HAPPY NEW YEAR??

I know I've been away for several weeks.  The holidays, sick family, and now it's my turn for this cold/flu, but I managed to find my way into my studio and try to get a step up into the new year with changes to my photography, my website, and art in general.

Whatever your art form is, I'm sure you subscribe to some online sites that are pertinent to you.  Mine being photography I receive emails from several photography online magazines and one of them is Shutter Magazine.  I've made the conscious decision to leave the gallery I am currently in - this being my last month.  Getting back to Shutter Magazine, there was a very timely article by Skip Cohen titled "Stop Procrastinating, Do some Serious Cleanup & Start Building for the Year Ahead."  So I started with my website and made a few changes about the layout and the verbiage about myself and my artwork.

The next item is the Blog!!  So if I'm going to be successful with the blog I need to comment at least twice a week, or shut it down!  That's his advice and I agree.  Blogging keeps yourself in your own 'loop'!!  Get involved with your community!  Now that I do, but there is a project in the back of my mind that I've been wanting to do free gratis, and I think I just need to do it.  More on that as it transpires.

Education is another area I want to spend more time on.  There are so many new processes, techniques to use on old processes, etc., etc.!  So to me, that means spending time in my studio.  Sometimes being so involved with a co-op which I am currently participating in, I've lost my photography 'mojo' and I want to get it back!  So that's it in a nutshell.  If you want to check out that article for yourself and maybe even subscribe to it, go to:  www.ShutterMagazine.com .

WEBSITE UP AND RUNNING!!!

I got my new website up and running today - with just a little assistance - powered by Redframe.  I uploaded three galleries for now and will continue adding galleries as I go along.  Later, too, I will add the e-commerce - we'll see how my public responds! ; )  I love the new look and I can change the layout from time-to-time too.

I'm going to send out an email to my friends and family members to let them know of my new website and maybe hear what they have to say too.  I'm always up for improvements, and believe me there is always room for improvement.  Thank you for those who have continued to read my blog, and maybe now there will be an even larger following.  I'm learning on a daily basis of the importance of SEO:  Search Engine Optimization!  I had to look that up! ; P

I'm in a good place right now and am going on a photo shoot.  Hope to have some new images from the bay area real soon!  Check back again!

Here is another black and white Getty Museum image for your enjoyment!

 

New Website

With the upcoming demise of my old website, I finally got in gear today and started working on the new one.  I pretty much spent all day on it.  Got the basics going, dialogue About Me, and all that other stuff; uploaded two galleries to it.  Wrote a lot of notes of other galleries I want to add, with one gallery devoted to some of my own favorites, rather than posting more of my older stuff.  I want fresh and new!! ; )

The new hosting company is RedFrame.  They seemed to be one of the most reasonably priced web templates, including hosting and e-commerce with no commission taken.  I won't have my e-commerce up right away.  I'm just concentrating on designing and completing the galleries for now.  Then Blue Cat Studio will help be re-direct this Blog to the new website, and tie up any loose ends.  For the most part I am doing the work.

Worked my two shifts at High Hand Gallery (within a 5-day period) learning our new POS (Point of Sale) system.  I think I'm getting it down.  There are approximately 33 artists learning this new system so it will probably be a couple of months until we all are on the same page.  But I really like this new system.

This weekend I will be taking in three new images of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles to High Hand for the new re-hang.  I posted one of the images my last post, and here's another.  I really get a little crazy when I see such great architectural designs for many of the museums.  They are a piece of artwork themselves!

Black and White Images of Getty Museum in Los Angeles

It's been a hectic summer with family injuries, losing loved ones, and ending it with a newborn.  Life is sad and yet amazing at times.  Now we're rolling into fall.  I love fall with all the changing colors of the leaves of the trees.  I guess I'm trying to ease into the fact that I haven't written much lately.  So much going on.

This past Thursday night was Auburn's last Artwalk of the 2013 season.  I am showing at the local Naturopathic business in Auburn.  We had great weather this year (last year it was storming with lightening and rain!)  A lot of traffic and visitors coming in to check out my European images.  Finally I was able to show them all in one place!  Received numerous positive comments.  And lucky for me, Naturopathic wants to keep my artwork in their business thru April of next year!!  Awesome.  This will give me longer exposure to the community for possible sales!

I've been printing out images from Bodie Ghost Town (2012 Series) onto Museo Silver Rag.  Then matted and framed them and they are hanging in High Hand Gallery thru the end of this month.  In the meantime, I've been printing out even newer images I took at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles this summer.  Since they are an architectural series with stark contrasts, I've printed them on metallic paper to enhance the image even more.  Next step is to mat and buy frames for this series.  Here's one of them.

Yesterday and today I've been spending many hours on the computer looking up various websites for photographers.  I've been watching tutorials and almost falling sleep at it too!  My website will no longer be, as my current hosting company is updating their servers and my website will not survive!  I need to create a new one, on my own I might add!  Ugh!  Learn new things!  It's hard! ; )  But it has to be done.  So that's where I'm at.  I'm hoping I can transfer my Blog over to the new website so I don't have to start from scratch!