Practice, experience and style

New Hampshire Pears
coloured pencils on colourfix
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I received an email comment from John Kinney about my post about plagiarism last week.  I suggested that it might work better as a blog post.

It reflects on the notion and value of daily practice - a point highlighted  in a number of comments on recent posts.

Here's what John thinks

As someone familiar with daily painting, although not a painter and certainly not an expert on the subject, I’d like to draw attention to a few comments already made, and share the questions these have inspired in me, and, I hope, in others...

Review: Royal Watercolour Society - Spring Exhibition 2011

This week it's going to feel a bit like watercolour back to back.

This post is about the Royal Watercolour Society's Spring Exhibition at the Bankside Gallery on the South Bank - which continues until 15th April 2011. The Royal Watercolour Society was founded in 1804 and is the oldest watercolour society in the world.

Then today Sarah Wimperis (The Red Shoes) and I are planning to visit

• the new Watercolour exhibition at Tate Britain 
• before hitting the Private View for the 199th Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of  Painters in Watercolour in the afternoon.

27th March 2011 - Who's made a mark this week?

Congratulations to Keiko Tanabe and the folks who are participating in the Daily Paintworks Help Japan Challenge.  334 paintings have been submitted to date on the theme of Home and sales have so far raised just over $18,000 for Japan.

Please note that the Help Japan challenge does not have an end date.  Click the link above to see the paintings on offer.

I had a good look trough the paintings on offer to find one to feature on the blog this week.  This one by S.P. Goodman (SP Goodman - Small Scale Paintings) although a painting of Vermont reminded me of the pictures of the great empty space in Japan which have been periodically covered by snow.

What must it be like to lose your home, your job and most of your friends and family in the space of a few minutes? 

Stand of Trees #II by SP Goodman (Small Scale Paintings)
- being auctioned for Japan (proceeds to Red Cross)

I have called Vermont home for almost 40 years and feel a strong attachment to its mountains, valleys, forests and rivers. All proceeds from this painting will go to the Japanese Red Cross.

I really like what Steven achieves with his palette knife and his steady habit of producing a small scale painting for sale via his blog about once a week.  He has a great set of paintings on his website as well - particularly the landscapes.  Steven is teaching a workshop on Surface and Space at the Sedona Art Center, September 26-30, 2011

Art Blogs

Original art

This week has seen a fair old debate about the topic of style, creating a body of art, derivative art, copying, copyright infringements and 'crossing the line' in relation to original art and painting like other artists. 

• Make your own art! focuses on why original art is best and why every artist has it in them to be a complete original. This followed on from
• Plagiarism or 'passing off' - it's got to stop which got a lot of visitors this week and an awful lot of comments.  It includes definitions of both plagiarism and derivative art.  The post has been revised since first published for the reasons stated in the introduction to the revised post.  It invites readers to have a discussion - with an educational intent - about what is and is not OK in relation to copying, plagiarism, imitation and derivative art.
• Sue Favinger Smith (Ancient Artist) posted a thoughtful response in When Art Becomes a Business Model - A Response to Katherine Tyrrell
• while Viven Blackburn (paintings prints and stuff) also responded with a post about A 'style' of your own?
• Meanwhile here's two views on the recent court ruling that Richard Prince's appropriated art is a copyright infringement.
• Jonathan Jones asks whether Richard Prince is betraying modern art? in Does Richard Prince's work reflect the creativity or cynicism of modern art?
• Edward Winkelman gives a gallery owner's perspective on Appropriation Prohibition (or Why I Think Judge Batts Is Wrong).  
• While The Art Newspaper has a couple of posts this month about copying art - at either end of the spectrum
• Street artist Mr Brainwash sued over “copied” image 
• Even a talent like Titian couldn’t resist copying

Alleged copyright infringements abound today, but neither the practice of artistic borrowing nor its potential legal ramifications are a novelty.....

Drawing and sketching

• Laura Frankstone has a post about My big fat black journal on The Artists Journal Workshop - who makes an important point in the context of some of the wider discussions on this blog this week
  

this new journal of mine is about process and not product. It’s about communication with the self, not with others.

Collage

• I like looking at the blogs of collage artists - artists who delight the eye with their creativity.  This is Carol Reid's blog - Carol Reid - Artist

Coloured Pencils and Pastels

• Pastel artist Astrid Volquardsen has changed her blog domain - and you can now find her new blog at Malerin des Lichts.  For English readers a lot has changed, because navigation and information about her work is now completely in English.  You can download and read more about Astrid in an interview in the February issue of the Pastel Guild of Europe's newsletter

Painters and Painting 

I've been taking a look at a lot of painting blogs this week - some new and some I've not visited in a while. 

• Kathryn Law - (KathrynLaw) made an impassioned comment on the topic of copying art so I went to take a look and found this excellent post about painting Figures
• When writing my post about Make your own art! I started to look around at daily painting blogs to see who was being unique, original and not painting the ubiquitous fruit.  One such blog is Stephen Magsig's Postcards from Detroit.  As well as painting on a regular basis, Stephen is also doing something which is culturally worthwhile - he's documenting a city which is undergoing significant change.  It adds value to his work.  (Stephen - the answer to your question about the painting below is Yes!)

72nd Street, The Dakota by Stephen Magsig
Oil on linen/panel,   2011   7x5"

Wildlife Art

• Congrats to awardwinning artist Tracy Hall (Watercolour Artist) who lives on Orkney and paints nature in detail heard that one of her miniature works has been selected for the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition and shortlisted for the Wildlife Artist of the Year.
• If you've ever wondered what's involved in creating a book of paintings of wild flowers of an area you might like to read the blog about the development of The Orkney Book of Wildflowers.

Art Business and Marketing

Two blog posts on the topic of artists' retirement!

• Edward Winkelman (edward_ winkleman) tackled a topic not often seen on artist's blogs - Retiring as an Artist | Open Thread
• plus this is the link to the post by Jonathan Jones of the The Guardian asks Real artists never retire – or do they?"

Lucian Freud and Cy Twombly are still painting, and still doing powerful work, in old age. Nor is the career longevity (and physical longevity) of artists just a product of modern healthcare. In the 16th century, both Michelangelo and Titian lived very long lives and both worked brilliantly into their last years.

• Joanne Mattera's lastest Marketing Mondays post is all about Studio Insurance

Art and the Economy / Art Collectors

• Arts Council told to sell off masterpieces in damning report by MPs - the report from the parliamentary select committee on culture criticises the funding body for "spending far too much on itself".  Next week arts organisations will be hearing how much money the are getting from the Arts Council.
• Alan Bamberger (artbusiness.com) has a new article for Artists - How to Network and Interact at Your Art Exhibits and Gallery Openings

Art Competitions

• Anybody wanting to submit an entry for the top competition for watercolour painters in the UK should read my post about the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition - Call for Entries
• The artists selected for the first Jerwood Makers Open have been announced.  A jeweller, ceramic artist, glassmaker and an installation artist have been awarded an equal share of £30,000 to create new work, which will go on display as part of the JVA programme at Jerwood Space in July.
• James Gurney has highlighted Two Chinese Art Competitions and he's judging one of them!
  

Art Exhibitions

Art Museum and Gallery Exhibitions

• Picturing the 1930s at the Smithsonian has two films about Visual Literacy and Expressionst Artists of the 1930s.  You can also see a slideshow of: "1934: The Art of the New Deal" »

Learn about the 1930s through eight exhibitions: The Depression, The New Deal, The Country, Industry, Labor, The City, Leisure, and American People. Artworks from the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection are supplemented with other primary source materials such as photographs, newsreels, and artists’ memorabilia.

• The Cult of Beauty: The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900 opens at The Victoria & Albert Museum on 2nd April.  It's all about exhibition of the 'Cult of Beauty' reflects how art spread into everyday life in the Victorian period.  This si the Guardian review of the exhibition -  The Aesthetic Movement
  
• The Jerwood Drawing Prize 2010 exhibition is currently in Carmarthen until Easter 

Artists exhibitions

• Belinda del Pesco (Belinda del Pesco Fine Art) and Laura Wambsgans are having a two person show with at Gale's Restaurant in Pasadena, CA. The Artists' Reception is Sunday April 10th from 4:00 - 6:00pm.

Solitude by Sue Favinger Smith

accepted into "WAOWing the Lone Star State",

the annual juried members exhibition for Women Artists of the West (WAOW)

held at the Rockport Art Centre, Texas, from May 11th through June 4th, 2011. 

Art Societies

• I had the very great pleasure last Sunday of attending the Annual Botanical Art Exhibition of the Royal Horticultural Society - see RHS Botanical Art Show & Five Gold Medal Winners and my sketch of the exhibition can be found on my sketchbook blog - see The Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Show
• I also wrote a post last week about to enter next year's show - see How to enter the RHS Botanical Art Show.  I hope those contemplating an entry and who have not visited will find the photographs of work by the gold medal winners in the two posts to be of interest.
• The blog of the Botanical Artists' Association of Southern Africa ~ Gauteng Branch features a Member of the Month page.  This is a great idea which other art society blogs could usefully adopt.
• Every now and again I come across a new art society blog.  This week it was the South African Society of Artists Blog
• I went to see the Royal Watercolour Society's Spring Exhibition at the Bankside Gallery on Friday - and enjoyed the coloured pencil and pastel - more about this in my review tomorrow 
• The Annual Conference of the Portrait Society of America is being held in Atalanta, Georgia next month

Art Studios

• Checkout Belinda del Pesco's set up with regard to lighting in her studio
• SouthwestArt provides a link to interviews with artists about their studios
  

Art Supplies

• Albrecht Rissler (Drawing Landscape) has written about Ko-i-Noor GIOCONDA Aquarelle, Berol Karisma Graphite Aquarelle.   Albrecht produces delightful drawings and so his recommendations as to tools to use are definitely worth reading.
  

Copyright

There's been a landmark judgement in the continuing digitisation saga of attempts to revise the originators rights over their own original work. Google has scanned 15 million books and put them online while it negotiated a settlement of the copyright issues.  A judge has now said they can't do this.  The decision has a direct impact on thousands of book authors and publishers.   It's an interesting judgement which might end up being relevant to aspects of art reproduction.  Here are some links:

• This is the 48-page ruling - only for the seriously interested!
• BBC News - Google books agreement torpedoed by US court - the plain english version
• Publishers Weekly - The Google Settlement Rejection: What Comes Next?

Opinion Poll

• The opinion poll for March closes this week.  You can find it in the right hand column.
  

Websites, webware and blogging

• How Google works - and has shaped the web includes two graphic images I have found enormously useful as a visual explanation of how Google works

and finally........

Two questions for those who live in the UK

• Did you remember to change the hour?  Or have you invested in what I've now got - an atomic clock so you never need get caught out by clock changes again.  All I've got to do now is change my internal clock!
• Did you remember to complete the census?  I forgot - but it looks like I may have saved myself the hassle of trying to do it online yesterday.  Now how many of you said you were an Artist?

I'm planning to go and visit my mother later this week so there will be no "Who's made a mark next week?"

Sunday Times Watercolour Competition - Call for Entries

The Call for Entries has gone out for the top watercolour competition in the UK - known as the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition - although it's actually sponsored by both Smith & Williamson and The Sunday Times.

Its purpose is to encourage the use of watercolour and water based media paintings among both artists and there are prizes worth £18,000 on offer.  It is open to both amateur and professional artists.

The deadline for submissions 2 July 2011.  Read on to find out more about how to enter and also how you can see the exhibition which tours the UK after its stint in London in September.

If you want to see the calibre of entries in previous exhibitions click the links to my blog posts about this competition in the last three years at the end of this post. 

Make your own art!

Let's talk about why and how every painter can be an 'original'.   This post includes some tips for those that are struggling with this.  You are also most welcome to share your own thoughts on what has helped you to develop your own creativity and originality.

Following on from yesterday's post about plagiarism, somebody sent me a note which reminded me that Stapeleton Kearns recently wrote (ranted?) on a related topic.

Within the context of the bigger picture about creating original art, Stapleton has a post last Sunday called Some thoughts on art and money which I very much endorse.  It contains this paragraph

"Art has no reason to exist other than that it be excellent. If you are imitating another artists style, get your own! I open the art magazines and see page after page of amateur rip-offs of Scott Christensen and Richard Schmid. That's not good enough, everyone who sees those ads knows they are seeing a Richard Schmid ripoff. People are not easily fooled."

In general I don't follow daily painters as much now as I used to - simply because I grew very tired of looking at too many artists who were copying other artists.  All that really achieved at the end of the day was to highlight more clearly those artists who were different.  By that I mean those who made sure they were clearly individuals who were not following the crowd and instead were trying to find their own individual way of creating art.

Artists who are original shine like beacons in the midst of the "same old same old".

What I have noticed is that those artists who seem to be the most successful at creating their own artistic identities (which is that thing you have to be able to talk about when the gallery asks you "what do you paint?") all too often also have the happy knack of having their own individual and unique take on the world around them.

In other words, their choice of WHAT they paint and how they look at it is as much part of their ID as HOW they paint.

Essentially that means that the way a daily painter responds to the challenge of coming up with an answer to the question of 'what to paint' each day is as much part of that artist's development as the way they paint.

Your choices about what to paint reveal who you are, what you like, where you live and how you see the world.