Women in Art: Deann Hebert

A female, Nashville area, artist is leading the way for southern artists with over 102k followers on Instagram.

As I was leisurely looking through Artnet News headlines I came across an article titled, Why Are There Still So Few Successful Female Artists? It was a pretty interesting read and probably the biggest take away was it stated that only 30% of artists represented by galleries today are female. It referenced statistics and research collected and I was pretty shocked by how low that percentage was. I feel like, here, in the south I see more female artists' work than I do male. However, the artists I follow are ones I discovered through social media and not by visiting a gallery.

Only 30% of artists represented by galleries today are female.

I think it is amazing how social media has opened doors for many artist, including myself. I started taking portrait photographs for people because I posted my photos of my niece and sister on Facebook. It immediately ballooned into a nice gig for me and then I expanded that by posting my paintings. I got my first commercial commission art job because a business owner came across my paintings through social media.

Thanks to social media I think more and more artists today are conducting sales of their own. I am curious to know how many truly successful artists, who live 100% off of their earnings, sell more work through being represented by a gallery or on their own websites, social media and networking.

This got me thinking about the perfect balance of having works represented and displayed in galleries and reaching collectors and fans through online tools. This next female artist I want to highlight has, what I consider, a brilliant online and social media presence. I am a huge fan of this Nashville, TN female artist, and not only is her work unique and original but her brand is one of a kind.

Deann Hebert is a hugely successful, southern, female artist with about 60,000 instagram followers. Her work has been featured and mentioned in national magazines like Coastal Homes & Lifestyles, she has had TV features on HGTV specials and on the set design of ABC's Nashville, and was named Best Emerging Artist by Art Galleries & Artists of the South magazine in 2013. This just names a few of her accomplishments and press recognitions. Clearly without even talking about her amazing and unique art she has a very successful art business.

Her unique style brings together thick, rich and cool colors layered on top of each other. She uses a palette knife while painting and portrays uniquely southern objects like rustic, old barns, animals and destinations like southern beaches. Her style is clearly very different from my own but I admire her individualism in her work.

I see several female, southern artists who are practicing palette knife techniques and painting. I see a lot of pastels and similar subject matters. To be honest I get several of the artists' work confused for another. However, Deann's work is clearly hers and her style, brand and technique go untouched by other artists who paint using similar tools, medium and subject matter. I admire her business and how she uses social media and email marketing to keep her fans up to date while attracting new fans from all over. Here are a few of her most recent paintings. You can find more on her instagram @deannart:

I think what inspires me most about Deann and her work is how she has found a unique style of her own and how she has branded that style as hers. Her use of social media, website and email marketing help communicate her well known brand while being true to herself and her originality. She has found original ways to photograph her work. There is so much more going on in her photos than just another photograph of a painting. She uses photography to tell a story about who she is as an artist and how her work is influenced by her southern surroundings and heritage.

As a southern female, who too is inspired by my Tennessee mini-farm, my horses and my barn, I feel as if I understand exactly what keeps her motivated and where her creativity comes from. Deann has made herself relatable through her marketing. I believe she has mastered her brand, how she tells her story as an artist, and obviously her painting style, technique and originality. I love her work, I love how she markets herself as an artist, and I love seeing how she promotes her successful art business. To see more of Deann's art visit her website at www.deanndesigns.com.