Have you been wondering why your favorite artist, whether it is visual art, singer, band, writer, photographer or whatever page you have already LIKED is not showing up in your HOME page anymore.

Well the reason is simple since facebook was listed on the stock exchange and did rather worse than expected they are now pulling out the big guns in how to turn a profit.

Artists are passionate people and what could be more passionate than getting married so I thought this acrylic on canvas board was a good fit for this art blog.  This naive painting “BALLOON WEDDING” is also available as Giclee Prints.

ARTIST FAN PAGE

If an ARTIST has a FAN page, facebook are requiring them to pay to have their status updates read by all their subscribers.  This is even though you have already “Liked” the page thus indicating that you would like to see their updates through your homepage regularly.  Instead the content we are currently posting goes through less than 10% of the news-feeds.  We used be able to post updates as messages but that function has been removed as has suggest pages to friends.

ARTISTS PAGES

However there is a way around this.  Go to your favorite Artists pages and hover over the button on the page where it says “LIKE” or “LIKED” and then make sure you are check marked to “show in news feed”.  This will not cost you anything nor the artist and you won’t miss updates from your favorite pages.

This week I have had several messages saying that none of my posts are coming through to my fans and friends as the same thing is also happening on our own profile pages.   With 3700 fans on my Naive Art by Marie Jonsson-Harrison and a further 2300 subscribers and over 5000 friends on my personal page (never mind 12000 followers all told on social media) I thought this strange to0.  It seems as Facebook is up to the same trick with our friends pages and trying to make you pay either by having a post highlighted, superliked,  announced or  promoted so that your friends will see it.

SUBSCRIBED TO ARTISTS OR PEOPLE IN GENERAL

So there is a way around this too.  Firstly go to the profile page of the person whose content you would like to see in your HOME page and then make sure you have subscribed to their post.   This is of course if they are not already one of your friends and are happy to have people subscribe to their content.  At the same time hover on the subscribed button and tick “all updates” and make sure the events are ticked as well such as status updates, photos, music & video.

FRIENDS NOT JUST ARTISTS

Finally the same thing is happening to you and your friends own profile pages.  At the moment Facebook is not putting your friends updates on your home page unless you have specifically asked for it.  So make sure you go to your friends profile pages and hover over the “FRIENDS” button and the dropdown list will come up – there make sure that “show in Newsfeed” is ticked.

What I find sad is that artists all create work because they have a passion; they want to make you FEEL.  Some artists like I would like to make you smile, brighten your day; make you forget your troubles for a little while, make you feel good about being alive and perhaps also make you think about something that you hadn’t thought of before.  Whether it is in regard to human condition the plight of animals, environmental or just a funny situation.

So come on EVERYBODY and support your favourite ARTISTS and brighten everybody’s day.

Here is a quote I like from the movie P.S. I Love You;

“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.  It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you,

Love Marie xxxx

So I hope this information was useful to you, however if you want to read something a bit more amusing, here is a link; 6. San Francisco Art Blog

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Even during this economic downturn in Europe the members of Fivan, Szyb Gallery and Jacques Dubois particularly, has manage to pull off the impossible – another successful Naive Art Festival in Katowice, Poland.   As this exhibition is continuing into August I sincerely hope that you will try to some and see it.

This painting “Playing hide and seek” was in last year’s festival in Poland and crisscrossed the world as it ended up selling to a Japanese client.

This exhibition whereby artists from 32 countries around the world are chosen to take part is only the 5^th Art Naif Festival held in Poland and the host gallery is again the amazing Szyb Wilson Gallery.  It is the privately owned gallery in Poland and I would think one of the largest if not the largest private gallery in the world at 2500 square meters on two big halls and a balcony.  It is situated 10 minutes away from the city center in the Nikiszowiec district which is a historical settlement of Katowice.

The area where Szyb Wilson Gallery stands was in fact an old coal mine construction, a virtual wasteland.  As Jacques says it is very fitting that the naive festival is held in this place: “to change the image of a dirty and black city into a place where happiness and colors are together to warm the heart.  There’s nothing like naive artists to believe in things like that.  Improve the world, little by little and all together.”

ARTnBED

Last year Cuba was the guest country and this year we celebrate Israel and their wonderful Naive artists, they have a great history of Naive art with a terrific gallery that supports them in Tel Aviv called Gina Gallery of International Naive Art.  It is also from Israel that my latest venture with ARTnBED comes from with art works on duvet and shams (quilt covers and pillowcases) that were recently released both in Israel and USA.

NAIVE ART IN ISRAEL

The philosophy of Dan Chill the owner of Gina Gallery is as follows “GINA Gallery seeks to support the naïve artists‘ quest for “Paradise Lost;” to encourage them to share their timeless vision of everyday life; and to provide them with a forum to bare the child-like ruminations of their hearts and souls. In parallel, GINA Gallery hopes to facilitate the entry into this field of talented, mostly self-taught artists (young and old) who strive to relate – by means of brush, paint and canvas — the fairy tale figments of their fertile imaginations.

ART WORLD

GINA Gallery also seeks — by gathering and displaying worldwide naïve art — to expand the existing art lovers‘ awareness and appreciation of this multifaceted art form, and to introduce the wondrous beauty of this unique, easily-accessible genre to those who have been reluctant (for whatever the reason) to visit art galleries, thereby allowing naïve art, and those who paint it, to assume their proper place in the pantheon of the art world.”

ART WINNER

Last year’s winner of the Grand Prize of the Public 2011 was Stefen Lewis from Tanzania which means he has the honor of designing this year’s poster for the Festival.  This year Museum PASZIN, located in south eastern Poland was invited to submit 100 sculptures dating back from the early 60s.  Also the Museum of Lodz followed suit and presents 50 pieces on the theme of Mary, mother of Jesus.

This year even the best major Taxi companies have gotten behind the festival and are acting as “Ambassadors” handing out cards to the tourists with naive paintings on the back.  This is another ingenious idea by Jacques Dubois and his wonderful team from Fivan, Szyb Wilson Gallery and helpers from Poland and France.  We salute you!

Here is a great quote from Danny Kaye that I love;

“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx

If you enjoyed this art blog you may also like this one: 117 Henri Rousseau Naive Artist

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.