More Art Blogging Tips

Ponte Vecchio - Old City
@7" x 6"
Graphite on 70gr. Sketch Paper
Casey Klahn

Being an artist blogger is a many-headed hydra. Just like the traditional art gallery, you want to understate your presentation. Be fully functional as a sales vehicle, and yet keep a lid of decorum on it. The theory is that fine art is an exceptional thing - not base like most commodities or products.

Self-representing, but not grasping


This explains, in part, why art galleries can seem ostentatious and off-putting. (It wouldn't hurt the gallery staff any to greet each patron, BTW - just my 2 cents) Art bloggers, prepossessed with the rank of the fine artist, must not turn around and trash the reputation of the fine arts. Art blogs, like all Web 3.0 entities, suffer from the canard that new media has a lesser status. That is changing, and we art bloggers must be the agents of that change. High quality, but also revelatory. Decorum, without being stodgy. Self-representing, but not grasping.

self-importance and über-angst


Having said all this, here are some tips for being read. Previous posts in this series are here: Art Blogs & Art Blogging. What good is it to write and post, but not be found by your public? Don't do your own patrons a disservice, and stay hidden under a front of self-importance and über-angst.

Think of ways to get links back through your blog. Each page is a unique web entry, and you want readers finding your content throughout your blog. Organize and label your entries, and offer easy access to them. Do place active links within your posts to recent posts in a series. Remember to stay topical with internal links.

You'll notice that I use blogger's picture tool in order to create internal links in my sidebar. How to choose content for internal links? Your art, in it's different genres or mediums, is a good place to start. I offer My Drawings, My Artworks and My Abstracts. When I notice an unusual number of hits coming in for a certain search query, then I offer a tool for my readers to pursue that subject. Leonardo da Vinci, and Jackson Pollock are examples. Don't worry, though. I won't be creating a Teri Horton button soon. Another good internal linking system is the blogger recent comments tool.

I also list external links that are related to any other presence that I may have on the Internet. The Fine Art Department is a collaboration blog where I am featured, and Casey Klahn dot blogspot is my art-for-sale site. An artist profile and community website that I participate in is ArtSlant.

One major outside feed to The Colorist is my second blog, Pastel. It maintains a purpose and a life of it's own as a low key blog focused on the art and medium of pastelists.

meaty art and artist content


My favorite way to drive traffic is with meaty art and artist content. The Artist's Traits series was a recent lengthy thread. Past threads have included famous artists like Mark Rothko, Vincent van Gogh, and Henri Matisse. You need a true and genuine interest in your subjects, and these modernists are my favorites. A contemporary favorite artist is Wolf Kahn, and I once did a series of drawings after his style.

The Latest FAD

News Flash!

THE FINE ART DEPARTMENT

FOR ALL YOUR AFFORDABLE ART NEEDS

The latest "FAD" is the new blog idea:
The Fine Art Department, created by the wonderful Tracy Helgeson.

Her cunning idea is to create a small and intimate space to show some fantastic artists who sell art on their blogs. With only about thirty or so artists at The Fine Art Department, it isn't difficult to find your Christmas gift of fine art or craft. My own art is presented there, and if you wish to buy, just find my sale blog at caseyklahn.blogspot.com.

Many of my readers over time have wondered if I even sell my art via the blogs. The answer is yes, but until now I have been very subtle about it. Call it a "fine art thing". I am very much "for" capitalism, and every artist has to earn a living somehow, but we tend to place our life's work on a pedestal. If you are someone who has never bought an original painting, do not be afraid of artists! We think of ourselves as regular people, and to tell the truth, my collectors over the years have either been friends, or else they become such after we get acquainted.

Washington State Art Blogs

I am trying to keep track of the art bloggers (and Wordpressers, etc.) who blog from Washington State. Today, I add two new links, and I have to say that I am surprised that I didn't know Rachel's blog existed! Rachel is (IMHO) a rock star whose work is highly prized in the Northwest and beyond. Why didn't I know about her having a blog? How many other Washingtonians are out there blogging away in hiding?

Local Bloggers:

Robert Chunn, of Alla Prima, in Seattle. I linked him once before, but forgot to highlight him as a WA blogger. See his great link list, even though I'm not on it (hint), it is a work of art in itself.
Rachel Maxi
Seattle Sketcher, who is part of the Urban Sketchers.