Maybe tinkering around and making things by myself comes with being an artist. Or maybe it's just the shoestring budget that does it. Who knows. But anyhow, now that I've gotten my DIY web/blog design up and rolling I guess it's time to consider the almighty content part. And more specifically, how to get it online. And, naturally, for an artist, the most important content of all is the art work! And for that you need quality digital images.

Choices, Choices

So far, the best digital images of my paintings have been from a professional scanning shop downtown. They're beautiful, crisp and delicious. However, it's a schlep to go all the way there, leave the paintings for a few days, and then make another schlep to pick 'em up. It really cuts into painting time. Not to mention my wallet. So what to do?

Photograph them myself? Well, to be brief, I've tried. I've got a good DSLR camera and 50mm lens. And a BIG learning curve. Upshot? Awful. Next!

Okay. So once upon a time I scanned a small painting with a garden variety (and out-of-date) Epson printer/scanner and it came out looking fantastic. But the inevitable happened and the time came for a new printer. (And a new computer and a new this and a new that. Sigh.) I love my present Canon Pixma MG5320 all-in-one, and the scans are actually pretty good, but they just don't sing like the old Epson did. 

Welcome! My name is Julie Kessler and this is my very first blog post. This brand new baby blog is a work in progress, so please bear with me as I publicly figure out how to grow it into an interesting space. It’s a little scary to begin because I am a visual artist, and definitely not a writer, art historian or scholar. But anyway, it’s exciting to start a new adventure in sharing my paintings and my thoughts on art making. I'll also post artists that inspire me, art books, and art exhibits that come across my radar. Since I am a representational painter most of my posts will be about landscape, still life, figure and portrait painting, including works from the past and present. I hope you'll enjoy the process with me--and please join in with your own thoughts. Thanks for visiting, and watch this space . . .

DIY Artist Goes Digital >