Art Gallery and Fashion Style

Archive for the ‘Art Gallery Tips’ Category

When thinking of creative home decorating, think of starting close to home. Use your own photos and artwork to add a personal touch to your home decor.

Your photos, displayed elegantly on giclee canvas, turn into works of art in your home or office. In giclee printing, the images are generated from high resolution digital photos or digital scans and printed with archival quality inks (stable, pigment-based inks are used). People say that photos reproduced on canvas resemble oil paintings. Canvas is a perfect medium for fine photography and the giclee process, with it’s ability to produce millions of colors and apply inks with incredible accuracy, provides a result that is simply spectacular in it’s high degree of fine detail.

Elegant as the pure photograph is on a canvas or a high quality print, some people prefer to enhance their photo with a bit of spot color. Or they turn a photo into a fine art masterpiece by using a digital oil painting, impasto or impressionist effect. You can enhance your photos, too, by making use of the entire color spectrum and making the colors more vivid, bold or bright. Andy Warhol type pop art panels can be made personal by using your own photos.

Creative alternatives to traditional photo display are limited only by your imagination.

Spot Color is used to bring out a special detail. Make the red roses “pop” in an otherwise black and white wedding portrait. Focus on the blue eyes in a close-up shot of a young child. Create drama in a landscape photo by highlighting the fall foliage.

Two styles of painting which are successfully reproduced in digital photo enhancement are Impasto and Impressionist.

Impasto refers to a style of painting like Vincent Van Gogh or Rembrandt. In Impasto, paint is applied thickly and leaves a textured look. The marks made by the brush or painting knife stay visible. (A painting knife is a springy metal spatula used in place of a brush.). Impasto painting has a 3 dimensional quality to it. It is sometimes said that impasto painting emphasizes the physical qualities of the paint and is applied with wild gestural bravura and dynamism.

Impressionist art is in the style of Monet, Degas, Manet and Renoir. The Impressionist style of painting emphasized loose imagery rather than finely delineated pictures. Impressionist style painting has strong emphasis on light and it’s changing reflective qualities at different times of day and on perception of movement. The artist captures an image as someone would see it if he were just to catch a glimpse of it in passing. Unusual visual angles are representative of this style. Colors are often vibrant and bright and applied with short brush stokes, creating an image with emphasis on color, movement, light, but without fine detail.

Adding an Oil Painting Effect digitally to a photo can enhance an already nice photo by adding a dimensionality of interest. Regular photos placed on canvas already have an oil painting look to them. The digitally created oil painting effect shows brush strokes.

Modern forms of Pop Art, including Warhol-inspired pop art panels, are another forum for personal expression. People turn a great photo of their pet or their child into a fun piece of colorful pop art. Pop Art is a more modern way to display a portrait than a traditional formal photograph.

More and more, people are moving toward enhancing their photos through digital art. It is creative and personal.

Especially in today’s economic times, to personalize their home decor, many people prefer to use photography they have taken or artwork they have created. Today, people are looking for ways to decorate their homes in a stylish yet economical way. It is fun and easy to personalize your home decor using your own photos.
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Do you enjoy drawing artistic portraits of family, friends, or photographs? Some of the most celebrated art pieces in the world are portraits like the Mona Lisa, Vincent van Gogh’s self portraits, and Leonardo da Vinci’s self portraits. The popularity of portraits increased as cameras were available to make faster and more accurate portraits, but for many art enthusiasts photographs don’t have the same artistic enjoyment as paintings or drawings. Before you start down the path to improving you drawing skills you must realize that a great drawing engages the viewer to continue to look at and be pulled into the portrait. The viewer must feel like they are in the middle of a conversion with the person in the portrait or involved in the scene of the portrait. If you have ever wanted to draw portraits like the great artists, here are my 5 tips to drawing more engaging portraits using graphite or coloring pencils.

1. Don’t be intimated to draw the human form.

For many people drawing the human body, especially the face, is like meeting your favorite actor. You would love to meet that actor and make a good impression, but are afraid that you’ll end up being so nervous you’ll make a fool of yourself, so you avoid the situation altogether. Whether you are a hobbyist or professional don’t be intimated because your portrait skills will never improve that way. So try your best, but be ready to make mistakes and acknowledge them.

2. The portrait should make eye contact with the viewer.

This is also a basic concept of social skills. The best conversions you’ve ever had were with someone that made eye contact. Magazine ads, TV commercials, and public speakers all make eye contact with their viewers to engage them so they feel connected to the subject matter. A portrait subject almost always should be looking straight forward to allow viewers from all angles to be engaged by the eyes of the picture. This is why people say the Mona Lisa’s eyes follow you where ever you are, she is looking straight forward.

3. The portrait should have a mood that is expressed to the viewer.

Having the portrait subject looking forward is no excuse for lack of action or mood in the expressions of the face in the drawing. A person laughing expresses joy and friendliness to the viewer or a person frowning expresses distress, worry or anger. The expression of the subject in the portrait needs to be lively to engage the viewer to continue looking at the drawing and to be interested in the portrait. Also the background should reinforce the same mood as the subject.

4. Create the illusion of depth with shadows, shading, and clean edges.

A common mistake is to outline the subject in the portrait this results in a lack of realism. The portrait doesn’t look life-like but resembles a cartoon or anime character. It is fine if you are drawing a cartoon but is bad if drawing for realism. Also shadows should not neglected; make the darks dark, this will add layers of depth to the drawing to make it seem 3-D. Shading will also create realistic contours for facial features like cheeks and noses. Shading should be subtle and well blended. A good rule of thumb for creating realistic depth is to make sure that adjacent areas of the portrait have different grading of shading. For example, the bridge of the nose should not have the same shading as the tip of the nose since the tip is further out.

5. Practice drawing without hesitation.

It is easy to get discouraged from mistakes and not feel like you’re improving. Most likely you are improving; you just don’t notice the improvements. To overcome this potential stumbling block complete all of your drawings and keep them with their mistakes. Archive the practice drawings and completed pieces for a time and then look back to see your improvements. You will have an easier time seeing how you draw much better eyes, for example, than you did a month ago. It might be useful to put dates and notes on the back of each practice piece to catalog the progress.

Remember most of all drawings are for personal or public enjoyment. Show friends and family art pieces and use them as subjects for portraits. This way you will get feedback as to what the most engaging parts of the portraits are and how to improve overall. Soon you will have portraits that are so engaging that viewers won’t be able to keep their eyes off them!

Then see how far your drawings will take you. There are many people out there who appreciate good artwork. Don’t limit yourself. There are many ways to sell your drawings.
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If art is just more than your hobby and you intend to make some money through it, selling your art and crafts could be a brilliant idea. You could sell your work at farmers markets, craft shows, or bazaars. For those who are new to this field, here are five key tips that can help you sell your work successfully and at better price.

First tip is to target the children. It’s not to say that you should ONLY design for kids but you must cater to their needs as well. In events such as the ones where you are likely to display your work for sale, most families come as more of an outing. If you can offer something that the kids might like, or even the elders like for kids, you can be rest assured of some handy sale.

Second, always arrange and manage your art and crafts in the simplest way. Remember, it’s an art gallery and you are likely to have most visitors that like it well organized. So neatly arrange all your items and leave empty spaces as well.

Third, label the price clearly on items. If there is no price tag, most people might simply walk off rather than asking the price.

Fourth, it is better to take all that you have and sell less than take less and run out of goods when people are looking to buy. You might not sell everything that you take but at least it makes your display good. The more time customers spend on your counter, the better your chances of making a sale.

Finally, take any and every thing that are could probably need to enhance your art and crafts material at the spot should the need be. Carry extra brushes, pens, pencils, stapler, price tags, glue, pins, etc so make sure that you can manage any accidental situation.

I have been successfully selling my arts and crafts for a number of years. Since I began this journey I have had many relatives and friends wanting to know the secret to my success.

To help you out I have reviewed all the different art selling courses and put together my top list of what I think are the best programs available today and the one that actually helped me to succeed.

This course will help you to Immediately Make a Full Time Living! Selling Your Artwork, No Matter What Type of Artist You Are
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The art prints are beautiful creation to collect. However, since these are intrinsically fragile, it is difficult to protect them properly. It is because prints can be physically damaged by the heat and humidity or when you display them in sunny room. Actually, there are some best ways to protect these creations. Just take a look at the following tips and get your art prints last longer.

If you are the artist, you can use care in the creation of the images. Or, if you are the collector, you can choose prints skillfully. If you are printing on acidic papers, it can make the art prints to yellow and crumble over time. Also, the use of tape, glue, or other mounting materials can cause the chemical of the print arts change so that it can potentially make them damaged.

The next thing that you can do for protecting your art prints is by displaying them wit care. The most essential factor that can make these creations damaged is the ultraviolet rays from sunlight. So, you have to avoid hanging your prints in the sunny areas. You can use blinds, curtains, or other framing materials for controlling the UV exposure. Also, you can use the acid-free backing paper and matting materials instead of using tape or glue.

The other great way to protect your art prints is by controlling the humidity where they are stored or displayed. It is because humidity can create brownish spots and molding on the print. Besides, humidity can also create attraction for the insects like silverfish which can eat holes in your art prints. Additionally, the acidic air pollution in major cities can also cause problems. You need to make sure that the humidity is at least 40 percents and it remains constant. Thus, you can be sure that your art prints are certainly safe.
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Art promotion or a gallery exhibition is often a normal event in the art world. The same goes for a studio or gallery promotion. Unlike a one time, spectacle event celebration of an artist’s new visual art, performance art, sculpture or installation collection, an art gallery is a business establishment. Just like any, it needs a marketing plan and promotional programs to gain profit. When a gallery’s potential market is set in a local residential or mixed neighborhood smaller, more affordable print collaterals can create more of a personal and effective connection with customers. Below are some ideas on how to promote an art gallery or studio using small print materials.

o Postcards-Postcards are handy, highly artistic promotional mediums. Materials such as these can be well-received and appreciated, particularly when they feature famous art. Each postcard design can be unique. There is no need to go beyond budget on materials like this. Online print services today offer cheap postcards printing for bulk orders. What’s more, the design; such as post card dimensions, orientation, finish even paper stock can be customized according to a gallery’s image or concept. Postcards are highly personable and can be mailed as a birthday, anniversary, or thank you gift.

o Catalogs- Printing an art catalog not only serves a means for transmitting information but it is visually stimulating as well. Art catalogs can be given away as gifts for loyal customers. For first time artists and dealers, they can serve as nifty gifts that may increase recall or referral rates. Each catalog can showcase the gallery’s most successful shows, priciest collections, art sales, or it can be kept at the gallery for customer reference on art prizes, specifications, artists and availability.

o Calendars-Art calendars are an effective medium to showcase art, convey information, promote a gallery and serve a pragmatic purpose. Sending them as gifts to customers strengthens personal relationships and customer relations. Calendar prints are easy to design and print with custom or standard options offered by print companies.
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If you create beautiful art work, chances are there’s a market for your work online. When you sell art online you not only reach a national audience, but an international one as well. Selling art online can help you target a wider audience for your work without spending a significant money on advertising and marketing.

When most people attempt to sell art online, they set up a free standing website or sell their art through an auction site such as eBay. Unfortunately, most buyers on eBay have a bargain basement mentality and expect to purchase art at a fraction of what it’s really worth. It can be frustrating to get so little return on an item you worked hard to create. Although all artists should have a free standing website, it can be a challenge to drive traffic to one unless you’re well versed in search engine marketing or are prepared to spend a great deal of time marketing through social networks and forums.

Is there an easier way to sell art online? A simple, inexpensive solution is to sell your art in an online art and craft gallery that carries high quality work. By selling in an online gallery, you gain greater exposure for your work from the traffic the gallery brings in. This means less time and expense spent marketing and more time to create new pieces of art. It allows you to do what you do best – create art without the pressure to constantly market. Setting up your art work to sell only takes minutes when you’re selling through an online gallery whereas it can be very time consuming to build and maintain a free standing website. An online gallery also supplies you with a shopping cart and the ability to accept credit cards so you can start selling right away.

Of course, at some point, you’re going to want to set up your own free standing website and link it to your online gallery site. Until then, you may want to consider using an online gallery to sell art online.
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How to choose an online gallery? When looking for an online art gallery it is a good idea to have some kind of question checklist. Here are some questions you might consider. How much will the gallery cost to run? Is there a commission I have to pay on my art sold? Will I get enough traffic and how much art can I display? Will I be given my own personal art website and biography page? Is it difficult to set up? Can I check my client traffic statistics. Is there a free trial period so I can see if I like the system? This should help you concerning how to choose an online gallery.

Five Tips for Selling Your Art Online

1. Presentation – Present your art in the most professional way possible. Ideally, showcase your art in an online gallery.

2. Traffic – Even if you have the most beautiful art in the world in your gallery, you will have little success selling your work unless people know where you are. Market your art through free ads, paid ads if you like, pay-per-click ads, blogs, forums and articles. Write “how to” articles about art, which is a great way to generate traffic to your site. Also, have business cards made up and distribute them in as many ways possible.

3. Critiques – Ouch! – If you’re way too sensitive and thinned skinned, get over it. Criticism is one of your best money-making friends. Why? Because you want to find out what people like and don’t like about your art so you can fix it and make your art more salable. Go out of your way to get criticism of your art by asking friends, strangers (safe strangers!), forum groups, art teachers, art professors and even art appraisers if you want to spend the money.

Leonardo da Vinci asked for criticism from a man off the street. He asked the man what he thought of his “Last Supper” painting, which was not yet finished. The man said he really liked the chalice cup. I believe Leonardo readily removed the chalice from the painting because it was not supposed to be the focus of the work. Leonardo was wise enough to appreciate and receive objective criticism which helped finish his masterpiece.

4. Constant Improvement – Creating your art should be a constant learning process, ever improving because the more knowledge you have of the laws and rules of art the better your painting skills, hence greater financial return on your art. To what is needed to improve your artistic eye and skills. Look at great art and try to see why their colors, their lights and darks, shapes and compositions work so well. Take an art class. Read art “how to” books. Grow in your knowledge of what makes great art.

5. Pricing – Too High, Too Low – Check out your competition, art similar to your own work. What are their prices? Get opinions from people about your art pricing. Remember, be thick-skinned for they are only helping you decide on the correct pricing for your art. Test your pricing. If it sells too quickly (how wonderful!), perhaps you could raise the price. If it is not selling, then your pricing is probably too high. Test, test, test. Oh, you might consider having prints made of your originals because it would give you a whole new extra pricing market. Some people would rather pay for a print than to pay more for an original.

So, hopefully the art gallery question checklist and the 5 tips for selling your art online will help you get your art selling. Enjoy your divine gift, the unique ability to express yourself through art.

5 Star Bonus Information: Here is a simple formula for victory that works. Take three promises from the Bible that cover any problem you are facing. Select a time during the day to speak these three promises out loud for at least and hour each day. Why at least an hour? Because God’s Word is like a hammer according to Jeremiah 23:29. As you speak God’s Word you will be hammering away to demolish and destroy that problem rock or mountain in your life.

Also, as you hear yourself speaking those promises of God, faith will come to your heart to believe those promises you’re speaking are true in you. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17 KJV). The more time you spend doing this, the quicker the rewarding results.

So, who originated this simple formula for victory? Not me. A Christian man was in trouble financially. He had a poverty self image created by the wrong teaching he had received from his church pulpit. The Lord graciously told him how to get out of debt. He told the man to take three scriptures (Psalm 34:10, 2 Corinthians 8:9 and Philippians 4:19) and speak them out of his mouth four hours a day.

He did not do what the Lord instructed him to do right away. Finally, on the verge of bankruptcy, he decided to do it in his room four hours a day. Within six months he began to see a change in his situation. Eventually, he was completely out of debt. The Word of God, which is like a hammer according to Jeremiah 23:29, cracked opened and demolished that mountain of a poverty image that was such a curse in his life.
Again, the more time you spend doing this, the quicker the rewarding results.

Remember, this little victory formula will work not just for financial problems, but for any other problem area in your life: healing for your body, peace of mind, wisdom, joy, deliverance from any bondage of sin or whatever. Just find three promises in God’s Word that cover your problem and go for it. God’s Word works!

Do you want to learn about an online art gallery I have used and recommend?
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If you are confused as to what lighting solutions would be best for your art gallery, then the following tips would certainly be of help to you. Art galleries have very unique demands when it comes to lighting them up. Unlike most rooms that require a fine balance of task, accent, and ambient lighting, art galleries mainly rely on accent lighting to accentuate the art on display. While keeping the ambient lighting simple, you need to concentrate mainly on getting the accent lighting right for the actual artwork in the room.

Ideally, you must have a picture lighting system that can be easily reconfigured to light up relocated or new art pieces displayed in the art gallery. For several decades now, monorail lighting and track lighting are being used for lighting art galleries. Check the CRI (Color Rendering Index) A lamp’s CRI is nothing but its ability to display the colors of illuminated objects and falls in the range of 1 (monochromatic light) and 100 (the sun). Fluorescent bulbs that we commonly use have a very low CRI while incandescent lamps come with a high CRI. However, incandescent lamps are not really suitable for art galleries since they do not have the exact directional characteristics required for illuminating art galleries.

Low-voltage track and cable systems are commonly used for this purpose, as they use halogen lamps that are known for their almost perfect color rendering abilities with precise beam control. Another important factor that needs to be considered is the color temperature since it decides how colors would appear to the eye under a specific lamp. It is believed that warm colors would look more vibrant under ‘warm’ light sources while cool colors would look more pleasing under ‘cool’ lamps.

Pay attention to the beam spread abilities of a lamp. The size of the lighted area is one of the major lighting problems when illuminating an art gallery. For instance, a large cone used to illuminate a small art piece may not only look odd but also distract your attention from the artwork to the illuminated wall. It may not be always possible to change fixtures but you can certainly resolve this problem by choosing a lamp of the right beam spread. Simply put, beam spread refers to the width of the cone of light a lamp produces as you move away from the light source.

Beam spreads of lamps are specified in terms of spots and floods. While the term ‘spot’ refers to a beam spread of less than 15 degrees, ‘flood’ describes a beam spread in the range of 15 to 30 degrees. You must avoid directional cans as far as possible, since such recessed fixtures may not give enough light to illuminate an especially large piece despite their ability to rotate.

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