New Look; the big REVEAL.
The thoughts began a while ago. I began to dislike the palette; one of the many universal icons associated with an artist yet I don't know why I wanted it to be gone. While that's what I am. I am an artist. I guess I just wanted something that speaks more about me.
My daughter had long talks with me. She said, "Mom. This is you. Annie Mason, an artist". She's a minimalist; always thinking in terms that bring the subject down to "brass tacks."
This began my journey to overhaul my website, the brand, my focus, and my strategies towards building my future at the great age of 72.
I was having difficulty designing. Yes, me...an artist couldn't seem to come up with a "look". I would come across a webpage screaming "We can make a logo for you that will truly be the perfect match" and so on. I tried some. Wouldn't you know...all the questions that were presented to predict my niche and claim my "future" would plug me into the archetype: CREATIVE. Duh!
Again, down to the sublime. My name is Annie Mason. I am an artist. Surprisingly enough, the domain name "anniemasonart" was available. I took this as a sign...and claimed it.
The logo. I realized that I was in my own way. Soliciting the help of a designer at the printing service who does my artwork on greeting cards and wall art was the best decision that I made. After a little back and forth with email, and a few visits to her shop to discuss fonts/colors and placements, we narrowed the visuals down from the 5 or 6 drafts.
Here it is:
It's what I was looking for: clean, simple, and direct. This is me, this is what I do. The rest will come as I develop the areas of the website that I hope will draw (excuse the pun) a new audience. The plan is to concentrate on my local business, which has been my main attraction. I had a short period of listing my greeting cards on Etsy. The process of selling on this site got the best of me: taking "good" pictures of the cards, describing them succinctly, competing with a huge audience of card-makers, selling to an unknown, packaging the envelopes, coming up with nice thank-you items, getting them out in the mail, worrying about the customer satisfaction. and hoping for a nice review. Then, the fees. They do add up. It was too much back work. I'm not blasting Etsy. It's a platform for a lot of crafters, and yes, artists. It was not a good fit for me, however.
I have my designs printed by our local franchise Minuteman Press. While picking up an order of greeting cards, the manager noted that perhaps I should consider selling my cards in downtown Fredericksburg (Virginia). It was fortuitous that I did know someone who owns a shop downtown, and I made a note to make contact with her. Our partnership began and has been a real godsend to both of us as she does the better part of my connection with a new, and local audience. This is now my focus.
Strategies. Some have already been working. Heather, of Heather Boutique is my cheerleader. I have written about how I decided to take a picture of Caroline Street where the shop is located. Switching up on my typical watercolor medium, I used the reference photo and drew in pen and ink (which I love), and added some accent color with CRAYON.
Crayola Crayons, Sharpener Included, 96 Colors (Pack of 2)
See my blog post about how big a decision this change in medium turned out to be.
Here is the Caroline Street view that is pen and ink, and color in crayon. It's a great combination. I love the fact that I don't have to wait for watercolor to dry, and I don't have to worry about "ink" bleeding into any wet areas and becoming an "oh oh."
The strong perspective down the well-known shopping spot seems to please the buyers. And buyers have shown up. I have prints made for the new Fredericksburg Collection and I truly can't tell you how many prints that I have sold in the two years since this has begun.
Here it is. Thank you for reading this journey. I owe a lot to the fellow bloggers at The Bloggers Traffic Community (The Hub). This is not just a share-your-thread group. Its membership supports each other and members have the opportunity to join (or not) specific areas like Pinterest/Instagram Group, YouTube Creators Group, Travel Bloggers, Food Bloggers, Lifestyle Blogger, as well as The BTC Supporters and Traffic Community. I have learned so much about blogging, as well as SEO, Affiliate Marketing, Elementor/WordPress, and so much more. Click here for The Hub. If you're a blogger you will love this community.
Those of you who joined me on the former "Annie's Palette" site, thank you for being there and for your support. Your subscription won't change since this site is a carry-over from that former site. I will soon be ramping up some special offers for those who choose to subscribe to Annie Mason Art. Don't miss any events!
Do you want to learn some new skills? This site is a great place to start. ⬇️
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