Art and the Internet

A closeup of one of the tabs on my Yahoo home page showing various RSS subscriptions

Usually my day begins with a cup of coffee and the computer, then I move on to the NY Times and Chicago Tribune. I’m a skim reader looking for things that catch my eye and if I’m short of time, which is usually the case, I’ll bookmark something on the Internet or tear out an article to read later. I justify this time in part because I consider it integral to my work as an artist.

BLOGS: Approximately 90 of the blogs I subscribe to on my RSS feed are related to art. I set the feed to show headlines for only the last 3 days of posts,  this makes it easy to see what’s new without having to go to each site to check. Some bloggers post daily, others post much less frequently. Blogs have come and gone from my feed. I usually keep them for a few months once I’ve subscribed, and if I don’t feel they are of interest to me in some way, I delete them. Some of our FUSEDChicago members blog, and their blogs are included on our list here. Most blogs have a list of their favorite blogs on a side column, and you can click through to discover other blogs that might interest you. The blogs might be written by an individual artist, an organization like FUSEDChicago, a museum, a magazine, a TV station (PBS) or print publication.

For me, visiting these blogs is a way of finding inspiration, staying current and being involved. If I see something of interest, I may take a screen grab and file it in a “reference” folder on my computer desktop. It’s always interesting to read or look at videos of artist interviews to learn more about their process and see their work spaces. Gorky’s Granddaughter  is interesting for video interviews.

EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS:  Many blogs and websites give you the option to subscribe via RSS feed to your home page, or by email. Generally I prefer to not get more email, but there are a few I subscribe to. My all-time favorite daily email is from ArtDaily.org…consistently a quality publication of art news and exhibitions throughout the world. I also get an email every few months from an art coach that I usually find inspirational in some way.

ONLINE VIDEOS: For how-to info for just about any medium, there are tons of videos on YOUTUBE and some art retailers also post how-to videos. PBS has full length programs on various artists and major art museums often post artist interviews. And, there is always inspiration to be found on  TED, Ideas Worth Spreading.

FACEBOOK: This is a great way to share  information with like-minded people, get and give support to other artists and be informed of (and share your own) events, exhibitions and more. You’ll want to “like” FUSEDChicago on Facebook if you already haven’t done so.

GOOGLE: You have to love Google! One of the features you may not have discovered…when you get your Google results after putting in a search term, on the left you can select “Images” and it will show only the images for that search term. Very helpful when looking for a specific artist’s work.

The Internet also makes life easier in so many other ways: shopping for art supplies and receiving notifications of sales, exhibit notices and entries via sending jpegs instead of a disk, showcasing your artwork with your own website…to name a few.

One of the most interesting aspects is interaction with other artists and opportunities to be involved. If you haven’t heard of the Sketchbook Project, it’s worth checking out at Art House Co-op.

How do you use the Internet as part of your art repertoire? We’d love to know.