I’d Rather be in the Studio - Art Marketing Book Review

I have been featuring Alyson B. Stanfield’s art marketing book I’d Rather be in the Studio for awhile now, and I decided to share with you a little of what the book is about, and why I am recommending it.

But first, a little background on the author. Alyson B. Stanfield is an artist, writer, art consultant, art historian, and blogger. At her hugely popular art blog Artbizblog.com, she shares her own advice on how artists can market themselves both online and offline.

Alyson also holds online classes and workshops for those artists who want to take their art career to the next level.

 

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Andre Deherrera Gives Insight to His Life as a Fine Artist

Andre Deherrera
Unites States

Andre Deherrera, creator and artist for AndreDDesign, gives insight to his life as a fine artist.

Nerdy, humorous, outgoing

 

Rose Weeps                 ©Andre Deherrera

 

Well, I am about to turn the big three-oh, although my friends and family assure me that turning 30 is not as bad as it sounds. I am a college graduate and my schooling has nothing to do with art *chuckles* I went to a community college for Liberal Arts and then, from there, to a university for Astrophysics & Mathematics. In essence, I am a nerd, a geek who loves all things astronomy and scientific. I come from a wonderful mix of cultures; my mother's side being French/German hailing from New York, and my father's side being Hispanic from here in New Mexico. I have a fantastic family, an amazing girlfriend, and the two of us live with our two 70-80 pound adopted shelter dogs.

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11 Tips and Tricks for Auctioning Art Online at Ebay

Last time in this series I answered some of the most common questions concerning Ebay, such as what kind of art sells best and who buys artworks at E bay. In this post I will give you some tips and tricks for using Ebay to auction art online.

There is much debate as to whether Ebay is a good source of income for artists.

Some say that auctioning art online is not as effective as it once was. Ebay is filled with cheap imitations and forgeries, but there are ways of setting yourself apart from these. As you know, selling art does not come easily, especially on the web. But, it can be done, and many artists are doing it with Ebay!

Please review our previous articles in this Ebay series before moving on.

 

How to Sell Art on Ebay Series

Part1: Is Selling Art on Ebay Possible?

Part2: How to Sell Your Art on Ebay – Popular Questions Answered

Part3: Tips and Tricks for Auctioning Art Online at Ebay

Part4: Coming Soon!

 

To be notified when the next post arrives in this series, please subscribe here!

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Spotlighted Artists of Artpromotivate

This section features the artists which have been featured in our artist spotlight. This should make it easier for visitors and art collectors to find the artists they are looking for.

An image of one of their artworks is displayed, along with a short excerpt about the artist. Click on the artist’s name to read much more about them. To contact individual artists, visit their art websites at the very end of each interview. 

A very big THANK-YOU to all the artists who have answered the artist spotlight questions.

 

It has been a pleasure interviewing and featuring so many talented artists for the past few months. But, this is only the beginning. As this site grows, we will come up with additional ways of promoting the artists who are featured here. If you have any suggestions how we can do just that, please let us know.

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Teresa Dye – Hyper-Realism Paintings of Botanicals

Teresa Dye

New Jersey, United States

Introspective, analytical, eclectic

    

 

 

 

Pink Daisy 1 ©Teresa Dye

 

 

 

 

When was the first time you realized you were an artist?   

I think my mom realized it before I did, when I drew my first sketch of a deer at age four. I think I realized it for myself when I was in elementary. Finally, I've got direction and determination, two things which were always absent before.

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10 Exciting Artists and Why They Create Art

We just reached 50 featured artists for the artist spotlight. I am thinking of some ways I can organize these so that they can be easily found. One thing I already have underway is a contents page just for the interviews. If you have any other ideas please let me know.

For this list of 10 exciting artists, I have asked each of them the question: “Why do you create art?” Although worded different, most of the answers are the same. Artists are not happy without creating art. It is an integral part of our lives, and we need it to function.

Here is the lists of previously featured artists here at Artpromotivate:

10 Contemporary Artists
10 Artist Interviews and Their Quotes of Inspiration
10 Featured Artists - Art Promotion
10 Modern Artists and Their Future Plans

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ACEO, Artist Trading Cards and Art Card Editions

Recently, in researching artists at Ebay, I kept seeing the acronym ACEO. This is something I have often seen, but haven’t explored. ACEO stands for Art Card Editions and Originals, and originated in 2004, when Lisa Luree began selling art cards on Ebay. Today, they are so popular that some art stores carry blank art cards for artists. They measure 2.5 X 3.5 inches, the same size as a standard trading or collectors card.

The only difference between an artist trading card and an ACEO is that the ACEO’s are for sale – ATC’s are not. The art card can be a print edition or original (one of a kind – OOAK) and can be done in any 2-D medium, including watercolor, oil, acrylic, gouache, pencil crayons, markers, mixed media, digital art, photography, etc. ACEO’s can also be a great way for those who cannot afford expensive pieces to easily collect work of emerging and established artists at affordable prices.

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Pearl Rogers - Rustic Rural and Wildlife Artist

Pearl Rogers

Western Australia

Gentle, colourful, mischievous

I'm a mature age artist, mostly self taught, who has come to the art world late in life & trying to make up for lost time.

 

 

Chev 6 ©Pearl Rogers

 

 

I grew up in the agricultural regions of West Australia, have lived most of my life farming, so not much contact with art except for images in books, I remember as a child my mother often showing me pictures of Albert Namatjira's art, which I was in awe of & I guess it would have influenced me quite a bit, I loved drawing & colouring in, something I have often done over the years, something I especially enjoyed doing with my children.

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How to Give and Receive Feedback and Constructive Criticism

As artists, we want to hear that others like our work. We love it when someone says how great our artwork is, and how much they love it. But, if this is the only perspective we are receiving, we may be in danger of producing only artwork that pleases people.

As artists, we need objective feedback from non-biased individuals who understand art, who are able to give constructive criticism.

Feedback is very valuable to us as artists.

Listed below are some of the benefits of constructive criticism.

 

 

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How to Make a Time Lapse Speed Painting Video Demonstration

A time lapse video is one whereby something is filmed over a period of time, and the video is condensed to a shorter version. The video appears like it is going in high speed. Most people will not sit and watch an artist painting for 2-3 hours. But, they will watch the same painting being created in a time lapse video of 3 minutes. A lot of the finer details can be missed, but the viewer will get a general idea of the painting process.

 

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Carbonmade Review and Tutorial – Free Online Portfolio Websites

Carbonmade is a website where artists, illustrators, photographers, and designers can create a free online portfolio. Carbonmade currently has nearly 500,000 portfolios, which include over 7.7 million images!

I have set up a portfolio there, and I will explain how you can do the same, as well as a few of the interesting features for artists.

 

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Yezarck Art by Samar Asamoah – Artist Spotlight

Samar Asamoah

Yezarck Art

Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Sincere, open, passionate

 

 

 

Sunny River 1           ©Samar Asamoah

 

 

I am half Ghanaian half Barbadian, born and brought up in London. I live in Newcastle where I studied printmaking under the tutorship of Mick Wooton at Northumbria University. In my final year I taught myself how to engrave glass. So my main practices revolve around these two areas but I do like to mix it up and experiment a lot in my work.

When I was a child. I always had to be making something. I was always drawing, I learned to knit and sew and I enjoyed designing clothes also. I used to draw Disney characters for other kids at school. I also used to make clothes out of socks for troll dolls, I had a 'Troll catalogue' and used to take orders from the other children. hahaha. Funny times, I was about 9/10 years old.

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Pros and Cons of Using Art Giveaways to Promote Your Work

If you’re an artist trying to broaden your reach online, and looking for more ways to reach a wider audience, one strategy you might want to consider is holding an art giveaway.

You may not relish the idea of giving away a piece of your beloved artwork for free, but hear me out.

If used effectively, an art giveaway could be a useful promotional tactic.

 

Why Give Away Your Art

Everyone loves a bargain, and what could be more of a bargain than getting an original artwork for absolutely nothing? The reason you might consider giving away a piece of art is that the mere mention of a freebie can bring a lot of traffic to your website, and if you play your cards right, you can also get quite a bit of free publicity.

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18 Things That Artists Hate to Hear

 

I recently shared a photo on Facebook titled “10 things that should never be said to artists”. Find this post here!  The list is not an exhaustive list, as many have been adding their own annoying things that have been said to them.  I have received such a huge response that I decided to post it here, and add some of my personal things that I hate to hear to the list.

What artist hasn’t heard at least one of these annoying comments?

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How to Sell Your Art on Ebay – Popular Questions Answered

If you browse through the art categories at Ebay, you will see that thousands of artists are using the auction site to sell their art. Most of the auction listings end without the art even being sold. But, there are a minority of artists who are making a lot of money through this venue.

 

What does it take to sell art on Ebay?
What type of art sells best there?

This is part 2 of our Ebay series. In these articles I am exploring how artists can best make use of E bay. I am pretending you do not know anything about auctioning art. In future articles I will guide you through the steps of posting a listing, selling artworks, shipping art, and all the technical stuff that you need to know. Artists who choose to use Ebay to auction their art should research what sells and what does not. It is easy to do this by scanning the auctions that have ended. This will also show you how to list successfully.

 

How to Sell Art on Ebay Series

Part1: Is Selling Art on Ebay Possible?

Part2: How to Sell Your Art on Ebay – Popular Questions Answered

Part3: Coming Soon!

Part4: Surprise!

 

To be notified when the next post arrives in this series, please subscribe!

In this article I will answer some of the most popular questions asked by artists about E bay:

Why sell art on Ebay?
How do artists become familiar with auctioning art?
What type of art sells best at E bay?
Who buys art at E bay?
How to price art at E bay?

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Jacqui Hawk - Coax the Invisible Out and Make it Visible

Jacqui Hawk
Boston, USA

Coax the Invisible Out and Make it Visible

Intuitive, Compassionate, Imaginative

Hi, my name is Jacqui Hawk and I'm a mixed media artist from Dunstable (near Boston, USA)originally from Edinburgh, Scotland.

If there was an award for "Dreaming" in school my shelf would have been full of awards! I learned very early on that I was a dreamer and lived 'in my head' for a large part of my day.

 

 

Lunar Mystery ©Jacqui Hawk

 

 

 

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Selling Art - The Best Places to Sell Art Online

The internet is filled with opportunities for artists to sell art. It it so easy to feel overwhelmed by all that is available. There are hundreds of forums, social networks, artist websites, blogging platforms, and more scattered across the internet.

Finding what works best for you may be a long, arduous process. Most artists are not trained marketers. But, to be successful online, artists have to learn some things about marketing art.

For those artists new to the internet world, this list should save you lots of time and effort. These are places to focus your efforts for selling your art online.

 

 

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Cool Drawing and Painting Ideas to Stimulate Your Creative Spirit

Sometimes it can be difficult coming up with ideas of what to draw or paint. While staring at that blank canvas or sketchbook page you may not be able to visualize what to create. Ideas for painting and drawing are everywhere. To help stimulate that creative spirit, I have brainstormed a list of cool ideas for filling that blank paper or canvas.

This list can be especially useful for daily painters and those who have artists’ block. You do not have to try everything, but scan through the list and exercises, and find ideas that you can personally relate to.

 

Please refer to our previous posts for more inspiration to stimulate your spirit of creativity.

20 Art Inspiration Ideas for Creativity
How to Overcome Artist Creative Block and Get Inspired

This is part 1 of this series. Please subscribe now so you will know when part 2 arrives!

 

Drawing and Painting Ideas Series

Part1: Cool Drawing and Painting Ideas to Stimulate Your Creative Spirit

Part2: Coming Soon!

 

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Paul Buford – Vintage Watercolor Paintings of Antique Cars and More

Paul E. Buford

Vintage Watercolor Paintings of Antique Cars and More

Brandon, MS, USA

ecstatic, wacky, bearded

My name is Paul Buford. I'm a watercolor artist and architect living in Brandon, MS with my beautiful wife and daughter.

 

Rusty 50's Bel Air - teal rusty chevy bel air ©Paul Buford

I am a Christian and very blessed to be able to work with some awesome kids at our church.

I always liked to draw as a kid, but was introduced to different media in junior college and my studies in architecture. I never considered myself an artist until recently when I began producing more detailed and meaningful works and receiving favorable responses.

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What to Write About in an Art Newsletter

The artist newsletter is the place where people can get to know about you as an artist. Newsletters have a specific audience of art collectors and art fans. When writing for these people, think about the same types of things you would say if presenting your art to them in person.

The newsletter offers more flexibility than explaining your art verbally. You have the benefit of time to come up with ideas of what to write about. Your audience will become very familiar with you. Onlookers may turn into buyers, and occasional buyers may turn into regular art collectors.

 

If you already write for an art blog, there should be no problem coming up with ideas. If you don’t, don’t worry – what to write about is inside of you. It is what you already know the most about – your art.

Previously, we spoke about creating a newsletter with MailChimp. Please visit these pages to view previous articles in the newsletter series:

Why Artists Should Create a Newsletter
How to Build an Email List with MailChimp

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Model Release Contracts for Artists and Photographers

A model release is a contract that states that you are allowed to display, publish, and sell an artwork that contains a recognizable person.

By signing and agreeing to the stipulations, the model is agreeing that their likeness be made public.

It may be necessary to get such permissions for legal reasons, especially to ensure you are not sued.

 

 

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Sylvia Fuller Art - The Way She Sees It

Sylvia Fuller
California, USA

The Way She Sees It

Tolerant, Motherly, Hopeful

 

I have always seen the potential in an object. As far back as I can remember, it was extremely gratifying being creative. I can remember being in awe in a simple object as a branch, leaf, or wildlife.

As I advanced through the years it would be my emotions about life that would inspire me the most.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carmina - oil on canvas ©Sylvia Fuller

 

 

 

When did you first know you were an artist?

4 years old. Watching my mother paint or my father write music.... made sense to me.
I made things all the time from a fort to a drawing.

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Where to find Art Collectors to Invite to an Art Exhibition

Congratulations on your upcoming art exhibition!

You have done all that is needed for a gallery show opening - created a series of paintings, selected the venue, photographed and priced your artwork, and all the preparations discussed here: How to Plan an Art Show.

Now it is time to decide on who you are going to invite.

 

 

This takes careful planning, as the people there will affect the outcome – how many artworks you sell, and how many new patrons and supporters you receive.

Listed here are some groups of people to consider for your invitation list. The common tendency may be to invite everyone you know. But, before doing this, find out from the gallery owner the maximum number of people allowed in the building. Not everyone who are sent invites end up attending, so plan your list well above that number.

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Tools for Drawing Portraits From Photographs – Art Projectors

I have been drawing portraits for the past 25 years. During that time I have used many techniques and tools for pencil and ink drawing.

I do prefer drawing from life, but most of my portraits during the past few years have been from photographs. Because of the economy where I live, it is very difficult to get clients around here for portraiture. I get a local commission about once a month. So, I have had to make use of the internet, and now I receive most of my commissions from people who live too far for me to travel.

 

Drawing from a photograph is obviously very different from drawing from life. A photograph is only a representation of a subject interpreted by a camera. So, conventional techniques of drawing do not apply, such as squinting. The photographic portraitist has to re-interpret the photograph and use his/her own talent to create a drawing that is unique.

For sketching from photographs, I have experimented with varying techniques, from drawing directly from the photograph without visual aids, to using a projector. I will talk about some of these methods below.

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Teresa Young – Surreal and Abstract Paintings

Teresa Young

Nova Scotia, Canada

Imaginative, practical, intelligent

 

I'm an artist from Canada, who has only recently, in the last couple of years, tried pursuing my art as a career... I was one of those people who started very young, but I really never worked up the nerve to go into art.

Basically, what happened was when I went to a small college and took art at nineteen years of age, I was finally exposed to some of the variety and beauty of the art available in the world...

 

 

 

Entubation ©Teresa Young

 

 

I was overwhelmed and I freaked out! I realized that I didn't personally measure up to what I saw in a lot of cases and decided to try something else. But I continued drawing and painting, as it's my passion, and decided to go for it after I hit middle age... A bit of a cliché, I'm sorry to say!

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10 Modern Day Artists and Their Plans for the Future

It’s that time again – time to review 10 modern day artists who have been featured in our artist spotlight. These were part of our 10 Artists in 10 Days series at Artpromotivate. This was an exciting time, both for us and for the artists. We got to see some amazing talent posted here. For some of the artists, this was their first time being featured anywhere.

 

I hope you feel proud of your accomplishment, and this gives you that extra motivation to apply for other spotlights and art competitions.

I find that artists are mainly positive people. Most of us struggle with promoting and getting our art out there, but deep down inside we know that creating is what we love doing. It is not making money from our art which motivates us (even though that would be good), but the will to express ourselves through our mediums.

Here is the lists of previously featured artists here at Artpromotivate:

10 Talented Contemporary Artists
10 Interviews With Artists and Their Motivational Quotes
10 Featured Artists - How are They Promoting Art Online?

In reviewing these ten artists, I will include a statement from each of them in answer to the question “Where do see yourself as an artist in 10 years?” You will see that the answers are diverse, but they all have one thing in common. The artists see themselves still creating, and becoming a better artist.

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Frequently Asked Questions - Answers to Common Artist Issues

 

We have wrote many articles here at Artpromotivate focussing on some frequently asked questions that artists have about selling art, promoting art, and other issues. I thought it would be very helpful to all of you if I organized all of these into one post.

This is the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. We have a short summary about each question, and a link to the original article.

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Jason Gluskin - NYCs Rock N Roll-Expressionistic Painter Talks Shop

Jason Gluskin

Brooklyn, New York City, USA

NYC's Rock N Roll-Expressionistic Painter Talks Shop

energetic, warm, authentic

 

THEMES

Music is central to my world and art. I live in Brooklyn, NYC so the city is a theme as are people and a variety of influences.

 

Give Em The Boot        ©Jason Gluskin

MEDIUMS

Right now oil and acrylic paint on canvas... Charcoal and pencil on paper

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How to Advertise Art at Facebook Marketplace and Classified Groups

I have seen some artists posting their art work at Facebook Marketplace, as well as groups dedicated to classifieds and buy and sell in specific areas.

Facebook Marketplace (Oodle) is an app whereby users can post advertisements for free. When posting advertisements, your friends are notified of the ad in an email - according to their email settings of course.

The advertisement will also appear at your home page for all Facebook friends to view.

What follows is a tutorial for advertising art at Facebook Marketplace and FB classified groups.

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Artist Management Software for Art Tracking and Contact Lists

Several software programs exist for management of artist contact lists and tracking artworks. These help artists to catalog their artworks in an organized manner, thus saving lots of time. These are useful for art galleries to keep track of all the business and organizational aspects associated with running an art gallery. They may also be helpful for artists with a large inventory of artworks.

 

 

This will make it very easy to organize everything associated with an art business. If you are an emerging artist just starting out in your art career, one of these software may help you to stay organized, and track every single artwork that you create.

Most of them have certain things in common, such as management of artworks, including titles, medium, dimensions, artwork pricing, and more. Many of these tracking software offer a free trial. To find one that works for you, try them out first. There are many artist management software available. I’m sure you will find one that perfectly suits your purpose.

Below, I will list a few of the art tracking and list management tools available for artists, along with some of the main features. To view a full list of features, along with specific information about each one, visit the website.

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Book Illustrator Duncan Long – Artist Spotlight

Duncan Long

USA, Midwest

Artist Spotlight 
 

Illustrator Duncan Long creates artwork for publishers big and small, from self-publishing authors to small publishers to large presses (including HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Enslow Publishers, ILEX, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and many other presses).

Talk-show host Victor Thorn even went so far as to suggest Long is one of the three “best graphic artists in the entire world.”

 

 

Agendas ©Duncan Long

 

Long recently completed the 80-plus illustrations for Moonstone Book's upcoming Werewolves of New Idria graphic novel written by John Chadwell; he's also created concept art for the screenplay created from the graphic novel (written by Chadwell and Ron Shusett, writer/creator of Alien, Total Recall, etc.).

When not wearing his artist hat, Long pens books, authoring 13 novels (published by Avon Books and HarperCollins), and writing over 80 technical and how-to manuals, most of which he also illustrated.

These days Long prefers creating artwork to writing (currently authoring only about one book a year, often ghost written for TV or radio personalities). The reason? "Each art project is different and offers unique challenges. And with luck it's completed in days or weeks rather than months."

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How to Become a Daily Painter and do a Painting a Day

Many of you have probably heard of daily painters. Daily painting is the practice of creating a painting a day, for a certain time period. This is something that requires much preparation before taking on the task.

The painting a day movement originally began with Duane Keiser a few years ago, and caught on rapidly. Back then, Duane completed a small painting every single day, posted them to his blog, and auctioned them at Ebay.

 

 

For those who think they are ready to do the same, there are certain preparations and things to consider. Realize that this is an ambitious project and requires time and discipline.

Listed below are some steps to prepare for your own daily painting project.

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