The Lines I Make: Promoting Your Art in the Digital Age: A Primer for New and Emerging Artists

By Jennifer Ashton

This book is a much requested primer for new and emerging artists. It discusses how to prepare and introduce your art to an online world, and gives useful and solid advice on everything from finishing, framing and preparing art for shows to specific websites you can utilize for self promotion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781682229262

Jennifer Ashton

Jennifer Ashton, M.D., M.S., the chief medical correspondent for ABC News, including Good Morning America, World News Tonight with David Muir, Nightline, and GMA3: What You Need to Know. A graduate of Columbia University’s medical school, Dr. Ashton is board certified in OB-GYN and obesity medicine, and maintains a private clinical practice in New Jersey. She lives in New York City with her two children.

Book preview

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INTRODUCTION: The Lines I Make and Letting Go

Things you will need for this section: Courage!

If you are reading this, congratulations you are ready to begin promoting yourself and your work!

One of the most difficult things I came across right from the start, was tying up my self worth in my art work. Art is a form of expression, like language and we don’t want anybody to make fun of our accent or the way we talk. It’s natural to feel all of the feelings around this, but what I have found that works for me, and this will be our mantra throughout the entire book, simply:

"Let it go."

Do the work and don’t be attached to it. ‘But, but but!’ I can hear you running after me waving your paintbrush!

I’m sure I could make an entire course on that topic alone, but I won’t because you can read about attachment in many places, the fact is, that once you start the practice of ‘letting go’, it becomes easier as you go along.

The theme of ‘letting go’ will come up again and again in your work, from letting go of expectation as you create, to pricing and selling and even letting go of ego in the entire process. Having to ‘let go’ is an ongoing exercise; and in the ‘letting go’ so many more great things can happen in that new space you have made for yourself.

I go into all of my work with the attitude of ‘letting go’, and I believe it helps me to stay mindful and in the moment, which in turn allows me to focus on whatever I am doing more clearly and with intent. I think these small practices will help you excel when connecting your work to other people, because when you work in this way, it often becomes palpable in your creation.

2

WEBSITES

Things you will need in this section: Domain name, domain and host. (This means a name for your website, [your web address], a space and a place for your website to live).

Your website acts as you, out in the digital world. That means you can send it anywhere and everywhere and it will represent you and your work, to people and places you may not be able to meet or visit in person.

Once you have decided on the name that you want to call your website, you will have to purchase your ‘domain name’ (when I say this I mean the name and address of your website e.g.: ‘www.AnniesArt.com’). There are many places you can purchase domains, I use ‘GoDaddy’ and ‘SiteGround’, and I purchase 1 year at a time which can cost anywhere from