Featured Artist Series: Josh McCrimmon

Today's feature artist is someone just a little bit different! I hadn't seen Josh McCrimmon's work before and Teresa (from the last feature) suggested I look him up. And am I ever glad I did! His work is so fun and full of life, l just love it!

Josh has been a studio holder with the Maribyrnong River Edge Artists Movement, and is an associate member of the Australian Cartoonists Association. His work definitely has a street art feel and he himself says that Melbourne Street Art is one of his major influences.

Couple Dream

 

Couple Muttonbird

 Josh has had work published in magazines and newsletters, and has been actively exhibiting over the last few years or so. He and I were actually part of the same exhibition at one point. The first Red Rock Regional Art Gallery Group exhibition in Coroorooke in Victoria in 2012. He has also won several awards for his art over the last couple of years.

Geography Lesson

Gulls

His work has a gorgeous undefinable quality to it: it's kind of raw, almost whimsical, very illustrative and it really speaks to you. Well....it does to me anyway!  He says that he thinks art is at its best when it is "raw, local and embedded in grassroots". I think he's got those qualities down perfectly within his work.

Heads

Falling

Josh can be found at his very awesomely titled website, Supermarket Monkey. I just love the above work, Falling. I think it describes the chaos that you can feel when everything is just overwhelming you and it feels like it's all coming down on top of you. What about you? Which work do you like best, and what does it say to you?

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Art Lessons Term Planner

Term 1, 2014 is fast approaching! School starts back up next Monday and my lessons start up Thursday of next week. So I thought I'd do a run down each week of what the plans are with examples to give you all a little sneak peak of what my amazing students will be doing!

Week 1:

A different type of self portrait! We'll be using ink, watercolour and pen to create a portrait of ourselves that is full of colour and movement.  We will be looking at artists who work with portraiture in different styles, such as David Bromley (Aus) and David Walker (UK). Both these artists work in very unique styles of portraiture. 

David Walker uses spray paint on canvas to create wonderfully emotive portraits that bounce off the walls. David Bromley uses a more illustrative style, reminiscent of comic book styles of drawing. Both artists uses colour to represent the people they are painting, and it is this aspect we will be focusing on in our lesson. 

Ditty, Spray Paint on Canvas, David Walker 2011.

Lighthouse Boy, Acrylic and Embroidery on Canvas, David Bromley.

Screaming Face, Gabrella R. Washington Elementary School

I came across the above image and thought it fit perfectly with the first week's lesson. The image was taken from Michigan Arts Education Association, and I give full credit to the Gabrella, the child artist! I'd like my students to explore using different colours and compositions within their self portraits, focusing on trying to create an emotion within the picture, not just a painting of their own face. 

We'll be using watercolour for the 'hair', gouache for the face, and ink for the outlines. I can't wait to see how they turn out. I'll have a gallery of students' work up on this site which I'll be updating throughout the term. Next week I'll bring you lesson 2, where we'll be using soft pastels on black paper to create a space image!

Now, you might have noticed I missed the Featured Artist Series last week. Things have been a little hectic around here with getting my painting ready for the Mandjar art awards, finishing off my artist residency application (more about that in another post), and also painting the kitchen (which I'll also be doing a post on, it's a great interior design redo!). So I missed posting on my next Featured Artist, but never fear!! I will be back later this week to show you work by a funky modern Australian artist whose work is very illustrative and very very fun!  

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New Work In Progress; Sneak Peak at a New Series!

Last night I finished (bar the edges) a new piece. I have to say I'm kind of in love with it. A friend and fellow artist said that it's a requirement to be in love with your own art. But sometimes you aren't. Sometimes you are just ok with it. And that in itself is ok I think if you are trying to make a living as an artist, because the object is to get art out there, right? You don't necessarily have to love each and every piece so long as you like them and are happy with them overall.

But this one, I love. And I've figured out what this year will be, art wise that is. I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to focus on in terms of creating art, only knowing that I want to create lots of it this year. I'm applying for my first artist residency next week and while thinking about what I want to say in the application it got me to thinking about the direction I want to go in.

I love my wax paintings, and I know I want to continue to do more of them. But I also love the idea of still creating landscapes because artfully speaking, they're my first love. I do love abstract work and have been playing with the idea of abstract work but up until last night had no clue as to how to keep it 'me.' So for this year, I am going to work on three series' of works. My wax based works, with collaged images over the top, then I will also be working on what I am calling abstract illustration works for the other two series. One will focus on landscapes, the other will be animals.

You know when you make a decision and you just know it's right? Doesn't happen too often for me, but this time I know this is what I want to focus on. I watched an amazing Youtube clip the other week that talked about being successful as an artist and the one thing above all else that was reiterated through the whole clip, was to find and stick to your own style. Work in series and commit to it. That's me for this year. As I said to another artist friend the other day, 2014 is going to be the year of awesomeness and I for one am excited to get started!

On to my current work though, the one that has inspired all this excitement within me. This is 40 x 40" mixed media consisting of gesso, ink, collage and oil pastel. There are actually several layers of built up texture and colour which I think contributes to the overall feel of the piece.

My current plan is to have quite a few in this series: next up are a wolf and lion in two separate paintings, and after that I'm still thinking. What do you think?
Remember that if you'd like to learn how to do paintings like this you can sign up for my online workshops starting in March, and be sure to put your email in below for my once a month newsletter full of awesomeness.

It's super duper hot here currently and I know it's super duper freezing in other parts of the world, so wherever you are today I hope you are keeping cool, or warm as the case may be and are having an awesome day!

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An Artists Hands; kind of a skincare post

The 2014 Blogger Challenge topic 2 is all about skincare. Now....this being an art blog and me being the 'not really into fashion, makeup and skincare girl' that I am, I was kind of at a bit of a loss as to how to approach this one. So I decided to talk about skincare from an artists' perspective.

For many many years there was a stereotype about the 'crazy artist'. So many great artists would pretty much go mad after a while, and while it could be attributed to just the normal artistic chaos swirling around the internal head structures (aka the brains) of those wonderfully creative types it probably has other reasons as well. Take for example the toxic chemicals, pigments and minerals that used to (and on occasion probably still do) make up a lot of artistic materials. Lead and mercury are two that instantly spring to mind but there are others as well.

And artists being artists, well....let's just say I'm not the only one who has ever ditched the paintbrush in favour of my hands. So over time nasty stuff leaches into your skin and for a while this definitely had the effect of sending us artist types a little loopy. Now of course we know better and most of the really bad stuff is no longer in paint. But there's still stuff that plays havoc with your hands and call me a bit girly on this one, but I absolutely hate the feeling of dried out hands!

The obvious answer is probably to wear gloves, like the food preparation type to both protect your hands from any horrible chemicals and to stop them feeling so dried out. But I'll be absolutely honest here and say I'm so so so bad at this. I at least try to use gloves when I'm smooshing ink and paint into a canvas, but I don't always. Sometimes it's just necessary to pour on some paint and get your hands really dirty!

There is something just so organic about it, I can't quite explain it but it makes me happy.

So.....what do I do to make my hands feel normal again? A good soap is on the list:

I haven't used this, but it's on my list to buy! I have used this brands' brush cleaner and it's amazing. I've even used it on my hands, so when I saw this I decided I just had to have it. 

 

Next up is a good moisturiser:

 

 

I don't use anything fancy. I either use Vaseline dry skin moisturiser, or Johnsons Baby lotion. Yes...baby lotion. I love this stuff. It smells so good!  And it's so soft, and it's pink. And that's it.

 

So that's my take on skincare from an artist perspective. I hope it provided you with some amusement and was a little informative as well. 

 

 

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Featured Artist Series; Teresa Lawrence

I'm running a little late with this weeks' featured artist: blame it on a killer sinus infection. But better late than never right?

This weeks' artist is a lady who has taught me a lot. She was my printmaking instructor and is an accomplished artist in both printmaking and painting, as well as being a children's book author and illustrator! My 6 month old daughter just loves her Baby Face books, which you can see here.

On to her artwork now:

Tread Carefully, Etching and Collage, 2013

Teresa began her career as a copywriter in advertising, however wanted something more so ventured into the world of illustration. She spent many years working as a freelance illustrator, accumulating a portfolio of almost 100 books! In between illustrating she gained more degrees and now focuses on teaching:

"These days I still do some illustration work but I have ventured out into the worlds of painting and printmaking which I find very fulfilling. I also teach art, or rather facilitate it, which I love to do. Seeing others discover something within themselves is quite a privilege. 

In addition to teaching I also have a studio where I do my painting. My printmaking happens in the studios of others mostly."

I must admit I love Teresa's printing style. Her work is whimsical, delicate and quite lovely.

Sunnybrae Tree

In addition to printing and illustration, Teresa also paints. Her painting style is gorgeous, with an almost haunting quality to her images.

Beeac Paddock, Oil on Canvas, 2010. Now residing in the apartment of it's new owner in Manhattan, New York.

The Highway, Oil on Canvas 2013

I love the above work, The Highway. It's one of a series of landscapes Teresa is currently working on and is yet to be exhibited. To me it almost looks like the opening scene from one of those fantastic suspenseful mystery movies....the ones that have you holding a pillow in front of your face because you can't watch from fear, but you can't look away at the same time! A bit Alfred Hitchcock-ish. Or maybe that's just me.....

Teresa is available for workshops and her work is for sale. She can be contacted through her website or through email here.She's also on Instagram, so why not follow her? @teresalawrence123
As always....what's your favourite piece and why?

I'm still on the lookout for some more artists for my Featured Artist series. If you think you'd like to be featured here, please use my contact page to send me an email, and be sure to sign up to my monthly newsletter!

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Online Workshops

Exciting news here in Given To Art land! Due to popular demand, I will be starting online Mixed Media workshops beginning in March!

The workshops will consist of 5 half hour videos, each one will include an accompanying PDF instruction sheet via email. In the workshop course I will be showing you how to create mixed media pieces utilising assorted mediums and collage. The course will run for 5 weeks; you'll receive a password to the video with your PDF file once a week. Included in your fees are unlimited access to each video so you can watch it as many times as you need, along with an instructional PDF or Word Doc explaining points covered in the videos further, and of course unlimited email support from me. You can email me anytime, day or night with any questions or to send me photos of your work for feedback.

At the end of the course you can elect to have your work included in a gallery on this blog.

The course will normally be $50 for the full five weeks, however as an early bird special anyone who signs up before February 15th will get 50% off!! That's only $25 for five weeks of workshops!

You must be subscribed to my email newsletter (just put your email in below!), and you must pay a deposit of $25 when you register for the course. (If you registering before February 15th, 2014 just pay the deposit, no more!).

First course will begin Monday March 24th 2014. Each new video will be published on the Monday following. 

REGISTER

Deposit $25.00 AUD Payment in Full $50.00 AUD

Click the 'register' box above to be taken to Paypal. Once checkout is completed you'll be redirected to fill out your name and email address. You'll receive a confirmation email within 24 hours. A course list will be posted on the blog (and emailed to you) a couple of weeks before the start of the course.

I'm excited to start sharing some mixed media creations with you!

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Finished Work, Saatchi Online and Prints Available

I finally finished this piece! The hold up was because my technique of using layers of ink and Liquetex had one little (well actually not so little) flaw; that being the removal of the ink when I applied the Liquetex!!

I'm not sure what causes it, but I'm thinking it's because when I apply the ink onto the canvas that has already had Liquetex gloss applied to it, it can't soak in to the canvas. So when I then go to apply another layer of gloss, the ink comes right off. This was causing me lots of frustration, until I had a light bulb moment (which probably should have been obvious but for some reason just wasn't!) to use spray gloss varnish first, then apply the Liquetex to achieve the finish I wanted. (Because it seems to be less the actual gloss and more the motion of applying with a brush that removes the ink). Duh!!!

Worked perfectly and I've found myself a new way to complete the layers in my paintings without having to worry about the previous layer being effectively washed away when I apply gloss!

So I finished this one and titled it 'Winter's Approach'. I really love it and my brain is overflowing at the moment with ideas for more paintings.

Winter's Approach, 15 x 30" Mixed Media on Canvas

It's now available for sale through Saatchi Online and will be up on the ARTFULY site shortly as well. Yep that's right, I'm now selling my art to the international (and Australian) market through the massive world wide gallery site! I have prints available of this work (and others) through them, and also through my Etsy store. 

My next post in a couple of days is going to be a little sneak peak of the lessons I have in store for my lovely students in just under a months' time so be sure to come back for a look at that one!

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Artistic Copyright; Does It Help or Hinder?

I watched a podcast yesterday via Creative Insurgents that brought up some interesting arguments against the use of copyright. Artist Gwen Seemel talked about why she doesn't apply copyright to her work and it got me thinking about what role it plays in today's highly digital art marketing world.

My understanding of intellectual copyright is that as soon as you have created something it becomes your intellectual property. If you then have an issue with someone taking it and reusing it in any way you could theoretically take them to court citing copyright violation provided you have proof of your ownership. That proof can come in the form of journal entries, sketches, photographs etc....

This is enough for me. I am happy to not go the extra step and officially copyright my work (I'm not even sure what the process would entail to be honest!). I think in this day and age the vast majority of an artists' marketing must come from the internet. To market your work effectively on the web you need to allow your work to be seen across multiple platforms. To allow this you are effectively allowing reproduction in at the very least digital form. So in my opinion this would nullify any existing digital copyright anyway. Right?

If I was to fully copyright my work, if I was to say to people "no, you cannot reproduce this ever" am I effectively saying do not for example pin my images onto boards on Pinterest, do not share my images via Facebook or Twitter or anywhere else? If that's the case then what's the point of having this blog and putting my artwork out there? If I do that in the hope that it will then force people to stay put on my site I am very effectively limiting my audience and my potential earnings to the relative few who stick around on here. If I don't allow fair use, if I put full copyright on all my work, then wouldn't it be hypocritical of me to see something someone else has done and then want to incorporate that technique or style or image into my own work? Would I then, as the title of this posts suggests, be hindering my own artistic creativity?

I have copyright stated at the bottom of my blog, and on my home page I ask people to respect my property and use proper referencing and credit when taking my work elsewhere. On my portfolio page I ask visitors to not reproduce my work because they are my images. Is that a double standard and just confusing to people? Or is it (as I hope and assume) just common sense? I personally feel like I am saying to people "feel free to share my stuff anywhere you like, but just make sure you credit me if using my words and tell people I created it if using my artwork". I feel like I'm telling people it's ok to do that, but not ok to use my images and try and pass them off on their own. In that sense I am applying copyright to my work but still allowing for sharing via the internet with the ultimate goal of my work being traceable back to me.

I don't want other people making money off things I've created and put my hard work and effort into unless I make that decision. But I want people to be able to feel comfortable sharing my work and using it in assignments, articles or any other way, so long as they let people know it is my work not theirs.

What do you think? Do you think the way I have stated my usage restrictions, let's call them, is obvious or is confusing? What do you think constitutes fair use of an artists' work and if you can't share images is it going to hinder your work in the future?

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