and a multitude of other art materials all can cost an enormous amount of money. It can be difficult to keep art supplies restocked if not consistently selling.

Today I am going to show you one of the ways I essentially get all my art materials completely free.

I know this seems a little unbelievable, but read on as I explain the details, and show you how to do the same.

 

 

By placing a small Blick Art Materials banner at an artist website, artists may earn 10% commissions on art supplies purchased through that link. I have one here at Artpromotivate, right at the bottom of the page (and below). This banner is especially effective because it offers free Blick art supply catalogs, which is relevant to the content of the site. I receive 10% commission for anyone who sends for a free art catalog through this banner, and orders from it within 45 days. The money earned isn’t a lot, but has helped me purchase extra art supplies, as well as assisted in supporting this site!

I do not recommend filling an artist website (portfolio) with advertisements. They distract from the art if placed in large quantity. Visitors may be turned off by the focus on the ads and leave. But, there are certain placements that will keep visitors at your site, while encouraging clickthroughs, and earn you extra money to buy art supplies.

 

 

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Wade Edwards – Newfoundland Artist

Wade Edwards

Newfoundland, Canada 

Artist Spotlight

 

PAINTINGS 
(from top to bottom)
SUNSET BOLD
FLARED
BURIN HARBOUR 1890
TRUXTON AND PILLOX
FOREVER LOVE

 

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Glossom – Social Media for Creative People

Glossom is a network for creative people to share all types of visual media, including art, fashion, photography, design, video, and illustration. Think of it as Pinterest for artists.

 

It is not only a great site to network with other creatives, but is a good source of inspiration as well. Artworks added to the free portfolio may be organized in visual collections and shared with other Glossom users. This art compilation can be easily propagated elsewhere by email, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and more. 

As a side note, Glossom does not claim ownership of any artists artwork, as Pinterest recent terms seems to do (Good News! - The Pinterest TOS will be updated soon (April 6, 2012) to something much more favourable for artists). At Glossom, artists may even set the copyright protection to sole ownership, or a creative commons license.

The Visual Curator® allows the creation of a set of similarly themed images (visual montage) for a Glossom portfolio, which will give viewers a good impression of the entire content.

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Fine Art Registry – Online Art Registration (Site Down)

UPDATE: The Fine Art Registry website is down, with no sign of returning. According to one source, a Fine Art Registry lawsuit resulted from a cyber-smear campaign. All of Fine Art Registry’s Youtube videos have been removed, along with their Twitter and blog. If you have been affected, please leave a comment below.

 

 

 

 

 

Fine Art Registry is a website that allows online registration of art from artists, museums, and galleries. The tagging system is permanent, and cannot be removed without leaving evidence of tampering.

The FAR® ID tags assist in countering art theft and fraud by having a registry number.

This number can help to trace the artwork back to the Fine Art Registry database, where the artist may be positively identified.

 

The documentation seals are tamper and counterfeit proof. They measure one inch in diameter and are completely acid free, with a strong adhesive. The identification tags have over 5 security levels. If tampered with or removed, a traceable residue is left behind.

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How to Make a Certificate of Authenticity for Artwork

Many artists use certificates of authenticity as a means of adding facts about an artwork, and to prove its authenticity. The certificates contain information such as title, medium, date, signature, etc., which can possibly make an art buyer more comfortable with buying an artwork.

 

It is a document that the art collector can hold onto, and applied as proof of an artwork’s genuineness. There is no rule that says that an artists have to have certificates of authenticity, but they do add a layer of perceived value and trust for an artist, making artworks easier to sell.

The main problem with these documents is the ease of forgery. Fake certificates with forged signatures are very easy to create these days. There have been many cases in the past of forged authenticity documents. This is why I recommend using as much factual information about the piece as possible, along with references to other places where the artwork resides.  (Check out the Fine Art Registry if looking for a better option for actual art documentation – I will be writing about this amazing resource soon!) 

I have listed some basic information to include in a certificate of authenticity, which will depend on the artwork, whether it is a sculpture, painting, drawing, or limited edition print.

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Heatherbell Barlow – Landscape and Seascape Paintings

Heatherbell Barlow

Seascape and Landscape Paintings

Devon, United Kingdom

 

Oil Paintings
(from top to bottom)

Special Place

Devon Meadows

Lake Buttermere Spring

 

 

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How to Increase Activity and Engagement on Facebook Fan Pages

What would you rather have, 500 people who like your page and revisit when you post something new, or 5000 people who never visit again? Most Facebook page owners seem to be focussed on trying to receive likes for their pages more than engaging them.

Arbitrarily asking for likes without interacting with page followers does not help at all. I have fell into this trap myself as I posted my page in several “Like my page and I’ll like yours” art group posts.

 

While this strategy may help to receive a few new likes, the quality of activity from such users is often low. Lets face it, most people who post at these places are intently focused on increasing likes. This is not a bad thing, but just as much or more emphasis should be placed on networking with other artists and Facebook pages.

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7 Best Selling Art Tips for Emerging Artists

There are more possibilities than ever for emerging artists to sell art. Just browse online and you will find hundreds of ways an artist can make money selling art. But, even though these opportunities are available, they are useless without learning strategies for making money with art.

 

Recently I shared an article featuring three basic steps to receiving more art sales, which is a prelude to the following selling art tips I am about to share. This is an essential read, especially for emerging artists.

 

 

To go there now, before reading on, please click the following link (opens in a new window), and return afterwards.

How to Make Increasing Art Sales

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10 Interviews With Artists and their Motivational Quotes

So far, 20 artists have been featured in the artist spotlight at Artpromotivate. If you missed the first list of 10 artists, please find it here: 10 Talented Contemporary Artists.

These are listed in the order that they were first interviewed at Artpromotivate.

 

They all were asked if they had some encouragement for emerging artists. These answers are included under the motivational quotes heading. The artists spotlighted come from various backgrounds, mediums, and styles. They include photographers, painters, digital artists, folk artists, and more.

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Free Online Art Classes – Drawing Courses and Painting Lessons

Listed here are online art classes and instructional videos for drawing courses and painting lessons. These online art courses are for varying stages of artistic development, from novice to professional.

 

 

 

I always recommend drawing and painting from life (I am art school trained), but there are many times when that is not possible or convenient. These days, it is much more easier to find free reference photographs on the internet or work from our own photographs to translate our ideas to art. But, drawing from a photograph, which is 2 dimensional, is not the same as drawing from real life. What we are really drawing is the camera’s interpretation of the image.

If drawing or painting a portrait from a photograph, for example, it helps to know some stylistic techniques to translate the camera’s interpretation to the artist’s own. Each of these art instructors have their own approach to teaching how to paint and draw.

Both budding artists and professionals may glean helpful tips from these online art making guides.

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10 Social Networks for Artists 2012

Listed here are 10 social networks for artists. Each of them have unique features for artists, including:

1. Networking with other creative people around the world.
   
   
2. Connecting with art galleries, curators, and art collectors.
   
   
3. Some allow the addition of a personal portfolio, and creation of art blogs.
   
   
4. Most allow attachment of a website link, and in some cases, social networking profiles. This is helpful for encouraging visits to a portfolio website, and good for Google search ranking.
   
   
5. Listings of call for entry, art competitions, art events, exhibitions, art jobs, freelancing, and art licensing opportunities.
   
   
6. Keep up to date with current art news and art happenings.
   

In case you are wondering, I have a profile at each of these artist social networks, but of course do not have time to visit each regularly. At each, I make sure I have email settings set to accept notifications, so that I will only have to log in to respond to queries. When I need to add artworks, I open up separate tabs in my browser, and add the same titles, tags, and description. This, of course, saves me quite a bit of time.

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Scott Hile – Abstract Art and Photography

Scott Hile - Artist Interview

US, Arizona

 

Abstract Art and Photography

(from top to bottom)

Flower 1

Hard Candy

Below Mooney Falls

Bloomin

Red Lips

 

 

 

 

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How Artists Can Use Zazzle to Sell Art and Designs on POD Products

I have been hearing about Zazzle, a print on demand (POD) service founded in 2005, for awhile, and just only recently decided to sign up. After setting up my first shop and reviewing all the incredible features, I must say that I am very impressed. Many artists and photographers are showcasing their works here on various items, including canvas prints and posters. But, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Zazzle includes a growing list of over 350 products for artists to choose from.

The two main elements that attracted me, which is why I will be featuring some of my artwork at Zazzle.com, are the customization features of the stores themselves, and the wide variety of promo tools. Like any print on demand service, such as Redbubble, Cafepress, and Fine Art America,  Zazzle allows selling prints and designs without going through the hassle of shipping to the customer, as with Etsy. The major difference with Zazzel is that there is a much greater variety of items. Many of the products, such as post cards, key chains, magnets, and buttons (with a logo or art website) are great for selling (or giving away) at art fairs and art shows as affordable promotional items. 

Zazzle.com is free to join, with no monthly fees, unlimited storage of photos, and there is no limit to the number of items in a Zazzle shop.

So why not follow along and set up a Zazzle.com store right now.

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Types of Art Jobs and Art Careers 2012

An art job involves employment with a company relating to training and skills as an artist. Most artists dream of working for themselves, as a self-sufficient artist. That may happen eventually, but even famous artists have had to work at jobs outside of the art field early in their careers. This is a necessity for most, since money is required for bills, clothing, rent, food, etc… not to mention art supplies.

 

Today, with the advancement of new technologies, the need for qualified creative people with an artistic background is growing as well. Certain jobs require imaginative, critical thinkers. Employers who are searching for such employees tend to give preference to people with a Fine Arts background.

An art student just entering the art field or finishing art school may be encouraged to know that there are several art related careers that they can apply for. Most require extra skills and training, so set your sights on developing these to land that dream art job.

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How to Make Increasing Art Sales

How do artists increase the quantity and the frequency of their own art sales?

I recently received this question from a fellow artist. There are multitudes of books published on advancing an art business, art marketing, and how to increase art sales. Just search on Amazon. There are currently over 34000 book results for the keyword art business. I have published several articles here at Artpromotivate on this subject as well.

 

Purchasing certain books about art business may help to learn about how to increase art sales, but no amount of reading will benefit if it is not put into practice.  Normally, artists do not become famous overnight. Achieving increased art sales often takes years of planning and patience. We are in competition with millions of other artists for the favour of art buyers. You should not be discouraged though. By continually creating art and perfecting the art craft, and exhibiting when possible, artists will eventually make a name for themselves. An artist’s work will steadily increase in value and demand for it will increase.

 

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Larry Cwik – Fine Art Photography

Larry Cwik – Fine Art Photographer

USA, Pacific Northwest

 

Mediums
photography, drawing, short film

 
Fine Art Photography
(top to bottom)

From The Visitor Series: 30 Years Photographing Mexico

Float

Brown Self-Portrait

From Totem Series

Totem 41 (Flower)

Totem 44 (Bellflower)

Totem 47 (Page)

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Free Online Watermark Tools for Image Copyright

A while back I shared with you all how to create a watermark text font in Photoshop to copyright photographs and artworks. I realize not everyone has Photoshop, so I decided to find some helpful online watermarking tools. These will aid in protecting images in case they are posted elsewhere without adequate permissions.

As you know, it is very easy for visitors to right-click and download almost any image on the web. With a Pinterest stop pinning website code installed on a website, anyone can still obtain the image this way, and copy it elsewhere.

It is virtually impossible to prevent all art thievery on the internet, but there are certainly ways of making it less likely.

 

Some of these were explained previously at How to Protect Art from Online Theft.

This article examines watermark creation. There are many free online watermarking services which artists may use to implement a watermark to a single artwork or multiple. The process often involves uploading images, and adjusting the copyright message, fonts, font size, placement, colours, etc.

Before discussing these, I will explain my recommended format for a digital watermark.

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Etsy Art - How to Start an Etsy Shop

Etsy.com is an online market for selling and buying handmade and vintage items, including fine art and art prints. At the moment, Etsy has over a million items in the art category, including collage, painting, fiber art, photography, prints, sculpture, and more.

Many artists are selling art here by opening up their own Etsy shops.

To demonstrate how you can do the same, we explain how to setup an Etsy store, list your artworks, and promote it though various means.

 

 

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Working With an Art Buyer for Commissions

Prior to entering an artist/fine art buyer commission relationship, there are many factors to consider. What does the art collector expect as a finished product? Do they have a deadline for completion? Will they be visiting often during the artwork creation process?

 

 

Before even working on commission, it is best for artists to establish their personal guidelines for accepting commissions. Are you willing to be guided by painting the way an art buyer wants? If not, its best not to accept art commissions at all… unless they leave the art creation process completely up to you.

For tips on how to obtain artist commissions, please visit: How to Get Art Commissions

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Free Art Templates for Designing an Online Portfolio Website

A website template is a pre-constructed website, which can be modified to include images, text, and other web elements. With a template, anyone with minimal designing experience can build a website without hiring a professional web developer. Modifications to a portfolio template design can be made by opening it up in a web designer program. Here, the layout may be manipulated, along with fonts, images, links, etc. 

 

 

 

Why are free online art website templates a good option if you cannot afford to hire a web designer?

1. Practice
   First of all, they are great for practice in website design. Inserting images, new pages, and other website elements helps to become accustomed to everything involved in web design.
2. They are free
   A template designed from scratch often costs thousands of dollars.
3. Professional
   Many of them are professional looking, and with a few minor tweaks can look just as good as a premium template.

 

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20 Art Inspiration Ideas for Creativity

Feeling inspired can be tough at times, especially for artists who have a 9-5 job outside of art. We may be too tired to think straight, or distracted by our daily routine. In such situations, we have to search for sources of inspiration and creativity.

Inspiration ideas are all around us – everywhere an artist ventures, who they speak with, what they experience, and everything an artist does outside of the art field.

 

Whether you are experiencing artists block, or just need some ideas on where to look for artistic inspiration, this article should be for you.

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Hiroko Sakai – Contemporary Japanese Artist

   
Artist Spotlite - Hiroko Sakai

Contemporary Japanese Artist from San Francisco, California,  U.S.A.

 

 

Oil Paintings
(From top to Bottom)

 

Life

Dream

Lovers

Medusa

Silence

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Website Code to Block Pinterest Pinning

 

There has been lots of buzz about the relatively new social network Pinterest in the last few weeks. Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board (pin board) whereby users can find interesting images and videos, and pin them to their own boards. Boards are made up of related pins.

The visual element of Pinterest is what attracts most. Browsing through thousands of pins is a visual pleasing and inspiring experience. It is no wonder why many artists like Pinterest.

But things are not so hunky dory in Pinterest-land. They have come under some scrutiny recently because of people pinning licensed and copyrighted images without permission.

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How to Prepare an Art Fair Display Booth

Art fairs and art festivals are effective for displaying and selling art to people who do not normally visit art galleries. Artworks are displayed in a more casual setting under a canopy.

You will have an opportunity to interact with people, answer questions, and represent your art in a positive manner.

 

It is often easy to find local art fairs and festivals to participate in. Look for them in newspapers or community channels. If planning on showcasing at an art fair, apply right away and begin preparations. Read the requirements and rules for the art fair so you will know what to expect. 

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How to Get Art Commissions

Many artists use art commissions as a means of supplementing their income.  It is also a great way of making yourself available to art buyers you may not have come into contact with otherwise. Some people who commission artwork are repeat art collectors, and may even purchase original art. Maintaining a good relationship with these is important for encouraging further purchases in the future.

In this article, we discuss a few ways of receiving more commissions for art. If you have an suggestions for this list, feel free to add them in the comments section.

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How to Add Images to Twitter – Art on Twitter

 

Twitter is one of the largest social networks with over 500 million users. On the surface, Twitter does not appear as useful for artists as other networks like Pinterest, Facebook, and Google Plus. This is mainly because most Twitter postings are strictly text-based.

But there are several methods of sharing art and art promotion through Twitter, some of which we detail below.

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How do you React to Damaged Art?

 

Damaged art might just be every artists worst nightmare. I have had paintings that were scratched during transport, so I know how disappointing it can be.

Paintings on canvas are sometimes torn or scratched. Sculptures may be dropped on the floor, and cracked or broken, especially ceramics.

 

Question: How do you react when one of your artworks is damaged by accident? 

 

Did the damage to art happen during shipping/ transport, or while on display at an art gallery?

 

Do you try to fix the damage, and hide the repairs… or do you use the opportunity to create an artwork based on a happy accident?

 

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Mike Filippello – American Folk Artist - Artist Spotlight

 

Mike Filippello – Folk Artist
U.S.A.

 

Paintings (from top to bottom)

A Daydream Moment in Watersong Hollow

Timeless Christmas in Albrayadling Park

Analathanes Lacey

   
 

 

 

 

My name is Mike Filippello. I'm 46 years old and I'm an American Folk Artist, Illustrator, and Published Author.

I started painting my own brand of American Folk Art in 2002. From the first time I picked up a paint brush I fell in love with painting. It is something I love with a great passion. I live in western NY with my wife Tricia of almost 17 wonderful years, and our wonderful pets Countess Clementine Calypso of Geppetto's Legend - our French Poodle, Duchess Kismet Tsabella - our Calico cat and Lady Cannoli Piccolini - our younger Calico cat. I am working diligently toward breaking into the licensing industry.

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How to Create an Artist Resume

 

An artist resume is different from a regular employment/work resume. A resume is valuable for applying for a grant, residency, art gallery show, and more. It may also be attached to an art portfolio, and on your art website.

For artistic resumes, the most recent information under each heading should be stated first. The resume should be easily read, formatted, and printed on high quality paper.

Avoid making it complicated, and keep it simple and to the point.

 

What I have listed below is only a general guide for creating an artist resume. Please take a look at artist resume examples of others for exact formatting. It helps to have several formatted resumes depending on the purpose. (ie teaching jobs, gallery exhibition , etc.)

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How to Create a Portfolio Website Inside Facebook With Iwipa

 

Iwipa is a Facebook app that can be used to create a full artist website inside of Facebook, including photos, text, Paypal Buy Now buttons, image slideshows, ecommerce stores, gallery of artworks, and thousands of added widgets.

Iwipa Facebook websites support html, static fbml, iframes, javascript, css, flash, and more.

 

 

 

I created my own Iwipa site today, though it still needs a lot of work. But, I will go back soon and explore more of what Iwipa has to offer myself and my Facebook fans.

There are a lot of steps to creating a good Iwipa website gallery connected to a Facebook page. Please follow along step by step as I explain how to setup an Iwipa FB Site.

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Why Create Art if Not Making Money?

 

Art and money… these two have often been talked about in the same context.

There are millions of struggling artists around the world who are NOT making money from their art.

 

 What drives them to continue creating?

 

Do you think our art would be better if we didn’t have to worry about making money from it?

 

What are your opinions on this hot topic?

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How to Use Google Art Project to Visit Museums Around the World

 

 

Have you ever dreamed of seeing Van Gogh’s painting Starry Night, but just do not have the means of visiting the Museum of Modern Art in New York City? That is quite possible now with Google Art Project first introduced February of 2011. This is one of the 17 ultra high resolution paintings that can be viewed up close in extreme detail. Zooming in (below) will reveal textures, cracks in the paint, and areas where the paint must have come off, exposing bare canvas.

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