My Craft Corner Artist Feature - Art Ist's Craft Corner

Welcome! It's Tuesday and time for another artist feature. Today I'm featuring an amazingly talented artist. Meet Art from "One A Day."  

 **What is your craft and how long have you been making it?

Painting, photography and sculpture. I’ve been involved in some kind of art my whole life.

**What inspired you to start selling your handmade items and are you enjoying it?

A lack of storage space. LOL! Yes, I enjoy it – it’s nice when someone appreciates my work enough to actually buy it. Selling online is hard work, though.

 "Regatta"

**What is your best selling item?

People seem to like aceos, which are very small works of art. We’ve also had interest in our greeting cards, which were created from an original painting which I did in the winter.

**What are your favorite materials to work with?

Right now I’m enjoying oils on canvas panels. I also enjoy using unique canvases like cardboard, tiles or wood planks … I’ve even used several pages of old books, which have been glued together. Each “canvas” creates a different affect.

**What is your favorite venue for promoting yourself  and your craft?

I use my blog to market my work and then social networks like Twitter.

**Where does your inspiration to create come from?

Various places – walks in nature, a scene from a magazine, my imagination. Sometimes even a song will inspire a painting.

  "Foggy"

**What do you do to keep busy when experiencing slow sales?

My wife &  I enjoy hiking and walks along a nearby river. We also own a CAD support business. Truthfully, though, I don’t think about sales all that much – I create for myself, so slow sales basically means I have time to pursue painting.

**What would you say to artists who are new to selling and/or who are struggling with selling?

It’s such a tough time, right now, with the economy – when people are struggling financially, they don’t buy luxury items like art. So I’d say to new artists, be patient until things pick up. I’d also say to use the time to build up an inventory and learn as much as possible about selling. Then, when the economy picks up and people start buying, you’ll be ready.

**What are some of your goals for your business?

I’d like to make a living with my art. In a perfect world, I could spend my days creating and I’d have enough sales to live comfortably.

  "Rainy"

**Have I missed anything or is there something else you would like to share?

All of the work posted on my blog is for sale – if anyone is interested, just drop me a line. I also take commission work. As I mentioned above, my wife and I also own a CAD support business. We specialize in designing homes so if anyone is interested in that service, we can be contacted through the blog or through email. Thanks very much for giving me this opportunity to be featured!

♦View Art's work on his blog at "One A Day" & Etsy Shop, "Appealing To You."

♦Check out Art's My Craft Corner Page and learn more about him.

♦Follow Art on Twitter here.

♦You can contact Art at: artistaismenow@gmail.com or cadsupport1@gmail.com

Thanks so much for sharing your awesome talent Art! Your paintings are true masterpieces!

Come back on Friday, May 14th, when I feature another MCC artist! Thanks for reading & happy creating!