Friday, October 31, 2014

Michel Keck dog art collages

https://www.google.com/search?q=Michel+Keck&biw=1024&bih=438&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=JztTVJ-kNoWzoQT9m4LwCQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

Saturday, October 25, 2014

making painting texture

How to Make Your Own Painting Texture

Paintings with Texture

As an abstract artist, a lot of the paintings I create use a texture base on the canvas before I start painting. This painting texture can be added in pretty much any thickness to give the impression that either you have used an impasto paint technique or else just to build an almost 3 dimensional base to your paintings.

In abstract art in particular texture is useful underneath the painting so that you can bring out different colours and show all the layers of paint. if you look at a lot of abstract paintings in hotels for example, you will see that they may have a textured base.

In this article I will tell you how to make your own texture for your paintings using ingredients that are much cheaper than the texture that you can buy in the shops (and also much more effective).

This is the kind of texture effect you can create.

Creating Your Own Texture

When I first started painting I would use gesso both as a primer and for a slightly raised effect under the painting. It still has it's uses and I like it particularly to give extra brush stroke definitions under the main painting, but overall i like to have quite a thick texture base and gesso just doesn't quite cut it (and it is expensive!).

So I have come up with my own recipe for a texture base that adds a great amount of definition to my abstract art. It is made from materials that you can get from a hardware store and that cost a lot less than buying readymade texture from an art shop.

There are two main ingredients to my texture base and that is stucco and PVA. Stucco is a kind of plaster that you might use to patch up areas of wall in your house. The stucco I have comes in a pot ready mixed but you can also buy it in powder form. PVA (or poly vinyl adhesive) is a kind of glue that is also used in building work and craft projects. I tend to buy both in bulk so that I have plenty available for big paintings and commissions.

Stucco is not a particularly flexible medium and so that is why you need to add the PVA to the mix so that it allows it the flexibility to be used on stretch canvas as well as giving it extra adherence to the canvas.

So, mix up your stucco and PVA in the ratio of around 3:1 - you can experiment with different ratios and the more stucco you have the more the mixture is prone to cracking (which can add some interesting effects). You can also add other ingredients to your texture mix to give different effects and the article below will give you some extra ideas on this.

Alternative Texture to Use in Abstract Paintings
As a mainly abstract artist I have come up with some interesting ingredients to use for texture under my abstract paintings. I mostly use acrylic paint but this texture base can also be used for oil paintings....

Finished painting with a heavy texture base. Painting (c) Azure11, 2011

Applying The Texture

Apply the texture with a spatula, grout spreader, cake slice or anything similar. You can apply it pretty smoothly to the canvas or you can make it really rough. If you want rough effects give the texture a few minutes to start drying and scrape your spatula over the texture to roughen it up. You can also use various other tools to create different marks and effects in the texture including kebab sticks, wooden forks, chopsticks, bubble wrap, cardboard cut-out shapes etc. Just look around the house and start scraping and marking!

The texture should be left to dry overnight or maybe longer if you have applied it really thickly and it may need a light sanding before you paint over the top of it to get rid of any rough edges.

Using Texture for Different Effects

A well as 'roughing up' the texture to get some really interesting kind of 'mountain peak' textures, you can also use this texture to create regular patterns. Below are a few examples of the kind of work that I have created using the texture base, carving out the patterns while the texture is still wet (it can dry pretty quickly so on large canvases I have to carve as I put the texture on) and making marks in the texture:

This painting was made by carving out squares and rectangles in the texture before leaving it to dry and painting.

Source: (c) Azure11

Again the squares were carved out of the texture first before making different patterns with carious tools in each of the squares.

Source: (c) Azure11

Texture Ingredients

Dap 10504 All-Purpose Ready-To-Use Stucco Patch, 1-Quart

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Tran PVA Adhesive Glue, 32-Ounce

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If You Can't Get Hold of Stucco

In some countries it is quite difficult to get hold of stucco. In this case you can try using plaster - in either the powder or the ready mixed form. It doesn't give quite such a smooth finish as the stucco but can give some good rough effects.

Experiment with different materials that you find in a hardware or DIY shop for patching up walls and plaster and you should be able to find something that works for you. But always add the PVA as this should stop it from breaking off the canvas. If you are experimenting then try things out on some cheap canvases first to see what will work for you.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Saatchi high selling artists

http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-White-Landscape-with-Gray/26778/2024941/view?utm_source=artists&utm_campaign=cd76d42921-Artist_Sunday_September_07_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b08c1fbe4d-cd76d42921-343675729&mc_cid=cd76d42921&mc_eid=e7bfb05a62

50 x 38 sold for $3,800

http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Charm-Encounter/342705/2070415/view?utm_source=artists&utm_campaign=eb51116739-Artist_Sunday_August_24_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b08c1fbe4d-eb51116739-&mc_cid=eb51116739&mc_eid=e7bfb05a62&utm_source=artists&utm_campaign=eb51116739-Artist_Sunday_August_24_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b08c1fbe4d-eb51116739-343675729&mc_cid=eb51116739&mc_eid=e7bfb05a62

39 x 39 sold for $2700

Thursday, February 13, 2014

sites to sell your art as prints

ArtPal – Popular free gallery to sell art and buy art. Sell your paintings, photography, sculptures, jewelry, crafts, original art, prints, and much more. They also have a free Print-on-Demand service. Free membership, easy-to-use website, and many features to sell your art.*
Etsy – a community of artists who make hand crafted pieces. See our post on How to Sell Your Art on Etsy.
Adwords – Google’s advertising program. If you have a website where you sell your work, Adwords is a highly effective way of targeting those looking for art to buy. If you’d like some tips on how to use Adwords, please contact me directly.
Ebay – the world’s largest auction site. Follow @ebayart on Twitter to get an idea of what kind of art does well on ebay.
Amazon – the single largest directory of online stores, Amazon turned itself into one of the world’s largest retailers by creating a platform for anyone to sell anything. There are literally thousands of stores that use Amazon as their main source of sales. If you make handmade jewelry, Amazon has a section just for you on their front page.
Imagekind.com – high quality printing & framing, community, and marketing tips. See Imagekind Power Selling Tips.
Cafepress.com – for designing shirts, other screen printed things
Craigslist – in certain cities, people use Craigslist for everything. In Portland, I have seen everything from couches, to cars, to beautiful pieces of art for sale. Think of it as the world’s largest classified ad.
Artfire.com – a little bit like Etsy, but with a different focus. ArtFire’s Community Directed Development asks their artists to tell them what kind of features and products to build.
DailyOriginal.com – feature one piece of art each day on the site.
EmptyEasel.com – the most comprehensive guide to selling paintings on the internet.
Art.com – One of the largest sites for selling art online.
FineArtAmerica.com – sell prints at any price you want to set
Foliotwist.com – ready made art websites w/Paypal shopping cart built in
Yessy.com – One of the oldest, most popular sites for selling art online.
(BONUS) One on One Business Coaching for Artists – if you are very serious about your work and have the money to hire a professional.

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Showcase Sites { Some may not offer online sales }

Print-On-Demand

Print on demand websites allow you to upload a high resolution image of your work. Reproductions can then be sold in a variety of formats {on canvas, as cards or prints etc} Print-on-demand is brilliant for giving you an extra income stream from your original work. It is also great for photographers, allowing you to sell a wide range of imagery without having to print individually.
www.redbubble.com Excellent art focussed print on demand site. Also T-shirts & framed prints | FREE | SELL
www.imagekind.com POD site focussed on framing art | FREE | SELL
www.fineartamerica.com POD site with ability to offer framed art | FREE | SELL
www.theuntappedsource.com/ FREE | SELL
skreened.com Ethical T-shirt printing | Markup | SELL
www.zazzle.com Print on demand site. Also T-shirts & framed prints | FREE | SELL
www.cafepress.com Focus on T-shirts and merchandise | FREE | SELL
www.Fibers.com T-shirt printing | Markup | SELL
www.brightonpod.com shopping portal dedicated to promoting the work of UK independent designers and craftspeople | FREE {20% Commission} | SELL
www.artofwhere.com Print your art on gorgeous cushions and handmade items | Commission at a good rate | SELL
www.Bakso.co.uk Upload your design to sell it as a quslity T-Shirt | Markup | SELL

Online Galleries

Online galleries generally work as a middleman between you and the purchaser. You are generally responsible for sending the artwork and the gallery charges a commission on the sale.
www.newbloodart.com Contemporary gallery | Free + commission | SELL
www.discoveredartists.comSells original work | $ + commission | SELL
www.gallerytoday.com Sells original work | Unknown fee/commission | SELL
www.etsy.com Focussed on crafts and handmade items | $ | SELL
www.folksy.com Crafts and handmade items, UK based | $ | SELL
www.artulis.com Crafts and handmade items, UK based | $ | SELL
www.artfire.com Art, crafts and handmade items | $ 12.95 monthly shop fee | SELL
www.saatchionline.com Sells original work | POD | Commission 30% | SELL
www.artsyhome.com Sells unique home decor items by artists and artisans | SELL | Free to submit
www.5piecesgallery.com Young contemporary art in the media of painting, drawing, print and photography | SELL
www.portraity.com Specialising in portraits | Free to submit - different membership packages available | SELL
www.rebelsmarket.com Specialising in alternative art and crafts - especially goth/rock/punk/tattoo style work | SELL | free listing + commission fee for sold items only
www.phoenixartgallery.co.uk Contemporary Online Art Gallery | SELL | Free Registration, no fees. Just 20% commission on sold items
Rippingham Art Online Gallery Contemporary Online Art Gallery UK based | SELL | Free Registration, no fees. Commission on sold items

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Teen art studio Detroit

volunteer at this teen art group:

The best way to volunteer with Artists For Humanity is to come visit our studios, meet our young people, and talk with us about how you can be an AFH Ambassador. Spread the word about what our teens can do, promote our artwork, and refer young people who could benefit from working with us. Help give our teens a voice.
Become a tutor for our teens. Any young person with below a 2.0 grade point average must participate in after studio tutoring sessions or take a leave of absence until their grades improve. Artists For Humanity is on the lookout for adults to provide assistance and support in various academic subjects. So often we find it’s an involved adult that can encourage and explain ideas in a new way that can be the breakthrough a teen needs.
Call Rebecca Volynsky at 617.268.7620 or email rvolynsky@afhboston.org to see how you can help.

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Executive Director Susan Rodgerson started Artists For Humanity in 1990 with a simple idea: create art with youth and sell it to local businesses.

By hiring, training and mentoring urban teens with creative drive, AFH engages teens who are at-risk in meaningful work and provides a platform for creative expression. Each of the studios (painting/murals, screen printing, photography, sculpture, fashion design, and urban media) creates saleable products whose high quality makes the social enterprise successful.

Some graduates of AFH have gone on to prestigious liberal arts and fine arts colleges like Brown, UCLA, UC Berkeley, the Cooper Union, MassArt, and RISD. Currently, three of the co-founders lead the organization, and five returned to AFH as staff.

But that’s not all that is happening at AFH. AFH’s commitment to sustainable urban development permeates its work. The EpiCenter, as AFH’s building is called, is a model of affordable green design (the only other Boston building to receive the US Green Building Council’s highest rating is Genzyme’s, built at more than $400 a square foot, while the EpiCenter was built for $183 a square foot). AFH youth were involved in the design and model-making to maximize natural light. Three alumni of the program went on to become architects.

By working in an environment abundant in natural light and where sustainability is an integral part of building operations and programming, youth learn about their connection to the earth. Building policies like recycling and manipulating window shades to keep cool teach youth to be aware of energy use and waste. Non-toxic materials are used as standard practice; the sculpture studio makes art from recycled materials; and the painting studio makes its own reusable panels for paintings.

Artist For Humanity’s annual fundraiser event, called “The Greatest Party on Earth,” celebrates Earth Day by sharing its year-round studio exploration of topics about sustainability with the general public. In preparing for the fundraiser, youth consider how art can teach us about our connection to earth.

Education Director Quyen Truong acknowledges the challenge of connecting youth to nature in an urban environment. She marvels, “What I find amazing is that the youth create art that depicts nature from their imagination, without ever having seen it themselves.” Camping trips and visiting the Boston Harbor Islands have proven especially significant as ways to allow urban youth to experience nature.

In the future, AFH imagines an entire campus, complete with community gardens, to increase job opportunities for youth and to provide green space in the community as a local means of connecting to the landscape.

Interested in supporting Artists For Humanity? Attend the Earth Day fundraiser on April 18th, visit AFH’s online store to shop for t-shirts and other products, rent a rotating monthly art exhibit for your office, or rent AFH’s green building as venue for your next event.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

On the Contemporary Art Blog we talk about Contemporary art and every thing to do with art in general. Also we have many artist wanted links and artist wanted opportunities.

ARTISTS WANTED
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Contemparary Art and Saatchi high selling artists