Yesterday, we shared a post about the importance of creating visibility for your art... or, if you're in the business of selling art as a gallery, the importance of making the public aware that you exist.
Whereas I realize that the whole business of "self promotion" is distasteful to many creative people, it's still an inevitable part of the artistic process... unless you're happy just building a huge collection of your own work.
One of the points I didn't touch on in a lot of detail is the value of blogging about art as a publicity tool... since it's a significant enough topic to warrant a post of its own.
Blogging as Information, Rather than Writing
Macro Flower I
Very few of the artists we work with at the Red Dragonfly Gallery keep blogs... which is actually a shame.
In most cases, the reason given is "But I'm not a writer!" One of the first things to understand-- since indeed not everyone is a writer-- is that blogging doesn't necessarily mean you have to be a top notch journalist.
The point of an art blog is to generate interest in your work, not for you to become an author.
Here on Steemit, we already have a growing number of artists who are using their Steemit pages as a way to help promote their work. In many cases, their blogs are not merely showcases of their final work, but also a way to show followers what their creative process looks like.
Art Has a Story-- Tell YOUR Story!
It's a fairly established fact that people tend to be more drawn to art that has "a story."
Macro Flower II
We see this at the gallery on a regular basis-- being able to "romance the artist" can be a really solid and effective selling point. By creating a blog about you and your work, you are-- in essence-- "pre-selling" the story of you and your art, thereby laying some of the groundwork for developing a following and eventually a buying clientele.
Certainly, it's a good idea to tell people the story of what inspired you to become an artist... but mostly the idea is to focus on showing people pictures of your art, along with a few words about what went into each piece you choose to show; perhaps share a bit about how each piece went from just an idea to execution.
Since you are going to be photographing your work, this can also be a good exercise in learning photography "that sells." In this case, also meaning that the photos from your blog can also serve as a record of your work and become part of your portfolio you show to prospective clients and art galleries.
"How Is That Made?"
Surprisingly many people who visit our gallery want to know how something was made.
Macro Flower III
Some artists feel a bit threatened by that; fearful that people want to copy their technique and work. Quite honestly, that's rarely the case... most people are simply curious.
Not suggesting you should give away any proprietary technical secrets here, but many art buyers find the process behind the art fascinating, so showing some of the steps in getting from idea to finished work helps establish a more "personal" connection with you.
Why does that matter? Because ultimately we are -- as humans-- more likely to buy something from people we feel we know and trust.
The Steemit Connection: A Unique Opportunity for Artists
Here on Steemit, we have the unique twist that this is not merely a social content platform, but you can also earn rewards for sharing your content.
Macro Flower IV
But please be realistic! Whereas it's possible to earn some fairly handsome rewards here, consider your rewards to be an adjunct to your art-- it is never meant to replace the actual income from being a working artist, merely supplement it; perhaps you would be able to fund the cost of art supplies-- consider it a bonus!
As an art gallery, the Red Dragonfly makes a little extra income from blogging about art, the art world and issues facing artists... which we are basically planning to use (in part) to fund extra shows for new artists, during the months and years ahead.
Whatever is left over will go towards building our "equity" here on Steemit so we can support aspiring artists in this community through upvotes, encouraging comments and potentially offering wall space for your work at our place.
Thank you for reading! Red Dragonfly is a proud member of the @sndbox creative initiative.
The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Where applicable, artist images used with permission.