Art Review Blog

If you read my last post, you will see Ron English's Abraham Obama , an image that blends the faces of Senator Obama and Abraham Lincoln. In response, artist and featured ArtId blogger Michael Mize asked which United States president could we blend McCain with. My answer was Bush. Here's his rendition of what I call John McBush! Thanks Michael. I think this is so appropriate… Continue reading… 0 comments

It seems appropriate to show you the latest work by artist Ron English, "Abraham Obama". I don't know where to begin except to say I like the piece alot. This artwork brings up so many questions that I suggest you buy a couple of bottles of wine and get together with your friends and talk about it. Loudly. But, here a few quick thoughts that come to my mind: 1.The American divide on moral issues is akin to the divide which caused the civil war. (that's a biggy) 2. American needs to gain back its freedom from a tyranical administration. 3.Obama and Lincoln make a good couple. 4.Will Obama's role in the future of our nation be anywhere as important as Lincoln's was? 5. What does Andy Warhol have to do with it? 6. Love public art. 7… Continue reading… 4 comments

I'll admit it - I love my competition reality TV shows, especially the ones where people have to demonstrate some skill and creative talent to win. I especially love Last Comic Standing because comics are often not funny when they're hanging around the house - the first season they were downright curmudgeons and I loved them for it because once they hit the stage they transformed into hilarious likeable beings. Genius! I also am addicted to Project Runway where the competition is difficult and the designers have to really "work it" to avoid elimination. Sometimes I daydream about what kind of garment I would have made if I had been on the show..… Continue reading… 6 comments

On ArtId, we talk a lot about marketing artwork through the Internet and other venues. We talk about the difficulties of doing the marketing oneself and oftentimes of the need to "just paint". While artists have varying goals for the art they create, at some point there comes a desire to step out beyond the pack and be recognized. In the midst of working on this goal, it is easy to feel that only a lucky few ever get to make a name for themselves in the more elite art community. Recently, I spoke to one of those "lucky" artists and learned achieving this goal is much less about luck than it is about determination, talent, and smart planning… Continue reading… 3 comments

!IMAGE164 !It's not often that I have difficulty justifying to myself my own reaction to a piece of art, but I have come upon this dilemma recently when I saw The Full Body Project by Leonard Nimoy at the Michelson Gallery" in Northampton, MA. The Full Body Project is a collection of black and white photographs depicting a group of morbidly obese women in various poses and dance shots, nude and sometimes in skimpy outfits. The women, in real life, are members of a burlesque dance troupe called the Full-Bottom Revue which challenges audiences to understand what Nimoy calls "fat liberation"… Continue reading… 1 comment

I recently read the article in The New Statesman "Too Much Information" about the current installation at the Tate Museum entitled "Shibboleth" by the Colombian artist Doris Salcedo. Shibboleth is a large, open crack in the cement floor of the Tate resembling lightening or a fissure in the earth one can imagine encountering during an earthquake. I haven't seen it in person, but from the picture I can imagine I would like it. I like conceptual art in general and would appreciate contemplating the possible meanings or connections this installation might elicit. However, Alice O'Keefe, author of the article "Too Much Information", has an interesting complaint with Shibboleth:its title and the explanations both the artist and the Tate give to viewers about the piece… Continue reading… 2 comments

According to renowned collector Ben Heller, art collecting should be done for the love of art and not for financial success. Heller, who bought his first Jackson Pollock over 50 years ago directly from the artist before he became well-known, was applauded for this statement by a distinguished panel of collectors, gallerists, art consultants, and museum curators who joined him to discuss the ins and outs of collecting for the beginner at the MASSM oCA museum on October 20th.… Continue reading… 2 comments

"Artists can not stop war," says artist Kaziah Hancock from her studio in Manti, Utah. In the NBC interview, downloadable here , this professional painter describes her efforts not to stop war, but to give homage to the young men and women who enlisted as soldiers and lost their lives. … Continue reading…

Because ArtId makes putting your art online easy and also makes it easy for you to upload your art for sale on eBay through our eBay Store is easy to think that we've got everything covered when it comes to getting your art viewed on the Internet. If you thought that, you would nearly be right. Our functionality works pretty seamlessly. But, outside of the technology part, there are those parts in the process where you as the artists make decisions on how to showcase your work. One of those important decisions is in your studio when you are asked to describe you art . The other is uploading to eBay , when you are asked give the listing a title… Continue reading…

Miniature Books Exhibit At The Boston Public Library !IMAGE140 !Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Boston Public Library's main branch in Copley Square to see their miniature books exhibit entitled 4,000 Years of Tiny Treasures . While I have always considered handmade books pieces of art, I have to say that the miniature versions are awe-inspiring. If you are new to miniature books, like I was, you will probably first ask yourself, 'why?' and then, after passing over a few of these magical little fineries, you will ask, 'why not more?' … Continue reading…

Recently, I wrote an article entitled, The Art Of Marketing Your Own Art . for the Minds Island website. In it, I focus on the art of creative selling artists have to practice in order to take control of their art careers. I used the painter Duane Keiser . as an example of an artist who has done exactly that by utilizing the Internet. Keiser is the artists who initiated the "Painting A Day" phenomenon in which artists paint a small painting a day and sell/market it on the Internet via eBay, a website, a blog, or all of the above. You can read The Art Of Marketing Your Own Art… Continue reading…

!IMAGE132 !Sometimes it's difficult reconnecting with creativity. Life's responsibilities often get in the way of a certain freedom our minds need to create art. For some people, creative blocks are a constant struggle. Personally, I need to get out in the fresh air for about ten minutes and take a walk. Walking allows my eyes to wander and land on just about everything around me without placing judgements, my brain starts working on all the stuff that's going on in my life without any pressure to resolve. I usually come back happier and more motivated to complete that project I've been working on. That's why I was so excited when I came across a website called sketchcrawl.com, the perfect antidote when you're losing your creative edge.… Continue reading…

Artists, Get Creative! !IMAGE127 !As an artist, you probably know that making great art isn't all it takes to make a living as an artist. Once the artwork is done, getting the artwork sold is another challenge. Even if you loathe the idea of having to be a marketing agent and public relations guru, with a little creativity, the marketing aspect of the job can be done on your own terms. Take, for example, painter . Duane is a painter who, until the past several years, typically sold a couple of paintings a year. That is, until he came up with the idea of "100 paintings for $100." The idea was that he would paint 100 small postcard size paintings and then sell each of them for $100 dollars… Continue reading…

What Is A Copyright The main purpose of a copyright is to make sure that others do not use your artwork without your knowledge or consent for their own needs, whether it be an outright theft of an image for reproduction and sale or if it is to use on other publications such as a website, brochure, or film. Legally, it is the responsibility of the other party to contact you and ask your permission to use the art as well as to comply with any conditional terms you might have regarding that use. !IMAGE122 ! How Does A Copyright Work As an artist, you technically hold the copyright to your work at the time you have completed it. You put down the brush, the pencil, or whatever you used to make your art, and you behold your finished creation… Continue reading…

That's the big question. But is it the right question? With the most recent marketing statistics (from luxury-marketing expert Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing) showing that 44% of buyers of luxury items do their research on the Internet before making their purchases, we are led to understand that selling is not the only purpose the Internet serves. Second to television and word of mouth, the Internet is, by virtue of convenience, the place people go when they consider buying a luxury item. This turns the Internet into a research tool for them and an advertising tool for you. In fact, the study shows that buyers are more influenced by their research on the Internet than by traditional advertising in newspapers and magazines… Continue reading… 13 comments

If you like the way your Minds Island studio looks, but are not happy with the contacts you have been getting, it may be that you are not using the capabilities of the Minds Island search engine to the fullest. If you are a long time member, that isn't surprising, since the search engine was only a promise a year ago. But now that it is up and running, it is a good idea to understand how it works, and how it can work for you.… Continue reading… 0 comments