By Carol Burns in How To
Whether in person or online, making an art sale is only half the battle. Next is processing the payment—and if done right, it can drive more sales. Most art payments are done online, using platforms such as Shopify. But there…
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By Carol Burns in Art And Culture, How To
The art world is filled with inspiring stories about art movements, artist colonies and groups whose members found enormous success. Some were accidental, others were purposely created. So what are the pros and cons to being part of an art…
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By Carol Burns in Art And Culture, How To
For centuries, landscape painters have immersed themselves in their subjects by painting outdoors The art of painting “en plein air” means to paint “in the open” (or outdoors) and has become synonymous with the French impressionist painters like Monet. This…
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By Carol Burns in Art And Culture, How To
In the early 20th century, household paint (or interior paint) inspired a whole art movement: abstract expressionism. The enormous canvases favored by artists like Jackson Pollock would have made using traditional tubes of paint prohibitively expensive. More poetically, Pollock—one of…
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By Carol Burns in Artwork
Visiting an art supply shop can be daunting even for the most seasoned artist. So plan ahead with our A to Z of art materials. A is for… acrylic Less than a century old, acrylic paint is a fast favorite…
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By Carol Burns in How To
There are increasing ways to connect with fans of your artwork and create a potentially regular income. One such way is Patreon, which offers visual artists a chance to earn money from followers through patronage. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the…
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By Carol Burns in How To
One of the signs that you have truly made it as an artist is when people commission your artwork—but how do you get there? The first thing is to let people know you accept commissions. Shout it loud on social…
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By Carol Burns in How To
The run-up to Christmas is the busiest time for artists and makers, with some estimating Christmas art sales are worth more than the rest of the year put together. Small businesses typically bring in at least 20% of total yearly…
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By Carol Burns in Art And Culture, How To
A palette knife have become a vital part of the painter’s arsenal. Promoted from life as a lowly paint mixer, it has become more commonly associated with oil painters looking to increase the texture and marks of paintings. Types of…
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By Carol Burns in Art And Culture
Following art trends should not be about constantly adapting your work to what’s in vogue in hopes of landing more sales. Instead, understanding trends can help you make smart tweaks to your art business practice to ensure your success. What…
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By Carol Burns in Art And Culture, How To
Watercolor painting has a reputation as being for hobby painters only, while artists pat themselves on the back using “proper” paints like acrylic and oils. But this medium has a long and proud history in art going back centuries. What…
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By Carol Burns in How To
A color wash is as important to painters as a paintbrush. A blank white canvas can be unnerving for artists. Any mark can feel indelible—what if you get it wrong? What’s more, an unprepped canvas can affect your work by…
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By Carol Burns in How To
Paintbrushes date back to the Paleolithic era around 2.5 million years. Ancient Chinese and Egyptian civilizations were among the first to develop painting with brushes for fine art and decoration. In terms of design, very little has changed since then. Brushes…
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By Carol Burns in How To
As artists, it’s easy to get carried away and buy hundreds— even thousands—of dollars’ worth of art supplies. And the reality is you probably won’t even use half of it. The good news is that the equipment you need to…
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By Carol Burns in Art And Culture
Depending on who you listen to, artificial intelligence (AI) is threatening to replace us all or will revolutionize the way we live for the better. But what does it mean for artists right now? What is AI? Artificial intelligence is…
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