Eleven Reasons Why YOU Should Publish an Art Book or Catalog

Surprise! I have a guest blogger today, Amy Leigh Strickland. You may have seen her posts in my blog roll. She writes about the craft and business of writing and about her books. Take it away Amy!

My name is Amy Leigh Strickland, and I am Terry’s daughter-in-law. Regulars to this blog know me from a series of paintings I’ve been in, including Athena, The Incognito Project, and If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On. I’m a novelist and a teacher and I’m here to talk to you about art books.

Ripe Was the Drowsy Hour, 18x24, oil on canvas over panel.
This is one of my paintings in which Amy plays model and muse in my gypsy series.
This painting will be in Alexandria, VA at Principle Gallery for the Face-Off, August 16, 2013.

Publishing an art book is easier now than it has ever been. You no longer have to wait for a big New York company to recognize you to get a book out there. Whether your work sells for thousands at galleries, or whether you’re making most of your income off of fan conventions and RedBubble shirts, there are TONS of reasons to publish an art book. In fact, I’m Kickstarting a project right now to teach anyone how to self-publish their book, and the design portion is being written by Carly Strickland, who designed The Incognito Project book.

So here is my list:

The Indie Guide to Indie Publishing

Matter Deep Publishing has a Kickstarter

running through August 13, 2013. 

They hope to raise $8000 to produce a step-by-step guide to indie publishing from people who have been there and done that.



Nine indie writers and artists will share their expertise in the book. The publishing world has changed forever and independent publishing has never been more accessible to artists and writers. While desktop publishing is within everyone's capability, there are some tricks of the trade. These authors are here to guide you through the do's and don'ts.

You may pledge to pre-order the book for $15, or get the digital download for only $5, as part of the backer rewards and they have a bunch of other  cool swag too!

The Topics Covered:

Behind the Scenes : Write and Illustrate a Children's Picture Book

My kids, Kyle and Carly, recent graduates of Savannah College of Art and Design, have just published their first book together. It's a children's picture book about a Chinese hamster they owned when they were roomies in college.

Since I'm the mom I've been privy to each step along the way. It's been entertaining for me, seeing it come to fruition, so I thought I'd share.

Continue reading below the break for the step by step.

Black and White Or Shades of Gray?

Does our view of complex issues change with age?

This is my new painting "The Certainty of Youth and the Complexity of Wisdom", 43x49, oil on panel. 

 

 

Both these men are Birmingham artists. You may recognize the wise model, a cowboy in The Incognito Project, in "Yippee Ki-Yay".

"Yippee Ki-Yay, The Incognito Project" 16x16, oil on panel

You may also recognize my youth model from the cover of the novel Olympia Heights, The Pantheon, by Amy Strickland

"Olympia Heights, The Pantheon" a novel by Amy Strickland

Click here to see a post about my cover photo shoot for Amy's book. Thanks Ira and Nick!

Behind the Scenes

This is a short video that my daughter-in-law, Amy made about the cover photo shoot we did for her upcoming book, The Pantheon, the first in her Olympia Heights series. It shows my working process and my messy studio. This is the same type session I do with a model when I'm shooting reference photos, although I don't usually have such a rocking soundtrack, but maybe I should!



You'll notice the crazy thumbnail sketches of model poses and playing with the lighting, using a key light and reflected light. All the painting paraphernalia is just shoved to the side of the studio to make room for the model, lights and tripod.

This young man has modeled for me before and the paintings are designed so you'll recognize him in other work besides Amy's book cover, which is coming out this summer.

edited July 15, 2011:
Olympia Heights, The Pantheon, available here for Kindle!