A Smile in the Making

So the boxes are unpacked, for the most part. The major necessities are fixed on the new house, for the most part. Company has come and gone as well as the holidays. Now it is time to get known in this area and get my business on line.

After nearly 14 years of getting established as an artist in the northeast Wis market, we moved to the greater Philadelphia area. Getting established in the Green Bay area market is not the easiest thing to do – especially if you don’t paint Americana, wildlife or football players. I was excited about the move, yet crushed that I would have to start over marketing my art.

For a long time, I have wanted to make my career more portable. Something that I could do whereever I lived. After submitting portfolios and mailing brochures, a few years ago I finally signed a contract with art rep agency that deals with the educational materials publishing industry. All my assignments are handled over the phone or by email and when completed, Fed Exed or emailed back. While it is a very portable career, it isn’t always steady business.

I had talked about setting up a website, but it seemed like a lot of work. Several artists started posting about blogging on WetCanvas They talked about how easy it was to do and it was the “thing to do”.

Plus it was free.

So last year I started a blog A Planet Named Janet

If there is one thing I have learned in making it as an artist, you dont necessarily have to be good. You can be mediocre or maybe even bad. But you do have to be in the right place at the right time and know how to take advantage of opportunity.

“From Cheesehead to Cheesesteaks” – that was the subject line of my email to Philly.com’s call for citizen bloggers. From Wisconsin to Philly. How will I take advantage of this opportunity? How will what I have learned in Wisconsin work in Pennsylvania? Do all we have in common is cheese and Reggie White?

The first drawing I remember was one done in kindergarten. I dont remember exactly how it looked, but it had people and trees. And I know that I had been thinking about the game Candyland. Some "fuss" was made over it. I think I might have put fingers or toes on the people. Whatever it was, it was something that the average kindergartener would not have done and meant I was observant or had some skill. Whatever.

Either way. That is how I started my career in art. :-)

I took art classes in high school. Got married. Moved around the country with my Navy/Coast Guard husband. Raised two kids. In 1992 we ended up in Waukesha, Wisconsin and decided to take some art classes at Carroll College outside of Milwaukee. A photography and a printmaking class.

I loved the classes, especially printmaking. It was then that I decided that creating art is what I wanted to do.

My husband retired from the Coast Guard and we moved to Green Bay. My first art job was working as a picture framer. People bought ALOT of Terry Redlin prints (A Thomas Kincaid like artist -- only Americana scenes). He had open editions -- meant they printed as many as they wanted. And signed and number limited editions of --- 29,500 --- and they sold for at least $125 or more. That is when I decided there is money in reproductions.

Fast forward to now.

I spend alot of time on the internet at art related sites. One of the things I like to do is to follow the links to other sites and then the links on those sites to other sites and so on. I am always surprised when 4 or 5 sites later I am finding links to the original site. That saying about being only 6 people away from knowing everybody in the world really seems possible.

The internet. What a great place to connect with everyone in the world. A signed and numbered limited edition of 29,500 no longer seems overly ambitious.

As a young child, I can remember being too afraid to go up to an ice cream stand at the beach and get an ice cream cone. Something I really, really wanted, but my fear was stronger than that desire. The other kids I was with went and got one. I wanted someone else to go get that ice cream cone for me so badly.

I have dealt with that same issue on different levels over the years and eventually overcome it most situations. I see this opportunity out there on the internet. Other artists are out there selling their work on line. I want this and I am no longer 5 years old.

One of my favorite motivational sayings is "Nothing ventured. Nothing gained" . This is the year to do it. So thank you Philly.com

I was in the Chicago area all week. Went along on a business trip with my husband. I will post about that trip later.

On the flight back, I picked up the February issue of dwell magazine to read. It is about home/lifestyle kinds of things. I had never read it before, but have seen it mentioned on other blogs.

In it was an article about Etsy. It is a website where you can set up a shop and sell your products. It is limited to handmade or at least artist designed items..

I had become familiar with Etsy through artists that post about it on WetCanvas as well as some fellow bloggers Cynthia Guajardo is one. Design*sponge (out of NY) and Oh Joy! (who posts from Philly) are two design blogs that feature lots of products from various designers/artists. Many of these designers have an Etsy shop.

I have started to work on setting up my own shop. You set up your shop with a username that will be your seller name. Mine is A Planet Named Janet, but it is all one word on etsy. I dont have any product on there yet. But it is easy to set up and is free until you start to list things to sell. But the fees for that are fairly minimal. One thing to note. You cannot change your username. So choose well. I figured my blog is A Planet Named Janet and it has been up for a year. Might as well keep things consistent.

The dwell article was further confirmation to me that this is a place I should try selling -- at least initially. Artists, crafters and designers know about it --- and they all bring their own niche markets which then can overlap and interact.

So now that I am back, getting some things in my shop is the next step.

I am giving away a free card to fellow bloggers on A Planet Named Janet.
Paul Dorell had given away a free book Living the Artists Life over a year ago to bloggers. I thought this was a good way to promote the book. I figured that giving away a card wouldnt cost any more than sending out postcards to galleries and shops.

Back to Etsy. I thought I would get started selling a few things I had had on hand left over from some of the art fairs/shows I had done in Wisconsin.

So I need pictures. While I could set something up with fabric draped over something, I decided to just go ahead and get one of those trifold cardboard display boards. It is white and thought it would make a decent background. Plus I can just fold it up and get it out of the way. Might as well make this easy.

I still have to set up a way to get paid. One of the "roadblocks" I have discovered to doing business online is that I am in one room and my credit card is in another. Sloth that I am, it can be enough of a deterrent not to get up and go get the card and continue with business online.

Paypal has a credit card available where you can buy and receive payment. I thought that it would be perfect to have that just for doing business on line and keep it readily available. (PS -- make sure you go to the Paypal site using https -- not just http)

If you decide to get one, it is good to know that they are going to ask you for more info than your name, address and social security number. I filled out that info and then was taken to a page where they asked some other info about you.

One question was a multiple choice regarding a street you may or may not have lived on. My husband is retired military. We have lived alot of places. For the life of me, I could not remember if I had lived on one of those streets. So I cancelled the application -- but Paypal hadnt and gave me a phone number to call. I think I got that all worked out, but had to go through multiple tries with computerized menus. Pressing 0# would bypass alot of that and eventurally get a human being.

Well, off to take some photos.

Took a few pictures of some items I had to sell. I downloaded them into photoshop and made some adjustments.

Went to my etsy shop to start the process of getting ready list the item.

Realized that my shop looked pretty plain. So worked on getting an image ready for my avatar -- it's a little picture in my profile -- 75x75 pixels -- needs to be sized before downloading. I had cropped it from a painting of mine.

Then there was a long skinny space for an image to go at the top of my shop. It is 760x100 pixels. Again, must be sized before downloading.

I chose part of a silk scarf I had dyed. I downloaded it and realized that I should have the name of my shop superimposed on top. So went back into photoshop and added text.

I need to go look at other shops and get a better feel for the other information you can add.

Once I had signed in, I clicked on List an Item. On the left menu bar were options listed for personalizing the shop. Guess I need to work on that more before I list anything.

BTW, I posted a bit about my Chicago trip on A Planet Named Janet. There are links to a couple of the shops that I visited in Geneva, IL.

Thought I would be listing on etsy today. Maybe later. My husband offered to take photos of the items I was going to list. He got a new digital camera and the photos I had taken yesterday were "adequate". So if he is willing, I guess I will have him take new photos and see if he does a better job.

Getting items listed on etsy wasnt the only goal I had for this year. I also have wanted a website. I had signed up with Artspan before my trip to Chicago. It took a day or so to get set up the their administration. It is not a free site -- there are some out there like Sitekreator. I have a friend Terry Stanley who is signed up with Artspan. I liked her site and decided to just go ahead and put mine up on Artspan also.

I didnt have a domain name and www.janetnelson.com has been taken by a realtor in Florida. I didnt want to make it complicated. So was deciding between www.janetnelsonart.com or www.janetnelson.net. Either way, I would have to make sure to repeat art or net when I told someone my website name.

Getting your own domain name isnt free either. There are other services you can get one through, but artspan offered the service and I decided to keep all that in one place. It was about $16 I think and it is an annual fee.

If you choose to get a website through artspan, they have some extra security measures. I needed to add another security code to my credit card in addition to the 3 digit code on the back. You can get a code right there when you are going through the application process -- It will require the name of the account holder, not the name on the credit card -- just in case you share an account with your spouse.

So today instead of listing on etsy, I was loading artwork into the library (or holding/storage area) on my website. It will become visible once I start loading images from the storage are into the galleries.

Back to filling the library.

Oh, don't forget the free card on my other blog.

I just figured out how to get images that I have been storing on the website into a viewable gallery. Greetings From A Planet Named Janet is the name of the gallery I have been working on. If you go there, you can see the fish series I have been working on lately.

I know that some people recommend that you dont post anything unless it is perfect or your best. --- a big no - no is putting up a page that says UNDER CONSTRUCTION. While that is what is going on on my site, this blog is about the process. So in normal situations I would follow their advice.

Added abstracts to the website.

Decided I wasnt ready to list on etsy today. Stayed on the computer too long last night when I couldnt sleep. Eyes ached too much this morning get back on the computer and do what I needed to do.

Plus I wasnt sure how you put those PayPal buttons on the page for purchasing. When you sign up with PayPal, there is a Merchant tools/services (forget which) tab that will take you to a page which will have a menu which includes adding a PayPal purchase button to your site. The preset options are okay, but I dont know that I want a BUY NOW button. There is a custom option. But I didnt take the time to check it out. BTW, to get a button, you end up copying & pasting an HTML code they provide into your check out page ---- I am assuming there is a space in the purchase page template to do that.

Going to Northeast, Maryland Wednesday with my neighbor to check out the shops there (market research - :-) ) Needed to get the oil changed on the car first. So I called the VW dealer and found that I needed an appointment to get an oil change. Fine, I took the first one which was early in the afternoon.

So ran some errands first and got to the dealer on time. Over an hour later I get my car back. Why in the world does it take over an hour to change the oil & filter --- especially when I have an appt?

American Idol starts tonight. So the etsy listing will have to wait.

Will report on Northeast.

A quaint little town on the Chesapeake south of Hwy 40. Stopped at England's Colony on the Bay. Nice little gift shop. Talked with Ruby the sales associate. Surprised to find that the owner did not go to the Philadelphia Market to get product.

Also stopped in at East of the Bay Gallery. Talked with Elizabeth Torregrossa. I was suprised that there was more than just sailboat and light house paintings there. There were a few etchings and large brightly colored acrylic paintings also. Nice lady. She used to live in the Chicago suburbs, so was familiar with the transition from well laid out planned streets to those designed by horses.

Ate at Woody's. Had a chicken corn chowder with a hint of lime.

The sun is out. Should be good for getting those product photos done.

Well, I got one item listed. Figured to do just one right now. I could have posted 5 views of the one item. It is just a blank journal, so I just did the one.

Something I didnt understand was shipping profile. I didnt choose to make one, but I think it is just a file you create so you dont have to enter the same info all the time.

I did not see the option to list a similar item. Ebay has that option and all you have to do is change the image and the description stays the same. I have a few more journals, but I didnt want to retype the description etc. Will see how this goes first.

Got to work on the house today. Furnace guy is coming to check the thermostat which doesnt appear to be working correctly.

So I thought I would post some links.

Art Lady Confidential Terry works for the Jack Richeson Company in Kimberly Wisconsin and has started a blog.

Jafabrit A great blogger friend. Wonderfully talented. From Yellow Springs Ohio.

Lynette Clay Met her through other bloggers and WetCanvas She has this great series of trees that she is working on and currently has two of them up on ebay

Cynthia Guarjardo I posted her link previously. She also has the goal of getting her art business on line and profitable.

Dr. John A retired ELCA pastor who writes about a small town in his backyard.

Check them out and tell them I sent you.

If you have any comments or questions or suggestions, please leave a comment on the link below or email me in the link in the bio to the right. I am not an expert in this journey and open to learning more.

Been posting about my efforts on my other blog A Planet Named Janet and also on Muralsplus

Ellen Leigh a regular poster on that message board, just opened a shop on Cafe Press. This site has been around for a while. You can have your designs printed on various items one at a time.

I have heard good and bad about it. I guess it all depends upon what you want it to do for you. Could be also that with time, alot of the bugs have been worked out.

So seeing as I have been jumping into an online business feet first, I might as well check into that site too.

Tomorrow I plan to get one of my hand painted bowls up on Etsy. Got to do the whole picture thing again.

Decided to list another item on etsy. This one is a bowl I painted in what I call my signature finish. It is done with acrylic paint and rubbing alcohol. It is not a "new" finish --- watercolorists use it -- usually called "bullseyes" and was done by the old masters with oil paint and mineral spirits. It is called cissing and it is a technique I love to use. It is on alot of my furniture pieces. It is "signature" because I use it alot.

Geishas & such.

Now on website

Women

Been updating the website. Still have much to do with it.

Getting my feet wet on Etsy

Signed up for a Flickr account. I havent posted about doing that. I left a comment on K Style and she expressed and interest in putting my fish in her Saturday slide show. Need a file she can easily access.

Signed up at Cafe Press Have to open the store there in the future.

Been commenting on blogs and message boards to help generate traffic. Starting to see some of the effects.

Been less than two weeks since I started this blog. I have probably done more in that time than I have done in the past year trying to accomplish the same. Got to tell ya, it is kind of hard to back out of doing something when you post about it on the internet. Dont know how many of you are out there, but every once in a while it occurs to me that someone might be reading this! So if you need help on a resolution, blogging about it may be a useful tool.

Looking to have some cradled masonite panels made. (Scroll down on the previous link to about page 10 to see them listed at the Jack Richeson Company) Answered a post on craigslist. Hope to have one done soon.

Planning to do more abstracts on the panels. Currently these have been done on MDF panels. Once you get a frame on them, the mdf can be quite heavy.

Worked on the website some more today. Got the links in a better order.

Took advantage of an open appt at the eye doctor today. Been awhile and I have a tendency to put those kinds of things off. Could use prescription glasses if I really wanted to, but for now the cheaters are just fine. Did that glaucoma pressure test --- which normally gives me a massive headache. So wont be pushing the computer time.

Thought I would explain how I decided on the title for this blog.

I had mentioned earlier, that when I submitted my idea, I titled my email "From Cheesehead to Cheesesteaks". I thought it might be catchy and get some attention. I dont know how many people responded to the call, but I am assuming there might have been more than a couple and I thought that an email titled "My Resolution" just might not stand out.

So after being chosen, my blog was set up with that title "From Cheesehead to Cheesesteaks". I was told I could go with it unless I had something better I wanted to use. Same with my bio, which they had composed from the text of my email. Go with it, unless I had something better.

Hmmm. I got to thinking that maybe they wanted something better. Hint, hint.

One of the first art fairs I participated in was in Hinsdale, Ilinois. It is a very upscale community. My sister and her husband lived outside that area and they said they would help out.

They sat outside at the back of the booth and watched people come and go as I was working the crowd. One thing my brother in law made note of was that when people would come in to the booth, or stop and look in as they walked by, they would smile.

That has kind of been my motivation when I do my artwork. To make people smile. There are enough artists out there doing serious work. I didnt need to try and compete with them.

So take a look at my website if you havent before. I still have more work to put up on it, so bookmark it. And at my other blog, A Planet Named Janet. Take a look and let me know if you smiled.

This was a recommission of a piece I had done for the Milwaukee Open Canvas a few years ago which was a fundraiser for the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.

Artists are given a piece of canvas, paint and brushes. They come early and start painting. Later in the evening, the public comes and the bidding begins. At the end of the evening the winning bid takes the painting home.

My friend Terry and I decided we needed to try a different market from northeast Wisconsin. So we answered the call.

There were going to be about 80 other artists participating and just about every one of them was from the Milwaukee area. So I decided that a still life with flowers probably would not get me noticed.

I had just done some canvas murals for Deja Vu Martini Bar in Appleton, Wis. One was of Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin.

Peg Lowry from The Blue Dolphin House in Door County (on the Wis peninsula and where I had some artwork), suggested I paint a martini person.

So I did. To make it short, I had a GREAT time.

High bid was over $1300. I thought that wasnt too bad for being the new person.

There is a post on WetCanvas regarding selling art on ebay and using it as a marketing tool. Very informative. I need to reread it.

Was having some fun on the Muralsplus message board. Was challenged to make Ron Hansen into a fish.

BTW, you can see more fish on my website.

Thursday I need to create some things. Enjoy the links.

Movement can get attention. This is one of the latest things to hit the blogosphere. Check out www.slide.com

The fish are something I have done recently. It occurred to me that the markings on the bodies of some fish could look like abstract images. So that led to this fish series.

Been posting about my art and some of the ebusiness stuff. But really havent posted much about the transition from the midwest to the eastcoast.

Who planned these roads? Fly over Wisconsin and you will see that the roads form a nice grid of 1 mile square sections. We had that car commercial where they said they were going to take a trip using only left turns. I thought, what fun is that? You would just go around the block. If you did that here, it could be an interesting trip.

I cannot believe how windy the roads are here. It is as though the road "planners" threw down a bowl of spaghetti and used it as a plan for building the roads.

Back home they took the curves out of the roads. I grew up out in the country and there were at least three roads nearby that they did that to -- and we are not talking about hairpin curves.

I have lived alot of different places and this is the first place where I nearly got lost. My husband has even had to ask if he should turn left or right. As a retired sailor, he should be able to look up in the sky and to tell where he is.

It is a lovely area. But I dont get to enjoy the views alot as I am always on the look out when I drive for the names of roads and wonder if I have seen the other end of it somewhere else and try to fit this puzzle together.

BTW, stay off of School House road.

Check the YouTube video on this WetCanvas post.

Update. Jason stopped by and commented and left this link to the video directly. It is quite an impressive demo.

Art Lady Confidential has a post about the Richeson 75 Still Life . One of the entries is from Kennett Square. There are several from NY.

If you ever get the chance to visit Kimberly Wisconsin, a trip to the Jack Richeson Companyis worthwhile. A few years ago they built an addition which houses a gallery, classrooms and art supplies.

One of the treats is to see Jack Richeson's collection. There is about 1/3 of it on display.

Art Lady gets to sit in on some of the workshops that are held there. What an enviable position to be in. Here is one of her works.

Looking into ImageKind. Been trying to decide how much to do myself and what to have done elsewhere.

Also been working on changing the resolution of my images to print larger. I see there is a product out there called Genuine Fractals. From the demos I have seen I can see where it would come in quite handy.

Was looking at this site md-canvas and wondering how they can take a 4x6 photo and bump it up to something like 40 x60 without losing the resolution. Would imagine they must be using something along the same lines.

Decided to give Imagekind a try. They have a free account and you can upload up to 200MB of images. I dont think that is too bad to give it a try.

Shawn McCann recommended it. Met him at the White Bear Lake Open Canvas a couple years ago.