It’s really cool to see how artists are seizing opportunities to help promote their artwork for sale. Two of our Imagekind artists got some great press this last week in their local newspaper and I wanted to pass it on. In the article titled Connecting with Cameras, Notley Hawkins and Chris Wolters share some helpful tips on how to use Flickr to promote their art print sales on Imagekind.

How do you use Flickr to help promote your artwork?

Checkout the article below to read how some artists on Imagekind use Flickr to help promote their artwork. Not only are they seeing an increase in art print sales, but they also share some helpful tips and advice on how they get their work published and recognized. Imagekind’s strategic partnership with Flickr not only gives artists a great way to help promote their work, it’s really just as easy as a few simple clicks to get started.

Read the full article here.

Imagekind has been getting featured all over the place it seems for our Mother’s Day gift ideas. People are really catching on to all the different options they have when shopping for artwork at Imagekind. It is exciting to see what people think about our artist community where they can shop for artwork from our members’ collection or choose to create their own.

Take a look at some of the great things people are saying about Imagekind over at HGTV, King 5 TV and the moms and baby blog, Baby Scoop. Also, make sure to watch Rob explain some great gift ideas for mom including Imagekind greeting cards and prints on canvas.

More and more people are discovering how easy it is to upload their own personal photos and digital images and have them custom framed and matted, or printed on canvas. However this year, with our newly launched greeting cards and the recently released, Imagekind exclusive Story Frames, shoppers are finding fresh, creative ways to give their moms truly unique and one of a kind gifts.

After only a few simple steps, shoppers are able to upload and create unique gifts specifically tailored to their moms. You can upload family, vacation, wedding, baby’s firsts, and thousands of other special moments and have them printed as special gifts for your mom. Whether it’s a custom framed family portrait, your children’s’ unique school art project printed on canvas, or just a unique snapshot to give as a greeting card, you can create them all at Imagekind.

Remember to use promo code MDay2008 at checkout to receive free shipping on all your great Mother’s Day gifts from Imagekind.

Just wanted to drop a quick note about a sweet new collaboration with REDEFINE, a nationally distributed, independent magazine based in Seattle, dedicated to helping independent artists and musicians get the attention they deserve. Redefine magazine offers an alternative to the mainstream by highlighting independent artists and musicians. An equal opportunity magazine not limited to a narrow style or genre, Redefine covers a large amount of submissions sent to them by highly talented, yet relative nobodies.

However, in addition to the lesser known artists, they also feature extremely talented, well known artists like Dean Zulich who was featured on VH1’s “The Shot.” You can purchase signed, limited edition copies of Dean Zulich’s prints (including the one above) from the REDEFINE website, which are printed by Imagekind.

Image: Bones by Andy Haynes
http://redefinemagazine.imagekind.com

You can shop for other prints available from participating artists by visiting REDEFINE’s Imagekind gallery at:
http://redefinemagazine.imagekind.com.

To find a location near you where the magazine is sold, check out REDEFINE’s distribution list.

Nice!

Nate

Imagekind’s constant growth is a true testament to the innovative way artists can show and sell their work. We recently announced that Imagekind is now offering art from over 50,000 artists, to a fast-growing marketplace of over 250,000 users. Kevin says it best when he explains what this really means for artists and the new way Imagekind can help artists sell their work.

The fact that the Imagekind artist community has grown from just a handful of artists to over 50,000 in just a few years really shows that up-and-coming artists are looking for new ways to display and sell their work. Imagekind is creating a new democracy that allows little-known artists to share the landscape with better-known and established masters. Imagekind’s print-on-demand model allows artists to create their own galleries where they can set their own prices and connect with art lovers looking to discover unique pieces that can be custom framed and delivered to their door within days.

At Imagekind, artists of every medium and style – painters, illustrators and photographers – create online galleries to showcase and sell high-quality prints of their work. Visitors can purchase art prints, create custom framed masterpieces and order newly available greeting cards. In this way, emerging artists are discovered, and established professionals find new clients without relying on agents. Many artists are on track to make $60,000 a year or more in passive income just from their sales on Imagekind.

Three of Imagekind’s featured artists – Eli Halpin, Richard Stine and Sion Lee – are featured in the announcement as having generated new and loyal audiences for their work through their online galleries. Read on to find out how.

Octopus in Gold by Eli Halpin
http://EliHalpin.imagekind.com

Imagekind to the Rescue – Artist: Eli Halpin
New to the Imagekind community, Baltimore-based painter Eli Halpin turned to Imagekind after a Northwest home-and-lifestyle magazine featured a room in its pages that included one of Halpin’s paintings. Her popularity skyrocketing, Halpin immediately started fielding inquiries from interested buyers, but didn’t have a process in place to reprint, frame and distribute her works. With online research and plenty of competitive analysis, Halpin strategically created an Imagekind gallery where she now sells her works as one of the site’s most popular artists. Halpin’s gallery can be found here: http://elihalpin.imagekind.com/

House that Floats by Richard Stine
http://richardstine.imagekind.com

Imagekind for the Pro – Artist: Richard Stine
Award-winning painter and illustrator Richard Stine has enjoyed a decades-long career and is one of Imagekind’s most prolific artists. Stine has found a new following and a lucrative sales channel through his Imagekind gallery. With Stine’s large body of work, visitors come to be inspired by the artist’s sense of humor, use of color and signature style. Stine’s gallery can be found here: http://richardstine.imagekind.com

Flip the Bird by Sion Lee
http://ubiki.imagekind.com

Imagekind for Innovation – Artist: Sion Lee
Sion Lee is a graphic artist who creates contemporary works that he describes as “simple and clean with bits of retro and organic influences thrown in.” Lee’s innovative use of Imagekind galleries showcases his distinct bodies of work from the graphic puppies in his UbikiCute gallery, to the ethereal shapes in his experimental UbikiX gallery, Lee has captured a wide audience that continues to grow – and is selling more paintings than ever before.
Lee’s gallery can be found here: http://ubiki.imagekind.com/

There have been some very interesting articles published recently in the New York Times that provide insightful ideas and resources for collecting and selling original and limited edition artwork.

Image: After the Storm @ Sunset

http://invisions.imagekind.com

Art is an essential item for every interior. Not only does artwork pull a room together visually, it also helps express who you are by displaying your unique style. However, there is often a certain level of anxiety that surrounds our pursuit of finding artwork. This can be caused by anything from being bashful about explicitly expressing our style on our walls for everyone who visits to see, to simply not knowing what kind of artwork you particularly like.

Image: Masquerade by Tony P

http://tonypimages.imagekind.com

If you can sympathize, take a look at the articles below. And, let me help calm your anxiety with a not-so-subtle suggestion of where to find artwork from some of the top independent, emerging and established artists from around the world.

Note: In order to read the complete stories, you may need to register with the New York Times, which is free and relatively quick and easy.

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The Terrible Toll of Art Anxiety

By Joyce Walder

Many would-be art buyers are intimidated by galleries, worried about making unfashionable choices or otherwise unable to commit to a purchase.

Easing the Pain of Collecting

By Julie Scelfo

Jen Bekman’s goals include encouraging a broader swath of people to feel comfortable buying art.