Saturday, August 06, 2011

Techie - Thoughts on Tumblr?

I've been talking to people about Tumblr and looking at some Tumblr sites recently.  Some of the images are amazing.  In short, it's a microblogging service - an analogy might be Twitter with pictures and sounds.

Now I'm interested to know:
  1. How many of you are aware of Tumblr?
  2. How many of you are actually using Tumblr on a regular basis?
  3. What tips do you have if you use Tumblr?
  4. What you want to know if you've looked at the site but as yet have not taken the plunge?
  5. If this is the first time you've visited the website, what are your first impressions?

For the record here is:
Copyright and accreditation
 
See Feature Friday- Quilled Starry Night for ORIGINAL content
I'm not sure they are too hot in enforcing copyright infringement - which is one of my queries (mainly because I've seen it happen)
  • above you can see images which have been notionally sourced from The Telegraph - which in turn appear to have sourced them from a blog by Susan Myers called Suzy's Artsy Crafty Sitcom
  • the top image used has carefully removed the accreditation line - see feature pic on original blog post cited below
  • Although both the article and post name the artist, neither the so-called "source" or the Tumblr post actually accredited the artist with a link to the ORIGINAL source ie Feature Friday- Quilled Starry Night - which is stunning post which shows you how this was done with quilled paper.  So everybody gets to admire it but the artist gets no traffic to her blog!
Any thoughts?

UPDATE: re copyright infringement of Suzy Myers' work

7th August 2011

I left a comment on Suzy's blog post yesterday (ie Feature Friday- Quilled Starry Night) after publishing this post and indicated that maybe the visuals have travelled rather further than she was aware. 

I got this very nice comment by way of reply which I'm republishing below.  Note in particular her comments re Tumblr and that Etsy practices proper accreditation
Hi Katherine!

Thank you for the heads up.  Since the photos went viral about a week ago, I have lost track of where they are being shown and if I have been linked to them.  It seems that tumblr is the main area where copyright seems to be lost.  Unfortunately they are picking it up from each other and passing it on, crediting the tumblr site that they found it from.  I figure that at this point, if someone wants to know more about me or my artwork, I am easily found on google.  Most likely the way you found me.  Ha!

Fortunately, some of the larger sites have credited my site, including Etsy's Facebook page who picked it up and it resulted in 4000 folks an hour swinging by to check out my work.  I am more than thrilled.  

In a normal world, I have been known to persue folks and make them add a mention of where they got it from.  But this has gotten so out of hand, it would be very difficult to try at this point.  I do appreciate your post.  It brings to light an issue that gets more prevalent every day.  

Thank you!!

suzy


    Posted by Making A Mark on Saturday, August 06, 2011 5 comments
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    Friday, August 05, 2011

    UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2011 - Selected Artists

    The artists selected for the 10th Annual International Exhibition of the United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society at Central Hall, Westminster are as follows.
    • the link in an artist's name is to his or her website
    • links to a UKCPS gallery page or other art society are noted separately
    Lunch with the Herdwicks by Malcolm Cudmore
    91.5 x 56 cm - Aquatone and mostly Derwent Artists on a prepared wooden panel
    copyright Malcolm Cudmore

      I've split the list into alphabetical groups. 

      A
      B
      C
      D
      E
      F
      G
      H
      J
      K
      L
      M
      Time remembered by Malcolm Cudmore
      79 x 58.5 cm overall - mixed media.
      CP (Caran d'Ache Supracolor and Derwent) and pastel over watercolour washes and found paper objects
      on watercolour paper - nailed to a wooden frame.
      copyright Malcolm Cudmore 

        N
        P
        R
        S
        T
        V
        W
        Z
        • Debra Zamperlalink
        A change for the 10th Annual Open Exhibition 

        It's worth remembering that this is the first time that UKCPS has held its Annual Open Exhibition in London.  It's also the first open exhibition to have a mixed media class.

        Both factors seem to have attracted a lot of new names to exhibiting with UKCPS.  Click the links if you'd like to see more artwork by exhibiting artists

        The artwork has been kindly supplied by Malcolm Cudmore, the Editor of Talking Point. Malcolm has been pushing the boundaries in terms of use of coloured pencils on different media of late.  This is a link to his article about producing coloured pencil artwork on a wooden frame - CP on wooden panels
          Posted by Making A Mark on Friday, August 05, 2011 0 comments
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          Thursday, August 04, 2011

          Makingamark's Top Ten Art Books in July 2011

          After a two month gap, I've updated my two Squidoo sites for the best art books in June/July 2011.
          • Makingamark's Top 10 Fine Art Books lists both the best selling and the top rated art books in April.  The website explains how these are identified.
          • The Best NEW Art Books lists all the fine art books in the top 100 books in the Amazon Arts and Photography category that were published in June or July(or the very beginning of August for pre-publication sales)
          On both sites, I've added in the rankings and number of reviews on Amazon and Goodreads to give you another another couple of benchmarks.

          What's new this month

          The top ten fine art books

          The major change is the introduction of a new category and the elimination of the overlap with The Best New Art Books
           
          There is now a category devoted to Creativity and Artistic Practice - which is intended to focus on the process of making art.  I fear it may continue to be dominated forever by the two books which are included as the best seller and the top rated!  However it seemed a nonsense to have a site about top art books which ignored two perennial best sellers - as in they continue to sell well.
            I've moved the top ranked best seller and top rated to the The Best New Books.  This month these are
              The best new books

              Given the lengthy break due to being away and not being able to do the charts at the end of the month, I've tried to go back 90 days rather than 30 days and look at all those books published in May, June and July.  I've also listed all those that seemed worth noting in The Best New Art Books

              Two new (ie one new and one and "not so new") drawing books have made a big recent impression on the charts.  These are:
              • Artist's Journal Workshop: Creating Your Life in Words and Pictures - This book seemed to me the new art books which was the top best seller among new books last month.  It includes a lot of contributions by art bloggers who will be familiar to readers of this blog.  I've got mine on order and am looking forward to reviewing it.
              • In addition Figure Drawing for All It's Worth by Andrew Loomis makes a welcome return to proper print.  It's been available off and on online, but this is a formal reprint of an old standard - and it's attracting a lot of buyer.
              There have been lots of recent publications about artists. I predict that the book which will become a best seller is My Faraway One: Selected Letters of Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz: Volume One, 1915-1933.
                  What's stayed the same this month

                  On the whole, in terms of Makingamark's Top 10 Fine Art Books, this seems to be a month where there's been a bit more jockeying for position by books which consistently sell well and get good ratings. 

                  However we have reached the summer season and the lull before the big pre-Christmas push!
                  Posted by Making A Mark on Thursday, August 04, 2011 1 comments
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                  Tuesday, August 02, 2011

                  Elizabeth Blackadder - a retrospective

                  Elizabeth Blackadder
                  Cover of the catelogue for her retrospective exhibtion
                  Elizabeth Blackadder can be seen at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh until 2nd January 2012.   

                  A retrospective exhibition to celebrate the 80th birthday one of my favourite artists has recently opened at the National Galleries in Scotland.
                  This landmark exhibition will span six decades of Blackadder’s career, beginning with her work in the 1950s and culminating in her most recent paintings.
                  I first saw Elizabeth Blackadder's watercolours at the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Art many moons ago.  Her paintings of flowers, still life and the odd cat getting "in on the act" were both refreshing and charming - and I've got one in my bedroom.  Sadly it's only a reproduction - I only wish I could afford the real thing!

                  One of her claims to fame is that not only is she an elected member of both the Royal Academy of Art and Royal Scottish Academy - but that she was the first woman artist to be elected to both academies.

                  She also has the unique title of 2001 of the Queen’s Painter and Limner to Her Majesty the Queen in Scotland which is a title she has held since 2001.  Sir Henry Raeburn - he of the Skating Cleric - was the first artist in Scotland to hold this position some 200 years ago.

                  Besides being a best-selling artist, her artwork is also a consistent best seller decorating all manner of things in the RA shop in London.

                  I first wrote about her back in 2007 - see Flowers in Art...and Dame Elizabeth Blackadder RA RSA when I summarised what I'd learned about her approach to painting flowers.

                  This new retrospective exhibition looks back on artwork produced throughout her artistic career as she approaches 80 years of age.  It covers her drawings, paintings and printmaking and looks at the influences on her work and how it has developed over time.

                  This post tells you a bit about her work - and provides links to a video of an interview with her, a free mobile app and events associated with the exhibition.
                  READ MORE......>>
                  Posted by Making A Mark on Tuesday, August 02, 2011 2 comments
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                  Monday, August 01, 2011

                  ANNUAL POLL: What's the MAIN way you have sold art in the last 12 months?

                  This is the 4th ANNUAL POLL to ask the question "What's the MAIN way you have sold art in the last 12 months?"

                  The point of doing this poll each summer is that we all get to see how the art economy has changed and which marketing channels are proving more or less useful over time for selling art.

                  At the end of the month, I'll be comparing the results of this poll with the results from previous years - and highlighting in particular the changes in the last twelve months

                  If you've been feeling a bit isolated about any changes you've been experiencing, answering this poll will help you see whether your experience is shared with others to any great extent.

                  It's important that we try and get as many artists as possible to answer the poll as it's value to you all increases as the numbers responding increase - the larger the sample, the more robust the results.

                  The Scope of the Poll

                  The Poll is limited to:
                  • the MAIN way you have achieved sales as a fine artist
                  • ONLY sales in the last 12 months
                  You have two options and I don't mind which you choose.  Take a look at your sales figures and work out whether you want to nominate the method which achieved
                  • either the most sales in terms of numbers of artwork sold (ie the most pieces sold)
                  • or the method which achieved the highest net value sales to you (ie the most profit after related expenses are taken into account)
                  If you notice a difference as to which channels generate the most sales (number) versus the most profit ($/£) it would be very helpful to have an indication as to which generates the most profit.

                  The Poll Options

                  The Poll asks What's the MAIN way you have sold art in the last 12 months?

                  The categories for different methods of making sales of fine art (excluding illustration) are:
                  READ MORE......>>
                  Posted by Making A Mark on Monday, August 01, 2011 9 comments
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