A Painting A Day

Since I posted on the daily #painting project of Julian #Merrow-Smith (a former #Banbury School of Art student) I’ve done a little more research regarding the Painting-a-Day phenomenon. I discovered a distinctly new and different Internet #art trend, which began a few years ago. It unites an artist’s practice of daily work (nothing new in and of itself) with the combined technologies of online auctions and blogging. If done consistently and successfully it allows artists a steady stream of income by generating an ongoing body of small works.

Duane Keiser is acknowledged as being the pioneer of the painting-a-day trend (his work is featured above), the discipline of producing one new painting every day. Whilst it is a trend that has been embraced by dozens of artists worldwide, very few of these artists produce a new painting every single day. Some work weekly or even monthly but, disciplined regularity is clearly the goal and essence of this practice. Typically small in format - 6"x 8" or less, these paintings are offered for sale online at the artist's website or through eBay, often for starting prices of just £25. This lively niche of the arts world allows artists to experiment, develop, and just have fun outside the confines of large-format works. The collecting public is also recognising that these often stunning little masterpieces are a tremendous way to build their art collection.

As the trend has developed artist co-operatives, societies and groups have launched painting a day web sites where their collective daily efforts are featured and offered for sale. Galleries are also experimenting with the process encouraging their represented artists to contribute small pieces of work that allow to maintain the profile of both the gallery and the artists’ and offer the collecting public the opportunity to purchase a piece of work at an affordable price.

It is a concept that can be applied to #drawing, #graphic design, #photography and #crafts. So why not start today!

Do you have a weight issue?

When mounting artwork I always like to weight the mat bottom about 2 cm more than the top and sides which I typically make10 cm (4 inches) each. I do this on almost everything I frame unless it would look bad due to the shape of the image. Sometimes even more weight on the bottom on small items. It is purely a visual thing and has something to do with the way our eyes work together. However, one client did say it's because during Victorian times pictures tipped out from the wall and that's why some pieces are weighted.

A landscape piece, especially a small landscape does not tend to look as good weighted. A portrait piece on the other hand usually does look good weighted. If the art is bold, the mat needs to be larger to contain it and it needs more weighting. If the art is long and thin, it does look good with the sides one dimension, the top a little bigger and the bottom even bigger still. A square composition can be weighted or not. Each will look good. Also if the arts subject is extremely heavy toward the bottom of the composition, bottom weighting on the mat looks better.

There are of course NO RULES when it comes to mounting. You can try the oriental approach for instance with equal top and bottom mat margins that are far larger than the sides, or extra wide side margins with equal but narrower top and bottom ones.

It's a matter of doing it and seeing how it looks. Having said that though, most of the time, weighting looks better than something not weighted.

Do’s and Don’ts

Don’t use Sellotape, masking tape or packing tape. Remember it is the work of the devil and through time will destroy or damage your valued image.

Don’t tape the art onto the back of the picture mount and certainly don’t tape it on all 4 sides or corners. Art like everything else needs to have the ability to expand and contract in relation to the environment it lives in. The correct way is to fix the art to the backboard, using T hinges which will allow it to move around naturally and not damage or distort your piece.

Do always use a Backing board with a picture or photo Mount which has a Ph Neutral side to hang your art from and a water resistant coating on the rear which provides good all round protection for your treasured images.

She is classic yet every bit as cutting edge as when Warhol painted her nearly 50 years ago.

Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/showbiz/2011/03/25/warhol-s-18m-portrait-of-dame-elizabeth-taylor-91466-28402134/#ixzz1HbjjBvR0

Exhibitors wanted for Cornerstone arts centre

Closing Date: Friday, 20 May, 2011

Fee: commission taken on sales



Cornerstone are looking for artists to exhibit, and have a number of upcoming opportunities.
Whether you:
would like to apply for a solo exhibition in our beautiful gallery
would like to participate in the open exhibition on the theme of Coast, or
have a small collection of art or craft work to exhibit in our Window Wall or Craft boxes.
If you are interested in exhibiting at Cornerstone, please download an application form.

There is no fee for exhibiting. Commission is only taken on sales (see application pack).
Cornerstone has a fantastic array of facilities; an auditorium for theatre, shows, gigs and performances, a visual art gallery, a welcoming cafe, bar and restaurant, a dance studio, and various multi-purpose spaces for meetings and workshops.
Cornerstone is brought to you by South Oxfordshire District Council.
Further Information
Contact Details:
25 Station Road, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 7NE Box Office: 01235 515144 email: cornerstone@southoxon.gov.uk

Banbury to Gotham City

I’ve always considered comic illustration as something separate to those works that fall into the conventionally considered “ fine art world”. But a recent encounter with an issue of the DC comic ‘Judgement on Gotham’ at a London book fair got me thinking about art and comics

The cover illustration was by Simon Bisley one of the most renowned and gifted comic book artist. His style is old school and classic, reliant on paints, acrylics, inks and multiple-mediums and has been strongly influenced by Gustav Klimt, Salvador Dalí, William Turner and Richard Corben.

Although Bisley says he is “entirely self-taught” he did complete a foundation course at Banbury Art College in Oxfordshire “to do, you know, modelling and graphics and fine art”. He found his time as a student of art frustrating saying “I found it very difficult to get any kind of feedback from the art teachers” he continues “They weren't interested at all in what I was doing, so I became kind of very introverted with regard to my artwork”.

While still a student, Bisley did a painting of a robot holding a baby that he sent to the offices 2000 AD a British comic publisher. The image was well received and Bisley was appointed as an artist in1987.

Since then he has gone on to illustrate some of the most memorable comic covers ever including characters such as Judge Dredd and Batman for DC Comics in America.

It’s an absolute delight!

Who doesn't enjoy peeking into another artist's creative space, to see where and how they paint? Over the years I have had the privilege of visiting the studios of many of the artist's with whom I work and in some cases have become good friends.

For many artists these spaces are a bolt-hole, a sacred place for painting, printing and craft’s. Whether it is an architect designed building constructed in the garden of a house, converted loft space, spare bedroom, dining room, conservatory, garage or the humblest of garden sheds, these sometimes tiny, cramped and chaotic spaces is where they have produced some of their finest work.

But, these studios are more than just a workplace. They say so much about the artist themselves. The personal litter that surrounds them, partially painted canvases, paint-splashed easels and floors, cloths, brushes, portable radiators, tables and chairs, all individually reveal bits of knowledge about the artist and the work they produce.

Francis Bacon’s studio for example was a horizontal ankle deep strew of books, photos, old shoes, paint tubes and rags. Giacometti used the things that cluttered his studio as a theme for paintings whilst Oswald Stimm took twelve years to create the optimal studio conditions in which the cyclical movement of his creative thinking and action could take place. I on the other hand must ruefully admit that my studio has no jugs of brushes, no turpentine-steeped rags, just a room where I work hunched over a computer and is really quite boring by comparison.

That said there are surprising similarities between all the studios I have visited including my own. There's usually a telephone around somewhere, and often the artist is not working in splendid isolation but with a rabble of assistants, wives, husband’s, lodgers, children, cats and dogs, It’s an absolute delight!

Using a framework

I posted an iPad drawing on my Blog and one on Twitter earlier today and someone asked what method I used to draw the figure. I have to confess I am not very experienced when it comes to drawing the figure however I have always applied an easy method used by students of fashion design.

By drawing the basic block shapes that represent different parts of the body you can
create a framework that will add confidence and help your poses look more convincing – or not!

My #SketchBook is used by David #Hockney!

We artists sketch constantly. Not only is it a required habit, but it is ingrained in our psyche. We were born with the desire to create. We find inspiration everywhere we look. What a crime if that fantastic idea you just had, while trudging down the Tesco aile or doing the school run, would go to waste! But no longer.

Though pencil and paper may be orphaned at home, we rarely forget our cellphone. If you happen to be one of the upwardly “mobile” you more than likely have an iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad at your disposal. And chances are, like American Express of old, you never leave home without it.

Adobe Idea, Autodesk SketchBook Pro and Brushes are the favoured applications that allow artists to capture concepts and inspirations on the go. They all provide you with a large canvas to work with, pinch and zoom capabilities, and greater control of your brush and pallet.

I first started using the Apple iPod Touch in 2009, but more recently I aquired an iPad and since then I have produced countless drawings. It is an exciting and addictive medium that offers fresh and exciting possibilities. Of course I am not alone in converting to the electroncic sketchbook, it is also the choice of the professionals like David Hockney!

'vorsprung durch technik' ?

A German company has come up with an #inkjet #printer that’s connected to a computer-enhanced paintball gun and can paint images onto building facades with some precision. Judging from its work, there’s now a new effective technology for making graffiti. The German contraption, comprises of a pressurised barrel mounted on a two-axis turntable and can blast pictures onto walls from a distance of 20 feet.

Controlled by an on-board industrial PC running a custom touch interface, images are loaded onto the machine with a USB stick, and then printed by paintballs of many colours travelling at over 100mph.

Two artists in Balance

Giorgio Morandi Still Life (Natura morta), 1956, Oil on canvas; 9 7/8 x 13 7/8 ins
Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, B.A. 1929





I came across the work of #Oxfordshire artist Sarah #Spackman today whilst on the Web and was immediately struck by the way her ‘White Space Series’ reminded me of one of the most admired Italian painters of the twentieth century, Giorgio #Morandi (1890-1964). Using simple elements, pots and cups, Spackman stages an array of variations that displays great sensitivity to tone, colour, and compositional balance.

Morandi used the same simple elements, including bottles, boxes, and the view from his window. Whilst his paintings appear to transcend time and place, an effect he achieved by removing labels from his bottles, Spackman says of her work “This group of paintings is about space - the confined intimate space of #still-life”.

Her most recent body of work Parks of Oxford explores further the theme of space and the atmosphere around and between objects and can be viewed at the Sarah #Wiseman Gallery, South Parade, #Summertown, Oxford, March 10-26 2011

Roundfour,
Oil on canvas,
35x60cm
Sarah Spackman

Shifting Light - From Banbury to Provence

Julian Merrow-Smith is one of my favorite painters.

Born in England in 1959, Julian attended Banbury School of Art and then completed a Fine Art degree at Wolverhampton, where he studied under, amongst others, Anish Kapoor and the painter Paul Hempton.

An accomplished portrait painter, Julian Merrow-Smith regularly exhibits at The Royal Society of Portrait Painters. In 1999 he was selected for the BP Portrait Award and his self-portrait 'Cap' was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Now based in the provençal hill village of Crillon-le-Brave his 'plein air' landscape paintings are widely sought after and have been exhibited in both France and the United States. He has developed a strong reputation as a still life painter and in 2003 Cunard commissioned him to paint a series of large-scale still-life paintings and several landscape paintings for the Queen Mary 2. These striking works have led to further commissions and to his growing reputation worldwide

In February 2005 Julian started Postcard from Provence, a daily painting project at www.shiftinglight.com - Postcard from Provence.


Visit the website and be inspired!

A Gem of a book

Currently reading Leon Battista Alberti's On Painting (1435). This fascinating book reveals how Alberti revolutionized the history of art with his theories of perspective. A groundbreaking work, it sets out the principles of distance, dimension and proportion and instructs the painter on how to use the rules of composition, representation, light and colour - the prerequisites of the successful painter. On Painting had an immediate and profound influence on Italian Renaissance artists including Ghiberti, Fra Angelico and Veneziano and on later figures such as Leonardo da Vinci, and remains a compelling theory of art.

The cover detail is from The Hunt painted by Paolo Ucello (1397-1475). Ucello was celebrated in his lifetime as a painter of perspective and of animals and landscape. The painting is housed at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford.

So, zoom along to Waterstone's and grab a copy, then browse whilst sipping a large latte, then off to the Ashmolean to engage with The Hunt!

It's back! The Affordable Art Fair

Now in its thirteenth year, the Affordable Art Fair (AAF) is back, returning to London's Battersea Park from 10-13 March 2011.

Founded by Will Ramsay to "make contemporary art accessible to everyone" and "to show you don't need to be an art expert or a millionaire to enjoy and buy art" it will play host to 120 galleries showing paintings, prints, sculpture and photography.

The AAF's relaxed, unstuffy environment offers lots of good quality contemporary art with a price ceiling of £4,000. It's a simple formula that seems to be working, with the recent AAF in October 2010 attracting 22,500 art-lovers who spent a cool £4.25 million. There are also lots of other arty activities going on at the fair, plus an emerging artist exhibition, which features the work of recent graduates.

Grab yourself a ticket and be inspired!