I can’t imagine that anyone has read all of my posts, but for that one brave soul who has – my apologies. Inevitably, a single subject blog will frequently repeat information.
Thistle Fine Art, the online gallery, will not add much new content but the site has been and will continue to be tweaked. There will be few additional items added but the presentation will change. Currently, I’m attempting to improve my position on Internet search engines. Bing has been generous, listing the gallery quite high in their lists. Google, not so much! The two search engines account for most Internet searches and both have incorporated artificial intelligence (AI). Hopefully, this will improve my chances of “being seen”.
My comparisons of Bing and Google involved searches for specific artists – by name. That seems to be good enough for Bing but the algorithm used by Google seems to be somewhat more sophisticated – or complicated. So, I’ve had to alter some code that the search engines look for, resulting in changes to the appearance of my pages. This is a work in progress and while I’m at it I’m changing a few other things as well.
The most significant of the other changes is marketing methodology. Initially, my approach was to seek offers from visitors to the site. My rationale was the desire to attract new collectors, some of whom are likely to have restricted budgets. Asking people to send an email offer hasn’t worked, however! After altering my listings to include a price, rather than a request for offers, hasn’t worked either. So, I’ve reverted to my original plan – invite users to view my gallery, accept offers realistic offers based on an estimate. Many people seem to like “bargaining”! For eighteen years my art was listed with a fair and honest fixed price from which I never waivered. Going forward, I’ll provide an estimated value for each item based on auction results and dealer competition. As time permits, I’ll include specific examples of prices realized for a particular artist. and I’ll respectfully consider any offer (reasonable or not). I’ll occasionally reduce items by moving them to the “Items under $100” and “Items under $150” categories. There will also be some limited-time offers.
It’s worth repeating my motivation for selling. Many of the items have the letters NFS (not for sale) following the estimate. Most of my personal collection will be sold posthumously. My children have no desire to be art dealers, so they will retain a few items and consign the remainder to an auctioneer. There is likely to be a brief period when many of the “NFS” art works will be offered for sale here, however. One “NFS” painting is already “on reserve” for a U. K. collector and I’m happy to make similar arrangements for others. As already stated in this blog, it is my desire for every piece of art to be acquired by a collector. Thus, this current effort to reach as many people as possible.
At the very least, this web gallery provides artist data, condition statements, multiple images of the item offered for sale, and other images of art “Also by the Artist”. Hopefully, the visitor will find it informative and pleasant viewing.
