We Have a lot of Irons in the Fire
Over the past 18 months, we have been working on a number of new products and initiatives.  Many of you have seen different projects we have been working on and have seen names such as “WebArtSites”, “FineArtViews”, “Praxis Technology”, “MyStudioSite” and have wondered, “What the heck is all this stuff anyway?” 

We will be explaining in more detail in the near future, but in short, these are all various services and projects that we offer (or are experimenting with), but did not want to integrate directly into FASO until they were fully tested to be sure they were up to FASO standards.

A New Moniker
Most people currently know us as "FineArtStudioOnline.com."  This name is a good description of our main product, but was never really intended to be the name of our entire company.  As an overall company name, it has a few drawbacks.

It is too long.  It is easy to misspell (it has TWO o's in the middle), which becomes an issue when we are telling people about the company verbally.  And most importantly we offer services to artists, galleries and collectors (and are developing more) that are not reflected by the name FineArtStudioOnline.com.

We are have struggled to come up with a name that solves several issues (and has an available domain) and integrates our services under one moniker.  We wanted a name that reflects that we primarily work in the art industry, but also something a bit “cutting edge” that could also reflect that we are a high-tech company.  We wanted something short and snappy.  We plan to stay primarily in the art industry but are working several initiatives including art blog software, print ad production services, a centralized “marketplace” for art that targets art collectors, email lists and newsletter services, perhaps art forums, perhaps sponsored competitions/exhibits. We also offer services that are for artists but not necessarily ONLY for artists such as domain names, email addresses and spam filtering.  We wanted to come up with a name that covers everything and is broad enough to expand with us. 

We are now looking to integrate everything under this one big banner.  One big name that covers what we do.  The name that we have come up with is “ShimmerFly Art Hosting.”

We certainly will never drop the name or web site FineArtStudioOnline.com and if you choose to completely ignore this email, you will see no difference whatsoever in your service.  The FineArtStudioOnline.com web site will stay as is.  But we need your help.

We need Your Help!
We have gotten some anecdotal feedback regarding the name “ShimmerFly.”  Most people like it.  A few people don’t like it.  Some people don’t really care.  What we really want is YOUR feedback.  If everyone just completely hates it, we may go a different direction.

Vote Here
We have set up a test site at shimmerfly.com.  We would like for you to visit the site and click on “ShimmerFly Vote.”  You can let us know how you feel about the name before we continue our branding process.  I consider it the ultimate “crowdsourcing” project.  We’re letting our customers actually help us name the company!  You can also suggest alternative ideas if you wish.

So please, exercise your right to vote! 

Visit the link below and the click the “Shimmerfly Vote” link:
http://www.shimmerfly.com

Sincerely,

Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic

In reading our current issue of Fast Company, we came across a short article that seems to have some value for artists.  Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, professor of psychology, Florida State University, has studied and interviewed successful professionals for 25 years.  The point he makes in his research is that most successful experts in a given field (say painting, for example) simply DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY from the rest.

Here are a few quotes from the article:
"...no characteristic of the brain or body constrains an individual from reaching an expert level"

"Elite performers engage in 'deliberate practice' - an effortful activity designed to improve target performance"

"You have to seek out situations where you get feedback [about your performance].  It's a myth that you get better when you just do the things you enjoy."

If you're interested in K. Anders Ericsson's research, get his books here:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?ATH=K.+Anders+Ericsson&z=y

Coincidently as we were reading this article, we received an email from an art teacher who wrote, "I have a painting student who is pushing my other students to do this "painting a day every day". It's driving me crazy. Yes, it's one way to put in the necessary brush time/practice, but she is also avoiding drawing classes, etc. This appeals to the students who like the idea of a  quick fix to becoming accomplished painters."

People may like the idea of a quick fix, but, alas, there is no quick fix.  We call ourselves an "art fanatic" because we love art.  We peck away at the keyboard, hoping to provide something useful that helps you, artists, leave a legacy of wonderful art on this earth.  Don't chase fads, but rather use your marketing to show the world the best you can do.

Bottom line:  To continue to improve your art, you must create a situation where you intentionally seek out constant improvement.  Seek out ways to stretch yourself.  Seek out honest feedback.  Be Deliberate.

Remember, the old saying is wrong.  Practice DOESN'T make perfect.  PERFECT PRACTICE makes perfect.

That's my view, post a reply and send me yours.

Sincerely,

Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic

PS:  "If you stop learning, you will forget what you already know."  (Proverbs 19:27 CEV)

Great Marketing, Dubious Art – People really will buy anything.

A few years ago we saw a play about a man who bought a completely white canvas.  The comedy was created in watching the man attempt to justify to his family and friends why he spent a ridiculous amount of money on a blank canvas.  The answer, of course, had everything to do with him being duped by the dealer’s marketing and nothing to do with the intrinsic value of the artwork.  Thank goodness such nonsense only happens in works of fiction!  Or does it?

 We happened across a web site today where Sala, a young “artist” from Zurich, is selling one thousand paintings.  Here is the premise: 

1. Get 1,000 identical white canvases
2. Paint a big block number on each canvas 1 – 1000
3. Create a weird, mathematically based pricing scheme
4. Offer the “paintings” for sale on a web site
5. Find 1,000 suckers to buy your “art”
6. No, this is not a joke.

View the One Thousand Paintings Web Site:
http://www.onethousandpaintings.com

 Just for fun, we looked up painting number “300.”  Underneath the image of the painting it read, “This is a computer generated image.  The real painting looks different.”  Further down the page we were told, “300 (three hundred) is the natural number following two hundred and ninety-nine and preceding three hundred and one.”  Such an artistic statement!

According to Sala’s web site he has sold 588 paintings so far.  In addition, Sala’s “art” has generated serious buzz.  He is being written about, talked about, and blogged about.  Sala’s web site informs us that his “work” will be featured in Wired magazine’s December issue.  Marketing guru Seth Godin says that Sala’s marketing is so, “classically, perfectly viral.”  Sala’s marketing must work very well, even Seth forked over some hard earned cash for number “552.”  He’s even threatened to donate number 552 to the MOMA.  We suspect the MOMA would honor number 552 with a place of honor. . .too bad they couldn’t assemble a traveling exhibition of the whole collection…they could teach art museum visitors nationwide how to count to 1,000.

 Enjoy some marketing advice from Seth Godin:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com

 I can see the future of modern “art” now.  A multitude of preposterous gimmicks cry out, simply asking for someone to bring them to fruition.  How about painting the alphabet….no only twenty six paintings…but what about the Chinese alphabet?  How about the entire dictionary?  Keep yourself busy for years while stamping out illiteracy!  Why work so hard?  Let’s just produce 1,000 white canvases!  I mean….why even have to actually paint them?

So why do we rant and rave about one thousand paintings in a serious art space?  Simple, serious art collectors and artists wouldn’t look twice at Sala’s “art.”  But serious artists should take a second and third look at Sala’s marketing.  He has created a phenomenon that people apparently want to be a part of.  It’s all marketing.  Indeed, people seem to be buying the story, rather than actually buying art.  We don’t write today to give specific examples or marketing steps, but rather to point out that if a man can actually make hundreds of thousands of dollars selling numbers, think of the possibilities that could arise out of marketing real art.

One of the important numbers to focus on as you market in the Internet age is inbound links.  We’ll be providing more information on this in the future, but an inbound link as a link from another web site to yours.  Think of each inbound link as a “vote” for your site.  The more links “votes” you have, the more serious the search engines consider your site.  Building inbound links is an ongoing, time-consuming process…and one that should be part of your marketing plan.  Since Sala’s project is unique and has generated a lot of buzz, he has garnered a fairly large number of inbound links.  Google reports that he has 361 links.  By contrast, Richard Schmid’s inbound link count appears to be only 42.  You may verify a site’s Google link count by typing “site:www.yourwebsiteaddress.com” into Google’s search bar. 

Sala’s Link Count:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=link%3Aonethousandpaintings.com

Richard Schmid’s Link Count:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=link%3Arichardschmid.com

We’ve made a game of it, poking fun at Sala’s project, but he has some lessons for the serious artist who wonders how to get more traffic to his or her site.

That’s my view, post a reply and send me yours.

Sincerely,
Clint Watson

Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic

PS:  We could use some spare change, anybody interested one-upping Sala and marketing one million paintings?  You make the art and I’ll create the website and handle the orders . . .

PPS:  “There’s a sucker born every minute” (credited to P.T. Barnum, although nobody is sure who really said it)