1. Get Discovered

Last year we covered quite a bit on the process of getting your work out there, and being discovered by as many people as possible. Here’s a round up…

• As you may be aware, Artweb has created a Facebook App to allow syncing between your Artweb account and Facebook page, and also to enable you to promote your work more easily. If you have an artist Facebook page then you can try out the app right now, visit this link!

• Search Engine Optimisation – Using effective keywords in order to expand your online presence and ‘searchability’. Here’s a link to a useful article on this subject.

• Social Networking – Back in October we covered how to effectively use social media to improve traffic to your website. Read it here!

2. Be Inspired!

Sometimes it’s hard to be inspired. Never-ending chores, day jobs, and the mundanity of the everyday, sometimes make us forget, or just completely miss, those inspiring moments in life. Here’s some ideas for how to reinvigorate your creative mind…

• Inspiration lies in experiencing the new, so why not book a plane/train/bus and go to a place you’ve never visited before…. whether that be the other side of the world or a nearby town you haven’t yet explored.

• Take some time out from your routine. Inspiration can’t be forced, but sometimes all it takes is switching off from everything for a few hours, or minutes. Yoga is great for relaxing the mind, as is going for a long and unplanned walk, or even simply closing your eyes and putting some relaxing music on for a few moments. Meditation on a regular basis is something a lot of people swear by, and can be the key to keeping a relaxed and open mind.

• Slow down, be observant of your environment: nature, people, books, cities – they are all teeming with inspiration for you to find, it just takes noticing the world around you!

• Do something out of your comfort zone at least once a week. This is a great way of learning skills you never you knew you had in you!

• Attend a Pecha-Kucha night! Pecha-Kucha nights started in Tokyo, and involve presenting a series of 20 slides on a certain topic, for 20 seconds per slide. The result is a fast-paced and fun presentation on a new subject, each person bringing together completely different themes. Find out more here.

3. Motivation is key!

We all know it can be hard to remain motivated during January and the winter months, but we have a few tips that might help…

• Here’s one great technique for upping your creative output: The One Hour Project. Give yourself one hour to complete a work of art, and not just a sketch of an idea, a fully completed work. If you have only one hour, then there is no time to deliberate or think – it forces you to act, plus it’s such a short time commitment so you should have no trouble fitting it in – perhaps today, perhaps once a week? And as it’s only an hour, you won’t feel precious about the results.

• Decide to enter a competition with an imminent deadline. Artquest has some great opportunities listed by deadline dates, which are updated constantly.

• Make a commitment to updating your website – a monthly update can be a great motivational tactic. Make it so you have to upload at least 1 new art work every month, and stick to it!

• Starting a blog can give you motivation by being a tangible and public record of your progress. Here’s a link to one of our previous articles on the benefits of an artist’s blog.

• Get a new look…for your website! Here are some great new templates from Artweb that will be available very soon:

www.alexbamford.com

www.richardwhadcock.com

www.sarah-young.co.uk

That’s it for now! We hope our New Year’s Resolutions have helped inspire those of you who might be feeling the January Blues this month. We’ll be back with our next newsletter in February, see you then!

‘Christmas Cushion Collection’ by Lettie Belle

1. Marketing

• So you’ve spent hours handcrafting your products, have arranged a stall and are all ready to go… you need people to come!! Of course, being part of a larger Christmas market will in some cases guarantee you a great footfall. However, a bit of marketing before you go could have a great impact. Social media is the obvious tool here – get Tweets out to craft-focused organisations who might re-tweet to their followers, think about your audience and who would like your work and target those areas.

• Marketing also continues throughout your Christmas Stall, and being part of a fair is a great way to promote your work. You don’t want people walking away from your stall without knowing who you are, or how to contact you for future sales! Make some simple business cards, or even just paper slips with your website details to give away with each sale. If they like your artwork now, then they are quite likely to want to find out more.

2. Display

‘Vintage Wedding Bunting’ by Nicola Corrigan

• As an artist, you are bound to be confident creating a creative and appealing display. But often, with so much else to organise, you may find yourself rushed and unable to plan your space before the doors open to the fair. A little pre-planning can go a long way in this situation! Draw up a couple of plans and consider how to creatively stand out from the crowd.

• Think about your bestsellers, what you think will have more impact and draw people in, and also think about the direction most of your audience will be coming from (something that might need to be reconsidered once you see the space!)

• Think of inventive ways to display your work. Cards stacked in a box might not be the most exciting way to show off your designs – they need to be visible and every design needs to be showcased!

• Remember, this time of year people are bound to get into the Christmas spirit! Even if your work isn’t inherently ‘christmassy’, a few fairy lights or twinkles might encourage people to see your work in a more ‘gifty’ light!

3. Packaging

‘Christmas Star Cards’ by Sharifa Brooks Read

• One thing people will love at Christmas fairs is the option to have their purchases wrapped. This doesn’t need to be anything extravagant or expensive, some simple tissue paper with a little bit of ribbon or bow will go a long way!

• Provide paper bags for larger items to allow people to take their purchases away easily, without effort

• Clever packaging is also a great way to link or up-sell your work. If a customer loves a print, you could mention that you also sell them as packs of 3 (nicely tied with a ribbon, all ready to go!)

4. Price

• Clear pricing will often make or break a sale! If a potential customer can’t see a price, they’ll very often walk away rather than asking, especially if you are busy talking to another customer.

• Label your prices in a fun and friendly way, perhaps you could personalise each piece of work with a little quirky sentence that describes the piece!

• Before pricing your work, you need to research and see what similar items around you are selling for. You don’t want to be selling similar items to those around you at a higher price, but equally you don’t want to under sell your artwork!

And finally, here is some advice from some of our Twitter followers, who are particularly experienced in the art of the Arts/Crafts Fair!

RT @1958 Munich Get to know your stall neighbours at the fair- How many fairs do they do- which are the best ones? What sells? make friends!

RT @peggy_martinez: Arrive early, some fairs state they open @ 10am but let crowds in @ 8, missed opportunities! Be friendly & open-minded.

RT @BronaghKennedy: bring a seat! Standing for hours on end makes for a tired grumpy artist!

RT @jobs_and_opps: Christmas Fair tips: Clear price labels, decent wrapping + smile no matter how cold you get!

David Rodgers, whose Spotlight interview is currently on our blog, has helpfully compiled some art fair advice on his own blog, visit his post here! Thanks David!

We hope this helps if you have an upcoming fair, or perhaps inspire you to get involved in one this year or next!

This is the last article in this series, and will focus on how you can develop your own individual website design, without going over the top and without having to know lots of fancy coding! A lot of you will be using Artweb’s templates, so we will be referencing some of the provided tools within this article. If you are thinking about designing your own artist’s site and haven’t tried Artweb’s website builder, it’s a great place to start!

1. Easy Navigation

As artists, it may be easy to get carried away when you first start building your site. After all, it is a technical version of a blank canvas! Creativity and experimentation are great for your artwork, however simplicity and keeping things obvious is key to a successful website design. Here are a few simple tips regarding navigation and menus:

• Your menu should be arranged in either a straight column on either side of the page, or as a bar along the top. Artweb’s templates already featured these menu options, so the hard part is done for you! Here’s an example of top menu bar, put into practice by artist Yvonne Ayoub: http://www.yvonne-ayoub.com/

• …. And here is an example of side menus, used by painter and printmaker Sharifa Brooks Read http://www.sharifabrooksread.co.uk/

• Have clear, concise menu headings that explain what the user will find within those sections. For example, use ‘Paintings’, ‘Mixed Media’, ‘Sketches’ etc.

• Avoid the temptation to be too cryptic! Potential buyers might be put off by long headings that describe in-depth processes before they’ve even seen the work. If you want to include processes and the background to your ideas, this could be done as a caption once they have already clicked on the artwork. That way, they are drawn in by the visual impact of the work.

• Equally, avoid being unspecific. A section on your website that has some of your best work in it is not going to be well represented by the heading ‘misc’ or ‘other work’.

• Try to avoid colours that are too close where text is. For example, don’t use yellow text on orange menus, or purple on pink etc. The classic black on white is ideal!

2. Get straight to it!

• You may have seen websites with fancy ‘splash’ pages. These can often put people off, especially if they include a lengthy animation that can’t be skipped through! Make sure your homepage is your landing page, and that it clearly shows the menu with all the sections.

• If you want, you can still create impact on your home page by displaying a large image of your most recent/successful artwork, or having a film or animation playing. However, make sure all the links are visible too so they can navigate easily from the homepage.

• Here are some great Home Page examples:

• Painter Kym Haverson lets her work do the talking with her simple, clean homepage: http://www.kymhaverson.co.uk/:

• Tracey Ann Marrison uses 2 sidebars on either side of the page. On the left are all the sections to do with info, while on the right you can find her artwork categories. She has kept her text and name a modest size, which allows her featured artwork to really stand out: http://www.tracyannmarrison.co.uk/:

• Again, simplicity is key for Simon M Smith: http://www.simonmsmith.co.uk/:

3. Colour scheme

• Keep to a colour scheme that compliments your work!

• If in doubt, stick to white, blacks and greys. As tempting as it is to use your website as a paint pallet, try and think about how this comes across to visitors!

• In most cases, your artwork provides the colour, and shouldn’t be competing with your background colour (see the successful examples by Kym Haverson and Simon M Smith above)

• In some cases, vibrant colours can be used… if they suit the work! See examples below:

• Illustrator Corrina Rothwell, who was our featured website a few weeks back, is an excellent example of this. She uses vibrant pinks and contrasting black to set of her colourful and humorous art works: http://www.corrinarothwell.co.uk/:

• Here’s another example of colour being used effectively. Sheila Marshall has complimented her confectionary-focused work with a subtle pop of pink! http://www.sheilamarshallartist.com/:

4. Fonts

• When choosing a font, stick to simple and clear typefaces such as Arial, Georgia, Tahoma or Times new Roman

• It’s personal preference, but sans-serif fonts such as Arial appear clearer and less fussy than serif fonts, such as Times New Roman

• Choose a font that suits your work best! In the 2 examples above (Corrina Rothwell and Sheila Marshall), both artists have used fonts that are clear and easy to read, but that reflect the character within their artwork.

That’s it for now! We hope these website examples and tips have helped inspire those of you who might be struggling with their website design. Remember there are so many great websites out there, get exploring and see what works and stands out for you!

We will be soon, as we are bringing next month’s newsletter forward to talk about all things Christmas! Got any tips for selling work at Christmas fairs? Know effective ways to market your work at Christmas? Why not share your ideas with other artists… let us know your thoughts here. See you soon!

OPPORTUNITY

Artist or Illustrator wanted for Album Cover

Sharon Lewis is a highly regarded songwriter and is looking for artists who may be interested in painting/illustrating a cover for her new CD titled Roses At The Top. See more info about Sharon here: http://www.sharonlewis.net/.

Sharon’s new album is quite a magical journey, with songs about longing, hope, loss, friendship and transformation. The inspiration behind Roses at the Top is of a spiritual journey in life, and the quest for self-knowledge and self-love. The emotional landscape of the song is a mountain that one is climbing, symbolising life’s trials, and the roses at the top symbolising enlightenment, contentment, peace.

The album is self produced and at present does not have financial backing, so Sharon is really looking for artists who feel inspired by the music and would like to contribute. However, all credits and links to artists would be noted on the cover. Please contact info@sharonlewis.net if you are interested. Below are links to some of Sharons songs for the new CD:
http://soundcloud.com/sharon-lewis/kings-and-queens
http://soundcloud.com/sharon-lewis/roses-at-the-top
http://soundcloud.com/sharon-lewis/birds-of-prey

Good luck!!

For many artists, social media and publicising your website or work on the Internet is already a major part of their routine. For many others though, this can be a very confusing and daunting area, particularly when using social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook to their full advantage. This article will hopefully clear up some questions that we regularly get asked!

1. Social Media

Perhaps the most obvious way of publicising your website is through social media. The most popular platforms are Twitter and Facebook, however there are many other networks out there. For this article we will cover the basics needed for getting started in the social media world.

Setting up a Facebook profile for your artist practice:

Firstly we have some big news – Artweb is shortly releasing a free artist profile app for creating a professional artist’s facebook page – click here to join the waiting list.

And in the meantime, we have a great article online that shows you exactly how to set up your own artists’ ‘page’ on Facebook. This is different from your personal profile, and allows the focus to be solely on your creative practice. People can ‘like’ the page, and the more people who do, the further audience your work could reach! Having a link on this page to your main website will increase traffic and get your site seen – you just never know who could stumble across your work. See the full article here for more information on setting up your Facebook page.

Setting up a Twitter Account:

We have had a few requests recently for an article on Twitter, and how to use it effectively in an artist/creative business-specific way. Hopefully we can demystify it a little! Of course there is plenty of information on Twitter itself, and they have a great glossary which will go some way to helping you understand the language that can be utilised, see here. We’ve put together a few helpful hints here though just to get you started:

• Your username should be the name you use for your art practice (remember, keep things clear)! You could also mention your profession in your username, for example “JamesTurnerArtist” or ‘ClaireBarkerPaintings”. That way when you Tweet it will be clearly relating to your business, and can help people relate your Twitter account to your website.

• Using the @(username) sign in a Tweet is called a mention. Whoever’s name you put after the @ sign, that user will see the Tweet in their mention feed. If you say something particularly of interest, they might then Re-tweet that to all their followers, and your name will be in their Tweet. So this is how you can get your name spread around quite quickly, by mentioning relevant organisations who might be interested in your work. For example, if Artweb receive a Tweet saying “@theartistsweb I have a painting exhibition this weekend@SkyGallery, Bournemouth”, we could then Re-tweet this to all of our followers, meaning they have very quickly increased the exposure of their exhibition!

• Another great tool is the hash-tag # symbol. This links popular words to a pool of Tweets, meaning you can click on the hash-tag word and see other Tweets relating to the same thing. For example, you could Tweet “My #photography is on show at Star Gallery, #London, #Art”. This way your Tweet will be linked so people who might search Twitter for ‘art’, ‘photography’ or ‘London’ could see your Tweet. To get the most out of this you need to spend a bit of time seeing how hash-tags work, and getting to grips with popular searches.

• The best way to learn is, as with most things, to jump straight in! Sign up, follow some people or organisations, and gradually work out how the conversations work. A great one to start with is Artweb of course, follow us @TheArtistsWeb and give us a mention… we’ll Re-tweet any events or exhibitions you have coming up!

Remember to ‘Like’ and ‘Follow’ other people…

…who are relevant to you, whose work you admire, or who you just generally like! Starting a network of fellow artists is extremely helpful, and can help you see how others are publicising their work too.

Setting up a blog:

We talked about setting up a blog in a previous article – take a peek here. In reference to getting your website more publicity, a blog can be extremely useful in starting networks and letting followers into your working process. Our last article covered various blogging platforms and the benefits of blogging – so if you’re interested but don’t how, it’s a good place to start!

2. Spread your url

• Add your website to
 all of your social media profiles

• Make sure it is clearly written on your business cards

• If you are on any online communities, include your site as a forum signature

• Include your website in your email signature too!

• If you’re applying for a job, it could be a good idea to include it on your CV, even if you don’t think it’s hugely relevant. A friend of mine once applied to a job in a gallery, and whilst the gallery did not take their application further, they visited their website out of curiosity and ended up offering them an exhibition instead!

3. On your website:

• Linking to social media: So you have a Twitter account, a Facebook page and a blog. The next thing to do is add a link to all of these things on your website, so people who may come across your site can then connect with you, follow your progress and like your pages! By doing this, people who are genuinely interested in your work can be reminded of you on a daily basis, and it’s also easier for them to share your site with others.

• Sharing buttons: Another useful addition to your website is to include ‘like’, ‘tweet’ and ‘+1′ buttons, that allow visitors to your site to instantly follow you and also to share your work. Conveniently Artweb has a feature to help with this! If you are an Artweb user, just go to: -> Login -> Settings -> Sharing & Bookmarks, and you will be able to add like/ tweet/ +1 buttons to your website. It’s a very useful tool, as every time a visitor clicks one of these buttons all the people connected to them will potentially see this, and be inspired to visit your site. Also, search engines are starting to use social media activity as “signals” for their algorhythms – similar to how lots of incoming links to your website helps with search engine results, lots of likes/ tweets/ +1′s are starting to have a similar effect. If you’re not sure what these buttons look like, you will probably have seen them before without realising – here’s a reminder:

Artweb members Liberty Gallery put these links on their homepage, ensuring maximum visibility (visit their site here!) and see below:

• Link to fellow artists and friends, and get them to link to your website. Having a page dedicated to ‘links’ or ‘other artists’ is a great way of publicising fellow artists’ work and getting them to repay the favour. Don’t go crazy with adding links, but link to people you might have worked with or have had an inspiration on your work, as well as galleries, organisations and collectives you might be part of. Here’s a great and simple example from Maria Rivans website:

• Have a ‘News’ section, and include information on publications, artist talks you might be part of, and exhibitions. This will keep people up to date with your activity and can also link to the things you talk about on your blog and social media.

We hope this has helped anyone who finds social media daunting, and inspired you to become more active in getting your work seen by more people. After all, there are so many brilliant websites out there, they deserve to be seen by the masses! We will be back on the 21st November with the 4th and final part of this series, focussing on the design aspect of your website, and giving some tips on how to make the most of your website’s visual style. See you then!

We are going to be doing a series of articles with some tips on how to get the most out of your website. In this first part, we’ll be looking at how you can maximise connection with your visitors by creating an ‘About Me’ section that really stands out, and represents what you and your work are about!

There a lot of great articles already online, such as Artquest, so here we are going to summarise a few of the important points and give some examples of artists (including Art Web members of course!) who are really using their About Me section to full advantage.

1. Artist Statement

• Try and include a portrait of yourself!  There are lots of reasons why this is useful. It helps visitors to your site connect with your statement and your work, and it’s also a chance to let some of your personality come through. You don’t have to have a generic passport photo, why not think about how you can channel your creativity through your picture!  A great idea is to to have someone photograph you next to or amongst your artwork, it makes it feel real and shows you’re passionate about your work. Below are a couple of artists that I think do this well:

Artweb member Martin Cheek has a great example on his site, see his whole site at: http://www.martincheek.co.uk/:

Another successful profile picture is that of Kate Boyce, http://www.kateboyce.co.uk/biography:

• Try to convey the fundamental elements of what your work is about. Think about what it concerns and what ideas you tend to focus on.

• What materials and processes do you use and why?

• Try not to overcomplicate your statement with long theories or confusing though processes. Keep it concise and clear, and make sure it really is relevant to your work!

• What/ who are your influences? How have these affected your work?

• The length of your statement can vary when applying to residencies, galleries etc, but for your website all you really need is a few well-written paragraphs that capture people’s attention. Here are a couple of good examples:

Mixed media artist Camilla Brendon uses her statement to introduce the themes and ideas behind her work: http://camillabrendon.com/statement.php

Collage artist, photographer, illustrator Julia Bellamy, an Artweb member, also has a short and sweet statement that sums up her practice and references her influences and inspiration: http://www.juliabellamy.co.uk/about-me

• Another great idea is to use a ‘strap-line’ or headline, if you want to sum up your practice in a few words:

Artweb member Anne Magill has decided to use a quote on her opening page. This is a really great idea as it gives a sense of professionalism, and  that the artist is successful: http://www.annemagill.com/

Artist David Shrigley, http://www.davidshrigley.com/, whose work is all about humorous combinations of text and images and implied meanings, has used the ideas within his work for his opening page. It’s successful because the strap-line is a work in itself!

2. Biography

• Your biography is a chance to boast! Many artists struggle with self-promotion and maybe feel uncomfortable about listing achievements and successes. However, we all know how important it is to sell yourself, especially when you are trying to sell your work at the end of the day!

• Focus on the parts of your life that you are most proud of. For example, if you feel you’ve had a great education and gained a lot out of it, write about this in a bit more detail.

• Include some info about where you grew up, your influences perhaps, where you moved to etc. Your biography is a chance to talk about YOU and not just your professional achievements (These can be listed in detail in a separate CV).

• Don’t be afraid to use humour!

• General things to cover are: education, exhibitions of particular note, awards or shortlists (choose 1 or 2 important ones) any artist’s collectives you might be part of, future shows and commissions, and any part of your personal history that you feel is relevant. Here are some examples of successful biographies:

Joanna Yates has a great biography on her site, also a brilliant use of a profile pic that shows her working: http://www.joannayates.co.uk/about-me

Another excellent example is Leyla Murr who writes about herself with a great energy and enthusiasm that really reflects her work: http://www.leylamurr.com/biography

And here are some other great examples we thought worth checking out:

http://www.eliseferguson.co.uk/biography

http://cecilrice.theartistsweb.co.uk/biography

3. Artist’s CV

• Your CV can act as an extension of your biography- an opportunity to list all of your achievements in detail.

• If you feel that you don’t want a CV on your website as well as a statement and biography, you can always include it as a link to a downloadable PDF. That way, people can choose whether they want to read it!

• It’s good to include your basic info at the top, such as full name, email address, phone number. Some artists include their date and place of birth, but this is entirely up to you!

• Include your education in date order, most recent first. If you have taken on further or higher education, it might not be necessary to include GCSEs  and specific grades, unless you feel they are relevant to your work.

• List your exhibitions by year, for example:

2011

-Landscapes, The Artists Gallery, London

- Beautiful Creatures, Close Up Gallery, Herts

2010

- Seascapes, group show at The Other Gallery, Bournemouth

- Found structures, Hope Gallery, Ipswich

etc

• You can also separate your exhibitions into Group shows and Solo shows, if you prefer

• Include details of residencies or exchanges you have done

• Make sure you put down awards and any you have been nominated or shortlisted for

• Include a commissioned section, to list selected commissioned work

• List any work that has been published in books, or any articles that have been written about you and include images of your work.

Here are some examples of a couple of Artist’s CVs, from artists at various stages in their careers:

http://www.siobhanohehir.com/biography

http://www.helenmasacz.com/exhibitions

That’s it for part 1, hope you enjoyed the article! If you have any examples of great ‘About Me’ sections why not post a link as a comment?

Part 2 will be focussing on ‘Making it Clear‘, covering ideas on how to clearly communicate with your audience, as well as tips on pricing, sizing and taking photographs of your work.

See you soon!

Firstly, some thoughts on why blogging might be good for your art practice in this digital social media age!

- Blogging allows you to post ideas and thought processes without committing to it being ‘finished work’

- It encourages feedback and initiates discussion about your work in progress
- A well-thought blog can bring traffic to your website, if used cleverly
- It acts as a point of reference to things that inspire you, acting as a digital scrapbook
- Artists can link their blog to Twitter and Facebook and other social networking, allowing for wider audience potential
- Many blogging platforms act as communities as well, where you can meet other artists and initiate collaborations
- Curators often look online to find info on artists- the more of a presence you have the more information about your practice you are putting out there.

- Many artists feel that theory and process is as much part of their practice as the outcome, and voicing your thought processes could help to emphasise the theoretical elements of your work, and clarify your direction.

Drawbacks?

In my opinion, there aren’t any drawbacks to having more of an online presence, especially for artists! The only thing you might want to think about is keeping your images safe. One way you could do this is using a creative commons liscence (see our previous article on Getting the most out of your website for more info on this). Some of the blogging platforms out there encourage others to repost and share the work you post, which can be great for exposure, but if you aren’t happy with this make sure you read and adjust the settings to your requirements.

Some links to other useful articles on the net, worth a look:

A-N has some great articles on the benefits of blogging for artists, and even has a blogging platform of it’s own:

http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/article/406327

http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/article/539709

Other sources of info:

http://www.squidoo.com/blogging-for-artists: Lots of articles and in depth discussion on tips and advice for artists who want to start a blog!

http://www.theloungegroup.com/the-rise-of-the-digital-scrapbook-culture/: Interesting article on the Rise of Digital Scrapbooking

Some examples of popular blogging platforms, and what we think:

Blogger:
http://www.blogger.com
Very simple and great for ‘following’ other blogs, which can initiate conversation with others and encourage others to follow your blog. Links to Googlemail accounts so good if you already have one, as you can utilise your existing contacts.
Example of blogger template designer:

WordPress:
http://wordpress.com/
Extremely customisable and great for the techie artist who wants to create their own blog design. WordPress offers a hosted or self-hosted option, so if you know your stuff you can have absolute control over the look and feel of your blog. For some people this might be important in expressing their work, for others it might be unnecessary and a little daunting to begin with.

Posterous:
https://posterous.com/
This platform is great if you just want a blank canvas (no pun intended!) to spill out your ideas without fussing over design. Acts as more of a note/ jotting space and allows for email updating on the move, which is perfect if you spot something inspiring out and about!

Tumblr:
http://www.tumblr.com/
Imge: example of Tumblr search function via tagging
This has a lot of nice layout choices, very contemporary and simple. Tumblr is great if you just want to post images as and when you feel without having to make too much sense of your ideas. Another good thing about this platform is the search functions and the ability for others to find your work and repost, like or follow you. Personally this is my favourite in terms of exposure and getting your work/ ideas seen!

Example of Tumblr search function:

Livejournal:
http://www.livejournal.com/
Very community focussed- so brilliant if you’re looking to make connections and discover people with similar interests. Very simple and usable.

A few tips

- Utilise search function capabilities such as tagging, labels and categories – the more info you attach to an image the easier it is for search engines and your audience to find it!

- Explore other blogs and comment on posts – this will encourage people to reply and have a look at your blog. It will also allow your avatar to be viewable by their followers, who may also have a peek at you posts.

- Post regularly and keep the content relevant – once a day is great, but a couple of times a week is a good start. If you start to get followers, they’ll want to know what you’re up to, and taking an extended break from blogging could cause them to unfollow!

- Link your blog to your Twitter and any other Social networks – Your friends and family are a great place to start when trying to get your blog out there!

- Include your blog address in your email signature. Often people will be more inclined to look at a blog site rather than an artist’s website, perhaps it’s our nosy nature… whatever brings traffic to your work though can’t be a bad thing!

To summarise…

There are of course many more blogging platforms, so do your research and see what’s best for your needs! Think about what is most important to you – exposure? collection of ideas for your own process? networking and collaborating? All platforms offer these things but perhaps some focus on certain things more than others.

Happy blogging, and leave a comment if you have a blog, perhaps you could inspire others!

We have just launched a new competition on our Facebook page, where you could win free membership for 6 months or a year! Every Wednesday we’ll be selecting an artwork at random from artweb.com and posting it on our wall in our ‘frame’.

If it happens to be your image:

If it happens to be your image, and you manage to spot it before the week is up, you need to claim it to win your prize! To do this just comment on the image on Facebook – you’ll need to be a ‘fan’ of our facebook page to do this (just click on the like button at the top of the page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/ArtWebcom/278685876393)

And if it’s not your image this time, make sure you ‘like’ the image so it’s more likely it is that the owner will find it. Like it every week to keep the prizes flowing…. Good luck!

1. How to create an artist’s successful Facebook page.
2. How much will artists sell online in 2010?

Hi,

I just wanted to add whilst you are considering that my dear mum is 85  years young and has just completed a snow scene in pastels.  To be able to produce such good quality work and still receive commissions at that age is amazing!  Art has no barriers or age limits and it is a passion that burns within our souls.
(Just a proud daughter www.olga-rudenko.co.uk

We agree, Sonia!  Here’s a link to Olga’s snow scene in pastels which Sonia mentions…truly lovely!

http://www.olga-rudenko.co.uk/new-work/215595_snow-scene.html

Keep your comments and news coming, folks!

Admin

This site I’ve banged the gong for………………..Cornelia Blunt. Cornelia is a portrait sculpture artist who creates stunning sculptures from life in resin, clay, bronze or plaster.

Why Cornelia’s site? It’s a good example of less is more. There are enough clearly photographed images of Cornelia’s work without reams and reams of text to pore through, and great before-and-after shots of the sitters during work-in-prgress and of the finished sculptures. The biography gives a captivating but clear and informative description of the process involved, which would be tempting to anyone sitting for a sculpture! The links page has direct links to the sites of those she’s been trained by; and those sites too are impressive! The photos of the sitters and the sculptures are big enough to not have to squint with simple captions. Cornelia Blunt has a site which perfectly illustrates how an artist’s work can speak for itself with great impact by simply having clear pictures, good details, and enough sense of the artist behind it to leave you wanting a little bit more.

Take a look at this simple but effective site and also at her lovely work. Well done, Cornelia!
http://corneliablunt.theartistsweb.co.uk/

4. IN THE NEXT EDITION OF THE ARTIST’S NEWSLETTER….

• Running an artist’s blog; is it worth it? Is there much to be gained from it? We look at some successful blogs and explore the benefits writing one could have for you.
• How to get more traffic to your website…ways and means you may not have thought about!
• Get your site looking nifty and you could have next issue’s ‘Artist’s Site Of The Month’!
  ….and there’ll also be anything else that I have an ‘Eureka!’ moment about between now and then.

Coming up on The Artists Web Blog…..
Oh, lots! Watch out for our series of interviews surrounding the National Portrait Gallery’s prestigious BP Awards coming up! Also some gallery reviews…are they visitor-friendly? Were the exhibitions good? Worth the money? We’ll be welcoming your comments and experiences of those we feature so do have your say. I’ve also had a nice chat with BBC daytime presenter Alistair Appleton (if, like me, you’re an ‘Escape To The Country’ fan you’ll know who I mean!) about his experiences of art, his influences and what artwork he’d have in his living room if he had unlimited money! Do check out our latest ‘Spotlight’ interview with stained glass artist Rosalyn Mina…stunning work! And of course we’ll be running more Spotlight interviews over the weeks to come. So plenty to keep checking the blog for.
That’s all for now. Till next time!