Webware review: Blogger Stats

Did you know that you can now get statistics in Blogger?  If you view your blog in Blogger in draft (http://draft.blogger.com) then you can now see a new stats tab to the right of the design and monetise tabs.

This post on the Blogger in Draft blog explains what's available - see Introducing Blogger Stats

I've been looking at my Blogger stats for my different blogs and I'm favourably impressed.  It reminds me of a cut down tidied up version of Google Analytics without any of the fuss associated with setting up a Google Analytics account for your blog and inserting the html code in the template

Geographical spread of visitors to this blog

 The scope is as follows:

1. Flexible perspectives:  Any of the different tabs can be viewed  for different timeframes - now, day, week, month and all time.  The latter is distorted due to the start date for the stats widget.
2. Overview tab - provides a neat and simple summary of traffic, popular posts, sources of traffic and where in the world it's coming from
3. Posts / Pages tab:  lists the 10 most popular posts and tells you how many pageviews they have each received.  Also indicates page views for individual static page.  I particularly like the pageviews for top posts as this gives a different perspective from one which is focused around visitors and the profile is somewhat different.
4. Traffic sources tab: This provides the top referring URLs, referring sites and the most popular keywords
5. Audience tab:  This provides a map of where visitors come from plus analyses pageviews by country, browser and operating system

This is a quick overview:

Pros

• no set-up requirements beyond switching to viewing your blog in Blogger in Draft
• nice clean well organised design
• tab access to different perspectives
• very accessible
• identifies the most popular posts by pageviews (across different timeframes)
• provides the right level of information for most people
• no need to leave your blog in order to view the stats.

Cons

• not as comprehensive as Google Analytics (but absolutely fine for most people)
• no details for individual visitors (such as you get with Statcounter)
• focuses on pageviews rather than unique visitors hence multiple visits from or page refresh by one person can inflate numbers.  Most people measure the popularity of a site by unique visitors as this is more reliable and less susceptible to distortion
• total numbers for the "all time" dimension appears to be affected by when this webware started to be used

Overall

This is a very useful addition to Blogger.  So much so that I've now made Blogger in draft my defaul view so I can keep an eye on my stats.

Caran d'Ache NEOART Pastels

I came across Caran d'Ache NEOART Aquarelle Pastels for the first time at Patchings recently. Always a sucker for a big wooden box full of juicy colours I took a photo!

Caran d'Ache NEOART Aquarelle Pastels
The finest wax pastels

...and then started to try and find out a bit more about them to see if they're likely to be something I want to investigate further.  (I've got to that point where any new product needs to earn its place in my home).

I particularly wanted to know what was the difference between these bigger NEOART pastels and the smaller Neocolour II pastels.

This post provides links to:

• the Caran d'Ache product pages for Neoart Aquarelle Pastels
• explains the difference between NEOART and Neocolor II
• comments by bloggers and people participating in forums

Caran d'Ache NEOART Aquarelle Pastels


This is how Caran d'Ache describe them

NEOART™ Aquarelle
Pastel of large diametre recommended for works on big surfaces
Bright and semi-opaque colours
Very high pigment concentration

Now - these are:

• NOT dry media (ie soft or hard pastels as we normally think of them)
• NOT another name for Caran D'Ache Neocolor II wax-based water-soluble pastels used by a lot of artists for underpaintings

Both NEOART and Neocolor II are water-soluble wax pastels - but

• Do they work in the same way?
• What, if any, are the differences?

These tables summarise their characteristics.  They persuade me that those using Neocolour II for underpaintings would do well to check out their favourite colours in the NEOART pastels

NEOART AQUARELLE

Water-soluble wax pastel

Artist / Professional Grade

Very high pigment concentration - provides exceptional purity and intensity

Excellent Lightfastness

Strong, bright semi-opaque colours (60 in total) - available in sets and individually

dry or wet drawing on all supports

techniques: watercolouring, washes, scraping back (Scraffito)

Large diameter (width of large marker pen)

Brochure (PDF) Colour Chart - PDF

Neocolor II

Water-soluble wax pastel

Hobby Artist Grade

High pigment concentration for bright and opaque colours

excellent lightfastness

exceptional covering power

dry or wet drawing on all materials

widest range of colours for water-soluble pastels on the market

normal pencil stick breadth

Brochure - PDF

Colour Chart - PDF

Product Reviews by artists online

This is what I could find from artists commenting online

• Neoart Watersoluble Wax Pastels- Charts is a long post by an artist participating in the Water Media Forum of Wet Canvas.  She's done a good overview of the colours

A big difference to the artist between the two is the size and hardness. The Neoart pastels are harder and seem a bit waxier than the neocolors. Since they come in a large size, they are a bit more awkward to hold in the hand, and the ends are blunt, not sharpened, so control can be a bit more difficult to achieve with them.

• Kelly Kilmer is a mixed media artist/tutor and major fan of NEOART Pastels.  She describes them as "must have supplies" and she ships and repackages them for her students

Caran d'ache Neo Art Watersoluble Wax Pastels (NOT oil based at all, these are big chunky crayons) I Love these to add color "here and there" on a page. I mostly use them dry with a heavy hand and "rub" them into the page using an old rag. Yet, since they are watersoluble anything "wet" will move them around. I have two sets of the 60 colors (one for me, one for classes) and these puppies last a LONG time. I dumped them out of the box and put them in a bag and they're not so "precious" once you do that ;)

• Jolene in Orange County, California shows us what you can do with them in a 2007 post Caran d' Ache 

After everything was dry I started coloring with the wax pastels. I smooshed them around with my fingers and rubbed them with an old rag. Then I grabbed the first sharp object I found on my art table (a needle I use for bookbinding) and I began to scratch into the pastels. And oh how I loved the effect I was able to achieve! 

UK Supplies

In the UK it appears that you can order sets from Jacksons Art.  The stall that brought them to Patchings was Caran d'Ache working with Gadsbys of Leicester

Jonathan Linton's Review of the lightfastness of White Oil Paint

Jonathan Linton (Theory and Practice) has published images of the results of his comprehensive test of various white paints - oils and alkyds - in The White Test. . . 5 Years in the Making 

These are the white paints he tested

Winsor & Newton (Artist Oil Colors)
    Titanium White  37 ml
     Zinc White  37ml
     Flake White #1  37 ml
     Foundation White  37 ml
     Cremnitz White  37 ml
     Transparent White  120 ml
Winsor & Newton (Griffin Alkyd)
    Titanium White  37 ml
     Mixed White  37 ml
Gamblin (Artist Oil Colors)
    Titanium White  37 ml
     Radiant White  37 ml
     Titanium Zinc White  37 ml
     Zinc White  37 ml
     Quick Dry White  37 ml
     Flake White Replacement  37 ml
     Flake White  37 ml
Grumbacher (Artist Oil Colors Pretested)
    Titanium White (soft form)  1.25 fl. oz.
     Titanium White (original form)  1.25 fl. oz.
     Zinc White  37 ml
     Flake White  37 ml
Holbein (Extra Fine Artist Oil Colors)
     Ceramic White  50 ml
     Zinc White  50 ml
Lukas 1862 (Finest Artist Oil Colors)
     Opaque White  37 ml
     Zinc White  37 ml
     Titanium White  37 ml
Old Holland (Classic Oil Colors)
     Mixed White #2 (zinc & titanium)  40 ml
     Titanium White  40 ml
     Cremnitz White  40 ml
     Flake White #1 Cremnitz & Zinc  40 ml
Vasari  (Classic Artist Oil Color)
     Titanium Zinc White  40 ml
     Zinc White  40 ml
     Titanium White  40 ml
Permalba (Artist Oil Color)
     Original White  150 ml
     Zinc White  37 ml
     Titanium White  37 ml
     Iridescent White  37 ml
Chroma (Archival Permanently Flexible Artists Oils)
     Titanium White  40 ml
Chroma (Professional Artists Oils)
     Tinting White (Pearl/Titanium)  40 ml
C.A.S. Alkyd Pro
     White Luster  70 ml
     Titanium White  70 ml
Rembrandt (Extra Fine Oil Colors)
     Transparent White  40 ml

His colour charts group paint by type (eg Titanium, Zinc, Flake etc) and then go on to demonstrate

• how the white behaves when painted over a black stripe ie what is its covering power; how opaque or transparent is the paint and how does it behave when used as a glaze
• what it's like when mixed with black
• what colour the paint is after five years - in both solid form and brushed out

I give you the results of this expanded White Test (or Off-White Test, as it is known in-house.) 

The charts demonstrate which remain the same and which change - and, if they change whether they have a tendency to go towards orange or yellow.

A small sample of Jonathan Linton's colour charts for white oil paint

His charts when clicked produce large images and it's very easy to read which paint is which.

He then produces a ranked list for

• those which remained white, 
• those which practically turned orange and 
• those which had a distinct lemon yellow tint.

This is definitely a RECOMMENDED READ for all painters. Do also make sure you read the comments as they contain interesting discussions about different paints and indicate what he's now planning for the next tests!

The Best Art Business Books

I've produced a new "resources for artists" information website called The Best Art Business Books. Many thanks to all those who are already tweeting it and 'liking' it on Facebook!

Why did I create this new site. Well - as I've indicated before (Making A Mark - Amazon assigns ludicrous categories to Art Books 11 May 2010) it's sometimes really, really difficult to find the book you're looking for on a topic you're interested in on Amazon because of the way they are categorised and tagged - sometimes with very odd labels.

What I've also noticed is that there has been a fair few new books relating to the art business which may be of interest to artists - if they ever came across them!

So what this new site aims to do is provide a curated collection of the what appear to be the better books on Amazon which are about the art business and the business of being an artist or illustrator.

I've tried to sort books into appropriate categories and these relate to artists, illustrators, people selling in galleries and in less traditional venues, those setting up galleries and those who collect art!

• Do you want to learn more about the business of being an artist?
• Looking to improve your marketing of your art - and your sales?
  
• Want to make the jump to full-time artist or illustrator but not sure what you don't know that you need to know?
  
• Thinking about setting up and art gallery and looking for tips?
• Need a form for an art business transaction?
• Seeking legal advice on some aspect of the art business?
  
• Starting to collect art and wondering whether there's a book that can help?
  

If any of the above apply then The Best Art Business Books has a book which can help you.

This selection of books about the business of fine art and illustration are a combination of my own personal recommendations, recommendations by artists and art bloggers I know and rate highly and books which have achieved a high rating on Amazon.

These are the topics which it covers.

You can find out about......
click a link to go straight to the topic

• BOOKS: Making a living as an artist
• Book Reviews by Art Bloggers #1
• BOOKS: Marketing and Selling Fine Art
• BOOKS: Fine Art Business Forms
• BOOKS: The Illustration and graphic art business
• Selling Art Online
• BOOKS: The Art World Business
• BOOKS: Running an Art Gallery
• BOOKS: Buying and Collecting Art
• The Art Economy, Art Law & Copyright
• BOOKS: Law and copyright in the Art Business
• BOOKS: Art and Copyright on the Internet
• Comments and Suggestions

This is still a work in progress as I add in links to artists and illustrators who have blogs and posted a review of art business books they have read.

Can you help?

I'd be interested in your impressions and suggestions for how it could be improved.

Two questions for you:

• Do you have a favourite book about the art business which you have found helpful?
• Do you have a book about the business of being an artist which you have reviewed on your blog?

The other Art Blogs - art stores and manufacturers

In my blogroll, in the side column, I have a couple of sections listing the blogs of:

• leading art store blogs. I'm trying to keep this limited to leading art stores and/or blogs which are particularly good at explaining art materials rather than just annoucing their latest sale or unmissable offer!
• manufacturers of art material
  

Today I added these blogs into the two sections

• Art Stores: Utrecht Learning Centre and Jackson's Art Store Blog
• Art Manufacturers: Daniel Smith
  

I'm then aiming to add all the smaller ones or location-specific ones (such as the Utrecht store blogs) to my two squidoo resources sites

• Art Supplies in the UK - Resources for Artists
• Art Supplies in the USA - Resources for Artists

San Clemente Art Supply
photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Does anybody know of any more leading art store or art manufacturer blogs which they would recommend for this blog's blogroll?