The Power of Social Media

I received an email from the popular blog post Tumblr on Friday stating that they hand picked one of my illustrations to showcase. Quite an honor but my day ahead was full and so I really didn't think anything of it for the next couple of hours.

During the day my cellphone was on fire. Notice after notice was being sent to my phone, sometimes twenty to thirty in one minute. When the dust settled on Sunday night, I received close to 800 notices from people who were either "liking" my illustration or re-blogging it to some else. I also picked up close to 300 new followers over the weekend.

Pretty good production considering that I did practically nothing except for posting an illustration. Thank you, Tumblr!

I thought it was about drawing.

I did think that the art business was all about making great pictures and for the most part, it still is. Unfortunately, it's 2015 and it has to operate like a business today's economy. Enter Google analytics.

Running a business today demands a strong web presents and the knowledge of Google analytics in order to make the necessary corrections to stay ahead in the industry. Terms such as conversions, acquisitions, and cohort analysis have become common place as the daily routine revolves around pie charts and average session numbers.

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining as I find most of it pretty interesting. My issue is how deep can all this analysis go before we fall back to the basics of running an organization? A perfect example is Sabemetrics in baseball. Billy Bean certainly has changed the way baseball is run but at what cost? His Oakland Athletics currently sitting at the bottom of the AL west with no hope for the playoffs this year.

One of the major problems with all these stats and analysis is that executives and business owners are trusting the numbers over their own gut instinct. For instance, Oakland used Sabermetrics to draft the right players to the ball club but they made poor decisions to get rid of them to trades when things did not go well.

Keep the statistics but don't lose your ability to make decisions that are for the sake of the business and have nothing to do with the analysis.

Nature's Challenge

I have discussed before about the benefits of sketching from nature and that there is always time to start.

Today, I would like to recommend a book on this very subject, "The Elements of Drawing" by John Ruskin. Although first published in 1857, the lessons about drawing still ring true today because it is basic drawing skills from nature. The book is available through (Amazon.com) but you have to commit the time outdoors to get any benefit from your purchase.

In this age of allowing the computer to complete our drawings, this book is a must practice and I have personally owned two copies in the past thirty years.

History of Drawing

It's too early to tell how the how the computer is going to effect the look of art in years to come. Art historians were quick to point out when the of the knowledge of perspective influenced the look of paintings after the 1500's and how the paintings looked more photographic after the invention of the camera in the mid-1800's.

Drawing was just about dead in art schools in the 1950's when abstract expressionism and pop art was all the rage but drawing education pressed on because good draftsmanship was still needed in advertising and graphic design.

The late 1980's thru the 1990's saw the emergence of the computer and many artists who had previous drawing skills were found pushing a mouse to create art. Art looked flat without much movement.

Today, I am happy to say that drawing is back with the emergence of tablets and touch screen computers. Software so sophisticated that it can mimic a pencil point or brush with over 1000 points of sensitivity. Just look at what is taking place in architecture today.

My only concern is the the young artists who grew up learning drawing from a mouse. They were in art schools at a time when drawing studios were being replaced with computer labs. Their art production will be noted by historians in the years to come and it may not be pretty.

Follow Up

I finally received a review of my site from PEEK ( see my May 14th blog post ) and I have to say, it was a great experience. They sent me a video of the reviewer going through my site page by page and giving a critique. By doing this, I was able to see how the average viewer navigates his or her way through the site. I was able to make some changes there.

The big change. The reviewer came to the contact page and asked why I did not provide a form to relay a message. Wow. I did some research and found the form on many sites that I had visited. So the change was made and my site has stepped up a notch without me spending a dime.

Check out my contact page to see the difference!