March 2012
159 posts
Tumblr FAQ - Tumblr basics for visual Artists →
artchipel.tumblr.com
Most my followers are pretty sharp, but it’s never a bad thing to review the basics. Artchipel wants to help your time here to be constructive, so they compiled a new FAQ section that covers tips on blog usage for a visual artist.
With artist/curator Jacob van Loon’s help, we’ve centralized questions frequently asked by visual Artists who choose Tumblr as their platform to share work. Read below to see if any question you have can be answered:
How do I find Art blogs that promote Artists?
Tumblr aggregates influential blogs in their Spotlight section. Blogs gain a certain status if their owners post consistent, well-received material. Some areas of the Spotlight we have found useful are:
Art
Artists
Comics
Curators
Design
Illustrators
Photography
Typography
What are “tags”? What do they do?
Like other blogging platforms, Tumblr allows any user to tag their posts. Tags show up abbreviated by #hashtags at the bottom of every entry in your feed, and in varying places on the front end of the blog depending on your layout.
Using tags makes your posts searchable. This allows others to find your work. Tumblr also aggregates the most popular tags used on the entire website, and puts them in one place for you. These featured tags are moderated by tag editors*, who have the ability to feature work in this section daily. We have found the following tags to be a good resource for visual Artists:
Art
Black and White
Comics
Crafts
Design
Illustration
Landscape
Portrait
Typography
Artists on Tumblr**
*What is a tag editor?
Read the full explanation for the editing position here.
**What is “Artists on Tumblr”? If I’m an Artist, how does this benefit me?
Artists on Tumblr is a featured tag designed for just that – Artists that post their work on Tumblr. Adding this tag to entries that contain your own original artwork allows tag editors* to search directly for you. By using this tag, you better your chances of being featured as an Artist on Tumblr, which is beneficial for your networking purposes.
What blogs should I follow?
We recommend following ARTchipel, and browsing this page titled Tumblr Art Blogs To Follow.
How to find some really awesome Artists on Tumblr?
Take some time to look through Tumblr Spotlight Artists and Illustrators sections, track the feature tag Artists on Tumblr**. You can also browse directory-blogs such as Artists on Tumblr and Artist Directory, discover artists with ARTchipel’s monthly Tumblr artists discovery list, or learn more about artists that ARTchipel has featured on Tumblr Artist page.
Why do you post the work of other Artists?
ARTchipel is a curatorial blog, which acts as a reservoir for content that we finds aesthetically and culturally valuable. With full compliance, we share the work of many Artists from a centralized location, which acts as a resource for Artists, and patrons alike. Sharing the Artwork we choose in an online format presents the opportunity to share ideas that not everyone has the opportunity to see or hear in person. ARTchipel also integrates itself directly with the art community on Tumblr, by inviting curators to share some of their favorite contemporary Artists, every Monday.
What else can I do to distinguish myself on Tumblr?
Featured tags are the most popular tags that Tumblr users implement, meaning that on a daily basis; they can house high volumes of content. Tagging your posts with your name, or handle, automatically individualizes your posts, and makes your entries searchable by your own name.
• Consistency is key. Posting as frequently as possible will allow others more chance to see your work. Tumblr moves quickly, keeping pace with it takes some thought. Streamlining your other social media sites with your blog is also a good idea.
• Vagueness doesn’t improve your chances. Consider what you see when you walk into most Art galleries. Pieces are labeled with a name, a title, a date, and a medium where relevant. Your posts should reflect this structure.
• Give credit where credit is due. If you are posting your own work, make sure Tumblr knows it. If you are posting the work of others with curatorial intent, make sure Tumblr knows it. Protecting the integrity of Artists is at the core of ARTchipel’s interest, and it will benefit you to do the same.
• Provide some information about yourself, and your work on your page.
• Introduce yourself. Most users on Tumblr enable the ask box, which allows users to submit content and/or questions to other users. That function can be found in varying places on a Tumblr page, depending on the layout. Once you have established a network of blogs to follow, say hello. Introducing your work and giving a little information about yourself is beneficial. Letting another user know what you think of their work is also a good way to establish communication.
What are other ways to gain more exposure?
Some curatorial blogs accept submissions from Artists who work in certain genres, such as:
Artist Directory – Fine Art
Designers of Tumblr – Design
Drawing Architecture – Architectural Drawing
Eat Sleep Draw – Illustration, Drawing
Fuck Yeah Girly Art – Gender-specific Illustration
Fuck Yeah Illustrations – Illustration
Fuck Yeah Moleskines – Sketchbooks
Ilustrativo – Illustrations
PhotographersDirectory – Photography
The Only Magic Left is Art – Fine Art
Tumblr Open Arts – Fine Art
N.B. If you have some tips to provide for visual Artists, please contact us
February 2012
201 posts
“I have a daughter who’s 10 and we walked past a billboard the other day advertising a TV programme. There was a row of men in suits and a woman in a thong. My daughter said, “Why is it like that? It’s to sell it, isn’t it?” She knows that already. I said, “Yes, it’s a shame a young woman would want to be portrayed in that way,” and she said, “But it’s her choice, isn’t it? Nobody made her do that.” So how do you explain the Gramscian concept of hegemony to a 10 year old? If the culture is so all pervasive that you can’t think outside of it, how are you making genuine choices?”
—
Monica Ali (via petitefeministe)
If the culture is so all pervasive that you can’t think outside of it, how are you making genuine choices?
^ That just needed repeating.
(via kungfucarrie)
I needed this on my blog again… I’ve been thinking about it quite a lot lately, in regards to so many aspects of my life AND our society as a whole.
(via lostgrrrls)
oh man I’ve wondered last line for a long time.
(via dumbthingswhitepplsay)
“
“Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.”
— Pablo Picasso
” —One of my long time followers and among my good tumblr friends asked about this quote today. So, I thought I’d speak about it a little with everybody.
For many artists, especially my students and myself, it takes a period of time to shift from the left brain tasks we deal with all around us into the right brain creative that allows us to get lost in our work. That’s why college studio classes last twice as long as a regular lecture class. Some people can make this shift quickly, others need contemplation and concentration to make the shift. I personally find I need both. Some days the creative is bursting forth and I immediately loose myself in my work. Other days, it take longer to quiet my brain and make the shift.
Everyday I come to appreciate more and more how brains, eyes, and other senses work for us everyday and especially for artists. Things like senses that most of us take for granted or are invisible to us as we go about our lives, have become an intense part of my art.
As an art professor, I have a hard time finding time to make art. I could paint or work on photographs during my studio class time, but I must keep up with what the students are doing and answer all their questions. That is what I am paid for, I love it, and I wouldn’t change a second of it.
So, my only times to wok on my personal art are after classes, at night, and on weekends.
Lately I have been able to dedicate large blocks of time in the evening and weekends to painting. I’m new to “painting” although I use elements of painting in my drawings and photographs. But I fell in love with encaustics last summer and have not stopped working with the wax and the pigments and the endless means of incorporating other media and raw ideas into my work.
This past week I hit a slump. Wasn’t happy with my past work (typical artist reaction in a slump) and couldn’t figure out what to do next. I kept dabbling around, but was just making crap. Finally I started paying attention to what was going on around me, what I had been doing, and the ideas for going forward came flooding through. I now have 9 paintings started and have another 10 planned. I work on so many at once because wax has to cool, I need to think, and it’s easier to keep a flow with a lot of work in process.
This afternoon I am in the studio, waiting for the wax to heat up and thinking about all those our there who have taken time to follow my blog, like my work, and share it with others on their blogs. Thanks for doing that. It makes me humbled and happy to see others enjoying what I do and sharing it with others.
Enjoy your weekend, make some art, and take some time to be quiet and think.
~workman
(via workman-studio)
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