Yep, artists are weird. I should know -- not only am I one, but I've spent most of my day dealing with them.  And I do admit to being weird at times, but today was one day where even I had to wonder about my fellow artists.

Weird Case #1:
I started my own artist group, Artists2Watch, and have received several applications to join. One lady does wonderful polymer clay sculptures of gnomes and vampires for haunted dollhouses. (I really didn't know there was a market for that!) I emailed her and told her that while I think her work is wonderful, it doesn't fit in with my idea of fine art and that I can't let her into my group. I get a nasty email back from her about me being narrow-minded and that my realistic paintings weren't really art because they were realistic. (Figure that one out, please!)

Weird Case #2:
An artist in one group is all upset and thinking of filing a keyword spamming complaint with eBay because some one is using her initials on ONE auction of a painting. The artist's initials and the seller's initials are the same, but the artist feels she is being ripped off by the non-artist. (Just remember that -- anyone using my initials LMH will be publically flogged!)

Weird Case #3:
Everyone I know knows I'm on slow dial-up connection. 28kbps is as good as as it gets out here in the middle of nowhere. So an artist friend sends me photos of her new paintings -- 4 photos and the smallest is 24,000k. It only took 2+ hours to download all 4! (Hello, can we say inconsiderate?)

Okay, so I'm cranky and expect artists to act rationally. But it really makes me wonder about being around other artists!  I find being a hermit so much nicer.  Afterall, my cats are almost normal.

Well, I finally took the plunge after debating about it for a month or more -- I created my own artist group, Artists2Watch.  Yep, eBay needs another artist group.  LOL!  This one is for artists who do high-quality art and would like to become Powersellers.  Since it's so hard for an individual artist to get noticed, I figured as a group, we would have a bit more of a chance.

Now comes the interesting and challenging part -- finding the other artists.  (I get in because it's my group!)  If any of you are artists and do quality artwork, please apply.  If you know of any artists that you think do great art and who could use help getting noticed, let me know.  I'm probably going to have to browse around eBay and see if I can find decent artists and invite them.

I must confess I'm a bit nervous about being the leader of a group.  I'm not a group person and I don't like being a leader.  Great qualifications, huh? But I'm frustrated.  Some of the groups I'm in are full of wannabe artists, or artists who just don't do good work.  Other groups have good ideas for marketing, but they don't put the ideas into practice as a group.  Most groups have rules that are never enforced or the discussions are more about what they are doing on the weekend than about art.  So, like it or not, I'm a group leader and I can run my group to my satisfaction.

And with some work and cooperation from artists, this new group of mine will help all it's members be successful.

What a nightmare the last 3-4 weeks have been.  First it was the power supply on my computer.  Then it was the hard-drive.  Then it was the new hard-drive forgetting where the operating system was, so it was reformatted.  Then it was the newly reformatted hard-drive get upset over the over I reinstalled the software in, so it was reformatted again.  And just when I think I had a functioning computer, my website goes done and takes a week to reappear.

How the $#%#% am I suppose to run auctions and have a functioning eBay store in all this???

Somehow, I made it thru, thanks to some very understanding and patient customers. I'm back to listing things, filling my store with paintings, and now blogging. But February isn't going to be a good month since it's half over and I've only had 2 sales. So I won't be on my way to Powerseller status. Bummer.

The good news in all this mess is I did get some new paintings done and I have a couple of commissions to do. I'm hoping that some of my auctions will do okay, although things seem a bit slow here. Well, if they don't sell at auction, I can always use the pieces as store inventory.  (Just trying to put a positive spin on things and change my usually negative attitude.  Hmm, not sure if it's working?!)

What a week! Out of 7 auctions, I only sold 2 items. My average is more like 75%, so this is not good. I know there are ups and downs here on eBay, but I'm really ready for some UPS!!! I suppose it has to do with the election next week, or maybe the negative talk about housing prices/economy, or perhaps it's the position of Mars with respect to Jupiter or something!  I don't know. I just have to be patient.

What's really annoying is watchers. One auction had 4 watchers and 0 bidders. Another had 5 watchers and 1 bidder. And then there was the one with 9 watchers and only 2 bids. Why are people watching and not bidding? Is it just other artists trying to figure out what will sell and what doesn't? Do sellers in non-art categories get lots of non-bidding watchers too?And why are people watching store items? Either buy it, make me an offer, or forget it!!! (Sorry, I get cranky when my auctions don't get bids.)

Well, I think since things are a bit slow, I'm going to skip a few days for listing. I have 7 portrait commissions to work on. I'd rather be doing some new floral paintings or a nice landscape, but I need to get Fido and Fluffy done. If I can get these done, then I'll have more time later (when things pick up) to do some non-portrait painting.

Later,
Linda

Hi, my name is Linda, and yep, I'm an artist and blogger. While I already have one blog, I figured I needed another blog here on eBay so that I can figure out how to make eBay work for me. (More on that in a bit.)

After a couple of college degrees, some bad jobs, and a sick cat, I said adios to the 9-5 scene and decided I could make a living as an artist. That was 10 years ago?! (Yikes, it seems longer!) I wish I could say it's been easy and that I now make a ton of money from every little doodle I do, but that's not the case. I have tried outdoor festivals, mall shows, galleries, and even direct mail marketing with little return for my time and money. Presently, I've decided to give these other venues a boot and just focus on selling on eBay. (Hey, I don't have to pack up a tent and sit in the rain for 3 days to sell on eBay!)

One reason I'm hoping this will work for me is that I can't do just one thing. Call it an immature response to authority, but once you say I can only do pastel portraits, I'll want desperately to do watercolor florals! I have tried doing one thing, and I usually get depressed after about a week. I do pencil portraits, watercolor birds, oil still lifes, etc. -- whatever I want to do today. I know the experts say I'll never make much money as I'll be seen as an amateur for art experts(paid $200 for that advice!), but I have to do what I have to do. So, it seems on eBay, with the large traffic flow, I should be able to find people that don't mind an artist doing a variety of work.

My goals for eBay are:

1. make it to Powerseller
2. start selling each piece for enough that I don't have to list something everyday
3. have a large enough following that I can sell even in the slow times
4. try out some new techniques and see who people respond to them
5. make enough that hubby can quit his job and come work for me

While I'm not sure how realistic #5 is, I really think that the first 4 are possible with a bit of help.

And you can help. If you have a few minutes, visit my store and then make some constructive criticisms.

Thanks,
Linda