Being an artist can be tough, because everybody has an opinion about your work. Even art school can be cruel. You have to develop a tough skin if you want to be an artist!
That being said, there is an important distinction between a valuable piece of criticism and an opinion.
What is that. . . read more
Being a hardened user of traditional media (and not the most techie of folk) my involvement so far in the world of digital art has simply been to admire those who are clearly extremely proficient in its creation.
Over time, however, my interest has increased—and with it, I’ve gained a. . . read more
Why do I hate so much of our 20th century visual art with such a passion?
I’m certainly not that way with music. I have everything from Mozart to the Sex Pistols on my iPod, and if I hear some awful music, I don’t rail against it. . . I just ignore it.
But I really do [...]. . . read more
I had to run back into the house last Friday to get another tourniquet. As I raced back out I passed the open laptop in the kitchen and saw about 20 messages with the name of an essay I had recently written in the subject line. . . read more
As an artist who has just returned, road weary and exhausted from two back-to-back outdoor art festivals, I take great exception to those who look down on artists who choose to make their livelihood this way.
They haughtily thumb their nose at me and a large number of my colleagues by stating. . . read more
Here's a question for you. In your opinion, do you think the following painting would be accepted into a juried art fair by a typical jury in 2011? Or, if you're not sure about that one, what about. . . read more
No one can deny that the internet opens up numerous opportunities for the artist, but how does selling online compare to a more traditional route? Today I want to compare and contrast the two. . . read more
The term “starving artist” is so familiar it has its own page on Wikipedia. So I was intrigued (and perplexed) when I read a blog post where artists were being called “money grabbing" instead. . . read more
I was reading a forum discussion recently about painting trees. . . it stood out to me because the artist was trying to paint each leaf, which reminded me of a time when my son was in grade school.. . . read more
A year ago, after a few months of “daily painting” and starting a new art blog, I felt it was time to join an online print service. Upon reading a few reviews of different companies, I decided on RedBubble. . . read more
Plein-air painting—or, painting outside in the open air with all the perils and dangers that entails—is a very odd, and perhaps silly thing to do.
Why not stay in your nice cozy studio with the central heating on, away from the vagaries of weather, biting insects, nosy people, gusts of. . . read more
Have you ever stood in front of a painting (yours or someone else’s) and wondered why it doesn’t really say anything? It just doesn’t “pop!” That's a “sort of” painting. . . read more
Should we (as artists) be willing to adapt and diversify our artwork to the market in order to generate mass market appeal? Or are we so attached to our work that we hold back from commercialising it. . . read more
Last year Jane bought a painting at a prestigious art show. She loved it, and decided to buy another painting from the same artist, so she looked online and was shocked to see the same painting she had in her office for sale, again. . . read more