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I once saw a home improvement show where the crew planned to remodel a room, so the host started by drawing a sketch of what the room would look like after the job was completed.  Part of the redesign included adding a skylight.  As the construction started, the workers cut a square hole in the roof and lowered the new skylight into place.  And, as it slipped into place, the host went absolutely crazy with glee.  For a second, I wondered, "why is he getting so excited?"  After all, he knew they were going to add the skylight, so it wasn't a surprise to him. [...]

My favorite Seinfeld episode is The Opposite.  In it, George complains to Jerry that, "Every decision I've ever made in my life, has been wrong, every instinct I've ever had...was wrong.  My life is the complete opposite of what I wanted it to be....".   And Jerry replies, "If every instinct you've ever had was wrong the the opposite would have to be right."  So George immediately starts doing the opposite of his natural instincts.  And in the course of a few days, he goes from being a "bald man, with no job, no money, who lives with his parents" to dating a beautiful woman, [...]

Artists often wonder if, in today's world, they should work with brick-and-mortar art galleries, or, instead, do their own marketing and sell online, directly from their websites.  For any given artist, there are a lot of factors, both professional and personal, that play into that decision.   I owned a gallery for more than a decade, have worked with thousands of artists in building their websites, and have spent over 15 years marketing our services online.  Having worked professionally on all sides of this question, I thought it would be helpful to share my thoughts on what makes a great art [...]

In the past, I've periodically published my recommendations for the 11 Essential Elements that every artist website should contain.  I've updated them for 2017 below. 1.  Use Your Own DomainOne of the main reasons to have a website is to control your own marketing assets.  Hosting your website on your own domain name is essential.  yourname.com is much more professional than yourname.someservice.com.  We still recommend you use a .com domain.2.  Optimize Your Site for MobileIn 2017, more people view websites from mobile devices than they do from desktop computers.  If your site doesn’t render well on a mobile device, then [...]

The following article is part of an interview I did with the Pastel Society of Southeast Texas.  You can read the full interview here.     There are three main reasons that you need your own artist website:   1. to ensure that your art is taken seriously 2. to project a professional image 3. to control your own marketing assets.      Ensure Your Art is Taken Seriously   Most businesses need a great website to be taken seriously.  When an artist makes the decision to market and sell her artworks, she is making the decision to start a business.  That might not be obvious in the moment, but that’s exactly the [...]