Links - Resources

Useful Resources for Artists and Photographers

The School of Everything
The Guardian called it, "A beautifully simple idea using the Web to connect those with something to teach to those who want to learn." Find out more about the arts, writing and other largely FREE courses on offer at http://schoolofeverything.com

Calling all Painters
SAA – the Society for All Artists links 2D visual artists of all abilities throughout the U.K. and abroad through a newsletter and its website www.saa.co.uk . It’s aim: to provide encouragement, support, information and a variety of useful services. Use it to locate a course, a competition or affordable insurance plans to protect your work and to provide public liability cover for open studios or exhibitions. Definitely worth a look.

Useful Website
www.artfair365.co.uk is a resource-packed portal for artists, photographers, galleries, etc. Designed by Web developers Red Plus Yellow Ltd, it is joyously easy to navigate. Check it for suppliers of goods and services, and consider its various affordable Gallery display and sale options, either as an alternative to having your own website/e-shop or as a linked marketing add-on. Very slick.

Buying and Selling Art? It's Essential!
Essential Artwork is quite new, but judging from fora and blogs around the Web, you creative smartypants out there seem to rate it. Their goal is "to enhance and simplify the experience of selling or buying artwork."

There's a free trial period, they have different levels of membership - some free, their charges are very fair otherwise, and we like the overall ethos of service that pervades their easy-to-use site. See what you think. www.essentialartwork.co.uk

Our Friends in the North
The Open College of the Arts offers open- access courses for everyone wanting arts, design or writing tuition. There are no entrance qualifications or age limits, and you can enrol any time of the year. Its network of 300 tutors throughout the U.K. provides both distance learning and (where feasible) face-to-face exercises to students worldwide. To date, more than 50,000 aspiring artists have studied with OCA. There are also useful resources and a wide community of creatives. Plus the OCA has its own gallery in Yorkshire, offers exhibitions and runs arts workshops. Check it out at www.oca-uk.com

Are you getting enough?
Many artists and designers are still unaware of the fact that they may be eligible for royalties when their work – including limited edition giclée prints - is resold for a higher value by the original purchasers. DACS – The Design and Artists’ Copyright Society collected over £2million in 2006 and distributed it to people just like you! Find out more and register now by going to: www.dacs.org.uk

Shipping your art with confidence
So far, we've found four companies that offer packaging solutions for shipping art. Take a look at: www.airfloatsys.com (USA); www.simply-boxes.co.uk (UK); www.rajapack.co.uk (UK); www.elitepak.com (USA); www.packaging2u.co.uk (UK).

Cardongan Tate www.picturepack.net or Mithals will also help you ship your art overseas! www.arttransport.net

BANA
Bath Area Network for Artists is a growing artist-led network est. 1998. BANA works to: raise the profile of the arts; establish links with other art groups and resources; build relationships with funders / investors; and encourage best practice by members. www.bana-arts.co.uk

Welsh Art Now
Any stimulus or recognition that can be given to Welsh artists is most welcome! (In fact, anything that improves Wales is most welcome - we live here!) If you also live here, you’ll want to know about this new arts e-zine. It’s full of interesting features, artist interviews and news – plus art & photo book reviews written by Salt of the Earth’s own Jude Roland. Take a look at www.welshartnow.org.

Boxing Clever X 2
At the recent Affordable Arts Fair in Bristol, we saw some superbly packaged limited edition print collections. They were in brand-overprinted boxes custom made by one of the oldest and most renowned specialists, G. Ryder & Co. Their clients have included the Houses of Parliament and the archivally-obsessed movie director, Stanley Kubrick. For the ultimate in classy presentation boxes, visit: www.ryderbox.co.uk

But maybe your challenge is simply getting artwork or photo prints from you to a client or gallery intact. In that case, get a load of Rajapack’s “double wall flat, telescopic boxes”. The slide-over lid actually doubles the strength of the sides; easy-peasy and not so squeezy! See: www.rajapack.co.uk

Illustrators’ Agents
For 80 years, talented illustrators and animators have been given their big break through the hard work of Illustration, a specialist agency based in London. Their website explains what they do and how to apply; but don’t raise your hopes. They take on less than 4 in 1000 of the creatives who apply.
See www.illustrationweb.com

www.artreviewsouthwest.org
If you are creating images in the West Country or targeting this region with your sales plans, make sure you check out this up-and-coming online art-zine. They’ve (very recently) added a Directory of creative people, services, art/photo courses, galleries, etc.

Right now, to encourage entries on their first few Directory pages, they are offering Salt of the Earth clients and website visitors some pretty incredible “early bird” bargains. An ad in a prime spot costs as little as £35 per year. That’s just £3.00 a month! And once you’ve nailed your position, you won’t get “bumped” as more advertisers join. This is a special offer for a limited time. (Contact Jude at Salt of the Earth on 01873 861669 and I’ll tell you the prices of the different ad sizes shown on their Directory pages).

www.prophotonut.com
We came across this really good website not long ago while paddling through the virtual ocean of information we all swim in these days. Created by and for photographers, it’s chocka with useful tips and resources like DVDs, publications, news of workshops & talks, an e-shop offering intriguing gizmos, a good blog and lots more. Ex-BBC cameraman and lighting director Damien Lovegrove and wife Julie of Lovegrove Consultants made it happen.

www.artdeadline.com
Everybody needs to publicise creative work or achievements, and here’s a free way to do so internationally. Founded by a Director of U.S. charitable Goodwill Industries and a former Exec Director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Access Arts® is dedicated to helping arts organisations and individuals working in all media to reach the world with their messages. It’s not a place to “sell”. But you can send bulletins about exhibitions, mention awards you’ve won, new publications, etc. The site also tells members about grants and other funding opportunities. You must register online, but this is also free.

www.tptimberstretchers.co.uk
Here’s another great contact recommended by one of our clients, a former lecturer at a renowned art school. If you are having canvas prints to put onto box stretchers, take a look at the excellent system devised by this firm. They will even come to your studio or gallery to do the stretching. (They’re in Cornwall, however.) TP also make timber display stands for ceramics, plinths for sculptures, studio work tables, display cabinets and nifty “walls on wheels” to display art. Customers all over the world.

www.gga4arts.co.uk
If you’re looking for a job or internship in the arts, make a bookmark to this website. GGA works with over 30 arts organisations in and around Glasgow, providing audience development/marketing, research and outreach programmes for disadvantaged groups. If you have IT skills, marketing experience in the arts, or want to shadow a professional so you can step up to the challenge, there are some cracking opportunities north of the border!

www.heatherbennett.co.uk
Interested in landscape photography courses? Why not combine learning with the spectacular coast and mountain scenery of Pembrokeshire, west Wales? Accomplished and utterly charming teacher Heather Bennett also offers courses in still life and general composition. Choose courses from a day to a week with b&b accommodation if you book in advance. Email: heather@heatherbennett.co.uk

www.greatart.co.uk
There can’t be many of you out there who are not already aware of Great Art. They offer the UK’s largest range of quality art materials. Founded 50 years ago and still run as a helpful family business by the Gerstaecker clan, Great Art provides over 40,000 different products to half a million customers throughout Europe. If they don’t have it, you probably don’t need it!

Digitising your art
Some artists have large or precious works of art and prefer to have them photographed locally, rather than sending them via couriers to be scanned. We are frequently asked whether we know of any shooters with the professional skills plus medium or large-format camera to capture your art works at maximum resolution in Adobe RGB colour space, then save in Photoshop as a TIFF @ 300 d.p.i. Here’s one on the south coast who appears to qualify. If you do use his services, please give us your feedback! Mike Watson, Southampton. Tel: 02380 454241.
Email: mwphoto@talktalk.net

N.B If anyone out there wants to recommend photographers in their own corner of the world offering the same standard/capability, let us know!

www.zeroland.co.nz
OK, so New Zealand is half a world away. But if you’re interested in selling worldwide, why not promote yourself and your work in this “free to submit arts guide and directory”. Visual arts, artists, design, drawing, digital art – just a few of the categories this portal offers.

www.culturekiosque.com
Another interesting site with global reach, Culturekiosque is part of the Euromedia Publishing Group, based in New York City. Its aim is to provide news and commentary on the arts, fresh ideas and cultural events worldwide, and it has some top-notch contributors who work for the likes of Le monde, the International Herald Tribune and the BBC. Try a taste of anything from jazz or cookery to book and film reviews plus virtual galleries of art and photography. Available in French, German or English.

www.eurozine.com
This Web mag derives its content from a network of more than 75 European (printed) cultural journals, and is all in English - great for us Brits who don’t speak a second language but want to keep in touch with the diversity and trends of European arts.

www.emptyeasel.com
This really useful online magazine offers tutorials, tips and advice to help artists advance their career and sell more of their work. The staff also review online gallery sites that charge artists for a listing and explains fairly and objectively the pitfalls or potential of each. Empty Easel is full of worthwhile links, features on artists plus research, discussion, artist polls, contests and much more. We like it!

www.vaga.co.uk
The independent Visual Arts & Galleries Association has a membership that spans the creative, arts and museum sectors, representing a UK-wide professional network. It promotes all aspects of development and presentation of the visual arts in a community of shared interest, and aims to put the arts at the very core of our society.

www.newa-uk.com
Founded in 1994, the National Exhibition of Wildlife Art stages an annual show in the north of England. Once again, this body has nature conservation at its core and makes a donation from its exhibition receipts to wildlife charities and causes. About 15,000 people attended in 2009, and over 45% of the artworks on display were sold!!