Read more about the article #88 How to Prepare for an Art Show

#88 How to Prepare for an Art Show

Getting ready for an art show is no easy task. I’ll go through the checklist of what you need to do to finish your artwork, prepare it for a show, what kind of paperwork you need, how to promote your show, and preparing for your opening reception.  I’ll help you get your artwork ready to show it professionally and get yourself ready to meet potential customers and sell your work.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Read more about the article #87 Mary Price: Intuitive Painting in the UK

#87 Mary Price: Intuitive Painting in the UK

Artist Mary Price creates her art in Bristol, England. I was attracted to Mary’s paintings because of their bold colors, but also because you could see so many layers to them. She builds up the color and design, pulling the shapes and images out to the forefront. Mary creates her artwork in a shed in her garden, and in fact, her Instagram name is artistintheshed. She’s even painted her shed to look like one of her paintings, creating a studio anyone would love to paint in.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Mary Price, painting in her studio/shed in Bristol.

Mary's shed.
One of her tree paintings on the side of her shed.
A closeup of her shed.

Mary Price has called her website and her Instagram artistintheshed.

Mary was inspired by the landscape paintings of Alan Cotton.

Mary described a vacation when she stayed at the Lluc Sanctuary in Mallorca. You too can stay there and be inspired by the beautiful setting.

You can purchase some of her art at her etsy shop, and later she will be offering it on her website.

Here are some great takeaways from this episode:

  1. If you’re hoping to inspire the young people in your life, keep art supplies on hand for them, like paints, paper, or a chalkboard.
  2. Instead of covering an old painting with gesso and starting over, just paint over bits of it, so you can keep the areas that you like.
  3. As you look at your world, think of how many colors you can see in one thing. Rethink how you see color, to recognize that while at first glance something appears to just have one color, in fact it really has very many colors.
  4. You can paint using all kind of mark making tools, not just brushes and pens.
  5. This might seem obvious, but you can put your art out there without the help of a gallery. You can do all kinds of self-promotion using social media.
  6. A way to connect further with artists you’ve met on social media is to do an art swap with them. It’s also an inexpensive way to add to your art collection.
  7. Mary described her type of intuitive painting beautifully. She places a load of marks on a canvas, and then responds to them and reacts to them and sees what happens. It helps that she paints in a free and loose way.
  8. Instead of doing a solo show, invite another artist to exhibit with you because it will be less work that way.
  9. If you need to get professional photographs done of your artwork, consider swapping artwork with a local photographer for this task.
Read more about the article #86 Keeping Up with Your Art Skills

#86 Keeping Up with Your Art Skills

When time or circumstances prevent you from making the art that you want, you can still use a few strategies so that you can keep up with your art skills. Whether it’s not having enough time, space, or money, I’ll give you some ideas of how you can continue to make art. Making art every day will definitely increase your art skills, so that when the circumstances are right for making the art that you want, you’ll be ready, with creative inspiration and the skills you need.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

If you're trying new techniques or if you just don't have enough space for large artwork, start working with smaller sizes to help develop your skills.
If a lack of time, space, or money doesn't allow for large art-making, bring a sketchbook with you so you can keep up your art skills wherever you are.
Read more about the article #85 Jill Lefkowitz: From Makeup Artist to Fine Artist

#85 Jill Lefkowitz: From Makeup Artist to Fine Artist

Artist Jill Lefkowitz is a fine artist, showing and selling her art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She paints on canvas as well as on 3D objects. She started her career as a makeup artist in New York, for music videos and other shoots, and has advanced into the field of special effects makeup. She still occasionally takes makeup jobs, but is currently concentrating on her gallery work.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Jill Lefkowitz (on the left)

Trumpet Man
Twin Man
Horse Eyes Barrel
The Peacemaker
The Individualist
The Loyalist
StroboMaxx, 48" x 48"
Acoustic Guitar (front)
Acoustic Guitar (back)
This is an example of Jill's makeup artistry. She did the makeup and created the flowers and wig.
This is an example of Jill's special effects makeup. Special effects includes wounds, gunshots, skullcaps, tattoos, and probably lots of other strange things.

Jill’s website is jillcreatesart.com.

Jill lists upcoming shows on her website.

Her Instagram account is @jill.d.lefkowitz and her account for her makeup and special effects art is @jill.createsbeauty

In South Florida, Rickie Leiter publishes the The Rickie Report, a website that lists local art events, Calls to Artists, and artist interviews. 

Here are a few takeaways from this episode:

  1. Don’t underestimate the value of self-promotion. Even before the advent of social media, Jill established herself as a reliable makeup artist, and would call productions to offer her services.
  2. If it’s necessary to take jobs that aren’t exactly specific to your fine art, make sure you are still sketching and painting to keep up your fine art skills.
  3. If you’re doing a type of art job that takes you to other places, like makeup art or street murals, or live painting, have your art bag ready at all times so that you can quickly respond to last minute calls.
  4. Attend art shows and museums to be inspired by art and keep yourself interested and creative.
  5. When painting on uneven surfaces, like Jill has done on her wine barrels, don’t fight the imperfections. Let the bumps and wells inform the design of the painting.
  6. Be open to inspiration from many sources – others’ art, different cultures, and documentaries.
  7. If you paint on an object other than a flat substrate, like she does with the barrels, don’t hesitate to enter shows for 3D art, just make it clear that you did not create the base object.

If there’s one thing you can take away from this episode, it’s to always make art! Bring along a sketchbook or make something in your studio (even if it’s a kitchen table) every day!

 

Read more about the article #84 Everything You Need to Know about Skype
Suzanne Redmond

#84 Everything You Need to Know about Skype

Artists are looking for conference call software so they can collaborate remotely with other artists, record conversations to embed in their online courses, or to use for podcast interviews. While there are many software and app choices, I use the old standard, Skype. I take you through what you should consider when choosing recording software, and I tell you why I’ve chosen to use Skype. I’ll also give you tips for using Skype.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

When you use Skype, you'll see a split screen of you plus the person you are talking to. Here I am with artist Nick Ringelstetter, who I interviewed in Episode #75.

Here's a behind the scenes photo of Nick talking to me. We are both using laptops and headphones, which helps to ensure the best sound quality.