May 2019 – Painterly Comments

We returned from our winter sojourn and my studio needed to be reorganized. Again.

We moved in after finally selling our NH home. That was three years ago? Time does fly. Maybe it was two. No matter, I dreaded cleaning it out.

Emptied a pile of packed boxes marked Jo’s Studio. I should have given them to Good Will or a school teacher.

Yes, the studio is now clear of the clutter. It just so happens the kitchen is just outside my studio doors. Can you guess where my clutter of boxes marked Jo’s Studio are? You got it—in the kitchen.

WHO CARES about my boxes? I do.

THING ONE:
Because I am opening my studio for the 2019 Scene About season. Tomorrow!

THING TWO:
I will be participating in the 17th Annual Festival of Art May 30 – June 2. See poster below.

THING THREE:

May 31, 12:30 – 4 p.m., I am hosting an Art 2019 Scene About Opening at my Orise Studio-Gallery here: 312 North Shore Drive, Owls Head, ME.

Come visit, bring a friend. I will have a few refreshments and a guest book sign in. Hope to see you here. I will most likely be nervous…since it is my very first official opening.

Should I invite the governor? Don’t laugh. When I belonged to the Artist Guild of the Kennebunks, our first art opening in Kennebunkport, Maine included an invitation to the President and the First Lady. Mrs. Barbara Bush arrived with several Secret Service men and her secretary. The First Lady was so gracious. She admired every painting on display. I will never forget that experience.

“Smile in your mirror every day.” JM Orise

I did some major maintenance work on my websites:

www.jomorise.com

Is your sign distinctive?

orisedesigns

All that behind the scene techie stuff.

NOTE: www.jomorise.com to be updated soon with new work.
Keep on the lookout.

__________________________
A little history about my websites:
Orise Designs originated in 1988.
I purchased the http://www.OriseDesigns.com domain and created the website around 1996.

The hosting site was and still is DirectNic.com.
NO advertising, ever! A clean site for just me.

Years later, I decided I needed a http://www.JoMOrise.com domain because I signed my artwork that way. Luckily, the domain name was available! Yes!

Signage is important.

Choose a domain name – carefully.

Cutsie does not work…get over it.

Simplicity is clarity.

If you have a business or hobby, and sign your work, keep it simple. Purchase a domain name that is YOU.

Purchase the domain http://www.janedoe.com if that is your name.

If janedoe.com is already floating out on the Internet, how about http://www.janedoe.artist.com?

More complicated than that discourages clients from seeking you out on the Internet.

If you sign your work differently, use that same signature. Perhaps your initials and last name, or just your last name, etc. Be creative.

For a professional appearance, you need:

1. a logo – an easily recognized graphic or a photo

2. a font – fancy, easy to read (careful on the fancy…don’t forget the cutsie advice)

3. NO all-caps – There are many beautiful fonts today. Use that for your name. A serif or fancy font. Use simple blocky, sans serif, for the rest of your wording.

4. especially NO Gothic-all-caps

5. a nice layout with white space (empty areas) for easy reading.

Place logo and layout with fonts on all communication media. Stick to your design. Constant change confuses and discourages potential clients.

Where will you hang your sign? Does it “blend in” and disappear? Or is it distinctive? If so, how much space between it and another sign of distinction?

Does your signage blend in. . .too much?

Look at the whole display and where displayed. What clientele do you want to attract?

Seek out examples in your area. Compare your signage with theirs. That includes the building sign, business cards, postcards, statements, receipts, banners, letterheads, packaging, and more.

If you are stuck, talk to a business owner. Compliment them on their choice of signage and ask how or who designed it for them. Who created the finished product. If you are computer and software savvy, you can do it yourself. A great many of us who are artistic can do a terrific job in creating our product, and stink at designing signage. Simplicity, clarity, easy to read.
That is the aim.

Good luck.