Name of your website?Atelier Yoyita Art Gallery classical realism Academic art Fine Art
Your name?
"Yoyita", Dr. Gloria M. Sanchez Zeledon de Norris
Your Location (city, etc)
Ridgeland
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Atelier Yoyita Art Gallery was formed by Dr. Gloria M. Sánchez Zeledón de Norris, to showcase her contemporary art in classical realism in 1999. The web site started in english and later developed into 12 languages. It covers different disciplines and genres, such as portraiture, landscape, miniature art, religious art, Academic art, seascapes, classical nudes, figurative sculpture, bust sculpture, relief sculpture, photography in black and white and color, icons with Byzantine techniques, still life, watercolors, Christian art, catholic art, jewish art, etc. It has regional information about Mississippi and Nicaragua, as well as showcased artists from both places. It also has regional information about Mississippi, such as the Jackson Zoological Park, The Windsor ruins, Katrina, and regional artists affected by Katrina. We offer Atelier Yoyita Art gallery in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Romanian and Quechua. Some pages are in Russian, Greek and Nahuatl.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
It is a portfolio and the face of my company, seeking the advantages of reaching a broader audience in different languages and countries. In spite of the site being translated in 12 languages, there are still users who need translate it to more languages. At the time I started the website, I couldn't find a web designer that could share my vision of what I wanted it to be, so I learned how to construct the website on my own.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
http://www.Yoyita.com was my first website in 1999.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I am using my "artist" name, Yoyita, for my company. Of course it was difficult, because I had to brand it. I am inspired by renaissance and academic art. In the renaissance, the studio of the artist and his helpers was called an atelier. The education a student received in an atelier began with mixing the pigments of the paints for the master painter, plus many hours of drawing until perfection. After many years, they passed to work on color. Some of the works require many months to complete, but the results are exquisite. Today, we want everything fast and instantly. Good art requires time and dedication to develop a product to last centuries. Modern Masters are based on the Old Great Masters. One has to be careful even from the beginning preparing the canvas before the first stroke of paint, because the preparation of the canvas will dictate if you will have radial crack on the finished painting later, with the passing of time.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
The quality of the product; use of the best materials on the market (from Germany, Italy, New York, etc) with techniques proven to last for hundreds of years. I strive to make museum quality paintings that will become legacies and will be inherited through generations. I try to train myself in art the same as when I was in medicine: hard work, study, research, and many hours a day of practice. I am always reading or studying, trying to keep up with the information from the museums about the materials and techniques, and I try to be exposed to all type of art and anthropology.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I think am going to keep it, I have already received offers to buy it, but I like the idea of sharing my art with as many people as I can. I get around 200,000 of hits daily and reach many countries.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
The web site is an available and ready portfolio that can reach everywhere and everyone. Name recognition is important. The time and money I have invested in my company and web site have been worth the success I have received, and is paying dividends.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
Wow! That would be nice! Ingenuity, research and not being afraid to try.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
I think so, If I can't I would make sure to get help for it. You have to recognize your owns limits when there is fast growth.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Learning the different languages and trial and error. Researching on the net the latest web promotion techniques. When I started taking care of my web site it was like jumping into the water without knowing how to swim. I bought 6 or 7 books and started to learn them very fast. It was very frustrating at the beginning.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Probably as an artist having an idea (in design, performing of the web site or an advertisement) and not have the tools (or the knowledge) to make it happen.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
name branding, exposure, and staying updated with the trends.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I found out I like web promotion and advertising. There is a lot of creativity in it.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
I have run it since 2000. In the beginning, in 1999, a friend helped me for a year. Gains in traffic, income or popularity are just the results of a planned strategy, and I like the challenge.
Replace this with a question of your own
Doing interviews as feeds to burn is a great idea as web promotion, I think other directories should emulate you.
What is your website address?
Atelier Yoyita Art Gallery classical realism Academic art Fine Art
