chironstudio (6)  

Digital Artist Embraces eBay
Adrienne Paquette of Chiron Studio 3000 is relatively new to selling on eBay, but she's already met with success with her digitally created paintings. As a self-representing artist, she's discovering the best ways to attract buyers to her unique artwork.

"The digital side of art has only been in my life for the last thee years," says Adrienne, who studied art at the Dawson Institute of Photography in Montreal. Her beginnings as an art photographer began with a newspaper ad.

"I placed an ad in a newspaper that said that I would do nude photography. I was taken off guard by how many people wanted to be photographed! So, I started with artistic nude photography; and working with clients, I learned things that could not have been taught in the classroom--trust, for example. It takes courage to stand nude before someone you only met a few moments ago. Trust has to be established very quickly."

Nowadays, Adrienne uses photo-editing software to work digital images into surreal portraits with heightened colors and textures. She prints these images directly onto canvas and then coats them with acrylic. "It's all conceived in my camera during photo shoots and in my computer. When I have everything ready, I bring it to the printer. I think digital art is the way of the future, especially when you can offer limited editions."

Keys to Success
"I joined eBay in October (2004), but the idea had been simmering for quite some time," Adrienne relates. "I feel like I will be with eBay for a long time. It's ideal for a person like me who likes to work from home. I like to be at home with my dog."

"I'm too new to say for sure what works and what doesn't, but one thing that's uppermost in my mind is that I can't stand the idea of having things returned to me. So when I list art, I want to make sure it looks good and that it is accurate and clear. That's the major consideration I keep in mind. I want to be up front about everything."

Best Practices
Though new to eBay, Adrienne has already experimented with listing enhancements such as Border, Bold and Gallery to bring more viewers to her auctions--and more bids in the long run. As a visual artist, she finds Gallery to be a very useful tool in letting potential buyers see her art in search results so that they will be drawn to click into her full listings.

Picture Services is also a boon to her. Using Supersize images lets customers see greater detail, and Picture Show  creates a slide show with all the images she uploads. "That's great for me," she says.

Adrienne's next step? "I want to open an eBay Store ." Adrienne plans on setting one up as soon as she reaches the required feedback score. "I'm looking forward to a long relationship with eBay."

Share your experiences with other eBay sellers! Submit testimonials and story ideas to inthefield@ebay.comand include "In the Field" in the subject line. (Idea submissions are non-proprietary and non-confidential. eBay assumes no obligation with respect to such submissions.)

Read other tips specific to antiques sellers under  Seller's Edge.