Karen F Rose My Painting Journey

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Heads or Tails...A Penny for Your Thoughts



This blog, My Painting Journey has been a journal of mine for almost two years. Back when I started, I didn't know the ins and outs of blogging and to tell you the truth, I am constantly learning. The intent is to share with you, my recent paintings, my art related travels and inform you of my upcoming exhibits and shows. 


After returning from my recent trip I thought I could use some help with my blogging skills to better showcase my painting adventures. So with a commitment to building a more vibrant blog, I signed up for the 4-week Blog Triage class with Cynthia Morris and Alyson B. Stanfield.
I have taken a workshop with Alyson and have her I'd Rather Be in the Studio book (which I highly recommend) so I know I will be in for a great learning experience


I am also in the process of transitioning my web site to a new format.
I would love to hear from you with your thoughts. 
Which web site do you prefer and is more reader friendly?
http://karenfrose.fineartstudioonline.com/
 or
www.karenfrose.com


Soooo...put down that cup of coffee and send me your comments.

5 comments:

Jan Small said...

I am one of your Blog Triage classmates, Karen...and a fellow Floridian. I think your Fine Art Studio Online website is more professional looking, better organized, and easier to navigate. The only thing I don't like about FASO websites is that images are so small. I look forward to getting to know you :)

Sarah said...

I agree that you should have some sort of content management system for your site: this means that a professional developer builds the backend (like blogger). It is easier to update this kind of site and the result ends up being more professional.

"Professionalism" in web design almost always equates to some sort of consistency: consistency in choice of font, font size, title style, image alignment, margins, navigation, etc. This can be difficult to achieve when you use applications like Dreamweaver to run your site (which is never used by professional web builders...at best it is used as a preview tool). So yes, the Fine Arts Studio Online site appears more "consistent."

I think you should explore your options before choosing "Fine Arts Studio." 1) it would be nice to keep your personal URL and 2) I am having trouble loading the page and 3) Fine Arts Studio does not seem to offer a wide variety of templates, all of their sites seem to ressemble one another which is kind of unfortunate because as an artist, you want to make your mark. I'd look at other providers that offer a wider variety of templates. At the moment, I think http://virb.com looks very promising (for designers / artists who want to showcase their work online). I hope this helps.

Talisa Selby said...

Hi Karen - I am also a Blog Triage classmate. I love your blog - reading about travels and art together are great! I actually like the Karen F. Rose site better - it feels more personal - there is more of your artwork, and a direct link to your blog and email. Anyway, that's jut my two cents...
Talisa

Karen F. Rose said...

Thanks Jan, Sarah and Talisa.
Yes I agree that having larger pictures is better, I think that you can keep your own url with the FASO site I just haven't investigated that part of it yet.
Looks like I have some work to do.
I appreciate your input.
And Talisa thanks for your comments on the direct link.
Now with your two cents.. do I owe you change back :)???

dannie woodard said...

My second visit to your site. Love the pictures, information....all. Its a beautiful place to visit.

Dannie from Blog c;ass