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!

Journeys, here and there and back again at the Defoors Center – shot in HD!

My show is finally up!!!!!!!   We have gotten good press and alot of attention.    Today there is an article in the Northside Neighbor – Female artists highlighted in Buckhead Art Exhibit!!!!

I hung 70 pieces this weekend.    Joel Conison photographed the exhibit in HD – click HERE to not only see my show, but see how great the photographs look!!!!!

It is a great venue – 5500 square feet, 30 foot ceilings!

Come to the opening on Sunday 6/19 – 2-4P

GETTING READY FOR A SHOW AND AN APOLOGY TO MY FRIENDS

I feel like I have been the absent friend of late, and I owe my friends an apology.  Committing to a show of this size in The Forum at the Defoor Centre has taken up ALOT of my time, and I have not been keeping in touch with people as I should.   That doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about my friends, I just haven’t been communicating.  I promise, when this show is up, I am going to be back!!!!   I might even socialize again!!!

Jill Kettles, of Scribbles Studios contacted me last year and asked if I wanted to do a show in the Forum. I readily agreed.  The Forum is a fairly large space and I knew I had alot of work to do.  I wanted to paint larger for awhile and had been collecting canvases.   This was the opportunity to do this and work on larger works in a couple of series.   Because the room has dividers, I feel I can hang 2-3 series and still make it look cohesive.

Because of Jill’s expertise with PR, she has managed to get the show listed on the following:
Pressitt
Atlanta Skirt Magazine
Atlanta Planet 
eventful
11 ALIVE
as well as the Northside Neighbor (which didn’t have a link).

I’m excited to be showing with several of my friends (we all have separate rooms), Laura Parker and Tina Ciranni, as well as Lisa Stevens and Ruth Gogel.

Jill was able to get Ike Stubblefield  as the musical guest.   He has played with people such as Eric Clapton, B.B.King, Boz Scaggs, The Pointer Sisters among others.

So – what do I have ready to show at this?

Here are 24 pieces that are finished, except some of them still need wires and the edges finished.  The largest piece here is 36×48 – my largest piece yet.

Shown here are 14 pieces that are finished, but will be photographed prior to hanging.

Here are the framed pieces – 14 in all.  I have 2 additional pieces to be framed – 16 in all.

Three pieces in progress, and yes – I am using hula oops and baking pans!!!!

And – I have a few more I have begun that have been drying by the gardenia bush – which as you can see is in full bloom.

The reception is on June 19th – 2-4p, and is open to the public at the Defoor Art Center, located at 1710 Defoor Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.  I really believe this opening will be fun!!!!   Not only will the entertainment be great, I think the refreshments will be worth the trip – and – – – The Defoor Art Center is haunted!

THE ADVANTAGES OF USING A PROFESSIONAL TO PHOTOGRAPH YOUR ARTWORK, GUEST BLOG WRITTEN BY PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER JOEL CONISON

I believe having good images of your work is one of the most important things you need.  Before I met Joel, back in the days of slide submissions, i had some work photographed.   When I met Joel, I showed them to him, and without taking a close look, he said they were too blue and the color was not corrected.  Watching him photograph artwork and spending time in photoshop, I finally asked him to write a guest blog for me about the advantages of using a professional.

Joel Conison was a commercial photographer for over 20 years in Cincinnati.  During that time he photographed countless works of art for the Taft Museum,  so he has extensive expertise in photographing all types of artwork – both 2d and 3d work.   At the end of what Joel wrote, I included two images, one that was corrected and one that wasn’t.   I think you will be able to tell the difference between them.  But I will say since they are images of my work, I know the second image is right on with the correct color.

The following is Joel’s blog

There are a number of reasons to hire a professional photographer to photograph your art work. One of them is that they are a professional and have done this before. A pro knows how to properly light your work with the proper equipment. Yes, you can buy the same equipment, I’d be happy to tell you what I use. But, do you want to go that expense? Do you want to take the time and practice to learn how to do that when you could be making art?
A professional also has a light meter which allows them to know if the light is evenly covering your work. Also a professional is using a professional camera. A point & shoot camera  will work but only records jpg files. That’s fine for the web & submissions but not if you want prints unless your final size of the file is the size you want to print. 
Another issue is photographing pieces that have been framed & behind glass. What is needed for this are two filters, one for the camera & one for the lights, each light. The light needs to be polarized in order to remove the reflection. Without filters on both camera lens & both lights you can not remove the entire reflection. 
There is also the need to bracket on occasion, which means making a lighter and darker exposure than the “normal” exposure. This allows the photographer to choose the “correct” exposure. This is essential when using the polarizing filters because a meter reading is too difficult to take as you can’t take the filter off of the lens because the filter is turned (rotated) until the reflection disappears. The correct exposure is determined by placing a black & white step wedge next to the art work & determining the correct exposure by looking at the step wedge. A step wedge is a series of increasing darker grays beginning at white & progressing to black. For really good files you want to capture that art work in RAW format, which brings another question. 
Are you competent with Photoshop, or do you have a few months to battle through the learning curve? A Pro is going to provide two files for every art work. One will be a jpg file for web, submissions & email, and also a psd file (hi-res) for publications. All digital files should be neutralized, meaning there is no color bias in the file (is it too red, too blue, etc) and also sharpened. No matter how well you focus the camera all digital files need to be sharpened. It’s the nature of the way digital capture works that sharpening is required for all files.
So in summation it’s a good idea to have a pro photograph your work because they have the proper lights, camera, photoshop experience and additional  skilsl that you might not posses. Submitting bad files digital files is the same as submitting bad slides.
UNCORRECTED IMAGE
CORRECT IMAGE
If you are interested in getting your artworked photographed for a reasonable fee, contact Joel at jcon77@comcast.net

SPRING CLEANING – or – SHOWING OFF YOUR SOUVENIRS

It is that time of year again – time for Spring Cleaning.  Time to clean out the drawers, organize, and clean,
Below see the collage I did for my niece Mallory using souvenirs she collected after spending a year in Europe.  She didn’t want to put them into an album – she wanted to be able to look at them and share them with her friends.  She recently moved into her first apartment, so I put this together as a housewarming gift for her.

This is an inexpensive way to create a piece of art that is uniquely your own using your memories.   I have done several of these for friends using souvenirs from trips or special events.   I use the original material selectively and copy others, changing the scale and dying the paper.   I then add embelishments that might include rice paper, thread, or anything that is appropriate.

This is another example of what I call a “memory collage”.  My father rebuilt pianos, and also knew how to tune them.  This was something he loved doing and I inherited his book on piano tuning – which included notations my dad had made in his handwriting.  I copied some of this and did a collage entitled “Showing of the Piano” – which is a term piano tuners use when the piano is ready to be played.  This collage keeps my father’s memory alive with something he really loved!

Do you have materials stuck back somewhere that you would like to organize and “show off” in a piece of original art?   I’d be happy to put something together and work closely with what is important to include for a reasonable fee.   If interested, contact me at vickiemartinarts@comcast.net

Also, if you have done collage along these lines, share them with me!

BOOKS ABOUT ART I RECOMMEND

It all began with The Forgery of Venus, a fictional book that deals with time travel, alternate realities, a commercial artists madness AND art forgery.  

The Forgery of Venus” is the story of Chaz Wilmot, a brilliant painter who can paint like the old  Masters, and nobody in the artworld cares. Chaz is recruited into a psychological study investigating if taking a hallucinogen promotes creativity. Apparently it does. But, it sends Chaz  back through time, first to his own childhood, then into the childhood of the famous Spanish court painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660).
Soon Chaz paints even more vividly, but he’s both in jeopardy of losing his mind and in danger of being recruited by some very rich and nasty characters determined to use him to forge famous paintings.

After reading this book, I was hooked and started reading about art forgery and theft (which I have previously blogged about).   I decided to just list the books I recommend on the subject.

THE GARDNER HEIST

PROVENANCE, HOW A CON MAN AND A FORGER REWROTE THE HISTORY OF MODERN ART

THE RESCUE ARTIST

THE MAN WHO MADE VERMEERS

VANISHED SMILE

PRICELESS: WHO I WENT UNDERCOVER TO RESCUE THE WORLD’S STOLEN TREASURE

THE RAPE OF EUROPA

Some other books that deal with art, but not necessarily about forgery or theft that were very entertaining:

AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY

SEVEN DAYS IN THE ART WORLD

THE $12 MILLION STUFFED SHARK

LIVES OF ARTISTS

I BOUGHT ANDY WARHOL

I SOLD ANDY WARHOL, too soon

Books I have to be read

THE GIRL WITH THE GALLERY

THE ART CROWD

LEO & HIS CIRCLE

A previous blog I wrote titled Some Facts About Art Theft and Vermeer and Why The Scream Cannot Be Forged. may explain why I love these books so much!

Do you have any suggestions?   I’d love to hear!

THE POWER OF “LIKE”

Chances are, if you are reading this, you are using Facebook and have probably clicked the “like” button.   After taking a workshop yesterday on Social Marketing for Artists, the power of “like” was referred to.   It got me thinking….   what does it mean when it comes to promoting yourself or your business.  After all, it has been integrated into millions of sites.

When you click on the button, it ensures your entire network knows you “like” this.  This is the only button that allows you to gain access to groups and fan pages.

I believe marketing can be very valuable when word of mouth is utilitzed.   This button allows this to happen and in some cases, it will create viral opportunities (maybe one day, maybe!).

Now – liking something on Facebook doesn’t mean the same thing as liking something in real life.  It let’s your network of friends know you appreciate what you have seen.  Personally, I think it makes the post more credible when people have “liked” it, because most of us care what our friends like.

Some statistics I found that I thought interesting:   On the average, a Facebook user that hits “like” has more than double the average friends and tends to be more active in social media.  These users also tend to stay on the sites a little longer.

Think about it and do the math.   If an artist posts a painting and has 150 friends, and just 10 of them hit like, then the painting is seen by their friends.  If they have an average of 150 friends, that is 1500 extra people!

Do the search engines pick up on the “likes”?   Hard to tell.   From my reading, Google, Bing and Yahoo are very secretive about their practices.   It is possible they are using the like buttons, but I think you would have to have a blog or a website to get their attention.   If anybody know more about this, I’d love to know.

I’d love to know your thoughts.   Many of you know I love the reciprocity of promoting on facebook, more on that and sharing later.

I think liking something is supporting your friends, it isn’t reviewing them.

Your thoughts?

Oh – I can’t write a blog without putting an image of my work up –

IT”S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR!!!! Goal Setting for 2011

Now that 2010 is almost behind us, I’ve been thinking long and hard about moving forward in all aspects of my life in 2011.   While 2010 yielded some great opportunities, they came at a price, which resulted in a great amount of stress.   After alot of thought, I plan on approaching the next year a little differently.   Here are some of my goals:

BLOGGING – I want to have a semi-structured calendar to send out blogs. I realize now I  approach writing a blog as a huge event!  Shouldn’t I  carry a notebook around  (which I have tried to do before) and make an effort to record some random ideas and thoughts I have?  I’m going to try to post  new work regularly, review books I have read (maybe a blog on the Steve Martin book An Object of Beauty will be next), and maybe have a guest blogger or two!
I plan on reading and commenting on more blogs in the future.  Commenting on a blog is like leaving your business card around town, just that you are leaving it on the internet.

WEBSITE – Sadly, my website was not updated in 2010.  I need to update my website quarterly.  I’ve made notes and written ideas, but never followed through.  I have photographs of all my artwork, but they are on discs sitting next to my computer.  What good is that doing anybody?

NEWSLETTER – One thing I accomplished in 2010 is learning how to use Constant Contact.  I want to learn more!   My goal is to send out a newsletter on a bi-monthly basis (starting with a holiday newsletter prior to the end of the year), and I want to expand my email list by a minimum of 150 people in 2011.

INVENTORY – I have investigated several inventory options, and over the holidays I’m going to start recording my work.  This way I will  know where every piece of art I have made is at any given time.  I also want to keep better track of the materials that go into each piece, therefore giving every piece a unique story to share.

SUBMIT – There are several websites out there that feature artists, or publish articles written by artists.  This is something I plan on investigating and finding the right fit for me.

MISCELLANEOUS – I want to learn to use the video on my camera, duh!  I will try a new art technique every month – and top of the list is experimenting with burning paper using unique things such as gunpowder, hot wax or incense.

INVOLVEMENT:  I am a member of the Women’s Caucus of Art in Georgia, the Atlanta Collage Society, and a past member of the Atlanta Artist Center.  I want to do more than just pay my dues!

PERSONAL GOALS:  I will make exercise a part of my life.  I will also begin journaling (this goes back to carrying a notebook to record those random ideas).  Other things include eating healthier, meditating, and getting organized.

I grew up with the belief that what you do on New Year’s Day is what you will do for the remainder of the year.  Because of that belief, I have a tradition of tying up loose ends the week before New Years, cleaning out drawers, closets, filing, etc.  That leaves me able to do my favorite things on New Year’s Day -be it reading, painting, exercising – the list can go on and on.  I feel this is a positive approach to begin a new year!

Thanks fo Alyson Stanfied, The Art Biz Coach,  I know what I will blog about before the end of the year – my accomplishments in the past year, which she suggested in this recent blog.

SOME FACTS ABOUT ART THEFT AND VERMEER, AND WHY THE SCREAM CANNOT BE FORGED

I just finished reading The Rescue Artist  by Edward Dolnick.  This is a rollicking ride of a book about the theft of Edward Munch’s The Scream in 1996 in Oslo on the day of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics in Lillehammer.  In the early morning, two thieves stole a ladder, propped it up to the museum, broke a window, grabbed the painting and slid it down the ladder.  Not only was it caught on film –  it took less than a minute.

As I read this book, I became intrigued with facts about art theft,  as well as historical facts about artwork that had been stolen.  As I read, I jotted down these facts and thought I would share them.

First of all, Interpol estimates that between $4-6 billion dollars changes hands a year relating to stolen art.  It is the #3 crime in the world, behind drugs and arms.   But, it usually doesn’t get the attention of the other crimes unless someone has been hurt.

There are only 36 Vermeers in the world, three of which have been stolen recently.  This book was written in 2005, and at that time, if there was what the author called A Museum of the Missing, it would include 551 Picassos, 43 Van Goghs, 174 Rembrandts, 209 Renoirs, along with the 3 Vermeers, and Caravaggios, Titian’s among others.

The recovery rate of stolen art is around 10%.  Stolen art when sold is generally sold for 10% of the value.

The Gardner Heist, which took place on 3/16/1990 is the Holy Grail in the world of art thefts  = $300 million dollars in art was stolen and nothing has been recovered.

It is said it is easier to steal a work of art from the Louvre than from you local department store.  In May 1998, someone walked into Room 67, a room without a camera and no guard.  A Carot was taken out of the frame and the perpetrator probably calmly walked out the front door and was gone before it was missed.  It is estimated to be worth $1.3 million!   The Louvre is 800 years old and was built as a palace. The security cameras don’t cover all rooms, and they work independently, there isn’t a central location for viewing.  (Note – The Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911, and wasn’t missed for 1/2 a day!)

The National Gallery in Oslo, where The Scream was stolen has been hit several times.  In 1980 a drug addict walked in and took a Rembrandt off the wall and sold it for $10,000.  It was recovered in Paris.
In 1993, in daytime and at the time of a shift change for the guards while a television crew was filming in another room, another $300,000 Munch was stolen.

The most stolen painting of all time is Rembrandt’s portrait of Jacob III de Gheyn.  It is very small, not quite 8×10 and has been stolen FOUR times – luckily it has been recovered four times.

Goya’s portrait of The Duke of Wellington disappeared in 1961 from the National Gallery in London, who has just purchased it.  Before it was recovered, it made an appearance in Dr. No (the first James Bond movie) in the villian’s Caribbean hideway!

Unlike stolen cars, stolen art can be locked up and the value will be kept (often going up after recovery).  Art is often used as barter for illegal weapons or counterfeit money.

Why is art stolen?  Most thieves will say because it is easy to do.

SOME FACTS ABOUT VERMEER

The painting you see here is Vermeer’s The Concert, which was stolen from the Gardner Museum and hasn’t been seen since.  Very little is known about Vermeer, but I did read some interesting things in this book about him.
He died at age 43.  His wife gave the painting The Lady Playing A Guitar to the bakery to pay for past debts worth less than $80.  That painting now is worth a minimum of $50,000,000, and possibly as much as $100,000,000.   Remember, there are only 36 of them in existence, and 3 are presently stolen.
I found this blog, Stolen Vermeer  which is devoted to the recovery of the Vermeers.
Vermeer was part of the Delft Art Guild, so he had to apprentice.  It is not known who he apprenticed with, but it is known he did not have any students.
He was an obscure artist until 1866 when a French critic wrote three articles about him which caused the Impressionists to become fascinated by his use of light.  In fact, he had become so obscure, the Louvre sold The Head of a Girl in 1813 for what would be around $15 today.  They sold The Lacemaker for the equivalent of $400.  Amazing!

WHY THE SCREAM CAN NOT BE FORGED

The Scream was painted with tempera (basically poster paint) and pastel and chalk on untreated cardboard.  Little known facts about the painting are:
In the red bands across the sky, someone has written “This must have been painted by a madman”.  This is not in Munch’s handwriting.  No one knows who wrote it, possibly during an early showing of the work. (I wonder if it is written in Danish!)
On the side there is a vertical red stripe.  Munch took a sharp knife to it and slit it and then changed his mind about cutting it off and covered it with green paint.
Munch painted late at night.  One night he blew out a candle and some of the wax splattered onto the painting.  Forensically, you can’t blow two candles out the same way twice, so the wax splatter could not be replicated.
On the back of the painting, there is another painting of The Scream that is cruder (and upside down).  Apparently Munch didn’t like it and turned the cardboard over.  In fact, there are four versions of The Scream, this and one at the Munch Museum being the most recognized (and that one was stolen in 2004!)

By the way, the book The Rescue Artist won an Edgar Award given out by the Mystery Writers of America Guild.

Now, to find out how The Scream was recovered, you will have to read the book!   What next?  I think I’m going to read The Forger’s Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoaz of the Twentieth Century.