La Bonne Etoile Blog

Kippy Hammond

The excitement is building around the opening of The Clothesline Gallery. To our surprise the web domain www.theclotheslinegallery.com was available and we quickly reserved it. Now, we are currently looking for just the right format to display and market the completed paintings of the LBE Alums.

Everyone reading this post, Alum or not, can participate and help us in one of two ways. For those of you who are familiar with online galleries, please send us your favorite links and a note to tell us what you like or don’t like about them. Or, if you have a few minutes surf the internet to see what we are talking about www.dailypainters.com is a good place to start. Remember, when you register as a member of the blog (look to the right sidebar) you can simply leave comments below, without sending emails.

The Clothesline Gallery will be different from most of the sites in that we will be helping with most of the technical activities as we all learn this together, so don’t panic if you aren’t really savvy with using photos on the net or marketing techniques. Our goal is….to create this together.

For the Alums….start going through your completed paintings inventory and decide what you are willing to part with. We will help you every step of the way from how to photograph your work, upload your photos, and follow up. You will have the option to do the tasks personally or sign up with the gallery director to do these tasks for you…all you need to do is paint and participate.

So…..let me introduce Vicki Ross to you. Here is what she says on her facebook site

I am a semi-retired graphic designer/web designer who is spending every spare minute at the easel, or the computer. Blogging is as important as painting. http://www.vickiandrandyrossart.blogspot.com

But at La Bonne Etoile, she is much more. She first visited us in 2006 and returned in 2007 to be the art director for our book “Melanger Avec Amour” and later that year for the Ann Templeton workshop and the next year for Leslie B. DeMille’s class. Needless to say, she has shown a commitment to growth as an artist that is an inspiration to all that know her. Along with all of this, she has stayed abreast with all the new technologies and how they are being applied in the art world. An effective marketer and patient teacher, we are, indeed, lucky to have her step up to the plate to be the first gallery director. Sooo…here is Vicki

Vicki Ross

The clothesline…how such a functional word can look so professional with art on exhibit in the studio of La Bonne Etoile.  We all have the excitement of our first public art show in EUROPE when it is time for Vernissage Night! Amazing what an impact your art has when all assembled in your spot. As you look around the room at the other art a feeling of sadness creeps in. Tomorrow we leave. Quick now, absorb every painting…remembering all the smells of being on location, the wonderful food, having to move your easel so a tractor can go about his work…take these memories with you. Champagne is ready, table set with wondrous little tidbits, ready for the visitors. Some are friends we’ve met over the past few weeks, some are locals who have a rich appreciation for what Kippy and Jerome have created in their village.

This blog has been under discussion for quite awhile, just germinating in our minds. Who would have ever imagined  a place where LBE alums could extend our memories, and actually add to them? This blog is that place.

I’ve had my own blog for around a year, and as a result have increased my sphere of influence by untold numbers. Facebook helped increase that even more. Through blogging I’ve been invited to join a number of online art challenge groups and the benefits of participation are many. I get more hits to my blogs…therefore, more people are seeing my art. With each participation I am encouraged and am more likely to paint. I find myself at the easel almost daily, eager to share my progress and challenges with others.

From all I have learned in the past few months, it appears that new collectors are buying direct from the artist. There are certainly works that need traditional galleries… BUT, studies, small works of art, just for fun paintings are perfect for direct internet sales. We’ll be adding this capability here in the next upgrade, and teaching you how to participate.

See you soon….