There are times images can say more than words. I took these photos at documentary filmmaker Mary Kerr’s birthday celebration. Kerr’s work focuses on the history of the Beat Era’s artists and poets. Back in November she spoke at San Jose Museum of Art about the noted abstract painter Joan Brown, whom she had known.
Waiting with the Cake, part 1, photo by Mary GowMaking a Wish, part 2, photo by Mary GowHappy First Wish, part 3, photo by Mary GowHappy Second Wish, part 4, photo by Mary Gow
"Emerging," mixed media by Mary GowThough the purpose of my blog is to speak to the artist in you and not specifically to artists who use brushes and paint, this post and the previous one are more geared for the active visual artist.
Were you inspired by Abbey Ryan and Natasha Wescoat who are making a living producing their art on their own terms?
From my research on ways to sell art outside the gallery environment, I found five helpful resources worth sharing. At the end I’ll tell you what my choices are.
1-Empty Easel offers a hefty amount of information for setting up for artistic success. Found this advice for selling your art online.
4-Fidelis Art Prints has some wisdom to share advising you “make your online reproductions a little smaller and slightly different than the original. Doing this would preserve the value of the original. Don’t miss Fidelis’ helpful article on seven features that help you market your art on Facebook.
After visiting the above sites my recommended methods are print-on-demand at sites like Imagekind and direct selling from your own website or Facebook.
I was in a show recently and the day of the opening I opened an Imagekind account. A few days later I sold a canvas print of “Emerging” from my online gallery! I uploaded high resolution images and determined the markup. (I am still stocking my gallery). Imagekind handled the fulfillment of the order and the shipping.
Seth Godin has written thirteen books (all best sellers) and is considered one of the top bloggers in the marketing sphere. In his book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? says you don’t need the system like you think you do. Abbey Ryan is artist showing how that is done.
Ryan paints a painting a day and then sells it online, usually on eBay. Recently she was one of the artists featured in the O! the Oprah Magazine in an article about women following their passion.
You’ll find Ryan on YouTube as well. Here’s a short video about her produced by VookTV:
Read more about Ryan’s success in an article in her undergraduate alma mater, Arcadia University’s bulletin.
Another artist I find inspiring is Natasha Wescoat. Among the many places her success as an artist is mentioned is in the New York Times bestselling book by Guy Vaynerchuk called Crush It! Wescoat’s work was recognized when she first sold her work online with “a series of successful eBay auctions in 2004 launched her commercial career” (from her bio). Since then Wescoat has sold over 1,000 original works to public and private collectors and collections around the world.
She’s definitely an artist to learn from. She shares helpful information on her blog, Fresh Gloss.
Since both Ryan and Wescoat show that art is selling online, why not follow their example?
Stay tuned. The next post has resources for getting your art online.
She’s the first “Spirit Photographer” I’ve ever met.
Karen Leffler embraces art and spirit – which makes her the most fitting person for ArtSpirit7 to write about. Karen Leffler, spirit photographer
“As my life is a prayer, photography is my passion.” says Leffler. As you can see from her website, she specializes in sacred photography and architecture.
Her photographs catch the presence of other-ness, something unexpected and unseen by the naked eye that appears in her photographs. It is hard to describe in words.
Leffler showed photographs of the life of João Teixeira de Faria, internationally known as John of God or João de Deus. He is “arguably the most powerful unconscious medium alive today and possibly the best-known healer of the past 2000 years.” (from johnofgod.com)
The prevalent thread in Leffler’s presentation is what we focus on is what we manifest. Whatever imagery we allow our eyes to gaze upon is like a prayer to the Universe of what we want. So guard the door to your precious eyes and select carefully.
Of course at Casa de Dom Inacio they are very careful about what is on their walls.
Before her talk was over she suggested a few websites to visit:
–Gregg Braden talking about our hearts as our biggest electromagnetic field;
