The art of “Free” (or cheap)

Hi,

A few words today about my experiences trying to promote my work on the internet. I simply don’t have a lot of money to spend on promoting my work so I’ve managed so far to limit my expenditure to free or low-cost options such as domain names, affordable website hosting, free website plugins etc..

Sure I’d love to do other things but it can be a very expensive undertaking and I’ve had to compromise on a few desirables but one can do a lot without too much financial outlay. To date I’ve purchased three domain names, one for my website, one for my blog and another for my about.me profile page, web hosting package and a few other relatively minimal expenses.

It has been a steep learning curve and pretty labour-intensive but there’s so much out there that one can utilise such as free virtual galleries, online catalogue/flip books, mobile app builders, online shops, social media sites etc. and I’ve taken advantage of these services as much as possible. It is sometimes surprising just what one can accomplish through one’s own labours without it costing a small fortune.

Kind regards

Leigh

When the going gets tough, the tough turn to soft furnishings :)

Throw in the pillows

Hi folks,

I’m not throwing in the towel and I haven’t sold out πŸ™‚ however a selection of my work is now available on throw cushions/pillows, tote bags, mobile phone cases, duvet covers, shower curtains etc. on Pixels.com (Fine Art America), Oh, and they also sell framed and un-framed prints and canvases! ;).

Best wishes

Leigh

A selection of my works for sale on ArtPal

Hi folks,

I decided to upload a selection of my recent works for sale to ArtPal. please use the social media links to share.

Thanks and best wishes

Leigh

ArtPal Works for sale

Thanks for your support

Hi everyone,

A non art-related post today to say thanks to all who have followed my blogs, sent me tweets and followed me on Twitter, Facebook, About.Me, Flickr,Β Tumblr and Google+ and supported and encouraged me in my work. I have been working very hard lately to try to develop my various pages and my new website and create a theme and style across all my accounts.

I started out just over two years ago posting my work on Flickr and have made many friends amongst this highly creative and supportive community and reached an astonishing half a million photo views earlier this year. I’ve just celebrated my first year of blogging and have much enjoyed making new friends and followers in the blogging community.

Thanks again and have a great day

Leigh

“It’s a funny old game”

Hi,

It’s a funny old game, life, that is. I was feeling very low on Thursday but several things happened yesterday that raised my spirits quite a bit ,not the least of which, was an online Share Your Art event #ShareYouArt on Twitter organised by World Arts @worldarts http://www.world-arts.com/. I very much enjoyed meeting-and-tweeting other artists from around the world and admiring their excellent work.

I am, however, not a born member of the online generation and I am still relatively new to the world of blogging, tweeting etc. although I do consider myself as very computer-literate I freely admit that I still have much to learn regarding social networking but I have recently invested quite a bit of time and effort into developing my various social media pages.

I think that the most rewarding thing about last night was that it was so enjoyable to chat with other artists, share ideas and techniques and I was not made to feel that my work was in any way second-rate, folks were very generous in their comments. I always have nagging doubts about my work floating about in the back of my mind as my skills are to the greatest extent self-taught.

So, as I say, life’s a funny old game isn’t it?, full of so many emotional ups and downs!, but I’m starting to think that maybe, just maybe, my star has started to rise.

Kind regards

Leigh

Riverview series Limited Edition Prints

Limited edition prints – 20 copies each of the six works comprising my popular “Riverview” series depicting various locations along the River Thames in Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames and Teddington.

Riverviews for blog

Prints from Β£17.20 each, click the images below to view fine detail, sizing, pricing and ordering information. Please see VIRTUALgallery.com purchasing and gaurantee information for details. I put a lot of myself into my work so every time you buy one of my works you are buying a little bit of me.

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Thanks

Thank you to those that have viewed and commented on my Expressions and Impressions gallery I hope that you enjoyed your visit and found it interesting,

Best wishes,

Leigh

Where do I go from here?

Hi,

Forgive me if this posting is very self-indulgent but I’m feeling in a very reflective mood of late.Β  My artwork is extremely important to me, not only is it my only way of uniquely expressing myself but it is one hundred per cent my work, not a collaborative product, but mine and mine alone, a direct translation of an idea formed in only my head. When I’ve created something I get a terrific feeling of excitement, satisfaction and personal accomplishment in the knowledge that I’ve created something that is uniquely me, something that previously didn’t exist. If this sounds in any way pretentious then it isn’t intended to be, rather what I’m trying to say is that my art is both my refuge and my passion it is where I feel the most alive and switched on and by far the most exciting, stimulating and satisfying thing that I do.

Right now I stand at a crossroads in my life where my heart is telling me that I should try to pursue a career in the creative arts but my head is telling me “don’t be a fool!, this is financial suicide!, how would you pay the mortgage and buy food etc.?”. I’ve devoted much of my working life to my current profession but maybe the time has come to be bold, throw caution to the wind and jump off of my dreary and emotionally un-rewarding nine-to-five existence and into something that rewards me spiritually as well as financially, something with a sense of real satisfaction and accomplishment, something that provides a genuine feeling of self-worth and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I remember reading somewhere “the only thing to fear is fear itself” or words to that effect, right now I’m trying to reconcile my fears against my aspirations, Maybe, at the end of the day, following one’s dream is a luxury that only a few can afford then again if one doesn’t follow one’s dreams then what’s the point of having dreams?, they can be cold-comfort for the daily realities of life and even become tormenting.

Art for art’s sake….

Hi folks,

I’m sorry that there’s been no new works most recently but I am urgently looking for paid work and my time has been spent searching for jobs which is a real worry.

If you know of any paid work that might suit my humble talents please let me know.

Thanks in advance and kind regards

Leigh

“The spaces in between” – Virtual gallery launch event in less than 24 hours

Hope to meet you at my virtual gallery launch event tomorrow, 15th December 17:00-21:00 GMT.

https://www.virtualgallery.com/galleries/leigh_kemp_a14490717/the_spaces_in_between_s13338

Best wishes

Leigh