Cyber Monday Art Promotions

I'll be offering some specials at two of my on-line sales locations on Monday: eBay and Bonanzle. The Monday after Thanksgiving has been dubbed "Cyber Monday" and in addition to "Black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving) seems to be a good day for on-line sales.

On eBay, I'm teaming up with many artists in eBay's ATC & ACEO Enthusiasts Group to list small format art. We're trying to draw attention (and sales!) to one of our favorite forms of art. You can join either the eBay group or the off eBay group to find out more about these little gems, but I'll recap here: ACEO stands for "Art Cards, Editions and Originals". An ACEO is always a small format piece of art measuring 2.5" x 3.5". They're highly collectible and although some can be pricey, the majority are quite affordable, especially when you consider that you're purchasing original art. ACEOs come in a variety of media: watercolor, scratchboard, photography, digital art, ink, oil, acrylic, collage, etc. Many of us also offer print reproductions of our ACEOs. An ATC is an "Art Trading Card", intended for trading only, not for sale. ACEOs started as ATCs but the separate category was created for the cards that artists wanted to sell.

You'll find a couple of my ACEO prints, a flamingo photo and an original zebra drawing at discounted starting prices - one day only (24 hours)! Once the listings have started (at 12:01 am Monday morning), you can click this link: Ranlett Cyber ACEO to see my Cyber Monday specials on eBay. The ACEOs will still be available after Monday, but will revert back to regular price.



To see all the Cyber Monday ACEOs on eBay, just search for "Cyber Monday ACEO".
NOTE: the zebra drawing didn't sell, so it's now in my ArtFire shop. You can find a few ACEOs there and even more in my Bonanzle Booth.

On Bonanzle, everything in my Booth (shop) will be discounted 10%, just use coupon code CYBERMON at checkout for the discount. And if you spend $100 or more in my Booth, you'll receive an additional 10% off (that's automatically added). Bonanzle is my main on-line store - you'll find my original art and reproductions of it on note cards, matted prints, magnets, earrings and ornaments.


And while I'm hawking my wares . . . you can find my art on holiday postage stamps

and other fun items in my Zazzle shop and a wide selection of merchandise in my CafePress shop.

Happy Shopping!

Read more...

An Ostrich Egg for Betty White

I had a brush with celebrity earlier this month - I was thrilled to be able to meet actress and animal advocate Betty White (yes, that Betty White - from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls, Boston Legal and The Proposal).



Here's the back story: I've been drawing animals in pen & ink on ostrich eggs for many years, since I worked at the Sacramento Zoo as the Volunteer/Events Coordinator in the 80's. These eggs are presented as awards at Zoo events, offered as silent auction items and gifted to major Zoo donors and supporters. I'm very fortunate to have maintained a relationship with the Zoo staff and they commission at least a dozen eggs from me each year. By last count, that's well over 200 eggs that I've "inked".

I was honored when my Zoo friends commissioned an egg as a gift for Betty as a "thank you" for being the featured guest at a fund-raiser for the new new "Tall Wonders" giraffe habitat expansion project. Just knowing that a piece of my art would be in her collection was exciting enough, but then I was invited to the event too! Below is the egg, with a giraffe drawing, of course.


When the egg was presented to Betty, I was standing on the other side of the room watching with butterflies in my stomach. I honestly got chills when the Zoological Society's board president handed the egg to her and she seemed truly touched an happy to receive the gift. She then sat down with it clutched to her chest for a little while.



It was a wonderful evening and I felt like I was part of the staff again - I hung out with a couple of Zoo gals at the raffle table, chatted with folks I'd worked with ages ago and got up close and personal with a couple of critters. Event attendees were also able to get a sneak preview of the new giraffe habitat. As for Betty, she was funny, gracious and sweet - an amazing woman and she admitted during the Q & A session on stage that she was 87. I sure hope I can be that spry and sharp when I'm her age!





There wasn't much time to have a conversation with her, but thanks to Valorie Schneider (the current Volunteer Coordinator) and Mary Healy (Zoo Director), I was able to have two photos taken with Betty and chat with her a little bit. I also got her autograph on my name tag.







Yes, I was fairly floating when I left the event and walked back to my car that night and I suspect I had a grin on my face the entire drive home!

Read more...

Taking a Stand Against Copyright Infringement

I received a threatening e-mail yesterday. It comes from a Marykay Bond and what I've posted below is unedited. Now, those that know me or have even just been following this blog, know that I'm a professional and I work very hard to present myself that way. I wouldn't normally put something like this out there, but I want this out in the open for everyone to see.

"Ann Ranlett,

Why are you attacking my art?
Have you ever held a piece of my art in your hand? Has any one in that group truly saw a piece of my work?
It saddens me when I see an artist such as your self running with "pack mentally".

There in not one ounce of proof that anyone can show that my art is not real.
This is all hearsay and was started by one jealous artist and it has snowballed out of control.

These people seem to think this is all some sort of fun game; but what they do not realize is that there are internet stalking laws; there are slander laws; and many other laws that are also being broken.
If anyone slanders my name I am going after them with the full force of the Law!

These people like to hide behind made-up pretend names and say things about me using my real name and my business name's; this is SLANDER!

I will get a court order to pull all of ebay and YouTube records which will show the exact address of each ones servers through their isp address; which can be traced directly to their front door step of their homes, no matter what pretend name they are hiding behind.

I have never attacked your art or your name. I do not even know you so I know you do not know me; but if you choose to slander my name you are going down with them!

Regards,
Marykay Bond"

The e-mail speaks for itself. I will not dignify her comments/accusations/threats with a reply. But I won't call her out here, either. And I won't post her eBay id or web site. You can do your own research if you so choose.

I am trying to figure out what prompted the e-mail and the only thing I can think of that would make Ms. Bond feel I'm "attacking her art" is a comment I left on a Flickr photo (scroll down to the comment by AnnRan5). Yes, I'm assuming what the other commenters are saying is true, but I'm also aware of copyright infringement on eBay, so I really don't doubt them. I know artists whose photos or artwork have been used without permission. The photographer who took the cat photos and posted them on her Flickr page did not authorize use of that photo in that manner - it's obvious from her own comment. It's extremely frustrating as an artist and a photographer to see others' work used without permission, it has not happened to me (that I know of) but I'm as vigilant and protective of my work as is reasonably possible.

I also try to educate when I can. What many people don't realize is that just because an image (be it a photo or art) is on the internet, doesn't mean it can be used by anyone in any manner they wish. Others do realize this and don't care, figuring the odds of the appropriation being discovered are slim. This is copyright infringement. The copyright belongs to the creator of that image, period. Simply put, copyright means all rights to do anything with that image. Even the buyer of an original piece of art or a photograph does not have permission to make reproductions of that work, unless such permission is granted by the artist/photographer. Some time ago, I ran across a great summary of copyright info. Click here to read it (you have to scroll down the page a little bit).

It's a tough situation - as artists, we want to share our art with others and the internet is an amazing way to do that since we can reach people on the other side of the world. On the down side, by doing that, we open our work up to theft. The best we can do is to keep an eye out for unauthorized use of our work (and our fellow artists' works) and to put a copyright watermark on our images that we put on the web. Fortunately, at least in my experience, the positives of having my work on the internet far outweigh the negatives.

Read more...