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Post by papillon on Jan 2, 2008 10:11:52 GMT -5
This is not about the weather.... nor is it about bathing - I leave that to Tim when he comes out of the absinthe vapours floating about the Bistro. This is about being professional in the pursuit of art or rather in the pursuit of putting your art out there. So here's the story. I got a PM on WetCanvas. Someone was asking my permission to use my Nostalgic Christmas painting to illustrate a poem they had written about candlelight. There is a thread in Cafe Guerbois on WC dedicated to Art and Poetry.. Naturally I responded that I was flattered and she could go ahead and use my art, giving her the LMA address as a link to use. But then she came back to me with a lot of things I had not really thought about. It's kinky to sign my artwork as RoSe... but that is not a very efficient art name.. I needed also to be an identifiable person. LMA is a great little site but there is nowhere in it an address or any way a visitor could contact me unless they were actually members. I needed a website or at the very least a blogspot if I wanted to get out there.... even if I had not intention of selling my art. Duh! She's right of course. I realised there is no way I could expect professional results if I kept thinking in amateurish ways! So this morning I took the bull by the horns and set up my own website. I have merely uploaded images so far and still need to go back to each image to add the details... and also prices if I want to sell. There is a direct link to Paypal and no commissions are charged. Here's the link: www.zhibit.org/rosesciberrasLet me know what you think.
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Post by Tim on Jan 2, 2008 10:29:23 GMT -5
Wow ...I like it .It is a great way to present your work. Bravo !!!!!!! It works very quickly to ...no long waits between art work. Congrats Rose welcome to the world of selling yourself . Not easy at first but it becomes very gratifying !!!
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Mitamy
Junior Member
Posts: 96
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Post by Mitamy on Jan 2, 2008 11:31:43 GMT -5
wow, great job with the sait! it is really great... ;)Congrats and good luck!!
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Post by paulette on Jan 2, 2008 12:18:21 GMT -5
Looks pretty good!
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Post by jan on Jan 2, 2008 13:29:50 GMT -5
I wondered why you had been so scarce lately! Great job on the website - it looks very professional & I expect to see sales right & left!
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Post by papillon on Jan 2, 2008 14:21:56 GMT -5
Thank you everyone. Jan: I set up the website during the course of this morning. The reason I was a little scarce in the previous days was that I was preparing a full blown 5 course meal for 12... and then serving it and sharing in it ... and then recovering from it! ;D
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Post by Martina on Jan 2, 2008 16:37:57 GMT -5
Very well done, Rose. As Tim said - the site loads very fast - it is a perfect outfit to bring your artwork to life.
I wonder if the Deviant-account wouldn't have been enough? But this site is much much better than every devian thingy can be.
So now Rose - you need another signature. I just changed mine because of similar reasons. (In Germany my family name isn't seldom - and we have some old masters of the same name - at least one (a greatgreatgrandgrandgranduncle of hubby).
Do you know your new signature yet?
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Post by grampybone on Jan 2, 2008 18:01:34 GMT -5
Looks great Rose. I think you chose a great painting for the home page also. Please keep us updated as to any sales you generate from the site, as I'm interested in the business side of art also.
I've considered setting up a website also, but I don't feel my art skills are up to where I want them to be yet. Perhaps a year from now...
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Post by Christy on Jan 2, 2008 18:24:54 GMT -5
Hi Rose...happy new year! First I would like to congratulate you on taking this step forward and putting your name and art out there! I absolutely like your website! It is beautiful and very elegant looking. Great Job! I am so amazed that you could do a website like that in just one morning. Is this done with a template? Perhaps you don't mind sharing some specifics with those of us (i.e. me ) who are still not quite in the loop about techno/computer things. I have been talking about setting up a site for a year or more and never taken steps to do it. There have been people wanting to do a site for me but they wanted a to high sum for it. Anyway, it looks fabulous and I hope you'll have much success and that it will open doors for you that you didn't even dream of before! Just to let you know, I wanted to sign your guest book but it only let me sign up for weekly or monthly updates and no place to comment. Thought you might likr to know. Hugs
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Post by andrea on Jan 2, 2008 20:03:41 GMT -5
Great job Rose, it does look very professional. There are even some on there I haven't seen before. Can I ask why some of them have copyright watermarks and others don't? I too have been meaning to set my site up, I have a site but I'm just not 'techno' enough to know how to set up the pages to flick through the images like yours.
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Post by Joanie on Jan 2, 2008 20:56:20 GMT -5
Why is it that this does not surprise me LOL Great Job Rose!
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Post by papillon on Jan 3, 2008 3:29:43 GMT -5
Once again thank you. But before you run away with some ideas let me tell you that no particular technical knowledge is required to set up a website like this. Templates are provided. Yes, you do have to decide on display patterns and colour schemes and you do have to provide all the written material but beyond that it is just a question of uploading artwork which you do straight from your hard disk. Before I decided on which site to subscribe to I looked around a little to see what other people opt for. I found Zhibit to be the fastest and most user friendly for the casual visitor. I bought a year's subscription which worked out at $7.50 a month - making it just about the cheapest, particularly since this is actually their second best plan allowing me space for 500 pieces of artwork and other benefits. Grampy: Come on man, what are you talking about. I am always in awe of your art! Christy: It really is very easy to set up the site and you might be interested to know they also have a jewelry category. I think that is the only thing you can do on the guestbook. To write something you would either have to use the contact tab or write a comment on some particularly artwork. Andrea: I'm supposed to have webspace as part of my internet plan too but it has always been very nebulous and I never used it. This was very easy to do. The reason some images are copyrighted and some not is that I still have to go back to each one of them and set my options.... there being 38 of them it takes time! Martina: I think I shall go on signing my artwork RoSe. To start with my surname is just too long and unpronounceable to a lot of people. I sometimes chuckle to myself thinking of how you all pronounce my family name! Besides, I don't think there are any artists of any repute by that names so it's not as if using it will help. But at least now I'm not just Farfallina or Papillon but a person with a name and an address. Joanie: What are you not surprised at? - that I started a website or that I cooked and ate a five-course dinner?! I don't really expect to sell. That is not really the purpose of the site. To be perfectly honest I don't think I shall ever sell anything before I develop an individual and distinct style. When I look at my artwork I see such an eclectic and motley collection that I feel there is not much personality there. But now at least I have a business card!
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Post by Martina on Jan 3, 2008 4:17:29 GMT -5
I sometimes chuckle to myself thinking of how you all pronounce my family name! lol - If you want to know, here is my pronounciation: SHIBERRA (this way I would write it in englisch if I only would hear the name) with a rrrrrrrrolling R. Your site is really great. What I like very much is that there is nothing thar distracts you from the artwork. One day, when I grow up, I want to become your neighbour there. ;D In about 211 years or so.
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Post by papillon on Jan 3, 2008 6:55:04 GMT -5
Correct Martina, except that the S at the end is also pronounced and the accent is on the final syllable. ... and rather than a website let's call it a web space. By the way, I was looking to buy a domain with my name. The cheapest I found in Europe was 50 euros a year (also BTW how do I make my computer write the euro symbol?! ) and believe it or not the most expensive ones are those located in Malta - 300 euros a year! I really don't want to spend much... any ideas?
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Post by grampybone on Jan 3, 2008 9:29:01 GMT -5
Rose, I have noticed that a lot of full time artists have blogs in addition to their websites. This may fit more into what your purpose is as far as getting out your name and artwork. These are sometimes free, and usually cheaper than websites. Some of my favorite artists have blogs that are more interesting to me than their websites due to the daily updates.
Good luck!
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Post by jan on Jan 3, 2008 9:44:13 GMT -5
I don't know the exchange rate between Euros & $ but my domain costs me $15 a year & sometimes webhosts will absorb the cost of the domain name as a perk to get you to host with them. I don't think that's at all expensive but don't know how it works in other countries.
Well, I just went to an exchange calculator and it says the rate would be a little over 10 Euros a year. That's a far cry from 300 euros! Can you obtain your domain in the US or is it illegal?
€ - Rose, to get the Euro symbol, hold down the alt key and type in 0128 on the number key pad. It won't work using the numbers across the top of the key board and the font you are using must contain the symbol also (I think most do now days.)
Shoot! I hit send too quickly! I wanted to say that I think you would do really well in the blog format with your writing skills and would have a lot of visitors who would watch you do wips. I think you should also add a blog - some blogs can even be integrated into a website (my host offers that option) which I think is ideal - I just haven't done it. (I'm pretty slack when it comes to updating a blog but am trying to do better!)
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Post by Joanie on Jan 3, 2008 9:46:27 GMT -5
Joanie: What are you not surprised at? - that I started a website or that I cooked and ate a five-course dinner?! Both!!!!
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Post by papillon on Jan 3, 2008 10:18:37 GMT -5
Jan, thanks for showing me how to get the Euro symbol €€€€ ... see now I'm trigger happy!! There is a blog attached to my webspace - it's part of the package and I have space for a hundred entries. I never really thought of doing a blog... I'm ok talking about what I do, or feel or have in mind to do with people I more or less know.... talking to the vastness of the internet is a little daunting.... and what could I possibly say that would be of any interest to anyone. It's something to keep in mind though... yes maybe some sort of WIP could be an option. As for Google ranking I am totally surprised. I don't know what you all get when you type Rose Sciberras, but when I did it this morning the website I opened just yesterday was right at the top! I was amazed.
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Post by jan on Jan 3, 2008 10:22:44 GMT -5
I was reading your web hosts selling points and I think I remember it saying that they promoted you or optimized your website for good ranking and with your superior artwork ------- well, I can see why you'd be at the top!
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Post by Christy on Jan 4, 2008 2:45:32 GMT -5
Christy: It really is very easy to set up the site and you might be interested to know they also have a jewelry category. I saw... Have been spending a long time there checking things out. It looks pretty good and I might go ahead in the next couple of month setting up a site myself there. I like that it is easy and has the option of paypal. You did a real good job putting everything nicely in place. I might be biased, but think that your site is the prettiest I have seen there so far. I don't know if that is correct Rose, because you do have a certain distinct style to your work already. If you mean that you want to create a body of work that all ties somehow together, perhaps you want to consider creating a body of work relating to Malta, for example. Kind of like weaving a story in pictures. Anything from the architecture there to landmarks to seascapes (with those pretty boats) food, people, wildlife, foliage, etc. anything and everything related to your beautiful home. You could call it "My Malta" or something like it What do you think about that? Jan, does one have to have a domain? or is it just to keep someone else from taking your name? See, I told ya'll that I don't know nuttin about puters and techno things....(ok, I'll talk normal again now) Night...Night ...off to bed
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Post by papillon on Jan 4, 2008 3:23:39 GMT -5
I might be biased, but think that your site is the prettiest I have seen there so far. Ha! Ha! You probably are biased Christine, though you may not be the only one to be biased in this way. I think Zhibit would work a treat for your jewelry. The Paypal link is really very handy and helps you see the colour of people's money before you actually part with anything of yours. Of course I love your idea. It is something I have often thought about and it is the kind of thing that would most definitely sell locally - for tourists and locals themselves. Anything connected with Malta, usually referred to as Melitensia in a wide sense and including anything from antique furniture to literature to art to stamps is quite rare because of the size of the country and therefore very collectible. What I need is some time to go around taking some pictures since I'm not up to plein air yet. As for the domain you don't really need one. I wanted one so that I could connect it to my Zhibit site - just of the sake of eliminating the Zhibit extension. I did get one from Go Daddy yesterday. I now have ownership of rosesciberras.com for at least 5 years. It was not expensive, though I paid a little more so that my details are not exhibited in the Whois directory. It also gives me an email address and a website of my own. That however will have to wait. It will take careful planning and more knowledge of web building than I have at the moment. And right now I need to be doing art not web design! Oh and BTW, Go Daddy have very good technical support. I know because I personally called them last night because of a tiny glitch I had. I talked to a real person and they solved my problem within minutes. Meanhile.. the advice from that person on Wet Canvas goes on. Her latest piece of advise was: ' traditional' is still a preferred style of art. The 'isms' come and go and then fade. Semi-realism with traditional subject is definitely holding it's own in popularity with the public.
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Post by Martina on Jan 4, 2008 5:28:42 GMT -5
Congrat for the domain, Rose! I think Grampy's idea of your own blog is a good idea. Joanie's blog is pretty often read and I think you like to write and you have to say a lot about arts. And a blod is for free - mostly.
Oh - and btw - I go with Christy: You DO HAVE a special style. I bet I can name a painting you've done without seeing before. May be your style changes in the next years - but so did the style of all artists. Don't put your light under a chair ;D ;D - you are a good artist with a special style and a great homepage.
When will your domain work? I want to put a link from mySpace to your site.
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Post by Christy on Jan 4, 2008 15:09:23 GMT -5
I think Zhibit would work a treat for your jewelry. The Paypal link is really very handy and helps you see the colour of people's money before you actually part with anything of yours. As for the domain you don't really need one. I wanted one so that I could connect it to my Zhibit site - just of the sake of eliminating the Zhibit extension. I did get one from Go Daddy yesterday. I now have ownership of rosesciberras.com for at least 5 years. It was not expensive, though I paid a little more so that my details are not exhibited in the Whois directory. Meanhile.. the advice from that person on Wet Canvas goes on. Her latest piece of advise was: ' traditional' is still a preferred style of art. The 'isms' come and go and then fade. Semi-realism with traditional subject is definitely holding it's own in popularity with the public. That is a good point, but also less hassle with peoples personal credit card information and the responsibility of caring for and safeguarding their creditcard numbers, etc. Customers have been asking me for a long time if I have a website or a store. I mainly want this website for this reason, so that current customers can find me again if they want to purchase more in the future. We have many tourists coming through and it has been a shame that they are not able to see what I am up to now and the new things created,etc. I don't quite understand what you mean with the Zhibit extension and how this would work to connect with your domain? Could you elaborate a little more on that? Also, why would you not have your details exhibited in the whois directory? I think this person is wise and knowledgeable in the business side of art. We need to invite her to sign up here and write an advice column.
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Post by Joanie on Jan 4, 2008 16:02:45 GMT -5
Joanie's blog is pretty often read and I think you like to write and you have to say a lot about arts. I didn't know I had a blog? Do I? LOL
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Post by Martina on Jan 4, 2008 16:26:14 GMT -5
I didn't know I had a blog? Do I? LOL ooops....... Sorry Joanie, I always thought that "a renaissance woman" is your blog. Now I remember that it is Paulette. I hope. I wish. I beeeeeeeeg.......
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