Diary of an artist

Collaborative Art Projects

2008-04-26T09:01:00.002Z

Collaborative art projects can throw up some fascinating works. www.lookatbook.com is one of them. 4 artists have filled a sketch book with their own works, filling a double page spread then sending the book to the next artist. A little bit of the previous page always spills onto the next one. Apparently the 4 artists involved never talked to each other and the book travelled 60000 miles before it was complete. Fascinating stuff.

Art on Cars

2008-04-17T15:05:00.002Z

Not talking about shiny paint jobs here either. The Dirty Car Art Gallery exhibits the work of Scott Wade who generates fantastic images in the dust and dirt on cars. Sounds mad, but have a look at the gallery on his site. The original work might be impermanent, but at least we've got photography to keep a record of it. I love it when artists think outside the box like this, so to speak.
www.dirtycarart.com

Tips for Blogging Artists

2008-04-16T21:06:00.002Z

One of the bloggers I read regularly as part of my day job has a fun guest post on 27 thoughts for blogging artists. It might be worth a look if you too happen to be both blogger and artist. Or either. Or neither...
Thoughts for a blogging artist

Invest in Scottish Art

2008-04-11T10:11:00.002Z

The owner of Artistri contacted me a year ago and I've only just seen the email whilst clearing out my inbox (I don't do it very often). Anyway, Artistri is a site promoting the artworks of graduate artists in Scotland. The site has an extremely high quality of work on display and the prices are very affordable. If yo uare looking for some original artwork to brighten your home, this is a great place to start, and you never know, the artist you buy from might just be the next big thing.
www.artistri.co.uk

Create Your Own Picasso

2008-04-08T22:27:00.001Z

Try your hand at creating a Picasso here.

Computer Art

2007-05-18T12:27:00.000Z

Not all art is applied to a ready stretched canvas. In my day job as a web designer, I come across a lot of graphic design and sometimes 3D design. This latter type of art is a highly specialised niche and one which demands a lot of respect. It's not something you can do after spending a couple of hours messing about with Photoshop.
If the process of creating 3D digital art interests you then the website of Kay Patterson - www.therailwaychild.com - should be worth a visit. Kay is creating a number of 3D characters as an art project. Have a look through the blog on the site and see how she created the skin for the Coin Dragon - it really is quite inspired.

Ian Burke in a North Yorkshire Art Gallery

2007-05-17T12:15:00.000Z

Those of you who have been lucky enough to have visited the village of Staithes on the coast in North Yorkshire might well know the delights of the Staithes Gallery. I just thought I'd mention it because whilst having a look I was really impressed with the work from one of the artists they display: Ian Burke.
Both Burke's paintings and lino cut prints really drew me in. I like the rugged feel to them, and the paintings of tractors in particular would be welcome to hang on my wall. I know, who'd put a picture of a tractor on their wall? But before judging, take a look first and see - you might just find you like tractors a little better afterwards.

Monkey Art in Scotland

2007-05-17T11:54:00.000Z

Six big inflatable monkey's, one in each of 6 Scottish cities. Er... I don't get it.

The Art of the Female Form

2007-05-16T12:09:00.000Z

I had email over the weekend from Alicia DeBrincat - an artist in California who specialises in painting the female form. Her work is fascinating in that it explores both visual and emotional aspects of viewing the female body. Her paintings are really rather stunning and well worth a look.
www.aliciadebrincat.com

Is it Art or Legal Vandalism?

2007-05-15T08:26:00.000Z

A family who own a castle in Ayrshire have invited some respected graffiti artists from Brazil to come and graffiti the outside of their castle. The works will stay there for 2 years and the owners are hoping that the castle will be seen as a work of art.

They've got the backing of the locals too. What a superb idea. Imagine having an entire castle as your canvas - time to order more paint!

Meanwhile some grumpy naysayers are suggesting that this is just legal vandalism. I'd like to see them do better!

Mosaic Art

2007-05-14T11:17:00.000Z

Something I've always fancied having a go at but never got round to is Mosaic Art. It seems to be a niche that has a lot of economic advantages, in that you can apply your art to an everyday object like a table or a mirror then resell it with your art applied. And if you are applying the mosaic to products that people want to buy but they also would like it to be unique then you are onto a winner. It also looks like a lot of fun.
Recently I was emailed by a reader who runs art holidays in France and sells paintings but also has a fascinating portfolio of Mosaic art to look through. Well worth a look.

JoLoMo Interview

2007-05-09T08:19:00.000Z

They only keep it online until next saturday (12th May 07) but BBC have a really good interview with JoLoMo. It's about half an hour long and well worth a listen.
JoLoMo Interview

Peter Howson Interview

2007-03-12T10:57:00.000Z

Read a really interesting interview with Peter Howson at the weekend. I had no idea the man suffered from a form of autism. I remember seeing one of Howson's paintings in a gallery several years ago and thinking how stunning and bold it was, though a little bit scary and I wouldn't want it on my living room wall. The article is a real insight into the mind of a successful artist and makes good reading.

Using Original Art To Sell Your House

2007-03-05T12:02:00.000Z

The Scotsman newspaper has an article on how a well chosen piece of art can help boost the saleability of a property by 10%. Although it would be nice to think this is the case, it probably only affects the saleability if everything else in the house is pristine in the first place. Anyway, hooray, original art sells houses!

Excellent Online Gallery

2007-02-21T10:21:00.000Z

I've had an email recently from Gordon at artgallery.co.uk. He was bringing the site to my attention and I'm glad he did. It really is a good online gallery for both artist and customer.

Buyers are given very easy to use navigation to allow them to search for prints or originals with any number of different criteria such as price, medium, subject, style or even colour (incase you are looking to match your art with your decor). I find it slightly strange that the lovely clean white interface changes to a black background when you choose to view an individual piece but I suspect that might be something that will change in the future. When I'm on a website and the interface changes, I always wonder if I'm still on the same site I started on. Black background not withstanding, the site is very easy to use, the information about pieces of art is comprehensive and the buying process looks pretty straightforward.

Artists will find that unlike some other sites they don't have to pay a penny to exhibit their work here. Artgallery.co.uk only take commission on completed sales. The signup process for artists is fairly straightforward but be aware that there is a selection process in order that they can keep the site full of high quality art. More about selling your art here. The gallery is open and honest with customers, giving them a 14 day no quibble returns policy which artists must adhere to. This is understandable really as buying art online is a very different kettle of fish from seeing a painting in the flesh where you can really appreciate the dimensions, colour depth and texture.

All in all it's a good place to buy or sell art and I wish artgallery.co.uk the best of luck.

Edinburgh Art Fair

2006-11-20T11:31:00.000Z

Edinburgh's Corn Exchange is hosting the Edinburgh Art Fair this year. 24th-26th November 2006. They've got 60 galleries exhibiting. Admission is £5 with concessions at £3. They also have a complimentary creche service which could come in very handy for parents wanting to visit the art fair this weekend.
Find out more at www.artedinburgh.com

L S Lowry Paintings Stolen

2006-09-29T10:38:00.000Z

Paintings by LS Lowry, Helen Bradley and Sir Terry Frost have been stolen from a gallery in Manchester. Big reward offered. Full story here.

Lakeland Landscapes and Scottish Landscapes

2006-08-08T16:05:00.000Z

An artist from the Lake District - Alan Frazer contacted me today with details of his website. You'll find a good collection of landscapes there based on Scottish and Lakeland scenes.
Alan tells us on his info page that wet-in-wet is his favoured technique of the moment and he's got some great results.
Find the site at: http://www.frazer-art.co.uk/

Van Gogh Exhibition in Edinburgh

2006-07-06T15:20:00.000Z

The Dean Gallery in Edinburgh is currently hosting a Van Gogh exhibition with around 30 of the troubled painter's works. Exhibition open 7th July to 24th September. Entry is 6 quid. You can book in advance at the link above.

Bovine Art in Edinburgh

2006-06-05T11:46:00.000Z

I had heard about this a few weeks ago - painted cows appearing all over Edinburgh - but it hadn't really registered until I was driving up Lothian Road yesterday and saw a mini-herd of rather brightly coloured cows posing in the square.

I love this kind of stuff. It engages people, even if they only see it and smile. Some will take photos and most will tell people they know about the cows. It's art that brightens people's day and we could all use more of that.

Turns out it's run by Cow Parade which provides a showcase for local artists (on the cows) then auctions off the works at the end of the display period for charity. They are running them all over the world and probably making a lot of people smile.

Perth Festival of the Arts - Amozozo Luminarium Review

2006-05-30T10:24:00.000Z

This year's Perth Festival of the Arts seems to have been a large success with the new concert hall able to act as a focal point for a lot of the goings on. I didn't have time to visit much and my one foray into the festival was to visit the Amozozo Luminarium on the opening weekend. Needless to say this large inflatable structure that looked like a giant bouncy castle attracted children, including my son.

So we paid our 2 quid to go in and were told to sit down and chill out. My son is approaching 2 years old and this seemed like a big advernture to him. He was running around and making happy noise. We were told "this is an art exhibit and people running or making undue noise like this child" (as they pointed to my son) "would be asked to be quiet or leave".

Get real. Put a big bouncy castle in the middle of Perth on a busy saturday afternoon, then admit children and tell them they've got to be quiet and serene. Jokers. Have they got no idea. And as for an art exhibit - I was looking around for paintings or sculpture inside, but no, all I could see was the inside of a big bouncy castle. Is it art? Not in my books.

Castle Makeover

2006-05-22T10:21:00.000Z

Just saw this piece of art on the BBC website. Artist Jerry Hofstetter gives one of our most photographed castles a bit of a new look. I do hope there was someone with a stall selling Jimmy wigs and rubber Loch Ness monsters to complete the effect.

Claire's Art leaving ebay

2006-05-19T08:54:00.000Z

One of the artists on ebay who's pictures I have enjoyed for some time now is Claire. She has been painting miniatures of cats, meerkats, and a whole menagerie of other animals and it looks from the surface like she's got quite a following of loyal customers. Claire's key to building this following seems to have been creating simple art that she can sell for a realistic price. When prices are low it can encourage people to build collections. Also she's made the most of ebay marketing services by running a shop and sending email newsletters to her subscribers.
Anyway, it seems Claire is flying the nest and going at now from her own web site. Good luck with it. You can find it at www.claires-gallery.co.uk.

Sand Art Video

2006-03-08T11:23:00.000Z

Even though this link is to a video, it is most definitely art. It's a guy (sorry, don't know his name) creating images with sand on a lightbox. Camera set above captures each picture as he creates them, then quick as a flash, they are gone and another one starts to appear. It reminds me of the old Rolf Harris show - "can you tell what it is yet?" and is definitely worth watching.
http://www.compfused.com/directlink/574/

Storm pictures

2006-03-08T10:31:00.000Z

If you consider photos to be art (and I do), have a look at these storm photos. Some of them are distinctly Turner-esque, though in most of these cases I wouldn't want to be hanging around painting a canvas. Brilliant storm photos.

http://www.tinyvices.com/storms.html