58% (2.2 Grade) Year 3 Fine-Art 2019 Reflection

I personally dont believe the grade or end of year feedback reflected the effort and turmoil that went into those two years at Cardiff Metropolitan University

 On a positive note, like me, Tracy Emin got a 2.2 also, and look at her now.

“58%  is officially “good”and  Just because they have marked me low against marking criteria it in no way devalues my work and what I have achieved thus far. 

I have sold over £500 of artwork and produced a fantastic body of work, learnt new skills, and developed an artistic mind with a fine art degree to show for my efforts.

To quit work at 55 to pursue a journey in art is a bold move and a brilliant achievement which I am proud of.

Finally, I am not going bump my gums about how I could have got those extra 2 points for a 2.1 , for me, its been a journey of colour and meeting some wonderful people along the way ……….you know who you are ha ha

Post 4: Dissemination By 10th May (ADZ6888) Exposure

There are numerous ways to promote your artwork with a wide target audience available through social media networking such as Facebook, Instagram, Galleries plus online shops such as ebay and Etsy. Art can be easily viewed and distributed with initial low cost set up charges.

My current artwork theme predominately focuses on my hometown of Cardiff, I realise this has  narrowed my target audience for sales and exposure.  I have used my strengths of Communicating and interacting with local galleries and coffee chains which has been my main promotional strategy to get established and noticed

Cardiff Made Exhibition

Andre Stitt’s professional development tutorial gave me the knowledge and confidence to curate my own exhibition which commenced  25^th March 2019 for 12 nights with eleven other students. This was an ideal opportunity to promote my work and gain experience of multi -tasking, time management, delegation, pricing my artwork and thinking individually and collaboratively with the other artists.

Waterloo Tea House Chain Exhibition booked for 1st August 2019

Terra Nova Roath Park Lake

The Terra Nova Café fits in well with my theme. Verbally spoken to Nick and he has approved my work , calling in next week to confirm a date, commission etc

 

my NEW web site

My NEW business cards

Facebook reunion

Instagram

Instagram is a social media platform that is dedicated to sharing photos and videos, that can be edited and enhanced and is good opportunity for artists to show their work to a wider audience. My personal Instagram page largely focuses on my own “hand-made” artwork

 

 

Promotional strategy and creative ways to display my work

bought professional prints of my work to sell

Sales  my work

Prints for low end sales

Sold 1 x Cardiff castle digital at Cardiff Made £140

5 prints Cardiff Made,Gavin, Yvonne, Bethan, Laura, 93 year old neighbor £40 each

Professional Studies: Promotional strategy /Creative way to Display my Artwork

I believe this art staging app is a much more creative way to market and show my artwork or even help to close a sale. Rather than a plain image that I have previously displayed. Now my picture displayed within the room creates a sense of what my art might look like visually on their walls or at the people’s home and offices.

 

 

New ultra paper

Colour scheme

I am not an interior designer! but if I can create a colour theme within the room, I believe the artwork would look more appealing and pleasing to the eye. To me, there is no comparison between the two images above and the added bonus of the matching yellow cushions complement my artwork.

Web Site

I was so pleased with the app I have included two images on my web page above, which creates a good overall display of my processes,artwork, me and my artwork within a home environment.

Original art display

I have sold some artwork recently and I look forward to them sending me my original  artwork displayed on their wall.

I have used art view for artist and interior designers. There are numerous other apps but I am sticking with this for now

 

Collected My Business Cards Today !

I purchased the business cards today from the print studio at Cardiff Met £20 for 250 . I decided against researching for other quotes online due to the fact I have a good relationship with the print studio plus preferred to talk face to face and iron out any issues.

Template

A few teething problems initially because I was NOT supplied with a template, so I was working off the sizes they suggested (54 mm x 85 mm) we eventually got it right after three attempts

Improvements

• Next time I will ensure the Patrick Sullivan is centred on the card
• The business card were thinner quality than I was expecting

The cards were needed on an urgent basis for my end of year degree show and planned exhibitions at Waterloo tea house and the Terra Nova tea house at Roath Park lake. Overall, I was pleased with the business cards and the prompt customer service.

Professional Development: Facebook Reunion

Facebook second chance

I am not a great lover of Facebook and I have divorced myself from the site for a number of years. However, after a brainstorming session I decided to try and use Facebook to my advantage to promote and sell my artwork.

Plenty of artists sell art on Facebook, but I guess selling art on Facebook and other social media platforms involves more than loading my page up with images and adding my website page then putting my feet up waiting for the sales to roll in.

I intend to use Facebook purely for promoting my artwork and see the initial response before I spend time on overhauling my site to help maximize sales

Ideas I could introduce in the future

• Dividing my art into themes, groups, series or categories will help direct people to the right type of art they are seeking
• A brief summary or introduction to my art on my I produced the work
• Link Facebook and Instagram
• Regularly update my page with new artwork and works-in-progress
• Make my entire page public to increase my audience
• Comment and interact to messages promptly
• Promote my exhibitions and follow local galleries
• Consider blogging about my progression and my evolution as an artist Focusing on art-related activities, what I am up to in the studio, recent sales
• “Likes” are OK. “Comments” are better. “Shares” are the best.
• Whenever I post an image say something about it. Briefly say what it represents
• show images of my work on display at various locations, at my exhibitions, in collector’s homes or offices, this will create a sense of what my art might look like on their walls.
• create a narrative, what inspired me to make it? What does it mean to me?
• Post a price to remind people my art is available for sale and give them an idea of what price range you sell in.