The important things to know about pricing Affordable Art

The really important things to know 

about pricing Affordable Art

There are two things you need to know about pricing affordable art.

The first is that what the PUBLIC think is "affordable" is the only game in time.
It's emphatically NOT what the artists or the art galleries and art fairs think it is. 
That's because they're trying to make money for themselves so they have a huge incentive to call it "affordable" but then pitch the price high!

The second is that it's the PSYCHOLOGICAL VALUE of a number that really matters. A poll I ran revealed that

• Between 64-70% would buy art up to 500 (of whichever currency)
• Between 70-91% would buy art up to 1000 (of whichever currency)
• ONLY 9-10% would contemplate buying art above 1000 (of whichever currency)

The important thing is to identify what are the key hurdle prices which change behaviour. It's akin to the notion that you should always price just below an important hurdle price rather than just above.

IMAGE: My page about The Price of Affordable Art on my website Art Business Info for Artists

Why I got interested in the price of affordable art

I became very interested in the concept of affordable art - and its pricing - back in 2010 (post the banking crisis of 2008 and what followed).  

This was a time when a lot of art galleries were closing - mainly because people were not buying and/or because the people who ran the galleries were not good business people and/or they had no concept of risk management and made no provision for a difficult economic context

The main reason for my interest was that artists were trying to sell in a difficult economic context and kept getting their pricing wrong which meant their sales were also plummeting.

They very much needed to understand 

• what was deemed "affordable" and would still sell.
• what were the key hurdle prices within the range they considered affordable.
• how to avoid shooting themselves in the foot due to poor pricing practices.

We've now had 12 months of a very difficult economic climate with inflation and significant interest rate rises. It's not coming to an end any time soon - even if it has improved somewhat. We are still a long way adrift from where we were two years ago.

Bottom line - we are now back in the same territory as 2010 and the same issues and questions apply re. pricing.

What is an affordable price?

What is "Affordable Art"?

This is a discussion for artists, art galleries, art fairs and art dealers - over three blog posts today, tomorrow and Friday - about:

TODAY

• What is "affordable"?
• What is Affordable Art and how is it defined?

TOMORROW

• How to price Affordable Art - the really important things you need to know - find out:
• who determines what is affordable
• why people attach importance to specific numbers
• what are the big price hurdles and 
• how they can vary between countries

FRIDAY

• The importance of the minimum price to sales in open exhibitions

These all point in the direction of more information on this very important topic for all those trying selling art in a difficult economic context - particularly all artists, art societies, art fairs and art galleries.

________________________________________

What is "affordable"?

"Affordable" means something different to everybody, 

but generally means 'not expensive' relative to income

and can vary over time, place and economic context

It's a concept which relates to a very wide variety of products and services. 

"Affordable" is emphatically not the same as "cheap". 

Very often it means

• the price that people can "afford to pay" for a non-essential / discretionary good or service using any surplus income....
• AFTER other necessary / essential demands on their income have been covered 
• BUT it also depends on 
• how financially secure they feel; and 
• How big a financial 'buffer' they feel they need - and how much is left over for discretionary spending - and hence what feels "affordable"
• 
  

The importance of substitution within the economic context

What seems very affordable in one year can look much too expensive in the next IF essential demands on income have increased (eg mortgage interest rate rises; inflation rate increases)

In this context, people can still have budgets which allow some spending - but not so much as before. Which means "affordable" can have moving goalposts.

Practical examples include:

• people still have treats - but they are maybe not as big or as expensive (equivalent to still buying art - but at lower prices)
• people take staycations rather than holidaying abroad because they are deemed more affordable. ( equivalent to people buying art online rather than from galleries because it's a popular thing to do - and also because nobody needs to know you used to buy more expensive art elsewhere)

What is "Affordable Art" and how is it defined?

In the context of art, very rich people are still very rich and can still afford to buy expensive art. But this is utterly irrelevant for most players in the art marketplace.

In my view (and from observation), in a time of economic difficulty, something usually happens within the vast numbers of people on "middle incomes" who like art and have bought it in the past

• People who have bought expensive art in the past can 
• start trading down and 
• start buying more affordable art when they are feeling the pinch. 
• They're still buying art - but just not spending so much. 
• So they buy less (reduced sales)
• or they buy at lower prices (changing the range of prices they're happy looking at)

Plus let's not forget, many artists who sell their "more affordable" art online commented that they made MORE money during the pandemic than they had ever done because people had the money spare for small treats - and couldn't get into the art galleries who were typically also much less good at marketing online!

So what's my definition of Affordable Art?

The BEST ways and places to sell your art - RESULTS

Back in January I created a POLL: What was the best place to sell your art in 2021

• on this blog - and
• also included it on the How to Sell Your Art on my Art Business Info for Artists website - which introduces the different options for selling art considered on the website.

The question artists were asked was 

PROFIT FROM ART SALES: Which 3 options generated the most profit (after expenses) for you last year? (i.e. 2021)

107 people have responded to it - and this is the chart of their responses - followed by a commentary on all the various options and suggestions about what some of the results might mean. For me they mean it might be instructive to try some more polls focused on particular ways of selling art.

If you want to see a bigger picture of the chart

• right click and open the pic of the chart in a new tab, you'll see a bigger picture.
• Or you can go to the  How to Sell Your Art  page my website - which provides a bigger picture

Of course it all depends on what you're viewing it on! I don't think you'll get the best view on a smartphone...

Commentary on profitability of different options for selling art

Scope of responses

Responses are from people who view the Poll and vote. There is no way of knowing which country they are from or whether they are 

• amateur, 
• semi-professional (i.e. beyond hobby income) or 
• professional (i.e. make a living from being an artist).

So the results need to be viewed with this in mind. Nonetheless they provide some interesting perspectives.....

Profitability

Never forget that this is a Poll and Chart about PROFITABILITY i.e. 

• NOT how many sales you make 
• but rather which options make you the MOST PROFIT.

People who have successful businesses understand how they make profit. 

Never ever confuse turnover with profit because If you have significant expenses you won't be making much money. 

By way of contrast if you don't need to incur third party expenses and are good at marketing your art, you can eliminate commissions to galleries and listing feeds for third party sites.

The big surprise

POLL: What was the best place to sell your art in 2021

I'm going to revive my monthly opinion polls in 2022. On the whole, I think they provided some very useful feedback for both professional and amateur artists and those who aspire to do more with their art - particularly in relation to the business side of art activities.

Most polls have continued in terms of 

• either charts of the results on this blog (see below) 
• or ongoing live polls on my Art Business Info. for Artists website

I'm starting the year - an the monthly polls - by reviving polling about the best place to sell art. I've run this a number of times and had interesting results each time.  

MOST PROFIT: What was the best place to sell art in 2021?

My first topic is PROFIT

• WHICH place/option - which generates sales of your art - also generates the most profit?
• the "most profit" might be due to e.g.
• LOTS of sales - even if the profit margin between income and expenses is low
• VERY LOW EXPENSES - so that all sales max out your profit
• HIGH VALUE SALES - which make you a lot of money - even if expenses are high

You can find the Poll below

Below the Poll I explain what platform I've used to generate it and anything else you might want to know

POLLS PLATFORM

My previous platform (CrowdSignal) no longer works for me, so I'm switching to Google Forms. I've just spent a lot of this afternoon learning how to use them for Polls of this sort - but may not have got it right! Do let me know if you run into any problems.

Don't worry, I've set the poll up so that no personal data (like emails) is asked for or collected. 

With any luck we should get a result which indicates the three most popular options for generating PROFIT in 2021 (i.e. income you generated for an option less the expenses associated with that particular option)

I'll also be putting this Poll on my website Art Business Info so that it can continue to collect data on the most profitable places 

You can also find the poll on this page too How to Sell Your Art

Previous Polls

Below you'll also find links to the poll results in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012

• 2014 - Most Revenue or Best Profit? What was the Best Place to sell Art in 2013?
• 2014 - POLL: Selling Art in 2014 - Is the best place for generating cash the same as the best place for making a profit?
• 2012 - 2012 Poll Results: What's the best place to sell art? (Part 1) - this reveals 4 places where (1) the most money & (2) the most profit were made from selling art in 2011/12.
• 2012 - What's the best place to sell art? Trends in selling art 2008-2012: (1) direct from the studio; (2) via third party galleries ad art societies.
• 2012 - The Best Place to Sell Art - (Part 2 More Trends Trends in selling art 2008-2012: via temporary venues and online websites.
• 2011 - What's the MAIN way you have sold art in the last 12 months? (Poll results)
• 2010 - What's the MAIN way you have sold art in the last 12 months? (Poll Results)
• 2010 - What's the best place to sell art? Trends in selling art 2008-2012: (1) direct from the studio; (2) via third party galleries ad art societies.
• 2009: MAM Poll (August) results: the MAIN way you've sold art in the last 12 months
• 2008: What's the MAIN way you sell your art? - The Results.

Banksy is the most popular artist - or is he?

Banksy is the UK's favourite artist according to a poll.

But which poll?

The Guardian

I found the story in an article by Jonathan Jones in the Guardian

Banksy is the Brits’ favourite painter of all time - is this status deserved?  The secretive stenciller is no Rembrandt – but a new poll shows that ‘high art’ alienates the public more than any other cultural form

No it doesn't actually - but Jonathan never lets facts get in the way of a good diatribe!

It turned out he was referencing The Sun

According to a poll reported in the Sun, the secretive stenciller is “Brits’ favourite painter of all time ... beating greats such as Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt and Monet.”

Banksy official website - July 2019 - and no reaction to being the "Brits favourite painter"

The Sun

So I went to have a look at The Sun, thinking it's a very long time since I've seen The Sun interested in "Art"!!

Turns out in their article Banksy named as Britain’s favourite painter of all time in nationwide poll that they were referencing a poll in Homes and Antiques Magazine

More than 2,000 adults were asked to name their favourite painters or sculptor — and Banksy was the only living artist to make the top ten. Mel Sherwood, editor of Homes & Antiques magazine, said: “It is both surprising and exciting to see Banksy at the top of this poll.

Homes & Antiques Magazine Poll by YouGov

...and so finally I make it to Homes & Antiques Magazine (shame on you Jonathan Jones for not actually reading the Sun's article!)

 ...to find that they have something called The Art Issue 2019 and the poll was commissioned for that.

Their article Banksy named UK’s favourite artist of all time suggests that

Controversial street artist Banksy has been named the UK’s favourite artist of all time in a poll we conducted in conjunction with YouGov to celebrate the release of our annual Art Issue. The renowned artist took the lead over more traditional artists such as Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gough. 

The poll, of more than 2,000 UK adults, asked respondents to name their favourite artist of all time. The Top 20 features a range of artists including impressionists, sculptors, masters and painters from the 14th century right up to the modern day.

Their top 20 in the poll for Homes Antiques Magazine are

How not to run an online art competition

This morning I experienced an emphatic learning lesson in how NOT to run an art competition online.

An online art competition which prevents you voting

If you run an online art competition there are usually two objectives:

• marketing your brand
• getting engagement with your brand and website/blog

However in relation to this competition:

• First votes are only valid via Facebook. This completely ignores the fact that there are still lots of artists who won't use Facebook. This means the host runs the risk of annoying all those clients or customers who are not Facebook fans. To my mind this runs completely counter to the notion that this might be a marketing exercise for the brand! Any online competition must have a method of voting which is open to all online!
• Next the organisers says it doesn't seem to work with Chrome on iOS or Android accounts. So the competition appears to eliminate: 
• the most popular browser in the world 
• all mobile devices - which are now very much the device of choice for browsing and the most likely method most people will come across this competition and want to vote!
• I've just discovered that not all entries will allow votes when using Firefox. After taking trouble of moving from Chrome to Firefox and logging into Facebook all over again on my Apple iMac! I got the error message "User opted out of platform: The action attempted is disallowed, because the user has opted out of Facebook platform."
• Either that or there's a distinct possibility that this competition doesn't work on Apple platforms at all. Which is just silly! That's when I started writing this post!

"What is the point if you can't use 3/4 of the device that people use?" - comment on Facebook

The competition in question is Jackson's Art Supplies The Art of Reflection Competition.

This is last Friday's blog post announcing the shortlist and inviting votes

I want to emphasise that I really like Jackson's Art Supplies Blog - it's usually excellent and I often share content on the blog. They generally have a very good online presence and this is very much an exception to general performance. However Jackson's really do need to find a better way of running online art competitions fast!

So do go and admire the artists who took the trouble to enter and were fortunate to get selected.

But I wouldn't bother trying to vote in this competition!

What works better for votes

If you ever think about running a competition it's essential that you have

• identified and checked out in advance a method which works for everybody on all platforms 
• eliminating popular platforms is not an option - you need to find one which works across all platforms
• working via the Chrome browser and Apple operating systems and all mobile devices is a basic!
• a way of preventing multiple votes from the same internet account - experience shows that artists and their families are not above voting for themselves multiple times!

For Polls and Votes I always use Polldaddy. I've found it very reliable and used it in different contexts.

There are other alternatives available. If you have one you favour please leave a comment below.

Reasons why I like Polldaddy for Polls

• The major advantage is that the Poll is based on their website. This means:
• you can embed the Poll on a wide range of platforms for example I've embedded Polldaddy polls on my Blogger blog and Weebly websites
• I can also link to it directly on my Facebook and Twitter account, in emails etc and people then vote via the website
• You get to choose the level of feedback you give to voters after they have voted. People can also see the votes or the percentages voting for different options if you choose - or the results to date can be hidden if you want to keep votes secret until you announce the results
• You can determine precisely when the vote closes
• It works on Apple mobile devices (using anything which does otherwise is limiting the votes cast!). Plus it now has an iPhone/iPad app.
• You can upload media to each voting option - which means it works for image-based competitions. (Obviously for an art competition this might mean hosting a larger image on another site - however for voting you only need a prompt that you're voting for the right image)
• You can also restrict access by blocking repeat voters by IP address or cookie or both.

I hasten to add that I have no relationship with Polldaddy - I just like their software. It works and causes me no hassle!

What kind of art do people like to buy online?

Is the type of art that people buy online the same as the sort of art that people like to create?

This post is going to look at:

• the similarities and differences between the type of art that British and American people buy online
• how this compares to the type of art that people like to paint.

It's important to realise at the outset that that neither the subjects that people search for or the subjects people like to paint are necessarily a sound indicator of the art that people like to buy.  For example, different subject categories of an online art gallery may have been different "view" and "buy" behaviours.

That's why it's interesting to get a perspective from a website (Artfinder) that is prepared to share data on what sort of art people actually buy.  The data in the charts below was collected by Artfinder and is based on sales figures from 1 January 2015 – 31 December 2015.

What type of art do people buy?

Based on sales data in 1 January - 31 December 2015 (Source: Artfinder)

Last week I was sent some charts and conclusions drawn by Art Finder - an art website that acts as an online gallery for people wanting to sell their original art on the Internet.

What do they like - and dislike? 

People in the UK and USA are very similar in relation to:

Retirement and Pensions for Artists

It's been a while since I mentioned the topic of planning for our retirement as artists. I know a lot of people aren't thinking about retiring as artists - but there does come a time for some artists when eyesight begins to fail and arthritis sets in!

Today I've published a new page about Retirement and Pensions for Artists on my Art Business Info for Artists website.

It includes all the available information I'm aware of which is accessible online. That said it's not a lot.

I'd be very happy to add to the page if people know of any online articles or information which would be a useful addition for readers of this page.

The content covers:

• Do artists ever retire? 
• Do artists ever make provision for a pension?
• POLL: Have you ever made provision for a pension?
• Using art as a pension pot
• Pensions: self-employment vs. employment
• Changes to pension planning
• How much state pension will you get (UK)?

It also includes a poll. It's a Polldaddy Poll so I've also been able to include it in this blog post as well. Do please vote for the option that best matches your circumstances.




Hopefully some of you will own up (anonymously of course!) and tell us what provision you have made for your retirement.  Once enough of us have voted we will be able to see whether our rate of provision is similar to the statistics collected through other surveys.

I have to confess I'm one of those artists who is extremely fortunate to already have my own pension - although my state pension seems to keep taking a backward step and kicks in at a later and later date every time I look!

I've also included on the webpage the link to how you can find out when your state pension will kick in if you don't know already.

QUESTION: What do you think is the best way for artists to prepare for their retirement?

POLL: Selling Art in 2014 - Is the best place for generating cash the same as the best place for making a profit?

Do you know which was the best place to generate income from your art in 2014? 

Or the best place to make profit?  

Are they same - or different?

I do hope we can continue that tradition of sharing what worked - and what didn't work - in terms of selling art in 2014.

This is an incentive to get your accounts done for the calendar year 2014 so you can see:

• where you generated the most revenue
• where you generated the most profit
• how your results compare with other people as to places to sell art

I'll be running TWO POLLS poll during January (in the side column) and will be reporting on both of them at the end of the month.  Polls closes on 30th January.

[Apparently the Poll wasn't working so I've changed it and there are now two new Polls in the Side Column and these are now registering votes]

The aim is to identify

• The most (and least) effective places for selling art in 2014 - in terms of which places generate the MOST REVENUE and turnover (i.e. gross sales before costs deducted)
• The most (and least) profitable places for selling art in 2014 - in terms of where did you generate the BEST PROFIT (i.e. net profit - profit from gross sales after deduction of the cost of sales)

It may be that some of you can only identify revenue rather than profit soI'm expecting more responses for the first compared to the second. I'm also expecting that the most profitable will not necessarily be the same as the place where you sold most.

We had problems with the polls acting funny last year so the results for 2013 are missing - and I've switched to Polldaddy to run the polls - which means you can also share a link to them on other sites if you want to let people know about them.

For those interested in what has happened in the past with this poll here are previous posts

• ANNUAL POLL: What's the best place to sell art in the last year?
• 2012 Poll Results: What's the best place to sell art? (Part 1) - this reveals 4 places where (1) the most money & (2) the most profit were made from selling art in 2011/12.
• What's the best place to sell art? Trends in selling art 2008-2012: (1) direct from the studio; (2) via third party galleries ad art societies.
• The Best Place to Sell Art - More Trends Trends in selling art 2008-2012: via temporary venues and online websites.

POLL: Photography in Art Galleries and Museums

There's been a lot of discussion about the photography of art in art galleries of late. However today you've got an opportunity to express your views.

Tourists photographing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, in Paris

This is a POLL to identify what people think about photography in art galleries.

• You can vote up to three times to express your views (but be sure to choose all three options at the same time as you can only press the vote button once)
• the poll closes at midday in a week's time
• please also leave a comment about what you think

I'm also going to write a longer piece about this at some stage as the issue is quite complex. Your views will inform that post.

[NOTE: Some people have commented that they are unable to click the Vote button - although it's obviously working for other people as votes are accumulating. This may be because they voted once - and pressed the button - and can't vote again for their other two choices because of the IP and cookie block on repeat voting]

Don't date your signature on your artwork!

I got this comment on my website How to sign a painting, drawing or fine art print

If you are not expecting to ever be a great artist don't date the front of your work because normal people who buy paintings just to make their room look nice prefer things that are fresh to the market.

From the shop keepers point of view knowing the date can stop you accepting works for sale that have been shopped from gallery to gallery and not sold. People who look at art can sometimes remember something the've seen in the shop up the road.

Eight signatures by Rembrandt
between 1626 and 1633
This file is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 
3.0 Unported license.

What's your current practice - do you date your artwork or not?

On my website you can vote in and see the results of a different POLL: Do you date your artwork?

Do you include a date on your artwork?

• Yes - on the artwork and somewhere where it's obvious 

• Yes - on the artwork but somewhere not obvious

• Yes - on the reverse of the drawing or painting / base of the sculpture 

• No - I rarely date my artwork 

• No - I never date my artwork 

Plus read more advice about Pros and Cons of Dating Artwork plus TIPS

Most Revenue or Best Profit? What was the Best Place to sell Art in 2013?

This is my Annual Making A Mark Poll which aims to find out about the trends in how artists sold their art - in 2013.

I've moved it to after the end of the calendar year so that those who do their accounts on a calendar basis will know better:

• which place generated the most revenue
• which place generated the most profit

The last time I ran this poll in 2012, I split the poll in two to make a distinction between gross revenue sales ("most revenue") and net profit ("most profitable").

That's because those places which generate the "most money in art sales" are not necessarily the "most profitable" after the "cost of sales" has been deducted.

Interestingly, the fact that one place happens to be the most profitable doesn't mean to say that's where the most profit will be made - unless an artist has already identified this and is capitalising on this knowledge.

So what these polls will do is identify

• The most (and least) effective places for selling art in 2013 - in terms of which places generate the most revenue and turnover (i.e. gross sales)
• The most (and least) profitable places for selling art in 2013 - in terms of where did you generate the best profit (i.e. net profit - profit from gross sales after deduction of the cost of sales)
• Trends in selling art in the last 6 years

There are two NEW Polls in the right hand Column. Both polls have identical options. Be sure to note the distinction between 

• MOST REVENUE and 
• MOST PROFIT.

For those interested in what the results were in 2012 here are the results of these two polls and the trends observed in September 2012

• ANNUAL POLL: What's the best place to sell art in the last year?
• 2012 Poll Results: What's the best place to sell art? (Part 1) - this reveals 4 places where (1) the most money & (2) the most profit were made from selling art in 2011/12.
• What's the best place to sell art? Trends in selling art 2008-2012: (1) direct from the studio; (2) via third party galleries ad art societies.
• The Best Place to Sell Art - More Trends Trends in selling art 2008-2012: via temporary venues and online websites.

Artists websites: still a lot to do to update / upgrade for mobile devices

Some 28% of you have updated your website so it integrates better with social media.  A third of you recognise that you need to do more to keep up with the technological change associated with the explosion on the use of mobile devices

This is based on the responses to the November Making A Mark POLL: When was the last time you updated your website?. Below you can see the art produced which ranks the most popular responses according to frequency.

Making A Mark Poll: When was the last time you updated your website?
46 votes (November 2013)

In order of being proactive

• 11% of artists have upgraded to sites offering much better technical support.  This is a euphemism these days for  finding a site which has the capacity to deliver a site which is compatible with all normal mobile devices.
• 28% of artists are on top of the need to integrate with social media.  You are the people recognise how a lot of traffic arrives at a website these days!
• A third of artists have made minor changes but recognise more needs to be done.  I suspect most of you are in the same boat as me - recognising that EVERYTHING now needs to be mobile compatible but have not yet managed to get the website sorted
• Nearly a third of artists (29%) have done nothing with their website of late except maybe (7%) think about whether it needs up dating.  Within the content of the current level of technological change, as described in the post introducing the poll, this is maybe not the smartest move.

Here's why - go to your website URL on a smartphone or a tablet and answer these questions:

Is your site compatible with mobile devices (smartphones and iPads/tablets)?

1. Can you see and read the text straight away?
2. Can you navigate around the site easily?
3. Can you see all the pictures quickly and without needing to do lots of adjustments to bring them up to the right size?

If you can't answer 'Yes' to all those questions it means your website or blog does not have a template and design which automatically resizes and reconfigures when a site is accessed via a mobile device.

Which basically means it's about the same as having no website at all.

My blogs are fine and compatible with mobile sites - and my website is not and needs sorting.  I'm waiting on Sitekreator at the moment who are proving to be very slow to get on top of getting the mobile compatibility dimension.

The message which is beginning to come through clearly is that few if anybody is doing a website the old fashioned way - crafting the html etc - because of the need to be mobile compatible.

Thinking of changing/upgrading your website?

Do have a read of the comments on the last post as these indicate the successes (or otherwise) that people have had with changing and upgrading their websites

Tell me what you want to know about re the technical development of websites and blogs

I'm making no promises about delivering results but I am interested to know what questions people want answered in relation to developing their presence online - and keeping up with the technological change relating to mobile devices and other changes.

So what's the question that you want to know the answer to?

POLL: When was the last time you updated your website?

This isn't about when you last updated the artwork on your website. It's about the major changes in digital communication using the Internet - and when you last updated your actual website to take account of this massive amount of technological and technical change.

Website technology is changing in leaps and bounds. The situation today is very different from 10 years ago and even five years ago.

I set up my website on 12 June 2005.  That's a very long time ago in terms of technical change! I've included new artwork.  I've changed the format of some of the pages to take account of site developments. However I've never really sat down and looked at whether it now meets my needs in terms of the changes in the technical and technological environment it now operates in.

The poll this month is going to look at how we've recognised technological and technical change in terms of updating our websites.

1. First it addresses what has happened to technological and technical support for digital communication in the last 10 years. I'm asking you to suggest what you think has been the major change.
2. Next it looks at the Poll - question and suggested responses. Vote for the one which best reflects your circumstances
3. Finally I'm asking "who hosts your website?"  In 2014 I want to do a poll to see which is the most popular host for artists' websites - and hence want to do some initial research as which suppliers you favour.

Changes to digital communication in the last 10 years

What was new and is now the norm? 

What has happened which will become the norm?

Here's a list of things I can think of off the top of my head.  What do you think I've left out which is important?

Internet for all

• More and more people can access the Internet.  More and more people are on broadband and increasing numbers are able to access fibre optic speeds.
• In general, prices for internet access are coming down - but still vary a lot from place to place

Operating systems and apps

• In general, 
• a major switch from Windows to Apple
• an explosion in availability and use of free software 
• desktop apps have given way to mobile webware apps. Huge demand and numerous suppliers keeps pricing very competitive
• Flash seems to have come and gone given the way Apple rejected it for iPads and iPhones (as an unstable memory hog). There is no flash for iOS or android any more and there never will be.
• Desktop computers are in effect becoming terminals for webware and cloud storage

This represents a marked switch from Windows to Apple / iOs over time
(Based on Google Analytics | Technology - Os)

This reflects a major switch from desktop to mobile for accessing the Internet
(Based on Google Analytics | Mobile - Overview)

What this blog looks like
on a mobile phone

Mobile devices

• Massive explosion in both functionality and numbers of mobile devices. Pace of change continues to be very fast 
• Explosion in the use of mobile devices - these are rapidly becoming the norm for accessing the Internet (if not already)
• BUT not all sites are accessible via mobile devices
• Flash outlawed by Apple due to being a memory hogger
• Unless websites resize automatically some are not easy to access via mobile devices (for me - at present - my blogs on Blogger are fine and my websites on Sitekreator are not)
• Design and size of screen image has changed. It's become vital that images are not a set size and can resize automatically to take advantage of different sized screens

Storage and bandwidth

• Server to Cloud: Most hosts now offer a lot more storage re. websites. 
• Cloud storage is now becoming the norm for websites constructed using webware. 
• In turn this seems to mean sites can host more and more images.
• ISPs now offer very fast broadband eg Fibre Optic Broadband - enabling watching video and TV without hiccups

Static vs dynamic

• Content has in general switched from static (eg websites) to dynamic sites (eg blogs and Facebook) e.g. people find artwork via social media rather than because a website exists.  
• Integration with social media: Stable/functional links between websites and social media are critical to getting content seen by lots of people
• Still images are crucial currency for the internet. People navigate on the basis of large thumbnail images of topics
• The short video of moving images has become ubiquitous. Lots of people have the cameras and the software to make them for themselves. It no longer costs megabucks and requires expert help.

Search

• Internet Explorer is no longer the dominant browser (my stats say it's now down a around 15% of all visitors). 
• Use of a variety of browsers is the norm - that means it's vital for all websites to become compatible with the latest versions of all important browsers.

The change in browsers reflects the change in operating systems
the increasing popularity of Apple and the increase in use of mobile devices
(Based on Google Analytics | Technology - Browser)

• Speed of response is critical.  It's an important factor within the Google search algorithm. It's become a top priority if you want to generate traffic. 
• Slow response loses traffic. Websites which haven't slimmed down their code and the number of apps which load will take a long to load. (I know this is something I need to address with both my websites and blogs!)
• Optimising websites for search became a "science". This has now been undermined ever since Google made keywords inaccessible!
• Semantic search - using verbal queries and normal language rather than keywords will become the norm in the future

Sharing media

• Methods used for storing and sharing media: These have gone from floppy discs to CDs to writeable DVDs to USB thumb drives to small portable hard discs

Ecommerce

• Online shopping is now absolutely normal and has changed retail forever
• Artist websites with ecommerce: More and more artists are incorporating ecommerce functionality into their websites to enable direct sales via the web

Design

• Clean contemporary unfussy design with excellent images has become associated with success (count how many websites now strive to look like Apple's). Minimalist is both functional and very effective.

Social media - sharing communication 

• The major change has been in social media. Social media sites have become a proxy for websites when it comes to display and a proxy for web2 forums when it comes to communication.

All the above have implications for:

• content - static vs dynamic
• format and design
• level of integration
• level on interactivity
• where a site is hosted eg on a server or in a cloud

When was the last time you updated your website technology?

Here's the poll question and the possible answers.

The poll will close at the end of 30 November 2013 (Greenwich Mean Time).

Please vote for the option which best reflects your circumstances. You find the poll in the side column (just above "For your Information").

Making A Mark Poll (November 2013)

When was the last time you updated your website?

• Never - not touched site since originally set up 5+ years ago
• Never - not touched it since originally set up 1+ years ago
• Thought about it - but done nothing
• Minor changes - but more to do
• Updated for better integration with social media
• Moved site to host offering much better tech. support

Who hosts your website?

In 2014 I intend to run a poll to find out which are the favoured suppliers. Consequently, I want to find out who are the main suppliers of website services for artists.

It would help enormously if I could get an initial idea about what your website set-up is.

For example, I've got my websites with Sitekreator - who tell me they that at present they don't have any website themes with responsive designs (ie automated change to a version which suits screen size) - but are proposing to introduce them in a few weeks time).

Any news as to how other website providers are changing their services to keep up with the constant technical and technological change elsewhere is almost most welcome.

Please leave a comment and tell me who hosts your website.

Poll results: Your favourite artists' paint manufacturer is Winsor & Newton

Winsor & Newton is the favourite artists' paint manufacturer by a mile - according to the 228 artists who responded to the October Making A Mark Poll - POLL: Who is your favourite artists' paint manufacturer? They're more than three times more popular than the next most popular paint.

Making A Mark Poll (October 2013): Who's your favourite paint manufacturer?
228 responses

Winsor & Newton Watercolour Paints
in Green & Stone, Kings Road, Chelsea

The top five favourite artists paints

1. Winsor & Newton - 29%
2. Daniel Smith - 9.2%
3. Golden - 7%
4. (Joint) M. Graham and Schminke 6.1%

The poll was specific to manufacturer rather than paint and consequently those who make oil, acrylic and watercolour paints were bound to do better.

However it came as a surprise to me that a manufacturer who specialises in acrylic paint alone should take 3rd place.  Golden appears to have a distinct lead over Liquitex.  This was also very much supported in the comments on the original post.

Links to the websites of the most popular paints are included in their name above.

Links to more specific paint products from the top five manufacturers can be found below.

Winsor & Newton

• Oil colours
• Acrylic colours
• Water colours
• Gouache
• Inks

Daniel Smith

• Watercolor Paint
• Acrylic Paint
• Oil Paint Tubes & Sticks

Golden

• Golden Acrylic Products

M Graham

• Oil Color
• Watercolor
• Gouache
• Acrylic

Schminke

• Acrylics
• Water-Colours
• Oils
• Mediums
• Pastels
• Gouache

The best of the rest

I'm not surprised that Michael Harding Handmade Artists Oil Colours did well as they have a terrific reputation to go with the terrific price!  However he does do just one thing - oil colours....

Vasari was a surprise for me.  It's a paint I don't know well at all and yet it's beating a number of better known names.  Again this is a manufacturer who does just one thing - make oil paint.

POLL: Who is your favourite artists' paint manufacturer?

This poll explores which is our favourite manufacturer of paints for artists? Who are our favourite colourmen?

Some of the firms which make art materials have been around for a very long time. Others are more recent.

Schminke Horadam Gouache Paint Tubes

I'm not making any distinction as to:

• different brands of paint - I'm focusing entirely on the manufacturer's name
• whether they make just one or all the different types of paint (eg oil, watercolour, acrylic, gouache, casein, egg tempera) 

I'm also not including the smallest manufacturers and paint which is less easily available.

Who is your favourite artists' paint manufacturer?

You can vote for your favourite paint manufacturer in the poll in the side column.  The closing date is 31 October and I'll report back on the results on this blog soon after that.

The options are:

• Blockx
• Chroma
• Daler Rowney
• Daniel Smith
• Da Vinci
• Gamblin
• Golden
• Grumbacher
• Holbein
• Kremer
• Lefranc & Bourgeois
• Liquitex
• Maimeri
• M. Graham
• Michael Harding 
• Old Holland
• Pebeo
• Royal Talens
• Schminke
• Sennelier
• ShinHan
• Vasari
• Winsor & Newton

I'll be repeating this exercise for other art materials (dry media; paper; canvases; brushes etc)

More about Artists Colourmen

Below are some links to databases and historical records of artists' colourmen over the years.

• National Portrait Gallery - British artists' suppliers, 1650-1950. This is a biographical directory of British and foreign firms of artists’ suppliers and colourmen operating in Britain and British firms operating overseas.
• National Gallery of Victoria - Artists Colourmen - this is a database of  the stamps, stencils, labels and marks representing Artists’ Colourmen stamps which have been found on artworks in the NGV Collection.

Here's a link to:

• my website Which is the best brand of watercolour paint for artists?
• my previous polls:
• Which are the best artist quality oil colours? (Results)
• W&N: the best brand of watercolour paint for artists

15th July 2013 - Who's made a mark this week?

I'm still trying to find a way of making this post regular and interesting and at the same time avoiding it wiping out me and my Sunday every single week.

I think the model I'm now going to try is one which involves a greater integration with my public facing Making A Mark Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/makingamark2) - for those on Facebook.

Making A Mark - Official Facebook Page

That way I have a tool to help me construct a post plus it allows me to see which type of posts interest the people who follow me - which is good feedback to have.  So:

• I already list  every blog post on my Facebook Page - so it's a bit like having a feedreader(!) - and will continue to do this.  As with the feed for my blog to read the post you need to click the link.
• I also frequently share posts by organisations or artists I follow on Facebook
• Plus I also share links to things I've spotted which interest me

By basing "who's made a mark this week" in part on the public Facebook posts it also enables me to give access to extra info to all those not on Facebook.

Plus I'll carry on with posts which attract my attention from wherever!

One more thing - as the good summer weather has arrived my man and I will be getting about and about more - which means lightweight posting so long as the good weather lasts. (I probably shouldn't have said that - there will be an inevitable crack of thunder any minute.....)

Artists & Art Blogs

Artists Psychology 

• Last year I had a poll to try and identify whether artists were introverts or extroverts.  This resulted in this poll about the results - Artists are Introverts! Discuss....  Last week I came across an infographic which struck me as being particularly relevant to those people who are energised by and happy with working on their own in a studio.  Or rather it's relevant to the families of those who want to be alone - in their studio.  See my post How to live with Introverts and the original Infographic Guide to about How to live with Introverts
• Art Personality Disorder is a psychological disorder discovered by Julie Podstolski (Julie Podstolski). It highlights the good sense of training our partners in what to say!

Botanical Art and Artists

• The Hunt Institute contacted me to tell me that the "14th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration" will run from 27 September to 19 December 2013. 
• The exhibition will include 41 artworks by 41 artists from 10 countries.  
• Following on from earlier post - 14th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration - Intent to submit I'm going to do a more detailed post about this next week - with links to the websites of the selected artists where I can find them.  If you're one of them do please let me have an image of the work which has been selected.
• I love it when people paint wild flowers like this - and I love Rosie Sanders work too! See Last week in Cornwall on her blog

Coloured Pencils and Pastels

• This is the website displaying all the entries for the CPSA Silent Auction 2013. I often wonder why more art societies don't do this as a money spinner for their society.  In this instance bids can only be made at the convention rather than online.
• These are the Selected Artists - UKCPS 12th Open International Exhibition 2013

Drawing and Sketching

This last week it's been the 4th International Urban Sketching Symposium in Barcelona.  Here's a sample of some of the blog posts and images it has created

• Making New Sketcher-Friends by Lynne the Pencil at An Illustrator's Life For Me!
• 4th International Urban Sketchers Conference, Day 3: Final Day at Urban Sketchers
• bcn2013usk - day 2 (lapin) and July 12th, 2013: Day 2, Usk Barcelona (Suhita) at Urban Sketchers

Plus the 1st Annual West Coast Urban Sketchers' Sketchcrawl - San Francisco Bay Area ran the weekend of July 12 - 14, in the San Francisco Bay Area for those unable to get to the Barcelona Symposium.  It has a blog (click above link) and its very own map of places to go to sketch

Painting and Painters

• Richard Schmid Artist and Author is the link to Richard Schmid's new Facebook Page published in advance of the new revised edition of ALLA PRIMA II--Everything I Know About Painting. It publishes in September 2013 and will be 100 pages longer than last time.  Hopefully this time somebody will suggest a good BIG print run!
• Another Richard - Richard Salter, an army artist features in the current edition of Artists & Illustrators - see Richard Salter the army artist. Now which of you paint with an easel like this and a very big bit of kit hanging over your shoulder?  You can view his Kabul paintings at the Mall Galleries this week - see below
• Haidee-Jo Summers (Haidee-Jo Summers artist - ma vie en couleurs ) has been painting non-stop while on a plein air trip to Cornwall - see her step by steps in

• Going to the beach
• Portscatho harbour in evening light
• Mini Mousehole exhibition! plus other blogs posts.

Three days work by Haidee-Jo Summers - a mini exhibition in Mousehole

• I was very impressed with a diagram I came across this annotated sketch on Rick Delanty's website - and he's agreed I can use it on my blog - The Art of the Landscape where it is now the first in what I hope will be a series of pics of people's plein air kits.  See Rick Delanty's plein air kit for the invite to show us all your kit!

Rick Delanty - Plein air kit: annotated drawing

Vision

• I learned something when I got my prescriptions for my new glasses post cataract surgery and wrote about it here Better vision - occupational lenses for artists.  One of those "It's obvious really when you think about it" ideas!

Who painted this? 

• This week's challenge Who painted this? #35 and the answer to...
• Who painted this? #34 Congrats to Alyson Champ who spotted Winslow Homer very fast.

Art Business & Marketing

Art Galleries

• Alyson Stanfield (Art Biz Coach) ran two posts last week - making arguments for and against the use of galleries
• Why galleries on her blog Artbizblog
• and Why Artists Should Avoid Gallery Representation posted on The Abundant Artist art blog
• Submitting to National Nonprofit Galleries by E. Brady Robinson is intended for emerging artists who wish to build a national exhibition trajectory.

Art Fairs

• Having moved from New Hampshire to Washington State, Nicole Caulfield (Nicole Caulfield Fine Art) is starting out again with weekend art fairs in Portland and trying new ways of displaying her art.  Worth following as Nicole always seems to me to be spotting new ways of doing things.  Here's her first Saturday market!
• Do any of you do art fairs on a regular basis - and would you like to share your stand?  Let me know - leave a comment.

Copyright

• Photographer Mark Meyer has contributed an interesting blog post discussing transformative use within the context of the Richard Prince legal case and the fact that transformative use is actually specifically identified in law as a right retained by the copyright holder.  See Copyright: How did transformative use become fair use?

Marketing

• Professional Artist has an article about the Five Essential Cs for a Successful Art Career

Art Economy & Collectors

• The Art Newspaper tells us Why some pictures go for more than others

Art Exhibitions

Art Exhibitions in London

• My visit to the Dulwich Picture Gallery came in the middle of a rash of exhibition openings which my eyes were not ecstatic about. Hence the delayed review - Review: Nash, Nevinson, Spencer, Gertler, Carrington, Bomberg: A Crisis of Brilliance. I think you'll get more out of this exhibition if you read the book first
• This is my Review: Laura Knight Portraits, the NEW exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London - opens 11 July until 13 October 2013. I really enjoyed my visit to the new exhibition of portraits by Dame Laura Knight (1877 - 1970). She was the first woman artist to become a Dame and the first to be granted a retrospective exhibition by the RA. Well worth visiting if only for the extremely impressive room of portraits relating to the Second World War.  
• Jonathan Jones 

• reviews Tate Britain's Painting Now exhibition and asks how can painting ever belong to 'now'?
• reviews the Mexico: A Revolution in Art 1910-1940 at the Royal Academy of Arts and suggests that Royal Academy's Mexican revolution misses the bigger picture
• also asks What makes art a target for attack?  This previews a Tate Britain exhibition Art Under Attack: Histories of British Iconoclasm which is to tell the story of physical attacks on British art.  Starts 2 October until 5 January 2014

Art Society Exhibitions

• 'Out of Line' The 79th Annual Exhibition of The Armed Forces Art Society is on display at the Mall Galleries between 15th - 20th July 2013
• They're followed by the Aviation Paintings of the Year - the 43rd Annual Exhibition of the Guild of Aviation Artists who are also exhibiting at the Mall Galleries between 23rd and 28th July.  This seems to be another specialist interest area with a very devoted following.  Note their approach to the Buyer's preview.

Art Exhibitions in the UK

• You can find The Lyons Teashops Lithographs: Art in a Time of Austerity runs from 13 July to 22 October at the Towner gallery, Eastbourne, West Sussex.  Get a taster with:
• this slideshow on the Guardian The Lyons teashops lithographs: do you take fine art with your tea? - in pictures
• this review Bawden and battenberg: the Lyons teashop lithographs

Between 1946 and 1955 the company commissioned three series of prints, some 40 in all, from most of the leading British artists of the day.

• August 2013 marks the hundredth anniversary of Duchamp’s stay in Herne Bay. This website celebrates the centenary. It sounds so incongruous you have to take a look. 

Art Exhibitions in the USA

• Charley Parker at lines and colors has a couple of posts about exhibitions worth viewing:
• More on Sargent watercolors at the Brooklyn Museum includes closeups of the watercolour paintings by Sargent and views of paints he used.

As I had hoped, I was able to get to the show in Brooklyn, and… wow. Just wow. I’ve insisted for years that Sargent should receive greater credit as a painter — credit he is finally receiving, along with increased recognition and popularity — but my already high assessment of his skills was raised even further by this show.

• This is a preview of Hopper Drawing by  The exhibition is at the at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. You can also explore his studies for paintings on the exhibition website

Art Education

Artists & Art Tutors

• International Artist has a couple of articles by prominent art bloggers in the June/July edition
• Sadie Valeri (Sadie J. Valeri) has a six-page spread, Self-Portrait in Progress Part two which incoudes a step-by-step painting demo of her Indirect Method. See International Artist Magazine Feature and DVD Update
• the James Gurney Masterclass PART 3 tackles Atmospheric Effects - Reverse Atmospheric Perspective.  James' blog is Gurney Journey and he commented in brief on this topic back in 2007 - see Reverse Atmospheric Perspective

Art Books

• So depressing! I've just had a list of new titles for review from a major art publisher and 80% are about drawing manga and zentangle! Pish!! Whatever happened to Fine Art? If you like proper art books why not try my website Making A Mark Book Lists which provides one bookmark to recommended art books lists for both artists and art lovers. 
• For all those thinking of writing a book and going down the Creative Commons route this is a very helpful "how to" - HOWTO Negotiate a Creative Commons License: Ten Steps

Workshops and Events

• There's lots of interesting talks, courses and workshops on the Royal Watercolour Society's Events Page - I'm just wondering what the Clore Room one involves which isn't available for free. The Royal Watercolour Society is based at Bankside Gallery (48 Hopton Street, London SE1 9JH), located on the south bank of the River Thames next to Tate Modern. 

Art Videos

• Congrats to James Gurney who now has 4,000+ subscribers to his video channel.

Art History

• Henri Matisse shares his thoughts on everything from drawing to depression in an extensive interview which is to be published for the first time since he angrily blocked its publication more than 70 years ago.  See Revealed: interview that Henri Matisse banned by Dalya Alberge at Art and design: Art | guardian.co.uk

Art Materials & supplies

• I understand that Utrecht Art Supplies have become part of Dick Blick Art Supplies.  Nobody is using the takeover or merger words but it's more apparent from the Utrecht website than the press release on the Dick Blick website that  Dick Blick is the senior partner in this new arrangement. The idea seems to be that 
• Utrecht paints, gessoes and canvases will start to appear in Dick Blick Stores
• the items which Dick Blick stocks on a regular basis will start appearing in Utrecht stores
• there will be some store closures and gradually all the stores will become Dick Blick Stores as the product offerings change
• plus the online websites will be merged gradually
• Roz Stendahl Roz Wound Up has 
• taken a look at the Bienfang Watercolor Brush (which she's been using sketching for the past several months). See Lightfastness Test: Bienfang Watercolor Brush Pens
• commented on the Moleskine with black pages

Art Videos

• All my videos are on the Making A Mark Videos Channel on YouTube but I've not done a video for them
• unlike James Gurney who has got a very neat - model even - video of what his channel is all about I think he may have practised that speech a few times though! ;)

Opinion Poll

• Here's the link to this month's Making A Mark Opinion POLL: Which is the best platform for art videos?  
• Last month's poll resulted in this post about How to list art exhibitions on a CV or website

Techies

• For all those who still haven't done anything about their Google Reader data

All Google Reader subscription data (eg. lists of people that you follow, items you have starred, notes you have created, etc.) will be systematically deleted from Google servers. You can download a copy of your Google Reader data via Google Takeout until 12PM PST July 15, 2013.

• Google has also terminated the RSS feed for Google Alerts - they now want everybody to subscribe through email.  As if no other feedreaders exist! 

and finally......

I'm becoming a huge fan of Grayson Perry - however even I was surprised by this article in The Guardian as he reveals yet another aspect to his artistic influence - see The great Grayson Perry frock competition
(Note: For those not "in the know" Grayson Perry - or rather his alter ego, Claire - likes wearing frocks)