Field's End Art by Hilary J. England: Into the rabbit hole!

Field's End Art by Hilary J. England: Into the rabbit hole!

Back to Fine Art America

I joined FAA back in September of 2007, a lot of water has went under the old bridge since then but I'm very glad to be active again. That water running underneath the old bridge brought a lot of new things to FAA, not to mention a great deal of success enjoyed by them with a significant increase in the amount of visitors entering the site. When I started to explore the site I'd abandoned so long ago, it became evident why the numbers had increased so dramatically. I'll mention a couple here, just to give you an idea of the quality features they have added to the sight.

Disney Licensing Program, this is wonderful addition ABC/Disney actually pay you for your prints and a one time licensing fee for each image they use in their TV shows. I was very impressed by this not only from the compensation point of view but also from the practical aspect. Scripts change all the time and if the set designers need artwork it could be very difficult to find what they needed for a particular set. FAA is the logical answer as they have an incredible amount of fabulous artwork available at the touch of a button sheer genius!

FAA offers a great little option to the viewing public this little gadget, which is optional enlarges any area of your artwork so that the client can see the quality of the image. Some collectors are hesitant to buy from the web because they cannot see it properly, another stumbling block is removed on the way to making a sale.

There are many more things I could talk about here and probably will in the future but I want you to go and check out FAA, as an artist you owe it to yourself. Past blogs that I have published have talked about the financial difficulties we artists have in making a living, but we have to realize if we truly want to make a living with our passion, we have to take some chances and move forward with our marketing plans.

FAA membership is only $30.00 a year and with this you get print on demand, they reproduce your artwork at no cost to you. Not only do they print it they pack it, frame it, and ship it out for you too. If ever there was a great place to market your work it is on FAA check it out, you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Etsy Minis

If you have been following me on my recent journeys you will know that I've been exploring the world of etsy.com. While surfing the blogs recently I noticed that a fellow artist had a gadet that I found very interesting and extremely useful as a marketing tool. To the right of her blog was a Etsy Mini, which when the viewer clicks on one of the images appearing there featuring the artist's work they are taken to the artists etsy shop. For those of us that are just getting into the tech side of things in the effort to market our wares, this is a stroke of genius!

Now we can express our views as artists and if those who read our blogs wish to support us by buying our products they have but to click on one of our images and can instantly become a patron. You will notice to the right of this blog that I have set up my own Etsy Mini and I strongly suggest if you have an etsy shop to do likewise. "How is this done ?" you may be asking well I will give you the directions on how to go about setting one up. Go to your etsy find the etsy mini tab which is located at the bottom left of your page on the sidebar. Clicking on this tab will take you to a page that will explain to you how to set up your mini and give you all the options available for setting one up. All the work is already done for you it's a simple matter of cutting and pasting code another example of how convenient and easy etsy makes it to sell art on the Internet cheers to them!

As I have mentioned in earlier posts I will continue to let you know about the ins and outs of etsy as I come across them. If you have any tips by all means drop me a line I'd love to hear from you! Until next time...

Co-Operation a Sales Assist

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately in regard to how we sell what we make and why often times people buy our works, not just because of the quality or uniqueness of the item but because of the character of the person that created it. Character can come through the art itself sometimes the honesty of the statement being made, illuminates the person behind it, as someone who truly cares for people other than themselves. I touched briefly on the comradeship that I felt among my fellow artists and craftspeople on etsy, now having had more wonderful experiences with these Ladies and Gents I've chosen to explore from a practical and humanistic standpoint why this spirit of co-operation is so vital not only on a monetary level but also on a spiritual level.



Most of us have heard the expression "no man is an island " well it should state no human being is an island man or woman. Everyone needs to feel that they are part of something if you think back to your school days remember how important it was to fit in with your fellow students? Some of you reading this may be students at the present time and need no reminder. Friends were a means to social survival without them you were an outcast. People who moved around a lot during their school years can relate to how it felt to be the new kid in town and it wasn't always a pleasant experience. But if you were fortunate enough to befriend a person with lots of friends it wasn't long before you felt at home in your new surroundings.



Personally I have always been more than willing to share with others my techniques in the various mediums that I work in. When I talk to people about the methods I use, some of them are genuinely surprised that I am willing to share this information why? The reason is quite simple some artists think that if they tell others how they do things that the listener may steal their ideas or style of creating. My philosophy is that no two people have the same finger prints therefore even if the person does try to copy my style they can never do it exactly like I do, they don't think the same way, it's totally impossible. They may come up with something that looks similar but it isn't from my thoughts. There are many people who work in the cubist style but they are not Picasso.



It doesn't matter what you do or don't know if someone really wants to find out how to do something a way can be found, so why not help them find what is needed. When I am helped by people especially those that I don't know I am very grateful and impressed that I was assisted, in fact if he or she was selling something I would be much more likely to buy from them than a guy who just ignored or refused to help me. Perhaps I may know someone who needed their services or product wouldn't I be much more likely to recommend the person who assisted me? Simple principal but a lot of folks out there are forgetting another saying "What goes around comes around". When good feelings are created a snowball effect is produced we tend to mirror back what we experience, often in the form of helping others. Great Stuff!



The other day I received what is known as a convo on Etsy this is basically an email within Etsy it can be from a prospective client or a fellow Etsian. This particular convo was from a fellow shopkeeper who goes by the name of FabricatedFamily Lori the owner informed me that she was including me in her treasury I convoed back to thank her for her kindness and lo and behold she sent me a very helpful note explaining how treasuries work and gave me links to the pages that explain how to make your own treasuries. Apparently these treasuries are a very good way to promote yourself and others on etsy and often lead to sales for both the participants in the treasury as well as the author of the treasury. Now who's name did I just mention in this blog you just might be curious to find out more about FabricatedFamily. I'm not going to tell you anything more about Lori or her shop you have to go and find out for yourself. See what I mean, "one good deed can lead", that's a fact!

Marketing your work is more than just selling any sale should benefit both parties to the highest degree possible and I think you know by now what I mean by the highest degree possible. So folks I think it's time we all got our degrees in the right places. If you want to sell your work on a consistent basis you have to care about others and what they need. As artists we can be of great assistance to masses we can help them find their eyes, ears and hearts. Sometimes we have to look a little deeper into our own hearts before we can touch the hearts of others. Till next time ....

Thanks again Lori of FabricatedFamily!

Etsy Excursions

Well as I said I would be setting up my shop on etsy, that's my excuse for not doing any blogs for so long. Etsy has so far been a great experience for me I'm learning a lot from fellow etsy artists and craftspeople and am very greatful for the assistance. My shop is now linked to my facebook page which makes it very convenient for anyone wishing to take a look at my shop another brilliant idea from the etsy team! I've also signed up on twitter but I'm still getting the hang of that, it takes us older dudes a bit longer to get into the swing of things.

The how to blogs have been very helpful to me with things like meta tags which you are allowed fourteen of. These tags help describe the item you are trying to get people to look at and must be chosen with a lot of thought. My advice is to try and put yourself into the head of a person who is trying to find something and imagine what they might put into the search engine.

There was a great blog on designing a banner for your sight which I have now completed and I don't think it's too bad for a first try, my photoshop skills are minimal. Your banner is one of the first things a prospective client sees when they hit your shop page it should tell the viewer something about what you do. If you are wise when you choose your user name it should give the reader an idea of what it is that you specialize in.

Generally I learn from looking at other sites that sell similar things to my own, that have been around for a while and seem to get a lot of views on their items in a short time. I look at their meta words the descriptions of their products as well as their profiles, all these things are what make for success.

I also feel that the more pieces you add to your shop, the better chance you have of being looked at. My strategy so far is to add items daily or at least as often as I can manage. Another thing I feel might be helpful is to vary the content of the works that are added such as photography, abstract, realism, surrealism etc. The reason I do this is because the more varied your product line the greater amount of search terms put into the search engines will apply to your shop.

As I said at the beginning of this post I'm finding my experience on etsy to be very enjoyable and look forward to many years of displaying and selling my work. Just in case anyone from etsy is reading this post I'd like once again to thank you for all your help. Cheers

Promotion on a Shoestring

I was teaching some drawing students in the studios of Art One Academy in Richmond Hill when an interesting thought came to mind. The particular class that I was teaching was made up of fairly young students as I was instructing them in there various drawing projects it occurred to me that perhaps I should start teaching the children how to market their artwork at the same time. When I was their age there was no such thing as the Internet enabling artists to reach a world wide audience the best we had was the odd art gallery show or an arts and crafts show and those were only a couple of times a year.

Today the Internet is brimming with various websites that allow artists often at little or no cost to sell their work and at the very least get their work in front of a world wide audience. I've personally had my own website www.artistalanrutherford.com for about a decade now sales have been fairly weak but that's probably due to the fact that my site features my artwork exclusively. When I closed my own bricks and mortar gallery I lost my exhibition space for my work and had been at a loss as to how to go about getting my work out there again. After speaking to a friend he recommended that I try out a website called www.etsy.com well I was very pleasantly surprised. This website gives you the opportunity to open up your own little shop at no cost other than a very small listing fee of 20cents per item. The site features it's own little community of fellow artists and craftspeople the only stipulation is that the articles sold are made by hand by the owner of the shop. There is a 3.5 per cent sales fee when the item is sold which I find to be extremely reasonable

Currently I am in the middle of setting up my shop I have the web address which is www.ArtsRutherford.etsy.com as you can see I decided to call the shop ArtsRutherford short and to the point which is what they recommend. Give me few days and I'll have the shop up and running and will be able to welcome you to my new space.

The students seemed genuinely interested and who knows maybe they will check out this blog and find out further information. I also must mention that if you are under the legal age you will need parental permission. Etsy has me excited once again about the prospect of selling my work to a world wide audience. One of the great advantages to a site like Etsy is that there is constant promotion of the site from within and without this normally doesn't happen on a solo artist's site as many people may not be interested in your work but may be interested in your fellow Etsy shop owners wares or vice versa. There is a blog and a forum within Etsy which also gives the artist and opportunity to expose his or her work to fellow artists and get their feedback. I intend to put a lot of effort into Etsy and will keep you informed in later blogs about how things are going.

Till the next time ....

The Mother of Invention

Artists for the most part for hundreds of years have been subject to behaviour by the public as though they were not to be taken seriously as professionals. Granted there are the chosen few not necessarily the most talented but the best connected or business savvy that can do very well financially. If you haven't been awake since birth you may not have noticed the trend that artists aren't to be paid in the same manner as most professionals if you don't believe me just take a browse through ninety per cent of the ads Craigslist and you will most certainly come across phrases such as "no compensation but we'll give you full credit within the brochure or whatever" "Great opportunity for young emerging artist get published" as far as I'm concerned this is insulting and degrading to the profession!

Conversely I have yet to see an ad that asks an electrician, plumber, doctor, lawyer, etc. to work for substandard wages or for free yes there are the probono legal eagles but for the most part they are doing pretty well financially but there are exceptions of course and I salute those of the legal profession that defend the poor etc. I think it's very noble to have a cause that you want to assist in some way, I've often done it myself. But why is it that every time there is a charity auction that needs donations one of the first groups they turn to are those that are involved in the arts most of whom are struggling to survive themselves, and why is it that we as artists feel obligated to give?

Take for instance a professional athlete look a the compensation these individuals receive. You may say yes but their careers are short, an artist's career may be long but the lifelong dedication to his or her craft seldom brings with it a comfortable or stable existence. At least the athlete has a nest egg if he or she invests intelligently to fall back on in later years.

Some of you out there may be saying well it was your decision to become an artist nobody forced you. That may be true but what bothers me the most as I stated earlier is the Gaul of people that offer jobs as if they are doing us a favour or it an honour to be asked to work for nothing, sometimes it is but not all the time. So the next time someone offers you a favour of your labour think long and hard about what you are doing to the profession you chose and what message you are sending out to the world about our worth, even if you only do it as a hobby and you enjoy doing it.

Art is in essence the mother of creativity which is the mother of imagination which is the mother of invention which keeps us viable as a species. If you think that this is a frivolous occupation you are brain dead.

Till next time .....