Have you ever thought about the number of visitors, or lack thereof, that come directly to your art blog from the search engines? And if so, did you ever stop to consider the importance of those visitors for your art business? When a person uses a search engine (like Google, or Bing) to look for a [...]

When Mark Blackbourn says his work is hard to categorize, he really means it. Although primarily an acrylic painter, he dabbles in four artistic styles and continually tries to break the trends he notices developing in his artwork. “I’m influenced by the impressionist painters most and love the work of Paul Cezanne

Changing the name you have used to promote and sell your art isn’t something to undertake lightly, but with a few key considerations, it can not only refresh your enthusiasm but open up potential new markets as well. For 10 years I’d used a creative business name, which customers came to know, along with a vague [...]

In today's video, Gloria Page takes us through the (fairly simple) process of carving out your own art stamps. Here, she demonstrates how to make photo corner stamps. Take a look

Monday in Video Tutorials - Tomorrow, art stamping expert Gloria Page will demonstrate how to carve out your own “photo corner” stamps for use in collage, paper arts, scrapbooking and more. Tuesday in General Art Advice - No matter how agonizing it is to re-brand (or rename) your art business, sometimes thatR

Being an artist can be tough, because everybody has an opinion about your work. Even art school can be cruel. You have to develop a tough skin if you want to be an artist! That being said, there is an important distinction between a valuable piece of criticism and an opinion. What is that distinction? Mainly, [...]

As a child, Chris Scheidler Pagano loved to draw get-well cards for family and neighbors, and was often encouraged by her grandparents to spend hours drawing. By 11 she was taking painting lesson, and hasn’t stopped painting since. Chris has earned her living as an artist for over 34 years, mainly by exhibiting in art

Even if you’ve been a diehard gallery artist your entire life, this is the year to put your art online. Here’s why: 1. Internet users are everywhere According to Business2Community.com and the latest US Digital Media Usage Report, 3 out of 4 people in the US will be internet users in 2012. That’s a whopping 75

Sometimes it only takes a small adjustment or two to improve your paintings. I’m sure I’m not the only artist who has looked back on their work from years ago and thought, “If only I had done this or that differently, the results would have been so much better.” We shouldn’t be afraid of making

Monday in Painting Tutorials - Drop by tomorrow for Craig Shillam’s list of simple adjustments that any artist can use to improve their paintings. Nothing big or flashy here, just good painting advice for just about every artist. Tuesday in Selling Art Online - Dreama Tolle Perry will be sharing 5 fact-based reasons w

Being a hardened user of traditional media (and not the most techie of folk) my involvement so far in the world of digital art has simply been to admire those who are clearly extremely proficient in its creation. Over time, however, my interest has increased—and with it, I’ve gained a strong desire to create some of

When was the last time you gave your art blog a design overhaul? Three years ago? Five? Well, it may be time to spruce things up a bit! Below are seven signs that your art blog may need a re-design: 1. It looks outdated While “outdated” is a general term that can mean so many things to so [...]

If you paint on canvas—either in acrylics, oils, or watercolor—you’ve probably noticed that your unframed paintings look much better from the front than they do from the side. Anytime you catch a glimpse of those raw canvas edges, they look startlingly white against the painted front. Worse yet, during the paintin

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day here in the US, so there will be no new articles posted tomorrow. Tuesday in Painting Tutorials - Tracy Feldman will explain several ways to professionally finish the sides of your paintings so that they can be displayed unframed. Wednesday in Featured Artists - Drop by and see some beau

Carolyn Madvig worked in corporate America for 25 years, often feeling unfulfilled. But when her employer decided to downsize, she saw it as a sign to turn her hobby business into a full-fledged, money-making adventure—and she has never regretted it. Creating art fulfills her, makes her feel alive, and relaxes her all at

If you like art with a whirlwind of exciting, dramatic colors and emotions, then I guarantee Usha Patibandla’s abstract paintings will blow you away. In her Energy series, Usha experiments with startling color combinations, far-out forms and flat-out otherworldly ferocity. This next painting in particular, entitled En

Why do I hate so much of our 20th century visual art with such a passion? I’m certainly not that way with music. I have everything from Mozart to the Sex Pistols on my iPod, and if I hear some awful music, I don’t rail against it. . . I just ignore it. But I really do [...]

In today’s video, George James will demonstrate a few methods for minimizing that running, blending quality of Yupo watercolor paper. True, sometimes you want that watery effect, but other times you don’t—take a look and see how George creates flat fields of color (as well as gradients) in just seconds: N

Monday in Video Tutorials - Tomorrow, George James will be demonstrating how to create smooth, controlled watercolor washes on Yupo paper—a surface which is normally known for its tendancy to mix and bleed colors together without control. Tuesday in Art Opinion - Steve Worthington sent in a thought-provoking article the o

A while back I wrote a few articles on how to effectively use guest posts and how to write guest posting guidelines but did you know there is one more way you can make the guest posting process on your blog completely painless? Just by creating a few email templates, which you can use over and [...]

For the past five years, Bristol-based artist Daniela Reed has been creating mosaics out of stained glass and mirror. Recently, however, she decided to break free from glass in order to experiment with spray paint, acrylic paint, and pen and ink. “I started using [spray paint] as a background for my mosaics and felt that

A few days ago I heard that Christie’s would be auctioning off Elizabeth Taylor’s glamorous clothing and jewelry. So naturally I clicked over to Christies.com to see how the bidding was going for a beautiful pair of 1960s cuff bracelets. . . Alas, as I write this, the bracelets are already $1000—still five days be

In a recent interview where I asked 5 artists how they make a living from their creativity, one of the interviewees, Jonathan Hardesty (who is also an art teacher) happened to mention that one of the saddest things he sees is “someone who is 65 years old that comes to me saying they’ve always wanted [...]

Happy New Year, everyone! Monday in Motivation - It’s never to late to discover your creative side! Drop by EmptyEasel tomorrow and start the new year right with an encouraging, "go-get-em" article by Dan Johnson. Tuesday in General Art Advice - Whenever you’re selling art online it’s always a good

Happy holidays, everyone! We're taking a brief hiatus from publishing any new articles during the Christmas season, but never fear, we'll be back to kick off the New Year in style on January 1st, 2012

Suzanne Millius was exposed to a very creative lifestyle as a young child. Her parents introduced her to both music and art, but it was art that captured her heart

Russian-born painter Anatoliy Rozhansky knows that we live in a world of material things, and yet he recognizes that no matter what the object may be, each carries with it certain meanings, feelings and sentiments. As a result, Anatoliy strives to combine his realistically painted objects and portraits with some surprisingl

“Watercolor batik” is an amazing technique that combines melted wax and watercolors on rice paper to create an exciting-looking painting. Today I’ll be explaining how I use this technique in my own paintings. If you’re ready, let’s get started! First, I ink in my drawing on rice paper—which i

In today's video George James will be demonstrating one of his many techniques for adding texture to a painting. In this specific case, he's adding a grid-like pattern over the top of one section, to give some added depth and interest

Monday in Video Tutorials - Tomorrow, George James will be demonstrating an easy stamping technique for anyone who paints on Yupo watercolor paper. You can also check out more video clips by George and other experts right here. Tuesday in Painting Tutorials - Martha Kisling recently submitted a great tutorial explaining how