Wis. He said the site had 300 artists when it launched nine months ago and now is approaching 1,300 artists and 7,000 works. The more successful online art sites, in terms of volume, will be those with a strong brand name and the best merchandise, said May with Jupiter Communications. The industry is just starting to gain steam now but is still a young category. Jupiter projects the number of people making purchases via the Internet will grow from 29 million in 1999 to 39 million this year, and will jump to 85 million in 2003. About 700 Colorado artists pay a small annual fee to have a handful of works displayed and background information listed.
Interested buyers can call or e-mail artists directly, rather than buy online.
Uhlir said one Colorado artist was contacted by Hallmark to commission work for greeting cards. Others have established gallery contacts, and one artist landed a teaching job. Artists' use of the Internet varies, but many are realizing the exposure they can gain from the World Wide Web. They have the advertising and support to do something on a national scale, without much expense to me,'' said Anderson. Drawbacks do exist for the virtu- al art world, however.