All About Art & Artists by D. L. Keur of zentao.com

…than someone who smiles a “clappy-the-hands, oh looky-lou” smile  with glow-in-the-dark teeth and squeaky voice all yummy, gummy.  Beware.  You can count on the fact that they aren’t doing anything for your best interests.  Especially when it’s obvious they have an “agenda” that expressly requires them to keep you happy (…and in the dark).  Especially beware if you see someone question and even challenge one of their “happy puppy, wag-the-dog” suggestions, and suddenly that questioner gets VERY quiet…or even disappears.  That’s all I’m saying.  I think you can figure it out.

A Singular Creation, an art forum and community where balance, level-headedness and high intergrity are the rule and standard.

 “Why Don’t You Promote Your Fine Art Online?” — a question I’m often asked.

Ah, I do.  I promote my digital fine art…well…sort of.  Well…not really.  It’s available, but I don’t “hawk it,” or spend inordinate amounts of time drumming up buyers.  But, honestly, my real world and digital fine art already has plenty of homes to live in, thanks.  Do I want yards and yards of my stuff decorating every house in urbanville?  Not really.  Why not?  Well, because, with fame and prestige comes a very nasty price.  You GOTTA do it, and you GOTTA produce to expectation.  Guess what?  I produce.  To expectation. Already.  My graphic art keeps me hopping.  Why should I bake myself like doves in a pie with fine art, too, especially fine art?  If somebody wants something of mine, they can go over to ImageKind and get it there. Or they can email me and ask me to do something just for them.  And pay the price. 

I do professional graphic art for glossy mags, for websites, for pulp mags, for yon local newsletter…for anyone who asks for something that I want to do and think I can do (cues, those) , so long as they pay me, of course.  And, yes, they get the copyright.  Illustrating is just so much “yawn” to me.  There are a few pieces that I don’t let go of copyright, but most of it is just stuff that I look at and shrug.  Not so my fine art, digital or otherwise.  But mine is a very unique style — zen flow.  And, quite honestly, I don’t care if someone likes it or not.  The only opinion that matters to me with my fine art is mine.  Not true for my illustrations.  That stuff’s gotta have mass market appeal, it’s got to fit the article, story, product, or package it is going onto, it’s gotta “grab.”  So, you see, public opinion matters on art that has to do something.  My fine art doesn’t have to do a thing.  It just satisfies me when “it happens.”  Then I’m all grins and pour myself some wine.

BTW, there really are some hot digital graphic artists out there around the Internet.  And you won’t necessarily find them on art.com or the standard “find the artist” website.  Most of them that I really like do their art as an adjunct to making skins for .php apps.  Gotta love it. 

Van Gogh was a successful artist…after his death. His much sought paintings that continue to make money — lots of money — were scorned during his lifetime.  Don’t be stupid and let the art dealers make money while you get nothing.  At least make sure your heirs rake in the profits, even if you’ve already got both feet in the urn…or grave.

“Sell your art here” sites are rampant on the Internet.  Here’s the truth.  How they make their money is by providing a service to artists who hope to sell to consumers.  It’s you, the artist, who makes them successful.  Here’s how: You, the artist, open a gallery, either for free, or, for a premium space, by paying a fee to them.  Nothing wrong with that.   Now comes the bennies for the art site:  You put a link to that gallery on your own website which is already ranked as an art site, even if it is way down in the 500k search engine rankings.  That’s a quality link in search engine speak.  And when you and all the other artists who have galleries on the site link to them, you are bucking up their ranking.   Now you, the artist, also go all around the Internet promoting yourself and your work, adding your link wherever you can.  That draws potential consumer traffic, but it also again adds link weight.  And it usually will draw other artists to investigate the site, artists who, if they sign up, perpetuate the cycle all over again.   Let’s face it.  You, the artist, are their bread and butter, usually paying them money to show your work, and providing them with free promotion and advertising, free Search Engine Ranking help by scattering their links wherever art can be sold.  You work so they rank higher, and, meanwhle, your work winds up buried with 7000 other artists, all this in exchange for a chance to sell your work.  Value-added sites like ImageKind are great boons to the artist, providing a POD (print-on-demand), matting, and framing service for interested customers, but be careful to check your print quality before selling to customers.  ImageKind produces very excellent results, but some others have lower print quality standards. Notably, however, big artists usually aren’t found in their rosters, except for the site itself selling prints of their work…which print rights they buy.  Big artists sell through one or another of the syndications, Getty images being one such operation.  

So, does it benefit you as an artist to maintain a gallery on one, two, or multitudes of these sites?  Maybe.  For search ranking.  But as a promotional venue for your displaying your work?  No.  Your personal website and blog are your best promotional venues.

Today, let’s look at online artists communities.  Are they good for you?  That depends on your needs.  If you want to sell art or to land an agent, no.  They won’t help you, except, of course, if someone there can refer you, which happens VERY rarely.  If you want a place to socialize, get feedback, discuss the art-world and trends, then yes.  But beware.

Online art groups, much like their real world cousins, are supposed to be places (depending on the resident hegemony and power clique) where you can find help for various art-related problems, emotional support from other artists, receive critiques, and can socialize.  They are great time wasters, though, so be advised. Also always remember that most of these communities require you to adhere to the “party line.” Deviate from that resident perspective, and you will find yourself unfairly branded in unflattering ways or shown the door.  An analogy would be a political forum claiming to be open to all political debate, but the resident “in” crowd is hostile to anything not completely applauding right-wing or left-wing demagoguery.  That isn’t the case for all online art communities, but finding good ones, open-minded ones, that suit you will require hours and days of “lurking.”  Mostly what you will find are online art communities which require membership to applaud and promote one specific perspective and all counter-perspectives are ridiculed, edited, or summarily deleted, their authors removed from the population. Also remember that some things are best left unsaid, even in democratic societies (These are few and far between.) because the site owner(s) must keep a strong rein on matters which could legally jeopardize them.

I see a lot of artist’s work, both online and off.  I admire a lot of artists’ works, but rarely enough that I’ll actually be interested enough to do more than look, sometimes comment.  

Sometimes, though, a work…or several will spark something deep inside me.  It isn’t something I can really identify. It’s uncanny — a spark, an inner light, a vision, and personal, very touching intimacy that “speaks.” 

I found that this week in one woman’s work.  There is something inside her that reaches out, even through the presentations found on the Internet.  Here, there is something wonderful, intimate, uncanny.   There is life and soul.  There is wonder and the ability to see deeply, then express that grasp of what is the kernel of her subject in her art.  Her name is Lenora De Lude, and you can find her work at http://Lenora.imagekind.com/  

Especially notable are:

Her entire Black and White gallery

Her sunflowers and One Acorn Falls in her ”art” gallery

• Sunflower Face
• Yellow Sunflower in Shimmering Blue
• One Acorn Falls

and many of her Landscapes

Enjoy.