a couple of days back i discovered the website emptyeasel.com and read an interesting article on artists and blogs, called Nine Reasons Why Every Artist Should Have Their Own Art Blog after reading something on ArtBizBlog.com's website, but ArtBizBlog was full of broken links so i couldn't access any of the archived articles, maybe i'll try again later. emptyeasel seems to have many well-written articles for artists, and searching for art-related advice and information is quite straightforward. anyhow, my aim on this website is to have an artist journal separate to my art portfolio, to show work in progress.
[green hues triptych - mixed media on paper]this has turned out to be a quiet place for artistic musings, thoughts on contemporary art, some creative reflection, an art journal of ongoing ideas, the things that preoccupy me as a contemporary artist, works in progress, materials and working methods, exhibitions and other art-related activities.. it's also a form of promotion that you can always link back to, artists need to be a little egotistical (look, this is what i do), but the internet has become quite 'shouty' of late... media heavy pages that take a minute or more to download on a slow broadband.i need to work much more on networking, promoting my artwork outside of the area, getting my work represented by established galleries in the long term, not just occasional exhibitions... i need to draw more frequently and use it directly in my work.. i need to give myself time to develop a body of artwork, and not get too distracted by creating one-off pieces that take months to complete.. and i need to finish all the books i have started reading. i need to be consistent and focused in the days, the months, the year ahead.. i will try not be distracted by the worthiness or high ideals of other artists, i will keep motivated by being true to my interests.
over the weekend, i spent a few hours (unpaid) on a new logo for a display postcard for the local shop art window displays, part of the waveney arts festival... will the other artists approve of my retro style graphics design? the blank red starburst is for the shop number and looks a little like the price signs you see on market stalls, the concentric circles or target echoes an eye, window shopping, shopping with a purpose, shops that are linked, marking the town centre, of coins and the exchange of money, but it is in fact based on the original mod target (taken from the RAF apparently) indirectly referencing all things British.. it will help local businesses with a few more curious window shoppers.. a mix of typography mirrors different shop fronts linked together in the street, the art word appears like a drawing or sketch, with the usual artist's method of dating artwork (with a little red dot for luck)...in retrospect i doesn't explain everything about the event; i haven't designed the art labels, shop quiz sheet, press release or flyer, creating continuity in the publicity which a professional designer would do... a bit too late for that, a rushed job, but it's eye-catching and will link all of the participating shops with an identifiable badge.. maybe next year some earlier planning and objectives will turn it into a bigger art event.. i haven't studied graphics since the unit on my art & design diploma; back then it was all hand-drawn in layout pads - art without computers.. which reminds me, i need stop typing and calmly step away from the computer..
act local, think global
when writing the title for this post (a flip on the motto think global, act local) i was reminded of the classic scene from the league of gentlemen.. are you local? [...] this is a local shop for local people, there's nothing for you here.. [view the clip on youtube]...and then thinking, after ten years here i am not strictly a local, but here i am, and (as in the local shop scene) i am just looking (as local people do)... just looking, watching, observing... and the wryest of observations become the making of tv comedy, film, theatre and art...i will shortly be participating in another local art event, shopart, part of the harleston and waveney arts festival, local art in local shop windows for local people... definitely something to talk about (there are prizes too).. it will hopefully arouse some curiosity, possibly some mumblings about modern art.. it's all good as it gets people walking, looking and hopefully buying in the shops..however, this week i've been trying to think more globally, finding my way around the art marketplace of etsy.. there are some good features and articles for buyers, forums and teams for sellers, and there is also a member curated treasury which is near impossible to get into it seems... it is neccessary research if i am to make etsy work as a viable venue for my art... i often feel like a displaced artist here, in the wrong location for my work... it's too small, too narrow, in all senses...in the meantime, i have been reworking one of my orphaned edgescape paintings.. i wasn't happy with the centre section.. these size paintings nearly always take a year to right themselves..
[taken with flash- the umber has turned to copper]and another farmscape [working title].. there is no reason to hurry.. like the mould and decay they portray, it takes time.. and i am a slow painter..
[aka yellow stripe, not finished]next up, there are a couple of local art shows in september, which are always good to keep in circulation with the local art scene.. i've yet to hear if i have been successful with my submission to the chichester open.. then there's the discerning eye exhibition- i am still deliberating on that one.. i've had quite a successful summer art wise, but with art, it always seems like one long work in progress, only later do you see the results..