Free Tour: The line forms here!

I thought I’d give you a little online tour of the new website! Let’s start off with the home page, here is an image of the navigation at the top of the page:

Home Page Image, http://www.lynnemedsker.com

Many of the buttons at the top of the page can be hovered over to access a drop-down menu, offering more choices within that category. Here’s an image of the “Art” button drop-down menu circled in blue:

drop down menu at http://www.lynnemedsker.com

Taking it a step further, some of the drop-down items have pop-outs with more information, images or details. Those categories have a “>” on the label. Here is how they look when they pop out:

Image of a pop-out button on the drop-down menu at http://www.lynnemedsker.com

Did you notice that the pop-out button is for purchasing my digital and photographic art online? Yup, there’s a page to do that now! That’s one of the new features I was excited about adding.

Something else that will be featured (and regularly updated!) on the home page is an image of current work in progress, like the one shown here:

work in progress image from home page of http://www.lynnemedsker.com

Here’s the last stop of today’s tour, probably not as glamorous as some of the other items but I’m excited about them! These buttons are at the bottom of each page to make it easy for you to keep connected with me and my art and to share the pages/images with your friends and family.

links for sharing and newsletter sign up on http://www.lynnemedsker.com

Anytime you see an image or read a page that you like, hitting those share buttons would be most appreciated! And to make sure you get the latest updates, be sure to sign up for my newsletters. They will be published twice a month, with occasional special announcements throughout the year. I also have a separate newsletter specifically for those of you interested in the classes and workshops I present. That is published about once a month.

Next post I’ll give you a peek at the online calendar for classes, some “secret” pages as well as a section of fun stuff, just for you! In the meantime feel free to explore on your own, it’s open 24/7, 365 days a week by clicking RIGHT HERE. Enjoy!

Lynne

Tutorial: Adding an “Interest List” on Facebook

So this morning I woke to find this message appearing on my Facebook feed from several different sources. Perhaps you did too?

Although it lists the steps to do this I always find it easier to learn things visually. If you are a visual learning (or just need a bit of help getting through these steps) I’ve taken some screen shots of the process and added a few notes on how to create and add pages to your “Interest Lists”. Please note that this only works on your personal profile and you can only add business pages, if you have a business page there is currently not a way to create these lists there.

First things first, you have to have already clicked “LIKE” for the page(s) you’d like to add. You can follow these steps on my business page by clicking here: www.facebook.com/lynnemedskerart – the page will pop up in a new window so you can go back & forth between this tutorial and my page easily. Remember the first step is to click “Like” if you haven’t already done so. (Surely you have!)

There are two different ways that you can access the controls to add a page to you list. First you can go directly to that page (like you did in the step above to access my page), you’ll get a full screen of the page and can locate the “Like” button at the top/right of the page, under the header image. If you already have “Liked” the page you can also access it through your own page by going to your personal page and clicking on your “Likes’ list. It may be one of the boxes under your header image or you may have to use the drop down menu to find it. Here’s an image of my personal page (yes, I am that goofy) with the “Likes” circled (the drop down menu is right next to it):

(click image to see larger version)

After you’ve either location your “Likes” page or gone to the actual page you’d like to add you will need to hover your mouse over the “Liked” box to access the options that will let you add the page, just hold your “pointer” over that box for a moment and wait for the options to pop up on the screen.

(click image to see larger version)

Here is an image of how the drop down menu should look after you hover over it:

(click image to see larger version)

You will click on the option that says “Add to Interest List”.  Once you have clicked on “Add to Interest List” option another drop down menu will appear with options for which list you’d like to add it to. In the image below I’ve created a list of local artists and art organizations that I have added pages too. (You can have multiple lists, with each being a different topic.)

(click image to see larger version)

The first time that you add a page it will give you the opportunity to create a list, you can see the “+ New List” option underneath the list I had already created (to add additional lists/categories  you would click that option as well). Once you’ve clicked on it  you will be asked for a title for the list  so choose one and then type it in the box.

Congratulations! You’ve started your first Interest List! Now just follow the same steps to add any other pages that interest you. Be sure to select the list on your home page from time-to-time to make sure you’re getting all the latest from the pages you like! You can find it in the left hand column of when you are on your home page:

Thanks for reading my blog and for your “Likes” on Facebook, I appreciate you support & interest!

Lynne

Web Presence for Artists: Saturday, October 27th

When I presented this class in August I said I would try my best to find a Saturday date and do it again, for those that aren’t available during the week. Well, here it is! As I mentioned before, I know enough about the subject to know I don’t know it all – but I’m excited to share what I do know! Here is the class information. If you’d like to join, please email me at info@lynnemedsker.com.

__________________________________________________________________________________

An Introduction to Web Presence & Social Media for Artists

Presented by Lynne Medsker

Date:                  Saturday, October 27th, 2012

Time:         12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (bring an afternoon snack if you wish)

Location:         Gallery on the Square

                          51 South Washington Street

                       Danville, Indiana

Cost:                  $20 per person

Contact:         Lynne Medsker @ info@lynnemedsker.com

This class is to introduce and encourage artists to use the available social media and online outlets to present and promote their work.  It will be broken into two sessions, the first session covers basic information on presenting your work online, including:

Basic information all artists need to promote their work: Resume, artist statement, bio

Photographing/Adjusting/Resizing your images for the web

Watermarking & copyright for your images

What information to include with your images

Being consistent in your efforts

Connecting with other artists, art lovers and potential clients

After an afternoon break we will spend time talking about specific sites and ways to promote your art, some topics covered will be:

Facebook Pages

Pinterest

Twitter

LinkedIN, Branched Out, Google+, etc.

Etsy & eBay

Blogs and blogs vs. websites

Image hosting sites

Online resources

You will receive multiple handouts as well as access to links & information via the internet after the class. I will be available after the session to answer any specific questions that you may have about your art, Facebook Page, blog, etc. and to schedule one-on-one tutoring sessions for those who are interested in further assistance. If you have a laptop please bring it with you!

Web Presence for Artists: August 29th, 2012

I was invited to share some information with local artists about online presence and social media. I know enough about it to know I don’t know it all – but I’m excited to share what I do know! Here is the class information. If you’d like to join, please email me at info@lynnemedsker.com. If we can find a workable date in the near future I may be presenting this again on a Saturday for those that aren’t available during the week.

__________________________________________________________________________________

An Introduction to Web Presence & Social Media for Artists

Presented by Lynne Medsker

Date:                  Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

Time:         10:00 a.m.– 2:00 p.m. (bring a sack lunch)

Location:         Sugar Creek Art Center

                          127 South Pearl Street

                       Thorntown, Indiana

Cost:                  $20 per person

Contact:         Lynne Medsker @ info@lynnemedsker.com

This class is to introduce and encourage artists to use the available social media and online outlets to present and promote their work.  It will be broken into a morning session that covers basic information on presenting your work online, including:

Photographing/Adjusting/Resizing your images for the web

Watermarking & copyright for your images

What information to include with your images

Being consistent in your efforts

Connecting with other artists, art lovers and potential clients

After lunch we will spend time talking about specific sites and ways to promote your art, some topics covered will be:

Facebook Pages

Pinterest

Twitter

LinkedIN, Branched Out, Google+, etc.

Etsy & eBay

Blogs and blogs vs. websites

Image hosting sites

Online resources

You will receive handouts as well as links & information via email after the class. I will be available after the session to answer any specific questions that you may have about your art, Facebook Page, blog, etc. and to schedule one-on-one tutoring sessions for those who are interested in further assistance. If you have a laptop please bring it with you!

Progression of a Digital Art Image

Just for fun I thought I’d show you some images of a digital art piece I recently created. I think it’s fun to see the different stages from beginning to end! This was another small piece I made on my smart phone, I keep flipping back & forth between calling them kaleidoscopes and mandalas, I guess they could be either. Or both! Here is the beginning of the process:

image #1, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

I decided I wasn’t fond of it with a black background so I changed that to white and kept going, adding a thick layer of black design on the top:

image #2, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

It continued along with these steps:

image #3, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

image #4, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

image #5, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

image #6, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

I let the program choose some of the colors (although I could delete any I didn’t care for) until the end, when I decided which ones to use. Once I was done with it in the phone I sent it to Photoshop where I continued to play:

image #7, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

Sometimes I question if I’ve done too much, I rather like it back at image #3! A few final tweeks and this is where I stopped:

image #8, step by step digital art © lynne medsker

Which reminds me of these quotes:

A painting is never finished – it simply stops in interesting places. (Paul Gardner)

Art is never finished, only abandoned. (Leonardo da Vinci)

Time to show YOUR digital art!

Digital art is a term used for a range of artistic works produced using digital technology. Computers and digital cameras have transformed traditional activities such as painting, drawing, design, and photography.

In order to further expose the public to the wide array of artistic possibilites that digital art presents the Sugar Creek Art Center (in conjunction with the “Cybernated Artistry” show of artist Lynne Medsker, who is organizing the event) will be hosting a group show of digital art!

Show Criteria:

Show entries may include computer generated paintings, drawings, design drawings, or examples of graphic design. Digital photography or scanned images can also be entered if they have been artistically manipulated by computer software to produce images unattainable through conventional photographic processes.

Open to any artist residing in the U.S.  Entries must be original and created by the artist and should be current work (no more than two years old)

All entries should be unframed and mounted/matted to 8×10”, actual images can be any size as long as they are prepared for display at 8×10” – please sign & title the front of your work. Artist name and contact information must be on the back of all entries.

Any entries submitted that are not mounted/matted properly, or contain images of violence or nudity, will not be accepted. Sugar Creek Art Center has the right to reject any piece of work deemed unacceptable.

The entry fee is $10, which allows an artist to submit from one to three images for display. There are no discounts for submitting less than three entries, nor are there refunds for your entry fee once it has been submitted with your work. You MUST include a self-addressed & stamped return envelope to receive payment for your sales and/or to return any unsold work.

You are strongly encouraged to submit web-sized images of your entries (72 dpi, 500 pixels on the longest side) to info@lynnemedsker.com for posting on this blog. Please include your name, email address/website and the title of each piece with your images.

All entries and fees must be postmarked by July 20th, 2012. No late entries will be accepted. (Hand delivered entries can be brought to Sugar Creek Art Center during their normal operating hours and are also due by July 20th, 2012.)

Mail your entries & payment to:

Lynne Medsker

c/o Sugar Creek Art Center

127 South Pearl Street

Thorntown, In  46071

Your submissions will be handled with care but neither Sugar Creek Art Center, nor any of it’s volunteers, artists or affiliates will assume responsibility for lost, damaged or stolen items. Insurance is the responsibility of the artist.

All work entered will be displayed on a first-entered, first-displayed basis. In the event that the wall space is full, additional entries will be displayed in portfolios and will rotate to the walls when the images displayed on the wall are sold and space becomes available. All submitted work will be sold at a uniform price of $60.

Sugar Creek Art Center is responsible for collecting and submitting the applicable Indiana state sales tax and will retain a $20 commission from each sale.

Calendar of Events:

June 15th, 2012           First day entries can be submitted

July 20th, 2012            Final postmark/hand delivery date for entries

August 2, 2012            Entries will be hung in gallery

August 8, 2012            Opening reception, 5 to 9 p.m.

August 30, 2012          End of show

Week of September 11th – Payments & unsold work mailed

Entry form or questions? Please visit www.cybernatedartistry.wordpress.com or contact Lynne Medsker at info@lynnemedsker.com!