by Rebecca Sciullo | Feb 12, 2020 | Learning
Recently I started to tell you how I got started with Artisan Advantage. If you missed Part One, you can read it here.
Below is Part Two of the story.
The Artist
Although it was not his primary career, my father has been an artist since he was a kid. Self-taught except for an occasional workshop over the years, he primarily works in watercolors. My recollection of his painting as a child was that his work would ebb and flow, with him practicing it in varying levels of intensity over the years.
His work has always reflected the subject matter that he was interested in at the time. His friends like to joke that he is a “renaissance man”. This is because he has had many interests and hobbies over the years. His work has included subject matter from New England Coastline to fly fishing, Ireland, sailing, and, most recently, golf. If you want to know what my father is spending his time doing, take a look at what he is painting.
In the early 2000s, he started playing bluegrass music. When not jamming with friends or practicing one of his many instruments, he was painting scenes of bluegrass musicians jamming. Since he really had no place to show or sell his art at that time, the work was piling up. My mother asked me if there wasn’t anything I could do with them. Her timing was good because it was the same time that I was thinking about the possible websites that I could build or sell online.
I decided to build a website for his work. Taking an online course purchased through the Community College of Allegheny College, taught me the basics of building a website. Then I bought the now obsolete Frontpage Software and got to work building his site.
Appalachian Studio
In addition to bluegrass musicians, he also was still painting subject matter, including fly fishing, outdoor scenes, and images of places around Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County, Maryland. Taking all of these subjects into account, I decided to call the site Appalachian Studio.
I wish I had a screenshot for you of that original website because I have to say I think it was pretty darn good. But I don’t.
I built the site and broke the work into subject matter – music, mountains, rivers, outdoors. I listed each painting for sale with a description of the work and set up PayPal buttons to sell both original and prints. Below are some of the paintings that were for sale on Appalachian Studio.
How do I Get Visitors to This Site?
The only problem with a website is that simply building it doesn’t guarantee you will get visitors. So, I set about my next task of trying to figure out how to get people to the site.
Next Up: An Experiment and a Trip to Music City.
by Rebecca Sciullo | Feb 3, 2020 | Artist Websites, Blogging, Learning
I had a consulting call recently with a client about building a blog for her creative business. While she was on board with the concept and how it could benefit her career, she said that she felt very overwhelmed. And I agreed.
It can be overwhelming to think about building your artist blog.
I did it from scratch, not knowing a thing about blogging. My client can do it. I know that you can do it too.
What popped into my head during that call was the adage, “How do you eat an elephant?”
You’ve heard the saying, and you know the answer – one bite at a time, of course.
The same is true for your artist blog.
There are tangible ways to control the overwhelm. I can teach you.
Over the coming weeks, I’m going to walk you step by step through some of the basics of this process. Let’s call it Artist Blogging 101.
So stay with me here, check back weekly, and I’ll guide you through the process.
by Rebecca Sciullo | Jan 25, 2020 | Events
I’m looking forward to presenting a talk at the Upper St. Clair League for the Arts on Tuesday, February 18, 2020. Read more about this event below.
Building a Strategic Web Presence for Your Visual Art Business
Upper St. Clair League for the Arts
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
7:00 pm
Upper St. Clair Municipal Building
1821 McLaughlin Run Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15241
Learn how a simple blog-based website can serve as the marketing hub for a visual art business. The goal of this talk is to show artists how to use this type site to present and promote their work effectively online. And it’s not as hard as it looks!
Some things that we will talk about include the following:
– How and why the blog works as a presentation and promotional tool for any artist, no matter the medium they are working in or the state of their art career.
– Misconceptions about blogging and websites.
– Different options for building your blog and website.
– Examples of information you can share on a blog.
-How to cultivate an audience through blogging.
-Examples of artist blogs.
There will be time for Q&A at the end.
I look forward to presenting and hope to see you there!
by Rebecca Sciullo | Jan 25, 2020 | Learning
How Artisan Advantage Started
If you’ve visited my About page, you know that Artisan Advantage started as a result of my work with my artist father, Robert Yonke. What you might not realize is that turning my father’s hobby into a business started with an experiment. I thought it would be fun to share the details over a few blog posts. My hope is to give you insight into how experimentation and stepping out of a comfort zone can take you to unexpected places. Also, to illustrate the importance of building a solid strategic web presence for your visual art business.
Part 1: A Little Background
On October 31, 2002, in the 16th week of a high-risk pregnancy, some very good doctors told me that I needed surgery or was going to risk losing my baby. I had the surgery the next morning, followed by five months of strict bed rest – meaning I stayed in bed for 99% of the day and only left the house for doctor’s appointments.
The baby was born early, but healthy, so the bed rest was worth it. But lying in bed for five months is not as delightful as it might sound. It was a challenge to pass the time. After reading, watching reruns of favorite sitcoms, and learning to knit, I turned my attention to the internet.
The Golden Age of the Internet
With time on my hands and a computer at my bed, I became fascinated with the new craze of internet blogging (and online shopping). I learned that you could find things online that you liked, buy them, and they would magically show up on your doorstep! You could play endless Pacman without a quarter! Reading and following political pundits was a thing! The early 2000s were an exciting time on the internet.
My background in advertising and communications made it particularly interesting. Graduating as an Advertising major in 1990, I just missed the advent of technology in the classroom. My class in the Penn State School of Communications was probably one of the last to use real paper storyboards for our senior projects. In my work at the time, we were using the internet for email and some basic sales programs, but that was it. “Surfing the web” rightly fascinated me. It interested me not only as a consumer but also as a communicator.
Once I found the internet on bed rest, I was hooked. I was reading everything from baby advice to political blogs to watching how-to knit videos using the internet. Then, our daughter was born, and I had little time to “surf”. But the seed had been planted.
I knew in the back of my mind that there was something to this, and I’d like to participate in it, although I was not sure exactly how…
Read on for Part Two: An Idea and an Online Course
by Rebecca Sciullo | Jan 10, 2020 | Artisan Advantage Book Club, Learning
Next up for the Artisan Advantage Book Club is Find Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic by Lisa Congdon.
Find Your Artistic Voice helps artists and creatives identify and nurture their own visual identity.
This one-of-a-kind book helps artists navigate the influence of creators they admire, while simultaneously appreciating the value of their personal journey.
• Features down-to-earth and encouraging advice from Congdon herself
• Filled with interviews with established artists, illustrators, and creatives
• Answers the question “how do I develop a unique artistic style?“
It’s easy. All you have to do is get your copy and start reading! Stay connected to the Artisan Advantage blog for posts about how you might apply principles from the book to your visual art business, as well as for opportunities to share your comments about the book with others.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
