Share your great finds with other artists. Just email me resources
you are impressed with and I will feature them here. Please include
a little info about why you like them.
In these tough economic times, I think many of us are looking
for ways to increase our income, so let me unabashedly say that
on some of these, I get a small cut if you order, but
you have to come back here and click
on my link EACH TIME you order, otherwise I don't get credit.
Click the text link in the dialog below or go to the bottom of
the page and click the banner of interest.
I've starred the ones where I get a commission. Regardless, you
choose what is best for you. I have not included any sites here
that I don't find valuable. Cynthia Daniel
= I get a small commission. Thanks for your support!
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DickBlick.com
Very popular online resource for art supplies.
Utrecht.com
You probably know they have their own paint brand.
Jerry's
Art Supplies
- Also known as Jerry's Artarma.
MisterArt.com
They also have a large presence on the web.
FineArtBooks.com
or FineArtBookstore.com
- This is the Stroke of Genius bookstore and is also available
on every page of this site from the Art Books link. It is mainly
based on books sold by Amazon.com - the granddaddy of bookstores.
If you have not checked it out, I think you'll find it to be a
treat. Hundreds of hours of research and image and data collection
went into it just organizing the books into a logical,
hopefully east-to-follow format was a huge challenge and in the
process, I got quite an art history education. Through the bookstore,
I've also sold quite a number books by listed artists Chris
Saper ,
Joy
Thomas
and Virgil
Elliott ,
all of whom have best selling books.
Amazon.com
- The granddaddy of book sellers on the web. My bookstore is based
on Amazon, but I get credit for any productsyou order from them,
so use the Amazon search to find products. I see they now have
a buy-back program on books.
Alibris.com
- If you're looking for a hard-to-find out-of-print book, try
here. They also sell new books.
Powells.com
- Also carries used books and they will buy your book back from
you.
MailChimp.com
"I use MailChimp and have never paid a fee." Cynthia
Daniel
"I signed up for MailChimp, but have not used it yet for
a mailing. It appears that up to a certain number of mailings
/ recipients, it is free and the number is probably larger than
I will ever use. I use Thunderbird mail and I was able to export
my contacts to a file that I then easily imported into MailChimp."
Cynthia Daniel
ConstantContact.com
Numerous artists are using this, but no feedback so far.
This site and MailChimp seem to be the most used.
iContact.com - "I
chose iContact for my email newsletter because they have excellent
online and in-person help." Michele Rushworth

Emma.com I have
no input on this tool, except I see Michael Shane Neal
is using it for his newsletter. Cynthia Daniel
Blurb.com
Used by Chris Saper to publish and sell various
books. I am not familiar with Adobe Lightbox and Instagram
that they mention, but they offer these as input options, as well
as Word, perhaps others. Chris writes:
"I have used both Blurb and MyPublisher
- both do a great job. Here is the link to my
Blurb page and here is the link to the pricing
page: small 7x7 softcover books start at $10.95.
You set your own price for buyers, and every month Blurb
sends you a check for the difference between the $10.95
(or whatever your base cost is) and your published price.
It's very reasonable to order books here - free software
- all are print on demand. Minimum order is 1, so no need
to carry any inventory. The author doesn't even have to
get involved with purchases once the book is available.
It's perfect for portfolios because they can be updated
whenever you want, and you just take down the old portfolio
if you wish.
I'm not sure about Adobe Lightbox, but Instagram
is an photo app for iPhones." Chris Saper

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MyPublisher.com
". . . is also excellent - affiliated with
Costco as well as independent. Also free software. I haven't used
any MyPublisher books to sell, but just for portfolios.
Here's the pricing
page - very competitive. While you can share your book,
it doesn't appear that there is a cost/markup/sales engine associated.
I know people have had good results with Shutterfly (see
below) and there is an Apple/Mac version that is likewise excellent."
Chris Saper
iPhoto "I used iPhoto on my Mac . . . hit the
create tab and choose book." Nanette Fluhr
Shutterfly.com
I have not personally used them, but my daughter-in-law's
sister created a baby book for my new granddaughter and it was
very professional looking. I would definitely use them for albums
based on what I saw. They offer a lot of print products besides
albums and photos promotional materials as well
magnets, key chains, mousepads, cards, invitations. Cynthia
Daniel
Moo.com
Recommended by artist Juan Martinez of Canada. He told me they
have thicker business cards available compared to Vistaprint.
Cynthia Daniel
Zazzle.com
Some artists have supplemented their income by offering their
art and other images reproduced on various media. You
can see Tony Pro's store here. Cynthia
Daniel
DropBox.com
I personally use this both for business and personal. Images in
folders do not expire. Could be used to upload a portrait for
client approval. You get a large amount of free space and once
you upload to a folder, you "share" with the other person's
email address. Cynthia Daniel
YouSendIt.com -
I've had several clients sent images with this, but I prefer DropBox.com.
The thing I don't like is there is a automatic expiration date
assigned. Cynthia Daniel
Note: Please be careful regarding some of these
below. Most are heavy on Flash and I've heard there are problems
displaying Flash images on iPad, though I'm no expert on iPad
and Flash..
I am potentially available on a consultanting basis to help wade
through some of the technical aspects for those wanting to take
a gander at creating and maintaining their own site. Also, I can
help get you going on setting up PayPal buttons for your site.
If you would like some GRAPHICS designed for use throughout, I
am available for that too.
Wix.com
They've advertised on TV and are used by the Portrait
Society of America. Chris Egnoski said she studied
for a couple of evenings and was able to do maintenance on the
site created by Lauren. But, be careful, they are very Flash oriented
and I'm hearing that Flash is on the way out due to not displaying
on iPhone and iPad. In fact, I have an artist right now asking
me to redesign her site minus Flash since her images will not
display on her iPad. It says "free," but no doubt that
is just initially and there are charges for an ongoing site. Cynthia
Daniel
FineArtStudioOnline.com
Apparently they are quite inexpensive, but they are also
quite generic in terms of design. Nothing impresive even though
a lot of artists use them. Cynthia Daniel
FolioLink.com
Another Flash oriented self-design site. I do believe you can
do a site here without Flash though. I saw one artist's apparently
non-Flash site and it looked very nice. They say they have iPhone
& iPad optimized websites, so maybe they have overcome the
Flash / iPad issue. Also has PayPal integration for those who
sell art or DVDs from their site. Cynthia Daniel
LiveBooks.com
Again, another Flash oriented self-design site. Shari
Ford has an attractive site through them. Cynthia
Daniel
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