About the art:
About Listing:
About the n*des-of-the-month calendar:
About Featured Artists
About Registration:
Login Problems & Other Troubleshooting Issues:
Other Questions:
About the art:
- Media? All two-dimensional and three dimensional visual media are welcome -- painting, drawing, sculpture, computer-generated, photography, video stills, mixed media.
- Do you accept abstract work? Yes. However, to be in the N*des-of-the-Month contest, artwork must be based on the nude. New: Each genre has its own calendar series.
- What kind of files & how big? JPGs or GIFS only at this time. 293K maximum file size. If you have trouble resizing images to 293K without going too small, just set your images to 450 pixels on the longest side, and you should be okay.
- Can I send film transparencies or slides? No.
- Can you accept art listings right now? Yes. Registration is fully functional and our uploader process is working.
- When do you accept listings? Acceptance is continual. When an artist uploads art, the artwork, after “human review” is automatically entered in the current competition for that genre.
- Is an image required to post a listing of art work? Yes, each listing of art work must have an image. If the image does not match the description, it could be flagged as a violation. Violations and abuse are subject to removal. The reason for this is to minimize pornography and pornographic references .
- Do you prevent piracy? Can someone copy my images? All art on barebrush.com is posted at medium resolution. We do not post the superfine resolution that most image pirates look for. To further discourage piracy, you may use a program like photoshop to add a watermark layer to your jpeg or gif, but we think this detracts from the viewer's enjoyment of your art. Also note that several past barebrush curators have objected when watermarks are dominant.
- If I have a series of prints may I post the same image more than once? No. You should mention that the work is a series in the listing. Works posted in duplicate will be delisted.
- May I show two images if I have a sculpture? You may only upload one file per artwork. You can handle sculpture by a link to another site or by a dual image -- a single jpg which shows both the front an back of the same work.
- How do you define nude? For barebrush.com, nude is an unclothed or partially clothed human being. No denuded trees, stark buildings, leafless flowers, please.
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About Listing:
- How do I get into the membership area to list my art? When you log in, the security popup comes up. You put in your id and password and you will be transported directly to the mybarebrush membership page. At the top of that page you will see a yellow login box for your id and password. Enter your id and password in the yellow boxes. Your username and information will appear with status messages in the left column.
- How long is the listing period? Listings in the Art Log last 60 days and cost one (1) point. Artists win points or purchase them. Minimum purchase is $10 for 10 points. Discounts are available for higher quantities. BAREBRUSH used to have a 30 day free listing but this has been eliminated to improve the quality of work at the site, to encourage serious artists and collectors, and to make all art available for at least two calendar contests.
- What is the advantage of the 60-day listing? Your art is on the barebrush longer giving you more time to tell people about it and get them to look at it. Your art is eligible for two n*des-of-the-month calendars, curated by two different guest art professionals. It saves you the time of having to re-enter old listings. 60-day listings can be set to renew automatically.
- If I buy a 60-day listing and my work gets into the first calendar, is it eligible to be picked for the second calendar also? Yes. A work selected for one calendar is not excluded from the next. For example, Artie Artist posts five artworks, New Nude (#'s 1-5) in February for the March and April n*des-of-the-Month juried exhbition. The curator for March picks #''s 1 and 4 to be in the March calendar. The curator for April will have the full range of all 5 pieces from which to select work and may chose the same or different art for April. Artie Artist can upload 5 more in April for the April & May exhibitions. That would mean that in April, actually the curator has 10 works from which to choose. Artie Artist is too busy to post work in May, but since there were 5 posted in April for two months, those 5 are eligible for the May exhibition. Generally, if a curator is selecting two months worth of art, the same artwork cannot be selected two months in a row by the same curator.
- Does this mean I can post the same art work month after month? Art which has been selected for three or more calendars is “retired.” It will be visible in the artist's calendar gallery and in the barebrush calendar archives, but it is considered validated and no longer eligible for new contests. Barebrush encourages artists to keep the site fresh by posting new art in addition to old favorites.
- How many listings may I post? Is there a limit? You may post as many as you like, but please don't post duplicates as we want the collectors to see a wide variety of work, not the same work again & again. There is no limit to the number of works you can list in the Art Log. In fact, the more art you list, the better you will be represented in the jurying for the calendar.
- Is there a reommended posting level? There are no 'official' recommendations, but are some common sense guidelines: the artist should post at a comfortable level considering the time it takes to do the posting and the level of the artist's artistic output in the nude genre. Generally, I would say that between 5 and 10 posts is a good target number to present to the curators. It also is an effective range to promote to friends, family and colleagues -- when the art is presented to the curator for juring, it is placed in the 'curators lightbox' in order of the most page clicks.
- How much does it cost? The cost is 1 point per artwork for a 60-day listing. The minimum purchase is $10 for 10 points. Volume discounts are available. Artists win points for being selected into the calendars and may win other prizes.
- May I repost an expired listing? Yes.
- What is the incentive to list at barebrush? Barebrush is an online marketplace dedicated to the art of the nude. People tend to buy nudes privately, rather than at public shows, so the internet venue is a good way to present work not normally showcased in this way. Barebrush is advertised in the NY Gallery Guide (Chelsea section), a powerful marketing tool in the NY art world, and respected all over the world. The N*des-of-the-month juried show series drive people to the site . It will give the participants recognition, and contributes provenance to the art work, making it more valuable. The incentive is for both emerging and established artists.
For example, artists and dealers can post nudes on barebrush in conjunction with a gallery show, which may or may not include nudes. This is a way of increasing exposure and gallery show impact.. For emerging artists, winning a place in the n*des-of-the-month calendar may increase interest in your work, help sell the piece and even result in gallery representation. For collectors, it's a chance to participate in a new marketplace, designed especially for the internet age. Will your favorite pieces make it into the n*des-of-the-month? Only time will tell.
- Do I have to list art every month? No, you are under no obligation to list art. If your account has been inactive for 6 months, it may be deleted. If you set your account (or individual artworks) for auto-renew, they will renew automatically to the limit of your point balance. You may also purchase annual listings.
- Can I put a link to my website on my listing page? Yes, you can link to your art, to a bio page or a gallery page if you are represented. by a gallery.
- Do I have to put my email address on my listing? No, you may put other contact information (like a website) instead. Phone numbers are not recommended.
- Why aren't the thumbnails larger? Some of the art is difficult to see in the small format. The thumbnails are small so that the viewer will click to the detail page & view the larger image and the complete information.
- Why should I bother with the detail page, why not just provide a click through right to my website? Clicks on the detail page add to the count of page views for your art on barebrush.com. Calendar selection is based on applying artistic judgement to popular interest. The art is arranged for the curator's review by accumulated page views in order from the most page views to the least. Enticing your viewers to look at your detail page promotes your art and enhances your ranking in the calendar selection process. There is no guarantee that a high ranking will earn you a place in the calendar, because the curator 's artistic jugement is the final say. However, a low ranking can mean that the calendar is full before the curator gets to your piece.
- Can people 'game' the counts? Multiple hits per day from the same computer will not increase the total, but multiple hits on different days from the same computer will count -- you can click on your art every day and promote your art to get friends & family to look at your detail listings at barebrush.com.
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About the n*des-of-the-month calendar:
- How does the art get into the calendar? The calendar listing is a juried show. Art in the artist's active gallery is in the running to get into the calendar. When your art is listed or renewed, a confirmation email will be sent to your email address and the thumbnail, link and the intro to your description will be posted on the Art Log, a blog of art entries at barebrush. The number of spots in the show depends on the number of days in the month. Your chances of being in the calendar depend on the votes you receive and the artistic judgment of the guest curator for that calendar.
- Do I have to enter the n*des-of-the-month contest for each of my listings? For artists, entry into the n*des-of-the-month contest is automatic for art of the nude. For dealers, entry into the n*des-of-the-month contest is included in your listing fee. For collectors and artists using dealers to handle their transaction details, may enter some pieces in the contest and list some without entering
- What guarantee do I have that I will get into the calendar if I enter the juried show? None. This show is a jury of selection. You will be included based on a combination of electronic votes and artistic review.
- As the months go along, will the old calendars still be available? Yes, in the n*des-of-the-month archives.
- Will I be able to link to the calendar if my art is in it? Yes.
- When will I know if my art has won or placed in the calendar? If your art is selected for the upcoming calendar, you will receive an email when the calendar goes 'live' for members only. At the first of the month, the calendar is available to the 'world.'
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About Featured Artists
- What is a Featured Artist and how do I become a Featured Artist? A Featured Artist is one who has a Featured Artist profile page on barebrush. Barebrush artists are eligible to become Featured when their art has appeared in three (3) or more barebrush N*des-of-the-Month calendars. As a member of Barebrush, your membership page (Membership Actions -> My Page) tracks the number of calendars in which your work appears. When you are eligible to become Featured, an offer form appears on your membership page (My Page). After payment, you would submit a headshot or signature image, an artist statement, a bio or cv and additional contact info (optional). These become the elements of your Featured Artist page.
- What are the benefits of being a Featured Artist? Featured Artists' appear at the top of the Artists listing page. The Featured Artist's gallery page and calendar gallery page contain links to the Featured Artist profile page. Barebrush also uses dynamic menus—in the public portion of the site, the far right menu contains the name of the active artist (meaning whichever artist the user is currently viewing or whose work is the latest focus). If that artist is Featured, the Featured Artist link will appear in the menu along with links to that artist's gallery and calendar gallery. The system “remembers” the last artist in focus even when the user links to the general information pages. The Featured Artist profile page contains the artist's statement, bio, cv, headshot or signature image. The Featured Artist page also contains all of the links to each of the calendars the Featured Artist is in, thumbnails of the artwork and the calendar dates.
- Why should I become a Featured Artist? The benefit of being a Featured Artist at Barebrush is the status, the profile page, the convenience of seeing all the artist's calendar links on the Featured Artist profile page. Planned benefits include listing in the Barebrush Honors page and the BuyNow program.
- What is the cost? The cost of the Featured Artist subscription is 30 points or $25 per year. Payment is available by points or by direct PayPal subscription. The artist must have at least one artwork active in the calendar competitions for the Featured Artist profile (and all of the links) to appear on Barebrush. The reason for this is that from the public view, it does not make sense to “feature” an artist with no active work on the site.
- Does my art still expire if I become a Featured Artist? Yes, Featured Artist's work expires like everyone elses artwork. And like everyone else's artwork, when a Featured Artist's image gets into a barebrush calendar it becomes a permanent part of the history of barebrush, viewable in the calendar archives.
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Login Problems & Other Troubleshooting Issues:
- Password Recently Changed If your password has recently changed you will need to change the popup box login to match your new password. In Mac systems, you may have to shut down and restart to see the popup. In PC systems, if you don't see the popup box, shut all browsers and open fresh browser. If a problem persists, do a shut down and restart.
- Password Not Working If you copy your password from an email, be sure not to take any extra blank spaces at the end of it. If you still have problems, type it exactly as you see it.
- System Logged Me Out There is a half-hour timer on the membership system. It compares your local time to the system time and adjusts for time elapsed and the timezone. If you try to get in and the system continually logs you out, the most probable cause is that YOUR DATE AND TIME IS NOT SET CORRECTLY ON YOUR COMPUTER. The system checks your date/time against its own. It allows for all timezones world wide. To work on barebrush, you need to set your computer so that it gets the time from the internet.
If you are logged out in the middle of working, just log in again. If it happens continually and you can't do work, try clearing your cache and then shut down and restart your computer. If your issue is not covered, contact Barebrush. Please include: pc/mac/other, browser, page you are trying to acccess.
- AOL Browser Issues For some reason, some people with AOL browsers cannot access the membership part of Barebrush using the AOL browser. There are five tested and approved browsers, so please try one of those.
- Blackberry Issues There is a problem with accessing and updating the membership side of Barebrush with your Blackberry. It is a technical problem; we know what it is ($_SESSION variable in the php system), but we cannot do anything about it at this time. If your Blackberry continually logs you out, that is probably the problem.
- Tested Browsers for Barebrush Barebrush is fully tested for the latest versions of the following browsers: Internet Explorer (Microsoft), Safari (Apple), Firefox/Mozilla (Netscape), Opera (Europe) and Chrome (Google). If you are having problems with a different browser, please try one of the tested browsers.
- “Art Actions” Menu Not Working The Art Actions menu works only for artists. You tell Barebrush that you are an artist in three steps (do the steps in order, don't skip any):
- Login (yellow boxes, upper right)
- Membership Actions ->Edit Member Info. Account details-> enter your first and last name.
- Membership Actions ->Edit Artist Info. Enter/edit your artist byline, enter your location info
- Can’t Get to Upload Page You must enter your member and artist info before you can access the Artist Actions menu. You must have points in your account to access the upload page. You can buy points at Membership Actions->Buy Points.
- My Issue Not Covered Please include this information: pc/mac/other, browser, page you are trying to access. Any other specific information which will help us understand where you are in the system and what you are trying to do, will help us help you. Send email to: ils@barebrush.com
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About Registration:
- Who has to register? Anyone who wants to post a listing has to be registered. Registered members also preview the calendars.
- What personal information is required? A valid email address. You will get an email confirmation of your posting. Artists are also required to include their location (for US: city (optional), state, zipcode, for non-US: city, country). To post art on barebrush, artists are required to add their first and last names to the members database. As artists, they may add an artist name, their “by line.” The artist’s by line will be the published attribution of their work on barebrush. First and last names are NOT published by barebrush unless the names are the same as the by line. Artists must also have a public contact email address or website (their choice).
- Does barebrush sell or share my email address with third parties? No. Barebrush does not sell or share your email address or other personal information with third parties.
- Is there a monthly fee? No, there are no required fees. Fees are charged for 60-day listings, featured links and paid advertising.
- Will my registration expire? No, but it may be deleted if you are inactive for 180 days.
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Other Questions:
- What is your privacy policy? We respect your privacy and require only that you give a valid email address. For our privacy policy, click here.
- What about your Terms of Use policy? You must agree to our terms of use to be a member of barebrush.com. You must be 18 or over to use this site. The Terms of Use protect members from spammers and pornographers. They also protect the site from fraud and dispute. For our tems of use, click here.
- Feedback: Your feedback will be greatly appreciated. To send feedback, click here.
- Who started barebrush.com? barebrush.com was started by Ilene Skeen, an artist and systems designer. It is based in New York City and is advertised in the NY Gallery Guide. For more information, click here.
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