Submersion in the Internet....or there is so much info out there...

This past week I have been spending time submerging myself into finding good info on the internet for networking to others. This is not only with other artists, but also others in my community and state.

Wading through all the organizations and information can be overwhelming to say the least. So what have I found this week....

• Wet Canvas.com
  
• a site with an overwhelming amount of information for the artist, including reference photos, art lessons, critiques, forums and more....
• MAMU
• Minnesota Artists Meet Up group that is a fairly active group
• I joined and became the 100th member
• ArtBreak
• a place to share and sell your artwork
  
• artists from all over the world
• Sketchcrawl.com
• forums on drawing and meeting to draw all over the world
• Blurb.com
• a website where one can make their own book
• prices are relatively reasonable and there is free software to download

One other thing that my host website offers is a thing added called "simple scripts". I now can add a blog to my existing site (still need to figure out how to do the link) and also a photo site where photos are easily uploaded for viewing.

When I first setup my website www.maryanncleary.com I used a template. That actually helped speed things up and also provided a professional looking site. However, I do not know html, css, or any of the other scripts out there. So to make changes it is a slow process since I am on a learning curve. Because of that I opted to also use an alternative site through Fine Art Studio Online and my other domain name Spirit River Studio as photos are easy to upload and I can update it from anywhere. I am giving this a six month trial as the monthly fee, I feel, is high. In the meantime, I will work on adding pages to my current site.

Well, I am off to get a painting in today as well as work on my lower level for the studio...the weather is still ugly outside with lots of snow!

~M