Remaining an artist in a digital world

What a confusing time many of us find ourselves in. The decisions we are making now are more critical, more important than ever and often times more confusing than we could have ever imagined. 

Several years ago, most photography studios found themselves in the middle of what I would call the “perfect storm” of digital cameras taking off and landing in the hands of “moms” who quickly found an audience for their “free” photography. Add to that the iPhone snapshots which have replaced multiple visits to a professional studio.

Truly, times have changed and most of us who have been in this profession for awhile have had to scramble to handle the changes.

The path we at Walden's have chosen is the hard path…the slow path…the path of truth for us as artists. It is the path of finding our “true north” and not straying from it which translates to remaining a print artist in a digital world. And we feel there is still a substantial market for investment worthy printed pieces of art.

Our art is not complete until it is printed and we continually educate our clients on that point. Digital technology, though present behind the scenes, is not overtly seen in our studio. And no, we don't offer or sell files. That is our conviction, but you must find your own way in that arena.

Throughout the studio, we have several different galleries of large portraits (remember, you need to show what you want to sell) in beautiful frames with excellent lighting to make them come alive. We keep our three brands, Relationship Black and White fine art portraits, Color Studies and Beau Visage mixed media paintings segregated so that we can walk prospects through each gallery to see where they connect.

And it is still as true today as it has always been that your gallery needs to mimic a high end art gallery if you are to be seen as an artist. For us, that means fewer large pieces on the walls and no small clutter sitting around. 

To us, digital technology is simply the foundation of the art we produce; a means to an end. It determines the extent of our vision and the boundaries of our creativity. Therein lies the value of technology for us. 

Never forget that vision and artistry are the goals of digital technology and remain true to the artist that lies within you.