40 x 60 cms
Luminance pencils on Canson pastel board, own reference.
Early in November while I was in Cairns, I had the pleasure of meeting Cindy and Stuart Wider, both highly competent artists and co-founders of DrawPJ.com (Art Curriculum Designers).Cindy was keen to promote my artwork and this opportunity was too good to miss. It’s great when anyone takes an interest in your work, but it’s ‘special’ when such highly regarded professionals see something that they want to share with their world-wide audience. I invite you to watch the fruits of our most excellent morning together:
Promoting one’s art is something that any committed artist should take if the opportunity arises. The problem is often cost (value for money) or even how to go about it. Effective promotion will see your work being presented to a broader audience that may result in more sales, even commissions. Promotion of one’s work is never easy as it takes time and effort. Artists want to spend the majority of their time in their studios!
Whatever you decide to do, make sure the first step is to create a personal business card. This is an essential requirement if you want people to remember who you are. There are plenty of online options for the design and printing of business cards if you can’t create one yourself.
Social media is the second place to consider. I use Facebook (as myself) and Instagram (as #portmacquarieartist). I’ve had success with the former, but none to date with the latter. I not only post examples of my work, but I include updates as I’m creating them. Blogging is another way of promoting your work, but it’s not for everyone. I’ve been blogging since 2008, with over 1,000,000 hits. It’s a big commitment, but I enjoy it because I like writing about my work and my art philosophy.
My represented gallery (gallerypejean.com.au) promotes my work and I’m very pleased with my association with them. Joining art groups on social media as well as in the community can help you promote your work and at least it will expand your audience ‘reach’.
Creating short videos is another way to ‘spread the word’. I have shown a few of my own, but there’s a lot to learn for any forays into professional presentations. It would be great if we could all afford a promotions officer, but that’s not going to happen. Believe in yourself, believe in what you do and go out and make yourself known, but keep on producing your art as well!
Richard
You are absolutely spot on Richard! And your art deserved to be seen worldwide. Such creativity and especially with colour pencils.
Thank you, Sharon 😀
It was such an honour to meet you Richard and very inspiring. Looking forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
Thank you Cindy. It was wonderful finally meeting you and Stuart. I enjoyed the interview immensely!