Denise Allen Incao in the She Lives Creatively Spotlight

In the spring of 2013 I received an email from an art gallery in New York City. They gushed about how much they loved my paintings. And they made promises that they could help me take my art career to new levels – if I was willing to pay thousands of dollars to have them represent me. Not afraid to invest in myself and my work, I replied to the email with a few questions. But the fancy NYC art gallery didn’t get back to me for weeks.

In the meantime, I received an email from Denise Allen Incao and her business partner Barbara Allen. They were starting a new online art gallery. An exclusive virtual venture that would help hand-selected artists gain more exposure for their work – at no cost. The contract they sent me was completely transparent. And all of my questions were answered promptly.

By the time the gallery in New York City finally got back to me, Gallery24seven.com had launched and I was proud to be one of their Flagship Resident Artists. My involvement with G247 has given my art more exposure and given me more credibility as an artist. In the fall of 2013 my writing also received more exposure when I was invited to write a monthly creative lifestyle guest blog post on their site.

I’m grateful for my partnership with G247 and that I didn’t go with that gallery in NYC. So this month I’m delighted to feature Denise Allen Incao, co-founder of Gallery24seven.com, in the She Lives Creatively Spotlight!

Marcella: You are a co-founder of Gallery24seven.com, an online art gallery that represents artists throughout North America. What inspired you and your business partner to start your own gallery?

Denise: I’m an artist myself and know how much time and investment is involved in exhibiting in galleries and doing art shows and festivals. I wanted to have a place to show my own artwork and reach a much larger audience than who might walk in to an art gallery or visit my booth at a show. So my partner Barbara Allen and I, and our other co-founders, had the idea to offer an online venue to artists who are looking for alternative ways to get their art seen by a much larger audience.

M: What appealed to you about starting an online art gallery, as opposed to a traditional brick-and-mortar gallery?

D: What appealed to me was the possibility of creating a place where emerging and established artists can reach a very large number of viewers who might just be looking for that perfect piece of artwork (their artwork!), but wouldn't find it hanging on a gallery wall in some other town on the other side of the country. We want to connect people with great art and the artists that create these works. And our goal has been to offer the opportunity for artists to exhibit with us, with no sign up fees or monthly dues. We want there to be very little risk or investment on the part of the artist. I've managed several art galleries over the years and also shown in quite a few, so I myself wanted to be involved with something cutting edge and with limitless possibility.

M: You are a visual artist who specializes in sculptural ceramics. How do you balance creating your studio work with running your online art gallery?

D: It's not always easy. When there is a lot happening with the gallery, my studio time has to wait. But I love the work I do with Gallery24Seven.com, so it's not a problem for me. I try to stay on a schedule as much as I can with both things, and that helps a lot. Otherwise, I may flounder around and that's not a useful way to spend my time.

M: You’ve also been the front woman for the Denise Allen Band for the past 10 years! What came first – your love for singing/song writing or visual arts?

D: I was a visual artist long before starting to perform with my band and write songs. I graduated Auburn University with a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art, with a studio emphasis in Sculptural Ceramics in 1984. I've been working as a studio artist and teaching kids and adults ceramics classes and workshops since then. It was my first love as far as a creative outlet. I have been very active with music and my band over the past 10 years. There is a natural flow back and forth between the two that has happened to just work out great!

Read the rest of my interview with Denise here: http://marcellanordbeck.blogspot.com/2014/08/she-lives-creatively-spotlight-denise.html

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