Fidelis Art Prints

Special invitation to beta test our new art exhibition platform!

Karen — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:55:30 +0000

Calling all artists and photographers, we’re on the hunt for beta testers

We’re looking for a select group of high-end artists, to participate in the testing of our new online art exhibition platform called Exhibit-it. Exhibit-it offers artists an opportunity to exhibit their art in their own virtual gallery. It’s a place where artists can come together, curate and share their art. We truly expect Exhibit-it will vastly improve the way artists market their work and the way art enthusiasts find new art!

We’re at a point where we are looking for several select participants to get early feedback. We’re looking for bug finders, innovators and critics. Because you’ll be curating real art exhibits, we’re looking for visual artists (photographers, illustrators, painters) who have their work in a digital form (up to 10MB digital files) and those who are using social media as part of their marketing efforts.

During the beta, you’ll get to try out all the features. You’ll be helping us with crucial user testing of our exhibit-video publisher and at the end you’ll retain your account and all your art exhibits. For taking part, each active participant will receive an awesome membership package, as well as a memorable gift will be awarded to the top contributor.

Apply to be among the first to test Exhibit-it and help shape the technology that will revolutionize the way art is being shared and appreciated.

Find out more about this huge opportunity!

The first round for the application process will end on Sunday, April 14 @ 6pm PST.

If you’re not selected, no worries, this is only the first round of beta testers and we may issue more calls in the future. Our goal is to go live with Exhibit-it beta testing before the end of the month.

We’re asking that you help us get the word out. Please Share this email or +1 this post in Google+. We’re excited to get this beta test going and get other people outside of the project involved!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me through G+ or by email karen(at)exhibit-it.com

We look forward to hearing from you and hope you’ll join us!

Sincerely,

Karen

Why photographers and artists need to join Google+. Are you missing out?

Karen — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:56:16 +0000

If you’re a visual artist and you’re not on G+ you’re really missing out. You may not know this but Google+ has one of the largest (and fasted growing) communities for photographers and artists. I feel so at home there, it’s almost like Google designed this platform just for creatives and small business people.

Reasons to Join G+: Aside from the obvious—like marketing your work—on G+ you’ll find some of the most talented, generous and authentic photographers in the industry. Sharing is a key component of G+, so there’s lots of opportunities to share advice and receive feedback on your work. There are daily photo submissions, Live Hangouts, shared recorded Hangouts of popular events and seminars, plus on-going opportunities to network, share ideas and find inspiration.

How I use Google+: I use G+ to meet and share with interesting people inside my industry. I love that G+ allows me to sort my contacts using “Circles”. So I can see, share or follow a specific group of people by a circle I set up e.g. fine art, photography, galleries, Canadian artists, etc. I also use the Hangout (type of chat room) feature for company meetings, brainstorming and daily face-to-face-time with my colleagues.

Google+ recently added “Communities” and new place to mingle with like-minder creatives, find mentors, share ideas and advice. I’ve posted several requests for referrals and received valuable input from my communities, often within a few minutes! If PR is what you’re looking for from G+, join some of the communities listed in this article “14 Google+ Communities for PR…”

I encourage you to give it a try. A good way to build some friends fast is to contribute to one or all of the daily photo themes. G+ Member +Viktor Elizarov has created a comprehensive list here.

A couple other Interesting people I’m following on G+

+ Guy Kawasaki, author of “What the Plus?” Guide to using G+

+ Trey Ratcliff, www.stuckincustoms.com

+ Darren Rowse, digital-photography-school.com and problogger.net.

Communities I’ve Joined

The Photo Community, Building a Company, Surreal Fine Art & Conceptual Portraiture and Design For The Modern World. You can find me and search for other people in G+ by using the “+” sign in front of their name, eg. +Karen Somerville.

Not interested in a personal page, set up a Google+ Business Page

Find step-by-step details here

Guides for setting up G+ for business

Hot articles about G+ from around the web

Here’s a great list of articles about G+ via the folks at VentureBeat.com

So what are you waiting for?

It’s easy! Follow this link to an article “6 Steps to Getting Started on Google”.

New Studio and Change in Hours

Karen — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:14:59 +0000

We’re really excited about our new studio space. We’re still getting settled and looking forward to being a part of the art community at 1000 Parker Street. It’s important to note that this complex locks it’s doors at 3PM each day, so Fidelis will be adjusting its business hours accordingly. If you need service after 3pm, please contact us by email or by phone (both noted below).

How Google Image Search Made this Man Famous

Karen — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:10:05 +0000

Still laughing at this story by +Soren Bowie at Cracked.com. Although, image theft is no laughing matter this is an entertaining story about the reality of image theft in our digital world.

Read the full article:

How Google Image Search Made Me a World-Famous Moron
I discovered recently that hundreds of websites all over the western world feature my face, pressed hard against the driver’s side window of a Toyota Camry (Limited Edition), staring at a set of keys…

Posted via Google+

Preparing a checklist for your art exhibition

Karen — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:39:16 +0000

This week I’ve been speaking with several artists who are busy preparing for their solo exhibitions. It was a great reminder that planning an art exhibition can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. You may have found Fidelis through our Artist Guide to Planning an Exhibition, but incase you didn’t please take advantage of this free download. Some of the topics covered are:

Choosing an Exhibition Venue
Planning a Successful Opening Reception
How to Promote Your Art Exhibition and Reception

In our FAP blog we also have an archive full of articles for planning your next art exhibition:

Limited Edition Art: What Every Artist Needs to Know

Finding a Gallery to Exhibit Your Art

How to Choose Your Best Art

How to Hang Your Art for Your Exhibition

Graphic in this post: I’ve been having fun using www.Tagxedo.com to make word/tag clouds. What a fantastic tool for getting your message across! (My kids had fun too!)

Why Artists Should Hang Their Own Art

Karen — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 03:30:24 +0000

It’s so true that artists and photographers rarely display their own work in their homes. As much as I enjoy sharing and discovering new photographic artworks online, nothing beats seeing art printed and exhibited on a wall! This is the subtle stage when a photo becomes physical ART. As a fine art printmaker, my tip: “Print it BIG”. Today’s digital camera’s can support printing to large-format just such as fine art contemporaries Jeff Wall, Roy Arden, Stephen Waddell and Geoffrey James. Photo (left): Stacy Kirk

More on why artist’s should hang their own art in this reshared post from +Scott Kelby. Original G+ Post by +RC Concepcion.

The Effects of Printing and Hanging | Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider

Hey everybody! RC here. I wanted to share with you a bit of a confessional and a great lesson that I just got this weekend- from an unlikely source. Past being giddy, it was one of those moments that …

Watch this video from the +Google+ Photographer's Conference

Karen — Thu, 24 May 2012 23:05:47 +0000

s=”proflinkPrefix”>+Google+ Photographer's Conference. Let's hope they do another one soon!
Thank you +Chris Chabot for the original share. #fidelisart

Reshared post from +Chris Chabot

Google+ Photos Tips & Tricks

Yesterday evening +Brian Rose, +Vincent Mo, +Aubrey Gates and I did a panel at the +Google+ Photographer's Conference where we shared some of our stories, favorite tips and tricks for Google+ photos, and answered questions that we got here on Google+ and from the audience.

So if you want to pick up a few useful tips and hear a few fun stories make sure to watch the video of the session!

fast forward to about the 2:00 mark to get to the start of the session

Google+: View post on Google+

Pushing Boundaries. Photographic story-telling, Silver & Light by Ian Ruhter

Karen — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:03:30 +0000

SILVER & LIGHT from Ian Ruhter on Vimeo.

I wanted to share this inspirational and very popular link to Vimeo video: “Silver & Light” by Ian Ruhter. It’s about one mans desire to build, create and share something amazing. It’s an investment in time, talent and money, that’s sure to be worth the effort. Living life beyond our personal comfort-zone is always difficult, but it is “in the doing” of extraordinary projects, such as this, that truly special things happen.

Ian’s work and his video don’t discuss fine art printmaking in the way we usually approach things on the Fidelis Art blog. However, in a special way Ian’s story IS about printmaking, and importantly about telling stories through photography—that’s what I like about it. Photographs whether they are digital or wet-based are often for the benefit of telling a story. Ian demonstrates that a great story can be formed from passion and a desire to push our boundaries. Watch this video to learn about Ian’s journey and the people and places where he is creating his large-format artwork. In his own words,

“This project was created with the same spirit that america was founded on. Our intentions are to connect everyone in america through the lens of this camera and social networking sites. We can’t do this without you. We want to tell your story and show your city or town through photographs of you, and people you know. As we travel around america looking for people and places to shoot you will be able to keep track of where we are going and help us decide where we go next.”

Many of you will relate to the passion that is demonstrated by Ian and his team. I hope this ambitious Silver & Light project will inspire you in your pursuit push some boundaries, take-on new opportunities, and in the words of Seth Godin, “Go make something happen!”.

Join Ian on his journey by Liking his Facebook page. Maybe if we get enough Canadian’s offering support, he’ll come to see us?

Facebook Timeline for Visual Artists: 7 Essential Features for Marketing Your Art

Karen — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:47:43 +0000

The Facebook Fan page continues to be a viable tool for building an audience and engaging with fans of your art. If you haven’t build a Fan Page, now is the time to invest a morning (1-2hrs max.) to get one set-up. If you already have Fan Page you will be excited to learn that FB has added some new features in their re-design and format-change called “Timeline”.

Timeline will be applied to both personal Profiles and Fan pages, and it’s expected to offer increased viewer participation, entertainment value and overall user enjoyment.

This post is a reminder that as of March 30, 2012 FB will automatically change over all sites to fit the new format. Facebook is allowing you to preview what your new Timeline will look like, if you’re happy with the results, you can publish your new Timeline in advance of March 30th.

To help you get started, here’s a list of seven features that are essential for marketing your art.

1. Cover Photo: The largest change is the physical look of the page. Timeline provides a large placeholder for a single photograph or image. This is a particularly great feature for visual artists, as it provides an opportunity to feature a specific artwork. Feel free to create a collage of several artworks (in Photoshop) or feature your most popular piece.

Tip: Images for uploading need to be cropped to a panoramic format, no larger than 851×315 pixels in size. Feel free to overlay text with your copyright or embed your name, however, do not include pricing or a call to action (This is no permitted by FB and could get your Page blacklisted).

2. The profile picture is now placed within the Cover photo. Just like the previous profile or page, this is a great place to feature a photograph of you. If you are using a business or gallery name, use this placeholder for a logo. Profile images need to be cropped square and sized at a minimum of 180×180 pixels.

3. The side menu is gone. There’s a new feature called “Views”, found directly under the Cover photo. This is where you’ll find your photos, events, Likes and apps. Only a few of these window can be seen (without scrolling). Facebook allows you to reorganized these in priority, so make sure your “Photos” (likely your portfolio) are in the first two slots.

4. Under your Profile picture, is your “About” content. This will need to be carefully crafted as it is now placed front and centre for your viewers. This is a good place to include your website link and contact information.

5. The Admin Panel (seen above) is a new feature located at the top of your Page. Here is the place you can connect with your audience. Read client private messages, see who’s been active on your Page in the Notifications and New Likes. When you have 31 Likes you also have the use of collecting user data through Facebook Insights.

Tip: At the top of your Admin panel there’s a new feature under “Manage”. In this pull-down menu, you can choose to “use Facebook as your Page”. This is particularly helpful, because it allows you to communicate using the “voice” of your business, instead of your personal profile.

6. Organizing Content within your Timeline. Here’s where things get fun! Your new stream allows you to organize your posts so you can feature the items that are most important. Your old posts should come through with the transition to Timeline, you’ll see them arranged in 2 columns. They are also sorted by year.

Customize how your posts will appear and when, by clicking on a post to reveal a STAR and a PEN in the top right corner of your post. Select the STAR if you want the post to appear in 2 columns wide (seen left). You can fine tune your dates so that your posts appear in an order that creates better flow or helps with a story timeline.

In order to edit the content of your post, go to the Admin panel. Under Manage, select “Activity Log”. Here you’ll see a complete list of all your posts (public and private). Find the post you want to edit and make the changes to your text.

Tip: Promoting your upcoming exhibit? Also under the PEN tool inside each post, you’ll see an option “Pin to Top”. By selecting this your post will move to the top of your Timeline and remain there for 7 days (or longer if you renew during that period).

7. Last but not least, always add positive, useful and informative content. Share progress photos, locations you are scouting, artworks and people that inspire your creativity. The more connected your audience is with you, the more likely they will purchase your art.

A few more tips:

• Your Facebook Page is ideal for sharing what you create with your friends and family. Use this tool often by designing stories that will start conversations. Ask for feedback and allow your visitors to talk about their experiences with you and how your art makes them feel.

• Add videos. There are huge stats that suggest video’s are appreciated (and shared) by most FB users.

• Review all the privacy features. Note that you can single-out who sees what post by using the PEN tool when you click your post. This allows you to share slightly more personal artwork with friends, while still sharing exhibition and announcements with the public.

• Keep your posts to 11 words long.

• Post 1 main story per week (PIN to the top of your timeline).

Social commerce is the way of the future for selling your art. Your Facebook Timeline is free and easy to use—don’t overlook this great business opportunity.

Fred Herzog: A Retrospective – Launches Equinox’s new Project Space in Vancouver

Karen — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:37:56 +0000

On until March 17, 2012

Equinox Project Space – 525 Great Northern Way, Vancouver

Our friend, and one of Vancouver’s most celebrated photographers, Fred Herzog is on exhibit at the new Equinox Project Space in East Vancouver. Since attending Fred’s show at the Vancouver Art Gallery, I have not had the pleasure of seeing so many of his photographs in one place—WOW! This exhibition is a must-see for all Vancouverities, photographers and artists.

Seen here: Alan (left) with Fred (right)—an exciting event for everyone.

“For almost half a century Fred Herzog has been photographing street scenes in colour. One of the early masters of colour photography, Herzog’s photographs demonstrate that colour photography is not the addition of colour to a traditional approach but an autonomous means of expression. His virtuosic handling of colour is early evidence that the medium of colour photography is governed by its own principles, and that colour is just as important for the impact of a photograph as its composition and content.”
Claudia Gochman

My favorites:

Granville/Robson 1959

Lucy/Georgia 1968

Spotlight on Artist Fred Herzog, “Pioneer of Color Photography

Film & Book Launch for Vancouver Photographer, Fred Herzog