Do Reproductions Devalue Original Artwork?

Twilight Rhapsody
20 x 20 Acrylic on canvas  $995.00

Over the last few years I have heard a lot of comments about reproduction prints of artwork devaluing the original paintings.  "Why would you want to buy a painting that has a had lots of reproductions made of it?" is the cry, and "I wouldn't want to see the lovely painting I bought as a cheap reproduction in Walmart!"

With the advent of POD (Print on Demand) sites like Fine Art America I expect that I will hear these comments more frequently however I disagree and here are my reasons.

Think about the Mona Lisa.  How many zillions of copies are there of that painting in the world?  Do you think these countless copies devalue that?  Of course not, it actually makes the original more valuable. If I bought a painting that I loved and then it was reproduced and became so popular that it was in shops and homes everywhere, I would be absolutely delighted and proud that I had the "original".  It's value in monetary terms would have increased and I would feel very good about my decision to have bought that artwork. An original is always special and unique.  Feel very happy if you own an original and never feel that a copy made of it takes anything away from that specialness.

Not everyone can afford original artwork but they may love an artists work and want to feature it in their home.  Art should be for everyone to enjoy and not just for those who can afford original work. 

How do you feel about this?

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I Feel the Power - Can You?



BC Museum of Anthropology

I just spent two weeks in the beautiful city of Vancouver and with the mountains and sea it reminds me of NZ where I am originally from. Last time we were there some 18 years ago, we went to see the BC Museum of Anthropology and because we enjoyed it so much we decided to go again.  Along with artifacts from all over the world they have a huge collection of First Nation Art all displayed in the most wonderful setting. As an artist we tend to think of art as a painting to hang on the wall or a sculpture to place in a room but art for many people was, and in some countries still is, an important part of their belief system and central to their culture and religion.  The power of this type of art is amazing and in their presence you can feel this power really oozing from them!

This got me thinking about art in today's world.  Many artists that would, in other cultures and times, have been making religious or cultural work now work in special effects for movies, animation, advertising, architecture etc and they do amazing work and all reflective of our cultural times.  We are surrounded by work of this kind but don't often stop to appreciate the skill of these artists who for most part go unknown. This work has it's own special power to influence and shape our ideas but I wonder will it still have any power in the centuries to come.

I always love to get your comments. 

Also if you have any friends who you think would enjoy my blog or my art I would really appreciate it if you shared it with them.

Collagraph Printmaking



Susanne Clark - Soaring Into The Blue
©2011 Susanne Clark
Collagraph Print on Paper -  8 x 8 in -  $75.00


Last Friday night I gave a talk to an art society group about my art and printmaking.  In the first half I talked about my painting process and showed some photographs.  I set up the pictures in Power Point and connected to their projector.  The color was a complete disaster which was a pity.  It appears that they find it hard to get the color right when using the projector so in the future if I am asked to do this again for a smallish group, I will take my own monitor and use that, then I know that the colors will show correctly. 

The second part of the presentation was about printmaking.  I mainly make collagraph prints, a form of printmaking, which as the name suggests, comes from collage.  I took a variety of my prints and also some examples of the collagraph plates that I make to print the images from.   As usual everyone fell in love with the actual plates.  I think it is the texture and depth of the plates after they have been printed that is so appealing.  Because printmaking, and especially collagraph, is less familiar to many artists I think it was probably the most interesting part of the talk. 

To brighten up this post I have added a photo of a small collagraph that I experimented with last week.  I wanted to try using printing ink in a very transparent way.  It's part of a larger plate that I wasn't happy with so I cropped the image down.  It ended up being very simple but I think it has a very optimistic feel.  Does it  feel that way to you?

All That Glitters is Gold? Using Gold Leaf in Paintings.

After spending quite a lot of time looking at art and thinking about what I really like ... which ended up being art with abstracted figures and faces in it ...  I have gone off and started a series of non representational works.  I decided to work in one size, 24 in square, as I already had several in this size and I like the look of a grouping of work all in the same size. The two I am currently working on are in a limited palette of black, white, grey, red and gold the gold being gold leaf.  I love the way gold leaf glitters when the light catches it.  I am not sure if they are quite finished yet but in the meantime this is what they look like.

Gold leaf is a bit tricky to work with.  It has a tendency to fly away from where you are trying to put it if you even breathe on it.  You lay down a glue where you want the gold leaf and then you have to wait until the glue is almost dry before you lay the leaf on and smooth it down with a soft brush.  Finally you have to fluff away the pieces of leaf that are not caught by the glue.  Hopefully then you have leaf where you want it.  I also have a glue pen which enables the creation of quite interesting lines in gold leaf.

Doing the non realistic paintings has made me quite unsettled about what direction I want to go in my art but I guess that's part of the allure of doing art, it's such a voyage of discovery.

Roman Ruins, Caravals, a Palace and Conger Eels.

I’ve been slow on the updates to my blog because it’s taken me some time to get back into gear after being away for so long. I’ve found it really hard to pick up where I left off however I think I am now getting back on track again.

To finish off about Portugal. We both like it there a lot. We love the outdoor life style and even though it was winter, most days it was sunny and warm enough to sit outside and watch the sea while we drank the great coffee that you get in Portugal. Now my husband won’t drink the stuff we make in the Bodum at home any more! After all this nice weather it was a bit of a shock to return home to Toronto and the snow and cold weather.

I have added a few pictures of places we think are interesting to visit near Albufeira. The first one is the Harbour of the Caravels in Spain. It features replicas of Columbus’s three ships in a lovely setting. It takes about and hour and a half to drive there from Albufeira but I think it’s well worth the effort.

 The next place is a lovely hillside town called Evora. The picture shows the Roman ruin right in the center of the town. This UNESCO world heritage town is a great place to visit and you will see the inland area of Portugal where a lot of the wine is made on the drive to get there.

Finally the Roman ruins at Estoi and the newly restored palace which is now a hotel. http://tinyurl.com/45cafty and http://tinyurl.com/6yacv79

We also liked the market at Loule and wished we had made it to the Gypsy Market there but perhaps another time. The photo shows conger eel which I took because I thought the patterns on it were beautiful.  I find all the fish on sale pretty awful and I can't see how the sea can sustain itself if so much is continually being taken out. After being a vegetarian for thirty years these things concern me.

One thing that was disappointing was the lack of small art galleries to visit. I am always looking to see art but only found one gallery and that wasn’t very exciting. There must be artists there somewhere but we never found them.

On the art front I have been making some collagraph plates this week and I hope to try printing them today. My next post will be about those.

Holiday in Portugal



San Rafael Beach, Albufeira, Portugal

For the past month, as many of you know, I have been in Portugal on holiday.  We went to Albufeira in the south of Portugal which is known for its large number of sunny days and warm weather.  The average temperature in February is 16 degrees Celsius or 61 F with 7 hours of sunshine.  More weather info.

Arriving from the depth of winter and snow in Toronto this is pretty exciting.   It was cool at night when we first got there on Jan 24th but by 10.30am, most days, it had warmed up enough to sit in a sheltered spot outside in a tee shirt. Yesterdays temperature was 22C/71F. I knew we should have stayed longer!

Stormy Clouds over the beach

We loved to sit and have a coffee or lunch while watching and listening to the sea. The coffee that is available cheaply everywhere is fabulous and always made through an espresso machine.  An Americano is around $2 US including tax and there is not a Starbucks in sight!  The local Portuguese wine from Alentejo is also inexpensive.  We had many bottles for $2.80 US that were fine for everyday enjoyment.  I love the way the prices include tax and that tipping is almost optional and certainly not 15 to 20%. 

Almond and fig goodies at the market in Loule.

One thing that really impressed us too is how lovely the Portuguese people are and how helpful they are to English speaking tourists.  We had four or five women helping us find sesame seeds in the supermarket one day along with lots of smiles and laughter and we tried to explain what they were for and what they looked like.

One of the nice lunch spots

I couldn't stop taking photos of the beaches.  They are beautiful and at this time of the year almost people free.  There are wonderful rock formations and long stretches of golden sand.  The picture below is taken at the Fort of Henry the Navigator at Sagres west of Albufeira.  It is a stunning place to visit with its sheer cliffs and lonely position.

Church at Sagres at the Fort 

There is so much to see in the area.from the local culture to castles and roman ruins and I will post some photos and info about them in another post.

What I'm Fired Up About at the Moment

Leafy Kimono - Collagraph Handprint by Susanne Clark

 Next week I'm off to Portugal on holiday.  I thought I would write about a few things that I'm fired up  about before I go.

smARTist Telesummit 2011.  Last week I took part in this one week online artist's career telesummit for the first time.  I was a bit dubious about spending the money in case it wasn't worthwhile but it was great.  There were some very good speakers whose presentations were both inspiring and helpful and although quite a lot of the material wasn't new to me I still gained a lot of new ideas and info.  It was pretty overwhelming because of the large amount of info over a short period of time so thankfully I will be able to listen to it all again online and when the set of cd's arrive.  There are handouts and a workbook to work through as well.  Even though it was a online event there was a lot of interaction between the participants.  I liked it so much that I may sign up for it again next year.  Before then though I have a lot of ideas to implement.  Link to smARTist

The China Diet.  I just finished reading this book and I think it's something that everyone should read. Once again I knew quite a lot about the diet that is written about in this book and yet it still made a big impression on me.  It clearly makes the connection between cancer, and many other diseases, to a western diet.  I've been a vegetarian for 30 years and I'm not thin, unfortunately, or pale and sickly looking which seems to be the general idea about veges,  and now I'm thinking of moving to a vegan diet after reading this.  The big problem, it appears, is animal fat.  I love cheese, yogurt and an egg a few times a week but I am going to cut that right back.  One of the interesting points is that animal fats make young girls menstruate at a much earlier age and then as they age they go into menopause later. This exposes women to more estrogen over their lifetime, something not good for breast cancer.  There are a lot of reviews on Amazon the average being 4.5 out of 5.  I would strongly encourage you to read this.   Read more here on Amazon.

The last thing I'm fired up about at the moment is how people seem to get so upset about seeing nudity on TV or a woman breastfeeding and yet they have no problem watching hours of violence on the tube.  North America seems to be worse about this than anywhere we have lived.  All advertising here seems to be based around sex and yet a woman breastfeeding seems to send nearly everyone into shock.  Huge artificial boobs are OK but using them for what they are designed for is not.  I don't like porn at all but have no trouble with nudity.

Now that I have shared my feelings I can relax and take off to Portugal.  Watch for a few posts from there.

Sales on Fine Art America

Susanne Clark - Cello Head in Red
©2009 Susanne Clark
Acrylic on panel 6 x 6 in

After my last post Eva mentioned that she was interested in my experience with Fine Art America so I decided to write this post.  I think it's good timing to write about it too because I just had notification that I sold three reproductions there today. 

Fine Art America is a print on demand site but you can also list and sell originals. I think they are very well set up and have a site that is easy to use. The number of artists on the site is increasing very fast too and shows work from very basic to outstanding in quality.  There are a few problems that need to be sorted, one being how they classify the artwork.  Some people on the site will put their work into every category instead of just still life or wild life for example. This must make it very frustrating for viewers trying to find a particular type of art.  When I lived in the UK I was on a small site there and they limited the number of categories so it worked better and more fairly.  They also looked at each photo submitted to verify that the picture was of a good quality and accurately showed the work, something that FAA doesn't seem to do. Hopefully they will sort out all the glitches in time

I have belonged to Fine Art America now for about eighteen months but the last six have been the best in terms of sales. In the past month I have sold nine reproductions and two originals here.  I hadn't bothered listing the price for originals as I didn't think that people would be interested in them on this site because of the price being higher than for a reproduction.  I realise now that was being a bit silly as I received an email from a lady who asked if I had any more originals because she preferred them. The pictures I had showing on the site, most of the originals had already been sold.  I sent her pictures of a few and she ended up purchasing two.  I think I learned a good lesson!

Prior to the last month I also had sales ... about eight I think and many of those were larger sizes and framed so the commission on those was good and very nice to receive.  I haven't done much in the way of promoting my work on the site and that's something I intend to do more of this year. I like the fact that once I have downloaded the pictures FAA takes care of the rest.  One thing I think is very important is making sure that the file is excellent so that the reproductions are good and I never offer the largest size that is available in case it's not as clear as it could be for that size.

I think it's a great site too for purchasers as they have access to a wide variety of work and prices.  I'm sure there is a painting there for everyone.

My Artsy Year in Review

Now that 2010 has come to an end I am doing a quick review the artsy things I did and participated in during the year and deciding if I will drop some or do them again.  Life should be fun!  Here's what happened.

Moody Blues
by Susanne Clark.   Acrylic on canvas.  12 x 12 inches 

Outdoor Art Shows 

I took part in six over the summer with varying degrees of success.  Two local and four out of town.  While most of the out of town shows were fun I will only do one of them again.  We had recently returned to Toronto and thought it would be interesting to do shows north of the city in small towns that we hadn't visited for many years so there was a double purpose in participating.  Although some were held in very affluent and pretty towns where there are many summer cottages and visitors, the sales for most artists were very poor.  Perhaps it was because many of the attendees were from the US where the economy is much worse than here in Canada.  
Locally I did two shows. The best was the Queen West Art Crawl in downtown Toronto: my second year there.  The vibe is great and, for me, the sales have been good both years.

Open Studio
I held my first Toronto Open Studio and because my studio is in my home it made it very easy.  After I set it up it looked really good and although not many people attended, I don't know many people here yet, those who did come came to buy.  Open Studios have always been really good for me.  I think it's because people like to see the artist in their home or studio environment and see the art in a real setting. I also enjoy the meeting the people who come.  This is an event I will do each year and once I get to know more people here in the city I'm sure attendance will increase.

Internet Sales and Online Galleries
I am always amazed with online sales of art.  I"m not sure if I would ever buy art online and yet I have sold quite a few works online over recent years.  When I lived in the UK I used to list the life drawings I did each week on a small site and sold many of them ...in fact three to one man which made me wonder?  I am now on Fine Art America where they offer reproductions of my work. It's a print on demand site but you can also list originals.  I sold both reproductions and originals there so that is something I will also continue. The photo attached is one of the recent originals I sold over the Internet.

More to come in the next post.

No Naked Walls - About Block Prints

Golden Notes 2
Hand painted block print on wood panel 24 x 36 in



After writing my blog yesterday I though that I should have mentioned how I go about making these block prints.  First of all I work out the design.  I have to decide what size I want the final work.  When I do this I have to allow for the size of the artwork plus the size of the surround or mount and then make it a size that will fit into a standard frame.  After making a lot of art that needed a custom sized frames I am finally getting smarter and working to standard sizes. Once the size is decided I then draw up the design I want.  Next I divide the design up into blocks that will fit the size.  For the Jester in the previous post the blocks are 6 inches square and the design is three blocks by 4 blocks or 18 inches by 24 inches. Next I cut all the small square blocks to make the printing plates and transfer the design to each one. Finally I lay them all out and paste them to one large sheet of mounting card to hold them in place while I print the design.  I use a roller to ink up the whole panel and then lay the paper over and hand press the ink onto the paper.  I could also run it through my printing press. Once it's dry I hand paint the central motifs that I want to feature. I have also experimented with printing onto a wood panel but I have to be very careful to place the design into exactly the right place on the panel because being a geometric design it would look awful if it was off even by a bit.  The attached picture is a piece I did on a wood panel.  It's similar to Golden Notes but much wider. Unfortunately the photo is a bit dark.

No Naked Walls - Perhaps it's because I'm a Gemini



Golden Geisha
Hand colored block print



The last few weeks were busy mainly because I was getting ready for my Open Studio.  Even though I didn't know many people here in Toronto after only recently moving here I thought that I would go ahead and make a start.  I have always found Open Studios good for me and I do like the people contact that they bring.  I actually didn't have a lot of visitors, which I guess was to be expected, however those who came, came to buy and quite a few pieces went to new homes with some wonderful people.   

Now that it's over I am back in the studio.  My plan was to work on some non representational pieces but somehow I got diverted.  Perhaps it's because I'm a Gemini  because I immediately started on a something the exact opposite of abstract or non representational, a very planned out piece of a Jester...!  One of the works that sold in the Open Studio was the work on the invite above, the hand colored block print "Golden Geisha".  I also did the musical block print "Golden Notes" a while back.

Golden Notes
Hand colored block print 26 in x 22 in

 Jester is a similar block print with Gold in it.  I like to show work with a theme and so I'm going to do a series of works limiting the colors to mainly black, grey, red and of course, gold.  Some of the pieces will be non representational, of that I'm determined, but it will enable me to do a variety of subject matter but still within a theme that will hang well together.  The Jester is nearly finished but I have to correct a few things.  It's been fun to do too.



In Jest
Hand colored block print 18 in x 24 in





No Naked Walls: A Time for Reflection

Into the Future
Collagraph plate

One of the blogs I follow is that of Donna Iona Drozda.  http://donnaionadrozda.com/ABOUT.html  She is a wonderful artist who has come through adversity and risen above it.  I was quite taken by a recent post on her blog Following the Moon, http://donnaionadrozda.com/blog/.   It was about November being a time of introspection.  I have always liked the idea of the cycle of things but the past few years I seem to have lost the habit of reflection.  The idea of things dying away in the fall, the possible new incubating in the dark of winter like a baby in the womb, then awakening and growing in the spring is wonderful.  Her post has revived my commitment to introspection, to thinking what it is that I want to leave behind as 2010 comes to and end and what it is that I want to nurture and grow over the winter months ready to burst out and bloom in summer 2011.  "An unexamined life is not worth living" said Socrates so I better get to it!

Open Studios

Open Studios are fun for both the artist and the people who visit.  I have done several in Ottawa, Canada and in York in the UK.   Perhaps there is an element of voyeurism on the part of the visitors.  We all like to see inside someones home or private space, to see how they live and who they really are. I guess that is why feature articles in home decorating mags are so popular.  An Open Studio also allows visitors to learn about the artists process and they can take away with them a greater feel for the artist and their work. 
I am in the final stages of organizing my November Open Studio, the first one I have done here in Toronto.  I intend to make it an annual event.  Because I am new to the city I am not expecting to have lots of visitors this year but over time I know it will grow. I have been putting out lots of postcards and sending info to my mailing list.  The next challenge will be to decide what work I am going to show and how I will arrange it in the house.  I usually rearrange the furniture in the main rooms, editing as much out of the space as possible and moving it to the side of the space all in an attempt to make it look more sparse and gallery like so the focus is on the art.  I may even roll up the rugs to expose the hardwood floors and  give an even cleaner look.  I recently installed  low voltage halogen track lighting in the main room and it makes the colors in the art look wonderful.  It all takes a bit of work but that's part of the fun.

I had two different postcards done.  I used this image on the one shown above because it is a combination of both painting and printmaking.  The other features a musical work. Below is the flip side.

I would love your comments on how you feel about Open Studios.

Art Commissions

I recently did something I never usually do....a picture of a cottage.  I was asked by a friend to paint a friends cottage from a photograph so they could give it to the owner as a 60th birthday gift.  This is not the sort of thing I like to do least of all from a photo that I didn't take and from which it is hard to see the actual color or structure.  The friend who commissioned the work wanted something fairly conservative and also showing the water and shore so it ended up being quite a lot in the small format of 12"x12".  See the enclosed picture.




Nova Scotia Cottage
Acrylic on Canvas 12 x 12 in

 
In the past I have never done commissions because I prefer to paint what interests me and in the colors that I like with no reference to what someone else wants however this was an interesting diversion.  I hope the new owners like it.

If you are an artist/crafts person, how do you feel about doing commissions?

Painting Abstracts in Oil



Abstract in Blue andPink

 
As many of you know from reading my blog I am taking an art class at the Toronto School of Art called Painting Abstracts in Oils.  I am finding it rather frustrating waiting for the oil paint to dry between layers.  I guess I have got used to quick drying acrylics. 

We have several exercises to complete one of which is about addition and elimination, revealing and concealing.  I don't know what got me started but I decided to cut out some shapes and paint around them to get started and then I found it really interesting to start covering parts up and overlaying with other colors. It's quite different from what I usually do and because of the colors I chose it's ended up a very happy looking piece.  I would be interested in hearing comments about this type of work.  Do you find the hard edged shapes and purely non representational design interesting or does it leave you cold?

Herb and Dorothy

This documentary movie is a must see for artists and art lovers.  It tells the story of a very ordinary couple who built a collection of over 4000 pieces of modern art that came to be worth millions. I think you will enjoy
Herb and Dorothy

Art and Creativity

I have been distracted from my art and blog this summer.  The nice weather, family and all the work around the house that needed doing outside before the cold weather came are my excuses however I think that it's important to go with the flow and take time to enjoy these moments......and I did!

I'm enjoying an art class called Abstraction in Oils being given at the Toronto School of Art.  I met two really nice women at an artists group that I joined here recently and they we going to do the class so I decided to do it to.  I'm glad for two reasons.  I get to spend time doing something I love with these two nice people and I am able to learn more about art.  I often paint in oils but usually under paint in acrylics first which makes this stage go faster as I don't have to wait for the under painting to dry.  There is something wonderful about oil paint though.  It's the feeling of the oil paint as you put it on and the final look of the color.  It also seems to sit up on the paper and not flatten out or darken as it dries.  

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I have been looking at a lot of art over the past few months and I will continue adding links to the work I like.  One artist I forgot to add in the last post was to Jack Shadbolt.   He also did a series of Owls, Butterflies and Birds.  He has a wide range of work and this is just a small sample.

Let me know what you think.

More Art

Here are more artists whose work I find interesting.

Patrica Nix.  I found her work included, along with several other artists, in a wonderful Annual Report publication for the company Capgemini.  I was so impressed with the idea of putting art in a business publication and I'm sure they would be pleased to know that their 2004 report is still giving such pleasure.  Wouldn't it be great if more companies did this.
http://patricianix.com/originals/originals_gallery.html

Hughie O'Donoghue.  I was fortunate to see a most amazing exhibition of his work at the War Museum North in the UK.  The exhibition called "Painting Caserta Red" based on his father's experiences during the was, was fantastic and the scale of some of the work was amazing.  He did a special piece for the space and it must have been about 40 feet high. I have been trying to find a photo of it on the web but can only find a small picture of one that is similar.  Go to the last image on this link. The link images don't do justice to his work and unfortunately there aren't many images of his work on the web.
http://www.culture24.org.uk/places+to+go/north+west/manchester/art17397
Here is a link to another of his works.
http://www.creativeboom.co.uk/news/history-memory-and-myth-in-leeds/

Kimo Minton.  I found his work at Tew Gallery when I was living in Atlanta.  He works on large wood panels.  They are absolutely gorgeous.  One of my friends who was visiting actually bought one and had it shipped back to New Zealand where she lives.  She is in good company as I believe Elton John has one too.
http://www.timothytew.com/mag-15-kimo-minton

Sean Scully. I saw an exhibition of his large abstracts when I was living in the UK but I also saw one in the High Museum in Atlanta.  The size, texture and colour in the work I found very appealing.
http://s3.artknowledgenews.com/files2009a/Scully_at_Atelier.jpg

http://www.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=sean+scully+paintings&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=thBlTNbXOoP7lweUz_WSDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQsAQwAA&biw=1359&bih=692

 What do you think of these?

Art I Like

As I look back on artists links that I have saved on my computer in the past what I notice is that I have a strong preference for paintings of the figure and things with a mysterious or spiritual quality. The artist Lawren Harris from the Canadian "Group of Seven" is one of these and I have posted a picture of his to start things off.

I have also added links to other art that I find interesting. These are fairly conservative but somewhere to start.

Although the work by Lani Irwin, is highly realistic it is made interesting by the unusual subject matter.  There is a gallery in London that carrys a lot of work like this and I loved visiting it when I was living in the UK.  Unfortunately I just can't remember the name of the gallery at the moment.

http://www.feltusfeltus.com/LaniIrwin/html/gall.html

Although I really like more abstract work I also like Bruce Holwerda's figure drawing which I find amazing, skillful and creative.  It's all the small details going on in the hair etc and the tension he gets in his figures.

http://www.bruceholwerda.com/

What I like about Nicholas Simmons work is the way he builds interest into a fairly realistic image by overlaying patterns and shapes. You need to pan down the page to see all his work.   I also like his colours.  Notice 'colour' spelt the British Canadian way.  I always seem to stop and think...who am I writing this for and which way should I spell things today.

http://www.nicholassimmons.com/

The next two are taken from my old list and they are not favourites but both have something more abstract and contemporary that I quite like.  Once again figures feature.

http://natalierichy.com/portfolio/p-06.html

http://www.sopafinearts.com/artists/Gustlin_Jylian/gustlin_gg.htm

For an entirely different type of art I love Andy Goldsworthy site specific work. He has a lovely DVD called Rivers and Tides which is great to watch. Here are some of his images. http://www.ecosalon.com/andy-goldsworthys-amazing-works-of-art/

Two works by Will Maclean an  interesting Scottish artist whose work is very mysterious. These are just his sketches for paintings but I like the way they are drawn.

So far I haven't added any landscape artists...is that telling me something?  I also haven't added any really abstract work even though it's what I really like. That will be in the next post.

I hope you have found some of the work interesting.  Please send me your comments and share links to any artist that you love. 

It's Summer and I can't Focus!

Do you find that it's almost impossible to focus on your work during the summer?  That's what I am finding at the moment.  Getting into the studio is so hard when the garden and lovely weather beckons me outside.  I hate to wish for the cooler days but it does make it easier to stay inside and work.

I have been thinking about my work and where it is going, or not going. I have decided to go through a process to enable my work to continue to grow and develop. The first step I have set myself is to look at a lot of art, find work I really like and then ask myself what it is and why it resonates so strongly with me.  This is a clarification process to enable me to discover what is interesting and has personal meaning for me now and what I want to incorporate into my artwork going forward.

I really believe that each person can create a very distinctive style of art that comes from their life experiences and even right down to how their muscles hold and use painting or drawing tools. Several years back I taught classes on using art for personal development. I found that when people were asked to paint in a very non representational manner, just putting paint on as they felt like it, you could immediately see that each person did it distinctive way.  Within several weeks everyone in the class could usually pick out whose work was which.  Why is it then that so much art looks so similar?  Perhaps we need to really work at enhancing what it is that is different about ourselves and let it shine through.

In the next post I will include photos of some of the work I like and why, and what I have discovered in the first step of my process. I would love to hear your thoughts.  If you would like to take part in the process  too and then post what you discover, that would be great.