Golden Oldie #4: Van Gogh and Drawing - art media and techniques

Two posts this time - about Vincent Van Gogh and his drawing materials and techniques.  

Tree with Ivy in the Garden of the Asylum
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890),
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, May-June 1889
pencil, reed pen and brush and ink, on paper, 61.8 cm x 47.1 cm
Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Golden Oldie #4: Van Gogh and Drawing - art media and techniques

The two posts are from 2007 and 2021. I've updated both where it was needed.

Van Gogh: Drawing media and techniques (2nd February 2007)

This has been one of my most popular posts - on a perennial basis - since I started this blog.

This post focuses on Van Gogh's drawing materials (pencil, pen and ink, prints, brush and colour) and how they influenced his techniques and style.

I've also 

• resized the images
• removed dead links
• included UPDATES about research about the media he used

More about Van Gogh and his drawings and drawing techniques (28th September 2021)

This provides a summary of the information about Van Gogh's drawing materials and techniques that was mainly published AFTER my blog post from 2007.

It's not comprehensive but provides a good overview of what's been added to resources in recent years - and that includes some of the Wikipedia information!

I've also only had to update two links (both incidentally to the same website - the Foundation Vincent Van Gogh Arles) - which indicates this is perennially sound information!

Michael Skalka knows about art materials!

I first "met" (as in online) Michael Skalka many years ago when I was looking into the lightfastness of art materials. At the time, Michael was 

• Chairman of the D01.57, Artists' Paints and Related Materials subcommittee of the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) - which he still chairs.
• Conservation Administrator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington (for over 37 years) - where he managed the daily operations of the Conservation Division. He retired recently.

We started to correspond about lightfastness and have continued off and on over the years. 

Since he retired he's started a retirement project and is posting about fine art materials on his new website/blog Syntax of Color. This site provides a HUGE amount of expert and reliable information about fine art materials and their constituents (past and present) - which is very accessible.  I did a massive online colour project back in 2008 and learned an enormous amount about colour and pigment/materials performance (and have continued to remain interested in the topic ever since) - but Michael continues to publish consistent good quality information on a regular basis which I've not come across before which is both very interesting and informative. Plus he writes well!

I highly recommend Syntax of Color to all those interested in using colour in their art and looking to develop their knowledge of the fine art materials they use.

FIND OUT more about what it covers below - it also covers a number of related fine art materials for painters.

What does Syntax of Colour cover?

The Syntax of Color website provides the following - with examples:

• Various posts about PIGMENTS and different colours - including ones from the past  e.g.
• Through Thick or Thin? - a commentary on the thickness and viscosity of paint in tubes
• Permanent Green Light - how it came about and how to make it
• Henry Levison: A Debt of Gratitude - a history of permanent pigments
• HISTORICAL Artist Materials e.g. 
• Frankly My Dear, I Don’t Give a Lake! - about the origins and traditions of lake pigments and paints
• CHEMICALS used in Art  e.g.
• The Unvarnished Truth - a commentary on the use of old and contemporary varnishes for paint

While not having done a survey, I would safely say that no conservator would advocate the use of epoxy resin as a surface coating for a work of fine art.

• COLOR MEASUREMENT  e.g.
• The Color of Everything - about the contribution of the brewing industry to the measurement of colour.
• informative posts about HEALTH and SAFETY e.g.

More about Van Gogh and his drawings and drawing techniques

One of my most popular posts - on a perennial basis - since I started this blog is one about Van Gogh: Drawing media and techniques which was published in February 2007 as part of one of my very first learning projects recorded on this blog.

This 'resources for artists' post summarises:

• what the 2007 post covers
• new information about Van Gogh's drawings, swing materials and drawing techniques made available since 2007

"Garden with Flowers" (August 1888, Arles) by Vincent Van Gogh

Reed-pen and ink, Height: 61 cm (24 in); Width: 49 cm (19.2 in)

Van Gogh: Drawing media and techniques  (2007)

In summary this post focuses on 

• Van Gogh's drawing materials (pencil, pen and ink, prints, brush and colour) and 
• how they influenced his techniques and style.

New Information about Van Gogh and drawing

What follows was mainly published AFTER my blog post from 2007. It's not comprehensive but provides a good overview of what's been added to resources in recent years - and that includes some of the Wikipedia information!

Cafe Terrace at Night (Sept 1888, Arles) by Vincent Van Gogh

chalk, reed pen, India ink and graphite on laid paper

Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection

This post lists links to more information about Van Gogh and the way he drew

• Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890): The Drawings | Metropolitan Museum of Art - which held the iconic exhibition of his drawings just before I wrote my first blog post (see Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. See on MetPublications)
• Catalog of all Van Gogh's work - which includes his drawings | Van Gogh Gallery - except to my mind this is incomplete with respect to the drawings (if you search by media) - or the descriptive identifiers are incomplete
• List of Drawings by Vincent Van Gogh | Wikipedia - ordered by year and then by catalogue number.     
• Drawings by Vincent Van Gogh | Wikipedia - with sub-sections related to the location of 
• where drawings were created
• which museum they are in now
• Portrait drawings by Vincent van Gogh‎ | Wikipedia
• Missing Van Gogh Artwork | Van Gogh Galleries - which includes numerous drawings and images taken when they were still in circulation
• Van Gogh Drawings in Arles | Foundation Vincent Van Gogh Arles

For the first three years of his career, he worked mainly as a draughtsman. A good command of drawing was traditionally considered to be an essential basis for painting, and Van Gogh cherished that principle. As a result, he became an excellent draughtsman long before his paintings started to show real promise. Van Gogh Drawings in Arles | Foundation Vincent Van Gogh Arles

This is a video of Van Gogh sketches - Vincent van Gogh: A collection of 1185 sketches (HD)

LOCKDOWN ART#1: Working in a Series #1

We are now in the third TOTAL LOCKDOWN in the UK - and it's winter - so I'm going to create some resources for artists wanting:

• to learn more about art and/or 
• some stimuli for making art - within the constraints of the lockdown limitations on where we can go and what we can do.

Initially I'll be looking at my past blog projects about

• working in a series 
• understanding colour
• understanding composition.

A Making A Mark Project - Working in a Series

Back in 2008, I developed a series of posts on my art blog "Making A Mark" about working in a series as an artist - and subsequently developed a site (now unpublished) about "working in series".

I'm resurrecting those posts - or links to them - on this blog in order to provide a resource for those who would like to have a go at developing a series.

These blog posts explored:

• reasons why artists work in a series
• reviewed Monet and his series paintings
• considered specific series by Monet - the stacks of wheat and the paintings of Rouen Cathdral

These are those blog posts. Bear in mind when you read a post that, while the general principles and points made are perennial, some of the details re links to individual artists may have changed since it was first published.

• A Making A Mark Project - Working in a series - This post starts my project about working in a series
• What are your reasons for working in a series? - I've come to the conclusion there are probably four main categories of reasons why artists work in a series. Within each category there are more specific reasons. 
• investigate and explore - subject 
• investigate and explore - technique 
• emotional

• Making A Mark Poll: What's the main reason why you work in a series? - The question is: What's your MAIN reason for working in a series? With the emphasis being on the word MAIN. Having recognised there's lots of reasons why we work in series I want to try and pin it down a bit more and see if you can work out which is usually the dominant reason for you.

• Why and how Monet developed his series paintings - This post looks at:
• why Monet painted series paintings
• when he painted his series paintings
• the various reasons leading to his choice of subject matter
• which paintings are regarded as part of his series paintings
• and finally, how he actually designed and painted the series paintings from a practice perspective.

Wheatstacks (end of summer) 1890-91 - Claud Monet
Oil on canvas, 60 x 100 cm (23 5/8 x 39 3/8 in);
The Art Institute of Chicago

• Monet's series paintings - stacks of wheat - About the motif, design and execution of the series of paintings of stacks of wheat
• Monet's series paintings - Rouen cathedral - An account of Monet's series paintings of Rouen Cathedral

La cathédrale dans le brouillard 

by Claude Monet

(included in the Sotheby's sale on 3rd November 2008)

12 good reasons to paint in a series

Tomorrow I'll be looking at 12 good reasons to paint in a series and thereafter will 

• explore each reason further
• with links to further information, images and resources about famous artists who produce work in a series.

MAMA #1: Charles Sovek's comprehensive website of resources for artists

The Making A Mark Archive (MAMA)

This is a new bit of routine for me - digging out a post from 14 years of archived blog posts about art - to provide you with new things to look at and/or new things to do.

• I'm going to work my way through the years, starting in 2006
• I'll also try and stick closely to the current calendar date - but x years ago!
• When I get to 2019, I'll start again in 2006 - and continue until this horrible health crisis is over. I've got masses of great content in the archives of this blog and this is one way of sharing it!

Here's one inspiration for why I'm doing this.....

MAMA #1:  Charles Sovek's comprehensive website of resources for artists

On March 25th 2006, I posted about the wonderful website of resources created by artist Charles Sovek in Charles Sovek - Lessons from the Easel

"I found a veritable feast of resources for all sorts of artists when I browsed around Charles Sovek's website after being given a link to one part of it as a reference for a project.

Although Charles Sovek works in oil, acrylic and gouache, the material he provides about art is universal. Sadly, it's very rare to find such a comprehensive and good resource on an artist's website - and so I'm obviously going to share!"

EXAMPLE: Charles Sovek wrote articles for "The Artist's Magazine" over a 20-year period beginning in 1985.

Here are some links from one page of the website

• The Key to the City - October, 2005
• True Colors - August, 2002
• Breaking the Ice - November, 2000
• The Surprising Color of Gray - August, 1999
• Capturing Green - July, 1995
• Mixing Colorful Grays in Oil - November, 1992
• Strong and Simple: Discovering Fairfield Porter - May, 1992
• Going Over The Edge - March, 1992
• Creating Effective Shadows - November, 1991
• Finding the Three Shapes Under Everything - October, 1991
• Light and Color, Sorolla Style - December, 1990
• Turn On the Glittering Light of Impressionism: The Art of Frank Benson - October, 1989
• Secrets of Sargent's Watercolors - April, 1989
• Paint Like a Master Impressionist: The Art of Edward Potthast - December, 1988
• Beating the Background Blues - November, 1988
• Simplifying Your Painting: The Art of Alfred Chadbourn - March, 1987
• Catching Light in Your Paintings - October, 1984

I RECOMMEND you click every link and pic you see on the website, there's a LOT MORE than is apparent at first glance! 

Please also SHARE with any artist groups who you think might benefit from access to resources for artists - during the current emergency.

Thoughts while hibernating - about new websites

This time of year I like to hibernate. It's the short days.  It also gives me time to think about what next...

In recent weeks I've been trying to work out what to do with respect to this blog and other things I want to do.  Hence the long gaps between very sporadic posts.

I operate by making use of (I hope) intelligent use of my gut reaction a lot of the time. This in turn is influenced by lots of bits of information picked up along the way, around and about. If my gut won't let me do something I have to listen to it.

Just recently it's been telling me to stop and think and to not be a slave to my regular blog posts and to think about what else I want to do.

Today I was advising somebody about a matter she was involved in where she could see she had opted for the short term least resistant option. I counselled that, in general, it's far better to think much longer term - and then match up your short term actions to steps to achieving where you want to be in the longer term - so that your short term actions match up and support your long term goals.

Which is not say you can't go off piste from time to time - but it can be risky - even terminal....!

Bottom line - I've been trying to get a couple of new "resources for artists" websites off the ground now for two years. They've been sat in draft and while they progress a little bit from time to time, they really need some concerted work to get them sorted enough to publish.

One of them is below.

The Home Page of my Tips for Artists website - a work in progress

The websites are informed by the fact that

• lots of visits to my blog are visiting old blog posts
• this blog has been very diverse in its nature whereas there's a trend to become increasingly focused around specific topics - and the development of niche websites.

A lot of visits to this blog are accessing past blog posts

By past I mean ones I wrote years ago when I used to do a major blog project each year.

I used to have a strategy for making archived blog posts relating to past projects or long term topics of interest - like Composition and Colour - more accessible which worked well. 

However that got scuppered some time ago when Seth Godin sold out of an enterprise I was involved in which gave me scope to provide individual websites for individual topics - at no cost to me.

Niche websites work

So now - in order to make the information collected over the years writing this blog more accessible, I have to pay for the websites to develop the topic areas - and it's really stupid paying for websites which are not published!

My first two websites - Botanical Art and Artists  and Art Business Info for Artists - have had different levels of success - but are both now being increasingly referenced by a wider audience, many of whom did not know about Making A Mark.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that my first new website (about botanical art - a favourite topic of mine) is now MORE successful than Making A Mark.

• it took 5.5 years to get to one million visitors on Making A Mark (see
  Making A Mark notches up 1 million visits) 
• and I learned a lot while working on the blog which is why..... 
• it took me just 3.5 years to get to one million visits to Botanical Artists. It also has a low bounce rate because it is a niche audience and once found the devoted fans of botanical art tend to keep visiting!

So demand for the back catalogue + topic websites looking for a new home = a new niche website

It took a while to work out what these should be. They've also been through a few name changes

However, my consensus (after considerable internal debate - I give myself a hard time sometimes) is that they will be:

Retirement

Today I'm changing my life - and this blog.

I've been mulling over the future for some time. You may have noticed I posted much less frequently over the summer months.

I've decided that as I get older I want to spend more time being where I want to be, doing what I want to do, seeing what I want to see and being with the person I value the most.

In other words, two years past my very big birthday I want to retire and enjoy all the very many benefits of being a pensioner!  I've been one for ages but have not really made the most of the change in status. Instead I created another 'job' for myself - and that's what going to change.

My 'proper' retirement will continue to be active but with a change in priorities.

That means:

• "Less is more": still writing but less time blogging - on Making a Mark. I'll certainly continue to cover the art competitions and the open exhibitions of the national art societies in the UK which I enjoy hugely. However there's likely to be much less coverage of other exhibitions - except those I'm particularly interested in and want to share.  I gave up trying to do daily posts some time ago and now make more use of Facebook. There will be fewer blog posts going forward. Hopefully I'll get better at translating what I highlight on Facebook into a weekly post on Making A Mark - and also get back to featuring individual artists more. I'd like to write more articles for magazines - if they'll have me! 
• more time on the websites I do want to develop - that includes 
• the two published to date for Art Business Info for Artists and Botanical Art and Artists. There's still loads of content that needs to go on both those sites. These have their own blogs as well - with shorter blog posts!
• the two new websites I want to create relating to Fine Art Materials (currently a work in progress) and another site for resources for artists covering the basics e.g. drawing, composition, colour etc. The main reasons for doing this is educational - to highlight and make more accessible the resources that already exist on this blog and other great sites.
• more time on making my own art. Having cataracts, writing a book and various injuries etc all  took their toll on the ability and time for making art and I got out of the habit. I now need to get back into good habits! Maybe even selling some - you never know!
• more time visiting places I want to go and see - lots more gardens and galleries! I'd like to get back into regular sketching which took a severe knockback this year due to problems with walking and balance and needing to keep what I was carrying to a minimum.

a birthday trip seven years ago
the sort of place I want to be - visiting gardens and places where painters painted

He who must not be bored
while I sketch
- in another garden!

• more time on going out with "he who must not be bored while I sketch". He complains a lot about me always being on the computer so I'm going to do something about that! We're neither of us getting any younger and we need to make the most of our time together. 
• more time walking - to reduce weight and make life much more bearable as my bones and cartilage degenerates and soft tissue keeps tearing (I've been diagnosed with osteoarthritis on top of other joint problems). Getting the right balance between walking enough and yet actually remaining mobile continues to be a really major challenge (I seize up!). Achieving tolerable levels of pain would be great. 
• plus much more time on an absolute essential which is leaving my current home and finding a new one - without stairs - which will be more suitable for the very significant problems I have with mobility from time to time.  There's nothing quite like being unable to move up and down stairs easily due to injury to get you focused on what are the real priorities in life!

Once I've got myself settled in a new place I'll be able to reappraise and change my life again.

What do you think? Have I got my priorities right?

Retirement and Pensions for Artists

It's been a while since I mentioned the topic of planning for our retirement as artists. I know a lot of people aren't thinking about retiring as artists - but there does come a time for some artists when eyesight begins to fail and arthritis sets in!

Today I've published a new page about Retirement and Pensions for Artists on my Art Business Info for Artists website.

It includes all the available information I'm aware of which is accessible online. That said it's not a lot.

I'd be very happy to add to the page if people know of any online articles or information which would be a useful addition for readers of this page.

The content covers:

• Do artists ever retire? 
• Do artists ever make provision for a pension?
• POLL: Have you ever made provision for a pension?
• Using art as a pension pot
• Pensions: self-employment vs. employment
• Changes to pension planning
• How much state pension will you get (UK)?

It also includes a poll. It's a Polldaddy Poll so I've also been able to include it in this blog post as well. Do please vote for the option that best matches your circumstances.




Hopefully some of you will own up (anonymously of course!) and tell us what provision you have made for your retirement.  Once enough of us have voted we will be able to see whether our rate of provision is similar to the statistics collected through other surveys.

I have to confess I'm one of those artists who is extremely fortunate to already have my own pension - although my state pension seems to keep taking a backward step and kicks in at a later and later date every time I look!

I've also included on the webpage the link to how you can find out when your state pension will kick in if you don't know already.

QUESTION: What do you think is the best way for artists to prepare for their retirement?

A Guide to Selling Art

I've developed a new page on my Art Business Info for Artists website. It's part of a brand new section I'm developing about selling art. Two sub-sections I've started to develop relate to:

• selling via art dealers, art galleries and art agents
• selling art online via ecommerce

the starting page for the 'how to sell art' section of my website

Selling Art

This page provides a summary of different options for selling art via two different avenues:

• How to sell art via third parties
• How artists sell art direct to the customer

A Guide to Art Dealers, Art Galleries & Agents

This page is all about selling art via third parties such as art galleries. It covers:

• summaries of the different roles of the art dealer, art gallery and art agent
• an art gallery glossary
• advice from gallery owners 
• advice from art advisers
• notes about:
• how to get into an art gallery
• how to work with and within gallery contracts
• how to get an exhibition
• commission and what it means
• books about art galleries

I'm developing various pages about selling art. If any of you have written what you might think is a useful article (which can be found online) or a useful blog posts of interest to other artists please let me know and it might be possible to include a link to it in my new pages.

Ecommerce for Artists

This page is all about how to sell art online. It covers:

• The Rules: Law and Regulations about Selling Art Online - covering:
• E-commerce Law and Regulation in the UK
• E-commerce Law and Regulation in the USA (coming soon)
• TIPS for ecommerce online
• How to be safe and secure when selling online
• E-commerce software

5 tips for artists trying to get a grant

This post is for grant virgins and all those who would like to get better at making grant applications.

A friend asked me to help with a grant application today. She had been made aware of it at very short notice but decided to give it a go. The deadline was 5pm today. As it happened there was far too much to do within the time available. This reminded me of all the very many things you need to do before making a grant application. It struck me that as the deadline passed it might be worth writing down what I know about grant applications.  Plus pass on some links to helpful advice and information online (included after my five tips)

By way of an introduction, I should probably disclose that in my career, for a number of years, I was responsible for assessing many hundreds of grant applications for many £millions of public funding.

I was in fact one of those people that applications have to get past before recommendations are made to the "official body" as to whether a grant application should be granted or not.

This was a long time ago but the basic rules of how to satisfy somebody who hands out public funds never go away.

Much of what I highlight below is targeted at making it to the shortlist.  After all at the end of the day, those who are awarded grants should be those with the best proposals in terms of content. The key is to avoid tripping yourself up and falling over before the final hurdle.

Today, when I was looking at the information provided to applicants for the Visual Arts Grant the first thing I did was look for the answers to the first three tips below.

It's been a rollercoaster

Life has its ups and downs - with lots of twists and turns - rather like a rollercoaster.

I normally have a short break at the beginning of the New Year. This year it is complicated by the fact that transfer of my resources for artists sites from one host to another now appears to be unravelling in a major way.

I really have no time for websites which say one thing and then do another. Credibility and trust are important attributes when delivering a service.

I'm now looking to move all my content again so I can regain control over it!  Hence short break in posting and possibly more short breaks in the future.

As a result I am now reviewing options for how and where to put my information sites in future and currently exploring SquareSpace - which does its level best to look like "the Apple of website provision".

In the meantime I'm admiring the roller coaster effect of my brand new whacky wavy wooden box for my new set of 60 LIGHTFAST coloured pencils by Talens Rembrandt.  Talens were one of the original two companies who participated in the coloured pencils lightfastness trials run by the ASTM Subcommittee D01.57 on Artist Paints and Related Materials which produced the Lightfastness Standard for Coloured Pencils and which is currently working on one for Pastels.

I've been banging on about lightfastness for years - and I became a member of that Committee a while back.

'Making A Mark' passes 6 million pageviews - and resource move begins

On Saturday, Making A Mark notched up 6 million pageviews, since Blogger started counting in 2008.

What's even more amazing to me is that the last million pageviews have been achieved in just over seven months.

six million pageviews - spotted in the middle of Saturday afternoon
the redline marks the Blogger statistics

I little realised with I started this blog at the end of 2005, prior to going public in January 2006, that it would generate quite so much traffic!

My art and artists resources websites are on the move

Saturday was special in another way. At 1pm the editing function on Squidoo was switched off for the last time as the site begins to close down and those sites which have not been deleted begin their transfer to HubPages.

This is the URL of my account and subdomain http://makingamark.hubpages.com if you want ONE bookmark for access to all my art sites in future.

I now have to wait for my sites to start moving over - and this move may well start at some point this week as my account should be part of the early transfers.  However that assumes they iron out all the niggles and bugs associated with the transfer quickly.  It may well be that they won't start transferring until next week.

A redirect will be put in place so if you have of them bookmarked then you'll find you are automatically taken to the new site - on my Hub Pages subdomain (see above for the URL).  I'm not too clear how long this redirect works for so probably best to change the bookmark on your first visit.

This week

This week I am focusing on getting three drawings finished for Florum - a botanical art exhibition by leading botanical artists in Kent next month.

For that reason I'm going to be posting quickie posts this week which will feature collections of some of the resource websites which are moving.

Mainly because I think many of the new readers won't be aware of them! :)

Making A Mark on Art - and the end of Squidoo

Over the last seven years I've created some 160 websites about art (Making A Mark on Art) and artists (About Artists) on Squidoo. Yesterday I had news that Squidoo is closing down. Seth Godin has arranged for my featured sites to be merged with HubPages and the current links to them will become redirects after October.

I don't know if I'm surprised or not - I've been predicting the demise of Squidoo for some considerable time and if anything I'm only surprised it's survived for so long.

I now need to decide how and where I host my content in the future.

That's going to take a bit of time which means I think I need to take a break from blogging to make sure I've got all my content backed up and accessible if I need to move it to a new site within my control.  As you can imagine the notion of putting it on another website where somebody else determines what happens to it has little appeal right now!

I had already started planning what I'd do next. However that planning extended to one topic and I've now got lots to sort in an extremely short space of time.  However the good news is that at least I'm not on holiday unlike some poor souls who will come back to find their options very limited indeed!

My presence on Squidoo started off because I wanted a place to organise and host my bookmarks after a computer crashed and took them all with it!

My main reason for hosting on Squidoo was that it was free and it was very easy to add in new information to modules within my compendiums as time passed.  It was also an excellent way of grouping and clustering different sites on a topic and generally there were lots of good things about it. I often said I wished I could have the software for delivering the site - and use it on my own websites.

I now need to find a new way of delivering my content and this time I'm looking more closely at options for economical and easy ways of doing this on my own sites. Some may well migrate to HubPages but I think it's more than likely that some content will find another space to inhabit.

Any suggestions for good ways of hosting INFORMATION websites which are heavy on content are welcome.  These are ones which have

• content structured in an orderly way - all on one page
• plus links to lots of information and advice on other websites.

In the meantime here are links to some of the most popular of my websites - soon to be reinvented in another guise!

1. The Best Books about Drawing and Sketching

Do you want to learn how to draw? Want to find out which are the best books about drawing and sketching? This is a big site designed to help those who want to * LEARN TO DRAW * DEVELOP YOUR DRAWING SKILLS and learn about drawing at an advanced level

2. The Best Watercolour Paint for Artists

Do you want to know about: * which is the best brand of professional grade watercolour paints for artists? * the colour range and characteristics of different brand of artist-quality watercolour paint? Or maybe you want to know what other artists think about different brands of paint

3. Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists

Find out about coloured pencils and coloured pencil art and artists. This leading resource has information on every aspect of coloured pencils for everybody - from experienced artists to improvers and beginners wanting to learn all they can about how to work with coloured pencils.

4. How to pack, post and ship art - Resources for Artists [transferred to How to pack, post and ship art]

How do you pack art? How do you post art? How should you send a painting by post? How do you get artwork to an exhibition - and back again? What are the best packing materials? What are the best methods for different types of art? How do you ship art internationally? How should you pack a painting?

5. Pastels - Resources for Artists

For both new and experienced pastel artists - useful information and advice about: artist grade pastel brands | which are the best pastels | how to use pastels - including tips and techniques | pastel artists | pastels in art history

6. Top 10 Art Galleries and Museums in the World

Find out which are the top ten art galleries and museums in the world - based on visitor numbers in 2013 - and how to visit them in person or virtual reality. Find out the answers to: * Which is the top museum in the world - and year after year? * Which is top art gallery in the USA? *

7. How to write an Artist's Statement - Resources for Artists [transferred to the NEW How to write an Artist's Statement]

An Artist's Statement is essential - but lots of artists dread writing a statement about their art! DO YOU NEED HELP? Do you need a statement for an art competition, an exhibition catalogue, a grant proposal or a website - but not know how to express your art in words?

8. The Best Watercolour Painting Instruction Books

Do you need an instruction book about how to paint in watercolour? Do you want to develop your skills in painting with watercolour? Do you want to find out more about watercolour art and artists who use watercolour?

9. How to sign a painting, drawing or fine art print

What's the best way for an artist to sign a painting? Should you date as well as sign a painting? How should you sign a fine art print? How can you identify the genuine signature of an artist? Where can I see artists signatures?

10. Composition and Design for Artists

Do you want to know more about "the rules" of Composition? Or an explanation of the Principles and Elements of Composition and Design? Have you ever tried to make your artwork more pleasing to the eye? Or wanted to know what makes some paintings draw you in?

11. Online Art Galleries and Stores for Artists

Online galleries offer to help you sell your ORIGINAL ART - but do they actually work? Which is the best and which gets the most traffic? This site provides you with lots of information. So - if you're trying to find out more about online art galleries - this is the site for you!

12. How to Price Your Art - Resources for Artists [transferred to the NEW How to Price your Art]

Check out different approaches to "how to price art". Identify costs that need to be recovered, review different pricing models and factors that influence the setting of prices Many artists ask the question "How should I price my art?" - especially emerging artists getting to grips with the art business

13. How to write an Artist's Resume or CV [transferred to the NEW How to write an Artist's Resume or CV]

How do you summarise your life as an artist in a CV or resume for galleries, exhibitions and potential employment? Do you understand the difference between an artist's CV, artist resume and a bio - and how to write them?

14. The Best Botanical Art Instruction Books [transferring to the NEW The Best Botanical Art Instruction Books]

Learn about botanical art and botanical illustration from the best botanical art instruction books, covering every aspect you need to know about. Read reviews about which are the best botanical art instruction books

15. The Best Art Books - Colour

Read the best books for artists and painters about understanding colour, mixing colours and using colour in paintings. * Find out which are the leading art books about colour. * Read associated art book reviews.

16. The Best Art Books - Composition and Design

Find out which are the best art books about composition and design for art students, leisure painters, improving and advanced artists and art teachers. This site is for those who to learn more about: * composition and design in art * how to draw the eye and lead it around your painting.

17. Print Art on Demand - Resources for Artists

Check out the suppliers of print on demand ( POD ) services for Art Prints / Art Books & Catalogues. Review what artists think of them & traffic to their sites. Find out about: - what is print on demand / publish on demand? - suppliers of print on demand services for art - and reviews

18. The Best Books about Oil Painting

Do you need an instruction book about how to paint in oils? Want to develop your skills in painting with oils? Are you interested in knowing more about oil painting and oil painters? Find out about art instruction books and books about artists painting in oils

19. Art Supplies Around The World - Resources for Artists

Where are the best art shops? If you're an artist and want art supplies while travelling - where should you go? If you want to know the answers to those questions, bookmark this site as I've started an inventory of links to websites and address and contact details for art suppliers recommended by me

20. The Art Business for Artists [see the NEW website Art Business Info. for Artists]

Do you want to know more about the business side of being an artist? Or maybe you're looking for a particular piece of business information for artists? Whether you are an emerging or experienced artist, this site provides you with a link to information and advice about professional development

Tips about how to write an artist statement

What's the best way to write an artist statement is a perennial topic of interest to artists.

That's why I put together a compendium of all the best resources which are available for free online - see How to write an Artist's Statement. [Note: Links in this post have been updated due to a move of the content to a new website]

It contains:

• an explanation of What is an artist statement?
• an explanation of Why you need an artist's statement
• lots of links to various helpful and informative articles - and lots of tips - about how to write it -in TIPS on how to write an artist statement
• The language of an Artist's Statement contains the serious and funny side of language for an artist's statement.
• information about the sort of information it should contain - see What you need to include - and what you need to leave out
• a review how to present an Artist Statement - see how and where to present your Artist Statement
• Examples of Artist Statements

61% of people who reviewed the (previous) site said it helped them with writing an artist statement. [The new one is better!]

Plus for those feeling depressed about trying to write their artist statement there's also one or two lighthearted links for you to view.

Links to my blog posts about writing an artist statement

• MAKING A MARK: Is my artist statement done?
• MAKING A MARK: Translating and Updating an Artist's Statement
• MAKING A MARK: Marketing Art - How to write an Artist's Statement

How to write an artist's CV

How to write an Artist's Resume or CV

If you want to know how to write an artist's CV or resume - for an art exhibition, an art gallery, employment or a grant application I recommend you visit the website I've compiled - How to write an Artist's Resume or CV.  This provides advice and contains links to information about what you should and should not include and what sort of records you should keep so as to keep your CV updated.

This is what it covers:

• How to summarise your Life as an Artist - the cv, the resume and the biography - this looks at the differences between the three different ways of summarising your artistic life.

THE CURRICULUM VITAE - FOR ARTISTS - the CV is a record of all of your professional activities and is intended for use in academic situations.

• What is a CV?
• How to construct a CV for an Artist or Art Professional
• Formatting a CV
• The Covering Letter
• More tips about producing a CV
• Sample Resumes and CVs
• Famous artists - the facts

THE RESUME - FOR ARTISTS - The Artist Resume is typically 1-4 pages long and is a summary typically used for approaches to commercial galleries, the search for exhibition opportunities, and certain grant applications.

• Ask Harriete on How to Write a Resume & Looking for a Job
• Art Biz Blog on How to write a Resume
• What Galleries and Art Dealers expect from an Artist Résumé

THE BIOGRAPHY - FOR ARTISTS - usually relates to the wider context of your life in general

It also provides links to my other business websites for artists in Business Perspectives for the business-like Artist

Links: How to write an Artist's Résumé or CV

A Compendium of Colour

This is the second in my compendium posts about Popular Art Topics from the Archives. This one is all about colour.  Feel free to bookmark it!

(ie I've got my head down writing my book about drawing and sketching!)

It's maybe worth mentioning that my blog posts about colour and colour theory also got the thumbs up from James Gurney in the Internet Resources about Colour identified in his book "Color and Light - A Guide for the Realist Painter" which I'm also very happy to recommend!

makingamark.blogspot.com - Various resources for artists, including summaries about colour theory with additional linksJames Gurney

Goethe Colour Diagramsin the first plate of Zür Farbenlehre (Theory of Colors) (1810)
courtesy WebExhibits - Colour Vision and Art
Curated by Michael Douma

What is Colour? (9th June 2008) 

Sets out the seven ways I've decided to try and answers the question "What is Colour?"

Colour - a scientific perspective (10 June 2008)

This post focuses on the science of colour – in simple terms:

• The defining characteristics of colour
• How colour is made
• How we see and think about colour

Colour - a materials perspective #1 - pigments and dyes (25 June 2008) 

This post provides a materials perspective on colour for artists and a basic overview of pigments and dyes.

Colour - pigments and related colours (26 June 2008)

I want a table which tells me all about different colours - and relates pigment to colour names to chemical names and then explains what all that means. But can I find one on the internet? (Note: I was well advanced with this table but then lost if when a computer blew up and haven't had the heart to try and reinstate it!)

Colour - naming dyes, pigments and paints (27 June 2008) 

Every pigment has an international classification and standardised name but not every colour is what it says it is.

Hues - a systems perspective (8th July 2008) 

A detailed examination of systems which explain primary colours

Describing a colour space - there's more than one colour wheel! (10 July 2008) 

About a Matrix of Theories about Colour Space - which is the method I've adopted to categorise some of the people who have tried describe colour in terms of spatial relationships - to describe a colour space.

A Matrix of Colour Space Theories (pdf file) (2008) 

Table of colour theories organised by approach to colour theory - additive, subtractive and partitive

Complementary Colours and mixing neutral colours (15 July 2008) 

How to identify complementary colours in the context of different shapes which explain colour theory

Analogous Colours 

This post is an attempt to redress the balance on the paucity of online information about analogous colours - but it also recommends other sources of even better advice and information!

Colour Schemes: Split Complementaries, Triads and Tetrads (18 July 2008) 

Discusses and explains three colour schemes used by professional artists:

• Split Complementary - a colour plus the two colours either side of its complementary colour 
• Triad - any three colours which are equidistant on the colour wheel
• Tetrad - any four colours which are equidistant on the colour wheel

Symbolic Colour (24 July 2008) 

This post provides an overview of some of the meanings of different colours - and the origins of some of those meanings.

Why your colours onscreen don't look the same when printed (10 March 2011) 

Have you ever wondered why your images onscreen don't come out looking the same when printed? This post discusses: how the CMYK model works; why RGB files don't look like CMYK files and how to convert an RGB file to a CMYK file for printing purposes

Artist Quality Pigments & Artists' Colourmen 

Lots of photos of pigments and some links to websites which describe and record Artists' Colourmen.

Book Reviews

• Learning about Colour - Art Book Reviews for Artists #1
• Using Colour - Art Book Reviews for Artists #2

Resources for Artists

Information sites created by makingamark

• Colour - Resources for Artists
• Colour Theory for Artists
• The Best Art Books - Colour
• The Best Artist Guides for Mixing Colours

What can artists claim as business expenses - for tax purposes?

Here's a list of business expenses which can normally be claimed for tax purposes by an artist who is making a serious effort to sell art and make money. 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

To be able to claim expenses and a self-employed status you must be conducting your business in a professional way and with the intention of making a profit.

In other words you must be able to show it's not just a hobby. The tax authorities will not allow you to make endless losses which fund your hobby as an amateur artist.

Also - you do need to have

• registered as self-employed to claim expenses 
• produced accounts.

Allowable Business Expenses for Artists

General principles

The general principal which applies to artists is you can claim items which you need to make and sell art - for a profit.

Thus you can claim for items which are:

• directly and wholly related to making art 
• generally accepted as normal and used by many artists when making art
• not unduly excessive or extravagant.

Below I've included notes about normal business expenses

Do please comment and suggest anything else you think should be included.  I'll update this post with good suggestions - and give credit and a link to your blog.

A Compendium of Composition and Design

While I'm writing the book, I'm going to highlight some popular blog posts from the past.

This post is about the posts associated with a major project on composition and design at the beginning of 2008.  It's particularly useful for those who like their art to be drawing or painting.

• Composition and Design - An Introduction 14 Jan 2008
• Composition - The Elements of Design 15 Jan 2008 - An overview of the Elements of Design which are Value, Colour, Shape, Form, Space, Line and Texture
• Composition - Principles of Design 16 Jan 2008 - This post focuses on balance, emphasis. harmony, movement, pattern, proportion, rhythm, unity and variety
• Composition and Design - A Digest #1 21 Jan 2008 - This post lists and provides a synopsis of books about composition or books which have helpful sections about composition.
• Composition and Design - finding and creating a focal point 24 Jan 2008 - This post is about how to create a focal point in a picture. It provides a synopsis of various approaches used by artists to find and create a focal point.
• Composition - the four most important lines 28 Jan 2008 - There are various views about how to crop a subject and a lot that can and has been said on this topic. 

How the "Rule of Thirds" approximates to "The Golden Mean"
My diagram which compares "the golden mean" and "the rule of thirds"
plus identification of the 'sweet spot' area and how this can be used for the focal point
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

• Composition - thinking in threes 29 Jan 2008 - The 'rule of thirds' is an approximation of the 'golden ratio'. This post provides a diagram comparison - using algebra and numbers of
  "the golden mean" and "the rule of thirds" plus identification of the 'sweet spot' area and how this can be used for the focal point
• Composition - using PS Elements to help with design This post is about using tools in Adobe Photoshop or PS Elements to help with your composition.
• Composition - why tonal values and contrast are important 06 Feb 2008 - Time and time again when entering a gallery, the painting which stands out from the crowd is the one which has a strong design and value pattern.
• Composition: a range of perspectives 29 Feb 2008
• The influence of Japanese Art 03 Mar 2008
• Principles of design and composition and ukiyo-e 12 Mar 2008

As a result of the project I created a website which is now called Composition and Design for Artists [being moved to a new website about Tips for Artists - I'll let you know when it's been republished]

You can also consult The Best Art Books - Composition and Design which was developed subsequently. [ditto - on the move]

I've also included subsequent posts reviewing books about composition and design.

• Greg Albert - The Simple Secret to Better Painting 17 Jan 2008 The book I always recommend to people who want to learn more about composition and design is Greg Albert's "The simple secret to better painting"
• Mastering Composition - a recommended read  01 May 2008