Creating A Free and Easy Web Presence

Over the years, artist friends have asked me about creating a website of their own.  When potential collectors see a few of their creations, they are often asked if they have a website.  They would like to have a way of sharing their portfolio, but usually have two primary concerns: 1) they don't consider themselves as "technically savvy" and 2) they don't want to spend money.  I added a third criteria; the images are displayed in a format large enough to appreciate the artwork.

I found a few options that are both FREE and EASY and meet that criteria.  I will be doing a quick presentation on the four options below at South County Art Association on Saturday, 1/31/15, 9:00 - 10:30 am.  (http://southcountyart.org/class/683)

• Weebly: template-based website tool
• Blogger: text, images and video in a "post" format
• Flickr: image and video
• Fine Art America:  image and print website

In addition to the overview, I will also facilitate a hands-on workshop so participants can build one or more of these options.  This will be held at South County Art Association on 2/7/15 and 2/14/14. $70 SCAA members/$85 nonmember.(http://southcountyart.org/class/684)

Just Paint

I think I'm going to postpone art classes for a while.  I enjoy my fellow students and instructors and always find something that strengthens my painting, but I've reached a point where I just need to paint.   And paint.  And paint.  The classes and homework gives me the structure and discipline I often lack, so I'll need to work in that, too.

Interestingly, as I'm making this decision, I came across a great article from Robert Glenn.  He talks about the career paths and success of  two recent art school graduates. To quickly summarize, it was the person who cranked out 2000 paintings vs. 11 large paintings who is the success and represented by a number of galleries.

Also, not to long ago I read the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell.  In the book he talks about the 10,000 Hour Rule.  This is the number of hours you need to put into your craft to become a success. (20 hours of practice every week for 10 years.)  "The thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That's it. And what's more, the people at the very top don't work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder." 

Hmm... that's gonna mean a lot of painting to get in my 10,000 hours.