Great Talent

Untitled is the UK's Largest Artists Fair currently Exhibiting approximately 170 Artists all selling direct and commission Free. Some of artfusion's clients who were exhibiting were keen to use our service's so if was up at the crack on Thursday to load the van with works of art and away we went to London. After a long day of driving, unpacking and hanging it was a delight to return on Friday to the VIP showing and a chance to mingle, talk and drink with some great talent.

BILL FOR BEN

Student illustrator, simply known as 'Ben' has recently produced a series of striking A2 posters for his end of year show. The work titled "England 012 Be Part of It' reflects our times and embraces satirical observations and inward musings. For Ben it was important to get his work professionally printed but, cost was also an important consideration. When Artfusion delivered the finished work to Ben's home he was not only pleased with the results but also with the bill.

EYE CATCHING

The detailed and exquisite drawings of Brighton based artist Gemma Challenger are a true labour of love. Drawn from her imagination, pictures and found objects each is a reaction to day to day life and personal feelings. The Studio has been working on producing a number of artist proofs for Gemma which are certain to be very eye catching.

You can view Gemma's work by visiting her web site at www.gemmachallenger.com

Youth Work

Working closely with art colleges and their students gives me a great buzz. The breadth of ideas and creativity I get to see embraces art and design, fine art, graphics and photography - it's brilliant. This weekend I have been working with student Sam Spinks who is studying for a BTEC Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. Sam's multi-layered piece of work deals with people's preconceived notions based on visual prejudices. Using the medium of the poster he consulted with Art Fusion to see how he could best visually represent his work. No stranger to graphics software, Sam and the studio quickly got to work on font and design layout options. The resulting series of posters are great and we wish him every success.

Former Glory

I get almost as much pleasure from saving someone's cherished photographs as from capturing and printing an artist's painting. So the studio was pleased to be given the job of restoring and reproducing a large collection of family portraits and documents.

Recovered and restored to their former glory, five copies of each photograph will be placed in a bespoke gift box and shipped to relatives as far away as Australia and Canada.

BACK TO SCHOOL

It's back to school for Art Fusion and the artist Roger Shapley. Together, we hope to work collaboratively on an exciting project with Ashfold School. Owners of the historic Dorton House in Buckinghamshire, the school is currently considering our proposal to create a series of inspiring scenes using many of the buildings listed features as inspiration.

Roger whose paintings have already captured the interior rooms and architecture of Broughton Castle, the home of Lord & Lady Saye and Sele (Fiennes) proposes to exhibit the work at the school later this year and will include both original pieces and limited edition prints.

One of the first paintings to be completed by Roger and recorded by Art Fusion is of the schools listed Jacobean Staircase.

SHELL SHOCK

Just a short entry today as my ears are ringing with the sound of the studio's Mimaki JV22 large format printer. It has been thundering away all day printing a series of A1 shell images. These exquisite graphite and pencil drawings by artist Crabby Taylor have translated really well , with the captured detailed crosshatching ensuring the prints maintain the timeless quality of the originals.

PRIVATE VIEW

Artist Marie Robinson will be exhibiting a fantastic series of paintings this summer at the Sarah Wiseman Gallery, Summertown, Oxford. This new series like many of her previous paintings deal with the history and associations inherent in ordinary objects and materials, with everyday items from the domestic environment being a particular source of inspiration. We were privileged to see the paintings in adavance of the exhibition when Marie asked Art Fusion to photograph the work using our scan back technology. It was a long, hot, shoot but both the artist and the Studio are pleased with the results.

You can view Marie's work by visiting her website. www.marie-robinson.com/.

DIGITAL MIXED MEDIA

For some, a digital print that comes out of the printer is not the end point of the process but only the beginning. As a practising digital artist myself I am always excited when working in collaboration with fellow artists who are seeking to push the digital edge. They provide the image and Art Fusion provides the experience helping the artist best achieve his or her vision.
The results are one of a kind paintings, collages, image transfers and prints on all kinds of surfaces as diverse as plywood, silk, rusty metal, and hand made substrates. They are a unique combination of digital and traditional printmaking that when viewed people don't think digital. In between running the studio I am actively working on my own body of work details and images of which I will feature on the site prior to my planned London exhibition later this year.

The Sky's The Limit

The sky is the limit for young artist Holly Winterborn. Her recent body of work has been inspired by the effect of light upon the landscape and includes a number of dramatic and atmospheric sky paintings. Holly and Art Fusion have worked together to create a series of signed limited edition prints to accompany her forthcoming exhibition. Printed on Woodstock Felt Finnish 310gsm and displayed in high quality conservation mounts, they should certainly catch the eye of the viewer. For full details of Holly's exhibition and to view her work please visit www.hollywinterborn.com.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME

"Great fun and really exciting" said artist Sue Templeman about her recent Art Fusion workshop. Sue brought along a series of watercolours depicting landscapes and vistas she had visited and studied. In addition, to making preliminary sketches, Sue also takes photographs of the scenes she is going to paint. The idea of the workshop was to combine Sue's original paintings with the corresponding photograph, print the blended image, then rework the printed image with pastels and also acrylic medium. We also, printed the image onto wood with interesting results which was then photographed and printed on Woodstock Felt Finnish paper (310gsm).

ARTWEEKS 2008

It is that time of year again! The Studio has been busy producing prints and under-paintings for a number of artists who will be exhibiting their work during The Oxfordshire Artist's Festival. One such artist is Rita Wheatley. She has worked in collaboration with Art Fusion to produce a number of works that combine the techniques of inkjet printing with traditional art materials.The work challenges our traditional understanding of how prints can and should be made.

During the festival Art Fusion will be operating an Open Studio allowing both artists and the public to see the process of blending new and old technologies to create stunning pieces of work.

We look forward to seeing you.