| Author | Message | ||
  rekha |
Suzy, your poems are quite touching, your websites colourful, your photo at least 30 years too young, but why 3 websites? | ||
Suzy |
Eugene, All three of my websites is made form one of the templates available through my website provider (I use verisign/networksolutions. The template is so easy..I just drop click and fill in the blanks. Its really a total no-brainer. There are hundreds of templates to choose from. You can see my site by going to www.suzytoronto.com www.tingleheart.com www.divasofthedeep.com | ||
victoria |
Happy Birthday Eugene, hope you had a great day. Reka is right that luck is certainly involved in staying healthy and active in later life, but I think that keeping yourself involved and having plans to work toward is almost as important. I read once a week to a retired professor (he is blind) who is 95 and is currently rewriting an operetta which he originally wrote in his 20's. He plans to send it in to the music department at the local University to see if they will consider doing a production of it. Nothing like staying on top of things and keeping in the swim. I think your idea of a web page is a great one. Wish I was intrepid enough to attempt to figure one out for myself (and I'm only 59!) Victoria | ||
marie |
I think you can probably do it yourself. You are a Mac user, and I believe the latest version of iLife has something called iWeb that allows you to build web pages. I haven't tried it yet, but if it's anything like iPhoto I would guess it's pretty good. I come from the old school and think it's a good idea to learn basic HTML if you want to do web pages. The basics are not difficult, and it gives you a lot more flexibility in the long run. There's a good tutorial at http://www.w3schools.com/html/. You'll need to find a place to host your site. I use godaddy.com, which is cheap and reliable. I use their economy hosting, which runs about $3 per month. You'll also need to register a domain, which you can do through godaddy; a domain will run you about $9 per year, less when they're running a special. I'm going out of town for a while later today, but I may email you tomorrow with more pointers. You may also want to take a look at my website at http://mmatthews.com/. The contact page has my email address -- feel free to email me if you want. (I don't post my email address directly because I am paranoid about spam.) | ||
Eugene |
MARIE, I know absolutely nothing about setting up a web page. Should I hire a pro or try to do it myself? What are the costs etc.? If you don't want to take space on the discussion board you can emeil me. | ||
marie |
Ummm .. make that 13 years. Simple arithmetic eludes me at times. | ||
marie |
Eugene, please let me know if you have any questions about setting up a web page. I have been doing web stuff for 14+ years. | ||
rekha |
Luck has a lot to do with remaining fit, Eugene. My parents are pretty fit in their 80s and go around the world and generally quite active. Here's me at age almost 57 crippled with osteoarthritis so badly that I had to stop full-time work and hence my present dabbling in painting to keep the mind sane. End of whinging. I am pleased you are having a jolly birthday. Look after yourself. | ||
Eugene |
Yes, Watercolor is my only hobby. I'm somewhat handicapped and can't get around very well, so I'm glad I have my painting to keep me busy. However I do a lot of reading and playing on the computer. My next project is setting up a web page to show my work. Thanks for the "HAPPY BIRTHDAYS" - I'M HAVING A GOOD ONE! | ||
rekha |
Happy birthday, Eugene. You are the same age as my Dad! Is watercolour painting your only hobby? | ||
Raliegh |
Happy Birthday Eugene! Thank you for sharing that with us. | ||
marie |
Happy Birthday, Eugene! | ||
Eugene |
RALEIGH My friend uses arhival inks from Epson. Don't know if they can be used in other printers. I'll be 82 tomorrow, I'm sure most papers and inks are going to outlast me! | ||
Raliegh |
OK Robert Jorns, tell us what brand of ink you used. | ||
Robert Jorns |
I have been creating and printing fine art giclee prints for 6 years. I create work that is a combination of photography and digital manipulation printed on watercolor paper or canvas (the entire edition is on the same material.) I also create "digital paintings" starting with a blank screen and creating a piece from scratch digitally. I then print the image. In addition I do giclee reproductions of my work. With my work I typically scan the original. I have a 12 x 18 scanner. The largest piece (length) that I have scanned is 6' x 1' and the largest images have been 48" x 36" on canvas or board as I paint on both. In addition I have scanned my watercolors. All of my work are limited edition prints. The largest edition is 100. (My choice.) Most of my non-reproduction editions are under 50. (Again my choice.) I am a traditional printmaker (etchings and serigraphs as well as a digital printmaker. I sell my work through art shows and galleries. I have never had a rep. I have never liked selling my original paintings which is why I became a printmaker. My background: Professional artist, Graphic Designer & Illustratrator for over 35 years and a College Professor teaching graphics for 6 years (since my retirement from an advertising career. Printmaker. | ||
Raliegh |
Eugene, thanks for your suggestion and I'd be interested in more information on archival paper and ink. | ||
Eugene |
Marie. re you cemetery paintings. If you are satisfied with smaller prints, why not do them on your printer? (max size 7 1/2 x 10, with 1/2 inch white border) I can make very acceptable prints using my digital camera and an old Epson 740 color printer. I print on 2 sided mat photo paper that I buy at Staples (their own brand) and use regular Epson inks. I’ve had no trouble with fading, but if this is a concern, there are archival papers and inks available. I can find a source if you’re interested. | ||
rekha |
Wow, Marie, and good luck!! I hope I can get to that position in some years | ||
marie |
Sid, Eugene, and Rekha ... thanks for all the input. I'll think on it some more. Part of what prompted the question is that I have been working on a series of cemetery pictures, some of which I posted in another thread a while back. I have about 40+ of these paintings now. Taken as single paintings, they're not especially significant; they were really intended as plein air practice. Taken as a group, however, they become considerably more interesting, with a wide range of lighting and viewpoints. I'm beginning to think that some kind of reproduction might make more sense than selling them off individually. Some of the folks who are active in the foundation that maintains the cemetery are beginning to express some interest in doing something with them -- we're not sure quite what yet. I'm trying to figure out what the possibilities are. | ||
Sid |
Marie I do have giclee prints made of some of my watercolor paintings. I have had some of them professionally photographed and sent the printer a digital image on a CD. Other times I have sent the original painting to the printer and they produced the digital image. Now that I have an 8-megapixal digital camera I will no doubt produce the digital images and CD's myself. I sell giclees at art shows and through galleries. I have some framed for show and I also sell the plain paper prints. I figure my pricing by doubling the expense of producing the print (including shipping, photographing, etc.and framing costs if framed) That's my base price. Then I divide by .60 to add on a 40% gallery commission. I add that whether selling through a gallery or selling them myself. That keeps my prices consistent and I'm not undercutting my galleries. Originals I price by the square inch. I see no reason why giclees should affect the price of the original. Educate your buyers a bit so they understand that a print of any sort is not an original. I set that usually well before I have ordered prints and I don't really change it. True giclees are printed on very large printers especially designed for such work. They are very expensive. I'm not sure you could get the same quality on a home printer. I am concerned about print longevity. Giclee inks are up to at least 70 years now. That's good enough for me. Again, the buyer has to understand, they are not originals! I have printed both same size as originals and also smaller. You are providing a less expensive, high quality reproduction of an original painting that the customer likes but feels they can't afford. You make them happy and you get some income to keep on painting! My editions have been 150 and 250. Hope this helps. | ||
Eugene |
MARIE, I don't do giclees or any other prints. Mostly because they are expensive and are of no good to anyone unless you sell them. I'm a poor salesman. If you do the show circuit or have galleries that will handle them I'd say go for it. A friend of mine has a lot of prints, and does quite well. But she has good gallery connections, and a husband who peddles them for her. THEY DON'T SELL THEMSELVES. If you go for giclees, I'd advise you to go the professional route. The big advantage in giclees is that you don't have to buy hugh quantities. The initial production cost is steep, but after that you can reorder just a few at a time. | ||
rekha |
Hi Marie; I haven't reached that stage at all but put in the keywords giclee and marketing and this URL should take you to numerous references http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=100&hl=en&newwindow=1&q=giclee+marketing&meta= | ||
marie |
I have been thinking about making giclees of some of my pieces and would like advice from this group. Somewhere deep inside I'm a little hesitant about doing gicless, and I'm not sure if I'm being rational in my hesitation. Some of the questions may repeat questions from previous threads. If so, I apologize. * Where do you sell your giclees? Do you give them to friends? Sell them at festivals? In galleries? On your website? * How to you price your prints relative to your originals? * Do you print them the same size as your originals? * What does a giclee do to the price of your original? Does it depress the price of the original because it's difficult to distinguish the original from the copy? Does it increase the price? * Do you print your giclees at home or do you have them done professionally? Do you photograph them yourself or do you have them professionally photographed? If you print at home, what kind of printer do you use? * Do you pay any attention to the quality/lightfastness of inks and papers in the printing? * Do you do limited editions? If so, how many do you include in an edition? |
