Sunday, March 27, 2011

27th March 2011 - Who's made a mark this week?

Congratulations to Keiko Tanabe and the folks who are participating in the Daily Paintworks Help Japan Challenge.  334 paintings have been submitted to date on the theme of Home and sales have so far raised just over $18,000 for Japan.

Please note that the Help Japan challenge does not have an end date.  Click the link above to see the paintings on offer.

I had a good look trough the paintings on offer to find one to feature on the blog this week.  This one by S.P. Goodman (SP Goodman - Small Scale Paintings) although a painting of Vermont reminded me of the pictures of the great empty space in Japan which have been periodically covered by snow.

What must it be like to lose your home, your job and most of your friends and family in the space of a few minutes? 

Stand of Trees #II by SP Goodman (Small Scale Paintings)
- being auctioned for Japan (proceeds to Red Cross)


I have called Vermont home for almost 40 years and feel a strong attachment to its mountains, valleys, forests and rivers. All proceeds from this painting will go to the Japanese Red Cross.

I really like what Steven achieves with his palette knife and his steady habit of producing a small scale painting for sale via his blog about once a week.  He has a great set of paintings on his website as well - particularly the landscapes.  Steven is teaching a workshop on Surface and Space at the Sedona Art Center, September 26-30, 2011

Art Blogs


Original art

This week has seen a fair old debate about the topic of style, creating a body of art, derivative art, copying, copyright infringements and 'crossing the line' in relation to original art and painting like other artists. 
Alleged copyright infringements abound today, but neither the practice of artistic borrowing nor its potential legal ramifications are a novelty.....

    Drawing and sketching
    this new journal of mine is about process and not product. It’s about communication with the self, not with others.
    Collage
    • I like looking at the blogs of collage artists - artists who delight the eye with their creativity.  This is Carol Reid's blog - Carol Reid - Artist
    Coloured Pencils and Pastels
    • Pastel artist Astrid Volquardsen has changed her blog domain - and you can now find her new blog at Malerin des Lichts.  For English readers a lot has changed, because navigation and information about her work is now completely in English.  You can download and read more about Astrid in an interview in the February issue of the Pastel Guild of Europe's newsletter
    Painters and Painting 

    I've been taking a look at a lot of painting blogs this week - some new and some I've not visited in a while. 
    • Kathryn Law - (KathrynLaw) made an impassioned comment on the topic of copying art so I went to take a look and found this excellent post about painting Figures
    • When writing my post about Make your own art! I started to look around at daily painting blogs to see who was being unique, original and not painting the ubiquitous fruit.  One such blog is Stephen Magsig's Postcards from Detroit.  As well as painting on a regular basis, Stephen is also doing something which is culturally worthwhile - he's documenting a city which is undergoing significant change.  It adds value to his work.  (Stephen - the answer to your question about the painting below is Yes!)

    72nd Street, The Dakota by Stephen Magsig
    Oil on linen/panel,   2011   7x5"
    Wildlife Art
    Art Business and Marketing

    Two blog posts on the topic of artists' retirement!
    Lucian Freud and Cy Twombly are still painting, and still doing powerful work, in old age. Nor is the career longevity (and physical longevity) of artists just a product of modern healthcare. In the 16th century, both Michelangelo and Titian lived very long lives and both worked brilliantly into their last years.
    Art and the Economy / Art Collectors

    Art Competitions
    Art Exhibitions

    Art Museum and Gallery Exhibitions
    Learn about the 1930s through eight exhibitions: The Depression, The New Deal, The Country, Industry, Labor, The City, Leisure, and American People. Artworks from the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection are supplemented with other primary source materials such as photographs, newsreels, and artists’ memorabilia.
    Artists exhibitions
    Solitude by Sue Favinger Smith
    accepted into "WAOWing the Lone Star State",
    the annual juried members exhibition for Women Artists of the West (WAOW)
    held at the Rockport Art Centre, Texas, from May 11th through June 4th, 2011. 
    Art Societies
    Art Studios
    Art Supplies
    Copyright

    There's been a landmark judgement in the continuing digitisation saga of attempts to revise the originators rights over their own original work. Google has scanned 15 million books and put them online while it negotiated a settlement of the copyright issues.  A judge has now said they can't do this.  The decision has a direct impact on thousands of book authors and publishers.   It's an interesting judgement which might end up being relevant to aspects of art reproduction.  Here are some links:
    Opinion Poll
    • The opinion poll for March closes this week.  You can find it in the right hand column.
    Websites, webware and blogging
    and finally........

    Two questions for those who live in the UK

    • Did you remember to change the hour?  Or have you invested in what I've now got - an atomic clock so you never need get caught out by clock changes again.  All I've got to do now is change my internal clock!
    • Did you remember to complete the census?  I forgot - but it looks like I may have saved myself the hassle of trying to do it online yesterday.  Now how many of you said you were an Artist?
    I'm planning to go and visit my mother later this week so there will be no "Who's made a mark next week?"

        1 comment:

        1. I'm in the US so have changed my clock multiple times in the last few days. ;) Fortunately my watch is still on summer time because I never could figure out how to change it in the winter anyway. heh.

          Census done! And yes, fine artist by trade.

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