Summer is coming! Last year June was our biggest month for visitors to the
Monhegan.com, 46% higher than our average for the year! Here's hoping we'll
have another smashing summer at the Art Salon.

We now have 19 artist members with two on the way, plus two galleries. We're
currently making a push to get more galleries to sign up, so if you have a
favorite who has done well for you, mention the Art Journal to them! It's a
great way for new visitors looking for gallery information to find you. You
can even link your own page into the gallery page for more exposure.

Speaking of exposure, we'll be adding a second group of "informational artist
entries" this fall. These are known past artists, now deceased, who have had
a Monhegan connection. If you have someone you'd like to add to the list, or
if you have Monhegan-related information on any of the artists currently
listed, please drop us a line and we'll be sure to include that information.

This fall we are also hoping to expand our "books and publications" section
into a more thorough coverage of Monhegan writings. Again, if you have a
favorite book to add to the list, please drop us a line!

Finally, we're continuing with our work in getting our name into as many
search engines as we can out there in the internet world. You can help by
spreading the word too - let people know they can find your work at:

http://monhegan.com/arts.htm
and thanks!

ART ON THE INTERNET -

SELLING VIABILITY

"Art.com" has just gone out of business. Getty Images paid $117 million in
May 1999 for Art.com and now it has closed the site. According to one
analyst, it took much longer to ramp up sales than had been anticipated.

That's the bad news. The good news is that internet analysts cite a growing
trend as one of the most promising strategies for internet development:
Electronic niche marketplaces. According to one source, "Electronic
marketplaces are third-party firms that take fragmented markets, draw
together buyers and sellers in a specific industry, and help them do deals."
The Gartner Group, a leading analyst organization, says "the first
fundamental service is that e-marketplaces aggregate buyers, sellers,
content, and business services, making the traditionally fragmented markets
more efficient. The second service is that e-marketplaces provide a single
point of integration"

Basically, what all this is saying is that the internet began with
individuals putting up single, unconnected web pages. Sort of like everyone
talking at once and no one being able to hear or focus on anything. Then
collectives began to form, much like art.com, which tried to bring all the
web pages together under a single heading. Someone who was interested in art
had a place to turn. The trouble was, there was just too much in there. An
interested buyer had to weed through far too much stuff to find what he was
looking for. Now, the umbrella collectives are specializing - to help
collect customers sharing a specific common interest and catering to that
interest. And, voila, that's what the Monhegan Art Journal On-Line has been
doing since it began!

So, you're in the right place. The next question is, how well does art sell
on the internet anyway? The conventional wisdom, as stated by expert Chris
Maher is, "the internet promises to revolutionize the art businessthe medium
is highly visualan online gallery gives the creative person a chance to show
their art to a worldwide audience." Yet, in a recent interview with 15 Web
exhibitors, no one was making much money. "Most sites had sold some work
directly through the Internet, sometimes just a single piece. But many
mentioned other benefits, such as having people find them on the web and buy
at a show in their area. Some have had old customers track them down and
order by phone."

Realistically, it will take time for art lovers to adopt the internet as the
purchasing method of choice. First they must become comfortable with
computers. Secondly, they must be able to find sites, like the Monhegan Art
Journal On-Line, which offers art they like. Our site goes a long way toward
long-term success because it remains true to its core values - Monhegan and
fine art - and it has longevity. Once people find it, they know they can
keep coming back and there will always be new works from and new information
about their favorite artists. The internet presence may not generate many
sales directly yet, but people are looking, checking out show and gallery
information, and making plans. As technology improves, download times speed
up, graphics become better, and more people get comfortable buying what they
see on the screen, things can only keep getting better. The best news is
that MAJOL is positioned exactly where it should be.

Next IssueTips for making the most of your MAJOL investment.

SPOTLIGHT ON: WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

Summer is coming, and with it art workshops and classes on the island. There
are two currently featured in the MAJOL Art Salon. The first is from Mike
Stiler, offering 2 and 3 day drawing classes in July, August and September.
Mike has just recently become an Art Journal On-Line member though he and his
wife have been year-round residents of Monhegan Island since 1992. He
exhibits his work nationwide and has recently taken some workshops with Hugh
O'Donnell, an internationally known artist and teacher. He is offering a
total of 7 sessions during the summer and plans to "draw BIG".

The other artist featured in the "workshops and classes" is Caleb Stone. He
is offering two weeklong workshops on Monhegan, one in June and one in
September. He is a long-time member of the Art Journal On-Line and has been
visiting Monhegan regularly since he was 3 years old. Caleb lives in Ipswich
Massachusetts and paints and teaches all year long out of his studio there.
His workshops consist of five painting days with demonstrations each morning
and critiques each evening.

See the Workshops and Classes section of the Monhegan Art Journal On-Line for
more information on both Mike Stiler and Caleb Stone!

Q&A

We're always interested in hearing feedback (of any sort) on the Art Journal.
Contact us via e-mail at: Stonejulie@aol.com or by mail to:

Monhegan Art Journal On-Line
28 Linebrook Road
Ipswich, MA 01938

Send us questions about anything in this newsletter or the Journal and we
will answer them here.