The Artist's Year Book 2006

The Artist's Yearbook 2006 is edited by Ossian Ward and published by Thames and Hudson (and I've put a link to it in the business section in the right hand column - near the bottom!). It relates entirely to the UK art world and includes advice, information and contact details about:

• commercial galleries and dealers
• public museums and galleries
• art material suppliers and services
• framers and printers
• studios and exhibition spaces for hire
• art education and courses
• art fairs and festivals
• art prizes, open competitions and residencies
• arts boards, councils and funding opportunities
• societies and other arts organisations
• art magazines and PR contacts

Information is usefully disaggregated into regions and the internet making any searches in the larger sections a little bit easier. Over 2,500 organisations are listed. What I do when I come across books like this is pick them up in the book shop and then look for very specific things which I know about to see if they're included! While I found some omissions I also came across many more things that I never ever knew about. Overall, a very useful book to own.

This book shouldn't be confused with the Writers and Artists Yearbook published by A&C Black which is much more focused on resources for writers and is pretty lightweight in terms of resources for fine artists. My 2005 edition has listings which are useful for:

Illustrators

• art agents and commercial art studios
• card and stationery publishers which accept illustrations

Photographers

• picture agencies and publishers
• card and stationary publishers which accept photos
  

The information it contains about websites for artists is very summarised compared to the offered by the Thames and Hudson book

I'm happy for people to provide a brief summary of any other similar digests of information relating to other countries as a comment on this post - your views on how useful you have found them would also be very helpful.

Technorati tags: art, art business, art marketing

A Creative Leap

Penelope Dullaghan is an illustrator who runs Illustration Friday and has an interesting website (and web journal). She has recently written about how she became an illustrator.

If anyone is interested in making the leap to being self-employed I recommend a read of her presentation which she has now made available on the web.

Click here to read it.

Technorati tags: artist weblog , art blogs , artist websites, illustration

I made the front cover of FMP!

I had a big surprise this morning - but I think this is due to the little grey cells being in hibernation due to the weather! I opened up my April copy of Ann Kullberg's on-line magazine for coloured pencil artists "From My Perspective" - to find my Mixed Parrot Tulips piece on the front cover! Ann had asked me a little while ago whether she could use it but I'd totally forgotten! Nice to see it there though!

Ann's magazine is an absolute gold mine of information about all things relevant to coloured pencil artists. It's a subscription only arrangement - hence why I can't show you the cover - but in my opinion it's $25 p.a. well spent. Each magazine covers:

• Step by Step Lessons - covering a wide variety of topics - this month it's about the sorts of decisions which need to be made before starting a portrait
• Critiques: Ann provides a free critique to all subscribers to FMP, and features one in the online magazine each month. Her critiques relating to portraiture - which is her particular area of expertise are especially valuable
• Q and A: questions posed by members get answered by Ann each month. This is particularly useful when you've got a question and none of the reference books seem to provide the answer
• Tips of every description (this month's examples are in brackets) - from saving time to supplies to art techniques (e.g. analysing colour) to technology tips including working with Photoshop (e.g. use of the lasso tool) to business issues (e.g. the production and marketing of giclee prints of CP artwork)
• Profiles of individual subscribers - it's always interesting to see how other people started out and what they did to achieve where they are today - and particularly interesting if the individual concerned is now a professional success! It's also nice to be able to peek at piccies of people's studios - I just love looking at other people's studios!

In addition there are a couple of on-line exhibitions each year for members and member discounts on tools purchased from Ann. I know an awful lot of people think her portrait skin tones kit is "the business".

For anybody interested in finding out more about the magazine, these are the links to:

• Ann's website - "Ann Kullberg- For All things Coloured Pencil"
• the FMP magazine page
• the free sample issue

[Updated 4.4.06 to include a small image of 'Mixed Parrot Tulips' as requested]

Technorati tags:art , coloured pencils , colored pencils , drawing , drawing people , painting , pencil , pencils , portrait

Painting Personality Quiz

Something to have a bit of fun with.............

Some friends and I have been trying the Painting Personality Quiz (provided by About.com). There's just 10 simple questions and then it tells you what sort of painting would suit you best on the basis of your answers.

I found it surprisingly accurate for me - telling me I should be using pastels and acrylics. I've been a pastel painter for the last 12 years or so and I've just bought my first set of acrylics!

Tell me if you try it and get any interesting results - or maybe you fooled it? ;)

Artists' Kew

I'm currently keeping an eye on the Kew bulb map (which indicates what's blooming in March and April) - but need some better weather for a plein air painting visit! I keep monitoring the BBC 5 day weather forecast and have learned that it doesn't do to trust the prediction for the fifth day. I've watched predicted sunshine - and planned a trip out - and then watched it turn into a prediction of blustery rain as the day got nearer on more than a few days this month! And then watched the rain go past my window in a horizontal fashion. I christened horizontal rain "Penzance rain" a few years back due to an unfortunate but very intimate acquaintance with rain straight from a trip over several hundred miles of the Atlantic Ocean. London has felt a bit like Penzance at times this month...........

The Spring edition of the Kew Magazine indicates that there is going to be an exhibition "Artists' Kew" in the Kew Gardens Gallery between 9 May and 18 June during Garden opening times. The website introduces it as follows

Artists' Kew is an exhibition celebrating the Royal Botanic Gardens and its surroundings in Kew. The pictures will express the whole Kew experience from the botanical treasures of the Royal Botanic Gardens to the charms of the riverside and the architectural heritage of the local area including Kew Green, Kew Village and Kew Bridge.

Technorati tags: art , flower drawings , flower paintings , Kew , painting , Plein air painting