Category Archives: VICKIE MARTIN ART

CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF COLLAGE

LANCE CARLSON

©LANCE CARLSON

This year, 2012, marks one hundred years since Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso made their first collages, introducing this medium into the world of Fine Art. But, what is collage?  from the French word, coller, meaning to glue.  The Webster dictionary defines collage as “an artistic composition made of various materials (as paper, cloth, or wood) glued onto a surface.”

Actually, collage dates back to the time of the invention of paper in China, around 200 BC.  Caligraphers began using it in 10th century Japan to apply paper when writing poems. Collage appears in medieval Europe when gold leaf panels were applied to Gothic catherdrals, and gemstones were applied to religious icons, images and coats of arms. But, after that, it was used primarily by hobbyists for things such as photo albums and books. However, most art authorities agree that artists began using collage as a technique with the advent of modernism.  By adding glued on patches of paper, Braque and Picasso added a new perspective to their paintings when these patches became  integrated into the painting. This gave artists a new found freedom of expression, allowing them unfound freedoms to experiment by adding new elements within the frame they were working with. Braque started the concept of collage by applying it to charcoal drawings, and Picasso possibly used it first in paintings.   Braque began by purchasing  a roll of simulated oak-grain wallpaper and began by cutting out pieces and applying them to the drawings.

Georges Braque 1913

Next, Picasso embedded an piece of oil cloth with a chair-cane design onto a painting, and the world of art was off and running

Pable Picasso

Artists began added newspaper, colored paper, cloth, basically anything that caught their attention.   They began added things such as sand and coffee to their paint to create texture.  Many artists even cut of pieces of their work they weren’t happy with and applying using these in new art.

Collage also also extends to 3d work, often referred to as assemblages.  In recent years, photomontage and digital collages have become popular.

So, when Braque and Picasso began gluing paper on their paintings, they opened a whole new art world to anybody that wants to experiment!

To celebrate, the following events are coming up in Atlanta

The Marilyn Project – The Atlanta Collage Society will put together an 8’x8′ collage consisting of 841 pieces on 9/13 at MODA, sponsored by The Art Partners with the High Museum of Art. click HERE for details.

I will be doing a collage demonstration – at the Atlanta Arts Festival, 9/15 – 16.

 

©vickiemartin.net
Fighting Fire With Fire 5×7

ART-O-MAT – Don’t Go Around Artless

 

 

I don’t remember where or when I first heard about the Art-O-Mat, but I do know I was very intrigued from the beginning.  It is the brainchild of Clark Whittington, and has been in operation since 1997.  In short, these are refurbished cigarette vending machines that sell original art for $5.00.  There are over 100 of them throughout the country with over 400 artists involved.

Well, after seeing on at the Whitney Museum in New York, I was hooked.  I wanted to be involved in this.  So – I sent off for a block of wood the size of a pack of a pack of cigarettes and submitted a prototype.  I was excited to be accepted.

So – now I have started my 50 pieces to send to Winston Salem.  As of this writing, I have completed two layers, which is a good beginning.  I am keeping a log to keep up with what goes into each one.  At this point – I have used gesso, collage and salt – and am letting some of them dry with netting and bubble wrap.  I will number each piece so anyone that purchases a piece will be able to email me and I will be able to tell them the materials in there piece.

See, I use alot of different materials for texture.  Salt is just the beginning, as I’ve used coffee, tea – and most lately gunpowder – which I burn.

I hope to finish this project within by the end of the month and send them off.  I have no idea at this point where they will end up.  As I submitted my series of  dresses, I wouldn’t mind if they ended up in a wedding chapel in Las Vegas!

Look them up on FACEBOOK

The Artist’s Resume – How Much to Edit


Remember when you were first beginning your art career and building your resume?   Most of us were excited to be displaying our work in public and jumped at almost any opportunity – right?

gunpowder series 5×7

Well,  I am redoing my website, (in fact, this is my first post on my new blog!) and I have looked at my resume very closely.    What should you leave on and what should you take off?   I have spent the last several nights googling this and reading many blogs that address what to include in your list of exhibitions – which is the first part of the resume usually – do you agree?

The following is what I found most artists feel should be included in the resume:

  • Contact information
  • Education – if it is art related.  Artist residencies.
  • Awards and Honors – and include any cash prizes awarded
  • Solo Exhibitions – but if you only have one, but it in the “select exhibitions” schedule
  • Juried shows – can be a separate category – Show, Title, Gallery, City and State, Exhibition date – and juror (which unfortunately I didn’t keep)
  • Group exhibitions – this is where the editing really comes – do you want to include every show you had in a coffee shop?   I think it depends on what you are trying to accomplish.   I have changed this category to invitational shows, and decided to leave everything else out.
  • Bibliography – which is pretty much anything written about you.  Blogs and online press can be included if you are lacking in there.
  • and you can then include things that apply to you, like Related Professional Experience.  You can list talks you have given, demonstrations given, things like that.

gunpowder series 5×7

In looking around on the internet, I found several postings by galleriests what they were looking for.  Many of them say more than 4-6 events a year will scream “over exposure”, unless you are showing in places that are held in high regard.

Also, many don’t recommend including auctions you have donated too – UNLESS it carries curatorial weight.  Remember the work is usually only displayed for a few hours.

Also, many galleriest recognize the names of the many “pay to play” galleries out there, or vanity galleries.   Don’t bother including these – unless it is all you have!  Savvy gallery owners see through this ploy to make your resume appear larger.

So, I struggled with my resume – I only included solo shows, curated shows and invitational shows.  I did not include group shows where everyone that submits get in.  It isn’t complete yet, I still have to include groups I am in, publications I have appeared in – so I welcome any critiques!

I know this is a very subjective subject, and I know it can change from submission to submission, depending on what you are trying to achieve.   I welcome comments and ideas, agreements or disagreements!   I would love to hear other artists opinons.

 

 

TUESDAYS MARKETING TIP

CONSISTENCY

 

This Tuesday’s topic is consistency.   Consistency is defined by Dictionary.com as “the steadfast adherence to the same principles”.  I know, I know – it could be confused as being boring, being stuck, not growing etc.  These two quotes illustrate this:

“A foolish consistency is the hobgobblin of small minds.” Emerson
“Consistency is the last refuge of the imagination.” Oscar Wilde

But, when it comes to your both making and marketing your artwork, you should be exercising consistency of some sort.

Let’s start with your art – – if you are at the point where you want to get your work out there, you have reached the point where you must have a consistent body of work, meaning the artwork will be recognized as being by the same hand.   Every gallery will tell you that.  Working in a series is very important, so important that artist Lisa Call has begun teaching a very successful on-line class called Working in a Series. 

Next up – your promotional pieces.   There should be consistency within all of your material.  You should use the same font on your cards, in your newsletter, etc.  The banner on your blog, your newsletter and your facebook page should be the same.  (OK – I’m in the midst of redesigning mine, and when completed within the week, all will have the same banner). 

And, last but not least, social media!   Strive to blog consistently.   That is why I began the Tuesdays Marketing Tips – to have a consistent schedule.  I am striving to be on a regular schedule of posting the same day of the weeks, two times a week, but I continue writing when the mood strikes me.  This is a work in progress.  Another thing about blogging, consistently leave comments on other blogs – that is like leaving a calling card around the internet! 

If you have a newsletter, send it out with consistency also.

Right now, I’m researching and trying to learn more about blogging and facebook fan pages.  I will share what I learn here. 

SEEING RED

 

 

 

Every once in a while I see or read something that really gets under my skin and makes me want  to learn more.  This happened recently upon seeing a production of the play RED in Atlanta, with Mark Rothko in the center.   This is not a review of the play (even though I thoroughly enjoyed it), but some of the things I learned from reading about both the play and Rothko.
 
RED is a two person play set in the late 1950’s when Rothko was painting his murals for the Four Seasons in New York.  If you don’t know this story, Rothko accepted a commission to paint a series of murals for the Four Season’s Restaurant, located in the Seagrams Building on Park Avenue designed by Mies Van Der Rohe and Philip Johnson.  Rothko completed 40 paintings, three series in dark red and brown and even altered his horizontal format to vertical to go with the columns, walls, and windows in the restaurant.  After a trip to Europe and a visit to the restaurant, he abruptly changed his mind and returned the $35,000 (roughly two million dollars today) he’d been given for the paintings.   He kept them in storage until 1968, and they now hang in the Tate Modern in London, a museum in Tokyo, and the National Gallery of Art  in Washington D.C.

He never fully explained this decision, but many felt after visiting the restaurant, he found it pretentious and not the best place to view his meditative paintings.  He was quoted as saying they would end up in a space “where the richest bastards in New York will come and feed and show off” (told to a Harper’s Bazaar editor).
 
The play was written by John Logan, who also co-wrote The Gladiator, Rango, and most recently Hugo. After seeing the paintings at the Tate that were  intended for the Four Seasons, Logan was inspired to pen the play.  He was in London finishing up the screenplay for Sweeney Todd and found “they had a vibrancy, a severe and somber power to them”.
During the play, Rothko quotes Nietzche and  Freud   He talked about commercialism and how Dali and Picasso would sign menus to make money – even after he had accepted a $35,000 commission.
 
The play portrayed Rothko as a hard drinker, heavy smoker, and an intellectual with disdain for lesser minds, in short – an egomaniac.  
 
The rectangles floating  – often using a palette of red and brown and black –  were meant to be seen in a contemplative environment, not on the walls of a restaurant where people went to see and be seen.
 
Rothko suffered from depression, and ended up committing suicide in 1970.   Surprisingly, his suicide coincided to the day the murals arrived at the Tate Modern in London.
 
I admit to downloading the play and re-reading it later.  I wondered how much of the dialogue came from Rothko’s own writings – because his spirit was there.  Some of the quotes I remembered and have read in reviews were:
 
“Selling a painting is like sending a blind child into a room of razor blades” – which showed he had a vulnerable side.  
“One day the black will swallow the red.”
The murals are “a continuous narrative, each a new chapter”.
Painting is  “10% putting on paint, 90% waiting”.
“You cannot be an artist until you are civilized.  You cannot be civilized until you learn.”
 
In reading about Rothko’s paintings, the word repeated is “pulsates”.  As Rothko himself said:
“The fact that people break down and cry when confronted with my pictures shows that I can communicate those basic human emotions…the people who weep before my pictures are having the same religious experience I had when painting them.  And if you say you are moved only by their color relationships then you miss the point.” 

What have you seen or read lately that inspired you to learn more about the subject or person?

 
 
 
 
 

 

THE ADVANTAGES OF OWNING ORIGINAL ART

Spring Moon 24×36 on canvas

Now you have a place to call your own.   But, do you want it to be like everybody else’s?   Even if it is just a room, an apartment, or a recently purchased house, don’t you want your surrounding to reflect who you are?   I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my surrounding to look like it came out of an Ikea catalog.   Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I’ve always surrounded myself with furniture and accessories that I felt were unique to me.

Which brings me to the first reason to buy original art – you are purchasing something that is unique to you, it is a one of a kind piece.   It is as unique as you are – there is not another one exactly like it in the world, just like you are one of a kind!

The remainder of the reasons are in no particular order.

You have found something that gives you pleasure, it moves you aesthetically, or moves you on a sensory level.   This gives you a personal connection to the pieces, a connection only you have with it!

You also are supporting an artist and allowing the artist to continue to create.   And, you are probably supporting a small business owner.   If you are buying from a local artist, or from a local gallery, you are supporting the local economy.

Don’t be afraid to buy original art.    It doesn’t have to be as difficult or as expensive as many people believe it to be.   Most galleries are happy to talk to you about their pieces, and there are many places that carry small pieces that aren’t that expensive.   I myself have ornament sized paintings that I sale for under $50, and many purchasers have returned to purchase larger pieces.   And, if you do buy an original piece from a gallery, most artists are happy to talk to you about the pieces.

So, unless you want your home to look like everybody else’s, search our original art in your local area, check out art festivals, check out co-ops.   There is plenty out there!


HELLO 2012!

Because I spent the last several days of 2011 cleaning up my studio, I was raring to go on the first day of 2012.   I am going to document my process better in the upcoming year, and give each completed piece a “story” – meaning I’m going to keep up with the materials used in each piece.

Today I started with a piece I have been working on and experimenting with.   I had ALOT of texture on it, but wasn’t pleased with it.  So – I spent some time burning the texture off with a blowtorch, as well as gunpowder.   As a result, I burned through the canvas a few times.

The piece I’m experimenting with – with my new hand sander!

Below – you will see a sequence of pictures, beginning with the back of the piece to illustrate how much fire I used on it.   I sanded it down and it lightened it up a little bit.   I then added red to the areas on the painting that appeared to be bubbles as a result of the fire.    I started to see a pattern emerged.   I continued to play with it.

the back of the 12×12 canvas

While the piece isn’t 100% finished, i think the progression is working nicely.   It started out today very dark, and actually it was looking a little burnt because I was overzealous with the fire!   A little sanding,  finding patterns in the texture to emphasize, spraying alcohol back into it to dilute the paint has made a big difference.  I would welcome any suggestions on how to proceed!
Next post will be about the mixed media online workshop I am playing around with.   This is where this piece is beginning:

2012 – THE YEAR TO FOCUS

After reading a blog by social media expert and author Mari Smith about selecting one word that will be your overall theme and guide for the year (you can read the blog here).    I have chosen the word FOCUS. One of the definitions of focus is to concentrate vision or energy.   That is my plan for 2012 – to concentrate my vision and energy on moving ahead in my art career.

I believe many creative types suffer a little from ADHD and I’m not immune to it.  In looking back over the past year, I must admit when I have a deadline, I am able to focus.  But, without a deadline I tend to get distracted and go in several directions.  I previously wrote a blog about setting goals for 2012  which I published on this blog on November 13th.  One of my goals is to blog regularly, so I started a file today to begin collecting ideas for upcoming blogs.   Also – I need to get organized, in my studio, my office, my closet, all facets of my life!   So – today I cleaned up my home office and organized my finances.  Last week I organized my closet.

I guess it is that time of year.   My mother always told me that what you do on New Year’s Day, you will do for the rest of the year.   Case in point – several years ago I woke up early on New Year’s Day and moved to the couch and turned on the TV.   I lay there all day long and watched 12 hours of Law and Order – never getting dressed.   Well, that turned out to be probably the most unproductive year of my life!   Since then, I have always made it a point to feel pretty organized on New Years Day, have my bills paid, laundry done and put up!, refrigerator cleaned out.   You get the idea!

That leaves me time on New Year’s Day to concentrate on what I want to do for the remainder of the year.   I will paint, read, exercise, eat healthy.

I also plan on spending the remaining two weeks of the year organizing my office for my day job – to make me more efficient.

In doing these things, I will be able to FOCUS on pushing my art forward, working on my online presence and learning more about social media!

SETTING GOALS

I am part of a critique group called Shadowline Artist Group which meets every month or so.  We have decided to incorporate a “salon” type element to the group and share both long and short term goals.
One of our members, Donna Orti, did a little research on goals which are listed below.   I found these thoughts so simple and straightforward, I feel they border on being brilliant!   
1.  In order for a goal to be effective, it must effect change.
2.  Realistic goals are beyond your grasp but within your reach. 
3.  Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.
4.  and my favorite – A goal without a deadline is a wish!
With these thoughts fresh in our minds, we went around the room and discussed our goals.   The goals were as varied as finishing a series, finding a regional gallery to developing a website.  There was talk about simplfying, finding focus, and organizing.
With hearing everybody’s goals, I was inspired enough to put my initial goals on paper.  So here goes!
I want to get in the habit of blogging.   I haven’t been blogging regularly, in fact, I had to stop and think about what my password was for my blog today!!!!!  I don’t want to just write about my work, but I want to write about the books I’ve read and the movies/documentaries I’ve seen that are relevant to my artwork.
I need to organize my collage material – and I want that finished by the end of Thanksgiving weekend.  I will be off work for 5 full days over Thanksgiving – and I don’t have alot of commitments.   So – I’m looking forward to a very productive long weekend to get myself organized.
I also want to send out my electronic newsletter within the next 2 weeks.   I haven’t sent one since the summer – and it is time I send another one out.   My last show of the year will be the first weekend of December, so I want to get it out prior to then.
Over the longterm – I want to work on my online presence and expand my mailing list.
I plan on experimenting more and working on a new series.   I’m toying with an idea about destruction and beauty  – – – going to work on making this more than a vague idea in my head!
Because I am in two galleries in town, as well as a shop in Vinings I have decided to get away from festivals.   After much soul searching, I have decided Atlanta is just too “festival crazy” – there are weekends where there are as many as four or five festivals.   The market is just too deluted.  So –  I’m going to choose my venues more carefully.   I feel I am at a point in my art-career where the company I keep is important.   I no longer want to show my work at events that have buy/sell or substandard work.
In the other aspects of my life, I want to get on a strict budget.   I want to eat healthier and work out more.   I want to de-clutter my life, my homes, my wardrobe and my head!!!!   
So – here’s to my goals.   I will refine these by the end of the year and have a good list of goals that I am going to hold myself accountable too!

ADVENTURES IN PAINTING COURTESY OF CHILDREN’S HEALTHCARE OF GEORGIA

Several weeks ago I was contacted by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) about participating in their annual fund-raiser, Jazz and Art from the Heart .  Many artists are approached with regularity about donating art for charity.  However, this was different.   The premise is to pair and artist and a child together – a child that has benefited from the services of CHOA – to create a piece of artwork that will be auctioned at the fund-raiser, held in September at the Bill Lowe Gallery.  I was immediately intrigued.

These pictures are me working with Catie Claire on a piece of art to be donated.  It was great fun for an afternoon, but not being a teacher, I learned a few things to keep in mind in the future.

My idea was to have Catie Claire over (nicknamed Cake) to look through my artwork and we would decide how to go from there.  Because I work in layers – I thought we’d start with three pieces and see how they were progressing.
Back to Catie Claire – her mother sent me information about her, but I didn’t totally understand it.  I do know she spent the first 4 years of her life in and out of CHOA, even had open heart surgery during that time.   Right now – she is a healthy ten-year catching up on those lost years.
Well – I realize my idea about the initial collaboration was not the best idea when dealing with a 10 year old.   She wanted to do this – she wanted to do that – and it was fun letting her try all of it.  In retrospect, I should have started a piece and had her put on the finishing touches on it.  After all, I do work coffee into my paint often, which she had great fun doing.  I do splatter paint with rubber bands and spray them with paint watered down in plastic bottles.   All of these things are great fun, both to me and a 10-year old (what does that say about me?).  But, having a clear cut direction would have given me the chance to teach her “less is more”.
This is the piece I  plan on completing for this – I have put another couple of layers on it – and integrated some collage into it with things Catie Claire loves, like music and dance.  
Because she is getting ready to go back to school, seeing her doctors to check her out, etc. I don’t know if she will make it back over here to finish it.   But if she can come – I know which direction to go in now.   

Here we are comtemplating our next move!