26th September 2010 - Who's made a mark this week?

"The art which made a mark" 

The New York Times has a slideshow Op-Ed at 40: Four decades of illustration which highlights the stunning drawing, graphic illustration and creativity which drew on the 'lions' of social commentators from the past.  It's a ten minute film and I urge you to watch it - it's both fascinating and stimulating.

Art Blogs

The art blogs this week include those I spotted while finding the website links for the artists selected for the ING Discerning Eye competition

Congratulations!

• First, congratulations to Kellie Hill (One Painting a Day - small studies by Kellie Marian Hill) whose blog makes it to 1,000 posts on Monday - and we know that because she numbers them  all.  Make sure you visit and tell her well done!

#992 Halved Avocao III by Kellie Hill (9" x 12"

Drawing and sketching

• Jana Bouc is spearheadingUrban Sketchers San Francisco/Bay Area
• Pics and ponderings from a London-based emerging artist Anne Birtchnell

Coloured Pencils and Pastels

• Two coloured pencil posts about coloured pencils on Making A Mark Reviews this week
• Your favourite coloured pencil - an update provides an insight into how people are voting this year for their favourite coloured pencils and provides a bit of a surprise for all Prismacolor fans.
• In UPDATE: Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists, I've summarised how the changes made to my resources website for coloured pencils has made information about coloured pencil art - and how to create it - more accessible.  PLUS it includes requests for links to information about any product reviews or tutorials you might have written which may be suitable for inclusion.

Landscape

• Would you like to paint the Arctic? was a question posed to me earlier this week - or did I know anybody who might?  The post answers the query
• The landscape you love is about one of Sisley's favourite places to paint.
• A new series of Places to Paint posts start on The Art of Landscape on Monday - starting with Linda Blondheim's favourite place to paint.

Painters, Painting and Plein Air

• Adebanji Alade (Adebanji Alade) has a brilliant post about plein air painting - and lessons learned - see Lessons and Points of Note from Bath Marathon II.  I too have learned the importance of #8!  This followed on from Lessons and Points of Note from Bath Marathon I 
• Sue Smith at Ancient Artist: Developing an art career after 50: Repetition: How do you know it isn't a bad habit? discusses Bongert's approach to studio practice.  Sergei Bongart is the book she is referencing.  She followed up with another post Is It Motivation or The Muse?
• I came across The Small Paintings Group for the first time this week.  35 painters seems like a nice number for a group which has exhibitions.  Enough to make sure you have a goodly number of works for a show and not so many that an artist only gets to submit one painting (which frankly is a pain!).

Printmaking

• an interesting interview in The Observer with Damien Hirst: 'Art is childish and childlike'.  It is , of course, connected to a new exhibition, this time about butterfly prints

When you start off, you wish you were successful and well known. Then you get to the point where enough people have bought your art to realise that it's going to last longer than you do.

Sculpture

• One of the artists selected for the ING creates wooden automata - which is something I haven't seen in a long time see Peters Wooden Automata

Art Business and Marketing

• ECCA (Enterprise Centre for the Creative Arts), University of the Arts London is running a course - aimed at students and graduates - on Get started as... a fine artist on 30th September
• They also have a very useful file to download called How to make money from your creativity - handout (41Kb pdf file)
• Luann Udell (Luann Udell) writes about business names in What's in a name
• Seth Godin - who's not an artist - has Five Rules for your About Page 
• Alyson Stanfield at Art Biz Blog suggests you Redefine Your Mailing List within the context of the fact that your contacts now grow outside your mailing list
• Gayle Mason (Fur in the Paint) has been prepping for Christmas Fine Art Christmas Cards and now has her ready for delivery, plus a 2011 calendar.  How many of you gear up for Christmas in this way?

Art and the Economy / Art Collectors

The Environment Trust in Richmond upon Thames is having an art auction on 21st October.  It has some well known artists contributing work to benefit the many environmental projects being supported by the Environment Trust.

Art Competitions and Art Societies

• The Annual Exhibition of the Society of Wildlife Artists opened at the Mall Galleries last Wednesday.  I tried to get to see it last Friday but was detained by making copies of Da Vinci drawings at the Royal Academy! 
• This post lists the ING Discerning Eye 2010 - selected artists plus what I think are websiteswhich show their work
• I'm not sure I told all the lovers of feline art about the SOFA slideshow of images in this year's annual exhibition
• The Best of WetCanvas Art Competition, 2010 has a $1,000 Grand Prize

Art Exhibitions and art fairs

• I reckon the big blockbuster London Exhibition this Autumn is going to be the Gauguin: Maker of Myth exhibition at Tate Modern which opens on Thursday.  As always the broadsheets have had an early look see (I'm going on Tuesday!) and....
• here's one report Gauguin at Tate Modern - and here's another Gauguin's double entendre nearly trips up the Tate Gallery
• this is a short 13 minute film about The Art and Letters of Gauguin
• A New York Times article about two places where you can currently see Monet in Paris - In France, Monet Is Rediscovered.  I do wish reviews by newspapers - when read onscreen - would give you the hyperlinks to the exhibition (as this blog does) - but they very often don't.  Here are the links!:
• Musée d'Orsay: Claude Monet (1840-1926) 22 Sept - 24 Jan 2011 a new exhibition has opened at the Grand Palais while the Musée d'Orsay undergoes works
• Musee Marmatton - which hasn't given up its iconic piece 'Impression Sunrise' to the exhibition (it's a David and Goliath story!)  A Museum for Monet - an exhibition at the Marmottan Monet Museum exhibition opens 7 October 2010 to 20 February 2011.  I think a day trip to Paris might just be in order.........

• Medicine and Healing trail: You can print out a file ofMedicine and Healing trail (PDF 275k) even if you can't get to the exhibition which allows you to explore art and medicine in the collections of the two London institutions - the Wellcome Collection and the NationalGallery.
• Botanicals: Environmental Expressions in Art, The Alisa and Isaac M. Sutton Collection September 4, 2010–January 9, 2011. This rare look at the largest American collection of contemporary botanical art comes to The New York Botanical Garden after showing at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh.

Art Education / workshops / Tips and techniques

Art instruction books

Color and Light Graphics from Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter

• It's getting nearer and nearer to publication date for James Gurney's (Gurney Journey) new book Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter - see Folded and Gathered for that all important colour proof stage
• Which is the best book for people wanting to learn to draw? is the question I asked this week.
• Mitchell Albala Essential Concepts of Landscape Painting has another post based on his book about Landscape Painting - see Excerpt from Chapter 5: Simplification and Massing 

Art Videos

• Michael Chesley Johnson has a new Full-Length Oil Video Now Available called Backpacker Painting: Outdoors with Oils

"Camelhead Backlit" 9x12, oil
featured in Backpacker Painting: Outdoors with Oil

Art class and workshops

• I came across the Norfolk Painting School this week and have been very impressed by its content - which relates to teaching people to paint in oils
• Jeanette Jobson will be teaching a workshop in gyotaku in March 2011 in St. John's, NL. Registration details will be available starting November 2010 on my blog and in the November newsletter.

Tips and techniques

• Quinn McDonald (QuinnCreative) tell us how to make an Index Card Idea Journal
• Charley Parker (Lines and Colors) reviews ArtRage 3 Studio Pro 
• Kerry Daley (Paint up a Storm) has some Handy Advice for The Beginner Artist

Art History

• Both the BBC and Channel 4 are providing comprehensive series of programmes this autumn - these are my summaries of what's on offer
• BBC:  New BBC Art Programmes this autumn has a number of series including one about the history of watercolour painting and travel, the art of Germany, the story of british sculpture and the fig leaf plus what happens when you look at renaissance art with the benefit of digital technology
• Channel 4:  New Channel 4 art programmes this autumn provides an overview of five topic areas delivered by five different individuals - all of whom like art but none of whom have any formal involvement with the art world.
• Do your television channels provide programmes which are accessible around the world?

Book reviews

A focus on Illustration this week - here are two posts from Escape from Illustration Island

• Andrew Loomis books - as recommended by James Gurney and apparently available to download as pdf files for personal educational use.
• 7 Illustration Books You Need to Read

Colour

• If your business brain thinks it's worth adjusting your palette for what's fashionable in colour terms then you might want to check out the colours identified by fashion insiders as being what we will be seeing in Spring 2011 in the latest PANTONE Fashion Color Report

Opinion Poll

• Don't forget to vote on this month's Making A Mark Opinion Poll - Which numerical performance measure matters most to you as an artist? (see right hand column).  This closes just after midnight GMT on Thursday.  The results will be published later the same day
• The Making A Mark opinion Poll for October will be published on the 1st October

Websites, webware and blogging

• James Gurney (Gurney Journey) was recently asked for his seven secrets of blogging - and you can find out what he had to say in How to Blog

and finally........

You couldn't make this up! Want to see a giant painted toads (some in pink and orange) selling for between £1,250 to £3,600 per toad?  The BBC has an article about painted toads which have been recently gracing the streets of Hull - see Hull's Larkin toads make £60,000 at charity auction

PS Sorry this is a bit late this week.  If it's not done by 5pm on Sunday I have problems getting it finished on Sundays!