Total Art Soul - for artists

how to get more exposure other than galleries?

Hi Katina. That's quite a question. There's a huge amount of things you can do, joining this site for a start. We give exposure to all our members.

If you wish to exhibit and not go through a gallery, you could organize your own shows. I used to do this with great success by using houses of friends and then inviting lots of people.

You could also contact your local Tourist Board as they usually have a budget to help local artists and they often show artists' work.

Be sure to have nice business cards that you hand out everywhere you go or leave in a few chosen places.

Don't hang out with other artists if you're trying to market yourself, they are not your target market.

Online you can find lots of free ways to drive traffic to your website and our marketing tutorials can help you with that.

Hope this helps.

Check out www.deviantart.com and post your work there. You can add your website to your descriptions there also.

Matthew Nix

Oh lordy - there is so much you can do!

One of the very first things I did was to hang work in a local coffee house that shows local artists' work. I wrote a press release and sent it to the local paper and a year later, people were STILL saying they saw me in the paper.

Local small markets are a wonderful way to "brand' yourself. Our little town started a farmers market this past year and I attended all of them. I got good feedback on my booth display, met a LOT of people, made a lot of good networking connections and always stayed in the same booth space so people could find me again the following month.

Make sure you have a website!!!! <----- Make sure you have a website!!!! Did I mention: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WEBSITE.?

With that, make sure that what you post (paintings, etc) are searchable on search engines. Very important.

Find local papers and magazines that showcase art. I researched ours, checked it out for several months actually, and noticed that the information they posted was always the same. So I emailed the editor and lo-and-behold, my art and website are featured in their online magazine version. Right up there with the big dogs!

Make some noise! Advertise yourself and your work. PRESENT YOURSELF AS AN ARTIST and offer business cards to whomever you can. Make a brochure showing your work (this is really easy- pics in black and white) and people will go to see the work on your website in full color.

Have a portfolio and take it with you where ever you go- really. I mean that. You never know WHO you'll meet and have an opportunity to show your best work to. I've gotten commissions that way and invitations to do shows.

Last year I lost my job and decided enough was enough. I was tired of making money for others and that God gave me a talent to USE. Last year was my very first year selling and this year will be my first official "in business for myself" year. It is my job to market my work and I'll do whatever it takes to make my business grow.

If you genuinely believe in your art, then by all means, SHARE THAT ENTHUSIASM WITH OTHERS. You are your best advocate.

And I have to disagree with Cathy - I would definitely hang out with other artists (just not all the time). There is a wonderful sense of camaraderie and knowledge that can be shared. We learn from each other. Your turn to help out a newbie will come.

All the best and GOOD LUCK.
Jen

How do I find conventions and galleries in my area? Ive searched a little on google but havent really had any luck

I'm not in your country but whenever I've turned up in a new region, I've gone through the Tourist Board and they've given me a list of all the local galleries.