A sad day for arts magazines

I love arts magazines.  Looking at all those gorgeous photos of the artwork of other artists is so inspiring.  I’ve learned so much over the years. But there is a downside to all the magazines, and that is that I never wanted to throw them away.  I know, I know, they’re just meant to be temporary but most artists I know feel this way. We always think we’ll come back to them but we don’t.  That still doesn’t change the allure these shiny missives of creativity.

But I noticed something the last time I went to a bookstore.  You know that I live in a really rural area so visiting a brick and mortar bookstore is a treat for me.  I love the smell of new print, fondling volumes of wonderful possibilities, smelling the coffee and just hanging around with other book-lovers. But the last time I visited my favorite big name bookstore, I headed to the magazine rack at the end of my visit to peruse the latest offerings in art magazines and to snag a couple for home reading.  After digging through the layers, looking behind the home decorating and wrestling mags, I couldn’t find some of my favorites.  I thought that maybe it was the end of the month and the new editions hadn’t been put out yet.

So I was dismayed to read one of my favorite blogs by artist James Gurney (Gurney Journey) yesterday and to learn that F & W Publications, Inc., the company that produces The Artists Magazine has filed for bankruptcy.  What!?!  This magazine has been a staple for artists across the country for decades.  When I purchased a copy, I would read it from cover to cover.  Even the ads in the back listed announcements of exhibits and other great information.  Sigh.  This will make my next visit to the bookstore a little dimmer.  Yes, there are some other fine art magazines out there but they have a different mission and flavor than The Artists Magazine.  Oh, and Writers Digest,  Pastel Journal, Watercolor Artist, and Interweave Knits are going, too.

Read more here:

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/

https://www.adweek.com/digital/this-publisher-thought-ecommerce-was-its-savior-now-its-dead/