More Thoughts on Art, Art Marketing and Publicity

Mendicant, oil on canvas, 30"x20"
Status: available

Artists love to create their stuff. Many of us like to remain engrossed day and night in our media, our canvases, our paints, etc. etc. We stay awake whole nights to finish a piece. We think about it when we are not working at it, and thus become the subject of our family and friends' jokes because of our absent mindedness. That is the lot of all artists, we say. That our end is to create art, the things we love.

But is it enough to just create? What is the goal beyond this? Should we conceive an idea, then spend days and nights making it, and when it is finished, should hang it up on our walls for good? Eternity would find these pieces on our walls when we are not there anymore?

Many artists among us would disagree on that. What is the purpose of art? Is it to show just beauty, so that the world becomes a more beautiful place? Many modern pieces of art would not fit the label of 'beautiful things'. They may even be ugly.

So, is the purpose of art to educate the world? Some would stress this fact vehemently. Art educates the world. Especially by encapsulating the present, it records the present, and preserves it as history for future generations.

Therefore, spreading art becomes important. And thus, marketing of finished art, through publicity, and sales, enters the list of things that an artist needs to do. And many artists are inept in that.

What is Art? A Question I Often Ask Myself

The above pictures were taken at Pismo Beach in California, during a trip to Arroyo Grande to meet a friend. Our friend led us to the beach, and then the cliff, from where the drive through beach was visible at a distance. On the edge of the cliff, was this small park like feature with provision to sit and enjoy the landscape. It also had a few small but strikingly beautiful flower plants.

That was months ago. But what has remained firmly printed on my mind about that trip are these pictures of the flowers. Even thinking about them fills me with unimaginable joy. The other elements of that trip have become remnants by now, and not very clear.

Were those flowers art? They were not part of a painting or a sculpture. But they were there, at that moment, and even afterwards, some of the most beautiful things ever created. And now, the question arises - who created these flowers, this divine beauty?

Art Marketing and Similar Topics

Landscape, soft pastel on paper, 6"x6"
Status: available



With the art market once going into a slump simultaneous to the current recession, many questions have risen in artists' minds all over. How to market in such an economic condition? Would art hold an important place when other needs are to be met more urgently?

The traditional methods of selling art are still available. Gallery shows, group shows in public buildings, weekly and periodical shows, curated national and international shows, competitions are a few at the top of the mind. Beyond that, the other way to market has been through word of mouth, referrels, catalogues, advertisements.

Very few artists are now unaware of the great importance the latest electronic media, the Internet, has assumed on the context of marketing art. A lot of debate is going on about whether artists generate sales through the internet, but whatever is the result, utilizing this media for marketing and publicity is gaining popularity.



Some New Thoughts on Art

Can there be any new thoughts on art? The same things keep coming and going. They rise in the mind, then disappear, then rise again.

This is most true of work that has been started, worked on for some time, then abandoned for some time, and then picked up again. Why does some work (most work, to be correct) require such an incubation period/ And why do they emerge better, afterward. Even though the initial thought with which the work was begun, had changed.

Fair Weather

Oil on canvas

50"x40"

Artist: Anuradha Rajkumari

Status: sold

The above mentioned painting is one such example. It was started and finished in the year 2007. But much went into its initial conceptualisation, then execution. Not only because it was a large canvas, but also because I was experimenting with colour and texture.