My Art Will Be Featured at New Condomiums in Seattle

A few weeks ago I answered an ad about getting my art shown in a new condo that’s set to open for sales soon. I met with the sales agent there and finalized everything. Now my art will featured at two different condominiums. This is great because it will increase my exposure. The style of my art definitely matches the decor and they are available for sales. I will also be donating 20 percent of my sales to a great organization that helps the disabled in Viet Nam. Please visit this site for details – > artbreak.com/mida

Here’s a couple of pics a snapped at one of the condos.

You can visit the sites for the condos here

http://www.modeseattle.com/

http://beaconflats.com/

My Latest Paintings

“Inner Essence” :: Acrylic on Canvas :: 22″ x 20″

“True Harmony” :: Acrylic on Canvas :: 22″ x 20″

These two paintings are the first of my series I will call “Summer Splash 2008″. I will be doing many more of these in preparation for this summer, which is going to be a blast! Both are available for purchase by going to my sales page and profile at artbreak.com/mida

“Your mind is a work of art, learn to appreciate it”

-Michael C. Davies

artbreak.com – A place for artists to share and sell their works

I got an email the other day and checked this site out, it seemed pretty cool. I browsed through some of the artist profiles and was just blown away by the amount of talents out there. Compared to some of them I am just scratching the surface as to the kind of direction I want to take my art. It’s a great source of inspiration and a new way to interact with other artists in different parts of the world. And it looks like a great way to sell my art to anyone interested.

Have a look at my profile artbreak.com/mida

Pretty soon I’ll be showing some of my art locally and get some more exposure. I feel that the summer of 2008 will be a good one for art!

Powergroup meeting for goal setting and accountability

This past Wednesday I went to the Powergroup meetup for the second time.  There were about 15 people there from different professions, a few Microsoft employees and some in real estates, and others in internet marketing.  We had a great discussion talking about motivation and finding our purpose in whatever we are doing. It was cool to share our ideas and give feedback . It’s truly a learning experience. I feel like now I have a place to go and know that I have support in my journey to greatness.

We have this website to go to for connection and support -> mypowergroup.org

An Elephant Creates a Self Portrait! Unbelievable Video!!!

A friend sent me this Youtube video of an elephant painting a self portrait. I tried to look for any kind of tricks because I just can’t beleive what I’ve been seeing. Take a look for yourself. And think again, the next time you cay “I can’t do this, I can’t do that”

A List of 50 Things to Help You Market Yourself and Your Site

I found this nifty list on a forum and thought I’d post here ( I love the last one!)

1. Write and submit articles to the article directories.

2. Leave comments on other people’s blogs with a backlink to your site.

3. Answer people’s questions on www.answers.yahoo.com.

4. Post in forums and have a link to your site in your signature.

5. Write a press release and submit it to www.PRWeb.com.

6. Advertise your website in the appropriate category on www.CraigsList.com.

7. Give an unbiased testimonial on a product/service that you have used in exchange for a backlink to your site.

8. Start a blog and submit it to the 100’s of free blog directories.

9. Manually submit your website to the major search engines.

10. Optimize each page of your website for a particular keyword or search phrase.

11. Add a link in your email signature to your website. It’s a free and easy way to get a little more traffic.

12. Make a custom 404 error page for your website redirecting people to your home page.

13. Use PPC search engine advertising.

14. Add a “bookmark this site” link to your webpages.

15. Have a tell-a-friend form on your site.

16. Send articles to ezine publishers that includes a link to your website.

17. Hold a crazy content and make it go viral.

18. Give away a freebie (ebook, report, e-course) to keep people coming back to your site.

19. Add an RSS feed to your blog.

20. Submit your site to any related niche directories on the net.

21. Participate in a banner or link exchange program.

22. Create a software program and give it away for free.

23. Purchase the misspellings or variations of your domain name, or those of your competitors.

24. Buy a domain name related to your niche that is already receiving traffic and forward it to your site.

25. Pass out business cards with your domain on them everywhere you go.

26. Start and affiliate program and let your affiliates send you visitors.

27. Start a page on social bookmarking sites such as www.wowzza.com.

28. Submit a viral video to www.YouTube.com

29. Conduct and publish surveys to your website.

30. Find joint venture partners that will send you traffic.

31. Start your own newsletter or ezine.

32. Use a autoresponder or email campaign to keep people coming back to your site.

33. Purchase ads on other sites.

34. Send a free copy of your product to other site owners in exchange for a product review.

35. Sell or place classified ads on www.eBay.com with a link to your site.

36. Post free classified ads on any of the sites that allow them with a link to your site.

37. Exchange reciprocal links with other related websites.

38. Network with other people at seminars or other live events.

39. Purchase advertising in popular newsletters or ezines.

40. Advertise on other product’s “thank you” pages.

41. Create a free ebook and list in on the “free ebook” sites.

42. Buy and use a memorable domain name.

43. Do something controversial.

44. Create an Amazon profile and submit reviews for books and other products that you have read.

45. Start a lens on www.Squidoo.com.

46. Use a traffic exchange (low quality traffic, but can sometimes be worthwhile).

47. Get referrals form similar but non-competing sites.

48. Create and sell a product with resell or giveaway rights and include a link to your site in it o others pass it around for you.

49. Email your list. If you don’t have one, get one.

50. Buy a pair of sandals; get your website engraved on the bottom and walk on the beach, stomp in the mud or play in the snow.

I Recently Joined “The Artist Way” Meetup

Yesterday I went to a tea house in the Wallingford neighborhood in Seattle where they had a group meeting for “The Artist Way”.  We were discussing the book “The Artist Way” by Julia Cameron. I first got the book several years ago and followed some of the lessons including doing morning pages and other various exercises to help with my creativity. Well, after awhile the book ended up on the bookshelf for a long time. Until I came across the group on meetup.com. I’ve joined several other groups on meetups which is helping me get out more and meet more interesting people.

There was about 9 of us at the meeting and we all had some great discussions. Mostly writers and visual artists all together trying to  get past our creative blocks. One thing I came away with this meeting was that it is not so important to be perfect in out creation, but just create without thinking about it.

myartspace.com is a getting to be a great place for art!

A long while back I joined this social networking site that is focused on the art community. I haven’t been doing much with it lately, though I need to start getting more involved with this. They are really starting to grow and expand. They even have a special plugin that works in conjunction with facebook so that is saying a lot. Now they are offering a print on demand service which seems to be getting more popular with artists. It’s a great way to offer  quality reproductions of your works.  I really have to get busy with this.

Have a look at my own personal site by clicking here!

Or look at the main site at myartspace.com 

It’s FREE to join so knock yourself out!

The Right Mindset Makes It Easy To Make Blogs Work For Your Business

Blogging is taking off like a wildfire. People are blogging about just about anything you can think of. From the daily routine of their cat, to technology reviews, to politics.

Until the blogosphere sorts itself out and matures a bit more, it may be difficult to tell exactly how this new frontier of instant publishing can help you and your business grow. But don’t worry – you’ll start getting a flood of new ideas in the coming months.

For now, the most important thing you can do is develop the right mindset about business blogging. What you think about something, and how you strategize appyling it in your business very often has more to do with success than the technology, tool, or resource itself.

With that in mind, here is the most important thing you can do. Keep your eye on people.

DO NOT get stuck on the “technology.” That’s what drove all the pie-in-the-sky dot.com dreamers into the financial abyss. It’s people and personal communication that matter most, and should always be a the center of all your thoughts, strategies, and actions.

Blogging is just a tool. But it’s a tool that can and should become a major support arm of your business. Why?

Because it exponentially multiplies the world’s oldest, most favored, and trusted form of information sharing — word of mouth.

Just ask yourself, whom do you trust the most to give you advice, recommendations, and information about opportunities, purchases, or choices? Someone you know and trust, right? Someone who you feel is just like you.

That type of trust comes from personal communication, social interaction, and the joining together of like-minded individuals. Blogging simply magnifies and expands that sense of community and more personalized communication, and then expands the reach across the entire world!

Link trust; with respect, positioning, and word-of-mouth and you have the makings of a powerful marketing arm that can initiate an ever-growing stream of highly targeted prospects.

Remember, it’s the relationships that matter most. Keep your eye on that fact, and you’ll always have the right mindset for business blogging that’s a benefit for you and your readers.

You can learn more about blogs and business blogging in particular by clicking here

Tony Robbins Peak Performance Workshop in Seattle

Recently, I joined a meetup group called “Seattle Powergroup” which is for personal development. I thought it would be best for me to start meeting other people that are success driven and to be in that positive state of mind. This past Wednesday they had a guest speaker from the Tony Robbins Company come and do a workshop for people looking to make some positive changes in their lives. It was free and in my neighborhood, so I thought what the heck, I might learn something. The guy leading the workshop was great and really gave us some valuable tips on finding success in all areas of our lives. And I even got a CD by Tony Robbins called “Your Hour of Power” which I’ve payed twice so far. I’ll be playing it more often whenever I need a good charge. And now I’ve been starting to get more focused on goals. Yesterday I sat down and outlined a plan to create exposure to my art while benefiting others in need. I am starting to look at how I see myself as an artist and a human being that has much to give. It’s not so much about my art, but what I do with it to enrich other peoples lives and to push myself past my limits.

Thanks to this group I feel like there is a whole network of people out there that’s willing to listen to my ideas and show support. This morning I was invited to join www.mypowergroup.org which is still in it’s infancy but I can definately see some great things happening with it, thanks to Ravi, the group organizer. I look forward to making more connections there and see just what is possible.