Printing Your Art

Shilshole Bay Marina - Seattle, Washington Using your artwork and photographs for a worthy cause or even creating merchandise would be a wonderful way to use them! Here are several suggestions on how you can do this: 1. Charity Auctions : Organize an art and photography auction, with the proceeds going to a charity of your choice. This can be done in person or online through eBay for Charity or Charity Auctions Today. 2. Art Shows for Charity : Host an art and photography exhibition where you display your artwork/photographs and charge an entry fee or sell pieces with proceeds benefiting a nonprofit organization. 3. Collaborate with Local Organizations : Partner with local charities, schools, or community centers to create art and photography workshops or classes. You can donate some of the fees or sell your artwork to support their programs. 4. Create Merchandise : Turn your artwork and photographs into merchandise (like prints, greeting cards, or apparel) and sell them, donating a pe...

Pink Salmon by Carol Selling artwork as an independent artist without an established following can be challenging, but there are several effective avenues to explore in the United States. Here are some of the best places to consider: 1 . Online Marketplaces - Etsy : A popular platform for handmade and unique items, including artwork. It's user-friendly and has a large audience. - Saatchi Art : An online gallery that allows artists to sell original artwork and prints. They handle shipping and customer service. - Artfinder : A marketplace specifically for original art, connecting artists directly with buyers. - Redbubble : Allows artists to upload designs that can be printed on various products, from clothing to home decor.  2 . Social Media Platforms - Instagram : Use it to showcase your artwork and connect with potential buyers. Utilize hashtags and engage with art communities. - Facebook : Join art groups or create a page to promote your work. Facebook Marketpla...

Now that you have converted your artwork to a digital format it is now time to find out what you can do with it!  I like using my digital art and photography to design products, sell prints, and for adding to my stories and articles that I like to write and post. Some of my artwork can be found on Etsy at www.earthsflowers.com . I use the company Printify to upload the artwork and attach it to products that I can sell, from cups to clothing. This company interfaces with Etsy so once I design something I upload it to Printify which is easy to link with my Etsy and Pattern (full website that they offer) store. I normally use Photoshop 2023 for my designs as well as utilizing some options available through Printify. I will also use templates that are available in the Canva app too. In Canva I can use their templates or design my own. It really is a mix of options that I use from Canva, which is a paid service if you want their premium products to download in .png format (with no backg...

Flatbed scanning of artwork Need more room for all those paintings to hang on your wall? I'm in the same boat, so when I finish a painting, I do a 300-dpi scan of it to create a digital file. Home scanners are typically good at doing this, but if your artwork is large, you must find someone with a large-format flatbed scanner or take a high-resolution photograph that isn't blurry or doesn't bow on the sides. Practice makes perfect! I try to stick with painting on canvas, boards, wood, and paper in 12x12 or smaller, and if your flatbed on your copier/scanner doesn't fit the entire artwork, you will need a program where you have several scans showing all the painting and then merge it. I use Photoshop, and it works great!  If your artwork is larger and you can't make scans of all the artwork on your home printer/scanner, then there are alternative ways to do it. First, I would advise finding someone who has a business doing large format art scanning. They usually turn...

I thought this was a very thought-provoking article on Georgia O'Keefe. Check it out at the following link:  Georgia O’Keeffe Before She Was Famous | The New Yorker

Eli the Crow Okay, I'm not a multi-talented artist. I just like to dabble with acrylics, watercolors, and photography. I have also been totally enthralled by the Heirloom Traditional Paint Company out of  Kentucky, so much so, that I painted my kitchen cabinets myself. I have now bought enough paint to redo every piece of furniture I have. Why? It is because I love playing with colors. Maybe I never really grew up! Coloring books even made a comeback for adults in recent years. I should have thought of that idea first!  I usually digitize my art and then throw it onto my gallery. I am not concerned about sales as much as having a place to put my art. I enjoy viewing it and seeing if I am making any progress in my skill set. I don't always sit and do art, or take my camera everywhere I go, so my progression is really, really slow, but then again, that really isn't my goal in my hobbies and crafts. I just like doing them. I don't need to be the best, or the greatest, or h...