Both the website and the art look good! :thumbsup:
I also cut my web design teeth making a site for my girlfriend Stef, who is a full-time artist:
http://www.artbystef.com/
And we have also sought the advice of other artists on how to be successful. Most don't have a clue, really. It either happens or it does not. There is no magic formula to become the next George Rodrigue, for example. What the heck is the appeal of Blue Dog, anyway? :hihi:
The only useful advice we've ever heard, and I quote it exactly as it was stated to us, is:
"Spread yourself like horses**t."
Aside from the obvious venues like Ebay and Etsy, most of what you do to try to get your art seen and purchased just won't work. But every so often something will. And it's frequently not in the way you expect. Something you did months or years ago and have totally forgotten about may suddenly bring new customers. Got an email just today from someone who runs a flea market booth, inquiring into purchasing her art for resale, after seeing it someplace we'd given up on last year.
It's helpful if you have a niche few other artists occupy.
And especially helpful if it has a community attached to it. Stef's staple is ferret art. There's a small but passionate community surrounding that. The existence of her art spreads by word of mouth. Many of her customers are repeat buyers. There may be a similar niche for your friend's lizard art, and many ways to benefit from it.
For example, if any major herpetology association contacts you and asks for art for a benefit raffle, send them something either free or discounted. Great way to get your art in front of a bunch of people who don't know you exist, and good karma too.
Or forums. Stef also isn't the elbow rubbing type, and is a bit computer challenged. So she doesn't spend time on ferret forums. And we didn't want to join them just to advertise, because that would be cheesy. So instead, we had fun producing a ferret music video, put some of her art and a website plug at the end, and posted it on Youtube. It's linked near the bottom of our homepage. While it has a modest number of views, there were identifiable spikes as it was discovered and shared by each new group of ferret enthusiasts.
It all adds up, albeit slowly. There's a major veterinary journal that's soon going to run a feature article on ferrets, and uses matching art for their cover. And when they searched, we came up. Now Stef's art is going to be on the cover, and will be seen by yet another group of new people.
Hope this helps!
