on arts writing...

what are your tips for good (art) writing?
what do you appreciate in arts writing?
what bores you?
what inspires you?

in my many (okay, several) jobs, i am often writing about art-- press releases, gobs and gobs of emails, proposals, etc. of course, being me, i want to be a great writer, and have set about assigning myself some guidelines in hopes of improvement.

since i generally write promoting art that i've got some professional connection or obligation to, i'm interested in learning both to improve this type of writing, and to differentiate this writing from other types of arts writing. how is a press release different than a blog entry? how is one casual and still professional?

so, some notes from the ol' moleskin cahiers*

-connect to other things: not simply other artists or the frightful artspeak

-quick and breezy if a'bloggin'

-paint a picture, though not necessarily the artist's picture: imagery should give context, explanation, inspiration or reflection on work

-that said, also be descriptive: what is the artist's work?

-remember that promoting work is different than reviewing work! and, how is it different?

-remember why many arts magazines don't often hold my attention:
too specific, not contextual, not surprising. one reads it expecting to learn about art, perhaps it's more successful and interesting to happen upon an arts article in some other venue.

so, how do you write about art? any other tips for a novice like me?

*currently juggling three cahiers-- one for the city gallery, one for the commercial gallery, and one (empty so far) for my studio work-- as well as a tiny image-laden moleskin, AND my moleskin planner. this is not feeling very efficient. how does one manage all these things? oh yeah, and then there's my (overflowing) laptop... yikes!