Please! Need your input!

[epath13]

Feeling conflicted and confused. I want to clarify my goals but can't. I want to be told what to do but my soul protests it.

I see my mind as a windup mechanism and my essence as a separate being. Theories bounce against each other but none lights up and helps me through the darkness.

What I'm saying is: everything I do (art, design, statements) seems to show the conflict inside of me. 'Seems' because to me it is true. Others may see no struggle.

I see myself as an artist that can't escape mental illness. This reminds me of Louis Wain. In his paintings, some may see art, I see pain and desire to stop it.

Where am I going with all this?

Please, look at my new website and tell me what you think. Please, be honest!
I'm in a process of finishing it. I feel that the website clearly shows that I have no idea where I'm going. But my exhaustion and migraine may be affecting my judgement.

Tell me how it makes you feel? What do you think of a person who created it (pretend that you have no idea whatsoever who the person is).

There's a problem with redirect so I'm sharing this link in order for you to have a better picture of how it looks on mobile devices.

http://198.58.89.75/nikoxxii/index.html

Thank you in advance!

 

[Vinca]

Main thoughts

Ooooh, lots of lovely images!
Really interesting colours and textures.
I feel the person who created the artworks must be very creative and to have created so many different types of images this must really be a passion of theirs.

 

[Suzanne]

First thought and ongoing thought and helped, because I do not REALLY know you.

Amazing and incredibly clever. But then again, through the eyes of someone who has not talent for drawing at all.

Off the subject very briefly, but on the same theme as the part: through the eyes of a novice. My brother in law ( who is no longer alive, said to me once: I seem to be fluent in French, but once you start learning it yourself, you will soon discover I am not so fluent as you think. I laughed and thought he was just being modest; but oh how true were his words, because as soon as I could understand a bit ( I am no way near as fluent as he was), I detected a slight English accent, whereas before, I swear he sounded French.

Similar tends to happen to me now, when those who cannot speak French, commend my attempts and so, teasingly I say: never learn French and that way, I can stay living in a bubble of self denial lol

Which means, that we view things in a different way. I do not find any of your artwork or photography to be disorganised at all; beautiful and magical and ethereal.

You are truly an aspie genius!

 

[epath13]

I know what you mean, Suzanne. I have this issue with everything I do. Every time I reach the next step of any skill development I want start fixing every piece I have already completed. But I can spend my entire life fixing stuff instead of accepting and appreciating every step, every stage.
As for my question, I was also wondering what emotions the design evokes? How does it make viewers feel?

 

[Warmheart]

You are wonderful, epath.

My thoughts...
This artist has a united mind, body, and inner spirit/self. There is both joy and suffering cycling through, as with anyone. I see a united whole in this amazing artist, a beautiful, capable whole of great worth, which contains all the elements of curiosity, wonder, exploration, and courage.

Detail, microcosms, moods, and captivating patterns-- wow. I love the images, and the bravery of the inspired, super-talented artist creating such truly amazing works.

 

[Suzanne]

I know what you mean, Suzanne. I have this issue with everything I do. Every time I reach the next step of any skill development I want start fixing every piece I have already completed. But I can spend my entire life fixing stuff instead of accepting and appreciating every step, every stage.
As for my question, I was also wondering what emotions the design evokes? How does it make viewers feel?

Funny you should say that, because I used to be like you ie everything I did, I would go back and not be satisfied and try to improve and yet, I have never done that with my cross stitching; even the first attempts I am happy with and would not wish to go back and change things.

I think it comes down to confidence in our abilities to be honest. We are our worst critics.

I honestly feel in awe with your works and a sense of peace and certainly does not give the image of someone who is disordered. But at a push I could say: you are searching for the peace that comes through your brush or pencil, but they seem like separate identities right now and why, you feel unsettled. I have this image that just came into my head: I see an artist who is in the middle of his or her work and then, utters an aggravated tutting sound and next minute, rips the work off the canvas and tries again and again and again, into the early hours of the morning and just as day break starts; a deep sigh of relief and profound tiredness comes over him or her and finally, sleep over takes. They wake, go back to the painting and smile and then, visitors arrive and exclaim over the amazing and best work they have ever seen from this person. Why? Because finally at day break, his heart, head and body are at one with the paintbrush!

 

[AsheSkyler]

I hate designing the home page, so I feel your pain there.

You have a nice grid of links, but I think they need to be busted up by media. Your preferred or best media at the top and your worst or seldom worked on media at the bottom, or some way to denote and make clear which areas you thrive in and work on the most, and which ones are merely interests.

Color scheme and all are rather soothing, and I like the stony impressions. Gives the impression of being a hard worker like a stone mason.

 

[epath13]

I hate designing the home page, so I feel your pain there.

You have a nice grid of links, but I think they need to be busted up by media. Your preferred or best media at the top and your worst or seldom worked on media at the bottom, or some way to denote and make clear which areas you thrive in and work on the most, and which ones are merely interests.

Color scheme and all are rather soothing, and I like the stony impressions. Gives the impression of being a hard worker like a stone mason.

Thanks for tip, I have to look at it from time to time to remind myself about the concept. I took one of the free bootstrap themes that were available. I started building it myself, but then I felt it was going to take too much time. The source of the theme seemed trustworthy to me. I thought they took their work seriously and wouldn't have any errors. But it is intended to be for business. The theme wasn't intended to be used as a gallery. I will look at some other ones that have featured works and see how design works. I hate it when balance is absent in a page, it makes the page look scattered, as if you don't really know what to look at. It's like in an art piece, composition need to deliver a message. At this point I'm not exactly sure what message I'm delivering. Originally I believed the top carousel delivered the message: you are entering a mysterious world of mine and you never know where you are going to end up... But now I think the message needs to 'sound' louder and lead a viewers to a conclusion, that they will benefit emotionally and mentally from entering.

I'm working on grammar right now: learning new and relearning old, so I can make my text more 'rhythmic' and harmonious.
My next step is to research webpage composition and browse through more themes for examples. Right now it seems, that too much media on top may overwhelm viewers. I need to see how other designers solve this issue.

 

[epath13]

I think it comes down to confidence in our abilities to be honest. We are our worst critics.

I agree. I also think I can't be objective with recent work. I may be more objective with works completed years ago.
I do lack confidence, I don't know whether it's an inborn trait or I developed this self-criticism because my mom (who took a role of my art teacher) started criticizing my work since I was 3 and only complimented when, in her eyes, I reached development-stage-appropriate quality level. I think support at early age matters the most, because that's when we develop a sense of self-worth. But, at the other hand, maybe my obsessive self-criticism is not such a bad rhing; it pushes me to go further and, on occasion, leads to results I find acceptable.

 

[Kobus]

Your work is inspiring, and the web page's interface keeps me hooked. It is a bit jumpy on my phone, but that shouldn't count because I'm messing around with the software.

 

[AsheSkyler]

Thanks for tip, I have to look at it from time to time to remind myself about the concept. I took one of the free bootstrap themes that were available. I started building it myself, but then I felt it was going to take too much time. The source of the theme seemed trustworthy to me. I thought they took their work seriously and wouldn't have any errors. But it is intended to be for business. The theme wasn't intended to be used as a gallery. I will look at some other ones that have featured works and see how design works. I hate it when balance is absent in a page, it makes the page look scattered, as if you don't really know what to look at. It's like in an art piece, composition need to deliver a message. At this point I'm not exactly sure what message I'm delivering. Originally I believed the top carousel delivered the message: you are entering a mysterious world of mine and you never know where you are going to end up... But now I think the message needs to 'sound' louder and lead a viewers to a conclusion, that they will benefit emotionally and mentally from entering.

I'm working on grammar right now: learning new and relearning old, so I can make my text more 'rhythmic' and harmonious.
My next step is to research webpage composition and browse through more themes for examples. Right now it seems, that too much media on top may overwhelm viewers. I need to see how other designers solve this issue.

If you'd like, go to my links page and check out some of the websites by some other artists. Some of them may use an older style set of HTML and CSS, but perhaps something about their organizing may help? You might have better luck at it than I do, I still can't really make a homepage I'm happy with.

 

[NTgirl4276]

i feel so invited into your creative space when i visit your website! i particularly LOVE the header banner; the three images, paired with the "Through art..." captions are so engaging and stimulating.

You did mention that you "have no idea where [you're] going," but I think that is sort of okay when you're starting out with it. i think a very focused vision helps when you're starting a business, but as you said, this is a creative endeavor. And, as you get feedback and grow as a creator and artist, you'll hone in on where you want to be, what you want to share, how you want to share it, etc.

As a viewer, I'd be happy to follow along in your journey as the site grows and develops!

 

[Datura]

Your art is interesting. I see where you are coming from in that it does seem rather fragmented. You have at least three different styles that are quite distinct. I really like your bright, mosaic style illustrations. The style lends itself well to both commercial and more personal works.

You do say that you want this to be a business sight though. Aside from functioning as a portfolio I don't see how this layout will help you. People need to know what exactly you are offering. Are you selling prints, do you take commissions? What is your pay structure? These are the things people need to know.

I also agree that you should put your strongest work, and that work most related to your business model, at the top. Emphasize your skills, what mediums you work in, and what customers should expect from you.

 

[epath13]

Your art is interesting. I see where you are coming from in that it does seem rather fragmented. You have at least three different styles that are quite distinct. I really like your bright, mosaic style illustrations. The style lends itself well to both commercial and more personal works.

You do say that you want this to be a business sight though. Aside from functioning as a portfolio I don't see how this layout will help you. People need to know what exactly you are offering. Are you selling prints, do you take commissions? What is your pay structure? These are the things people need to know.

I also agree that you should put your strongest work, and that work most related to your business model, at the top. Emphasize your skills, what mediums you work in, and what customers should expect from you.

I still have no idea what I would sell. Well... let me rephrase this: I have many ideas of what I could do but not what im going to do. I have to be realistic about my time and energy resources and base my decision on that.

What you see on the website right now is more of a collection of what I have done during the past 20 years or so. I have been 'sailing' wherever the wind's taken me, but now I want to go in a specific direction. Talking about it definitely helps with understanding the situation better. That's why I posted the question here. People in my life who care about what I do are too emotionally invested, all of them want me to succeed in a specific area, which, in their opinion, is the best. They end up pulling me in many directions instead of helping me to figure out what direction I want to take. I think talking to people who don't know me very well may be more helpful. Even after reading the posts here, I feel my ideas start taking shape rather than floating around like some ephemeral clouds.

Question: In you opinion (and in the opinion of whoever reads this post), based on my style and atmosphere who do you think my potential customer could be?

 

[epath13]

i feel so invited into your creative space when i visit your website! i particularly LOVE the header banner; the three images, paired with the "Through art..." captions are so engaging and stimulating.

You did mention that you "have no idea where [you're] going," but I think that is sort of okay when you're starting out with it. i think a very focused vision helps when you're starting a business, but as you said, this is a creative endeavor. And, as you get feedback and grow as a creator and artist, you'll hone in on where you want to be, what you want to share, how you want to share it, etc.

As a viewer, I'd be happy to follow along in your journey as the site grows and develops!

I'm glad you like my work.
I think you are right, as I follow my path the goal should become clearer. At least I hope it will

 

[epath13]

If you'd like, go to my links page and check out some of the websites by some other artists. Some of them may use an older style set of HTML and CSS, but perhaps something about their organizing may help? You might have better luck at it than I do, I still can't really make a homepage I'm happy with.

I actually visited your website a few times. What I liked about it was the clarity. You mention what you offering right away.
I'm going to check the links of other artists. Thanks

 

[Datura]

Question: In you opinion (and in the opinion of whoever reads this post), based on my style and atmosphere who do you think my potential customer could be?

I think you might have some real potential catering to the New Age market. Maybe doing illustrations for books and producing Tarot and devination decks would be a good side line.

I think your more geometric graphical style could lend itself well to greeting cards and advertising. I am not into marketing, but I see your work appealing mostly to women.

I would also carry on with your Battles of the Souls series. That sounds really interesting, and might have a following among people who grew up reading supernatural fiction. It might be helpful to focus more on the writing aspect though and work on the rest of the branding once you have a book to share.

 

[AsheSkyler]

I actually visited your website a few times. What I liked about it was the clarity. You mention what you offering right away.
I'm going to check the links of other artists. Thanks

Any time. =)

 

[watersprite]

epath,
I see a website in which the artist has put all of themselves (or, a great deal of themselves) out there for the world to see. A compliment to the world and an opportunity for people to engage with you - this is a good thing!

I commend you and celebrate your beauty and courage.

Keep on going, wonderful that you are doing this.

That is my reaction without edit.