Some good press

Fellow Los Angeles artist and friend Sarah Hage wrote about my art in her blog. I didn’t know until after she published it. “Hope you don’t mind I blogged about you” she wrote me.

No, I don’t mind. I’m honored! And she writes really well, which is always a pleasure. You should read it. (click here)

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Some Good Press

It’s always exciting to see your name in print. This one’s by far the nicest blurb I’ve ever had in a newspaper. And I didn’t even have to write it! Thanks to the Ventura County Star.

(from the Ventura County Star’s arts supplement “timeOut” for July 10-17, 2009)

It’s a nice distillation of information about me and my art, quoted off my website. (You can read it if you click on the picture above and then zoom in.) It gives the information for the exhibit I’m in at the Red Brick Gallery (in Ventura, which explains the Ventura newspaper’s interest).

Apparently the gallery sent the newspaper several images from all the artists in the exhibit, and the paper chose to print one of mine. And write up a story with it. They didn’t have to pick me, but they did, and did a very nice job of it too. I’m chuffed!

The story references my exhibit at the Red Brick Gallery in Ventura, California. The show went up this Monday and will stay up through August 16, 2009. If you’re in town on Saturday, July 25, be sure to stop by the gallery between 6pm and 9pm for the artists’ reception. I will be there! And so will that painting in the newspaper article (the painting looks much better in person than in newsprint!).

Thanks to the Ventura County Star for the lovely writeup. You guys rock.

NPR interview

I got interviewed! By NPR! How cool is that?

(NPR is National Public Radio, the radio analogue in the US to the Public Broadcasting System on TV.)

Unfortunately it wasn’t about what a great artist I am, though they did at least mention that I am an artist. Hey, it’s a step in the right direction.

In fact it was a short segment about doing taxes on your computer. They were looking for someone who’d prepared their taxes on the computer for the first time this year, and I raised my hand. “Oh, oh, pick me!” So they did.

You can read a transcript or listen to the segment here. The link to the audio is right at the top, where it says “Listen Now”.

It’s only a few minutes long (my bit is in the first half). If you’ve been dying to hear what my voice sounds like, this is by far the best recording I’ve ever heard. Listening to it didn’t even make me cringe like I usually do when I hear myself. Now that’s cool!

Google #1

I just made a happy discovery. I’m #1 on Google!

That is, if you search on Google.com for “Barbara Carter“, the first result is my web site.

To be sure, these things fluctuate. I’ve never been #1 on Google before, and it might no longer be true tomorrow. But today I’m celebrating!

I never thought I’d make it to the top. When I began my web site, it didn’t even come up on the first page of search results. Actually, I think it came up on the 3rd!

The worst insult of all was that some other Barbara Carter had already snagged the “BarbaraCarter.com” URL for herself. And, obviously, was coming up top in any search. Drat!

This forced me to really think about how to set up my web site, what to call it, and how to optimize it for people trying to find me. The first thing I had to do was register a different URL, which I did by using my middle initial.

The all-important “J” in Barbara J Carter!

I began to use that “J” in everything. I had always signed my name with it, but now it became my identifier, the thing that sets me apart from all the other Barbara Carters. Believe me, there are a LOT of Barbara Carters out there. So, everywhere my name appeared, I made sure the “J” was included.

Slowly, over the years, I incorporated more and more SEO (search engine optimization) methods to enhance my standing on Google. I even took a class on SEO. Some of the usual SEO techniques involve using keywords, text links, alt tags, and incoming links. An art web site is especially hard to optimize because art is fundamentally about images, while search engines just look at words. It’s slow going, but apparently all that slow steady work has finally paid off!

Or maybe it’s just because the other Barbara Carter’s web site is down.

My Interview by Chris Bolmeier

Fellow artist-blogger Chris Bolmeier interviewed me online this week. Check it out!

Chris Bolmeier Art: Barbara J. Carter Interview – A Force To Be Reckoned With!!

The Foothills Paper – July 13, 2007

I made it into the local paper (The Foothills Paper) based on my appearance at the Montrose ArtWalk on July 7, 2007. I’ve copied part of the story and my photo (with permission) below.

Be an Artist AND Keep Your Day Job

by Teka Lark-Lo (The Foothills Paper, Vol. 3, No. 27, July 13, 2007)

Not-so-starving artists gathered to show off their talents at the Montrose-Verdugo Chamber of Commerce Art Walk. The glamorous career of a painter can often manifest itself after a sensible career with dentistry. …

One of the more interesting back-stories was that of Barbara J. Carter of Santa Clarita. After Carter picked up a math and physics degree from Harvey Mudd College and a PhD in astrophysics from University of Chicago, she decided to go full-on into art.

“I’ve been doing art all my life. I’ve always been taking art classes, keeping one foot in the door,” said Carter.

Carter has been quite successful from the start. She sold twelve paintings at her first show.

“I sold a $500 painting today,” Carter said.

Apparently you can have the best of both worlds. You can have health insurance and be an artist. It may take a bit longer, but if you don’t make it at least you don’t have to live with your parents when you’re 45 years old.

…

Full article with all photos (4 MB file): The Foothills Paper, July 13, 2007, page 5