When it comes to our art, we all make excuses, but are you willing to sacrifice your art practice for convenience? The reality is that it's easy to make excuses and we do it without even realizing it. [...]

Selected Upcoming Exhibits by Informed Collector Artists [...]

When people say things like, "you just need to get your work 'out there'"..... find should out exactly what 'out there' means...People usually don't have a good idea about what they mean by 'out there' and use such terminology to avoid doing the hard (but required) thinking about art marketing. [...]

The investment world has some complicated scientific formulas for calculating ROI and comparing different investments to each other using these calculations. I have tried to simplify things here for the sake of discussion. By all means, I am not a financial adviser or accountant who can help you make these numbers work. I need one myself... [...]

Eugen Chisnicean ~ Gorgeous hues and fabulous figures dominate exquisite watercolors of France and Moldavian. [...]

The thing about rules is...you should follow them, except when you shouldn't. And if your good enough, sometimes breaking them makes you more memorable. You just better be damn sure your good enough [...]

When artists pay big money to attend the workshop of a masterful painter, the last thing they want is for other students to spout off what they know, challenge the teacher, or given unsolicited advice. [...]

'Old Gloucester Waterfront' by Dennis Poirier was selected as Finalist - Outstanding Acrylic in the June 2010 BoldBrush Painting Competition. [...]

'Laundry Line' by Lynn Miller was selected as Finalist - Outstanding Watercolor in the June 2010 BoldBrush Painting Competition. [...]

You need the discipline to get into your studio and start working...At that point, your love for creating should kick in and it should be fun, not a chore...If you need military-style discipline to keep you on task even after you've started, perhaps you should re-examine why you're an artist in the first place. [...]

'My City at Early morning' by Samiran Sarkar was selected as Finalist - Outstanding Watercolor in the June 2010 BoldBrush Painting Competition. [...]

Selected Upcoming Exhibits by Informed Collector Artists [...]

The Collector by Elizabeth Pollie was selected Best of Show in the June 2010 BoldBrush Painting Competition. [...]

A quick announcement: improvement on our BrushBuzz product: Each day we bring you the best art marketing and art inspiration tips from around the Internet on BrushBuzz...Now you can browse those articles by day. [...]

'Le Défi' by Marina Dieul was awarded 3rd Place in the June 2010 BoldBrush Painting Competition. [...]

People who see your work for the first time need time to look and browse and think. After you greet them (at a show, at an exhibition), they want time to do that. If they like what they see, they eventually give you permission to talk to them about your work. And they usually do that in the form of...a stupid question. [...]

'The Old Villain' by John Kilroy was awarded 2nd Place in the June 2010 BoldBrush Painting Competition. [...]

'The Collector' by Elizabeth Pollie was awarded Best of Show in the June 2010 BoldBrush Painting Competition. [...]

June 2010 BoldBrush Contest Winners Announced! [...]

Selected Upcoming Exhibits by Informed Collector Artists [...]

Our esteemed judge, Dan Beck, has completed the judging of the June 2010 BoldBrush painting competition. [...]

'Bequeath' by Tanya Bone was selected as a Finalist in the May RayMar Fine Art Competition. [...]

I thought that my last post would finalize the series on venturing into art fairs and festivals but in the last few days I couldn’t stop thinking that something was missing. Well, maybe not just one thing, but it occurred to me that I cannot simply close it off by the DIY display systems. I have to give a stage to the more professional ways available out there. [...]

'Springtime on the Farm' by Walt Curlee was selected as a Finalist in the May RayMar Fine Art Competition. [...]

We just thought for fun and giggles we'd add a bit of personality to our email newsletter module...We already pull avatars from a few public sources for our blog comment systems, and it dawned on us that we could use the same functions for the email newsletter area. [...]

'Red Cap Girl' by Mark Lovett was selected as a Finalist in the May RayMar Fine Art Competition. [...]

Nearly every day, you are given advice and suggestions on things to further your art career. Sometimes it seems overwhelming with everything you "should" do. So how do you sift through all the advice and still leave time for creating your art? [...]

'Turisti al Duomo di San Martino (Lucca)' by James Crandall was selected as a Finalist in the May RayMar Fine Art Competition. [...]

Selected Upcoming Exhibits by Informed Collector Artists [...]

For a lot of artists, combining the creative side with the business side is a real challenge. This is where using both sides of your brain can give you a distinct advantage by stirring up creative juices as an artist and a professional business person. [...]

'Carmel Beach' by Jesse Powell was selected as a Finalist in the May 2010 FineArtViews Painting Competition. [...]

I think that the most important thing a good artist statement will do for you - especially if your art is not conventional - is help the viewer know what to look for and how to think about your work. [...]

'The Shell Hunter' by Charles Cox was selected as a Finalist in the May 2010 FineArtViews Painting Competition. [...]

During more than 30 years of judging national, regional, and local art contests, I learned that the results often depend on completely arbitrary circumstances. What that means to you is that the artistic merit of your painting is only one of the factors influencing whether it is rejected from the exhibition or wins the top award. The more you understand these circumstances, the more likely it will be that you can achieve your goals. [...]

The Facebook "like" buttons you see embedded on websites incorrectly report the number of "people" who "like" something. Specifically, the button can inflate the displayed count of people. While this is fine when all you want to do is track some general level of "engagement" with a particular item, it was not accurate for the use I needed - counting each "like" as a vote in an online painting competition. What I needed is a way to get the number of actual people who "like" something. And there is a way to retreive that information from Facebook, but it is often a different number from what is shown on the "like" button itself. [...]

'The Eastern Star' by Brian Jekel was selected as a Finalist in the May 2010 FineArtViews Painting Competition. [...]

Think about it for a minute - put yourself in the collectors' shoes. You meet two artists with comparable skill and talent. The subject matter appeals to you in both cases. You meet both artists. One is a jerk. You like the other artist. Which artwork would you buy? [...]

'Ice Fishing' by Ed Pointer was selected as a Finalist in the May 2010 FineArtViews Painting Competition. [...]

Selected Upcoming Exhibits by Informed Collector Artists [...]

Last time I gave you some suggestions on how to handle requests to donate your art work. Today, here’s a simple yet elegant way to say YES, NO or MAYBE to those requests. [...]