Featured Artists vs the rest of us

Daily Paintworks How to Get the Most out of DPW
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The idea of being a featured artist is solid and valid. Being grandfathered into that position of favor forever and ever is just a little bit (a big bit) unfair to the rest. And YES, I am part of the rest.
Any other selling site allows artists to become featured. It’s not a given and it certainly is not FOREVER. I’m on other selling sites that encourage artists to become the featured artist - for a month. Other sites want you to jump thru a bunch of hoops to be featured, but again, just a month of being featured.
No one group of artists should enjoy the bounty while the rest of us take the hit of being the newbies and we will never be featured here, EVER!
Just my opinion and certainly not reflected by anyone else but ME!

Reply from David, the founder and developer of DailyPaintworks.com (DPW):

DPW’s Beginnings

Early in DPW’s history, DPW was a co-op of 50 founding artists, each of whom was invited by the group to join. When Carol and I decided we would like to open the site up to all artists, in our negotiations with the founding artists, we promised they would always be featured on DPW, no matter how much it changed. Please remember, at that point, DPW was a co-op and to change it required approval of the entire group.

How to be a Featured Artist

Since August of 2013, any artist can be featured on DPW through our monthly DPW Contests where we award cash prizes to three 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners and select 12 Judge’s Picks. All 15 winners of each monthly contest receive a free month as a featured artist. While you can win a top three place only every six months, there is no limit to how many times and how often you can be a Judge’s Pick and be featured for a month.

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Hi Valri, I guess that is just the way the cookie crumbles, as they say. It’s difficult to sell work, no matter what site, and being a featured artist may help to remedy that. Just keep going is my advice, and never is a long time, and things might change for you. Regards Joe

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Hey Joseph, I sell here but not at the lofty prices the featured artists do. There isn’t another selling site, that I know of, that gives FEATURED artist the forever ticket.
It is an unfortunate situation here.

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The original Daily Paintworks group was established and had a good thing going long before they opened it up for general membership. Why would you expect them to completely give away any and all benefits of their founding status?

David has done an amazing job of building a fantastic, low-cost site that is searchable in mutiple ways. He further leveled the playing field by featuring and promoting everyone’s art in a variety of places: Facebook and auction “picks,” the weekly challenge, the monthly contest, the free gallery pages, the blog widgets, etc. I have watched a number of general (non-featured) members seemingly to do very well here. Your own efforts are always the most important component of any type of marketing. I think the price one can command is determined much more by skill, reputation/demand, and time in the saddle than by having “featured” status.

You knew the deal when you signed up, and if it doesn’t work for you, you can always quit. But I don’t see how posting a cranky complaint on their discussion board is going to further your cause. That seems remarkably impolitic!

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I hear you @valri. I sent a cranky note to David a couple of years ago about not being featured nd when I came to my senses, I sent another apologizing. Connie is absolutely right.

I have been watching some of the featured artists since about 2005-2006. Most of them have been painting for years and years. I was overjoyed to see DPW start up and then even more when they opened it up to the likes of me as member. DPW is amazing, the people who run it are great and so are the artists I have had the pleasure of dealing with. I cannot fathom the amount of work and group effort it must have taken to come with the layout, the features, all of it. And they carried the burden of cost as well. If it succeeded or didn’t, they still believed enough to make it happen and took the risk.

The fee is micro compared to what I was paying ebay and none of the other art sites have ever been as good for me in sales as DPW has been. The first year or two I sold more on ebay but the last year of two, better on DPW. And always I sell higher at DPW.

And they keep adding more and more ‘amenities’ to all and give a few ways to become featured for a month, and like @Connie_mclennan said-" Facebook and auction “picks,” the weekly challenge, the monthly contest, the free gallery pages, the blog widgets," Art Talk and more.

Keep on painting, keep on belonging to DPW, the better you’ll get and you will enjoy more and more sales and great community you’ll be able to enjoy.

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Well I am not a member of this site. My issue is Paypal, but that’s another story. What I have seen of this site however is wonderful. There doesn’t seem to be any issues seeing all the art that is displayed, featured or schmuck’s. I can say I’m a member of alot of other sites, including the supposed largest one there is online, no names mentioned, but it shouldn’t be hard to find. When I got on that site I really thought now I’m gonna get somewhere. So I uploaded some works and then went to the new works page to see them. Well, my work wasn’t on that page, so I kept going back page after page. Never found it. So I searched my name and found my work…on page 9000 and something. I’m pretty sure most buyers are not gonna go through 9000 pages to find my art. So even though I’ve never went back to that site, it’s still there. So someday maybe somebody gets to page 9000 or 15000 which it might be now. The “featured artist’s” took up more pages than I was willing to go through. So what I see from this site seems to be a huge step up. If I ever get past my PayPal issues…I will be a member.

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For the few of you that have come to terms with this CONGRATS but for me and perhaps a few others, this is a sore point that is NOT felt on other selling sites.
And as I said at the end of my POST - this is just my opinion. Not yours.

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I wouldn’t worry about seeking worldly status (i.e being featured). I’ve been painting since I was 18 (and I’m now 60); my paintings are by no means technically perfect but I’ve managed to sell work here at DPW; in fact. far better than I’ve been able to sell it in my own country (the UK). I think the USA audience is more discerning. My stats tell me whether the DPW viewers like my pictures or not and I make use of those stats to try and offer attractive pictures.
I have seen a number of online galleries offer this “Featured Artist” thing and it is always at a cost, so I avoid them. It’s all a numbers game, if your work is attractive it will draw viewers to it; focus on the work you do and not on the celebrity status.

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I totally agree with you Christine. I love DPW for many things and I am very happy to be a member. I sell work online far, far more than here in the UK. Making friends with other DPW artists and buyers too is a highlight for me.

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I am very thankful that a few artists took a chance with DPW when they were starting because now I have a place to show my work to many people. The more popular artists that are on the site, the more we all get eyeballs on our work. The stats I get give me a better feedback on whether I am communicating with others than I could get any other way. The fact that there are a few established artists on the top of the pile of daily posts only helps us all by bringing views to the site. The thing I like about DPW is that it is open to everyone.

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In life, how we measure up against others leads to envy and misery. It puts us in a losing position. What is important is not to be better than others but to be the best we can possibly be.It is good to be away from the feelings that rob the joy of creating and getting better and allow to enjoy ourselves for what we are.

I am on DPW only recently and when I joined I had a few doubts of selling here because of the geographical reasons mainly. But I felt welcome both by DPW community and collectors. I am glad that I am here.I feel David has done a phenomenal job for this platform where there are many doors open to get more exposure.

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I had belonged to another site that only allowed me to be an associate artist at first. When I was allowed to be a feature artist they wanted to charge me twice what Daily Paintworks charged. I turned them down and terminated my membership. Daily Paintworks is the best site in the terms of value, exposure and checking your stats. Art is a tough field where you are constantly judged in competitions that charge jury fees. When you are rejected you are just out the money with nothing to show for it. I have been at this for 30 years and still get them. I love what I do and appreciate the internet that provides opportunities I could never have had in the past.

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Hmmm, interesting. I read all the comments here and I feel that I am a pretty unbiased observer to this argument, even though I also sell here. With respect for David, Carol, and the Founding artists, I understand the point of views being defended here by the founding artists and others, BUT there is some truth to what Valri is saying, and here is why:

When I first came to the site as a buyer, I immediately looked at the featured artist link, BUT, it was not a featured artist who brought me to the website, it was one of the rest of us. Many, if not most, of us, are finding ways to drive traffic to the Dailypaintworks site, through social networking or linking from their blogs, websites, emails, etc. Those other artists are paying rent here, making very definitive efforts to market their art, bringing countless more people to the site than would have ever come if it were only the founding members alone. I myself then became a member, and began sending people here to look and also to join. I have heard from friends that they have purchased from other artists, possibly featured ones.

This is a powerful thought. Those non-featured artists are helping founding members sell their art. I’m not saying the “Featured Artist” link should be removed at all, or the people in it changed. Would we be more satisfied if the link said, “Founding Artists” instead? Maybe. Such wording might give more import to their efforts, retaining a very special place as the reason the site exists. Personally, I do think the term ‘Featured Artist’ does in some way imply that this is a rotating field of people, and the common visitor might only look there month after month, never realizing that they aren’t seeing someone new. just saying, Valri has a good point.

The GREAT NEWS for the rest of us is that having your work up on the front page of a marketed website every day you post for the entire day is a wonderful and uncommon thing! I think the “my picks” are neat, too, I look at them whenever I come online! They show that this is personal venue, run by a real personable person, who loves art and wants to show off what he thinks is great, every day. David is super nice and puts up with plenty, I’m sure. He has had to pacify my questions about some things, too, hehe. I’m rambling, but I support it.

Keys to success? Besides painting a lot, I believe it is the job of the artist to post as often as possible to get the maximum visibility and then share your auctions/listings with others to drive them to the site. I really believe that. David provides these awesome tools. If you aren’t selling, it may be that you aren’t posting regularly. If you are, take a look at the body of work being offered, could it be pricing or subject matter? Not every gallery is right for everyone, and we keep looking until we find things that work.

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I am new to DPW. It took me 2 years to have the courage and to figure out how to do DPW. I have looked at several people’s work and there is some very good artist in the group. A lot of very professional people. I am beginning to understand more about DPW and do love the site. I will be honest, I need some encouragement. I see so much beautiful art its is overwhelming. I was wondering how long it took before artist begin to sell their work on DPW? I am wondering if I will have 100s of paintings just sitting in my studio. Is the market seasonal?
By the way, Connie your work is beautiful, so is all the other artist. I have been sitting here for the last hour looking each person’s work up instead of downloading my work.

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Great that you found the courage to join DPW Glenda. I joined in January and really enjoy my membership. I wish you well with your art. Keep posting and don’t quit. I am sure your work will appeal to viewers before long. Carol’s new book is very good for encouraging too. I have lots of little paintings now in my studio waiting for a new home but they are my ‘little babes’ and give me pleasure and encouragement every day. They are a record of my work. I keep them safely in clear cellophane sleeves to prevent them from damage and store them in open boxes, rotating them daily so I see a new one and the light gets to the oils. Whether or not they sell, I am proud of what I have done and they inspire me to paint another one. They are a testament to the commitment I am willing to put into creating my art. I know I am a better painter for taking up the daily (or nearly daily) challenge.

I don’t know yet if the market is seasonal Glenda. Other painters might help with this one.

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Thank you for writing me back. I did purchase Carol’s new book and it is great… Her book is filled with valuable information. I didn’t really think of it being a record of my work but you are so right. I am documenting my life in the little babies. Thanks for the words of encouragement.

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“Featured” does imply a rotating group. Why can’t there be both truly featured and “Founding”?

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Thank you so much, Glenda. It is easy to get overwhelmed by looking at too much of other people’s art. I’ve done it my whole life. From your post, I was expecting to see amateurish work, but you’re trained and have been selling fine art longer than I have. Your work is very nice and quite salable, I would think.

That said, I would never hazard a guess about “how long” it might take. IMO, it is impossible to predict what will sell or when. Some things I thought would be a sure bet never got a bite, and others I doubted were even worth posting have sold. Beyond that, the more often you post, the more often you’ll be seen; and the more you sell, the more repeat customers and regular viewers you’ll build. The market may be somewhat seasonal, but I’m not sure. It seems slow to me right this minute, but someone else will think otherwise.

I’ll show all of my unsold mini’s at a couple of open studios and whatever other venues may crop up. After that, I imagine at some point I’ll give them away and/or destroy them. No way anyone is going to inherit them all and have to do that.

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Thank you Connie for saying you could tell I have been trained. I sometime think it is the confidence I am lacking. Always afraid I will blog, say, do or paint the wrong thing. You are so right they will make great donation items for charity events. Or destroy what doesn’t move and I don’t like anymore. I will keep watching your work.:slight_smile:

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Are you sure their not rotated there are a lot of different artists on the featured page.