Art Blog - Mary Lawler

If there is any one thing that can bring your creativity to a halt, it's a negative attitude. If you think everything is bad, then it will be. The news media has the power of negative thinking and will only report the worst. It's catchy, all that doom and gloom and it's easy to get stuck in their quicksand.

Artists have the power of creative thinking on their side. When things are not going as planned, use that power to think differently. How will you use this time to your advantage? How can you make art with leftovers you have in the studio? How can you change your format to fit these times? Clean, organize, develop your mailing list, use the social media tools you have to get the word out about you and your work. Start blogging! How can you make sure that your website is the best it can be? Start with Is Your Website 2009 Worthy?. Why Google Isn't Finding You and Describing Your Art For The Internet. Take the time to make some simple changes to optimize your site. Create solutions when others are taking their ball and bat and going home.

Sales have slowed across the board, and now it the time to be marketing the be-jeepers out of yourself. Everyone else is. In what might look like a saturated venue, sales of art on the internet hasn't even started yet. ArtId is working like crazy to help educate the designer, decorator, consultant and consumer, that original art is even available for sale on the internet. Shockingly, they don't know. Most are still using the gallery model as their source for original art, or they turn to the poster reproduction to cut costs. We all need to educate the buying sector that art is most certainly available on the internet.

To help sales along, one of the most positive things you can do is have, and prominently post, a return policy. Buyers are much more likely to buy something if they know they can return it if it isn't what they expected, it doesn't fit the space, or the colors are wrong.

Contrary to popular perception, misery and art don't mix, especially in the long run.

Let me know what you are doing to stay positive.

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