For a few years now, I’ve kept this blog. 

Sometimes it has been months before I posted anything. Sometimes I’ve been very faithful or had a lot to say (I guess) and posted almost daily. Most of the time I have posted once or twice a week. On rare occasions I’ve even posted twice a day. 

Gradually (and I mean VERY gradually), my followers have increased from about three to today when I’m up to 47. Now, mind you, I haven’t done any of the suggested things for growing my readership like purchasing a subscriber list or offering free giveaways. 

I have set it up so that when I publish an entry, it shows up on my Instagram account, my Facebook page and somewhere in Twitter land with links back to here. 

My most popular posts have had something to do with my art process and folks seem to like reading (or seeing) paintings in progress. 

I haven’t sold a thing via the blog, but I do think it has pushed a few people to seek out my work when I put things out in galleries. And that’s a good thing because, frankly, paintings really do look different and better in person than they do on a computer screen. Depending upon your settings, your blues may be greener or your reds may appear more orange. The other thing you miss with a photo of a painting is the texture. They all look smooth and flat, and in many cases, they are highly textured or slightly textured and the camera often fails to capture layered nuances that add depth. 

I recently visited the Virginia Museum of Fine Art where I was able to see, in person, several works by John Singer Sargent and Mary Cassatt. Now, I’ve previously seen his work in other museums years ago, and remember being awed by them. If I am influenced by an artist, there are two: John Singer Sargent and Mary Cassatt. As it is, I’ve sort of ended up limited to my reviews and study of their works via books and the internet. To see them in again in person, has once again brought them back to the foreground of my focus. 

In any case, their draftsmanship puts mine to shame and I am determined in the coming year to continue my sketching work. I think it would be really wonderful to find someone willing to sit for me once a week. RALAC has a different person come in for a couple of hours each week, but I think I would benefit most by having the same person over a longer period of time. You simply cannot (or at least I cannot) paint a completed portrait in three 15 minute poses (each different) and then two 20 minute poses (which may or may not be different). Rather, I think it would take many hours of the same pose. Granted, the model would be given breaks every 20 to 30 minutes, but would be asked to pose for probably two hours each sitting. And then come back the following several weeks and take up the same pose each time. I wonder what I would have to pay someone to do this? 

But I’m getting off track regarding the point of this post: How to increase my readership? Suggestions anyone? I know I need to post more often and with greater regularity. So that is another goal for the remainder of this year and into next year. But would a give away of some sort help? What do you guys think?