Today's Post is by Clint Watson,  founder of FineArtViews. Follow Clint on Twitter. Sometimes we receive letters that make it all worth it.  I opened up my email a few days ago to find the following: Dear Mr. Clint Watson and company, I want to compliment and thank you for this amazing website service that you have created.  I have had the most pleasurable experience mounting my own website. To be able to create ones own website so effortlessly is a gem of a service for all artist who wish to take that most important step as a professional. With [...]

Today's guest author is artist, Jack Hampton.  This article has been edited and published with the author's permission. Find out how you can become a guest author. To every serious artist, I say - "practice, practice, practice".  In the long run, it is worth your time. As an engineer I am largely left-brained. I would still be one of those pocket protector advocates if my wife had not taken over my wardrobe. As a matter of fact ,my wife Nancy is responsible for leading me to attempt art. I made that leap of faith 5 or so years ago when she invited me [...]

Today's Post is by Lori Woodward Simons, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  Find out how you can be a guest author. Back in 1995, I was invited to a watercolor workshop with Sondra Freckelton. I had heard that the editor in chief of American Artist Magazine often spent a day at Freckelton's reviewing artists' work for inclusion in Watercolor Magazine. At that time, my work was in no way up to par for a magazine article, but I had a few friends whose work was spectacular, yet they had no presence on a national level, so I asked them each to give [...]

Some great new artist websites from our newest members! [...]

Today's Post is by Keith Bond, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  Find out how you can be a guest author Nearly 20 years ago, I spent a couple of years living in Switzerland (also a few months each in Germany and Austria).  Before living there, I had taken 4 years of German in High School.  I also spent a month living in Germany with a German family while participating in a school exchange program.  Additionally, I had taken several college German classes.  As I went to live in Switzerland, I was quite confident in my abilities [...]

Sometimes 1 is far more powerful than 100...Remember that before jumping on the latest Internet bandwagon promising you more "hits", more "page views" and more "traffic." [...]

Today's Post is by Lori Woodward Simons, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  Find out how you can be a guest author. Earlier today, those of us who correspond on Twitter have been discussing ideas concerning the fact that galleries rarely want to encourage direct contact between their artists and collectors. One person whom I regularly tweet with related that one gallery explained that collectors aren't really all that interested in dialoging with the artist. I thoroughly disagree. A New Standard of Gallery Representation The way that conversation/information gets written and reviewed has changed. Even newspapers and TV are being ignored because access to [...]

Today's Post is by Clint Watson,  founder of FineArtViews. Follow Clint on Twitter. Since writing about Art Marketing for Artists Who Want to Change the World, I've had some more thoughts about art marketing:  Art marketing is conversations.  Ignore your friendly magazine salesperson and/or marketing "guru" who tells you marketing is all about "branding:"  "branding" is for sissies, branding is dead - MARKETING. IS. CONVERSATIONS. (Hint:  If you're having conversations, you'll "automatically" develop a "brand").   Conversations are going to happen with or without your participation.  There's an old saying in advertising, "Tell your story, or someone else will tell it for [...]

Some great new artist websites by new FineArtStudioOnline members. [...]

Today's Post is by Keith Bond, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  Find out how you can be a guest author I often hear people comment: "if only I had time to do art."  The truth is we are all allotted the same number of hours per day.  What we do with that time is an indication of what is important to us.  We simply choose to do those things that we value the most.  "Yes," you say, BUT you might argue that you have a job requiring 50 hours a week; you have your children's games [...]

Today's Post is by Lori Woodward Simons, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  Find out how you can be a guest author. The work of an artist may come across as stunning, beautiful, meaningful... and yet, the truth of the matter is... there is yet, and always will be, room for improvement.  We don't have to be perfect or get obsessive about our work before we put it out there for sale or view. Collectors expect that the artists they collect will improve over time. However, the best artists focus their eyes on that next rung to mastery. It is always before them. Put [...]

Today's Post is by Clint Watson,  founder of FineArtViews. Follow Clint on Twitter. Last week, I posted an article titled Art Marketing for Artists Who Want to Change the World.  I few days later I found the following letter in my inbox: After reading your newsletter for a year and enjoying it, and benefiting from it and being very appreciative of what you do...I read this latest blurb from you and it hit on one of those deep inner chords.   I started my journey as an artist some 30 years ago, but I didn't know it. I remember being a kid and having some innate [...]

Today's guest author is artist, Jeffery Sparks.  This article has been edited and published with the author's permission. Find out how you can become a guest author. Making Time for Your Art Career Many artists have jobs outside of the studio. I do, and perhaps many of you who are reading this have full-time jobs or family responsibilities that seem like full-time jobs. As working artists, we foster a common belief that if we keep growing, learning, and creating, that at the very least, we will produce a body of significant work. And Just Maybe, (dare we dream?), trade our jobs for a [...]

Check out these great new artist websites featuring our newest members! [...]

Today's Guest Post is by artist Daniel J. Keys.  Find out how you can be a guest author. As artists, it is essential that we constantly be expanding our minds, especially where our creative skills are concerned. Whether you're already an accomplished painter, or just beginning on your path to artistic excellence, there is always more to learn and higher levels of perfection to aim for. Study good art Our aim should be to grow and improve, and there are several ways of doing this. One important method is often underestimated, and therefore overlooked: Studying good art. By "good art", I mean [...]

Today's Post is by Lori Woodward Simons, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  Find out how you can be a guest author. We've been hearing a lot lately about bringing our work to the next level of sophistication, but how do we artists catapult our abilities to excellence in a hurry? While I can't speak for every artist out there, I don't particularly want to take another 5 years to visibly improve the quality of my work. Because I've had the opportunity to interview, write about, and work alongside some of this country's most renowned artists, I am well aware of how [...]

FineArtStudioOnline (our sister service) is pleased to announce a new advertising opportunity for artists.  Place your ad in the spring issue of Artist Advocate Magazine at our special FineArtStudioOnline Rate and receive one year of web hosting from FineArtStudioOnline at no additional charge. That’s right no charge. We've arranged special rates for you on FULL PAGE advertisements in Artist Advocate.  These are great rates in a great magazine that reaches over 6,500 art gallery directors.  In addition, anyone who books an ad through this special offer will also get ONE YEAR of web hosting at FineArtStudioOnline.  [...]

Successful artists want to change the world.  They are Outside Zebras that avoid the Herd, they live on the edge, they make purple cows that become Blue Monsters via smart conversations with their clan. This post is going to be a bit of a ramble about marketing art...just a a way to get some ideas out of my head and into the "sphere." Lately, I've been reading a lot of stuff written by marketing guys like Seth Godin and Hugh MacLeod .....digesting their ideas, mentally combining their ideas with my own thoughts.....and thinking a lot about how it all [...]

Today's Post is by Keith Bond, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  Find out how you can be a guest author Many artists feel that truly meaningful or 'pure' art is created solely for the purpose of expression and must not be influenced by any outside force.  They argue that the inspiration must come from within and that any other influence or purpose behind the creation dilutes or contaminates its purpose.  It is no longer pure art, but rather has stooped to the level of 'commercial art' at best. Is it really so black and white?  Can one make a living at art [...]

Today's Post is by Lori Woodward Simons, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  Find out how you can be a guest author. Several blogs that I subscribe to have been recently arguing that making New Year's resolutions is useless and sometimes downright depressing - especially when listed goals are never met.  But since I'm a natural born list maker, I just can't help myself when it comes to writing down and revising my goals. In other words, for me... it's fun. This year, I'm doing something a big different... I'm simplifying all my wishes into one or two main goals that come under what [...]