Not all about me

The cat bench

If there is a lesson to be learned from this 46 days of retreat it is that it isn't all about me. As an artist trying to make it through trying economic times I must admit I sometimes forget that. Especially in light of shameless self promotion. The new art market is the internet and it takes more than just a website. In fact websites may be going the way of the book store these days. Along with galleries and art fairs.

What is hot in this day and ethernet age is Facebook, Twitter and blogs. And an artist needs all three and Google + I am not a tweet twit though I have a twitter account and post links to my blogs routinely. Blogspot makes that very easy. And also linking to Facebook and Google +.

And the marketing gurus tell you that you must be active on all platforms to catch the attention of the art buyer. This has been one of my good weeks in that regard. I have sold two photographs on gallery wrap canvas largely because of my posts on my Facebook fan page. Well, one of my fan pages. I also have one with my sister Binfords Back Country Photography. And there is this blog and Creative Journey with its pages of my recent works.

What made fairs so successful in their heyday was that shoppers got to meet the artists up close and personal. We are to some degree seen as rather weird creatures. And when you are standing in your booth with the crowds milling by you begin to feel like a monkey in a zoo. You tell yourself it is about your art and not about you. But bottom line is if people like you they are more apt to purchase your art.

That can be overlooked on Facebook. You try to separate your personal life on your timeline page from your professional life on your fan page and you can to some degree. But the lines are very rapidly erased in the heat of expressing a political opinion or defending women and their rights. Hey, us artists have opinions. Sometimes really strong ones.

Stepping back from my personal page on Facebook was a way to redefine the line for me. And to see that constantly posting status messages is not unlike hogging the conversation at lunch. For there to be a true conversation you have to listen too. Just shutting up and only listening is not easy for me. And I am looking forward to Easter when I can again post a personal status message on my Timeline.

But meanwhile I have focused more on my Fanpages and posting work there and the result has been increased sales of my photographs. And I have gotten more work in the studio done. My timeline seems so eerily quiet when I am not inciting debate.

Comments

  1. The Blog of BeeMarch 13, 2013 at 9:34 AM

    Interesting take, I think quite a few of us have, for one reason or another, been quiet on our personal pages for some time. I have been quiet all round.
    I like it that your fan pages have brought you new clients (I have just joined your photography page which I didn't know about) which goes to show that although fairs/shows bring personal interaction, internet purchasing or purchasing because of something seen on the internet, is becoming more and more the norm. I don't particularly like internet shopping but if that's the way things seem to be going, we'd better get used to it. I prefer the personal touch.

    When I have been around, I have missed your updates.

    I haven't even visited my Blogspot page - I need to get my act together. There has been so much I could have written about from my ex boss now trying to be my best friend to the murder of a friend of my daughter, from the resignation of the Pope to the scandals surrounding the Vatican, from loss of friendship to my new jobs nut I just have not had the heart.

    Maybe my Muse will return after Lent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JBinford-BellMarch 13, 2013 at 10:11 AM

      I do think some events in our lives require processing before we can put them in words and your list certainly seems to include several things that I would have to vegetate on in my life before I could blog about them.

      Anytime you want to chat and I am on line just pop in.

      Delete

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