Medium(s) you work in:

Photography.

How would you describe your art?

My photography is about two things – the first is trying to share with the world how I observe the world. The second is about social justice – using my skill with the camera to raise awareness about issues that I am passionate about – be it conservation causes or sexual assault.

What artist(s) living or dead inspire you? Why?

Edward Weston – simply wonderful. I can’t think of a single photographer today who isn’t influenced by his body of work. Cole Thompson – a fantastic modern black and white photographer who has really pushed the art of photography forward. Mark James – he still shoots pin hole photos – but the way he is able to produce a print that will take your breath away is amazing! Brendan Dorrler – A fantastic photographer who I credit with teaching me just about everything I know about how to use a camera.

What are your thoughts on selling art?

The selling of my work has been a big challenge to me. I enjoy the process of marketing my work – and finding new ways to bring attention to what it is that I am doing. Something that I have recently started doing is working with local non-profit agencies and committing a portion of my sales to them. They in turn promote me to their supporters – I grow my e-newsletter list and make some sales – while they get a percentage for each sale that they help me make. I have also really enjoyed social networking – it has given me the ability to reach far more people than I would – and I have “fans” of my work all over the country now! I think one of the keys to my success in making sales has been to offer prints in a variety of price ranges – I offer some as low as $19.50 all the way up to $500.00 – find a way to get something that fits everyone’s budget!

What is the biggest challenge you are currently facing as an artist?

What has been the biggest victory or success in your art career?

The biggest success I have had has been with my work with survivors of sexual assault. Over the past 5 years I have worked with a local rape crisis center taking portraits – and telling the stories of survivors – and each April we put on an exhibition (http://mariamontano.blogspot.com/2010/04/faces-project.html) that is truly powerful and inspiring. The work I do with these wonderful women and men is more valuable to me than any gallery representation or art competition.

What are your short term artistic goals? And what are your long term goals?

Short term I would like to see myself making more sales. I am confident that all the work I have been putting in over the past couple of years building up my mailing lists and social networking will pay off once the economy rebounds. Long term I would like to see me continue to grow – I’m really excited about my “found objects” series that I am working on.

Anything else you would like to share?

This summer I was asked to be a guest lecturer at the Colorado Arts Institute for a documentary photography class – I’m really looking forward to that!

Art for Conservation | Facebook

Art Palaver begins each week by featuring a different artist. Would you like to be featured? Read the details then Drop me a line.

Maria Montano | Featured Artist is a post from: Art Palaver The Artist Marketing Resource.

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Direct YouTube Video Link.

You can check out Christina’s amazing photography at her website www.christinagressianu.com.

What other “how to’s” would you be interested in? Let me know about it in the comments. Thanks!

How To Take A Profile Photo With A Simple Point & Shoot Camera is a post from: Art Palaver The Artist Marketing Resource.

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After I clicked to play I was expecting the standard slide show of photographs. And when the video started that is exactly what it looked like. But I was wrong. The video turned out to be quite a treat and made me want to watch another, and another, and… well you get the idea. Enough of me talking about them, check out one for yourself:

Fun huh? That little video did a lot. It showed me who the Bui Brothers are, what it would be like to work with them, and also the photographer in me got a glimpse at their lighting set up. After seeing that I would be much more comfortable hiring them. As an artist you should not be afraid to show the world who you are, people want to know. And they will trust you more after learning. And after they know you and trust you they’ll be more likely to give their money to you. Make sense?

That was the home page. Let’s have a look around the rest of their site. Next option on the nav bar is “store.” Which to be honest I did not know what to expect to find. What would photographers have in their store? Shirts? Used equipment? Greeting cards with kittens? The Bui Brothers had none of the above. What you’ll find is a series of video tutorials they have put together. A nice little video is offered as a sample if your a Mac user.

Moving on I went to “workshop.” Which was just what I expected. A list of workshops the Bui Brothers have available. A smart thing for any artist to offer. Offering workshops expands your audience. Instead of just catering to those who want to be in front of the camera the Brothers are speaking to those behind the camera as well. What workshops could you be offering?

Next down the line is the standard “about” and “contact” pages followed by two way for The Bui Brothers to stay in touch with you, “newsletter” and “subscribe.” The newsletter I assume is an email newsletter though it does not state that. And the subscription is the link to the site’s RSS feed.

I like that The Bui Brothers use a WordPress blog as their site. It is easy to update, modify, and search engines like them. Just because your site is built with blog software does not mean it has to look like a blog. Their site is a great example of that. The look of the site comes from a premium theme created by press75.com. And it is a good example of why paying for your theme can sometimes be worth it.

I am glad that I found their site via Twitter. It is a nice clean site with all the fundamentals in place. Go check it out for yourself at http://thebuibrothers.com/ and tell them you heard an Art Palaver about them.

The Bui Brothers Know How To Work The Web is a post from: Art Palaver The Artist Marketing Resource.

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So I had to check out her website at www.laurabrent.com. And it looks like Laura has been working hard. Her site has plenty of work to explore. I really like the stuff she has under her “current project” page.

But the best part will be checking out her studio this Friday at Fort Collins MOCA. Yes, it is First Friday already. Where did April go?

Hope to see you out there,

www.zaf622.com

WATER | A Photo Essay By Laura Brent is a post from: Art Palaver The Artist Marketing Resource.

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