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| Cat in Shadows Oil on wood 10" x 10," SOLD |
Only... we're not going door to door selling vacumn cleaners. It's hard advice to follow sometimes. I won't speak for all -- but I have a really strong desire to translate my painting mishaps into actual text that I can refer to later. And I'm constantly weighing the benefits of doing that against my desire to put my "best foot forward." Within the context of blogging one's art in a meaningful way, I think it's a fine line between the two.
Does this sound familiar, fellow artists? Please comment. If you're getting this correspondence as a subscriber, please hit "reply" and tell me your thoughts.
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ReplyDeleteI use words like "try" and "hope" in blogposts. Very timid and not confident! I also should have proofread my previous comment before hitting the publish button!
ReplyDeleteMe too, Susan! Neither word bad!! Both so accurate!! ... another go to for me is "experiment" :)
ReplyDeleteI made the mistake of saying something negative about a painting I posted and got chastised for it. It also sold within an hour of posting, very unusual for me. You just don't know how people will react so it's a good idea not to influence them in anyway.
ReplyDeleteI also feel blogs for selling/promoting art should be short and sweet. Tell a little story, maybe a little about the process, but not every brush stroke. Less is more—in brushstrokes, too!
I also
Although I admire artists who are frank, I think it's good to be frank only with your artist friends. Then what do you do about artist friends who are also your collectors? It's a juggling act for sure.
ReplyDeleteCris K: Totally agree about "short and sweet". I can usually find something positive to say--but there's an icky feeling when my over-riding thought about a painting is "Oh, I could have done ____ SOOO much better, had I only..." LOL, Helen: mho, artist/buyers know what they want and why they want it. I think I'm actually less careful with my words/talking about my paintings with fellow artists/buyers. It's kinda like the vacumn cleaner guy selling to somebody who used to manufacture vacumn cleaners... ?! Or is that completely deluded? Must mull it over. :) Thank you for commenting.
ReplyDeleteRecently while doing a month long painting challenge, I did tell my shortcomings of a couple paintings but mostly when it was an "in progress" post. I also agree that shorter posts worked best for me, writing and reading.
ReplyDeleteStill learning :)
I agree with the 'short & sweet', unless you are riotously funny, or inspiring. But I've come across some 'academic essays' that have me cross-eyed bored out of my gourd by the second sentence. Not for me. I do like a story, but I don't want to read any one else's perceived short comings (and I try not to even speak of my own....as we've all seen, not everyone agrees! I like good news, news of sales or interesting opportunities an artist has gotten into, & perhaps a new interesting comment of some new experimentation. The one sentence that makes me want to bang my head against the wall...(and I try NOT to write this any more myself) is "I saw this " whatever it is" and just HAD to paint it! ugh. (but I mentally forgive them, because I'm sure I have written that in the past. Man, it does get hard to come up with a good post at times! I keep coming back to yours Diane - great art & always interesting news!! (gosh, I sounded like I was on some sort of like a rant!)
ReplyDeleteRenee, "still learning" Yep! Roxanne, not ranty at all. LOL, "had to be painted" indeedydoody a total cliche and cringe-worthy. I am guilty of that one too. I agree, the "new" stuff: opportunities, shows and the kind of news that inspires is good blog content in general. And every painting has new experimentation that can be alluded to, even if the final result wasn't successful?! Thank you so much for commenting.
ReplyDeleteGuilty as charged your honor. I definitely do lay out the negative dirty laundry too much. But only because I still feel I'm not where I want to be and because sales is not the purpose of my blog…at this point anyway.
ReplyDeleteI realize that my self-critique and castigation could come back to haunt me someday, but as I improve I'm sure I will tone it down. Also I think in the future I will probably have a separate website that doesn't contain all the introspection and that would be more about showcasing and less about what's going on inside of me. But maybe I'm wrong and it's not possible to separate the two in the mind of a prospective buyer. What do you think?
I love your blog, Chris! I think when too much censoring of "what's going on inside" happens, something is lost. I used to be more forthcoming here. When I realized I had actual buyers visiting, I (slowly over time) realized it wasn't helping to point out flaws in my work. Replacing the negative "post-ops" with more positive commentary is something I'm still learning to do. A couple people suggested keeping a journal. Good idea? I can self castigate to my heart's content there.
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