Friday Favorites is a weekly feature on the Imagekind blog where I share some of my favorite things found on – or related to – Imagekind over the past week. Sometimes there may be many, others, perhaps a few. It might be a single print, an artist, a group of artists, an article, different art styles; who knows! In any case, check out some of the cool happenings around Imagekind every Friday on the blog.

Travis Pitts on Apartment Therapy

ZOM-BOT (faux folded) by Travis Pitts

Imagekind member artist Travis Pitts got some fantastic coverage on Apartment Therapy the other day. Apartment Therapy is one of the leading decorating and interior design blogs that claims the be “saving the world, one room at at time.” Travis is a supreme illustrator and designer with some truly amazing work.

Display Imagekind Art on iGoogle

FriendsInteraction developed an outstanding tool for you to easily display Imagekind group artwork on your iGoogle homepage. The artwork featured is pulled from Imagekind Groups. You can also install the tool on your Google Blogger account. Find instructions on how to install it for iGoogle here, and Blogger here. If your saavvy enough, you can just click here, and add it to iGoogle easily.

To change which group artwork is displayed, follow these directions:

1. Click on the little arrow in the top right corner of the tool
2. select “Edit settings”
3. Go to your favorite Imagekind Group
4. Find the group number (gid=368) in the URL at the top
5. Go back to your iGoogle page and change the gid number at the end of the settings bar

“Wyeth gave America a prim and flinty view of Puritan rectitude, starchily sentimental, through parched gray and brown pictures of spooky frame houses, desiccated fields, deserted beaches, circling buzzards and craggy-faced New Englanders.” – The New York Times

Cristina’s World by Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth’s artwork is a sharp contrast to the then widely popular movement of abstract art. Painting at a time with contemporaries such as Jackson Pollock and the infamous Andy Warhol, his style was aptly out of place. But, that is often the exact sentiment that makes his work so enduring.

Rural scenes inspired by his hometown of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania set Wyeth apart from other Modernist artist of the time. Often refered to as “a painter of the people” his work has also “sparked endless debates about the nature of modern art (NYT).”

Master Bedroom by Andrew Wyeth

The muted and somewhat bleak representations of familiar scenes stirs a sense of wonder and mystery as you view Wyeth’s paintings. The juxtaposition between common, usually inviting familial scenes and the emptiness and isolation creates the sense of a displacement that Wyeth often experienced in his own artistic life.

See more Andrew Wyeth artwork on Imagekind.

Visit andrewwyeth.com for additional information about the artist.

Did you know there is an unbelievably easy way to keep people up to date on your artwork at Imagekind? It’s called RSS, which stands for Real Simple Syndication. Read on and I’ll show you just how “Real Simple” it really is.

With RSS, all you need is a link and an RSS reader, and you can keep up with hundreds of thousands (maybe millions to billions) of different content sources on the web. From blogs and news sources, to YouTube and yes, Imagekind Galleries and Groups. Just click and your RSS reader will automatically update every time there is new content to view.

At Imagekind, we’ve incorporated this same technology to make it simple for people to stay up to date on their favorite galleries and groups on Imagekind. Whenever someone adds a new image to a gallery you are following via RSS, or posts a new image to a group, the reader will automatically update and show you what image was included and other useful information about the artwork for sale.

So, whenever you encounter an artist’s work on Imagekind you particularly like, scroll down to the bottom of the gallery, and click the “RSS for this Gallery.” Next time the artist adds more images to that gallery, your RSS reader will update, allowing you to easily simply view the new content.

The Potential for Artists

Incorporating RSS into Imagekind provides huge marketing potential for Imagekind Artists. With RSS, artists can share their feed links with their friends, family and fans outside of Imagekind. That way, they can click and stay up to date when an artist posts new images to their galleries.

To share your RSS feed link, simply right click on the and select “copy link location.” You can then paste that link as you would any other URL. Once you have the link, share it on your favorite social network, twitter, flickr, blog or even send an email. Once someone clicks the link, it will ask if and how they would like to subscribe to your gallery via RSS.

See, a real simple way to share your content and keep people up to date on your artwork for sale on Imagekind.

Want to learn something else you can use your Imagekind Gallery RSS Feed for? Read the post An Easy way to Display your Art Online and discover how to market your Imagekind galleries with banners via RSS.

Note: please allow some time between posting new images and them showing in the RSS reader. There is an expected delay for the reader to update.

Now it’s easier than ever for SmugMug’s Consumer and Professional Photographers to have their photos printed and framed with the highest quality options out there.

You can read the full online press release here.

This exciting partnership will allow SmugMug’s community to easily print and frame their work, choosing from the widest variety of papers, canvases and framing options available online. We are truly excited and absolutely honored to have been selected to offer our print and framing services to the SmugMug community.

So, why’d they choose us?

Well, as Chris MacAskill, SmugMug’s co-founder said, “Our mantra is ‘Your Photos Look Better Here’, so we had to find a partner whose workmanship and service was unrivaled.” After a long period of testing and comparisons, Imagekind’s quality, selection, and service swept us away.”

We know their community demands the best; and we’re happy to provide it!

If you are a photographer on SmugMug, visit smugmug.imagekind.com and login with your account to discover how you can have Imagekind print and frame your photos on SmugMug.

Read the full press release here: SmugMug and Imagekind Announce Partnership

Imagekind Corporate Art Sales

We are extremely excited to introduce the new Corporate and Hospitality Art Sales program at Imagekind.

Now you can easily make your corporation or hospitality organization stand out from the rest. With the Imagekind Business and Hospitality Art Sales program you can decorate your office with stunning, framed artwork. Browse art from over 50,000 unique and independent artists on Imagekind and decorate your office suite with truly inspiring art.

Contact sales@imagekind.com to setup an art consultation and for more information.

We continue to see the demand interior decorators and designers have in finding high quality framed artwork, at an affordable price. That is why Imagekind launched this service. By creating a one stop shop for framed and canvas artwork, decorators and designers can easily find artwork for businesses, hotels, offices, hospitals, hospitality organizations and other corporate settings.

Shop artwork for your business, office and organization and discover these outstanding advantages:

All Inclusive

• One stop shop for all your fine art and framing needs
• Print your art on high end stretched canvas
• Choose art from our online catalog, or upload your own images and custom create your masterpiece

Vast Selection

• Experience the Classics or discover new and exclusive Member Art from our over 750,000 high-quality fine art images for sale
• We offer over 5.5 million custom frame and mat combinations
• Choose to print on one of 8 different paper types or 2 canvas options

Unparalleled Quality

• All of our custom framing is done onsite by our expert framers with over 30 years of experience in the framing business
• Our art prints are meticulously monitored for quality control ensuring you receive only the best
• We pride ourselves on our extraordinary customer satisfaction record that features thousands of happy clients

Exclusive Benefits

• Enjoy attractive discounts on corporate and bulk orders over $1,000
• We work with your deadlines and offer quick production and speedy shipping options
• Our art consultants are happy to assist you find artwork based on your decorating needs

Visit Imagekind.com for more information on the Corporate and Hospitality Art Sales program.