Imagekind: Get Original and Custom Art Straight from the Artists

There's no money in amateur art until you're "discovered" by someone or wealthy enough to set up a gallery or partner with other artists. The Web changed a lot of those old rules, and allowing artists to host their own work virtually for the rest of the world to see. But when you find an artist whose work you'd like in your living room, how do you contact them to get a print? And how does the artist go about selling their work to the public?

Imagekind seeks to answer both of those questions. The service was designed as a place where artists and art lovers looking for original and custom pieces can connect and artists can collaborate with one another and show their material to the public without having to worry about the mechanics of running an online store.







Imagekind is laid out nearly as beautifully as the artwork featured on the site. The service has thousands of members offering a world of unique and interesting artwork. IThe site is one of the few services of its kind to sell prints and artwork of museum quality, meaning as a buyer you get the kinds of high-quality paper and super-fine printing that separates fine art from ordinary posters. Imagekind gives control over the store and sales to the individual artists so they have the final say over how the work is sold and in what formats.



Potential buyers can find a wealth of interesting and amazing artwork available in multiple sizes, styles, and genres. If you're looking for landscapes, surrealism, art deco, or modern pieces, they're all a single click away. You can also view some of the most popular pieces available and featured artists, all chosen by the site's editors and moderators. Most of the artwork available is very affordable by artistic standards, with some pieces costing as little as $10.

If you have your own images or photos that you'd like to sell using Imagekind, signing up for an account is easy. If you're just looking for a high quality print or poster, Imagekind can help you there as well. You can upload your photo or import from Flickr, and the service will walk you through customizing and purchasing prints of your own images. Additionally, if you have questions or simply want to talk to a real person regarding your order, Imagekind has a toll-free number you can call during business hours to place an order or ask questions about the service.



While Imagekind is similar to RedBubble, I found that the former is more focused on displaying and selling artwork, rather than being a social network, although Imagekind does allow members to create profiles, set up galleries, and collect fans and friends who love their work or want to collaborate with them on different pieces. Additionally, the focus at Imagekind is on visual art, specifically wall art like paintings and prints, where RedBubble spreads its focus among visual art, poetry and text, even offering t-shirts and clothing options to its buyers and sellers.

That's not to say that Imagekind is lacking; quite the opposite. Imagekind's focus on visual art makes it an excellent destination for the couple feuding over what should hang front and center in the living room or over the bed, and breaks down the available pieces by style, so you can explore based on your tastes. In addition to selling pieces by Imagekind members, Imagekind also sells classical prints and museum art, so you can find reproductions of work hanging in your local gallery, if that's what you're looking for.

The real beauty behind Imagekind is the wealth of artwork available for buyers and the unique selling experience the service offers its members. Imagekind really does try to be a professional gallery, printing, and retail house for its artists, and that effort and attention to quality shows through when you're browsing the gallery looking for something to hang above your bed.