Showing posts with label Blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Post 588: Tech Series 4 The Blogging Story

Tech Series 4 The Blogging Story

The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) Artistry Spin Blog will explore the use of technology and its impact on the world of art. There are so many tools and resources that can benefit the artists to not only create artwork, but to inspire them, to share their work with the world and to potentially sell their artwork. We'll review and offer suggestions on some of the top trending tech on the web, popular for artists, and those wanting to find out more about art, and perhaps, YOUR art.

Why an Art Blog?

A blog is a good way to promote your art, your knowledge of art, your art business, and your art website without being overly in your face. As you may know, people buy art more often if they can relate, they can connect to the artist - by learning your story, the story about your artwork, and how it makes them feel. A blog can document the story of you and each piece that you create. 

A blog is another outlet for being creative, especially if you enjoy writing. You really don't have to write a book, you be you and communicate your message in a way that is comfortable to you, in the language you use every day. Share what you know about your medium, why you painted the subject of the artwork, how you felt or what happened in your life that you poured into the work and so much more. 

Blogs are search engine optimization food for your art. Google and other search engines plow through the internet gobbling up new content, categorizing what it finds. By adding those sweet keywords and keyword phrases and building your blog content, the search engines will find you and will understand how to catalog your data.

Social media - your Facebook and Pinterest postings, are more limited on the content you post, perhaps by character count, the number of images, who can see your posts, etc. They are meant to be short blasts of info that the viewer can quickly digest. Blog writing means you can post as much info as you like to get your point across, and often all the pictures you took of an art show you are in. 

Your art website is your personal and professional online art gallery, a showcase, and an art shop that shows who you are and what you have created, and perhaps what is available for purchase. Your social media links direct traffic to your website and vice versa. 

Your art blog gives you the space to share your story and your artistic journey in much more detail. That said, you should have a page or at least a link on your website that directs the viewer to your blog. 

Check out Should Artists Have a Blog? Art Blogging Pros and Cons

You'll Need to Pick a Blogging Platform - Check out the tools and features of various blogging software and think about what you want to get out of it - now and into the future. See if its free, a free trial to try, or what the pricing options are. Not many are totally free as there may be hosting fees, domain name fees, or have more features and advanced SEO tools in the pricing levels. 

There are more out there of course. These are often recommended blog platforms for their ease of use with templates, intuitive interfaces, drag-and-drop features, etc. making setup fairly pain free. 

See also How to Use This Blog on Artistry Spin

How to Start Your Art Blog

Do some research to spot layouts you like to get an idea of what your want on your site.

  • You'll need a Name for your blog, and specify the URL for your blog.
  • Do you need to register your blog and get hosting?
  • Select the theme and layout you like. Templates are often available. Customize the colors, the fonts, what goes where and more.
  • Consider sidebars, pages, and other optional features. Be sure and check the Mobile and Computer view of your blog.
  • Provide a keyword rich description for your blog.
  • Create a Draft post, get a post started. You should always have at least one photo on a post.
  • Publish the post and have a look at it live.
  • Promote the blog. This is not Field of Dreams in that if you build it, they will come. You have to let your art public, friends, family, the world know that you have a blog and you just posted on it.
  • Can you make money with your blog? Some offer this functionality in several ways. 

Just be aware that once you chose a design theme, there are some changes you may not want to do later as it might be too drastic a change. I once altered a theme layout on one of my blogs and some of my posts were temporarily no longer with us. Talk about a mad scramble toward recovery!

An option I like in Blogger is that I can create a Post Template so that whenever I begin a new post, I have my fonts and layouts, signature areas and info already added to the starter post and can then just adjust titles and the body as I like.

What Should I Blog About?

Anything you want to. But a main focus area for consistency is better and in this scenario we are talking about an ART blog. Are you passionate about art? That should show in what you write about. 

Create a list of Blog Topics of interest to you, a sort of blog idea list and add to it when another light bulb appears overhead. Sometimes I even have draft posts for blog ideas that I write up over time and publish when I feel its says what all I want it to.

  1. Write about specific art pieces and the STORY behind the piece.
  2. Blog about your goals and what you want to do in the future with your art talent.
  3. Blog about shows you get into and want to apply to.
  4. Write about what artwork and art series you have in progress. Before and After makes for good posts - we all want to see how the artwork turns out.
  5. Have a favorite art tool? Why do you love a certain paint brand?
  6. Obviously, any art shows you have coming up and attend. Pictures of art receptions and definitely your solo exhibits all document your art journey.
  7. Locations, people and places, pets and favorite art subjects that inspire your artistic self are what you post about. 
  8. Places you go to paint - do you plein air paint? Do you take art classes?
  9. Your art studio.

This is just a starter idea list, but blog posts themselves make for great topics, pins, links to add to Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, etc. By sharing to all your social media, you're helping to promote your art and YOU!

When Should Blog?

Whenever you can! Find a schedule that works for you and stick to it as best you can. Posting at least once a week is often recommended. You can schedule posts in advance to perhaps post every Monday, or whenever you like. Content is King on the internet, so having fresh content regularly is search engine fodder as well as good your art fans.

Want to learn more? What is a Blog? Types, Benefits, and Why You Need One

Well, what do you think? I like that I have a way to say something that I may not always be able to articulate on the spot, but can put together my thoughts on various art subjects and then post them out to the world. There are stories about many of the art pieces that I have and I want to tell that story too. Maybe blogging will work for you, so will you be starting an art blog?


Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Friday, May 2, 2025

Post 564: Updates to the Display Page on Artistry Spin

Updates to the Display Page on Artistry Spin

Did you know the Prince William Art Society Artistry Spin Blog has been around since 2021? There is a lot of info on this blog on all things Prince William Art Society (PWAS), including upcoming events, announcements, photos from various member's art, lots of info about art shows and meetings. There are art tips, art opinions, art comics...it goes on and on. And on the Artistry Spin Blog, you will find the very important PWAS Display Art Requirements Page.

PWAS Artistry Spin Blog Home Page PC View of Top Navigation

PWAS Display Art Requirements Page

The Display Page on the Artistry Spin Blog is by far the most viewed page of the blog. For any art show, popup show, any art event that PWAS does, we direct the members to the Display Page because that is how we expect - how we require artwork to be made ready for display in any of our art events. We have recently updated this page and we need all PWAS members to be aware of these updates.

See Display here  https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/p/display.html

Other Artistry Spin Blog Pages

There is also a lot of other information Pages available to the artist, whether a member of PWAS or not, on our Blog in the top navigation...as well as in the past Blot posts. Our PWAS Blog intends to be considered as a resource for our members to find what's going on and be a valuable resource of data. The Posts and the Pages are a wealth of history, how tos?, what is?, when did?, and who are? - about the art group. Obviously, you can't read them all but, we've tried to help you by consolidating some important topics on the following Pages.

Membership Page - About being a member of the Prince William Art Society but on the PWAS website itself is where potential members go to join and to manage their annual memberships due every January - as well as their PWAS website Gallery Page. https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Volunteering Page - As a nonprofit art group, no member is paid to do any job, duty, consulting, Board position, whatever. This is typical of most art organizations in their By-Laws. Thus, the absolute NEED of persons willing to help in any way they possibly can. 

Call for Art Page - Basic Tips for a Call for Art

Local Art Shows Page - A page of a few years of art shows from around the area. TBD if this page will continue. The page did help with upcoming art show themes in various show locations.

Lessons Page - Lessons Learned from an outdoor art show, or really any show you do as an individual or as a group.

Pricing Page - True, you can put as many 0's on an artwork you like, but here is a look at pricing your artwork so that it is fairly priced.

Commissions Page - The 2 meanings about Commissions.

Art NTK Page - Art Need to Know list. If I only had known these things before I started...an ongoing page.

Blog Gallery Page - Current and Former PWAS Members with blog post interviews, Spotlight Artist posts.

Art Reception Page - A suggested check list of items to help when you are setting up an art reception.

How to Art Show Page - PWAS Artistry Spin second most visited page. A suggested check list of items to help manage your art show.

NOVA Art Page - An ongoing attempt to capture the Northern Virginia art groups, organizations, studios, and galleries.

How to Use Blog Page - Exactly that. Mobile view is different from a PC view so there are features you may not see. Using Search and other features.

Comments Page - How to drop a Comment on a Blog Post. We LOVE reading comments, but they must be monitored to prevent spam.

Schedule Page - Blog posts that YOU can help with (to help YOU) and various other Blog Topics to blog about.

Art Page - Blog post series on art topics like Tips, Perspective, Art Organizations, and more.

Art Store Page - About our Art Store on the PWAS Web Site.

FAQs Page - Frequently Asked Questions

Blog Admin is me, Donna Liguria. And yes, I would love to know if you write about art and want to share Blog ideas. This email is for Artistry Spin Blog inquiries pwas.art1@gmail.com. To contact the Prince William Art Society, please use the appropriate contact from this page https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/board

Blog Writers, Illustrators volunteers - your help would be very welcome! Got ideas, let's discuss! Contact the Blog Admin of course if interested

By the way, periodically check the pages above for updates!


Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Friday, November 1, 2024

Post 514: About the PWAS Art Store

Learn About the PWAS Art Store

The PWAS Artistry Spin Blog is available to the Prince William Art Society members to use as a point of interest, information, announcements, news, photo gallery, art tips, suggestions, answer questions, and occasionally entertainment in addition to the group's website PrinceWilliamArtSociety.com, and usually in detail. A new page has been added to this Blog called "Art Store" to help everyone understand what it is for and how it is used.

New PWAS Art Store Page

Blog posts and Blog pages are meant to be detailed and additional information for artists and members of the Prince William Art Society on many different topics of interest to all.

In managing a recent Call for Art for the Prince William Art Society, we had various questions and concerns come up that should be addressed so this Art Store page was created in the top navigation of the Artistry Spin Blog about the PWAS Art Store found on the PWAS website. Going forward, please use this page as a reference.

Image 1. PWAS Artistry Spin Blog with Top Navigation Showing the New Art Store Page

Image 2. The PWAS Art Store on the Prince William Art Society Website Screenshot

The Prince William Art Society website: https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/

In a nutshell, the PWAS Art Store on the website is available under various conditions for PWAS Members to display artwork when the location of an art show does NOT manage the art sales. Interested Buyers can take a photo of the QR Code to find artwork that is on display for purchase.

At most of the art shows, festivals, and events that the Prince William Art Society attends, the artists 'man' a table and handles the art sales in real time, in person, right then and there. But occasionally an art show is only a display of art in a business location, a winery, or a library for example, where someone does not handle sales at that location. Hence the need for a QR Code and a website to safely and securely manage those art sales for interested art admirers.

Image 3. The QR Code for the PWAS Art Store
Have a look at the Art Store page to learn more about the use of the store itself for the Artist and the Buyer, and by browsing the artwork available in the Art Store on the website - of course! Let me know if the new Art Store page covers your questions too!


Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment! pinterest-site-verification=3ad32cc9cfeae507ba5a382d62fcee17

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Post 489: PWAS Artistry Spin Blog Birthday and PWAS Members

PWAS Artistry Spin Blog Birthday and PWAS Members

So this Prince William Art Society (PWAS) Blog called Artistry Spin has been around a little while to help spread the word on what the oldest art group in Prince William County is up to and for information for the members and others to learn more about, well, anything ART. AND the Artistry Spin Blog is celebrating its third birthday!

Learn More About PWAS

Three years of blog posts so far! We are currently at 489 posts and counting, so the readers can certainly learn a lot about our art group here in Prince William County. We have covered our history (past), what we currently have going on (present), and what we have planned for the future.

The PWAS Artistry Spin Blog started on August 29, 2021 with our very first post:

Prince William Art Society for Artists and Art Lovers In this post is the history of PWAS with its beginnings that I garnered from Jewell Pratt Burns. Jewell is a founding member and she is a wonderful source, a fount of knowledge, and a lovely lady as well as a wonderful artist. 

Artistry Spin is where you can learn more about upcoming art events that PWAS has coming, well in advance, what we are involved in and where the members show what they do. We let everyone know the details of our meetings and guest speakers, art receptions, art tips (we have a lot that are given by various PWAS members themselves) and so much more.

Expectations on how PWAS members are required to Display their art is an important post on how to prepare your artwork for galleries and shows. Lessons Learned is a huge compilation of tips of things learned after an art show, to be prepared for your next show.

Art Committees are an extremely important part of any non-profit art group as is Volunteering. Learn about Commissions, about Pricing, and Calls for Art. Interested in joining our merry band of dedicated and wise artists? Have a look at Membership. And any and all artists need to know how to handle Art Rejection. It happens to ALL of us.

The Blog is setup as most recent blog post first and important art topic pages in the top navigation. Your view will depend on if you are on your mobile device or laptop. Topics can be searched for, or found in our Blog Archives, in the Labels, Tags and Keywords list, and/or in Most Popular All Time Posts or Popular Posts this week. See also How to Use This Blog

I'm often asked if there is something in the blog about "XYZ" and I more often than not have to say, like Ragu Spaghetti Sauce, "It's IN there!"

Of course, PWAS has its own website, found at https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/ but a blog can go so into so much more detail and doesn't necessarily have to adhere to the expected savoir-faire of the official website.

Blog Schedule and About Blog Posts

PWAS Members can find the information on past shows, upcoming shows, and show what they have going on. But how can PWAS members get involved?

Schedule - find information about the blog schedule and types of blog posts available to the PWAS membership. Learn how YOU can use the blog to help in the promotion of your art as well as everything that PWAS is and does. 

Any blog thrives with good content. A good portion of our content comes directly from our members, especially when they provide their information and images. *AND why wouldn't any artist not use the free promotion available to them???

How can you get more info about yourself as a PWAS member artist? Well here are some topics that can help do that. Periodically, I, as the Blog Admin send out a request or a question asking the PWAS members to send me pictures, or to answer the question as in the following examples you will see if you go to the Schedule Page.

  • Art Topics and What's on Your Easel? - an email asking what you are working on.
  • Inside the Studio of... - a single artist member post featuring YOUR studio and YOU
  • Artist Interviews - a single artist member post featuring YOU
  • The Art with the Artist Posts - great posts of gatherings with all artists with their art
  • Get Your Art In the PWAS Art Store
  • Upcoming PWAS Events, Member Events, and NON-PWAS Events or Shows
    • What's on Your Radar? - an email asking what's coming up for you.
  • PWAS Plein Air Posse - a subgroup of PWAS members that enjoy plein air painting
  • PWAS Meeting Recaps
  • PWAS Event Recaps
  • PWAS Member Awards and Recognition and Woohoos! - did your artwork get a ribbon or recognition?
  • Vacationing or Visiting Somewhere Awesome?
  • PWAS New Member Intro - are you a new member and want to write a intro post about yourself?
  • Member Advice and Suggestions, Art Tips
  • Don't Spill the Paint - art comedy, comics, especially if YOU created it
Other ideas worth chasing are member Shoutouts, any art class notes and advice, definitely the sharing of your favorite art tips. The PWAS Board is welcome to share periodic Board Notes too.

Send the info on What's on Your Easel? and What's on your Radar? by the deadline requested so that I can build a blog post with your info.

Blog Comments

Under every single blog post (and Page post too) you'll find either a small link called 'No comments' or a number of comments. Not all PWAS members know that when Commenting on a blog post, which we encourage, that in order to filter out spammers, haters and duplicate posts, the Blog Admin must approve or disapprove a comment on a post before they are viewable. Thus, it may take a few hours or to the next day before they are approved so they will show. Be patient. You don't need to repost it. And we love a name with the comment, so click here to learn more on how to not post as Anonymous - Comments.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash 

Anyway, it is a happy birthday for The Spin and I hope you all find the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog useful and will drop your comments in this post. Give "The Spin" a happy birthday and let me know what you think of it.


Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!