Guidelines for Gallery Submissions

The Canadian Aviation Artists Association Gallery is open to all members in good standing of the CAAA. If you are not yet a member, why not join us?

Format

If you already have a gallery entry, please review it and update it periodically. If you don't have one, contact the webmaster to get started putting one together. The more artists and paintings we have in the gallery, the more visitors it attracts and therefore the better it is for you and for the CAAA. You can look at the current gallery for examples while you consider the following points:

Artist Photo

It's surprising how much stock people unconsciously put into being able to 'put a face to a name'. People are also inherently attracted to faces, so your gallery entry will get more attention if your picture is part of it. You'll see a variety of approaches in our gallery: straight 'head shots', artist-at-work-in-studio, or in an aviation-related context - whatever you prefer is fine.

Artist Bio

It's not just a bio, but a resumé. Tell us something about your background, art training, accomplishments, aviation experience, etc. This helps people to relate to you as a person and an artist. Again, there are numerous examples on the site already - and, if you already have a bio, see if there's anything you want to add, correct or update. Have you won any awards? Do you have work for sale? Do you accept commissions? What is your price range? These are all of interest to potential customers. Finally, if there is ever going to be a 'Who's Who' of Canadian aviation artists, this is it, so don't be shy.

Artwork

The selection of images is completely up to you - obviously you want to show examples of your best work, but try to include a variety of subjects and compositions if possible. A good sized gallery would consist of 8 to 12 images, but there is no set number. Send me digital images that are between 1000 and 1500 pixels on the longest side (probably best to send no more than 3 at a time due to my email box limits). I will look after squaring up the image and cropping and sizing it for the web site. If you are unsure of the best way to photograph your art using a digital camera, you may find this video helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpj28da03JQ

In addition to the title, size and media, please consider adding the completion date, price, whether it is for sale or sold (and who owns it), awards (including year). Has it appeared in a publication? Also, please include a description of the painting which identifies the activity, aircraft types, airline/squadron, names of the individuals depicted, etc. Don't let all that meticulous research go to waste! Be as complete and detailed as possible. A recent study of art sales showed that the more background information people have about a painting, the more likely they are to purchase it. Also, these pages are searchable so the more specific information you include, the better. People are searching, so help them find you and your work.

Contact Info

To get maximum benefit from your gallery entry, you should include contact information. CAAA is not in the business of selling or even promoting individual artists, but you can use this space to attract potential buyers and make contact with them. If you have a website, include that. Or you can put in your e-mail address and/or telephone number. While putting an email address on a website pretty much guarantees you'll get some 'spam' along with legitimate enquiries, most e-mail providers have spam filters that help to screen out the worst of it. If you don't want to put your current e-mail address on the gallery/directory, it is a simple matter to set up a new one for this purpose on a 3rd party provider like yahoo or gmail. If you have a gallery that doesn't include any way for people to contact you, you are missing the best promotional opportunity that comes with CAAA membership.