By Carolyn Edlund

Artist Stephanie Paige uses a smart technique to sell her mixed media work. How this can help your sales, too.

Take a look at how Southern California artist Stephanie Paige shows her large scale mixed media artwork on her website. Visitors have the option of seeing her work in a traditional view, as shown below, but she also offers a professional photo of a room scene including the piece as well.

Rebirth 40" x 89" x 2", Mixed Media

See how effectively the room view helps to show the scale and impact of her work? Stephanie says her customers love it.

She says, “Using the images in a room setting has really helped my clients get a real good feel for what it will look like. I also have clients all over the world send me photos of their room wanting to see what it will look like before they purchase my work.”

Big retailers like Art.com have long offered this type of service on their sites. They know that showing art in it’s environment (as well as changeable wall colors, frames and mats) helps prospective customers visualize how the art could work in their own home or office, and can make a huge difference in closing the sale.

It’s difficult enough to make a purchase of fine art online, since it’s so much more “real” in person. Just think how this helpful technique could enhance your own art sales!

Artsy Shark presents the colorful, vibrant portfolio of featured artist Leah Jay. Enjoy her work and see more by visiting her website.

I’m a self-taught artist who has explored various techniques, subjects, and styles for over 25 years. My art influences have included: Sulamith Wulfing, Brian Froud, Alphonse Mucha, Susan Seddon Boulet, Virgil Finlay, and Jove Tansson.

For the last few years I’ve returned to my true love – watercolors on paper. I get a lot of joy from flowing saturated watercolor on to soaking wet paper – this unpredictable process inspires me, frees my imagination and provides opportunities for “happy accidents” to influence the resulting shapes. Over this vivid foundation, I can then pursue my second love – detail – with pastel chalks, pencils, pen, and charcoal. Things bloom naturally from the mass of colors: creatures, figures, landscapes, skies, forests…

2011 was a banner year for me, with two gallery shows, a published book cover, and a CD cover. I’m grateful to learn more every day about social media and web marketing, volunteering with school art programs, and spend plenty of time painting, drawing, and dreaming. Lately I’ve been exploring greeting cards, licensing options, and print and pattern design as new venues for my work. As I look forward into 2012 and beyond, my goal is to become a better “internal listener” – to bring my art closer to my true childlike nature.

“…I unlearn, and become as I were a little child again, that I may enter into the Kingdom of God.” -Thomas Traherne

By Carolyn Edlund

Media outlets are hungry for stories, and artists make for good stories.

The general public is curious about the life and work of artists. After all, you’re an incredibly creative individual doing something they could only dream about. So you are in a strong position to be noticed fairly easily and get your story in print. How you go about doing it makes the difference in getting significant publicity for yourself and your art.

My advice to artists who want to get publicity (or sell their work, for that matter) is:

Remove barriers to the process and make it easy to say “Yes.”

Let’s explore how you can do this effectively to get media attention. Lots of it, in regular doses.

Know your story. You could write a press release that you are showing your work in such-and-such exhibition, which is the 14^th Annual blah blah blah . . . and you may or may not get a mention in various publications. But that isn’t your story. Your story is real and authentic and it appeals to other people.

When you understand how to tell a compelling story about yourself and your work, you can use it to reach readers emotionally. What is fascinating about your work and your subject matter? What experiences have you had, and what inspires you? What huge, devastating mistakes have you made? How did you triumph over them? What do you passionately care about? Give your story careful thought and hone it thoroughly before you submit anything to anybody.

Become the story. When you really pursue press attention, you don’t just want a passing mention. You want to become the subject of a news story, to be interviewed by a reporter, and have great images of yourself and your work included to make it even more exciting and readable.

• When you submit a press release of a compelling story to suitable publications, and follow up promptly, you make it easy for them to say “Yes.”
• When you invite the reporter to your studio, or offer additional materials about your work, you remove barriers to their process.
• When you send them gorgeous professionally-shot photos of your work, and of you working in the studio, they will be thrilled that you made it so easy.

Submit to the right publications. What is your specialty? What themes do you work in? You could pursue local or national press, a niche publication, or even a trade journal. Where would you like to see your story published? Make a list, and continue to email press releases to them on a regular basis. Then, follow up consistently.

Kick it up a notch. Submit your images and information for other stories that will appear in publications by checking out their editorial calendar, and finding upcoming articles which relate to your work. Why should they include you?  Because you did your homework, and you’re just the perfect fit for their article.

Become a source. You could hire a publicist, or subscribe to HARO and pitch your own story to the press when you find a request that’s right up your alley. Find an angle to relate your art, your passion and your story to their needs.

Write your own articles. Become a guest blogger to get exposure and create backlinks to your own website. Many artists trade posts with each other. Check out MyBlogGuest to connect to opportunities. And be sure to visit Jon Morrow’s GuestBlogging.com for great tips on using this technique to grow your visibility.

Persistence is key to getting results. They don’t happen overnight. Make your efforts to get publicity for your work and your art career a regular part of your schedule, and don’t give up. You will end up with a number of press mentions and articles that will enhance your reputation and your business.

Artsy Shark presents the stunning mixed media portfolio of British artist Cathy Read. Find out more about her work by visiting her website.

What are your goals?

The first goal for any artist is to create art like life depends on it. My goal is to create beautiful, unique art with depth. And that involves regular studio time. I plan to do a lot more of that this year.

But, as any professional  artist knows, the next goal is to reach more people and be seen in more galleries. And that’s where it gets interesting.

I have some exhibitions planned but I intend to arrange more. Somethings in London and Manchester are my priority. But any major UK city or even abroad would be a bonus.

I’m in a temporary studio until the end of January. Being part of Fringe MK has been a great experience and I plan to return later in the year and increase my involvement there.

I have an idea for a large performance/conceptual piece which I want to get started with a view to completion in 2013. I don’t want to give too much away at the moment, especially as I need to figure out the details. But it will involve vast quantities of wool and sporty people!

And finally, it’s a perennial battle but I should add … Avoid procrastination!

What are you working on now?

Creatively I’m continuing to produce more mixed media Abstracts. One series is Contemporary City Scenes inspired by recent architecture in Manchester and London. My main focus is on buildings displaying optimism. Either through ambitious design or height – often both! The other group is called Circles and Psychology and is a fuse of social comment with diagrammatic content.

These are keeping me very busy but I believe it’s important to experiment with new ideas and direction. I’m exploring the properties of self levelling gel and texture paste. There have been some technical issues which I’m trying to resolve. So far the results are promising, I just need to do lots more!

I’m producing work for exhibitions in May and June. As well as all the planning and promoting. Nomads- a group exhibiting as part of Oxford Artweeks, and a solo show as part of Bucks Open Studios.

What inspires you?

So many things inspire me, it’s difficult to summarise. I think artists are inspired by a mix of things. We take different elements we love, mixing them together to create our unique style. But if I had to be brief I’d say simple, intelligent, elegant and clever design.

As a very tactile person, I love sculptures with texture and clean lines. Works of art I can handle and interact with. And I especially love architecture.

I’m drawn to the natural beauty of shapes and structure. To the rhythms and patterns they create. I love extremes from contemporary, cutting edge design to the old and decaying. Also anything that makes me question what I know or shows a new perspective. Particularly if done with humour.

Individual pieces and elements inspire me more than specific artists. Like Anish Kapoor’s sensual shapes and Van Gogh’s fluid brush strokes and texture. Or the use of new media or challenges to scale, like in Jeff Koons’ work.

Many other people inspire me in different ways. Intelligent, successful, glamorous women like Goldie Hawn and Bette Davies. Helen Keller’s determination, Victoria Wood’s observational, down to earth humour. Storm Thorgerson’s surreal photography.

I need music when I’m working. Especially Kate Bush’s. Music helps my work flow and sparks ideas.

As I get older I’m increasingly aware of change. It’s both distressing and exciting! I want to record it and reflect on its effects.

Before addressing why people buy your art, let’s take a look at who is doing the buying. So many of us think we’re selling to the masses, but that’s hardly true. It may look that way at most local art and craft fairs, but in reality functional crafts sell to only about 5% of the public at large, and fine art and sculpture sell to about 2%. Let’s look into the minds of this small slice of humanity: