Some time ago I received an email from Trevor at FoundMySelf.com, letting me know about his free selling platform for artists. I thought it was a pretty neat idea, so I decided to ask Trevor to answer a few questions.
1. Tell me about yourself Trevor. What’s your background? How did you come to start Foundmyself?
I created Foundmyself in 2003 as a personal project after I graduated college. I had a general concept of what I wanted it to be, which was friendly, simple, and useful to creative types of all sorts. Foundmyself was also a great excuse to hone my programming and design skills, which, looking back, were both in dire need of honing.
2. Most online art sales sites charge a per-transaction fee, a hosting fee, and other fees. How do you support the site without mandatory fees?
Foundmyself is indeed free for all artists, from the setup to the commission-free sales of their work. If an artist decides to give back to the community in the form of donation, we use it to support the hosting and advertising costs. We also offer certain upgrades, like exposure points that advertise an artist’s work across the site, and Reach websites, which are dot-com art galleries. Finally, there’s a small amount of traditional advertising on the site, although that’s a recent addition.
When it comes down to it, the focus of Foundmyself is the artist who uses it and benefits from it, so if worse comes to worse it will be paid for out of pocket. The site has grown so much but to me it still feels like an ongoing project, and I’m fortunate to have found a great number of loyal users… many who have been on the site since the very beginning.
3. Do you have any awesome artist success stories?
Yes! These achievements belong 100% to the artists, of course. Recently, an artist who frequents the site was accepted into the Ocean Artists Society, which aims to use art to inspire positive environmental change. Other artists on the site have had their own terrific successes (one has a painting that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London, for instance).
My favorite story line that I see in the forums is when new artists, or artists who haven’t picked up a brush in years, have found the site and talked with others there and have made art a big part of their life. I sort of selfishly borrow some of that accomplishment.
4. What resources are available to artists who want to sell their work through Foundmyself, but don’t have a lot of experience with online marketing?
We have tons, and we try to make our features as easy on the artist as possible. Our most important feature is the Honor System, which allows anyone to sign up, use the site indefinitely for free, and then give back when they make a sale, hit the lotto (still waiting for this one), or when the mood just strikes. There might be another art site out there that does that, but if there is, I haven’t seen it.
Aside from the honor system, we have Reach, which is a simple dot-com website for artists that quickly creates a standalone, professional web presence. We offer guides, as well, and have many promotional tools that are all aimed at presenting the artwork cleanly and simply to potential buyers. Finally, the artists on the site are very helpful, and the forum is an excellent resource for artists new to selling their work online.
5. How much do artists typically contribute in sales through the Honor System?
We have the top twenty donors listed on the site (Resources > Donate), which gives an abstract view of some of the contributions. Because we truly are on the honor system we don’t track sales, though. I should point out that with our honor system, users aren’t only rewarded for donating, but also for participating. They can earn exposure points, front page placement, Reach websites and more regardless of which angle they take to get their honor.
6. Where do you see the future of Internet Marketing for Art? How will artists bridge the gap between offline and offline?
Mobile devices are so commonplace and their screens so sharp (not to mention the tiny projectors they have now) that I think more and more artists will have a “pocket portfolio” that they can show off on the go. Innovations in search are going to help people really narrow down what they’re looking for visually, so that they can sift through the massive amount of art available online with less typing. Something like a more focused Google Goggles, for example.
The toughest hurdle from a tactile, connectivity point of view, will be to replicate the real essence of an original piece of art. Seeing the way light bounces off high and low points on a painting as you shift your view is something that will be hard to reproduce, although eventually I think we’ll get there. In the meantime, and as awesome the tools we have are, I think most people will prefer to look at the real article if given the choice. For now, I most definitely appreciate being able to view art from Germany one minute, Japan the next without the jet lag and price tag.
Have you tried FoundMySelf.com? What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
I joined this site as I started painting; posting my work as I went. The comments and feedback from fellow FoundMyself artists has been inspiring and encouraging.
I’m one of those artists that’s been around fM since the very beginning; I was the 49th person to join the site in October 2003.
Recently Trevor asked me to write a 30-word testimonial, so here it is:
“The “Reach Gallery” is the best thing that anyone offers, free.
This directs viewers to any gallery of images.
Thanks, Trevor, for giving us this instrument for
promotion. You rock!”
But there’s something about fM that’s much more intangible than that sort of thing, which I think is really what’s kept me hanging around there for so long. (I’m on about 120 other free artists’ web sites, by the way.) It’s something almost magical and I couldn’t explain exactly why or how, but this site has always attracted good people, who in turn attracted other good people, and this has continued like a snowball rolling downhill.
You won’t find the kind of incessant bickering and sniping at fM that plagues so many other free artists’ sites forums, for example.
Another thing about fM is that it’s truly free in another sense: there is no censorship, hidden agenda, or bias. Trevor has always had the good sense to treat us all as consenting adults, and he has a deep respect for the concept of freedom of expression.
I could go on and on about why I like this site but I’ll stop now.
“Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief.”
– Hamlet, act 2 scene 2
I wasn’t at FM when it began, but I found myself shortly after and I’ve stuck around since 2006.
It is a great place because it has great people: those who enjoy sharing experience as well as those who want to learn more about art. Humor is always alive and well at FM and you can’t beat all those things combined in one site!
Hats off for a great administrator in Trevor Hunt!
Thanks to Trevor for his great thoughts and ideas to promote artist. I am looking for this kind of platform to introduce myself internationally and also sell my artwork abroad.
I am interested in your site and posting some paintings on it. Tell me how to go about doing so.
This seems like a wonderful idea –I have sold a great many paintings in the past — up until several years ago–but I’ve been in a slump lately. I’m interested in posting on FoundMyself.
All i would like to say is Great Art sight
Trevor runs the sight with class and
Very good Artist’s on this sight that
i have found you can learn something
from any of them.
I honestly have never heard of foundmyart.com but am definitely going to look into it. I’m intrigued but curious that if I hadn’t heard of it, how do collectors find it?
Trevor has done a great job with FoundMyself. It’s a place for novice and professionals alike.
It is easy to upload images of your art on the site, then all you have to do is make sure to share your FM link so that you can showcase your work; it’s practically an online portfolio of your work.
The forum is a great way to communicate, share ideas, etc., it’s a learning place.
I think it’s awesome that you’re spotlighting Trevor!
I discovered “Foundmyself” a few years ago, when I was dipping my toes back into the art scene, and wanted a dotcom site with a professional looking flash gallery.
I subscribed for one of the Reach Galleries, and Trevor was awesome with helping me set it up. He allowed me to customize it, add a few additional pages (an About Me, custom portrait pricing, etc…) and really guided me whenever I had a crazy idea and wanted to make it fly.
Although I’ve moved on to another platform now, I still drop his name and a link to FM.com whenever I hear artists are looking to build a professional looking gallery website with minimal fuss. 🙂
I felt bad for not participating in the forums much (not really a forum person here, hehe) but the atmosphere at Foundmyself is very encouraging to artists; everyone is friendly, professional, and willing to offer solid advice.
I’m so pleased to see him get some recognition for his hard work. 🙂
I am looking forward to checking fM out … as I finally begin to take my 30-year art career to the online market. I am really appreciating all the helpful suggestions from AA. I didn’t even realize there were free artist websites, for instance.
Thanks for being there, Corey!
FM was the original foundation for me, getting my ocean artwork out there to the masses and I received great advice from Trevor and also all the other members who had been there much longer, but also new friends.
It is FREE! and doesn’t require any monies to pass hands in order to display your work, no subscription either.
What is fantastic is that there is also an option for any member to have their very own, hosted online ‘REACH’ portfolio website for a very small monthly cost. The websites are terrific in design too.
FM is a very friendly and active place that is going from strength to strength and I would truly recommend it to anyone.
Since joining a while back, new opportunities have come and now my work really is making a difference towards our Eco-systems and its wildlife, which may never have happened if I hadn’t taken the opportunity to join FM
wonderfull
I don’t see many comments about sales!! I want to sell my work not just see it online. I went thru 14 “pages” on Google without any mention of Foundmyself. How would a buyer find my paintings. Everything looks great except being available to buyers. Is there something that I don’t see???
An extremely wonderful site…..lots of learning and inspiration is there for all especially emerging artists like me.A week has passed that i joined in and awesome response is what i got.Friendly experience!i always feel like at home here.
I’ve only been on FM for a couple of years. But I’m very glad to have found it .the artists on this site our truly amazing. Some have become great friends whom I can share ideas with.
Is as well has only been there for a few years but it’s a great site and source of inspiration for artists. Thanks.