Art Marketing Secrets

If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from us in a few days………… That’s right, our down-under sensibilities require that we take at least one good vacation every year, so here we are in Cape Cod, MA enjoying the sun, good food, and wonderful painting opportunities. Have a great week – we’ll be back on October 12 refreshed and ready to take on another year of art marketing challenges!

I thought the following quote from James Allen to be particularly appropriate in the context of artistic achievement: The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream…. James Allen Important considerations in the achievement of true art. Some background information on Allen: James Allen is a literary mystery man…. The family business failed within a few years, and in 1879 his father left for America in an effort to recoup his losses.

Here are some thoughts from a great leader and a great artist: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence…. …….Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge However depressed I may be I am not in the habit of giving up a project without having tried everything, even the ‘impossible’, to gain my end. …….Paul Gauguin Paul Gauguin Many thanks to The Painter’s Keys for these quotes.

What particularly caught my attention was an article by North Carolina artist Susan Lyon called “Most Likely to Succeed” in which she shares shares her opinions on important topics including: Should I go to art school?… Challenging yourself to push the boundaries and go beyond your comfort zone might mean that some paintings don’t come out well, but it also means you’re growing as a painter” Susan also made some comments about artist’s websites which we also strongly believe in: It’s a mistake to think of your website only in terms of selling paintings…. Also in the October Artist’s Magazine is a great article by artist and art career coach Kathy Gulrich, titled “Decisions, Decisions”.

The more traditional version of this tip from the established art world was: “Have one theme in your art, and continue to make images or creations consistent with this theme throughout your career”!!… Even more important, if a piece created by an artist has just sold to another collector, they like to have several more pieces on hand of similar style so that they can sell to the next client…. Another artist might have, “Landscapes”, “Portraits”, and “Still Life”, etc Don’t get carried away though – Three is probably a good number of gallery sections if you still want to appeal to arts professionals.

Throughout history, artists have been inspired by all manner of food and drink in their work. I have a plein-air artist friend who finds it almost impossible to work unless she has a brush in one hand and a coffee in the other. She is very particular though – the highest grade hawaiian Kona coffee seems to bring about her best work!

Artist’s website development prices range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. Typically, bigger design firms have larger overheads and will be significantly more expensive. On the other hand, Joe down the street can probably build you a website for $200 – but you probably don’t want that website!

People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.

The most important thing when choosing a designer to create your artist website is to remember what you are trying to build – a beautiful online gallery space to elegantly show your beautiful work

Understanding how the use of space, fonts, color, and images work together to promote a piece of art uses quite a different skill set to actually creating the art Can you wait months for the site to be ready?… Do you have all the computer software and the relatively-new computer needed to build a high-quality website?… The point we are making is to think about the actual cost of developing your own site.