Art eXposed

Public relations is the softest selling tool in the marketing toolkit. It’s a combination of communication and public outreach to build trust and relationships with groups of people. Sometimes PR is best known as communication that changes an opinion, builds a reputation or helps to correct a damaged image. Today, artists can use a mixture of communications through credible third party endorsers or influencers (including the media, art critics, bloggers, etc.) or use direct to consumer PR strategies that reach current customers and potential art patrons. Regardless of the approach, PR leads to great relationships and endorsements from individuals that will help you to improve your personal reputation as an artist and/or to extend the reach of your network to get more exposure for your artwork.

There are so many tools in the PR toolkit. Let’s start with the traditional PR communication outreach strategies:

News Releases:
News releases can range from an announcement regarding the unveiling of your latest artistic creation to a release discussing an art demonstration you are giving for the members of a local association. News release writing begins with a carefully crafted message, formatted in a specific news style template (see the Art eXposed Artists PR Toolkit for examples) and is distributed to targeted media outlets, gallery’s organizations, customers and potential art patrons.

Endorsements:
Third party endorsements are written statements that provide credibility and can be used in a number of communication pieces including news releases, brochures, website content and information that can be sent to your art patrons and prospects.

Speaking Engagements/Demonstrations:
Speaking engagements and/or demonstrations are an excellent way for an artist to deliver expertise and knowledge on a subject to large groups of people, including prospective art patrons and/or current customers. Speaking in a public forum, coordinated by an independent art associations or gallery, can create enormous exposure for an artist and his/her work.

“How To” or Articles to Educate:
Working with the media to get articles placed in art trade publications, consumer magazines or those used as online content are a great way to educate and deliver information as an art expert. Articles that instruct or educate audiences position you as an authority and a likely source when an art enthusiast is interested in your particular artistic style or art genre.

These are all simple strategies to generate awareness so that influencers or third party endorsers will find your material interesting and write or talk about you. As you continually send your influencers credible and newsworthy information, they will look to you as a resource, as an artist that will be able to offer them expert information on a particular topic.

It’s important to follow-up in PR so that you are not just sending communication from your toolkit and then not know what’s being said about you. Always take the time to talk to your influencers or correspond with them regularly. Make sure you also taking the time to do Google or Yahoo! searches on your name or your artwork to see if you’re personal brand is the topic of conversation in print or online.

Most of all, the key to PR is to realize that relationships and building trust take time. If you want to have solid relationships with your influencers or third party endorsers make sure you do your homework. Know who these folks are, what they write about and exactly what they are looking for, so that you can aid them by offering your particular area of expertise. And, remember, when you are looking to build customers relationships or relationships with galleries, associations or members of the media, all of this requires a considerable amount of time and effort.

For every minute you spend building the relationship, the result will be strong connections that lead to favorable endorsements. Overall, PR is an excellent way to create positive communication about you, as an artist and your body of work.

This is the first part of a 3 part video series around Oil Painting Materials. The first video in the series talks about oil paints. Dean Adams an Art eXposed artists walks you through Oil Paints. Enjoy.

Oil Painting Materials Video 1

For supporting material please go to http://www.deanadamsartist.com

The Plein Air Painters of the Jersey Coast spent some time at the Monmouth Park racetrack in NJ to support the Breeders’ Cup coming to the park on October 26th 2007.  The results of there efforts were some awesome paintings of the park.

Dean Adams an Art eXposed artist and member of the Plein Air Painters group, was selected to have his Thoroughbred paintings displayed at Frederick Gallery in Allenhurst, NJ.  Below are pictures from the October 12th reception at the Gallery.

Dan Fenelon(aka wavedog)has just finished a commission for Valley Arts of Orange. The large 30′x10′ mural was placed on the side of the organizations headquarters located in Orange , NJ .

Dan’s signature style in large scale is breathtaking to say the least. The vibrant colors catch your eye and the vivid characters are fun, enjoyable and uplifting for the community.

Part II of the Jennifer Bothast interview details Jennifer’s vision and process as an artist, and provides other artists with insight to jumpstart their own careers.

PART II

Tell us a little about yourself.
Hmm … that’s a loaded question to pose to someone like me that rambles so easily. I have always been one that boxed myself into a corner based on being a people pleaser. I hate conflict. I want everyone to be happy. As I’ve gotten older, I am learning to look more inward to figure out what makes me happy. Over the past three years I started a lot of self-reflection, which led to an outpouring of expression, which led to more discovery and so forth. It’s all sort of snowballed for me and led to completely changing gears in respecting who I am and what I want and need. I am learning to look out more for myself and worry less how others perceive it. I’ve come a long way from the painfully shy perfectionist I used to be.

Unfortunately, that also meant a shift away from the only family and way of life I’d ever known. My children and I are starting over. A newer me, a fresh start. Of course, like my painting, I am a work in progress.

What are your near and long term goals as an artist?
Of course, at some point, I would love to be recognized as a creative success by my peers and be able to earn even a modest living simply doing what I love to do. But, for now I am content to pay my dues, walk through it, apply to various galleries and exhibitions, and keep painting for my own enjoyment.

Describe your creative process.
I get a lot of my ideas when I am doing something else rote and relatively mundane like driving the car or taking a shower and getting ready for work. For whatever reason, an idea will pop into my head, and I’ll begin working out a sketch as the imagery of that idea takes shape. I’ll get it down in pencil, pen, and colored pencil on paper and then work toward giving birth to it on canvas on a larger scale. Once the basic image is penciled in on the canvas, the colors start to block in like a dance and the journey has officially begun.

What inspires you to paint and how do you keep motivated when things get tough in the studio?

I haven’t actually ever felt things get “tough” in the studio yet. Once I am really involved in a painting, it is the most amazing thing. My kids think I’m insane, but it’s like a party I have all by myself. I lock myself in, I’ve got my iPod turned all the way up and I am singing along and dancing and moving around the canvas. It’s a complete emotional release and yet I get so wired at the same time. There have been times I am so keyed my hand trembles too much to continue and I have to literally force myself to back away from it until I can settle down a bit. It’s a very passionate experience and so addicting that it’s usually only a few days now between when I finish one piece and then start “jonesing” to begin a new one. The hardest part is balancing how much I want to paint full time with the very real obligations of my family and my career in healthcare.

Unfortunately, the bills don’t get paid and the kids don’t eat dinner and do their homework fueled by my desire to create. I can dream and play in my own world, but I have to be practical and reasonable in the real world I exist in.

What do you think is the hardest aspect of being an artist?
For me, I think it’s the vulnerability I still feel when someone sees my work. It’s not easy to be that naked in front of strangers and share something that is so intensely personal. I think that’s why I’ve been so hesitant in showing my work until now. Now, it feels like I have given birth to these paintings in a way that is nearly as physical and emotional as with my own children. I have to let them stand up on their own and just see what happens.

What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
Well, that’s weird for me to answer since I am really just starting out myself, but I guess if I have any advice at all I would say to not take it so seriously that you feel imprisoned by what you think it’s supposed to be. I think its better to back off and let your work take on a life of its own, being true to your soul.

Part 1 of Jennifer’s Interview

When did you first decide to become an artist and why?
I’ve wanted to be an artist since I can remember. I think I have always had this innate need to create, evident even from when I was a small child. I think being an artist is something you are born as, not something you strive to be. It has to do with an awareness more than a career choice.

Who and what are your influences ( ie other artists, friends, family, a tragedy) ?
One of my favorite paintings is Duchamps’ Nude Descending a Staircase. I am fascinated with trying to not just capture the light as in impressionism, or emotion as in abstract expressionism, but the fluidity of movement and the quality of the line as it defines a space. I am influenced by the stained glass windows I remember walking past in church every Sunday and the depth of emotion I felt in tracing the stations of the cross. I wanted to take that feel of the sharp edges of colored glass and humanize it with more depth and warmth. I paint as a form of self-healing. It is self discovery at its finest. I often don’t even realize I am dwelling on something until I recognize it in one of the paintings.

You use the female figure in many of your paintings, what draws you to this subject?
Again, a lot of this has to do with the quality of the line, the curves, and the fluidity of movement. Plus, I think there is probably a deeper obvious connection in portraying myself as I’ve moved though this journey in my life.

What was your inspiration for “Freedom Dancing”?
Freedom Dancing is one of my happiest pieces. I started this just as I was falling in love with someone new. Yes, there is a sense of music and dance, movement and wonder, but under that is all that excitement you get in a new relationship. It’s almost like a sense of euphoria.

What are you working on currently?
I just finished “Walls And Windows” a couple weeks ago. Usually, I only work on one piece at a time. I get so absorbed in how I feel with that one particular piece. I couldn’t imagine moving onto something else. It would be similar to having an affair in a committed relationship. I know that probably sounds insane, but I really get very emotionally involved in a lot of my work. I’m still in the infancy stages of a new sketch that will eventually be transformed into a painting I know I will call “Just Driving Through.”

Where did you learn to draw and to paint?
I’ve always drawn, always. I think my parents paid for private lessons when I was in grade school and middle school. Then, I went to a magnet high school where I majored in Fine Art and I briefly went to Ringling School Of Art and Design. All of that said, I’m learning a lot now just from experimenting with my own work and pushing myself in different directions. I really want to experiment more with textures and try to expand into much larger pieces. Each one fuels the next.

What do you do when you’re not creating art?
I work in a skilled nursing facility in the rehab department near Jacksonville and I am doing the best I can to raise my three children as a single parent. It’s always a juggle, and there’s never enough time in the day, but I paint for me because I have to. I need it as much as I need food and shelter and human connections.

What is your favorite subject to draw or paint?
Even though a lot of my work showcases human figures, the work itself is really more about following myself along my path of emotions and beliefs. The most important visual imagery has to do with the line, color, and composition. The reference to physical beings is secondary to the message.

What do you like most about the art you create?
I like the boldness and spiritual freedom I feel in a lot of the pieces. It’s really important to me that there is movement across the canvas. It is absolutely a process of self-discovery. I guess what I’m saying is the part I like the most is in the act of the creation itself.

Where can patrons see and purchase your artwork?
Right now my work is back home with me and can be seen and purchased through the web. My work is currently on display through http://www.getartexposed.com. I also often set up a few pieces to exhibit at the Jacksonville Artwalk, which is held on the first Wednesday of every month in Hemming Plaza, in downtown Jacksonville. Since I have only recently considered getting my work out there, I am now applying to other art exhibits in the area. I have my fingers crossed.

Jennifer’s Artist Page on Art eXposed

Twitter is a Micro-blog .  It allows you to post short 140 char blogs, called tweets. It is also considered a moblog (mobil blog), because you can send your blog via your cell phone (text Message (40404) , or via their wap site m.twitter.com). You can also post from the web (http://www.twitter.com/) or by IM using their screen name  “twitterim”.  Internet developers are also creating other methods for you to enter information into your twitter blog.

So why should artists use Twitter?  Well unless you live in a cave, every art magazine, art marketing guru, and Internet site is telling you to blog.  But if you’re like me, it’s HARD to stop and take the time to write an article.  That’s why there’s twitter… for people like you and me.  Just a couple of sentences will keep your patrons happy and with an easy to use interface you have no excuse not to blog.

With Twitter you just let your patrons know what your doing. So when you’re  excited about something just send a tweet.

Let me give you a few examples of tweets you can post:

• Just started a new painting: The long Island sound on a cool fall day. (Sept 18)
• Spent the morning on the sound, 74 degrees … life doesn’t get any better than this. (Sept 19)
• Happy with the progress so far, can’t wait for you all to see. (Sept 21)
• Just finished the painting … check it out on Art eXposed !!!! (Sept 24)

You can post your tweets to your current blog, on your myspace.com page, or on your website using widgets.  Below I have place an RSS feed of the Art eXposed twitter.

The Art eXposed Twitter

Please wait while my tweets load
If you can’t wait – check out what I’ve been twittering