THIS BLOG IS A FREE RESOURCE DEDICATED TO HELPING OTHER ARTISTS SELL, MARKET, PROMOTE & CREATE THEIR ART from The Normal Challenged Artist (aka PopArtDiva!)
According to this article at Smithsonian.com Jackson Pollock incorporated his own name into his famous 1943 painting "Mural". The author said it was his wife who first noticed the letters "son" in the top right of the canvas. They both then went on to "hunt down" the rest of Pollock's name.
I don't know. Frankly, you can make a case either way. It's very easy to see things in abstract paintings that were not in the artist's conception of the piece. I've had it happen in my work often. The human mind wants to make something "recognizable" from what it sees as "chaos" and so people will see a tree where there really isn't one, or an eagle's head or whatever their own imagination can shove the abstract image into.
I do know that many famous artists have hidden things in their paintings for various reasons so it's not inconceivable that Pollock did this. According to one art expert quoted in the article, Pollock would use some form of figurative device as a starting point for his paintings so maybe with "Mural" he simply used his name. In abstract art this is not an unusual technique if you don't have a concept in mind when you're starting an image. I've done something like that myself - it's like a jump start for your creativity.
You be the judge. I prefer not to try to shove an abstract image into a concrete "thing". Instead I choose to enjoy the play of color, form, texture and energy the artist managed to get on the canvas. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and an abstract is just that - an abstract.
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Below is a very interesting and thought provoking video posted YouTube on the Social Media and it's growing influence on how we communicate, interact and even market our brands and products today. There are a few very powerful statistics and points put forth on the growth and power of social media that might shock you:
If Facebook were a country it would be the fourth largest in the world.
Social Media has over taken PORN as the #1 activity on the web.
78% of consumers trust peer recommendations whereas only 14% trust advertisements
35% of book sales on Amazon are for the Kindle
I don't know how accurate the statistics in this video are - too bad YouTube doesn't have an appendix, however statistics aren't necessary to see that social media and the Internet have changed the way we communicate in a radically short amount of time.
I wanted to share this video with you because it is well made and it reinforces what I continually point out: If you are attempting to build your brand you cannot ignore the Internet and you cannot push social media aside as "silly kid stuff" anymore. Watch the full four and a half minutes, it will open your eyes and you won't regret the investment of time:
I don't believe you can consider this new form of communication a fad. Fads are, by definition a "short lived" phenomenon, whereas a trend is "a prevailing tendency", so maybe it's a trend - something that changes course and morphs as it moves along. This is the nature of technology, isn't it? I believe that this is exactly what social media will do and this means it will be necessary for any company or individual desirous of effective marketing to stay abreast of the changes and be able to change course along with this new method of interaction.
Traditional media sources like newspapers and television are losing ground to the Internet. I have gotten news on Twitter sometimes hours before it showed up on the news on TV and obviously way before a newspaper landed on my wet lawn or in my gutter 30 feet away from my front door. Yes, you have to "check your source" on sites like Twitter and Facebook because people will tweet and retweet information they have not confirmed - it is a case of Caveat Emptor or, in this case, let the "tweeter" beware, but it's a matter of a few searches and a few moments usually before I have the "real skinny" on any news item.
What does this mean to those of us who are trying to sell a product, build a brand or promote a service? It means that we now have the same tools at our fingertips that that Madison Avenue has but it also means we can no longer hide in anonymity. Exposure is instant and viral - it means that new ideas and products get great exposure in a seriously shorter time period, what you say on the Internet is out there in a nano second and it stays there.
In today's world you can reach millions or possibly billions with less effort and cost than traditional media, it means even the little guy can get into the advertising and marketing game and become a mini Mad Man or Mad Woman. But it also means that bad corporate moves can become fodder for hilarious YouTube videos, a public relations blunder could turn into a world wide nightmare for a company and a moment of stupidity where you tweet how much you hate your job can cost you that job. The Internet and social media are great tools for promoting yourself and your brand but, like any tool, you have to learn how to use them to wield them to their best advantage.
For myself and my brands - PopArtDiva, The Martini Diva, The Diva of Tiny Foods and, of course, The Normal Challenged Artist - I have chosen to put a very personal and unique face on my image. I bring a lot of my own personality and a lot of my sometimes snarky sense of humor and what my Mom used to call my "smart mouth" to my branding. I am what is termed a "personality brand" as opposed to a "corporate brand."
I do promote my online stores, my website, my products and my blogs but I also share information, link to my free recipes and art, tweet fun information and quotes and I make comments on other content and trends going on that particular day. I interact with fellow social media players and create acquaintances and network with like minded people. I do not try to increase my followers (Twitter) or friends (Facebook) artificially to gain high numbers. I am after quality not quantity. I want those people who link-in with me to actually read what I have to say and pay attention. If they don't then I am wasting my time trying to promote anything.
Primarily I use Twitter and Facebook, as well as Linked-In and a few industry pertinent sites. I do have MySpaces, YouTubes and other accounts as well. I use several tools like Ping.fm, Twitterfeed, SocialOoomph (formerly Tweetlater), TweetDeck, Bit.ly, SplitTweet and a few others to semi-automate my feeds and I spend my time on the top 5 social media sites primarily. I watch the trends and search the rankings to see who's hot and who's not. Yes, it's a lot of work and takes a lot of time. That is why this whole phenomenon has actually created a whole new job classification - Social Media Directors and Account Managers. (Think I'm kidding? Do a search and see how much these jobs pay!)
Whether you are a giant corporate brand, a celebrity, a politician, a soccer mom or an individual artist just trying to make a living with your creativity there's a reason for you to use social media. (Take a look at who's using Twitter!) Corporations are now using it for customer relations, PR, as well as marketing, individuals use it for staying in touch but you can use it to get a lot of exposure and exposure can translate into a better bottom line!
As for me? You may follow me on Twitter as @popartdiva and @TheMartiniDiva and you can friend me on Facebook as well as google my YouTubes, MySpaces, blah, blah, blah- you'll see how I use these new tools and you'll also get all my blog updates and news before they land in your e-mail box!
Happy and Prosperous Tweeting, Friending and Networking to you all.
--------------------------- LEARN HOW TO DO ART AND CRAFT SHOWS FOR PROFIT AND FUN STEP BY STEP Click the links below to download my articles for a nominal fee of only $2.50 each:
I am always looking for new ways to sell my art. My last post told you about creating a Zazzle store and selling your art on tees, posters, cups, etc. (that's a screen print of my homepage above) and I hope you looked into it. I now have nine zazzle stores (links below) and they are starting to get some nice sales thanks to my promoting on Twitter, Facebook and my websites and blogs. (BTW, you can see how I market them each and every day if you Follow me on Twitter and Friend me on Facebook!)
Today I'd like to tell you about selling your art as an electronic file. I do this in several ways. I create my art as files in formats and sizes for people to use on the web or to print at several different stock photo and e-download sites. There are quite a few of these kinds of sites out there like Fotolia, iStockPhoto and Dreamstime and PayLoadz, etc. Right now I'm setting up my Dreamstime account and uploading images there for sale.
Now, this is a numbers game. You aren't going to make piles of cash per image BUT remember millions of people are out there looking for cheap images they can use on the blogs and websites or art they can use for printing. It's a licensing agreement between you and the particular site and each site has different requirements and pay scales, you have to determine which ones you want to deal with. (Read their agreements VERY CAREFULLY! You don't want to hand over an exclusive right or even give them the full copyrights!)
The more images you have up the more chances you have of making money, it's as simple as that. You can design images for multiple use too - I create images that I can upload to Dreamstime and other stock photo sites but I also create a layout for use on products at one of my Zazzle stores or other POD (print on demand) stores - there's a ton of those out there too. So far I've used Cafepress and Zazzle but Empty Easel has great articles on the others and even ratings and tips. (P.S. I am closing down all of my paid CafePress stores and no longer recommend it to other artists as they changed their marketplace sales commission policies).
I plan on creating accounts at as many of these sites as possible. It's a time consuming process but the fact of the matter is the more places you sell your art the more exposure you have and the more chances of making money on your creativity. Selling art is a business and you have to work at making any business a success, but if you're willing to put in the time eventually you will be making a nice living from your art on the Internet.
If you're not willing to put in the time but still want to set up a POD store or an e-download account but you have the money to pay someone else to do it for you then CONTACT ME (PODsetup@popartdiva.com) - I have several POD set up packages available. I have done this for many non-artistic and/or non-techy types (see Feisty Side of Fifty's BOOMER BOUTIQUE - I also created the masthead and all the art for her slogans she wanted to market on products).
Take a look at these sites and set up a strategy of how you'll approach your sales and marketing. Think outside the box - try to fill a need out there that people might have for art. I set up a website called Easy Greeting Cards where I reformatted my designs as greeting cards, put them on a template and set them up as files people download and then print out. I use PayLoadz for the delivery and payment service. My thought was that often I need a greeting card to mail out but don't have one and don't want to waste time schlepping to the store for one stupid card - I thought maybe that service might solve a problem. Then I found out about Send Out Cards and I'm going to be adapting some of my designs for them too!
Now, get to clicking and start selling your art in new and exciting ways. Well, what are you waiting for?
--------------------------- LEARN HOW TO DO ART AND CRAFT SHOWS FOR PROFIT AND FUN STEP BY STEP Click the links below to download my articles for a nominal fee of only $2.50 each:
According to this article at Smithsonian.com Jackson Pollock incorporated his own name into his famous 1943 painting "Mural". The author said it was his wife who first noticed the letters "son" in the top right of the canvas. They both then went on to "hunt down" the rest of Pollock's name.
