26

July/Aug 2011

FREE SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Serving the Canadian art industry www.brushstrokemagazine.com

New Society Celebrates Scratchboard Work

A BIG THIRST Lorna Hannett

OIL PAINTERS of AMERICA

20TH ANNUAL NATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION OF TRADITIONAL OILS

Canadian painter Neil Patterson impressive OPA President

Publishers Corner
PUBLISHED BY JENSU DESIGN PUBLISHER: Susan Blackman This has been another incredibly busy summer so far. I started summer off by attending the Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition in Coeur DAlene, Idaho. It is a picturesque resort community, with one of the quaintest downtown business districts you can nd anywhere. It has tree-lined streets and outdoor patios for the cafes and restaurants, as well as many art galleries sprinkled through it. The Devin Galleries hosted the OPA exhibition. The bulk of the events were held at the Coeur DAlene Resort right in the heart of downtown. OPAs event had many sessions on important topics including: How to get published (by Collin Fry), Best practices for growing a successful and protable art business (Kevin Warr), Preserving military history: An artists perspective (Konrad Hack), The Great Cape Ann artists (Charles Movalli), Victorian: No longer a dirty word (Peter Trippi), Western Art: The story behind the canvas (Jane Barton). Artists attending the conference had the opportunity to take part in two days of plein air painting, as well as paint from three live models in the upscale shopping mall adjacent to the resort. There were group and individual critique sessions, the reception and awards ceremonies, and an evening cruise hosted by OPA and American Art Collector Magazine. A gigantic highlight for me was the opportunity to see our fellow Canadian Neil Patterson perform his duties as president of the prestigious organization and to see his and other painting demonstrations. He did us proud. Not only is he a master painter, but he also represented us professionally. Hes charismatic, talented and humorous too. ...................... As this goes to press I will be in the Canadian Rockies for the second time in as many months, and one week later I will be spending two weeks plein air painting on Change Islands, Newfoundland for my fourth consecutive summer. I hope you all enjoy your summer - see you in the fall.

FEATURED ARTISTS THIS ISSUE: Lorna Hannett Neil Patterson Scott Christensen Ned Mueller

All material printed in this magazine, written or depicted, is protected by copyright of this magazine and/or the artist, and cannot be reproduced in any form without express written permission from the publisher. All views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Canadian Brushstroke Magazine. Brushstroke makes no recommendations as to the purchase or sale of any product or service. All letters or contributions to Canadian Brushstroke Magazine are subject to editing with no limits or liability.

JENSU DESIGN Box 5483, Leduc, Alberta Canada T9E 6L7 Phone: 780-986-0789 Fax: 780-986-8393 E-mail: [email protected]

CANADIAN BRUSHSTROKE MAGAZINE Box 3449, Leduc, Alberta Canada T9E 6M2

[email protected]
www.deltaart.ca

Phone: 780-986-0789 Fax: 780-986-8393 E-mail: [email protected] www.brushstrokemagazine.com

2 Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011

Susan Abma

black gold gallery

BLACK GOLD GALLERY & FRAME 4724 - 50th Ave Leduc, AB www.blackgoldgallery.com 780.986.6393

We offer a wide variety of artwork from original works by well-known artists to limited edition prints, giclees and poster prints. Our customers are provided with a selection for all tastes and budgets for seasoned and new collectors.

Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011 3

LORNA HANNETT: A BIG THIRST, Scratchboard, 24 x 36

Canadian Master of

Scratchboard
is founding President of new International Society
Editors Note: This article was written by President of the new International Society of Scratchboard Artists(ISSA): Lorna Hannett, SFCA, MSA. cratching, as an art form, has been around since the rst people painted and scratched on cave walls. Scratchboard Art was historically used for illustrations in advertising and publishing industries as an alternative to engraving. It has recently experienced resurgence 4 Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011 in popularity, nding its way into ne art circles. In recent years an International group of artists, initially brought together through an online art community called Wet Canvas, have been experimenting, pushing boundaries and honing their skills in scratchboard, working to move beyond illustrations into the creation of fine art. It was discovered that a large portion of the general public and art community had little knowledge of this medium.

LORNA HANNETT: MOMS BUTTONS, Scratchboard, 8 x 10

Scratchboard Contd
Organizers of juried shows would not know what category to put scratchboard art into and some would even exclude it from shows without ever seeing the work or understanding what scratchboard is capable of in the hands of ne artists. With most other mediums having their own societies representing them, it was felt that a similar society dedicated specifically to Scratchboard Art was overdue. ISSA has the goal of lifting the profile of scratchboard art internationally; providing exhibitions to showcase this art form, organizing workshops, uniting all artists working in the medium, and endeavoring to continue educating the arts and public communities. The rst ever International Scratchboard Exhibition was held in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2008 with a second one held in Alamosa, Colorado in 2009 and the work was well received. In July, 2010 discussions started for creating a formal society dedicated to Scratchboard Art with the aim of reaching and including all scratchboard artists. ISSA will begin accepting members in fall of 2011. In 2012 all scratchboard artists, worldwide, will be welcomed and encouraged to submit for jury to the inaugural ISSA Exhibition of Scratchboard Art.
Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011 5 Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011 5

Scratchboard Contd
Membership within the society will include a variety of levels to encourage artists from novice up to professionals. Top tiers of membership and all shows will be carefully juried to encourage and promote excellence in the medium. Its web site, still presently under construction, can be found at www.issaart.com The Founding Board Members of the ISSA are Lorna Hannett and Sue Rhodes of Canada, Patrick Hedges of Australia, Diana Lee, Ken MacFarlane, Cathy Sheeter, and Sandra Willard of the US.

Canadian Brushstroke Magazine published a full-length article about Hannett in our second issue back in 2007. To read the article and see more of Hannetts work, please visit: www.brushstrokemagazine.com/issues/2007/hires/2007_07_hr.pdf . LORNA HANNETT: REFLECTIONS, Scratchboard, 11 x 14
Free subscriptions to more than 14,000 subscribers (many forward it to their own mailing list resulting in increased readership.) Each issue features at least one artist from each of the four regions: West, Central, East and Maritimes. Canadian Brushstroke Magazine benets the Canadian Art Industry nationwide by providing: 6 Annual issues. The magazines PDF format offers readers a traditional-style magazine format online, resulting in readership cover-to-cover, difcult to achieve in a usual website format. Tracked readership, because we require subscription information. Reduced advertising overhead by lowering our magazine production costs. Increased Green Environmental image through reduced paper and ink consumption. Increased youth market penetration through hi-tech communications. Free delivery directly to the readers personal emails, rather than by newsstands.

[email protected] Phone 780-986-0789

6 Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011

! L CALL L A C T S FOR A L ENTRIES

We want to show off Canadas artists, and our competitions help us do that! Be sure to enter your artwork in our competitions not only do you have a chance to

All About Light

Competition No. Subject Medium

12
Artists favorite subjects showing the results of light (or lack of it

All About Light

WIN $1000 CDN

plus an award certicate, but we also get a chance to see your work and we just may feature YOU in an upcoming issue of Canadian Brushstroke Magazine.

Two dimensional drawing or painting medium $20 each *

(You can enter as many works as you would like)

Entry Fee Entry Deadline

Aug. 30/2011

*Winners and nalists will be featured in the Sept/Oct issue of Canadian Brushstroke Magazine
*We regret that after almost ve years without an increase in the entry fee, our increasing production costs have forced our entry fee to rise to $20.

RULES - HOW TO ENTER

DIGITAL FILES ONLY Enter with high res digital le only on CD only. Do not send digital images via email to our ofces - they will be automatically disqualied. You must print off the entry form on next page, complete it, and send it along with your CD and method of payment. If you have more entries than the space allotted, please print another form and ll it out completely. All CDs must be labeled with the artists name, the number of entries on the CD, each of their titles and this issues Competition Number. All les on the CD must be labeled as follows: lastname/rstname/Entry No. Example: John Smiths Entry No. 2 would be labeled smithjohn2. ELIGIBILITY This competition is open to any artist with residency in Canada. All work must be original, not copied from any other artists work, photographers work or published work of any kind, and must have been completed in the last two years. The work can not have won previous awards or any distinction of any kind. No works created under supervision are eligible. We reserve the right to refuse any entry, or ask for source material at our discretion.
Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011 7

RULES - HOW TO ENTER (contd)

ENTRY FEE/DEADLINE The DEADLINE for Canadian Brushstroke Magazine to RECEIVE entries is Aug. 30/11. You cannot courier material to our box number, so be sure to send it in plenty of time (Address is on submission form below). The fee per entry is $15 CDN, which can be paid by VISA, cheque or money order. The fee MUST be included with the CD and entry form submission. The entry fee is not refundable. COMPETITION JUDGES The competition entries will be chosen by Canadian Brushstroke Magazine, and/or qualied judges of our choosing. PERMISSION TO PUBLISH Signing and submission of the entry form, digital les and payment will constitute permission for Canadian Brushstroke Magazine to publish your artwork(s), your name and information in our magazine, which is released on the internet, and copies archived on our website on the internet for as long as the publisher wishes to keep the archived editions on the site. Submission of the entry also constitutes the entrants acceptance of all competition rules. The winner and nalists will be notied by e-mail, and their work will be published in the specied edition of the magazine. The judges decisions are nal. Grand Prize winners may not enter the competition for a full two years after winning. Finalists may re-enter. Canadian Brushstroke Magazine does not accept any liability for color variations that may occur as a result of different computer screens. The artists will be properly credited.

Entry 1

Entry 2
Title: Title:

Entry 3

E N T R Y F O R M

Title:

Medium:

Medium:

Medium:

Size: (HXW)

Size: (HXW)

Size: (HXW)

I enclose my cheque or money order for the total fee of $20 Canadian PER ENTRY OR, please charge the total sum to my VISA: _____________________________________ EXPIRY DATE:_______________________Signature________________________________

*Please BE SURE to include a paragraph about yourself and another about each painting for us to use in the event we publish your painting(s).
I solemnly declare that all the works listed on this entry form are my own original artworks and I own the copyright to the work and to all source material used in creating this artwork. I understand the entry, including the form and CD, will not be returned, and I understand the entry fee is nonrefundable. I have thoroughly read and agree to all competition rules, and I understand I am granting the rights to publish my name, the artworks listed and information in an upcoming issue of Canadian Brushstroke Magazine and that the issue will be archived for an undetermined amount of time on Canadian Brushstroke Magazines website: www.brushstrokemagazine.com. **If you wish to receive conrmation that we have received your entry, enclose a self-addressed STAMPED postcard.

Name (PRINT CLEARLY)

Phone Number (include area code)

Street Address

Email

City/Province

Website

Postal Code SIGNATURE

Please mail this form and the properly labeled CD (see Rules - How to Enter) with properly labeled les to: Canadian Brushstroke Magazine, Box 3449, Leduc, AB, T9E 6M2
8 Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011

classieds
ARTIST PROJECTS WORKSHOPS/RETREATS

FALLEN HEROES

PLEIN AIR IN ARIZONA

Winter Plein Air Painting Workshops in Sedona, Arizona, with Michael Chesley Johnson MPAC. Workshops for all levels and all media. For details, visit www.PaintSedona.com.

Sign up for the Project Heroes newsletter and get regular updates on the progress of the upcoming exhibition of the portraits of fallen Canadian soldiers. (See ad on Page 3). To sign up, email your name and info, including email address, to info@projectheroes. ca. Website: www.projectheroes.ca . MARKETING/PROMOTION

ARTIST WEBSITES
Have a professional art website set up for you and save money. No monthly payments. Easily change photos and information yourself. Visit www.artistswebsites.net for details.

PLEIN AIR WORKSHOP IN TUSCANY, ITALY

5-Day workshop in the beautiful countryside of Tuscany from May 21-25, 2012 with Jerry Markham. All levels and media. See www.jerrymarkham.com/workshops.html for details.

ART GALLERY OF AB
Roll up your sleeves and explore art-making with fun dropin classes at the AGA. Themes vary from week to week so you can pick and choose your classes. http://www.youraga. ca/education/adults/open-studio-adult-drop-in-workshops.

THE WAG
The Winnipeg Art Gallery has a host of programs including Art for Lunch, Tours, Family Sundays and more. To nd out more about the WAG, go to http://wag.ca/learn/ programs .

TO BOOK YOUR CLASSIFIED...

To book your classied ad, send your ad information to: [email protected] . Categories can include but are not limited to: Artist Projects, Artist Studios, Art Supplies, Call for Entries, Gallery Listing, Gallery Shows, Marketing/Promotion Services, Workshops/Retreats, For Sale, Wanted, etc. Classieds are $25 for 25 words and .50 for each additional word. To include an image will be $25 extra. You will be contacted to conrm the ad and to arrange payment.
Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011 9

www.WestshoreArtistPanels.com

OIL PAINTERS of AMERICA

20TH ANNUAL NATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION OF TRADITIONAL OILS

Canadian Neil Patterson, president of prestigious OPA, gives an impressive demo at conference
ntertainment, showmanship, and impressive talent were bountiful when artist Neil Patterson did his demo at the Oil Painters of America (OPA) event in Coeur DAlene, Idaho in June. The current president of OPA, known for his colorful landscapes, grew up in Moosejaw, SK. It was very dry artistically, he said. After a trip to Ottawa to visit an aunt who took him to the National Gallery, I was walking down the steps and I said Im going to be a painter. He bought a paperback book about how to paint, his aunt sent him some oil paints for his 13th birthday, he used an old industrial grade canvas belt (you couldnt buy artists canvas in Moosejaw at the time) that he found in the basement, and his rst paintings were born. He copied everything, and says painters should copy other artists when they are learning. Dont go out and sell them or put them in a show, but there is some good to copying. We just dont all of a sudden know how to draw anything.
10 Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011

Patterson rarely works from photographs, preferring to view scenes and commit them to memory. His compositions then become a composite of many impressions in his memory. Throughout his demo he injected humor, and he stepped back more than 15 from his canvas every 30 to 60 seconds. Doing so meant that, in the three-hour demo, he was away from his canvas more than he was at it. But no one was complaining. Patterson cheerfully and passionately spoke the entire time and kept the attendees laughing and in awe of what he was doing. Patterson began his demo with a canvas toned with Dioxazine Purple and Black. Im going to paint from memory and let the painting tell me what to do, he said. You have to watch very closely because youll miss something. Im a very precise painter. Even a quarter of an inch makes a difference, he said with a smile. An audible collective breath was heard from the audience as he took his brush and quickly and aggressively painted a fairly bright, yellowish, vertical shape on the dark-toned canvas. The contrast was extreme and showed the fearlessness of the artist. He then put in horizontal strokes in a red/orange color. What Im doing is taking the dimmer switch and turning it up a little bit at a time. As he walked back from the canvas he told the crowd, People dont go to the right store to buy their brushes. They always buy the one that goes like this (indicate horizontal strokes). Do you know what this is (again indicating horizontal strokes)? Its house painting. He advised them to buy brushes that go vertical as well, and to always paint like a millionaire (dont skimp on paint). On one of his numerous trips away from the canvas, he told them What Im doing is reading everything thats there. If you have a preconceived idea for a painting then youre shooting for that and will probably never get it there (youll work it too hard). I believe that what sells paintings is the connection that someone has to it. I believe learning about painting is a road that never ends. People think theyre going to reach the ultimate, and youre not going to. I know less than when I started because when I started I thought I knew a lot. As he continued to add just a stroke or two at a time and then back away, he kept engaging the audience with conversation. Im working all the way around the canvas - not nishing anything yet. You see how my brush goes every which way - very precise, he said, chuckling. Theres no mistakes. Theres adjustments, but no mistakes.
Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011 11

He gets his jollies from the process. Its more important for me to be painting than whats coming out of it. To be a good painter, one needs to paint a lot of paintings, he said. If you really want to paint, get yourself 365 small canvases - 5 x 7 or 6 x 8.Every morning get up 15 minutes early and paint for 15 minutes. Put a No. 1 on it and put it in the closet. You learn to put paint down faster and what is essential. Those little, fast things are very important so you dont get picky. If you dont have time to paint for the rest of the day, youll feel really good because you did it. He also said that the progress would be clearly evident by the end of the year. It doesnt matter what kind of painting we do - thats what it takes - canvas after canvas after canvas. More advice he gave was to paint like a child: I can get looser and I can get more colorful. Some turn out and some dont but I had wonderful fun and thats whats important to me.

NEIL PATTERSON resides in Bragg Creek, AB. His work has earned many accolades and can be found in the collections of the Shaoguan and Wengyuen Museums in China. More information about Patterson can be found at www.neilpatterson.com.

At the end of the demonstration, Patterson generously donated the painting to audience member Margie Leach from Houston, Texas, who had a pre-hidden winning draw number under her seat.
12 Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011

MORE

OIL PAINTERS of AMERICA

20TH ANNUAL NATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION OF TRADITIONAL OILS

Scott Christensens demo emphasizes preparation and variety

daho artist Scott Christensen demonstrated his famous painting style at the OPA event in Coeur DAlene. He is all about preparation. The better the preparation, the less work. Christensen used two of his paintings as reference material to create a new composition, and spent about 10-15 minutes prior to his demo pre-mixing greys and colors he wanted to use in his demo painting. Pre-mixing speeds up his painting process, ensures color harmony, and allows me to spend more time up here (on the canvas), he said.

Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011 13

Composition is important and Christensen isnt a slave to nature. When youre outdoors, you have a choice. At the end of the day, you have to be an artist - you have to put it together and make me believe it. Early in the painting process he likes to establish his darkest dark, but he warned not to make darks so dark that you cant see into the shadows. I seldom paint with as dark as I can go. He works the whole canvas, watching for variation in things such as the line of the trees, the tips and bases of trees, etc. Im always looking for variety of shape and space. If you keep an eye on the whole while youre painting, it will be a better painting. Everything you do, look for variety, variety, variety. He added that it is really important that as you paint you ask yourself such things as where you need another dark, how youre going to manage our brushwork, how are you going to paint the form, etc. If everything is going upright (such as trees), how can I oppose it? (branches, leaves, etc.) His palette includes Cadmium Yellow Lemon, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Permanent Bright Red, Transparent Red Oxide, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Ruby Violet, Thalo Green, Titanium-Zinc White and eight greys sold by Vasari based upon custom mixtures created by Christensen. For more information about Scott Christensen, please go to www.christensenstudio.com or www. christensenworkshops.com .

14 Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011

MORE

OIL PAINTERS of AMERICA

20TH ANNUAL NATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION OF TRADITIONAL OILS

Ned Mueller demo at OPA

isconsin, US artist Ned Mueller talked about working all over the canvas to ensure a successful painting. He echoed many of Scott Christensens sentiments. For his demo, he worked from a study he had painted. Like Neil Patterson, he entertained the crowd, interjecting little anecdotes as he worked. Born in Wisconsin and raised in Montana, Mueller has been drawing and painting all of his life. He graduated from the Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles where he also taught drawing while still a student. He worked as an illustrator for 25 years and has worked as a successful full-time artist since 1984. He continued to enhance his knowledge and skills by taking workshops with master artists Harley Brown, Richard Schmid, Bettina Steinke, Del Gish, and Sergei Bongart. He has written several articles on painting for the Artists Magazine, is called upon to jury shows, and teaches workshops around the country and abroad. He is a signature member of the Oil Painters of America, The Northwest Watercolor Society, The Plein Air Painters of America, Northwest Pastel Society (Distinguished Pastelist), Northwest Rendezous Society, Laguna Plein Air Painters and Puget Sound Group of Northwest Painters. To see more information about Mueller, and see more of his work, go to www.nedmueller.com. To view the award winners from the OPA national exhibition, go to www.oilpaintersofamerica.com/awardees. cfm?year=2011
Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011 15

Canada Council purchasing 52 new works

he Canada Council Art Bank is acquiring 52 new works by Canadian artists, including paintings, photographs, sculptures, and drawings, worth a total value of $303,025. The selection committee chose the works from 1,875 submissions received. The Art Bank purchases include works from all regions of Canada. The new selections of works by senior artists Liz Magor, Jeff Thomas, Joanne Tod, and Serge Tousignant are complimented by works by emerging artists who are already receiving major recognition like David Harper, Meryl McMaster, Aidan Urquhart and Anna WilANNA WILLIAMS: UNTITLED (FAWN) liams. 2010, Sculpture, Courtesy of Lafrenire The jury, & Pai Gallery faced with a large number of submissions, remained at the same time open minded and highly critical of each and every choice, said Art Bank Director Victoria Henry. The 2011 Art Bank purchase encompasses a broad spectrum of contemporary artistic practice in Canada today. The works were selected on the basis of artistic excellence, signicance to current art practice and suitability for rental. Regional representation and cultural diversity were also considered. The Canada Council Art Bank has the largest collection of contemporary Canadian art in the world. It was created to support the efforts of Canadian visual artists and to provide government and corporate ofces with the opportunity to rent Canadian art for their ofces and public spaces. Since 2001, the Canada Council Art Bank has acquired close to 900 works through its purchase program. Currently, one third of the collection is on rental and displayed in ofce and public spaces, giving Canadians across the country access to a variety of works by Canadian artists.
16 Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011

iArt? Floral drawings from iPhone/iPad will be exhibited in fall

enowned British artist David Hockney will be exhibiting: Fresh Flowers: Drawings on iPhone and iPad at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto Oct. 8, 2011 to Jan 1, 2012. To read more about Hockneys iArt, go to www. theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/exhibition-of-davidhockneys-ipictures-coming-to-canada-this-fall/article2111574/ , or www.hockneypictures.com/current. php#. About 100 of the drawings will be on display, and almost 170 additional images will be available on a slide show.

Canadian Brushstroke Magazine benets the Canadian Art Industry nationwide by providing:
6 Annual issues. The magazines PDF format offers readers a traditional-style magazine format online, resulting in readership cover-to-cover, difcult to achieve in a usual website format. Tracked readership, because we require subscription information. Free subscriptions to more than 14,000 subscribers (many forward it to their own mailing list resulting in increased readership.) Each issue features at least one artist from each of the four regions: West, Central, East and Maritimes. Reduced advertising overhead by lowering our magazine production costs. Increased Green Environmental image through reduced paper and ink consumption. Increased youth market penetration through hi-tech communications. Free delivery directly to the readers personal emails, rather than by newsstands.

[email protected] Phone 780-986-0789

TM

By Susan Abma

www.projectheroes.ca FOLLOW OUR BLOG AT: www.projectheroestm.blogspot.com

PROJECT HEROES is a non-prot effort that will see every fallen Canadian soldier from the Afghanistan war commemorated in a 14 x 18 framed work of ne art, with the intent to exhibit the paintings in every province in Canada, along with other commemorative paintings, military paraphernalia, personal items from the soldiers, including written material such as letters they wrote home, and video clips, etc. Artists Susan Abma, Shairl Honey, and Cindy Revell have been touched by the bravery of the soldiers who died serving our country in Afghanistan. As painters, they will have the extraordinary honour of recording history and preserving the memory of these exceptional men and women.

WEBSITE:

By Cindy Revell

With your help, they will be creating a massive, historic, military oil portrait collection. The fallen soldiers from Afghanistan could possibly live in their paintings for many hundreds of years. For more information on this project, go to:

www.projectheroes.ca

ATTENTION GALLERIES:
**Venues in major Canadian centres that are equipped for and large enough to host this exhibition in 2012 are invited to contact Project Heroes at 780-986-0789 or email [email protected] . All venues will be considered, but the venues chosen will be those best suited to the project.

By Shairl Honey

The paintings shown above are - Top: Cpl. David Braun, Centre: Cpl Cole Bartsch, Bottom: Cpl. Andrew Eykelenboom. The fallen soldiers portraits will be revealed on a rotating basis. The entire collection will not be displayed together until after the rst exhibition in 2012.
Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011 17

MARKHAM ON MARKETING Blogging, Facebook, Twitter and Email Marketing What is the Difference?
ith so many social networks and avenues available you may wonder what you should be utilizing. The short answer is to start with one or two and do what you can. Its about making it easy for people to nd you and what you have to offer. The good news is that with all of the ways to share information and reach people online it has allowed people to spread the word and market themselves for free without having to use the more costly traditional print advertising, direct mail, etc. Email marketing provides you with peoples contact information and you can send emails directly to them anytime. But millions of people use Facebook and Twitter and studies show that they are spending more time on those websites than looking at their email every day. You may be wondering what the difference is between Facebook, Twitter and Blogging, and how you can use them to grow your collector base and sell artwork. Each have their advantages and disadvantages and will appeal to different people. I will outline the main differences: FACEBOOK Easily share information, images, videos and communicate with people (any length of message). A lot of people are on it for personal use to communicate with family and friends, but more and more use it for business. TWITTER With Twitter you can share short bits of information (140 characters or less for each tweet) to give others a quick update or a note to check out something on you posted on your website, blog, Facebook, etc. BLOG Similar to Facebook in that you can share information, photos and videos with others and they can comment, forward or share it with others, etc. The main differences are that you have more control - you can have it on your own domain/website, you can control the look/feel and how the information is posted, and it creates more content and tags that are searchable through search engines, thus increasing the chance of people nding you. BENEFITS OF ALL PLATFORMS: If you offer interesting and useful information people can easily share it with others, which can spread the word quickly. People become engaged in what you are doing because they can comment or reply and it creates interaction. People dont have to be logged in to get updates they can use an RSS reader and get notication through email or on their phone immediately. Its not like if you update your website and you wonder if when and if people will look at it (if you use these methods you can tell them to check out anything new on your website).
18 Canadian Brushstroke Magazine July/Aug 2011

the last word...

If you would like one of your paintings critiqued in a future issue of Canadian Brushstroke Magazine, please send a high resolution le to: [email protected] Please indicate in your email that it is for critique and that you give your permission for Canadian Brushstroke Magazine to publish it and your name, and archive it on our website. Please include your full name, the title of the image, the size and medium. Because we cannot anticipate the volume of potential critique paintings we will receive, we cannot guarantee when, or if, paintings will be chosen to include in the magazine. We thank you for your submissions and sincerely appreciate your interest in being included.
Anyone can look at and follow what you are doing (if you allow it) and the content is searchable which means you can attract people online who use those websites or who search for content related to what you are doing. The ideal situation is to use a number of different platforms and have them working together, providing multiple ways where people can nd you. You may feel overwhelmed at the time involved or how many different things there are to learn. The key is to get started and to do what you can. You may want to try one thing at a time so that when you feel comfortable with one you can move on to the next. HERE ARE A FEW LINKS WITH MORE INFORMATION: Blog post that talks more about the differences between Facebook and Twitter - http://www.twitip.com/twitter-versusfacebook/ Facebook Business Basics (Getting Started and Beginning Steps) - http://doingbusinessonfacebook.com/facebook-business-basics-series/ Great site for info about email marketing, SEO, blogging and social media - http://www.hubspot.com/marketingresources/ Leah Markham provides marketing and business services for artists. Visit her website at www.artistswebsites.net.