Christmas cometh

so Christmas is drawing near once more

and we are left with a choice

to spead the usual crass commercialism

or

for a change

we can spread some culture instead

Art

a truly individual gift

(and no this is not a lame attempt to sell my shit ..

in case you hadn't noticed I'm not big on that side of things myself)

but

for every household of every budget

and with very little effort

there is an artist within your budget

they can be found on web sites

on twitter

hell even on face book

take a stroll to your nearest collage or university

look through Craig's list

or just type in a search

as a present Art is the gift that keeps on giving .. all year round

and just think about it ..

the thrill of the hunt...

finding just the right piece for your special some one

the satisfaction of not only presenting your loved ones with a very unique one of a kind gift but not having to worry about some bugger duplicating your idea

(unlike those 5 pairs of socks 6 sweaters and 3 ipods that you got last year)

whether its a portrait to spread the love

... a landscape for some peaceful contemplation

or something more thought provoking..

your gift of art will not only be a declaration of your appreciation but will be a talking point, a conversational piece for them for years to come.

(and they got it from you.. how cool is that)

tell your loved ones they are a one of a kind original .. just like your gift

how many gifts do you know that has so much love,care and dedication put into every stage of its creation such as an artist puts into their work?

and we've not even mentioned the warm fluffy feeling you get yourself with helping out a struggling artist

or the bragging rights you get with becoming a "patron of the arts"

galleries are fine and all well and good.. but nothing compared to talking to the artist them self

would you rather rely on some "expert" to tell you what a piece represents

(some of what they thought mine represented were so far out it was funny)

or would you rather know for sure .. straight from the horses mouth ?

(not to mention the fact buying direct from the artist not only ensures providence and correct interpretation it also ensures that a huge percentage isn't taken out by the gallery... more bang fer yer buck as it were)

so whether your budget is for $20 or for $2000 give the gift of culture this year

go out and find an artist

heres a short list to get you started

http://www.art--for--sale.com/

http://artquest.com/index.asp

http://www.myartspace.com/artistView.do?sortby=featured

http://www.dailypainters.com/

http://barbaraspaintings.blogspot.com/



Prints

so.. i've been asked recently and in the past if i had every considered making posters or prints of my stuff to sell

short answer yes iv had some printed, usually though it was sold after id enhanced it

(because my stuff isnt really designed specifically for posters)

as far as just straight prints

im more about folk enjoying art than i am about money

if some one wants to print out a copy of one of my paintings that they like then iv no objection to that at all,

(just let me know first so i can edit it to make it more print friendly)

i dont need paid for them to do all the leg work of down loading, finding a printer, paying the printer, then framing it themselves...

if the painting they like is too low a dpi to make a clear print ill even try to get a higher dpi for them if i can

(ill look into making a high dpi page specifically for that if you want but it will probably load really slowly)

and yes i hear folk scream about intellectual property rights, and i see folk frothing at the mouth because i dont mind folk printing my stuff for free but you know what...

art should not be only for the elite,

it should not be there for only the rich to enjoy,

art should be accessible to all... rich, poor, working class alike
and you know what...
its mine to do with as i wish
id much rather sell low or give it away to some one i knew enjoyed/connected/heard the piece
than sell high to some one who only wanted it because it matched their sofa

 

 

 

my view on art is ...

it is created for a purpose,

that purpose is to communicate, if its locked away in some collection that no one sees, or if its bought merely because it matches the decor or as an investment

its not getting the opportunity to fulfill its purpose

to communicate

its voice is not getting heard

it is effectively gagged

 

 

 

 

if some one was to take a digital copy and print it out

it does not detract or degrade the original work

it does not cost me anything in materials or time

it merely adds to the voice allows that piece to communicate to more people

why should i object to that?

 

 

and knowing folk are connecting to a piece, enjoying a piece, sharing a piece is more than payment enough for me in so far as a straight print goes.....

i only ask that

they let me know... cuz hey its handy to know which are the more popular pieces it helps me to grow and improve

and that they have my name attributed to the print because hey i can be as egomaniacle as the next guy ;-)

id also ask that you do yourself a favour and talk to me first if you really like a particular painting, just drop me a line with a note about which you like, what your preferred price range is, what time line your looking at. if the original is out side that range, or if im not wanting to sell the original, ill look into the possibilities of if i can do a copy within the price range and time requested, or let you know if a print is your best option

so with all that in mind i guess i better go look through what iv got and see what i can make print ready huh

(see.... so much that just wont print well if shes blown to poster size so fair amount of work to do to ready them)

some links you may find handy if your into getting your own posters printed

http://www.photoworks.com/shop/wall-art

http://www.onlineposterprinting.com/Poster-Prints.html

http://www.shutterfly.com/prints/large-format-prints

http://www.zazzle.com/posters

https://www.posterbrain.com/cart.php

and for those of you who feel uncomfortable just using a file for free
(and yep im assured some do)
i thought i might try something along the lines of this
if some one knows a better site please let me know

create & buy custom products at Zazzle

iv never had anything printed, as of yet, by this company so please let me know if the prints turn out ok

as soon as iv increased the d.p.i of some of my pieces and uploaded them i will purchase a test piece and let you know how it turned out

my son

So started this portrait shortly after the birth of my grandson ... Initially i had it a lot further, but the technique I'm using is pastels layers with a varnish over lay on each layer... and... I accidental picked up the wrong varnish one day and it reacted badly... and pretty much melted off the entire face... an accident that to my chagrin my kids wont let me forget ;-) ...

(yea its rough but remember its nowhere near finished)

This portrait has been my arch Nemesis for a number of years now...

the family joke is that it might be finished in time for the grandsons 18th birthday

I'm frequently asked... "why haven't you finished that portrait yet?" "when are you going to finish that portrait?" "where the hell is my portrait and why haven't you finished it?"  
I can understand the frustration of waiting... and there are many reasons why i keep hiding it ...

  

The one i will go into on here is ... I'm not fucking good enough... this is my grandson and my son, its important to me ... so it has to be perfect. How well i achieve it has to reflect how important they are to me...It has to be the best damned portrait iv ever done. Perhaps not necessarily my magnum opus, but definitely something that i (and my family) can look at years from now with pride. Instead of looking at it and cringing at mistakes. In other words it needs to be as close to perfection as possible ... and as i cant yet paint portraits to the standard i want it to be able too i keep running into problems.

(what i can do)

(what i want to be able to do, and will never in a million years achieve)

(HA im crap lol )

So for now its back on the projects list... i noticed that by posting the updates of my projects you guys are really helping me achieve more and get further, faster than i usually do so the hope is that you can nag me bitch at me encourage me and point out ways i can improve it or areas that are glaringly wrong on it and between us we can can get this one finished

this btw is what all that practice on "fry" was all about

art experts

what a certain type of "art expert" wont tell you

art is, as it should be, accessible to all. it is by no means an exclusive or elusive gift.

any one can collect it no matter what their budget is (from $20 to $200000 and any where above or in between). iv seen tat sold for $2000 and some fantastic talent selling for only $20

it might be fun but you dont have to fly to far flung places to find fine art, chances are there is probably an artist in your own street.

local collages are also a good place to start.

(preferably before the collage has had a chance to staled the artists unique view of the world and conform it to the norm)

yes im biased, iv seen way to many potential greats go into them only to come out having lost that "spark" that made them unique in the first place. they are great places to learn techniques but do have a tendency towards conformation

the price tag does not validate the quality of the art. the price merely validates how good the artist or their promoter is at public relations,how popular they are or indicate that they know the "right" people.

hell it can even just indicate they have had some extremely lucky breaks.

always remember.. high price does not necessarily mean good art and low price does not mean bad art

(a lot of artists will rather sell low or gift to folk that they know connect to a piece rather than sell high to some pretentious pratt that is just out to impress their friends)

the only person that can tell you what a piece "means" is the artist himself... and even they will tell you that it will "mean" something different to each person. art is interactive what you "see" will depend on your own lifes experiences. the "art experts" are merely interpreting what they themselves see or feel, your own interpretation is just as valid as theirs.

(i was once at a show and an "expert" tried to impress me with his rather shallow "insight" to a piece we were standing in front of. what he didnt realize was it was one of my own, his "interpretation" differed wildly from my own )

and for all you budding artists out there, you dont have to spend a fortune on materials to "create" art.

i was once in a show where i had to have a professional valuation of each piece

(for insurance purposes)

one piece ( Scar ) valued at somewhere around $1500

(yea sounds good but dont get excited shit rarely sells for even a fraction of its valuation price lol)

materials ... newspaper, glue, kitchen roll, childrens foam modeling material, roofing mastic, house paint, varnish.

another ( paradise found ) valued at around $500

materials ... pre stretched canvas, high quality (bloody expensive) artists oil paints.

its the imagination, the vision, the ability to communicate a thought, idea or emotion that creates the value, not the cost of materials

so for all you folk that say

"i would love to create art but i cant afford the supplys"

stop useing that as an excuse

stop being afraid to fail

and start looking around your house for things you can use to express yourself

why redirected?

so........ figured my main blog was was getting a little "cluttered" so decided to start "chopping" it up into little bits dealing with the separate issues... that way you guys can "follow" only the bits your interested in

my "main blog"

http://exper-e-mental.blogspot.com/
dedicated to bipolar... and my life in general
(and currently is where most my followers are)

my "poetry blog"
http://wid0wsweb.blogspot.com/
just what it says on the label ;-)

or my "arts and crafts blog"
http://mitch-arts.blogspot.com/
 dealing with ... surprise surprise arts crafts and anything in my life dealing with such matters

so far

so this is as far as iv gotten on these projects so far

please bear in mind these are works in progress

although...

if left to myself they are liable to remain "in progress" for ever, or until some one rips the paint brush out of my hand and screams "back away from the painting" at me

(see earlier posts for earlier phases)

***

my Ethereal Myst

who is just a "pretty" and isnt really meant to portray bugger all beyond

"help i need to paint to live and cant help myself i have to doodle"

guess its best i first show you the concept "sketch"

which yes was "sketched" in paint...

does she not count as a real painting? .... no.

why not? ..... because i said so...because i wanted "more" ;-)  

rather bizarrely enough, below is the version of Ethereal Myst i am working on now, its shot from two different angles...

(yes i cheated and "squared up" the second one its as seen from at quarter rather than a head on)

you cant really see the heavy textured fabric on the photo siiigh

isnt it bizarre the transformation that a different angle will make, catch that effect from out of the corner of your eye its it looks like shes jumping off the canvas 

########################################

ahhhh now this one im working on i do consider art though many might disagree with me...

portrait of pain

first the concept

and now, finally the painting as its progressing....

explanation....i have some health problems

this is a portrayal of how the pain from those problems feel

(a nice short and sweet explanation huh )

i really cant wait to finish her so i can hang her i know some might look at her and think ... W.T.F but im actually quite excited by her... the arch of the body as the pain bursts forth from her, almost as if in supplication to death its self, pain radiating, constricting, binding her to it in an all consuming manner

yes i know im strange but hell you didnt know that already?

*********************************

ahh White Hot Pain...
 so nearly done.. im having a love hate relationship with it at the moment

one second i like the next i loath, i think over all im kinda liking her.. but im running out of wall space fast so not sure if she will "make the grade"

yea yea i should get off my arse and sell some more... but hell it makes me feel like a hooker

and i just totally hate that side of things...besides .. these are my "babys" ;-)

the concept (which i designed through various filters and masks on the paint shop pro program) ...

the explanation...

a depiction of the despair, isolation, horror of spousal abuse... proud defiance mixed with sad acceptance of the situation for which she believes there is no escape.. restrained by the bonds of "duty", a belief that this is her lot and that she "deserves" it...

her life's view discolored, distorted by a lack of self worth and acceptance 

this is i hasten to add not my current situation ;-)

err ok so i did more and messed up because i prefer the above version

***************

sorry folks another depressing one ;-) dealing with ... yep you got it

isolation, loneliness... that sinister feeling of a haunting presence around you

the woods...

the concept

errrr k i attacked this one again too so now it looks more like this

i think i might change it back

***************************************************

ok

this is just a silly piece of nonsense that i did purely because i needed a break from real stuff ;-)

it is, of course "LIFE"

***************************************

So

did i ever mention how much i hate portraits ..

this has been the source of much frustration, swearing and self berating

O.M.G Stephen i totally did not mean to thump you in the eye like that... i guess i was just getting frustrated and angry at my own inability to get the portrait right ;-)

 .. guess ill fix that next, its really not that dark around the eye "off photo" very odd

still its an improvement on the previously posted versions of him dont you think ?

more insanity

so

as you know iv been kinda lost within the realms of painting

being bipolar this means iv got several underway and i pretty much hop between them all

bit here bit there... variously enjoying my self, and totally trashing the house

(no not out of temper tantrums when one doesnt go the way i want, just general mess with paint cans drop cloths and so forth which im too busy painting to pick up,)

the "living room" is currently in the process of being buried under several "drying" canvases....

the "dinning area" is basically covered in a giant drop cloth and looks like a bad accident in a paint factory

ahhh but the bed room is clear i hear you say? well no, i live in an efficiency apartment

(i like the price and generally when im not painting its small enough for me to keep moderately tidy no matter how my health is on any given week),

we do though have a bedroom sized alcove  .. however i ran out of floor and table space so currently the bed is also drop clothed and im sprawled across it painting "fine detail"

so....

whoo hoo yea im one of the few woman thats actually had stephen fry in bed with her :-) well on the bed at least..

and if that werent enough..... due to the fact im

1 a hermit,

2 its just my latest victim and me here,

3 paint is pain in the ass or impossible to get out of clothes

4 ok 3 is just an excuse cuz i just like padding about my place nude.... but 3 it still is kinda valid

5 ohh and my new great excuse our A/C is busted

any way that all means not only do i got stephen fry in/on bed with me but i be only in my birthday suit too .... poor fella lol

(just as well he dont read this... poor sod would be blushing to his roots ;-) )

so....

nude with stephen is ok ...

but ...

nude with "portrait of pain" not so hot....

(still have some ways to go on this yet)

you see... this particular one requires mini barbed wire,

 which i constructed sitting cross legged on my bed.... however there was a bit of bad news......

im kinda absent minded so i kinda laid it aside then promptly forgot where

good news .... i found it

bad news ..... as barbed wire, mini or not, it really really works well .. "ouch"

so i can really accurately report that making mini barbed wire is in fact a pain in the ass

and i have the punctures and scratches to prove it

##################################

having poured my heart and soul and many, many, (wo)man hours into

the paintings im working on now ... such as ..,



please bear in mind these are works in progress

as well of course as the main (kinda when i can b bothered) project of

yea hes not looking so hot again .. ohh well

i will fix him

any way i decided after all the frustrating heart felt hours of painting to "mess around"

with a foil technique

which was simply tearing up foil slapping it on a board, and then throwing torn up tissue over it, then messing about with some pastel and varnish.. 

closer to kinder garden than high art lol

kinda no brainer quickly, lets pass time and give the brain a rest, just have fun, sorta thing

anyway including the time spent a drying couple hours of messing resulted in ...

this

which my latest victim quickly proclaimed as his favourite "piece" that i was working on

W.T.F

hours and hours of blood, sweat, tears, frustration spent on the others

meaning hidden in every weave of the canvas,every careful application of the paint, the shading

thought out from every angle, and the care in the composition

and yer favourite is ....

basically

the trash left over from making from last weeks turkey, and the contents of shoebox

 

what can i say

you

PHILISTINE

lmbo ...

nah im glad he likes it but sheeese lol

times i just want to pack up my paints and call it a draw on art (no pun intended)

###################################

So

After flogging myself over the fact i hated the direction stephens pic was going

i pretty much reworked the entire facial paint layer using oil paint and pastel

then blending them in

this resulted in this.....

p.s ..

no i wasnt reenacting a scene from the da vinci code and breaking out the barbed wire from earlier,

i was purely and only mentally flogging myself and howling at my own inadequacy's... i think it did the trick though i figure its improved vastly