Because I know finding the perfect gift for your loved ones is difficult,  I’ll be helping you ease the process throughout this coming holiday season by highlighting great gift ideas here on Imagekind.

To start it off, I wanted to let you know about one of the best places to find gifts on Imagekind: our Holiday Gift Guide!

We’ve put together all the inspiration you’ll need for everyone on your list this holiday season. Check out our special art collections to find the perfect gift for him, for her, for kids and for teens!

Also, for the frugal one in us all, take a look at our special page highlighting gifts under $50, so you can be sure to find the perfect gift, without breaking your budget!

Have someone impossible to shop for on your list? Don’t sweat! We’ve setup special collections for them too! Find art for the real enthusiast on your list in our special gifts for collections.

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and more!

The conceptual photography of Dutch artist Jacky Groen is both breathtaking and awe-inspiring. As one commenter puts it “Jacky’s work often sweeps the viewer not only into a visual journey, but also an emotional and spiritual one. Inspired by moments that touch us all at some point in our lives, she has the special ability to translate them into images that we all can relate to and find truth in.” We couldn’t agree more.

Where were you born, where do you live now, any other background info?

I was born in Amsterdam, but a few years ago I moved to the South Coast of the Netherlands. I always wanted to live near the sea, and the constantly changing intense skies and the beautiful light that endlessly inspires me.

How would you describe your work?

My work is a blend of photography and digital art, I’ll always love my camera but must admit I’m more addicted to photoshop these days. I suppose it has to do with my personality, I’m a dreamer and an emotional person..I can express my fantasies and emotions in my conceptual work this way. With photography, Mother Nature is usually my inspiration..for conceptual art my inspiration is simply Life!

What are your tools of the trade?

“My Eyes…My Heart….My Nikon”

Are you a full time artist?

Yes I am.

How did you get started?

About four years ago my brother gave me a digital camera as a gift and I was hooked immediately. I used to be interested in photography as a teenager though…ages ago when digital cameras didn’t even exist yet…

Any notable accomplishments?

This year I won an award with my wildlife photography and last year my work “My Way” was published in the online Esquire magazine. Also I’m happy to say almost all my work has been featured numerous times on various art sites.

Where can we find more info and keep up with your work?

Of course all my work can be found at Imagekind: http://photodream.imagekind.com

And you are welcome to visit me at my personal website: www.PhotoDream.nl

What artists inspire you?

Gregory Colbert ~ Ashes and Snow. Such a gorgeous blend of photography and almost fantasy like serenity.

“Gregory Colbert’s Ashes and Snow is an ongoing project that weaves together photographic works, 35mm films, art installations and a novel in letters. With profound patience and an enduring commitment to the expressive and artistic nature of animals, he has captured extraordinary interactions between humans and animals.” www.ashesandsnow.org

Elena Kalis was born in Moscow (Russia) but has, for the past ten years, lived on a small island in the Bahamas with her husband and two children. She has an education in traditional art, but has recently been following her interest in photography.  Over the past year she has been doing some underwater projects with her children and their friends.  Some of Elena’s images have been used for books, magazines and CD covers, and have also appeared in print magazines and online publications.

Where were you born, where do you live now, any other background info?

My name is Elena Kalis. I was born in Moscow (Russia) and have lived for the past ten years on a small island in the Bahamas with my husband and two children. I have an education in art (traditional paintings and drawings) , but have recently been following my interest in photography. I have been doing some underwater projects with my children and friends for the past year.

How would you describe your work?

Alice in WaterLand.  That’s the name of my recent project and it’s describe my work as well.

What processes and techniques do you use to create your work?

Digital photography. I use Canon 5D with housing and 28 or 50mm lens. Post process in Photoshop.I shoot in pool and ocean.

Are you a full time artist?

I am full time mother and remaining time artist.

How did you get started?

I love ocean and I spend a lot of time in the water (with camera and without) so it was natural thing for me to do.

Any notable accomplishments?

I was doing underwater photography for little over a year now.It’s not that long but I have a lot of response from the people. Some of my work have been used for book, magazine and CD covers, and have appeared in print magazines and online publications. Underwater images are liquid, weightless and have dream-like quality. That’s probably why they are so appealing to many people.

Where can we find more info and keep up with your work?

My personal site: elenakalisphoto.com

Other public places: Facebook Flickr Carbonmade

What artists inspire you?

I recently discovered for myself work of photographer Connie Imboden and it’s changed how I look at the reflections now. However my inspiration is not necessarily coming from the work of other artists. It could be anything really, small things around me…

The below article is a guest post from blogger Cory Huff, who produces TheAbundantArtist.com where artists can learn better techniques to sell their artwork online.

In 1937 Napoleon Hill published the book Think and Grow Rich. In the book Hill outlines 13 principles that make people successful. He created these principles after spending 20 years studying the most wealthy people of his time. One of my favorite principles is the idea of the Master Mind. Hill makes a comparison between the human brain and a battery. The more cells a battery has, the better it works. Also, the more batteries you have working together the better they work.

Hill is not the only person to draw this type of conclusion. We all know that we need other people to help us. That’s why we hire specialists in different fields. Hill, however, gave the guidance that it is necessary for people who desire success to cultivate associations with people who can help them.

Artist Salons

In 17th century France artists and academics began a system of academies and salons, holding each other accountable, and generating positive energy aimed at raising the level of success for each artist involved. These artists became friends, confidants, and business partners with each other. While outsiders criticized the salons, those who were part of the salons enjoyed recognition and financial success.

There’s nothing all that complicated about getting a group of friends together to discuss art. You probably do that all the time in your immediate circles. There is a big difference, however, between having a group that discusses art and having a group of people together who are focused on helping each other succeed.

Band Together for Success

It is an acknowledged principle that those who succeed do so with the help of those around them. Successful business professionals purposefully seek out mastermind groups. I am a member of a mastermind group that consists of people from several different industries. We meet together to discuss obstacles that hold us back from succeeding and to share resources & ideas. Artists can and should be doing the same thing.

I hear so many artists talk about how they don’t know anything about being in business and that’s perfectly fair. Having a mastermind group, or a salon, is a way of making up for some of your weaknesses in business. I have found that once you get a group of artists together and start talking business, they often find that together they have a lot more knowledge of how to be in business than they give themselves credit for.

How to Organize

Many art critics and art coaches advise having a group of like minded painters together. There is certainly value in having other painters around to critique your work, but what about artists from other disciplines? A great deal of brilliance comes from getting artists of different disciplines together.

Having an agenda is a good idea. Artists together have a tendency to chat about topics not related to business. An agenda that is distributed beforehand complete with what you’ll talk about, when the meeting will start, whether there will be food, and how long you’ll spend on each topic is a good idea.

Who you organize a salon with is important. Don’t go for variety just for variety’s sake. You should find other artists who you are inspired by, who are focused on their business, and who you trust to do things well.

What to Talk About

Some art salons simply talk about art. That’s all well and good, but you need to focus on your business if you want to be a successful artist. If you want to talk about the finer points of Existentialism, put that at the end of the agenda. Good topics for your art marketing salons include: incorporating as a business, building Web sites, selling at art fairs, pricing models, taxes, health insurance, and many other topics.

Even if you can’t find a few artists in your area that you can band together with to form a mastermind or artist salon, you should be able to find at least one person with whom you can brainstorm. The idea is that we don’t work alone.

I’m interested in hearing from Imagekind users – are any of you part of an artist salon or mastermind group?

Cory Huff is an actor, husband, and producer of TheAbundantArtist.com, a site dedicated to teaching artists how to sell their work online. He firmly believes the starving artist is a myth that must be dispelled. He is available for individual consultation on Internet marketing and business planning for artists.

Pascal Tremblay is a graphic designer / illustrator from Montreal. He has been working freelance for the past 11 years doing work for a wide variety of clients.

Pascal’s work has always been an introspective and personal way for him to express himself. He describes his work as a way to “define my emotions and thoughts in a way that when I look at it, I will know exactly how I felt at the moment I created it, but without making it definite for others.” In other words, though he has strong emotion connection with his work, it’s up to the person viewing it to decide what it means to her or him.

Where were you born, where do you live now, any other background info?

I was born in Germany but I pretty much consider myself 100% Canadian since I have lived here all my life almost. My dad was in the army so we moved around a lot and Germany was one of those places. I currently live in Montreal with my fiancee, Elaine. We’ve lived together here for 3 yrs and prior to this we lived in Malaysia for 18 months.

How would you describe your work?

That’s a good question because I never really think about stuff like that. I just like to start creating a piece and see where it leads me. I don’t really have a plan in what I do, I just let my intuition guide me. I think that, as a whole, my work could be described as a series of vague and fleeting expressions of myself. I like to keep the interpretation to the viewer and not pigeon-hole it into what I think it should be saying and, while it’s not a specific goal of mine, I do hope everyone can see a little something different in each piece. Over time I’ve been more and more abstract in what each art piece represents and my use of type has gone in the same direction.. Whereas before I might have put plainly the words I was thinking about, now they’re represented by a specific color or square, or whatever… So in a way I guess my work is a bit like an emotional puzzle to me. I always put a lot of myself into it and if I don’t feel anything intense I really cannot produce the kind of artwork I enjoy the most. That is probably why I can go for months without doing anything, I don’t force it.

What processes and techniques do you use to create your work?

I like to use a technique I coined “create and adjust”. It’s basically a semi-fancy term for “I just do whatever comes to me and then I arrange it all as I go to make it work together”. I really wish I could describe my process better but it’s really just improvisation each time. I don’t have a plan on and the more specific my concept I start with the more difficult it will be for me. If I keep it all flowing and organic it works much better. When it comes to client work I work differently and I can build towards a specific goal with no problems.. however with my personal artwork, it has to come naturally and on the fly.

Are you a full time artist?

No, I do design mostly during the day but I also have other interests that are taking more of my time these days. I do feel the need to take a break from design recently. I’ve been doing this for almost 11 yrs and I need a break. I’d say art-making is the least time-consuming part of my work. Art doesn’t pay the bills unfortunately. It doesn’t pay anything actually and it’s not why I do it anyway.

How did you get started?

I started by dropping out of college and not knowing what to do with myself. Then I discovered Flash websites and it just gripped me. I had never had any interest whatsoever in art before this (although as a kid I would spend hours re-creating country flags with coloring pencils). I just stumbled into this dormant need to express myself, it was something completely new for me and I had finally found something I was passionate about. From there I kind of shifted from Flash to artwork and into print and web.

Any notable accomplishments?

Being able to make a good living off of freelance for 10 yrs is something I am proud of.. I still haven’t received my medal for it, which is very very disappointing.

Where can we find more info and keep up with your work?

Makeshift.ca is my personal portfolio, and while I don’t update it weekly or anything be assured there’s always something new in the works. Most of my work I don’t even post because the bill-paying stuff is rarely ever too exciting or mind blowing.

What artists inspire you?

David Carson is the reason why I am here today doing what I do. Without him I would have never gone the path I chose. I’ve yet to met him. I do have an autographed Raygun magazine which I keep very dearly. It’s pretty much the only design publication I own.

With the Imagekind Portfolio Manager it is now easier than ever to edit your images for sale on Imagekind. The Portfolio Manger allows you to batch-edit your images’ titles, tags, descriptions, categorization, default frame and more. Login to your account to start utilizing the Portfolio Manger right away!

Get Recognized!

It is essential to add titles, tags, descriptions and categorization to your images. Adding these will not only allow shoppers to  find your work easier, but Imagekind team members as well. Our internal search engine, as well as big ones like Google, take all of these into account. So, it is imperative that you heed this advice if you are selling your artwork on Imagekind, and want your images to be found!

1. Title your Work

Descriptive titles will not only help your buyers connect with a piece, but will help your images come up in searches. If you do not have a title for a piece, putting a descriptive term in the title box is adequate. Having a more personal title than “DSC1937” will let your buyers know that you spent the time to think about and present your work.

2. Write a description

Adding a short description will also help buyers to connect with your pieces. A couple of lines will do. Some artists include a little snippet about how they created the piece, or what inspired it. Others will add a small detail shot of the image. If your description is too long, it will be truncated, but you can view it in its entirety by clicking the “View More” link.

3. Tag It!

What are tags?
The Imagekind search engine uses several methods to find your work, one of them being your tags. Tags are descriptive keywords that you assign to your images to identify major elements and details featured in your work.

Be Specific…
Specific, accurate tags are essential. Tag your images with all the specifics of your image. If you have taken photograph of a sunset over the ocean, don’t stop tagging at “photograph” and “sunset.” You might want to include water, pink, sun, ocean, seascape, pacific… Be precise and detailed, and use terms that a customer would search for. If your images convey a certain emotion, such as “Happy” or “peaceful,” feel free to include them, but keep in mind a buyer may not search for terms such as these.

Be accurate!
Inaccurate tagging leads to bad search results. If a customer is looking for a sunset, and you have tagged your nature photograph of a tiger with “sunset,” then you will not change the customers mind – in fact, you make your customers frustrated. Inaccurate tags may be removed at the discretion of Imagekind.

Not enough tags? Upgrade your account
Free accounts can tag their images with up to 10 tags. Pro members get 50 tags, and Platinum members can use 100 tags to classify their work. If you need to add more information, consider upgrading your account.

4. Utilize Taxonomy

What is Taxonomy?
“Taxonomy” means the science of classification. Our taxonomy system allows you to group similar images together based on broad categories such as subject, genre, medium. Users can then drill down their search results based on the classifications you have assigned each image. One of the best ways to think about taxonomy is as a categorization method that allows shoppers to easily find particular images, based on their broad preferences.

Subjects, Genres, Mediumsand Decor

Categorizing your images is one of the best ways to be found on Imagekind. Directly after the general search (based on titles and tags), is categorization. Let’s go through some of the options individually.

Subject – Subject is the content found within your image.  Let’s say you have a photograph of cows in a large field, with flowers. You’d want to find subjects that relate to what is actually in the image. If there is not a direct subject available, tags are the next best option.

Genre – Genre is the general style of art that your image might fit into. For example, if your image is more conceptual in nature, you’d want to categorize it in that genre. If you are still stuck on this, here is something that might help. Consider your artwork were going to be hung in a museum, or gallery, or heck, they were selling it at an art supermarket (if such a thing exists). Before you go to drop it off, the owner calls you up and asks what section of the gallery or museum it would fit best. If the supermarket were split into various genres, which isle would your image fit best in?

Medium – Medium is the method you used to create your image.

Decor - Decor is what style of home you think your art would look best in.

Remember, you can feel free to leave any of these blank if you’d like. However, categorizing your images appropriately is one of the best ways to be found on Imagekind.

Need to classify further? Upgrade your account
Free accounts can add 2 subjects, Pro members can add up to 4, and Platinum accounts are allowed up to 8. If you need to add more information, consider upgrading your account.

Following these tips will ensure that your work gets more recognition when shoppers search for artwork on Imagekind. However, that’s not it. Imagekind team members are always looking for art to showcase as well. We constantly utilize all of these options to find artwork on Imagekind. Whether it’s through tags, titles or taxonomy, make sure to use all of the above options to make sure you get found on Imagekind.

Josh Heilaman is  a self taught visual and sound artist. He was born and raised in Oklahoma, now lives in Texas. Most of his work is in acrylic painting and musical form. He is also very fond of drawing, sculpting and video. Though he generally focuses on character based work, he also dabbles with landscapes and abstract pieces as well. Josh’s work has been featured in numerous publications and shows all over America.

To view more of my Josh Heilman’s art work, check his personal website: www.friskeemedia.com/joshheilaman

To hear some of his music, check out this site.

Where were you born, where do you live, any other background info?

I was born in Oklahoma City, OK. Most of my life has been here in Oklahoma, I moved to Texas for a few years as well. After traveling across the U.S. looking for a good place to live, I have found myself in Oklahoma again. I’ve grown to appreciate many things about my hometown that I overlooked for a while. Now that I am “back home”, I have decided to continue my involvement with the arts and focus on personal and community development.

How would you describe your work?

Over the years, I have watched my work evolve. I started creating at a very early age, mainly pencil drawings of characters and landscapes. By the time I became a teenager, my interests shifted to painting, sculpting and digital mediums. I’ve spent considerable time with most common mediums since then. Somehow, my work has evolved beyond anything I thought it would but still remains as simplistic as the early days of drawing “make-believe” characters. The focal point of my creations has always been based in story telling and character development. I enjoy bringing the believable to the make-believe in all of my work.

What processes and techniques do you use to create your work?

When creating, I typically don’t have any sort of plan in the beginning stages. Most of the time, I begin by making textures and abstract color schemes. These textures will “tell me” what to paint or draw. The process is similar to cloud watching or participating in an ink blot test. Sometimes it takes some time to pull something tangible out of abstraction, but other times it happens very quickly. For those reasons, I typically will work on 10 to 20 pieces at a time. My favorite approach is to squeeze out a big blob of one color and work it into all the pieces in varying degrees. In the end, the result is a very rich and prismatic collection of paintings. The main mentality, that I embrace while creating, is that every color exists in everything all of the time; and I should emulate that in my artwork.

What is your style for creating?

I’ve never paid close attention to style with my work. I find that it’s best to just go with what occurs naturally. Perhaps, that is my style.

Are you a full time artist?

Yes, I am a full time artist. Most of my income stems from commission work, gallery shows and graphic design jobs.