POLL: How do you respond to comments on your blog?

I'm sure I'm not the first person to wonder what is the best or most effective way of responding to the comments I receive on my blogs.

Which is why the Making A Mark Poll for February 2012 focuses on How do you respond to comments on your blog?

I've seen the topic discussed a number of times in the last six years on various blogs - mainly in response to the problem of the antagonistic commenter.  I endeavoured to head off this particular problem right back at the beginning of this blog with the introduction of my Comments Policy in 2006.

This was then followed by Notes on blogging etiquette for artists in 2008.

Both can be found in my "For Your Information"  section in the column.  They both guide the tenor of my response to the jolly nice people who read this blog - and the queer fish who sometimes pop up out of the blue!  For example, if they offend against the rules of my comments policy then they don't get published - period.

However I have a confession to make!

My actual response to comments which are left and published  is generally very much determined by how much spare time I have and what time of day I'm reading and moderating the comments.  I'm much more well disposed to the ones left overnight which I read while eating my breakfast when compared to those which arrive when I'm very busy.  It's not that I like the latter any less - it's much more to do with how many minutes there are in a day!

So this is my Poll.  It's multi-option - so tick all those that apply to you. I know I use a variety of responses.

How do you respond to comments on your blog?

• I respond to every comment
• One response to all comments
• One response to similar comments
• I respond if I have the time
• Respond on commenter's blog
• No response unless good point 
• No response unless question asked
• Provide answers to questions via email
• I don't usually respond 
• I never respond to comments

Do please feel free to comment on:

• your preference for leaving comments
• your preference for how other people should leave comments
• what's the best way of keeping track of what people say and/or how they respond
  
• where you've seen a good discussion of this topic.

Where is the poll? You'll find the poll in the right hand column in the usual place - just below the Blogger Followers widget.

Deadline for responses: The poll closes early on 29th February and the analysis of results will be posted later the same day. 

You can read the Poll results for January's blog here - What makes you leave an artist's website? POLL RESULTS

What makes you leave an artist's website? POLL RESULTS

Does your art website make me people want to leave fast?  The Making A Mark Opinion Poll for January 2012 aimed to find out what were the aspects which generated an adverse first impression of an artist's website.

The results are in and you can now self-assess your own website and decide whether or not you are driving people away!

This poll allowed people to tick all that drove them dotty.  What's interesting is that virtually all the factors which are an issue were identified as options and only 9% highlighted yet more irritants.

Making A Mark Poll - January 2012
number of responses = 239

Your Top Three Pet Hates

The John Ruskin Prize - A New Look at Nature: Call for Entries

The new John Ruskin Prize will be awarded later this year to the best wall mounted artwork on the theme A New Look at Nature.  This new art competition is open to anyone over 18 working in painting, drawing, print-making or mixed media and resident or domiciled in the UK.

Fast sketch of withered oak (1879) by John Ruskin

Right click and open in new tab
to see larger version

The new award is being organised by the Campaign for Drawing, in collaboration with the Guild of St George.

The Guild of St George, a small charity founded by Ruskin in 1871, launched the Campaign for Drawing in 2000 to celebrate its founder’s belief in the value of drawing as a tool for understanding nature.

Subsequently the Campaign became an independent charity.

The two organisations are collaborating with a view to encouraging artists to take fresh inspiration from their natural environment.

During his lifetime,England’s manufacturing cities expanded and became wealthy, whilst their workforces lived in poverty and grime. Workers had little to inspire them. Ruskin wanted to counter this imbalance and set up the Guild of St George, a philanthropic society. Through the Guild, Ruskin founded a museum specifically for Sheffield’s workers. He filled it with a collection of artworks, illustrated books and minerals, all chosen to reflect his exploration of beauty.

The Ruskin Collection is based at the Millenium Gallery in Sheffield.  Not all of the collection is on display but it is possible to interrogate the collection online

• Ruskin Collection - Architecture
• Ruskin Collection - Art
• Ruskin Collection - Nature
• Ruskin Collection - Ornament
• Ruskin Collection - FAQs

For more about The John Ruskin Prize - see below

Artists who refused Honours

In the UK, both the Government and the Monarch confer honours on various people for the contribution they've made to society.  David Hockney, for example, has very recently been created an OM by the Queen which is extremely prestigious as it's a personal award by the monarch, there are only 24 at any one time and it's one of the highest honours in the land.

If an honour is proposed, you are advised in advance and then have to keep quiet until it's announced.  However, you don't have to accept an honour and some people do refuse.  Up until now some people have chosen to indicate they've refused an honour while others have just kept their heads down and avoided all the fuss.

I came across a very interesting story this week which appears to indicate that there are some very illustrious names amongst those artists who have refused an honour.  Below is the table I've compiled of just the visual artists.

What are the priorities for an aspiring artist?

California Sunset by Albert Bierstadt
- a model for all aspiring painters of Californian landscapes?

What do you think are the priorities for an aspiring artist?

I received an email the other day which struck me as being from a "Mr Everyman".  That's because what he was saying is probably representative of a number of artists who have moved beyond being a beginner.

"Mr Everyman" has been painting landscapes in California for about three years.  He's sold art and would like to sell more but is in a quandary as to where to display that art online to get the best results.

I took a look at his website - with difficulty as it doesn't work properly.  I'd characterise his art as being not unlike a lot of other artists who are serious leisure painters who are both trying to improve and also aspire to being full time painters one day.  Also, as yet, there is nothing particularly distinctive about his art in terms of style or use of media.  Just like me, he's no Bierstadt as yet!  (Isn't that Bierstadt painting of a Californian Landscape at the top of the post a wonderful example of Luminism?)

Do have a read of the email from the artist - and then I've got some questions for you.

My name is *****, and I’m an artist living in California. I paint landscapes, and am wanting to find an online gallery to sell my ORIGINAL pieces of work. I basically will be selling my older gouache/oil landscapes, and gouache abstract/collage pieces. I’m an amateur, and my work does have issues with composition and design, and color harmony (things I’m getting much better at now!). However, I have sold some prints of my work and a few originals at coffee shops and other similar places, so I know my work is sellable.

That being said, I read your blog on online selling, and unfortunately maybe my mind has become poisoned because after reading numerous wetcanvas posts from various people, I’ve become very confused as where to sell. Etsy seems great, although many artists seem to think it’s not good for fine art and instead better for ‘crafts.’ Fine Art America seems good, although it appears as though that art is much higher quality than mine….so maybe Yessy, although I’ve read where their traffic is dwindling. UGH! This has lead me to become paralyzed in deciding where to sell.

If you were me, what would make the most sense? And to add to this, it would be great to list on ebay, and use one of these other sites to market my art but make the final purchase via ebay. Maybe that’s getting too complicated, lol!

Anyway – please help! I value your advice over anyone else because you seem more informed, and hence I’m leaning toward Etsy but wanted your viewpoint!

Now I'm a great believer in the wisdom of crowds so, having given him some advice, I asked whether it would be OK to post his letter online because of its generic questions - and he's fine about that.

What would YOU advise this artist to do and why?

For example: 

• Should his focus be on developing his artistic skills or developing his marketing and sales - or both?
• Is developing a good looking fully functioning website a priority for an artist wanting to sell art online?
• Should an artist wanting to sell art online develop a blog?
• Which, in your opinion, is the best online gallery for those wanting to sell original art - and why?
• Are there some online sites which are better for original paintings while others do better if you're trying to sell giclee prints?

Note: I'm not linking to the artist or showing any of his work as my experience suggests this can create a distraction and/or people feel they can't comment.  Think of him as "Mr Everyman" - you will have seen a lot of artists like this gentleman on your travels around the internet.

14th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration - Intent to submit

The 14th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in Pennsylvania takes place in the Autumn / Fall of 2013.

However in order to submit work you need to submit an "Intent to submit" form by 31st January 2012.  Yes folks - that's by next Tuesday!

Catalogue of the Hunt Institute's 
13th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration, 2010
Cover illustration: Fiona Strickland, 
watercolor on paper of Helianthus, Last sunflower, 2008
© 2008, Fiona Strickland, All Rights Reserved
Collection of Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation

Submission Guidelines

The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation is currently accepting submissions for the 14th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration which will be held in the Autumn / Fall 2013 (exact dates have still to be determined).

How often is International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration held? 

This exhibition is held every three years.  The last one was in 2010.  The catalogue for that exhibition is still available

Who can enter?

The exhibition is open to all botanical fine artists and illustrators working in any medium on paper or vellum whose work has achieved a standard of excellence and who have not yet been represented in the Hunt Institute’s series of International Exhibitions.

Basically:

• top class botanical artists
• ... who live anywhere in the world (this is an international exhibition)
• ... who have NOT had artwork accepted and displayed in the Hunt Institute’s series of International Exhibitions

You can check out all the artists who have had work accepted and displayed in previous exhibitions in the Cumulative Index of Artists (pdf file)

What's the timeline?

The timeline for entering this exhibition is rather more extended than for other exhibitions - it's just over two years from beginning to end.

The submission process has also been changed this time around.  There are six stages

1. Intent to submit - the notice of the intent to submit has to be received by 31st January 2012
2. Submission of images - submit digital images, to be received by 15 June 2012
3. Request for original artwork - submit original artwork, to be received by 26 October 2012
4. Shipping 
5. Acceptance - acceptance/rejection will be notified within a week of receipt
6. Request for biographical information and portrait photo - accepted artists only

You can download:

• 14th International Submission Guidelines (pdf file)
• 14th International Submission Form (Word.doc)

1. Intent to Submit

Where can I find the Forms to submit work?

How to become a member of the Society of Botanical Artists

This is a post about how to become a member of the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA).

"Membership" is a term used in this post to denote botanical artists who have achieved the status of member through the process of election to the SBA.  It should not be confused with the membership status related to any other organisation or anybody who pays to be a "friend" of a society.

This is the reference page on the SBA website for "how to become a member".  Anything stated which is not contained on that page or in the information sheet about how to exhibit/become a member (downloadable as a PDF file) are my own personal observations.

How to become an Associate Member of the Society of Botanical Artists

In order to become a member of the Society of Botanical Artists, botanical artists must first achieve the status of Associate Member.

Many Art Societies are now taking the step of introducing a two stage process in election to full membership.  Having an Associate Membership stage enables any Art Society to check out both capacity and commitment - over a period of time:

• capacity to deliver at the quality of a signature member
• commitment to become fully involved with the Society and to maintain that commitment 

An Associate Membership stage also prevents an art society becoming a victim of the signature membership junkie.  That's an artist who collects signature memberships from different art societies but fails to contribute on a regular basis.

The first step

Society of Botanical Artists Annual Exhibition 2012: Call for Entries

The Society of Botanical Artists is to be congratulated on having an informative and accessible "how to" webpage for those wanting to submit to artwork to its Annual Exhibition and/or become a member.  It's not something which I find on the website of every art society.

The purpose of this post is to remind me - and others - that the deadline for entries to the 2012 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists is 27 February 2012 

Below I highlight the key points for those wanting to enter the Exhibition.  At the end I provide links to previous posts on this blog which include images so you can see the type and quality of work to aspire to.

Tomorrow I'll be summarising how botanical artists can become members of the Society of Botanical Artists

Society of Botanical Artists - Annual Exhibition 2012

How to enter the Exhibition

The exhibition information sheet for 2012 is downloadable as a PDF file here.

Who can submit work

Artists living all over the world submit work to this Exhibition - and are exhibited.  Many is the time I have taken a photo for somebody who lives thousands of miles away.  (If your work is accepted please do get in touch if you'd like your work photographed in the exhibition).

What sort of work can be entered?

22nd January - Who's made a mark this week?

David Hockney 
The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) - 2 January 
iPad drawing printed on paper 
144.1 x 108 cm; one of a 52-part work 
Courtesy of the artist 
Copyright David Hockney

This post this week has rather a slant towards Hockney, digital art on an iPad and pastels - which pretty much reflects my week.

His iPad drawings and how he has reproduced them for the exhibition really stimulated me to investigate further

Art Blogs and Artists

Digital art

Sight of the iPad Sketches at the Hockney exhibition on Tuesday prompted a quest to find out how he prints them so big and the purchase of a second stylus for my iPad - having lost the previous one within the first 24 hours!

• I tackled the print size first. How to produce a large 300dpi TiFF print of an iPad sketch recorded what I could find out by scouring the Internet.  It also prompted two comments which suggested Perfect Resize is the software for the job.
• "Pastel" iPad sketch as a movie is my animated record of what I did to get a record of how I lay down pastel strokes onto my blog.  Except the pastel strokes were made by a stylus while I was using the Brushes app on my iPad.  
• The art of the app: works made on iPads and iPhones is a slideshow by the Guardian of art sent in by our readers that was created using various apps on the iPhone and iPad.  It's by way of response to Hockney - making the point that he's not the only artist using an iPad to create new work. 

Drawing and Sketching

"Pastel" iPad sketch as a movie

I'm posting a video of the creation of a sketch using:

• my iPad
• Brushes app - which is available from the iPad App Store (and is also available for iPhones and the iPod Touch)
• Griffin stylus (see Product review: A stylus for iPad sketching #1 )

The aim was to see if could get the sketch to emulate soft pastels and be created more or less in the same way as I would work if using pastels for real.  Can I just stress I was playing and it was very basic!



[UPDATE: This was originally posted via YouTube but that produces a landscape format for a portrait format video - which was rather unsatisfactory. I've now reposted from Flickr. Both allow you to change the size of what you see on your blog. However the Flickr video format is much better than YouTubes!]

It took some time(!) to work out how to get it posted on the blog but I got there in the end!

To produce the video I had to:

• download Brushes Viewer on to my iMac (this requires Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or higher) so that I could read the Brushes file - which is the animation of the sketch and shows the strokes I made in the order I made them
• email the brushes file of the animated creation of the sketch to myself
• by selecting "Mail Actions" from the Share menu at the bottom of the gallery view in Brushes
• This creates an email titled "Brushes Painting Actions" and automatically includes the relevant file as a compressed file
• save the file from the email I received on my iMac
• open the compressed file and extract the brushes file and view using Brushes Viewer
• export the movie as a .mov file.  Option included size, compression, quality and frame rate (but I haven't investigated how to vary those as yet)
• view the .mov file in QuickTime Player
• Upload .mov file to YouTube and Flickr
• Upload the YouTube movie to Blogger

Phew!

This is what comes of going to see the Hockney exhibition and watching videos of him sketching plein air using his iPad, the Brushes app and a stylus!

The video is called iPad sketching using Brushes and a Griffin Stylus and you can find it on Making A Mark - the Video Channel

I expect I might be doing a few more of these.........