In both reviews I agree with his conclusions since he is coming from the perspective of sites and their suitability for selling framed art prints. In both reviews he recommends Imagekind or Red Bubble as better options with more choice for buyers.
However, I do think his review of Cafepress came across a little more harshly because he did limit his conclusions to what the site offers in the way of framed prints and posters. Dan made no mention that some types of art might be better suited to Cafepresses entire range of products than others making it a better option.
For example, if you're like me, and much of your art is quirky, humorous or whimsical characters that appeal to children then these may translate more appropriately to a T-Shirt, mug, or sticker and have greater appeal than a fine art print.
For myself, it was the Premium (i.e. paid) shops that attracted me to Cafepress. Visit my Gallery Shop here. Neither Zazzle, Red Bubble nor Imagekind offer customized shops in any kind of equivalent capacity.
Premium Cafepress shops allow such a level of template customization that they can integrate into the look (right down to the help and checkout pages) of your web site. That ability to keep people within your site template gives you far more control over how you upsell or tempt buyers to purchase related products.
It also doesn't split your marketing efforts between two sites - even though technically you are. People can browse your shop without feeling like they've left your web site. Such customization allows you to make your Premium shop more than just page after page of products. You can include everything, right up to embeded video of you talking about your art, on your product pages if you wish.
Don't discount Cafepresses free shops either. Yes they are limited in products (one design per product) but this is easy to circumvent by using multiple free shops linked to your web site. It may sound cumbersome but it isn't. I speak from experience. I initially paid for the first three months of Premium Cafepress shop from the money I made from ten free shops all linked to one web site featuring my art.
Although Cafepress is known more for humorous slogans and political themes there are still thousands of artists using the site with varying degrees of success. With over 6.5 million members, getting your art noticed in the Cafepress marketplace is much like getting noticed on ebay. Pay close attention to your design tags, category placement and use keyword rich product titles and descriptions.
As I said from the outset, I agree with Dan's conclusions about Cafepress from a fine art print perspective but do take into consideration the type of art you make. Cafepress might make your art more accessible if your market prefers something more fun, portable or functional than a framed print.
I came across the messy dog art of M.C. Williams whilst browsing my Youtube subscriptions (I'm subscribed to tags like 'art' so I can see new art related videos as they are posted) and was completely blown away by the colour and personality of these delightful paintings.
I think the video above speaks for its self however if you'd like to see more messy dog art (and maybe even buy some) visit the artists ebay store.
Williams promotes these paintings as ideal for kids (to hang in their bedrooms I presume) but as someone who is a dog lover I'd be more than happy to place one of these artworks prominently in my home for guests to enjoy.
Sketching - Elaborate Doodles or Real Art?
Friday, February 01, 2008
I really admire artists who can create intricately detailed graphite pencil or pen and ink drawings. It's a style that really sits well with me whether it be a drawing of an old barnyard or some fantastical, wildly imaginative depiction of mythical dragons, fairies or other such creatures.
It's also a style that I am more than capable of working in myself however I don't (except on very rare occasions like for this blog post) because creating this kind of art seems like very elaborate doodling and not really 'proper' art.
When I say it's not proper art I mean it doesn't feel like creating proper art to me. It has nothing to do with whether I think this is proper art or not when others do it (because quite certainly it is art - and very impressive to me at that).
Perhaps it's because I'm so used to the routine of sketching then taking the finished sketch up to a painting? Maybe, psychologically for me, a finished sketch is only a half realised artwork that should progress to a painting. Maybe it's just that I spent many years doodling intricate pictures in my school notebooks when I should have been studying?
I don't know but somehow I can't bring myself to work in this style on a regular basis. Not even for series of artworks, illustrating a Harry Chapin song, that I've been meaning to try in this style for nearly ten years now. I can see the entire series in my head. Beautifully delicate graphite and pen drawings framed in nice simple black frames with black matte surrounds. Some day...
If you're an artist reading this, do you have the same problem with any particular style of art? A style you know you can do well but really don't feel like you've created 'art'. Feel free to comment below.
Image Details:Dragon Fly, Pencil sketch on paper, 14.8cm x 21cm, 1st February 2008
What The Duck is a daily web comic strip based around the antics of a little duck photographer that falls firmly in the category of 'I wish I'd thought of that'. Mostly for the exceptionally catchy name but also because the character is very marketable.
The comic's author, Aaron Johnson, recently contacted me because he thought I might be interested to see his latest strip (WTD 401 pictured above) with its 'starving artist' theme. It did indeed raise a smile. I know I'd be quite happy if some rich art investor bought me and took me home - just so long as he didn't hang me on the wall!
The What The Duck web site is very 'more-ish'. The cartoons are short, simple and always manage to deliver at least a smile if not a 'Laugh Out Loud'. Take a look and I'm sure you'll agree. You can also suggest your own ideas for cartoons and buy some really cool WTD merchandise.
Rylars Art Coffee Lounge
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
One of the most fascinating murals (or even paintings for that matter) I have ever seen can be found in my home town of Gawler, South Australila. Even more fascinating than the worlds biggest painting on canvas at Broken Hill in fact.
Rylars Art Coffee Lounge is home to one of the most detailed murals you're ever likely to find. The thumbnails above from the Coffee Lounges web site just doesn't do it justice. Not least because you can barely make out the detail but also because this mural circles the walls of the entire dining area. These images wouldn't even be 1% of the total mural.
Mostly black and white, the mural is still a work in progress even after three years. The best way to describe it is simply by quoting from Rylar's web site:
The artistic wizardry invoked within these walls is the culmination of a three year sojourn of indulgence and passion. This amazing work of art exemplifies an eclectic fusion of surrealism with medieval art, exercising an ability for intrinsic fine detail. Indulging and challenging, tempting your eyes to look further and deeper, taking you on a visual journey of fantasy and mystery with a curious blend of illusion and mysticism that will beckon you, as you attempt to unravel its diverse and arcane meanings.
Located at 41b Adelaide Road, Gawler (just next door to Dodd's Deli), Rylar is open Friday through to Monday, 5 - 9pm. My partner and I stopped there for dinner after seeing the movie I am Legend and were blown away by the detail, themes and overall impressive nature of the art.
We were there for around and hour and it was no where near enough time to take in everything. Definitely somewhere you'll want to visit more than once just to see what else you can find within the art.
You'll have no trouble going back either as the food is delicious and competitively priced with other restaurants, hotels and cafes in the region.
I wish I could show you better pictures of the mural just to give you more incentive to visit. It is really worth your while, even if you're not usually into art. This is truly one of Gawler's hidden tourist attractions.
How to Sell Your Art Without Selling Out
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Virtually everything you should have been taught in art school about earning a living from visual arts and crafts but weren't is how I'd describe Steve Popkin's 27 part, arts marketing course, How to Sell Your Art Without Selling Out.
Years ago there was a famous ad for Gillette shavers featuring a guy who was 'so impressed he bought the company', well I didn't buy Steve Popkin's company but I did the next best thing and became an affiliate after completing only the first two classes. That's how good the information was!
It's important you know this up front because I don't want to be covert about recommending this as a product. Should you decide to purchase How to Sell Your Art Without Selling Out through the links from this article, you will be giving me a little financial 'thank you' that says you trust my opinion and insight into Steve's course. With that out the way, lets get on with helping you decide if this course is for you.
I purchased the downloadable version of this course after baulking a few times because of the sales letter, the tried and tested landing page that promises the easy life, typical of online marketers for almost any get rich quick product you can imagine.
The sales letter includes, off putting, too good to be true quotes like:
"Now all you have to do is follow the system...and you can make more money in a weekend than most artists do in an entire year!"
"Almost overnight, you will go from selling a few pieces...to selling everything you make and taking orders for more!"
Fortunately these were the exceptions with the majority of claims sounding more solid than 'get rich quick'. Personally I don't think Steve needs these kind of 'instant, easy income' claims but would you wrestle with your decision to purchase if he said things like 'with a little research and effort you could improve your sales over time?' You'd probably stop reading, right?
I powered through all twenty seven classes, ranging from 10 to 40 minutes in length (with exception to the selling your art online section which runs a whopping 85 minutes). It took me the best part of two weeks. There's only so much 'art business' one can digest in a day!
Each class is delivered like a power point presentation. Each key point is displayed on a slide as Steve's voice communicates the lesson. There is a nice picture of Steve to look at too so it almost feels like he is there, delivering the lesson personally.
The first class starts with the answer to the most common question I've heard artists ask, how do I price my art? I've researched this question over and over in the last few years, discovering many different answers. Steve's is the only answer that lays out a realistic strategy for encouraging people to buy your more expensive artworks.
Not only that but Steve looks at different price points and, for me at least, shows you can sell work on ebay and through a gallery without damaging your reputation or undercutting your gallery prices. In fact selling on ebay could compliment your galleries marketing strategy.
That goes pretty much against everything I've heard about selling art on ebay if you want gallery representation - even my own advice to other artists which, in the past has been, if you want gallery representation, steer clear of ebay.
There is too much in the course for me to comment on everything but by the end of it you'll know so much about the arts industry and all the possibilities that you may find yourself bursting with ideas about where to find your market and how you will sell your art.
After pricing some of the highlights for me were:
Creating Art for Niche Applications
It's true. Selling to a niche is much easier than trying to sell to everyone. Steve will tell you why and give you tips on how to do it without selling out.
How To Sell Your Art Online
This will tell you virtually everything you need to know. The pro's and cons of gallery web sites, using ebay, creating your own web site etc. It's a massive section that could of been made even bigger if it looked at the 'Print on Demand' market such as Cafepress and Imagekind but still, more than enough to get you started online.
The Secrets Behind Weekend Art Shows
Having tried and failed at selling my art at a weekend market for the best part of six months, Steve's tips may have come in handy back then.
How to Sell to Galleries
I knew there was a reason I wasn't interested in galleries at this point in my career. Steve explains everything you need to know about approaching bricks and mortar galleries and shows why galleries aren't necessarily a good thing if you're just starting out.
One of a Kind, Production Work or Both...
This class is a must for new and emerging artists. If you think working as a professional artist is simply selling each 'one of a kind piece' as you create it then this will open your eyes to a whole other side of professional art practice that you may not have considered.
There is so much more I could list. Head on over to Steve's Sales letter and click the link to view the full list with descriptions of the 27 topics covered.
I will say that almost every single class had something to offer in the way of new information. This is well worth the money. It's the kind of presentation that you'll refer back to when it comes to applying Steve's concepts. In fact I wouldn't mind this course delivered entirely as an audio presentation so I could keep it handy and refer back to it on my MP3 player.
There are few negatives to mention, apart from the sales letter. It does deliver on most claims and probably would deliver on all of them if you were highly motivated to get started right away (but you know how most people are and I think your brain will feel a little fried from overload after 27 classes).
Some of the classes tended to be a little repetitive but that's just the nature of the business. It really doesn't matter who you're selling to, it's all about finding your market and creating art for it. It's the different ways to find those markets that Steve gives you plenty of advice and ideas on.
I can say that the free bonuses didn't play much of a part in my decision to buy this product. They're certainly good value but other than access to Steve personally, I don't know how much of an impact they'll have on my future business. I certainly don't feel like reading Napolean Hill's 'Think and Grow Rich' as an ebook after pushing through Steve's course. I'll leave it to you to decide if the bonus materials sound like value for money.
How to Sell Your Art Without Selling Out is a course that is ideally suited to any artist just starting out or any artist who's been trying to sell their art for a few years and not really getting any where close to a decent income.
It really doesn't matter what kind of Visual artist or Crafts person you are the strategies will be relevant to you (Steve is a glass artist and uses his art in many examples).
If you've been all over the internet looking for information on the business side of art (I know I have) then you'll find everything you need to know, explained in simple to understand language.
Once you've completed this course you'll be able to have a fresh look at the art you produce and will have plenty of new strategies to help you do what you really want to do... create art.
Having purchased and completed the course myself, I highly recommend it. Read through the sales letter as it actually does tell you quite a bit about what to expect.
Two Year Old Artist paints the Big Time.
Monday, December 24, 2007
The Painting on the right is called 'Sunrise' by artist Freddie Linsky. It's an acrylic on canvas and wouldn't look out of place in any modern art gallery. Yet the artist is only two years old.
Freddie's mother, a lecturer at the Hampstead School of Art and a freelance art critic, began posting Freddie's artwork online to collector, Charles Saatchi's online gallery, passing the work off as that of a more accomplished artist. Making up plausible descriptions such as this for 'Sunrise'...
"A bold use of colour. Inspired by the 'plein air' habit of painting by Monet, drawing on the natural world that surrounds us all."
Whilst Freddie's Mum admits it was all just for a bit of a laugh, things began to get serious when Freddie's work started to sell and he got offers to exhibit his work in real world galleries.
Now I'm must admit that Freddie's work isn't half bad. It's not ground breaking but it does have the freedom of expression that only comes with childhood. Before the realisation sets in that paintings are supposed to look like something that can be recognised (or so we think).
However, given that his mum has talked him up in such a way as to fool respected galleries and collectors into thinking he's much more established, I'd say she's probably set Freddie's career back a couple of years. Considering Freddie's two that means he's probably, at the very least, going to have to go back to using the ketchup that he began with.
Many people have the view that abstract expressionism (which is what Freddie's art is) has no place being called art. I disagree. This kind of art can be very powerful, moving and/or just plain pleasing to the eye. However, at some point we have to stop fooling ourselves into thinking that this kind of art requires advanced technical skill. It doesn't - as Freddie and his contemporaries (and he does have them - think four year old Marla) clearly demonstrate.
Personally I find creating art like Freddie's difficult because I'm find it hard to attach my emotions to non subjective mark making. It just doesn't express everything I have to say. However if you really enjoy just making those marks and gestures you can really make an abstract work seem alive.
At some point we have to admit that this kind of art is accessible to toddlers simply because they just enjoy spreading the paint around.
Dinostory is an exhibition of sand sculptures, featuring dinosaurs, that my partner and I went along to view at Port Adelaide, South Australia. Unfortunately, the week before we'd experienced some very heavy, rainy weather, so many of the sculptures had been extremely damaged (very visible in my photo) whilst others had stood up to the elements slightly better.
I do hope that the creators of this exhibition, Sand Sculpting Australia, will attempt to make some repairs because at AU$9.50 for Adults, with eight severely damaged sculptures (one was almost unrecognizable), we did feel a little cheated. Whilst I understand that the weather can't be controlled it does seem like there was no plan to protect the sculptures should such weather occur. At the very least, a reduced entry fee would have been appropriate.
That aside, what remained of the sculptures, all extremely large I might add, were quite impressive and highly detailed.
Dinostory is clearly targeted at children and is intended to be somewhat educational. The dinosaur sculptures are all linked together by the idea of a story book about dinosaurs being read to a boy by his grandfather on Christmas Morning.
It's a nice idea but the story isn't really extended into the rest of the exhibits which are simply labeled with the various dinosaur names. To learn about each dinosaur requires reading of the program guide which isn't in 'kid speak' and is perhaps intended to give parents a few pointers of information that they can relate to their own children.
On the positive side, if you do have young children, then the sand sculpting activities and playground within the exhibition area make the whole thing much better value.
Despite the damage, the sculptures are still a wonderful example of this art form. If you have kids it'll still be impressive to them. However, if you don't then you may question if the entry fee is really good value for money?
Dinostory is on display at Port Adelaide (next to the lighthouse and markets) from December 8, 2007 until January 26, 2008.
Painting and Drawing Secrets by Alfred Daniels
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Since purchasing the Get Paid to Draw system and both products created by the two final contestants on The Next Internet Millionaire I've been following a trail of marketing freebies, ebooks, software and one time offers to teach you how to do anything, fast!
You've probably seen many of them, even amongst the Google ads on my blog; 'Learn how to create massive wealth', 'How to make mega money from home', you get the idea. Clicking on these links takes you to what's known as a 'squeeze page' which is usually a lengthy sales message with examples and testimonials explaining why this product will do everything it claims. Just enter your name and email and we'll give you a truck load of free ebooks as well.
I've got a pile of free marketing information clogging several folders on my hard drive so I've pretty much stopped following this marketing trail, however I continue to stumble across more art related products sold in this over hyped fashion.
The latest one is an ebook titled Painting and Drawing Secrets by Alfred Daniels. Alfred Daniels is not actually selling this product however he is attributed as the author of the ebook which claims to be a re-discovered manuscript that is the secret resource many top artists used to perfect their drawing and painting with oils and watercolors.
I'm not an affiliate of this product, nor am I recommending you purchase (or don't purchase) it. I already know how to draw or paint with no help from Alfred's manuscript so I have no reason to buy. I would be interested to know if you have purchased this product and whether it was good value for money.
I've read the sales message on this and personally I've never heard anyone make these stated complaints about art books teaching you how to draw or paint:
Frankly, the most common complaint amongst art students is study books containing a minimum of useful information offered at the maximum price - much better for ornament than for use!
The big problem is that most books on the subject are filled with boring description after description, and not enough nitty-gritty, nuts and bolts information with clear illustrations and drawings.
Most books I've come across have been extremely useful with plenty of nice step by step pictures without too much boring description. The only thing I would agree upon is the 'maximum price' applied to some books.
Something I do find amusing about the sales pitch and, again, something I've never heard from any art student is this quote from the list of free bonus items:
eBook - How To Draw Parts Of The Body. Starting with the most asked question "How do you draw a woman's breast?"
I've heard artists say they have trouble drawing hands, feet and even faces but I've never ever heard a single person, even someone who can't draw, ask, How do you draw a women's breast? Honestly, even complete drawing novices usually have little trouble drawing boobs!
It's not my intention to knock this product I just find it fascinating that a book such as this is being sold as a revolutionary system in this over hyped and tacky approach.
If you really want to see an art site that features boring description after boring description why not check out Art and Design Web, the publishers of Painting and Drawing Secrets. Page after page of excerpts from Wikipedia on all kinds of drawing and painting related subjects with strategically placed Google ads. Hopefully the ebook has better content.
Canvas and Pen Recommends TET.
Monday, December 17, 2007
One of the best parts of being an independent artist is when someone comes out of nowhere and unexpectedly pays you a very nice compliment.
Canvas and Pen is an artist and writers inspirational web site with the admirable goal of motivating artists and writers to succeed through inspirational articles and recommendations to quality websites.
I must admit I was unaware of the site until I was emailed by Les Anderson, from the Canvas and Pen, to let me know that my site had been added to their Recommended Galleries page because they believe my art, creativity and web site to be an example of someone who is succeeding. Very flattering and much appreciated.
Whether I would consider myself to be successful quite yet is another thing but I will say I have gained some ground and I am certainly doing better with my art than I was around this time last year.
That aside, thanks to Canvas and Pen for the compliment of being a recommended site. If you happen to need a bit of inspiration or motivation to get your ideas and creativity flowing then visit their site and maybe subscribe to one of their many RSS feeds.
I have actually spent some time browsing Canvas and Pen and have found it to be very 'more-ish' i.e. you'll find yourself clicking links to articles within articles just to see what they're about. Lots of useful information, often presented in a very unique way. Definitely worth your time.
getpaidtodraw.com - Your Questions Answered.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Is it a scam? Is the sales message too good to be true? Can you really sit back, relax and get paid thousands of dollars in residual payments?
If you've discovered the site getpaidtodraw.com and have been looking for someone who has bought this product before taking that leap then this review will peel back the glossy sales message and give you the answers. Prior to buying this product I came across much distrust and misinformation about getpaidtodraw.com by people who hadn't purchased it. There was a real need for information so I decided to take the leap and make the purchase specifically so I could write this informed review. Note that I am not, in any way, a getpaidtodraw.com affiliate.
For this review I will be focusing on the getpaidtodraw system which includes; the ebook, instructional videos and database along with access to the systems author Jules Camber (who replies to emails as 'Jamie, President of Champ Entertainment, Inc and Beats365, LLC'). I'll touch on the bonus features towards the latter part of the review. Settle in, this is going to be in depth but I know you'll thank me for it later.
Let's start by getting my opening questions out of the way.
Is it a scam? Absolutely not. This product brings together a great deal of valuable information and a number of different options for earning income through art online that could save you months of research. Some of the opportunities you may not even be aware of. Hence your research may never lead you to them.
Is the sales message too good to be true? In my opinion, yes but not because it is dishonest in any way. Some of the claims are overstated whilst others will take a lot of work to achieve. If you think the money will be rolling in from day one, you'll be disappointed but if you work at it, the potential is there. I'll talk more about this later.
Can you really sit back, relax and get paid thousands of dollars in residual payments? With the information getpaidtodraw.com supplies, it is certainly possible. However it will take a lot of work, uploading a lot of images to many sites. Perhaps if you upload as much work as you can for the first 30 days after your purchase the potential is there to sit back and relax later. You won't be doing much relaxing prior to that though.
So what is getpaidtodraw.com and who should buy it?
Put simply, getpaidtodraw.com is an introduction to a career as freelance commercial artist or photographer (or an introduction to online affiliate marketing if you take advantage of some of the bonus features). It presents you with an introduction to drawing and the art industry along with an introduction to various online opportunities for either uploading your art for residual income or for making yourself available to companies for freelance art,design and photography work.
It's best suited to people who already have some artistic or photographic ability but need some direction in finding opportunities to earn money. If you're an experienced artist, already working freelance, you may find useful additional opportunities but you may also find you already are utilizing many of them.
If you can't draw but can take a decent photo then many of the opportunities will be suited to you.
If you're looking for something that will teach you to draw as well then this system will give you some pointers but you won't be serious competition to a professional artist any time soon.
If you've read the sales pitch and highlighted the points about learning how to sell your paintings on ebay for thousands of dollars as an attractive feature you will be extremely disappointed.
How does getpaidtodraw.com work?
Once you have access to the members area you begin by reading the 50 page, 23 chapter, getpaidtodraw ebook. Obviously I'm not going to disclose all the information presented however this is the core component of the getpaidtodraw system so I will make a few comments.
The ebook is most useful as an introduction to all the various opportunities that the getpaidtodraw system puts forward. It does not go into any opportunity in any great detail but as a quick overview it does the job.
The section of the ebook that teaches you how to draw needs to be read in conjunction with the four 'How to draw' videos included in the members area. To be perfectly blunt I found this entire section (which is over one third of the ebook) along with the videos highly inadequate. If this is the standard of drawing that will earn thousands then by all means give it a try. There probably is a market for awkward, child like drawings but you'll have more opportunities if you take the time to learn how to draw properly. There are any number of great how to draw books and free online guides.
If you have any drawing talent whatsoever, after reading the ebook's introduction, skip straight to chapter 13, 'The business' (even the ebook recommends you skip the how to draw sections if you can already draw). Chapter 13 onwards will serve as a useful introduction to all the various opportunities but does not cover any in detail.
For example, the section that talks about ebay gives you a basic overview on how ebay works and how to list your item but does not give any tips at all on how to sell your paintings for thousands of dollars. In fact you'll get more information about how to sell on ebay from the ebay website its self or by reading my own tips for selling your art on ebay than you will from getpaidtodraw.
I'm using the ebay section as an example because I know many artists struggling to get good prices for their art on ebay who might focus on getpaidtodraw's overstated claim. There is no magic formula for selling art on ebay. You must work hard to build a market in order to get the high prices.
The focus of the getpaidtodraw sales message is earning an income from submitting artwork to various web sites however that isn't the focus of the ebook in terms of opportunities. The areas of the art and design industry it covers include a considerable number that sound like regular jobs in this particular field. In other words it's you promoting yourself as a freelance artist to companies whether they be online or not. Noting that it does give you a couple of online marketplaces for finding freelance work.
If you're just starting out the ebook will give you many choices for what direction to take. If you're already working freelance you may not find it as useful but there may be one or two things there that you haven't yet discovered.
Once you've read the ebook and watched the four 'how to draw' videos there are two more videos to watch. One will tell you how to make a web site. The other will tell you how to sign up with clickbank.com, Google Adsense and Google Adwords. You'll need these if you want to get into the affiliate marketing side of earning income online however they have very little to do with getting paid to draw (and more to do with becoming a getpaidtodraw.com affiliate).
Note that there are also four extra bonus videos in the members area, again relating to affiliate marketing and Pay Per Click selling.
Next up is the getpaidtodraw.com database. This is probably the most useful section of the site and includes sites that will pay for your drawings as well as details for many advertising agencies (all USA based). The advantage here is that Jules (or is that Jamie) lists sites that he recommends. One assumes that these are the sites that produced the outstanding income results in his sales pitch, therefore you can get started right away submitting to them.
Whether you will have the same good fortune is another thing entirely. I've looked at the top two sites recommended and I have to say, it is a competitive market where your images will have to stand out against thousands of images. In fact the process is not dissimilar to trying to make your art stand out if you sell paintings on ebay. The difference being that by submitting to these web sites your work can be purchased over and over again - potentially many times in a single day (that's what residual income is all about).
Note that I'm deliberately not mentioning the names of any sites because I don't want to devalue the getpaidtodraw product by giving you the information for free. This review is intended as a guide of what to expect after all.
The final piece of the getpaidtodraw system is access to it's author Jamie. Before writing this review I did contact Jamie to comment on some of my thoughts about his product. He was very prompt in sending his replies - usually by next day.
We didn't get off to a great start as he at first accused me of not reading the ebook (note to anyone with an ebook... if someone purchased your ebook then it's highly likely they will read it first before contacting you. On the other hand if your ebook was free then there is every chance it will have been placed in a folder somewhere for 'later'. I have at least ten or more free ebooks waiting for my attention).
However, once I made it clear that I had read it, he was more forthcoming with responding to my concerns. I won't go over those concerns as most of them I've highlighted above in areas where I think the product is lacking but this is what Jamie had to say regarding customer feedback he's received:
"We here at GPTD receive great member testimonials. Alot of them are very happy to have learned these tactics existed, and love the customer service, because when an artist emails us, I personally help them "calibrate" their presentation. We receive alot of positive testimonials from members, but skepticism from visitors (Who are non-members.)"
Jamie also said this in relation to sales of the getpaidtodraw system:
"From the numbers on the back end, and the customer satisfaction polls at our retailer, the numbers are very good. It is not a top selling product because it is not in a major niche, but customer satisfaction is extremely high. It has to do with the fact that it is not just an ebook, but a pretty good one and has a complete database and videos..."
My purpose in highlighting these two quotes from Jamie is to show that, from his point of view at least, the majority of people buying his product are happy with their purchase. It also demonstrates Jamie's willingness to respond to emails should you have questions.
To finish up, I'll briefly mention some of the bonus materials you receive with your purchase.
Bonus 1: The Profit Arsenal - 7 ebook course. To be honest, I'm not sure if I even received this? More ebooks on affiliate marketing I think? If I did download them, they're probably in a folder somewhere.
Bonus 2: The complete graphics champ ecourse and system. These are a series 12 short videos, available in the members area, teaching you various aspects of using Photoshop (a staple piece of software for digital artists everywhere). From what I understand from Jamie these videos are rotated each month, which gives you reason to come back for more.
Bonus 3: Real Personal Support via Email & Total Guidance. Jamie does encourage you to contact him all through out the members section for advice on your drawings and photos. As I've shown above his response time is pretty good.
SUPER BONUS 4: Exclusive "Machine Gun Marketing Pocket Guide". If you're into Pay Per Click marketing (if you're into affiliate marketing then the answer is 'yes') then this guide will teach you how to get the most from your Google Ad Words campaigns.
To sum up this lengthy review I'm going to give my personal opinion and experience as a customer to date.
I purchased the getpaidtodraw.com system about 3 weeks ago and to date have not made a cent. Not because it doesn't work but because I've been slow off the mark putting it into practice. (I already earn a good proportion of my income from freelance design and ebay so getpaidtodraw is getting no credit for that). My point being, that you're more likely to look and think it's all too hard. I did and I'm familiar with many of the concepts presented.
However, I paid for it so I'm going to persevere.
My interest is in the key selling point of uploading images to web sites for residual income earnings. For the two top sites in the getpaidtodraw database it is not quite as simple as upload your art, then sit back and watch the money roll in. These sites have guidelines and approval processes to contend with. Both require a scanned copy of either a passport or drivers license to verify your identity (if you have an issue with privacy then this isn't for you).
If you're a photographer then jpeg images are fine but if you're an illustrator, vector graphics are more desirable on the two top sites (if you don't know what a vector graphic is then you'll need to get hold of a copy of Adobe Illustrator or software that supports Adobe Illustrator eps format, and learn!). Hence it's much easier to get started if you're a photographer with getpaidtodraw's system.
I have hundreds of sketches I could submit but none are vector graphics and I'm still trying to get hold of software that will save vector graphics in the required Adobe Illustrator 3, eps format.
Some of you that have looked at the claimed income earning potential on the getpaidtodraw.com site will be saying this looks like a get rich quick scheme even though it states right off the bat it's not. I can tell you from my own experience that some of the figures quoted such as $3400 for a logo is not that unusual in the design industry. If you think they sound a lot then you haven't worked as a designer.
Logo's in particular can earn a considerable amount of money simply because they are reproduced across an entire organizations promotional material and will represent that organization for many years. If you were designing a logo for a brand like Coca-Cola would you want to be paid for just the time it took to design the logo with out any compensation for how often that logo was used to help sell a product? What if the logo was used world wide and all you were paid was $200 for your time to design it? Would you charge $200 the next time Coca-Cola asked you to design a logo?
Now we're getting off topic.
To conclude, getpaidtodraw.com is not a get rich quick scheme. It does overstate it's sales pitch, especially with this line "You will not need to work after you upload photos!" My advice: don't quit your day job just yet - better wait and see how much your photos earn first!).
However, if you use the resources and the ebook information as an introduction to further research , with a lot of work, it could lead to a high paying career as a freelance, commercial artist. From my own personal experience of working as a freelance artist/designer, even on my meager hourly rate, when it pays, it pays well. Better than working in a cubical. That's why I do it.
Getpaidtodraw.com is not a scam but it isn't easy money either. How much you earn will depend on how much effort you're prepared to put in. What this is, is a good head start for a one off price with no more to pay.
Footnote: Since writing this article Jamie has clarified that Jules Camber and himself are two separate people. Jamie is the owner and operator of the web site and runs the marketing. Jules Camber designed the product. Jamie has also worked on parts of the members section, but the main system was put together by Jules.
When Dan Brown released his novel The Da Vinci Code he renewed interest in the artwork of Leonardo Da Vinci and opened much speculation on whether there was more to his work than meets the eye? Specifically that Leonardo was an artist who hid complex codes and hidden secrets within his art.
There is much evidence to support this idea as it is well known that many artists over the centuries have used symbolism to embed deeper meaning into their works than what can be seen at face value. Given that Leonardo was a 'thinker' on so many levels, including his complex ideas as an inventor, there is every chance that his art is filled with hidden meaning.
Whilst Dan Brown's book mentions more than one of Da Vinci's artworks it is The Last Supper, located in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy, that gets most of the attention. Largely, I think, because Dan Brown ties it to one of the great mysteries of human legend, the search for the Holy Grail.
I have read The Da Vinci Code and it is a great read. Even though it sources real artworks, societies and research facts I don't think Dan has ever said that his story is anything other than a work of, at best, hypothetical fiction.
Thanks to The Phoenix and the Harley, who wrote in her blog a post titled, De-Coding Leonardo, I was made aware of Italian musician, Giovanni Maria Pala, who claims to have found a musical code within The Last Supper. Giovanni's find was reported on the Discovery Channel web site as a prelude to the launch of his new book, "La Musica Celata" (which translates to "The Hidden Music"), documenting his findings.
If you're interested to know more about Giovanni's musical code then follow the link above to the Discovery Channel article but for my money there's just too much rearranging of elements for me to say the code was intentional. It's almost like saying, if you write 'Leonardo was here' across the face of the painting and then stand back you'll see a previously hidden message that wasn't there. Which is to say you're seeing things of your creation rather than by any intent from Leonardo.
I'm not convinced.
All this leads to what inspired me to write this article and that is a mystery that I'd wondered about for a time in relation to a certain dagger holding hand within The Last Supper. It may have been the movie of The Da Vinci Code that started the rumor or it could have been something else but either way it was suggested that the dagger holding hand in the artwork could not be attributed to any of the Apostles surrounding it. A 'phantom' hand if you like.
Thanks to an extremely useful site, appropriately titled, The Last Supper in detail, I was able to take a closer look at this hand and, as you can see in the screen shots, it clearly can be attributed to one Apostle , Peter. Consistent with other similar depictions of the Last Supper during the same period.
For those of us that can't see the artwork in person but would like to find hidden meanings, codes or just gain a better understanding of this exceptional piece of history then The Last Supper in Detail is the best site for extreme close up detail unrivaled by any other site online.
The site also references some of the source material, notes etc. that Leonardo created in preparation for the painting. If there is a code to be found then surely some strong hint of it would appear in this information?
TET's Comedy Art Video a Winner!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Blank Canvas IV - Art Critic Video by TET
The above video is my first and only post on the Video, Photo and Music site, View Bug. Given that I only signed up to the site just over a week ago it's very nice to have been selected by View bug's staff as a weekly winner and a recipient of a US$30.00 cash prize. Instantly this video has just become my highest earning video - earning more than my entire collection across nine sites collectively (there's money in online video... apparently?). Screen shot of my win featured on View Bugs home page posted below (click to see larger version).
The video its self pokes more of my humor at the wonderful world of 'conceptual minimalism' - a phrase that I've coined for art that only barely skims the surface of creative potential. It's also a dig at art critics who elevate this work from obscurity, where it should remain.
Whilst I'd like to believe I was selected over thousands of entries, in some pretty stiff competition, going by the views most people seem to get on View Bug, I'd say it's early days for this competition. However a thirty dollar weekly prize is nothing to be sneezed at, especially in the world of online video where many of us are competing for pennies from advertising dollars.
If you're an online video creator, photographer or maker of original music I'd highly recommend you sign up and participate in View Bug before the big names of You Tube, Revver or Metacafe discover it.
At least we can be thankful that the winning video is selected by the sites staff and not by the number of views or viewer ratings. Once a big name discovers the site you won't have to compete with an established audience.
Three tips for developing artwork ideas.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
If you're an artist struggling with 'artist's block' then here are three tips that may help you get an idea or two out of your sketch book.
Keep it simple.
Many artists fall into the trap of thinking that art needs to be complex and thought provoking. Don't get me wrong it's great when it is but don't try to be complex when you're struggling just to get one idea (save the complex work for when you're on a roll).
Don't over think it.
Just like my first point but even over thinking a simple idea can cause you to abandon it. An idea doesn't need to be perfect it just needs potential. If you look at my previous post, The Creativity of Imagining Dragons, the Blue Dragon artwork may not have happened if I'd spent hours refining my sketch. To complete that artwork I did one partially resolved sketch and worked out the rest as I painted it onto the canvas.
Choose a recurring theme.
If there is one theme that really interests you then keep revisiting and reinterpreting it in new ways. Sticking with a theme narrows your choices down from 'everything' to just the parameters of that theme. Since I started painting cats as a recurring theme (more than 50 paintings and still going) I've almost never been stuck for new paintings. Use your recurring theme when nothing else comes to mind.
These three simple tips are intended to remind you that curing artists block usually means going back to basics. Starting again and working towards the more complex themes and ideas that you can really flow your creativity into.
The Creativity of Imagining Dragons
Sunday, November 11, 2007
What does a dragon look like? Depending on where you live your description may vary. For example the European idea of a dragon is a fairly large, dinosaur like creature with a longish neck and huge wings that allow it to fly. Where as the oriental, Chinese style of dragon tends to be more serpent like in the body, retaining lizard like legs, but often does not include wings. The point being, you would still recognize both as being a dragon.
If you're ever stuck for something to get your creative juices flowing then imagining a dragon can be a useful exercise to pass the time. Think about everything you know about what a dragon looks like and then try to draw it. It's not as easy as you might think.
We all know the broad features that make a dragon recognizable to us but when it comes to filling in the details it can be quite a challenge. What does the mouth look like? Should a dragon have horns? What about the wings - could they be bat like or should they be more like pterodactyl wings? What type of dragon is it? Will it be land based or does it live in the water? Would a dragon that lives in the water need wings?
Whilst I haven't painted a lot of dragons through out my career I certainly have drawn many in numerous sketch pads. Dragons are interesting creatures and imagining one can really be a creative challenge.
Pictured artwork:
Blue Dragon, by TET Acrylic on Canvas Stretcher 40 x 80cm (15" x 31"), November 2007
Student finds valuable art inside sofa bed!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
In one of my previous blog posts, titled Art in your couch, I humorously suggested the idea of looking down the back of your couch to see if you could find any 'art'. Today, in a Reuters news feed, I came across this story Student finds baroque painting inside old sofa, which gives serious credibility to the idea that looking down the back of your couch for art may not be such a silly idea after all.
The story relates how a German Student bought a sofa bed at a flea market and, some usage time later, discovered a rather valuable painting hidden inside.
Titled "Preparations for the flight to Egypt," the artwork is believed, by experts, to have been painted between 1605 and 1610 by an unknown artist thought to have ties to Venetian painter Carlo Saraceni.
The student, who discovered the painting between the folds of the sofa bed, sold the painting at auction in Hamburg for 19,200 euros (US$27,660). A tidy profit on the 150 euros she paid for the sofa.
As a footnote to this story, for those unknown artists who may be reading this, there's hope that your art may have real investment value nearly four centuries after you painted it.
Come to think of it, there is a sofa bed in my living room... I think I'll discreetly slip one of my artworks between the folds when nobody is looking!
Thrown out any bad art lately?
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Lucy In the Field With Flowers Oil on canvas by Unknown 24" x 30" Acquired from trash in Boston
In contrast to my previous post, Thrown out any good art lately?, this story came to me through a members post on Australian Art Forum about the Museum of Bad Art. I just happened to read the backstory behind the museums cornerstone artwork and the similarities with my previous post demonstrate that even bad art placed in the trash may be more valuable than you thought.
I'm not going to retell the story of Lucy In the Field With Flowers because you can read the details by Susan Lawlor, a family member of the painting's former owner for yourself. Suffice to say that this particular painting was recovered from the kerbside trash on a Boston street by the Museum of Bad Arts founder, Scott Wilson, who was promptly inspired to create the aforementioned museum.
The Museum of Bad Art now exists in both online and bricks and mortar form - with the bricks and mortar coming first. Interestingly enough the actual museum is, perhaps appropriately, located just outside the men’s room in a 1927, Boston, New England movie theatre known as The Dedham Community Theatre.
What interests me about all this is who are these people that put art in their kerbside waste collection? It's probably a question that can't really be answered but thanks to them you just never know if your next discarded artwork find will be worth a mint or a inspire a cultural business venture.
It's almost worth going for a walk on bin collection day.
Thrown out any good art lately?
Thursday, October 25, 2007
"Tres Personajes" by Rufino Tamayo, a 1970 oil and sand on canvas painting, in an undated image released to the media on Oct. 22, 2007. Source: Sotheby's via Bloomberg News
We've all heard stories of people finding extremely valuable items in kerbside rubbish collections but this one might get you taking a closer look at a few discarded paintings.
New York City woman, Elizabeth Gibson, was walking past a collection of garbage bags put out for collection one Saturday morning in 2003 when her eye caught a painting sticking out the top. Initially she walked right on by but a short time later she returned for a second look with a hunch that this painting may just be the goods for her apartments living room wall.
There must have been something about the painting that suggested there was more to it than would at first appear because Elizabeth began, what would turn out to be, a rather lengthy and difficult journey to find out the artworks history.
Fast forward four years later and Elizabeth learnt that the painting its self was by an extremely important and valuable Mexican artist, Rufino Tamayo and was titled, `Tres Personajes.' Painted in 1970 the title translates to 'Three People' in English. Clearly a dilemma for Elizabeth who initially hid the painting behind a false wall once she began to uncover just how valuable it was.
If that wasn't enough, it was unnerving to find out that the painting had been stolen almost twenty years earlier from art collectors, a couple living in Houston who bought the painting from Sothebey's in 1977 for US$50,000. A fact she uncovered in 2005 whilst watching a PBS Television program about missing artworks.
Now did you catch that last headline? The conclusion to this story is that Elizabeth returned the painting and received a tidy $15,000 dollar reward from the owner as well as an undisclosed fee from Sothebey's for the sale of the painting which is expected to fetch between $750,000 to 1 million when it is auctioned on November 20, 2007.
Given that there are many valuable artworks that have been stolen and never recovered over the years you may want to consider taking a closer look at what people are placing out for garbage collection.
How do you paint in inches?
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
I recently received a message from an admirer of my art who suggested that I should also include the size of my paintings in inches to assist international collectors not familiar with the metric system of measurement.
My mind, being the way it is, winked at me and thought, but I only know how to paint in metric? How do you convert a painting to inches anyway? Is there a conversion chart?
I found a pretty good conversion tool online but when I typed in the title of my painting it didn't seem to understand and looked at me like I was some kind of fool.
Maybe I'll just buy my canvases pre-converted to inches to save me the worry.
Cy Twombly. Art you can love...or not?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Agnes Tricoire, presents to the court a reproduction of the kiss mark on a painting by artist American Cy Twombly. Photo: MSNBC
In researching this post I'm happy to say that American artist, Cy Twombly's all white artwork, 'Untitled', is an exception to his art rather than the norm. Perhaps that is why the artwork is valued at just over 2.8 million dollars and lays some credibility on my rationale in pricing my own blank canvas in my video guide to Pricing your artwork for sale.
Regular readers will know my distaste for blank canvas artworks so I could not pass up this opportunity to comment on Rindy Sam, a 30 year old, female French artist, who loved Twombly's blank artwork enough to kiss it with fully, lipstick loaded, lips.
The incident happened on July 19, 2007, where the painting was part of a traveling exhibition on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in the southern French city of Avignon. The kiss was described as an 'act of love' by Rindy who was promptly taken into custody by French Police.
Not amused, the owner of the painting, Yvon Lambert, wants $2,878,000 in damages, which includes the value of the painting and the $47,000 restoration cost. To date, 30 cleaning products have been used on the canvas with little success in restoring it to its pristine, bone whiteness.
Where once there was simply a painting waiting to be started, there is now a collaborative effort that is made all the more interesting for the controversy surrounding it. Value adding I say. Should add another million at least to the price tag now that it will forever be known as the painting that was kissed by an 'art lover'.
Mr. McGroovy's Box Creations like no other.
Monday, October 08, 2007
I'm not one to write sponsored blog posts so let me assure you this post is simply because I was very impressed with Mr. McGroovy's Box Rivets™ web site and more specifically the cardboard creations within it.
Mr. McGroovy sells special kind of Box Rivets™ (pictured) that allow your imagination to run wild on large scale box creations such as the pictured space ship. That thing is big enough to send your child into orbit (well if it had an engine maybe).
What I thought was really cool is that Mr. McGroovy provides all the plans you need to make the creations appearing on his site including Pirate ships, castles, fire engines and more. Even a Santa's Sleigh! Check out the gallery of things people have built using the rivets here.
I have a big refrigerator box sitting in my studio. I'm almost tempted to buy some rivets to see what I can turn it into. Better put my creativity hat on!
Photography and Semaphore Beach.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Semaphore Beach, Port Adelaide, South Australia is a favorite place for Enigma and I to visit. Especially around sunset (you know the walk on the beach, kind of romantic type thing that people like). Ever since Enigma bought a professional standard digital camera (of the kind that you can attach all manner of specialized lenses to) we've used our trips to Semaphore as an opportunity to improve our photography.
I've had some training throughout my three years at art school on the technical side of working a manual SLR photography camera. Hence I know about apertures, shutter speeds, depth of field and other such technical things but I'm very rusty in applying that knowledge. I never really embraced the idea of me being a photographer even though my teacher said I had a great eye for photos.
Tackling the workings of a modern SLR digital camera can be quite a challenge. Most of the principles are the same as traditional cameras but finding your way around digital displays, menus and buttons unique to modern equipment is a task both Enigma and I muddle through together. I try to explain what should happen with the settings that we kind of work out together. Enigma does all the composition, framing and actually pushing the button to take a picture.
What makes it even harder is that Enigma's camera is able to use lenses that don't work with the cameras automatic functions. This means that we have to work out apertures and focusing ourselves. It's a bit hit and miss but thank god for the digital camera's ability to take hundreds of photos at virtually no cost (other than wearing down the batteries).
Whilst Enigma takes her photos I also carry around my point and shoot - any idiot could use - digital camera. It's fully automatic but does allow for some manual settings if you really want to get a bit arty. Mostly I leave it entirely on automatic. It doesn't have any kind of optical zoom lense (the digital zoom on it produces awful, pixelated images) so I'm pretty much stuck with having to physically move myself to frame my shots.
However something that we both learnt on our last trip to the beach was that sometimes automatic settings are the best to go with. The photo at the top of this post is one that I took of the Semaphore jetty with my basic camera. I just framed the shot so the brightest part of the sun was blocked out and the camera did the rest. Easy. How it should be. Technology working to assist creativity.
Enigma was trying out a new lense that was really struggling with the light once the sun was really low in the sky. Neither of us being that knowledgeable about lenses, we experimented with it quite a bit, until finally it just became obvious that the light just wasn't enough to get a decent picture. Even with the aperture open wide and the shutter set at a slow enough speed that was still good for hand held photography.
Noticing that my camera was still handling the light fairly well and producing well lit photos, I advised that Enigma should simply reattach the lense that came with her camera - the one that allows all of its automatic functions to work - and try that.
The suggestion worked a treat. Enigma was able to take well lit photos for quite some time after that. Even a few night shots too. Sometimes fully automatic is really the way to go. Especially if you're like us and aren't fully conversant with the settings.
More to the point. Photography is meant to be fun. If you are fighting with your camera, using manual settings, it doesn't hurt to switch back to auto for a while. Just so you can get back to the creative part of framing and composing your pictures.
Another tip I learnt during art school, that applies particularly to taking sunset photos, but is a good rule on any photography excursion. Always look behind, down and above, from your current position when taking a photo. Not all the best photos are right in front of you. Below are two examples of photos that I may not have seen if I hadn't taken a moment to look the other way. Both were taken roughly at the same time as the jetty photo above. (Note: if you weren't aware clicking on any image in my blog will usually show a larger version).
If you're a YouTube artist and you have a web cam then I strongly encourage you to get involved in Daligoddess2006's, The Traveling Painting Project. It doesn't matter what your skill level is so long as you're over 18 years of age and don't mind spending a little bit of money on postage of a smallish canvas.
Considering how popular online video is, getting involved in projects such as this can have a bonus side effect of bringing more profile to your own art. The bigger the project gets the more people will be intrigued to find out more about the artists that have left their mark.
So, the traveling painting project is just what it says. A single canvas traveling from artist to artist, with each artist adding something to the painting before passing it along. Watch the video above for more information and visit the Ning network web site set up by YouTube artist Sherri Westfall.
The article, which is currently rated number 1 out of 17 articles, looks at the challenges faced by emerging artists in relation to income and why the phrase 'starving artist' is still very relevant in todays society both literally and as a metaphor. There are many barriers to a successful career in the Arts and it is these barriers that can have a detrimental effect on both the artist and their ability to earn a living.
This is the second time Helium has featured my work on their home page and twice in one month no less! Previously An introduction to Video Blogging earned its day in the sun and even featured higher up on the page.
Now if I could only get featured on YouTube's home page I'd be really happy.
