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.

Practicing artists that build a brand for themselves stand out from the rest of the group. An artist’s brand is a unique way of marketing yourself as something different, exciting, and recognizable. No matter what your preferred medium is, the first step in building your brand is developing your own identifiable image making style. The goal is to make your work recognizable as your own, so when somebody sees it they think “Hey! I know who made that!” Everything that you can do to achieve this will help you!

The Villes by Camilo Bejarano

1. Where to Start

Not sure how to make your images more uniquely YOU? Take a look at the art that is being made right now. How do you fit in? How is your art different? Keep a list of what you like and don’t like, and be sure to reference it often when making new work. If you create work incorporating similar themes, you will start to see your style showing through.

Pinecone River by Dan Turner

2. Make it Come from You

Incorporate your personality and sensibilities into your style. If you are a meticulous, detail oriented person, let that quality work for you! Make very detailed images! If you are boisterous and spirited, your work should reflect that. If you are not sure where to start, ask a friend to describe your personality traits, and work from there. Sometimes just a small change can really make your work stand out. Developing a unique style starts with with discovering your own personal style.

Boxed by Ross Farrell

3. Practice Makes Perfect

Practice, and make as many images as you can to perfect your technique. Learn from your mistakes! Pay attention to what works and what doesn’t in your artwork. Make sure to keep a record of your successes so you can look to them for inspiration in the future. Trial and error is one of the best ways to discover your style. If you’re looking for a sign from the heavens to declare what your unique artistic style is, I am afraid you’ll probably be waiting a very long time. One of the best ways to discover your style is to continue refining it through trial and error; practice.

A Specious Origin by Jerry LoFaro

4. Invest in Classes

Enrolling in an art class can be very exciting! Even if you are an expert in your craft, enrolling in a class can give you alternate viewpoints on your work. Your classmates can offer opinions and critiques of your work to help you grow as an artist. Taking artistic classes are helpful because they can give you that perspective on your artwork that you don’t always see first hand. Having other people around you can really help shed light on your style.

Smart Suit by K Mitchell

5. Find your Niche

If your focus is on selling, pay attention to developing images that will fill a niche market. In other words, provide artwork for a group of people looking for your particular style. Discovering your niche is about the epitome of developing a unique style; they are closely related. To discover your niche, focus on what type of subject matter you find yourself drawn to. Your niche is a perfect place to help discover your unique style.

Dennis Mash has been making works of art using non-traditional techniques for decades now. His ideas and techniques have evolved over the years, but he has carved a niche for himself with his gorgeous x-ray images of shells, sea life, and everyday objects. Dennis was kind enough to share his image making methods and his marketing ideas with our blog readers!

The Inside Nature Gallery is a collection of shells and sea life from oceans around the world, all of which have very cool looking internal designs. When friends or clients would see my work, they would come up with other ideas for me to X-Ray. The Inside Design Gallery represents those ideas. I am currently the President of Medical Insights Inc., specializing in consulting, integration and implementation of solutions for the diagnostic imaging market. I continue to work at a local hospital to keep up my diagnostic skills and look for new subjects.

1). How did you start making these types of images?

It’s not like I discovered this technique – other people have done similar things before. When I was in the Navy, my friend Lynn Walsh had the idea. We were both in special procedures – specifically looking at arteries with an x-ray. One day, Lynn said “Hey! Why don’t we x-ray this shell?” We were always looking for new ways to make a little money, and when we saw the images we knew we could sell them matted and framed.

2). What techniques do you use to get your images? How has your technique evolved?

The technique was originally a combination of Radiography and Radiographic film processing. (By the way, a Radiograph and an X-ray are the same thing.) At first, it was trial and error. We were using film, and developing the films in the radiology darkroom to create a negative. We varied the exposure till we got just the right contrast and gray scale to show all the internal dimensions of the shells. The next step would be to go into the darkroom and combine the negative with a piece of subtraction film. Subtraction film gives you a positive image, with a clear background. The original images were the actual films mounted onto a white pebble background, giving it a sense of depth. It looked more like a pen and ink drawing than an x-ray. I taught myself to do matting and framing, and when put all together it looked really neat. This is how I created my prints until 1980.

Chambered Nautilus Perspectives

In 1980, I started working with Andy Reisberg, owner of Photographic Archives in Dallas, Texas. Andy had seen my work and suggested I collaborate with him to take my art in a different direction. He turned my films into gorgeous silver-gelatin prints, sometimes sepia or selenium toning them. We focused on my 13 most popular pieces. Andy and I really collaborated on the process to get the artistic results that I wanted.

Later on, I had my negatives scanned to make giclee prints. I now use different digital techniques to put the images together as collages.

3). What post processing work do you do them?
After scanning, I clean up the backgrounds so they are pure white. If the image is not toned, I will apply a duo-tone filter in Photoshop. It’s a very time intensive process to get it looking just right!

Pacific Crab

4). How do you choose your images? What are you favorite subjects to work with, and why?
When I first starting making these images, I was in San Diego. Everywhere you looked there were shell shops. Shells were easy enough to get my hands on, and they were gorgeous as well.

I’ve x-rayed many other items as well, though, mostly at the suggestion of family and friends. One year, I made an x-tray of penny loafers for a shoe company that presented at the Apparel Mart in Dallas. They put up the images in their showroom. It was a different, fun advertisement for the shoes. The musical instrument images that are in my gallery were borrowed from a band store in Dallas, and I just paid them back in images!

I prefer working with shells though, but maybe I have just been pursuing them longer. I’ll x-ray pretty much anything!

5). What was the catalyst to sell your images as fine art?
As soon as I saw the first image that we made, I knew I could sell it. Once I saw the finished framed and matted product, I knew that others would want to buy it and they did. It was fine art from the beginning. I try to connect my art to every aspect of my life. It has become the thread that connects my artistic side to my professional life.

Shark Jaw Smiling

6). Do you show your work in galleries? Do you participate in shows and competitions?
I am still represented by the Photographic Archives Gallery in Dallas, Texas. I participated in a number of competitions in the early ‘70s, but I hate to say it, I just don’t have time anymore. My main focus is getting my internet presence worked out and developing my online marketing plan. I might participate in more competitions and shows in the future.

7). You send out some interesting material to your buyers and fans. Can you tell us more about it?
I travel a lot, and wanted former clients and potential clients to have a way to easily see my artwork in my Imagekind galleries. So, I created a marketing email that I sent out to my email list that showed examples of my various pieces matted and framed.

I also designed a CD that I would give out at any Radiologic meetings that I would go to, and I think most radiologists would be interested in my work. I designed the CD in PowerPoint, and built a slideshow to showcase my images. I even added a little jazz music that plays in the background. One thing I learned is that a lot of people are not comfortable with just sticking a CD in their computer, and going to find the drive, and then the file to get it to play. I took that advice to heart and bought an auto-play program so that the CD plays automatically as soon as it is put in the disk drive. The CD boots up with a menu of options, including buttons linking to my Medical Insights web site and my Imagekind galleries.

Basket Starfish Sepia

I really like to have options for those that can’t afford to buy a print. My work is really popular as greeting cards. The greeting cards at Imagekind are great quality, and that’s what I use today when giving out samples of my work. I always give a box of greeting cards to the Radiology departments after an installation. I think it’s important to reach out to those that would be interested in your work.

8). How did you decide on Imagekind for printing?
I started using Imagekind after searching for a way to output my digital files. It’s also really convenient to have my images available on the internet without building a big website. I don’t need printing experience or a lot of money to sell excellent quality images – the printing is great! I knew it would be a great way to market my work for the future, and I found it at the right time.

Precious Wentletrap Shell

9). What do you do when you are not making art?
Currently, I am the President of Medical Insights Inc. I still work in the hospital as a Diagnostic Radiologic Technologist part time. I’m married and we have 3 sons. If I’m not traveling for my job I am working on my website and projects.

10). Who is your favorite artist on Imagekind (besides yourself!)
To be honest with you, its hard to answer, because I just haven’t had the time to look at everything! I can’t possibly give you a favorite because I haven’t looked at everything. I do have to say that I look at all the artists who have become my fan, and all of them are extremely talented. I really think there is a ton of great talent on Imagekind, and if my work isn’t quite right for someone, I will always recommend my fellow Imagekind artists.

Welcome to our series of interviews with some of our favorite member artists on Imagekind. They may be best sellers or up-and-coming artists. We hope that you can learn from these members and find some great new artists to love!

John Kraft joined Imagekind in 2008. His bright and bold work is a favorite on Imagekind and he has helped many members by continually giving great advice on artistic techniques and marketing. In addition to answering a few questions, John is also offering one of his best-selling pieces, “Racing the Moon,” at a special price this week.  Be sure to check it out, and get this deal while the price lasts.

San Francisco based artist John Kraft was born in Los Angeles in 1967. He was selected as a Featured Artist by Apple, and his art has been included in Dwell Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, ARTnews and in Modern Painters.

1. How and when did you get started making art? What has been your journey as an artist?

My journey as an artist arguably started at birth, but my work, in tangible form, has been in development for just over twenty years. Fourteen years ago I found what I consider to be my voice and my vocabulary as an artist. With a consistent palette and use of both strong color and line, this vocabulary has freed me to focus more on the story I wish to tell and less on the words I use in the telling of that story.

2. What was the turning point that gave your art a “voice and vocabulary?”  Was it a trial and error process or a brilliant epiphany?

The turning point in finding my current style as an artist was development of the piece “Priorities”. I began the piece by creating relatively abstract color fields and then for no particular reason I wondered what impact strong black lines would have on the various shapes and the composition as a whole.  It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Keith Haring and that I consider him a major influence, but at that moment it truly was an innocent experimentation with something new.  Of course, this was a turning point in terms of style, but the vocabulary itself developed over time as more and more pieces were created.

Wine and Song by John Kraft

3. What is your process when creating a piece? What medium do you use? What is your inspiration?

My process has evolved over the years from the use of acrylics and pastels on wood panel or canvas to what is now a true composite of both traditional and digital painting techniques. This includes the creation of key elements with acrylics and pastels, digitization of those elements, and finally refinement of composition, color and scale within the digital space. I love the flexibility of working digitally and the myriad of “what-if” scenarios that I can explore. The added benefit of this approach is that the work can then be expressed in various media, whether it is paper, canvas, or more durable materials – all from the same source composition.  Inspiration comes from everything around me, but most significantly from my wife Nikki and my daughter Sienna and from the beautiful city of San Francisco.

4. What does your work area look like? Are you messy or meticulous when creating?

I’d like to say I have a roof top studio that overlooks all of San Francisco, but in reality, like many artists, my studio consists of a spare room in our home where I have a combination of easel, paints and computer equipment.  The final composition for every single piece is completed on a now somewhat dated G4 Powerbook.  I’d say I’m fairly meticulous when creating, especially when doing the work on the computer.  I can spend hours on details that will never be seen in the online version of the piece. There was a MacWorld UK interview I did years ago that went into greater detail on my process at the time: http://www.johnkraft.com/jk_mw_uk.pdf

Soulmates by John Kraft

5. There are a lot of recurring themes, symbols, icons and color choices in your pieces.  I’d love to know more about them.

In earlier pieces, like “Priorities” the recurring figures represented either lonely or lost souls fighting against excess and inner conflict, but now, in pieces like “Soulmates” or “One More Makes Three” these same figures are exclusively celebratory, loving and joyful – a direct reflection of the happiness and joy I’ve found in my own life with my wife and my daughter.  The recurring use of wine bottles and bowls of fruit represent abundance and celebration, and the recurring use of a guitar represents my other life as a singer/songwriter.  In terms of the palette… what can I say? I love color and the impact of using the strong black lines to define the objects and shapes.

6. For the recurring imagery in your pieces, (like your wine bottles) do you create them for every new piece, or do you reuse imagery from previous works?

It’s a bit of both, I definitely make use of previous imagery.  It’s really the visual analog for sampling in music.  Only in this instance I’m purely “sampling” from my own catalog of work.  Having said that, when I embark on a new piece that has new elements, like “Eden Before Apple”, much of that content is created fresh specifically for the new piece.

7. How often do you make new pieces? inkheart dvdrip download

It varies, but typically I’ll create one new piece every two to three weeks.

Eden Before Apple by John Kraft

8. How do you promote and market your work?

My current efforts include a personal website , a Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, and of course my online gallery on Imagekind

In terms of promotion and driving traffic to these sites, I’ve used print advertising, targeted Facebook display ads, Google Adwords, PR Newswire and PRWeb Press Releases, and Email Marketing.  The ‘craziest’ thing I ever did to promote my art was to stand on the center divider on the street in San Francisco during rush hour handing out “Lombard Street” postcards, which eventually turned into being featured as an “Artist You Should Know” on About.com.  A few years ago, I was also fortunate enough to be selected as a featured artist by Apple, which led to a lot of great exposure as well.

One recent promotional experiment of mine was a virtual online art reception via YouTube that I produced to coincide with a private exhibition at Intel’s worldwide headquarters.  In total, that video has been viewed over 1300 times in 38 countries and has led to several sales.

9. Which promotion and marketing methods have proven most successful for you?

Without question, it has been the targeted Facebook ads that drive to my Facebook Fan page.  It has been successful in terms of resulting sales, but as importantly, as a means of raising the general awareness of my art and my brand as an artist. Those IK artists that frequent the forums have heard me “speak” extensively about the benefits of Facebook.  Creating a lasting career as an artist is not about the quick sale, it’s about the relationships you develop over time with people who appreciate your style and the way you engage with them on a personal level.  I should stress this includes fellow artists.  It is not always about the sale.  It’s about being connected to the world around you in a way that enables you to share your gifts.

I do have a tip or best practice to share with other artists that see artist ads on Facebook and want to learn more about that artist.  Whenever possible, try Googling the artist or searching for them in some other way besides clicking on the ad itself.  Typically every time you click on a Facebook ad the artist is paying for that click.  So I always try to avoid clicking on artist ads – and I try to find them through other channels after seeing their ad pop up on Facebook.

Carried Away by John Kraft

10. Who is your target audience?  What do you do to market to them specifically?

The short answer is: anyone who loves my work, whether or not they can afford my work right at that moment in time.  Target markets do not exclusively refer to people one expects to sell to today, but those that you wish to build a relationship with over the long term.  Developing your brand (and sales pipeline) as an artist during tough times will result in more sales during the good times.  Having said all that, the majority of my sales have been to people in their 30s and 40s that have an interest in modern, contemporary colorful art.

11. You have mentioned that you don’t usually sell originals. Why?

It’s purely an emotional decision.  I’d like to say there is a grand strategy behind it, but I really just don’t want to let them go.  Of course the definition of original becomes somewhat blurred when one enters the realm of digital art.  For example, “Lombard Street” exists as a real acrylic on wood panel painting, hanging in our living room – with pastels that still come off the surface when touched, but newer pieces like “Racing the Moon” or “Sausalito” are digital composites from the beginning, so the giclee is in essence the ‘original’ and the first tangible manifestation of the digital piece.

12. Who is your favorite Imagekind artist? (Besides yourself, of course!)

This is indeed a difficult one to answer, because I believe both artistically and personally in so many of the artists here on Imagekind.  So, if I’m allowed to “cheat” a bit I would answer like this: “My favorite artists on IK are the ones that wake up every morning thankful that they are artists, the ones that feel alive when they create regardless of medium, the ones that genuinely want to do all they can to share their gifts with those around them.”

Your profile page is your introduction, artist statement, and first impression all in one! Make your page pull in potential buyers by being articulate and informative.

Upload an Avatar

Customers want to connect with you as an artist and a person. Having a compelling avatar will cause buyers to click through to your page and recognize your posts in the forum as well. A photograph of yourself or a small piece of your most popular work is appropriate. Keep in mind that the image must still look great and clear at a small size. It’s good practice to keep your avatar the same as soon as you decide on a good one – it becomes your face on the site. Your fellow artists and buyers will come to recognize it.

These artists have great avatars:

Write an Artist statement and Biography

Your artist statement and biography are how you connect with your internet buyers, but writing about yourself can be tricky! Be sure to describe what you do, your materials, your inspiration… anything that relates to your artistic process.

Some ideas to get you started:

• Make a quick list of the words that describe you and your art. Use this as a starting point.
• Ask a friend how they would describe your work , and include that in your statement.
• What would you tell someone if they had never seen your work? Give an introduction to what they are about to see.
• Think about how you feel when you look at your work and when you are creating it, and what you hope your viewer will feel.
• Write about the materials that you use and why you use them.
• Describe your education, any awards, or upcoming shows, and update it as often as necessary.
• Be yourself! Write in a style that reflects who you are, and what your art is about.
• Do keep your statement and biography short and to the point.

If you are really stuck, you can always ask the wonderful members of our community to help you out! We have a thread on Artist Statements that has a lot of great advice.

Note: If you are selected to be a Featured Member, a small portion of your artist statement and biography will show on the Imagekind homepage, so start your artist statement strong.

Lights Out by Chris Leavens

Chris Leavens has an awesome writeup for his bio.  He covers his history, his artwork, and where else to find him. Perfect!

Power Pug by Michael Sprouse

Michael Sprouse focuses on his life as a professional artist.  An interested buyer would find all the information that they need here.

Post your CV

If you have a CV or Artist Resume, then your biography section is the perfect place to post it. The organized, clean nature of a resume guides a buyer through, and they will probably spend the time to read it. Pare down the information so you only show the essentials: education, important shows, prominent buyers.

Post your upcoming events

Having a show soon? Exhibiting in a coffee shop? Having a sale? Let your buyers know in your profile!

Use keywords to attract search engines

The text in your profile page is indexed by major search engines. Including key terms like “photographer” or “watercolors,” will help searching customers find you. Keep in mind that you need to be as specific as possible, so that you can attract customers who WANT your work!

Check your grammar

Take the time to spell and grammar-check your profile: this will make your information polished. Presenting yourself as a professional will inspire buying confidence from your customers.

Use HTML in your profile

We allow limited HTML to be inserted into your profile. HTML can be used in the text box where you write your bio or artist statement, where you edit your profile. Some ways to use this are to:

• Format your artist statement with line breaks and paragraph breaks to give a polished appearance.
• Use bold or underlines to emphasize and highlight recent accomplishments, and to draw your customers’ eye to the most important information.
• Include your logo if you use one. This will strengthen your brand awareness and personalize your profile page.
• Add links to your blog, personal website, or reviews of your work.
• Let the world know if you have been a featured artist with a link or graphic to the featured artists page.
• Feature one of your favorite, most popular, or best-selling images. You can link to a framed image directly from your Imagekind galleries, or you can make your own graphic and host it from your personal website.
• Limit yourself to just one or two images inserted in your profile, and make sure they are kept to thumbnail size. Try to keep your Recent Images up high on the page, as these will change as you upload. Keep your buyers interested!
• Be sure to keep at least part of your biography or artist statement in good ol’ text format! Search engines cannot index text that appears in image files.

You can use HTML in your gallery and image descriptions, too! You can offer detail images of the pieces, or links to matching pieces. Again, be sure to keep these short so your images are still kept in view!

You can read more about allowed HTML in our forum. Remember, only 3000 characters can be in your Bio section, including HTML code. Also note that any affiliate or pay-per-click links are not permitted anywhere in your Imagekind profile or galleries.

Wildflower Dance by Natasha Wescoat

Natasha Wescoat uses HTML in her profile.  A small image is inserted, and important points are emphasized.

Fractal Butterfly by Angel Mist

Angel Mist has inserted an image that highlights her best work framed.  The rest of the description is well organized, and the use of HTML to center the text works very well.