If you want to email a photo of a painting to the Painting Guide for a painting project gallery (or any of the other galleries/photo albums), please follow these guidelines and be sure to read the terms of About.com's full user agreement.
Note that each project has very specific dates during which submissions are accepted; these can be found on the project's instructions page.
If you're after a critique of a painting that wasn't done for the present month's painting project, you should post a photo of it on the Painting Forum, where there is a special section for critiques.
- In your email put your name, the title and size of your painting (in inches or centimeters), the medium (paint used), a statement about how you feel about your painting and what you were trying to achieve (minimum 40 words), and a sentence saying you have read and agree to About.com's user agreement. Without all of this, your photo will not be used.
- Save the photo as a .jpg file; the maximum width or height of the image should ideally be around 700 pixels (or about 5 inches or 20 cm).
Use resize or resample in a photo editing or graphics package to do this. Find out how, and for a link to a free program to use, in this tutorial on resizing photos from About.com's Guide to Personal Web Pages.
- The overall file size should be no larger than 200KB. If you're using a digital camera, set it on the lowest resolution; if you're scanning a painting, use a resolution of 72 or 100 dpi (dots per inch) will help keep the file size small. Web pictures don't need a higher resolution than this. Check if your photo editing program has a "save for web" option; that's the easiest way to get a small file size. If the size of your file is too big, I won't be able to downlod it.
- In the subject of your email, put Photo Submission and then what it's for, such as the name of painting project or the photo reference gallery.
- If you forgot to attach your photo before you hit the "send" button, resend all the information again. Don't email the photo by itself, otherwise I may not be able to match it up with your details. The easiest way to avoid forgetting an attachment is to do it before you write the body of an email.
- Any painting submitted for a monthly painting project galleries should be a new one made in response to the challenge set in the project, not be an existing painting that you have that happens to fit a project's subject. The closing dates for each monthly project are given on the project's instruction page.
- All paintings submitted to the Painting Guide will be deemed to be available for critique, though comments/critiques will be given randomly and not on every submission.
- If you don't wish to have other readers comment on your painting, tell me so in your submission email and I will not put this widget on the page with your painting.
- The email address to use is painting.guide@about.com.
- What Happens with Project Submissions: Project submissions are added to the gallery in the order in which I (the About.com Guide to Painting) receive them. How many days it takes to appear in the gallery depends on what else I'm currently doing (I may even be out painting for a few days!), so be patient. I will send you an email to let you know your painting has been added to the project gallery. If your painting isn't suitable for some reason, I will let you know. If you want immediate comments on your painting, rather post it in the "Painting Projects" folder in Painting Forum.
- Thanks for following these guidelines, it makes creating the galleries much easier!
Note: By submitting a painting you are certifying that you are the author or sole owner of the material you are submitting to About.com, and that About.com and its licensees may reproduce, distribute, publish, display, edit, modify, create derivative works and otherwise use the material for any purpose in any form and on any media. You agree to indemnify About.com for all damages and expenses that may be incurred in connection with the material. For full details, see About's full user agreement.
