School of Creative Business - Creative Entrepreneurship

Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century - DVD Review

I have really enjoyed watching these videos. They have severed as amesome inspriations and insight of what it takes to be an artist.

"Art:21–Art in the Twenty-First Century” is the only series on television to focus exclusively on contemporary visual art and artists in the United States, and it uses the medium of television to provide an experience of the visual arts that goes far beyond a gallery visit. Fascinating and intimate footage allows the viewer to observe the artists at work, watch their process as they transform inspiration into art, and hear their thoughts as they grapple with the physical and visual challenges of achieving their artistic visions."

EYe Spy an Art Trend: Bold, Colorful & Bright - Francoise Nielly

EYe Spy -Bold, Colorful and Bright Art of Francoise Nielly.

 

As described in her bio:

Francoise Nielly is a passionate woman who loves life, wide open spaces, sushi, blue lagoons, the Internet, humor, books, Paris, New-york and Vancouver. Resolutely inscribed in her epoch, she is an accomplished artist ; 20 years of artistic expression explain the maturity of her work and the perfect mastery of her art. She lives and paints in Paris near Montmartre; shows and sells her work in Europe, in Canada and in the United States.

See for yourself- A detail video is posted on her website- a brilliant display of how to creates these wonderful, colorful, bold and bright art pieces.

Artist Tip: Creating Time to Work in Your Studio

Devoting yourself to work in your studio can be a little hard- Especially if you have a family.

Alyson Stanfield  from Art Biz Blog says, "You can’t make a few nice pieces and sit in the easy chair. You have to work, work, work."

I totally agree with Alyson, but I too fall guilty to not taking time to work in studio. Alyson suggests, devote yourself completely to your studio practice you have to:

1. Make studio time a regular part of your schedule - Choose certain days to work in your studio, or schedule a certain amount of hours per week to be in your studio. The idea is to make time to create.

2. Keep your time in the studio scared- Make time to work in your studio  and staying focus on the task of creating art. Eliminate any distracting items. Turn off your cell phone or email alerts, or even place a sign on the door -Do Not Disturb. Working in your studio should be your time to work out a creative problem or to explore other creative options.

To read more about the business of being an artist and about Alyson go to: www.artbizblog.com

Tutorial: How to Create a Self Portrait Stencil

Debra Cooper from Little Black Kitty Art- recently posted a great tutorial on how to create a self portrait stencil.  This is a great way to create a fresh look to your current artwork. Making stencils are easy and fun. It is a way to add a little graffiti style to your art. Well I have to say you will need some type of photo editing software to create to create a template. But after that everything is Easy Breezy! 

Check out Tutorial: How to Create a Self Portrait Stencil.

Rethinking Acrylic - Book Review

I purchased Rethinking Acrylic a few months back, and really didn't have time to flip through it until this weekend. And boy what a joy it wasto see such beautiful artwork. Patti Brady is the author of this art book and she actually demostates the techniques. This book is great for those looking for new ways to use acrylic paint. There are so many ways you can use acrylics. I can not wait to try a few of techniques. It will be another way for to push me to the next artistic level.

 Go out as soon as you can purchase this book- or just order it online. Rethinking Acrylic is a resource for your library.

Artist Tip of The Week: 3 Creative Power Boosters

It's normal to be off your creative game, but it is not ok to allow it to paralyze you from doing any creative work.  I've been creating and selling artwork for a few years. And if there is one thing I've learned is that if you want to become a better artist you have to create.

To make sure you are able to maintain your creative power -it begins with a jolt! Here are 3 Creative Power Boosters to get you going.

Creative Power Jolt # 1- Overcome Your Creative Block with a Change of Scenery

When you’re working on a new art piece and you get stuck, do this. Get up, walk around and sit in a different spot.  Take another approach at looking at your computer screen from a different point of view. Sit in a different location and gain a new perspective.

Does this sound hokey –dokie?

Well it is not. A change in scenery, is a change in mindset. When you think new thoughts, the chemicals in your brain change. But what many people don’t know is that the opposite is also true. A change in your physiology – your body, posture, facial expressions, etc- will also change the chemistry in your mind.

Writers use exercise as a way to gain new insight  or spark creativity. Body movement is an effective brain stimulator. – So get your body moving!!! Talk a walk around the neighborhood, watch and interact with a exercise video, change the location of where you create art, play some music in dance around the house (salsa music is my favorite) or just change the music in your mp3 player.

Creative Power Jolt # 2 - Track your Progress

Many people quit or never start a project because they just don’t have the creative juice needed to complete the project. Don’t let this happen to you!

Keep those creative juices flowing by using creative power jolt # 2 – Track your Progress.

Let me explain……. Tracking your progress shows you how far you’ve come. You are able to celebrate your success daily. And when you are able to see actual progress you are able to keep going. Weight Watches requires their clients to track their progress and to document what they eat and their feelings in a journal.  As an artist I am asking you to track your progress in an artist journal. 

You could buy a journal, or use flickr, or create a blog . Just find something to keep up with your progress as an artist.  Keep track of the materials you use, include paint swatches of colors in a piece of artwork,  take photos of your artwork in a step by progress,  include images of items that inspire you. 

What I have found about tacking my progress is that I actually can see growth in what I have done. I offer comment on my use of color in a particular art piece and I try to use those same colors in another art piece. I flip through my journal/blog to locate what I’ve documented as things that inspire me. This really gets my creative juices flowing.

Creative Power Jolt # 3 – Use Comparison to Give Yourself a Boost

I have mistaken compared myself to master collage artist. And how wondered if I will every reach that level.  I would often look at my work and then theirs and say:

· I will never be able to do that?

· I can’t draw like that?

· I don’t have enough space to work that large.

This type of negative self-talk can grow like weeds in your mind and can actually paralyze you into doing nothing. The important thing is to catch yourself before this weed (negative self-talk) takes over your mind. You never want to compare yourself to someone who’s better than you – unless you’re looking for ways to improve.

If you are going to compare than look back through all things you have accomplished so far. Create a list of all the small and big accomplishments.  Then take the list and update your artist resume, if you don’t have an artist resume, then this is the perfect time to create one.

 

 

 

 

 

Tutorial: Image Transfer on Fabric

Just recently I was asked if knew how or if I'd done image transfers onto fabric. Well, honestly I have tried them, but I have never Incorporated them into my artwork. I do feel they have a place in  my  mix-media art world and maybe somewhere in my creative ventures I will include fabric image transfers.

But the main reason for this post is to share what I found on Youtube. This is probably the easiest technique I've seen of transferring an image onto fabric. In this video the artist has an image printed onto a inkJet transparency sheet and the transfer media is acrylic gel medium (Kroma).

Image Transfer onto Fabric - YouTube Video

Flicker Image - By Calamity Kin

Distress Ink Pads

I have used many different types of ink pads in my collage work, but I honestly have to say that Tim Holtz Distress Ink collection found at  Ranger are just excellent!!! This collections is available in twenty-four acid-free, non-toxic, fade resistant, water-based dye inks. The 2" x 2" pads are made with a higher raised felt for easier use with direct to paper techniques.  In the tutorial on How to Make Paper Look Like Leather, Cibele uses Black Soot distress ink.

These pads are perfect for creating vintage/aged looks. Tim Holtz selected the colors and helped develop these inks to produce a realistic, weathered look on paper, photos and decorative fibers. Check out this video, Tim shows you just how great these pads are.

I hope you love them as much as I do.

Artist Tip of the Week: 5 Things To Do To Make Sure Your Artwork is Seen

 

"You build it, they come." Well I am not sure if that statement is true when it comes to creating art. But what I do know is that we as artist have to plant seeds into the minds of art collectors. Today I want to give you 5 examples on how to make sure your artwork is seen. But let me say, while this post contains 5 ways to promote your artwork- I rarely use all of them at once. I only use these promotion tools to plant seeds, not grow a forest! I  want to share with my clients what new from my studio with the hopes that they might visit one of my art shows, participate in a workshop I'm conducting and/or purchase artwork.

 5 Things To Do To Make Sure Your Artwork is Seen!

1. Tweet It - A good way to get others to see your artwork is to tweet it. Tweeting a link is quick and easy to do- and it you do well it can be quite effective at getting others to see your work. The effectiveness of this does depend on the size of your follower group. So if you do not have an tweeter account - Quickly sign up for one.

2. Facebook Status Updates(and other social media sites)- Updating my facebook status with links to images of artwork and my events has worked out very well for me. I have received comments on new work, commissioned projects and some have signed up to attend a workshop.

3. Show Artwork to other Artist - When I'm working on a new piece of art, I sometime think of what another artist would say about. So instead of thinking about it, I just send an email to a few artist friends and ask them to give me some pointers or just to share their thoughts. This has worked out for me also, I have received really good advice and contact information from gallery owners looking for work similar to mine.

4. Attach an Image with Your Email Signature - Many artist have links to their websites posted along with their email signatures, but what about directing or attaching a image of your artwork to the email. People seem to always be intrigued with attached files, especially if there is no risk of a virus. 

5. Ask Your Audience to Share Your Artwork with Others- This can be a hard sell. But if you are confident in your work, ask your clients to share your work with others who might be interested. It's no harm in asking - Remember, "Ask And You Shall Receive."

Before I end this post, I want to say that you must have persistence and maintain relationships for any of the above promotions to work. Much of what I've described are things I have been doing for a while, and only through persistence have I been successful with them. But even with persistence, you have to keep good relationships with others. Alot of the above promotions are based on current relationships you have already developed. So maintaining and growing new relationships is important.

Good luck and please share your experiences with the above promotions with me.

Peace and More Love, Alease

 

 

Tutorial: Peeling Paint Technique

The peeling paint technique is a really nice affect when you want to create an aged or washed out look.  I often use the peeling paint technique in my artwork. It is very easy and only requires some basic tools.

Check out this YouTube Video and learn more.