Office Work

I have been picking away at a couple of paintings I posted on my blog earlier this month, trying to finish them off and get some critical feedback.  So... I have been painting each day but won't post the same paintings until they are done.

What I do want to talk about is what I have also been working on over the last month - developing my own website. After listening to many Savy Painter Podcasts and hearing numerous artists stating how important it is to develop your presence along side your artistic development, I bit the bullet. Creating your own website can be daunting and time consuming, but also worth it when you are starting out.  When I got a couple of quotes to have a website developed for me professionally, costs were above $2500, depending on how much additional marketing and assistance I would require.  I decided that until I can sell at least $2500 in paintings, I best spend my money on art supplies and honing my skills.  I purchased a fat book about Wordpress, which wasn't really too helpful, as it was already out of date.  What worked best was watching Youtube instructional videos - love the YouTube!!

I spent probably 20 hours now and I have a 'finished' website = click the link to check it out Tessa Stanley Art .  

The process includes:

 - choosing / paying for a web hosting company (I chose Bluehost based on my 'research' of hosts and costs) 

- choosing / paying for domain name for your website

- choosing a 'platform' in which to build your website - I chose Wordpress.org NOT Wordpress.com - this was very confusing at first as I accidentally signed into both at different times.  Wordpress. org is a self build platform versus Wordpress.com has pre-made designs, less work but less flexible.

- After watching a couple different Youtube videos about building your own Wordpress.org website I went ahead and followed along.  Early on in the process I almost gave up, but it got easier the more I worked at it. The resulting website, I feel turned out pretty good for a beginner, considering my costs were roughly $99 - $150 for Bluehost and domain name. $30 for the obsolete Wordpress manual. Time used - priceless.

I am sure when I start producing some really great paintings and want a more professional looking website I can spend some money on paying someone to build and maintain a website for me, but for now I am pleased with the result.  Have patience and try it!