Author:
Steven Barnes

When the first reviews for my most recent novel (Great Sky Woman, Random House 2006) started coming in, my emotions went through the usual roller coaster. The first, from Publisher’s Weekly, was 90% positive, but mentioned that, in their opinion, it was slow in spots. My stomach sank. Slow? In spots? Oh my Godâ€â€�all is lost!

The second review came in two weeks later. This one, from “Booklist,” used words like “magnificent” and “engaging” and “adventure on a grand scale.”

I sighed. Boy, oh boy, did I need to hear that. Why? Because I am an insecure artist. Because I spend, on average, two years researching and one year writing my novels. Because I care so very much about each and every one of my literary children. Because I pour my life into every project I work on, break my head open, remove the protective walls from around my heart. I have to, because that is the only way to access my talent. I CAN’T do less than my very bestâ€â€�that would immediately devolve to hack work, and that I cannot do.

Some say to ignore reviews, that they are only the opinions of people who, often, are jealous of work they themselves could not create. I choose not to embrace that opinion. To me, reviews are the opinions of informed, professional readers. Such people are not necessarily any better informed than the average reader, but what they have to say is certainly worthy of attention.

To be absolutely frank, there have been times I curled up and cried because a reviewer I respected disliked my work. And other times when handsprings across the living room were the order of the day. Such violent ups and downs can hardly be good for your blood pressure (let alone the household pets) but for an artist who cares, really cares about reaching out to the world, about creating a dialogue with readers present and unborn, there seems little choice.

An artist needs feedback. We must know whether what we do communicates the message intended. That doesn’t mean all glory and complement. Harsh but honest criticism can help an artist understand what the public sees when they read the work, watch the film, view the dance. To the degree that such work is intended to make a statement, to communicate a state of emotion or elusive concept, we MUST know how the public reacts.

But there are times when the good review is more damaging than the bad one. It often seems that a large proportion of artists are people who crave a deeper, more fluid connection with the outside world. Who in early life felt their voice stifled, felt invisible in the middle of a crowd. So they learn to speak their truth in some other form, and a creative performer was born.

Deep within such an artist is a driving, gnawing, ravenous urge to be loved, respected, seen, heard. It is the stifled urge of a child dancing in the living room for the guests, saying “look at me! I’m special!”

Of course, attention isn’t always on the artist herself: sometimes we merely want to draw attention to some cause, or effect, or external reality or philosophy we consider important or of interest. At the heart of all of this, however, is the sense that our perceptions are worthy, our hearts strong, our song as valid as that of any other warbler in the forest.

And when those reviews come in, we can either read them at an emotional arm’s length, or we can take them to heart, suffer the slings and arrowsâ€â€�and rejoice in the victories.

Which are more important? I’m not certain. But when those positive reviews come, I notice that I don’t take them as seriously, as deeply, as the negative ones. I don’t dare. That little boy inside me wants too desperately to believe that he is loved and appreciated, that he has made something worthwhile. When the positive reviews come, it is easy to listen to the accolades, to glow in the applause…

But God help you if you ever need it. Then, with an exquisitely perverse precision, it will be withdrawn. Chasing after the approval makes it dissolve, and we become like a third-rate comic frantically mugging for a once-appreciative audience, begging them to laugh until they are embarrassed for him.

I love the process of writing. I love the books themselves. I love my audience. And I love those reviews, too much, it sometimes seems. And at those times, a little voice whispers in my ear: “The writing isn’t for them. Never for them. It was before they were. And if they turn their backs, you will write still. Don’t be lulled by the fact that today’s reviews are positive. Don’t be frustrated if tomorrow’s reviews are bad. Listen to the voice in your heart, the one that whispers of discipline, and pain, and creative ecstasy. That voice was there at the beginning, and will be there at the end.”

That voice, and no other, can you trust.

About the Author:

N.Y. Times bestselling writer Steven Barnes has written for The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, and Stargate among many others. Why not have the career of your dreams? Don’t just write…Lifewriteâ„¢. Sign up for your FREE daily Lifewritingâ„¢ tip at:
http://www.lifewrite.com

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
How to Survive A Good Review

Author:
Mandy Singh

The better you prepare your work, the more likely you are to make a sale. Here are a few little pointers on decisions you’ll need to make:

1. Which format? Common ebook formats include: HTML, PDF, RTF, TXT, LIT, PDB and other ebook formats. I recommend that you use PDF as your file format, as most Web users are familiar with the technology and free PDF readers are widely available.

2. Presentation: it pays to use a template to achieve a great looking and easy-to-read ebook. Microsoft users can find templates at
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/default.aspx.
Mac users who use Pages will find a variety of attractive templates included with their software.

3. Copyright: Digital Rights Management is a hot topic, but we really think it is an obstacle for independent artists. Our recommendation is that you place a statement in your work advising readers that it is protected by copyright: this is generally respected.

The Extra Mile

If you really want to see some cooking sales results, start promoting your store! CybaSumo provides some great resources to get you started: check out the SumoNews blog at
http://cybasumo.com/blog/selling/how-to-encourage-fans-to-buy-your-stuff/,
or download the very handy CybaSumo Guide to Success here:
http://www.cybasumo.com/widgetdemo.

Get ready to become a paid writer – perpetually.

About the Author:

Mandy Singh is an Internet entrepreneur specialising in promoting independent artists. With years of copywriting and business experience, Mandy likes to share her experience in to show like-minded creative people to use the best tools available to make their dreams materialise. Most recently, Mandy is working on the exciting new CybaSumo.com, a new platform for creative social networkers to see their wares to their networks.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
How to Prepare Your Work for Sale

Author:
CD Mohatta

Having a portfolio is still a very valuable tool for every crafter or artist with a business. Today a crafter or artist may keep their portfolio in a binder or keep digital images in an online portfolio. Each has it’s advantages and you may wish to have both. A binder is accessible without a computer and you can keep in your car or take it with you when you meet with people. With an online portfolio you can send a link to the website through email, or print it on your business card, and a person can see your work without having to meet with you in person.

If you think a portfolio will help you, the most important thing to do is to begin it now, with whatever you have. Don’t fuss on perfection before you have an existing portfolio. Books are written about professional portfolio making and seminars are taught at art schools, however, you can always improve the content and the appearance of your portfolio later. You can’t, however, recover lost opportunities because you didn’t have one to show to people interested in seeing what you do.

A binder portfolio can include small 2-dimensional art and photographs of larger or 3 dimensional art. Choose a binder of adequate size, but keep in mind that larger binders are more difficult to carry or take with you. Whatever style of binder you choose, do not permanently affix any of your photographs or art. This way, you can swap better pieces or photos for the least ones in your portfolio easily. Usually 12 – 24 items makes a good portfolio.

Sometimes, if your work is particularly small, for example, as with jewelry, you can make a sample case of the items instead of a binder containing photos. For a digital portfolio you will need a web page or other online location and digital images. Some artists choose a website that shows items they have for sale, and this doubles as a portfolio. It must, however, be kept current to display only what is available for purchase.

About the Author:

The author writes text and advises for content for
myspace comments
,
myspace graphics
and designs creative ideas for
myspace layouts
.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
How to Make an Art or Craft Portfolio?

Author:
Jennifer Phillips

If you want to be an artist and become known as one then you need to commit your self to the idea. Make a decision to make art. This may sound obvious but it is not always as easy as it appears to make art or be an artist. Being happy about the title of artist is a beginning and knowing that this is the path for you will help you to motivate and concentrate your thinking to do what is needed to see this happen. There is a great bit of wisdom in the bible. It says that “without a vision the people perish”. Without a goal you can easily be blown around by the wind of whatever is happening at the time. You can be ruled by circumstance instead of soaring above them to claim the prize of the path you are taking.

After deciding that this is the path you want to take, then you need to make art regularly. Don’t leave it until you have the time, such as when you retire. Doing a little often is better than waiting for the time when you have time, which tends to be never. You may have to plan this. Set aside time, write it in your dairy and do all that is needed to secure this time for making art. You may need to turn your phone off. You may need to pay someone to look after your children or business for a few hours or a day. You may need to plan your holidays to ensure that you do make art. Try planning an art retreat. There are many online opportunities.

Persevere, with your art. Practice will improve it. If it doesn’t seem to be improving then find an artist who can help you or a workshop. Visit an art gallery. Study art that is similar to yours to see how others have dealt with similar problems such as techniques of paint application or lack of inspirational. Talk with other artists. The people you mix with can positively or negatively influence how you see yourself. As the saying goes, you cannot change your family but you can choose to spend time with people who motivate you on your chosen path. Find an art group to join, or start one youself.

Think about why people should buy your art. Ask yourself why your art it is valuable and worth someone’s while to buy it. If you don’t value it, why should anyone else? Make art that you can be proud of.

Meeting with other artist is one way of “getting your name out there”, even if you find that they are not your type or not that motivating. Don’t “hide your light under a bushel” as the bible saying goes. Once you have even a small portfolio of work that you are reasonable happy with, you need others to see you and it. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities.

I always carry in my bag, a little A6 size book that has copies of my images in it printed onto glossy photography paper. I add to it as I complete each work. This enables me to show people my art when they ask what kind of art I do. I have a business card as well so that I people are able to contact me later or view my work online. You need to get a website to show your works even if you do not have an online payment system such as pay pal on it. There are many free websites hosts available and a lot of free help is also available.

Search your local community for places where you can display your work. Build up some permanent display places such as universities, hair salons, restaurants, cafes, shops, clothing boutiques, hotels, bed and breakfasts, and showrooms and book shops. If people see your work in a range of place they begin to value your work more and think of you as artist, even a well known one.

Join some art groups that hold exhibitions, even if that is all you do in the group, it is one way of building your art presence. As soon as you have enough art works, have a solo exhibition. You can apply for grants to fund the opening and the space, or find a display space that is free and hold it there. Exhibitions are a great way of promoting your work. Make a catalogue. If you have a computer you can create it yourself. You will need to write a small art biography and make sure you have your contact details so that people can contact you later if they like your work. Create a flyer or postcard to email to people and to hand out around the place. This should look professional. Keep one or two with you to give to people you meet in your day. Make appointments with your local papers to let them know about your exhibition. Send them an invitation. Generously advertise your event. The more you advertise, the more people will start to think of you and your art even if they do not attend the opening. Take photos of people looking at your art at the opening, to display on your website or to send to your local paper. Even if only 3 people turn up, ask them if it is ok for you to have them looking at your art for your website. Be positive about the event. Others are more likely to come to another of your exhibitions if they hear a positive report. Find someone to do a review and send it into your local paper.

Keep a record of your art and art events. Be diligent in your record keeping. List buyers name and contact details, the size and date you completed the art and always take a photo of it before it sells. Professional photos are best but if you cannot afford this take your own. When I first selling my work, I did not take photos and now I have only the memory of what they were like and memories cannot be trusted to serve you faithfully throughout your life. Your memory or talk will not be enough to let others know of your ability.

There are a lot of online art communities and galleries where you can show your work free of charge. Search these out or ask someone who belongs to some to share their experience and links with you to the sites that they have found useful.

There are many other was that you can build your reputation as an artist. Set aside some time to build a list of them. You can more of the ideas I wrote down at:
http://citwings.com/art_promotion.html

About the Author:

Jennifer Kathleen Phillips is an award winning and accomplished artist. Take a look in her online gallery at
citwings.com

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
How to Build Your Reputation as an Artist – Promote and Market Your Art

Author:
John Burton

Countless people paint or draw for a hobby, and a large number of these will at some time consider changing their pastime into a profession. The encouragement of well-meaning friends is often the catalyst for this metamorphosis: they will frequently offer comments such as “you could sell this”, or “you could do this for a living”.

The truth of the matter is that becoming a professional artist has very little to do with artistic ability: the transition is wholly about becoming a businessperson, and learning to sell yourself.

If you are considering turning your hobby into a career, the starting point should be to write a business plan (“fail to plan, plan to fail”). This concept may be alien to many, but a plan is little more than putting your thoughts down on paper, and in so doing, attempting to recognize every aspect of business that you need to consider, and the steps you must take to fill inevitable gaps in your knowledge.

The single most important element of a business plan is a simple statement of what you intend to do, and why. Whatever your reasons, as you progress towards your goal, you need to constantly check that your aims are being fulfilled. For example, if you want to become a professional artist primarily for enjoyment and gratification (and you don’t envisage making a fortune along the way), you need to check that your movement towards professional status is giving you pleasure and fulfilment. If it is not, you need to re-think, or even stop what you are doing.

Your business plan next needs to address all the issues of marketing and finance: what type of people are you going to sell to, how will you advertise your services to them, how much money will they pay, how much will they buy, etc? Writing your business plan may take a long time (weeks or months), and require much research. There are lots of sources of information on business planning, so I will not dwell on the detail, but rather offer some general tips.

1. Don’t include friends in your market research. They are too likely to provide the answers they think you want to hear. You need objective information and opinions.

2. When pricing your work, use the Internet to establish what similar artists charge. However, do your own sums to validate whatever your research reveals. Work out what your hourly rate would be for a typical artwork, and decide whether you are willing to work for that amount of money. Don’t forget that, a considerable amount of time can be spent negotiating a sale or commission, and packing/posting/delivering completed artwork. You may find this adds several hours work to each picture sold.

3. When considering marketing, never overlook the obvious. Just telling people you meet that you paint or draw is marketing. If you are going to invest time or money in advertising, make sure it is targeted specifically at your intended customers. For example, if you paint dog portraits, target the places dog owners will be found (vets, pet shops, dog training clubs, dog shows, etc).

4. Don’t overestimate the worth of the Internet as a marketing tool. It can take a colossal effort to become visible on the net; there is massive competition, and relatively few searches are made using keywords relating to artwork. It is a worthwhile marketing tool, but should not be your only marketing tactic.

5. Marketing is an ongoing job that you will never finish. Plan to make it part of your weekly work – forever!

6. Give some considerable thought to customer service, and how you can create customer confidence. Many artists seek no deposit on commissions, and palace no financial obligations on the client to buy work if they are not delighted with it. Ask yourself, how can I encourage customers to choose me above all the competition?

7. You will need to do some financial planning. As a minimum, you should develop an accounting system. It is critical to record all your income and expenditure, and have a true picture of how much profit (or loss) you are making.

You may need a small seed fund to get you started. Banks, the Arts Council, and Local Authority Business Start-up schemes may be able to provide you with funding. But guess what? The first thing they will ask to see is a business plan, and financial forecasts. Estimating your expected income can be extremely difficult. Don’t assume that, because you are capable of produce two paintings a week, you can sell 104 paintings a year from the outset!

8. It is highly probable that you will experience times when you have no work, no sales, and no income. March and September are always quiet times for me! Explore alternative types of work that you can undertake when you have no artwork jobs (like a part time job, or some other skill), and consider diversification (you may prefer to paint dogs, but perhaps you need to do cats too?).

9. The hardest part of self-employment is remaining focused and self-motivated. Having a work plan can help. This can be simply a list of tasks to be complete by specific deadlines.

10. Seek-out all the help and advice you can. Don’t assume you know the answers to every question, because the chances are you do not. Another advantage of having a business plan is that it allows someone else (maybe a professional business adviser – freely available in most towns) to check that you have thought of everything, and developed sound proposals.

Portraits by John Burton

About the Author:

Portrait artist working mainly from clients’ own photographs.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
How to Become a Professional Artist

Author:
Stephen Campbell

The Internet provides great opportunity for freelance artist nowadays. Aside from being free from restriction full time job, freelance job allows you to have business from multiple clients that you may want to have as long you are able to manage the range of time agreed (with your client) to finish specific task.

Artists possess a unique talent to express their quaint vision through different medium this include sculpture, painting, graphic designing. Some use combinations of media. In addition, they conduct research, attend seminar, in order to improve their talent and skills.

Some artists, in fact, utilizes marketable tools to develop a masterpiece such that of a kind of freelance work. This allows them to maximize their potential income generation.

Great opportunities are being opened when you are a freelance artist that is doing multiple freelance jobs. in fact, freelance jobs are in demand in the arena of of commerce, electronics, computers, publishing, online services, etc. Freelance artists are hired in this business world because of their sensible characteristics and of course, provide a more specialized work.

Here are some important points that you need to take note when you become a freelance artist and handle freelance jobs:

Being a freelance artist, your profession lets you to handpick jobs- specific freelance work- that covers exactly and within the bounds of your capacity- your skills and talents. Experts agree, when you are an artist, the best way to generate income out of your capability is through freelancing because you can do your jobs on your own. There is no manager that consistently looking at your job, setting deadline, and cutting down your possible income.

All you need to do is to comprehend well what your prospect clients need especially, you have to consider that most of your customers need a more customized and specialized service- this kind of service is often offered just in freelancing.

If you are an aspiring for freelance work, here are important things for you to consider:

1. Do not jump directly to a particular freelance work because it is where most of other freelance jobs performers go. You must set your objectives, know your purpose and from that develop your strategies.

2. Build your own statistics. Provide a good showcase of yourself. You can do this by organizing your previous works (with clients favorable testimonials), your work experience. Remember, you are selling yourself, do it professionally.

3. When you are freelancer working online, you must provide thumbnails link in your site. Make your site as presentable as you can because this reflects your skills. Client look at that.

4. Strive to develop good working relationships. Working virtually does give little chance to know your client more. However, you must develop a good working relationship as possible. Be professional in your freelance job. Strive to good and don’t let distant work hinder your good working relationship with your client.

5. You can impart some working knowledge to your client Do not allow your them to dictate you what output they desire to have. You are the expert on your field, so you can provide the latest buzz related to your freelance job.

How to become a freelance artist idea provided in this article gives you essential strategies for your success in freelance jobs.

About the Author:

Stephen C Campbell (MBA, MSc) is an international business consultant & internet marketer, to learn
more on how to accelerate your business see
http://www.businessmansencyclopaedia.com/

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
How To Become A Freelance Artist

Author:
I.ivabov

How to become a famous artist.

1. It does not matter what kind of painting or graphic techniques you use.

2. By painting oil is the easiest to use.

3. Talent is undoubtedly the biggest, but not the main factor.

4. Hard work is one of the main factors.

5. Ambition is almost the main factor.

6. A good and up to date concept is decisive factor in creating your artwork.

7. Bad critic is in most cases a positive critic.

8. Try to be as much eccentric as you can.

9. Don’t mind critic and unpleasant statements from eccentric “art” activists.

10. Attend an Art College, Art School, or take some private lessons. Even if you don’t like realistic stiles, it is very important to study the human anatomy. Picasso creates “childish human forms”, but he possesses perfect knowledge of the human anatomy and that makes

him Picasso.

11. Who you know, is a very important factor of success. Of course most of the really good painters and artists are not the most social people in the world, but please try to make contacts, be social, in most cases the help and the best solutions came from friends of friends.

12. Something which should motivate you is the phrase: “The best artists are made, not born.”

13. Invest as much time as you can in your art initiative. Take your time, concentrate on your work. Very few famous artists were hobby painters. If you practise it as a hobby, you can forget it! If you feel it strong enough, you will probably sacrifice everything in the name of art. Once again ambition is almost the main factor but hard work is one of the main factors.

14. Travel as much as you can and can afford.

15. Visit as many museums as you can.

16. Take notes when you visit a museum. If you like an artwork, just write down the name of the author and study his biography and works. Try to get as much as you can from brochures and books.

17. Read as much books as you can, most of the famous artists are well educated and well-read people. Nevertheless classic literature will influence your ideology.

18. Take your time to explore the internet, find suitable galleries for your artworks and apply to the best art galleries online, or by the traditional way.

19. Visit public events and try to make contacts.

20. Create accounts in online sources. Very important! Nowadays internet plays a very important role.

21. Please don’t cut your ear!

22. If you don’t live in a big City, try to move to one. Most of the galleries and considerable

art dealers and galleries are situated in big cities.

When you create, never forget, that less is more. Try to be as minimalist (especially nowadays) as possible.

23. Be unique.

24. Be your self. When you create, try to be yourself, try to be unique, create something special.

25. Expose your art, don’t be ashamed, if you feel it, show it, if you are sure, you are going to make it. Believe in your self.

26. And once again Ambition is almost the main factor.

27. And the last thing; I am an art collector and you can contact me and present me your artworks. Please write to me at
artimpresia@abv.bg
or check on
http://artimpresia.com

About the Author:

Artimpresia Gallery,

http://artimpresia.com

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
How to Become a Famous Artist

Author:
Dinah John

Website Motivation – Whatever your skills, whatever your interests, everyone has the ability to be creative in their work. However, we can often lose our motivation and drive to create, making it difficult to stay focused on a particular work plan or project, especially in web design. So what is the best method for staying motivated?

The key to maintaining your own motivation to be creative is actually a long term effort. Starting out can be tough, and in most cases the most difficult part. But with the right methods and consistency you will be able to reach a point where staying motivated is easy. It is a simple case of knowing when to make the right choices at the right times.

Obviously everyone is unique and each of you will have your own methods and actions into being creative. But here is the chance to read something that offers some possible methods and solutions when getting motivated and staying motivated.

The main things to take into consideration are:

Set goals

You will find it is a lot easier to stay motivated when you feel like you’ve reached a target. Give yourself something to achieve and break the work load down. If it is a large website project you are working on, set yourself mini goals so you are reaching targets every few hours or days rather than spending weeks trying to get the lot done.

Small bite-sized objectives

As mentioned briefly above, set yourself up for more success than failure by being realistic in goal setting and come up with small, bite-sized tasks to start with. As you complete more tasks, start making your goals more ambitious.

Build a creative workstation

Whether you design websites at your desk, in a dark room or a home office, you need to assign a place to yourself where you can be creative. Once you’ve decided on that place, use it! Each creative task and success you achieve in your ‘creative workstation’, will slowly train your mind to be creative within it. When I first set up my creative workstation it took me about 3 months for it to click in my mind that it was actually my workstation but as soon as I enter now, I can focus my mind that I’m ready to work.

Walk away, but don’t quit!

Whatever you do, you must always remember to never give up on a website or problem. Put them to one side for a while but always come back it later on, even if it means coming up with a theory for solving the problem. These problems build confidence and develop a nice portfolio.

Find your creative time zone

Just like your body’s sleeping and eating times, there is also a best time when your body can be most creative. For me, the best time to be creative used to be late at night, now-a-days it’s usually between midday and late evening. Although I do have a creative burst where I get most work done after 9pm. Your main objective is find out when you are at your most creative side and start using that time to your advantage.

Using the right tools

When being creative designing websites you need to ensure that you are using the right tools for the job. The ‘right tools’ doesn’t necessarily mean the best tools but being creative can be difficult enough, therefore, the idea is to make the job / project as easy as possible. For example, my best choice design software has got to be ‘Photoshop’, you may make this more difficult by trying to use ‘mspaint’ to come up with some amazing graphics. It’s something you just don’t do!

Following progress

One of the key points in being creative is to follow your own progress. As mentioned in step 1; the main objective is to break the task down into smaller parts. Therefore, after a few weeks working on a project look back and see how far you’ve come. If you don’t stop every so often to see where you were a couple of months ago, and where you are now – do it! You might just surprise yourself on how much progress you’ve made and how your creativity has grown.

Get out of the house

This may seem a bit like the step where you walk away from your work and come back to it later, but there is a fine line between setting aside some work and actually taking a break from your workstation. Whilst a creative workstation can often be the best practice, it sometimes helps to go somewhere different to work. It can provide a different level of ideas and influence your creativity and work.

Work through it

You may think that it’s pointless trying to force yourself to be creative when you’re ‘not in the mood’ but often it can work in your favour. It may feel difficult to start with but as you gain momentum you’ll find your motivation returns almost every time! After all, you have nothing to lose; you get the job done and you’re still producing quality work / websites. It may not seem like they are of good quality but you may still be working the same as you usually do, you’re just in the wrong state of mind to realise.

About the Author:

Read more about
web design
and
Ecommerce web design
glassbottomdesign.co.uk.

Article Source:
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–
How to be creative and find motivation for designing websites

Author:
Kelvin Eng

As tattoos become more popular these days, more and more people are getting tattoos or talking about getting one. This is great for the industry and even better for those who would like to get involved in the tattoo industry. But don’t think that becoming a professional tattoo artist is easy. There really isn’t any such thing as easy money by becoming a tattoo artist.

Many tattoo artist aspirants believe that purchasing a D.I.Y. tattoo kit from the advertisements of tattoo magazines is the starting point towards becoming a successful tattoo artist. Be aware that this equipment is of inferior quality and lacks precision. What next? Find a person to practice. And the result is dozens and dozens of people with awful tattoos and terrible scars and who will put you in their hate list forever. Furthermore, a true artist will be reluctant to take you under his wings because he is going to have a headache trying to guide you back on the right path.

The alternative is to pay a fee to a tattoo artist or shop to teach you the trade. So what is the type of fee to pay? As far as I know there are no reputable artists teaching you all he know for a fee. A true artist is not a true blooded businessman. If an artist is willing to teach you for a small fee, then consider this. Is he willing to part with all he knows for what you are paying? In one Asian country, the majority of tattoo shop websites advertise tattoo courses for a very small fee. But the problem is that after completing the course, you will have to come back for one refresher course then another and another. And I understand that after completion several such courses, you will not be able to tattoo properly. So the chances are you will be paying good money to some businessman who is just trying to make a fast buck.

So then, how to become a successful tattoo artist? For starters, you’ll need talent. You will never make it in the tattoo industry by tracing or stenciling, you will need to be able to draw great designs. To even get considered as a tattoo artist, a portfolio is needed. This will require you to draw lots of great designs to build up a portfolio. Your portfolio is proof that you have the skills that are needed to succeed in the industry. Without a portfolio, don’t even bother. I remember one South American guy asking me to train him to become a tattoo artist. And he said money is no problem. I told him that money is not an issue, just draw me a colored dragon and then a reaper. He came back after one week, and said he couldn’t draw a proper dragon or reaper. So end of story.

Once you have a portfolio to showcase your talents, you will need a mentor, someone who is willing to teach you the trade and share their secrets with you. Now this is the tricky thing, tattoo artists don’t like giving away their secrets. Simple reason is because many of them have been let down by their apprentices. Just take the case of my mentor. He has taken more than 20 people under his wings (all without any fee), but today only 3 of his graduates still “recognise” him as mentor. What happened to the rest? They have their own shops, but tell their customers that they can do the same quality of work as their mentor (also my mentor), but their prices are cheaper. So you know how much it hurts to be treated like my mentor? If you do find someone good, a real professional who is willing to tell you anything at all about the industry, then be grateful.

To train as a tattoo artist, you will need proper, high-quality equipment such as a precision tattoo machine, power supplies, shading equipment, needles, medical equipment and sanitation supplies. You will also need to know about cleanliness and what can and can’t be reused, as well as how to clean and sterilize your equipment. The popular professional tattoo artists are successful for a number of reasons, but mainly because they are clean and very talented.

You can succeed in the tattoo industry, but you will need to be talented, self-driven and dedicated. If you want to make lots of money as a tattoo artist, you are wasting your time. Become a tattoo artist because you love the art and love to create breath-taking pieces of body art. Be prepared to work for free and, most of all, if you get someone to stop and share a secret or two with you, take their advice. You will definitely need it.

What you do is you apprentice and work for a tattoo artist for very little pay. You do this so that he/she can take you under his/her wing and show you how to take your artistic skill and transfer it to the art that is called tattooing. If the master you’re apprenticing for is good, then along the way you’ll also learn about how to run a shop, what it takes to succeed, and what NOT to do…

How long does it take? Well…that depends on how fast you pick it up and how good your master is. It’s not uncommon for tattoo artists to apprentice for more than one artist in their careers…and each apprenticeship can last for several years.

This is not to discourage you…but the guys on Miami Ink didn’t just “decide” to become rock star tattoo artists one day. They scraped just to get by for many years before they became successful…and, chances are, you’ll have to, too.

About the Author:

Author is a tattoo artist at Tattoo City Art Studio

http://www.tattoocity.com.my

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
How to be a Professional Tattoo Artist

Author:
Charles Griffith

Color is the emotional counterpoint to the intellectual qualities of drawing, and is one of the most important elements of design. While paintings and drawings can be quite effective without color, the use of color adds an entirely new dimension to the piece. Without color, the artist is not a painter, but a draughtsman.

Although color theory can be complex, practical application is what matters, and in this article I will present a simple philosophy for achieving an effective use of color and color harmony in a composition. But first an acquaintance with the fundamentals of color theory is necessary, as I believe that no worthwhile accomplishments can arise from ignorance of the basic principles:

1. Buy an artist’s color wheel, or make your own. This is an essential item for any artist. Be acquainted with the primary colors: red, blue and yellow; how they mix to make the secondary colors, and how the secondary colors mix to make the tertiary colors.

2. “Hue” is simply the name of a color; for example, red, blue, orange are “hues.” “Intensity” is the purity of a color. “Value” is the darkness or lightness of a color. “Temperature” is the relative warmness or coolness of a color; this can also be affected by surrounding colors. A “key” color is the dominant color in a color scheme. “Palette” has two meanings for the artist: first, it refers to the surface on which the paints are mixed before being applied to the canvas; second, it refers to the range of colors which the artist has chosen for his painting. In this article I will use the latter meaning.

3. Be sure to understand the relationship between complimentary colors (colors directly opposite each other on a color wheel) such as red and green, blue and orange, red and violet. Mixed together, they create valuable greys that can help unify a color scheme. But be careful about including complimentary colors in your work: they can compete with each other unless one is more abundant than the other, or one is greyed a bit to lower its intensity. And if you want to increase the intensity of a color, surround it with its complement, or with a grey. In my painting, “The Triumph Of Mars,” found on my website, you can see how grey is used to enhance the impact of red and yellow.

4. Black, white and grey are not colors–in fact, they represent the absence of color. Any color mixed with white is a “tint;” any color mixed with black is a “shade;” any color mixed with grey is a “tone.”

5. The standard color schemes are analogous, triadic, tetradic, complementary, split complementary and monochromatic:

a. Analogous–three or more colors side by side on the color wheel.

b. Triadic–three colors equidistant on the color wheel, forming a triangle.

c. Tetradic–four colors equidistant on the color wheel, forming a square.

d. Complementary–two colors directly across from each other on the color wheel, such as red and green, and any neutral greys made from mixing the two.

e. Split Complementary–three colors, two of which are the adjacent colors to the complementary color of the third.

f. Monochromatic–a color scheme composed of only one color, plus black and white.

Don’t worry about adhering to these formal color schemes too closely; the inclusion of neutrals and your own color preferences will ultimately play a more dominant role in shaping your use of color. Their main purpose is to introduce the artist to color relationships and how those relationships create harmony in a color scheme.

Finally, remember that warm colors advance and cool colors recede. For example, in a landscape you could use warm earth tones in the foreground to make it appear closer to the viewer, while in the background you would use cooler colors such as blues and greens to create the sense of recession and distance.

That completes a brief review of basic color theory. Now I will discuss the effective use of color in a composition, and how to harmonize the colors in that composition. To create harmony in a color scheme a painting should consist of warm, cool and neutral colors, with one group predominating. The use of neutral colors, such as greys made from complimentary colors or earth tones, are the key to the great painters’ successful use of color in their compositions. Greys help to unify a color scheme by tying together the warm and cool colors. The works of two of my favorite artists, Edward Hopper and El Greco, are superb examples of the use of neutral greys to balance and enrich a color scheme. Black and white can also serve as neutrals in this context.

In determining your color scheme for a painting, first examine the subject before you. If you look carefully you will see that there is a predominate color in the scene. This is known as the “key” color, and this will be a good choice for the “key” color in your composition as well. Once you have determined this color, it will easier to establish the other colors of your color scheme in relation to it.

One of the most important principles of color harmony is keeping your palette of colors to a minimum–it’s not how many colors you use; it’s how well you use a limited number of colors. The greater the number of colors used, the more difficult it is to maintain control over them.

Once you have chosen your palette for a painting, try to mix all your colors with this limited number–avoid the temptation to add more colors. This is another way to achieve harmony in your color scheme. For example, try mixing your blacks, browns and greys with the some of the colors with which you mixed your greens, blues and oranges.

When mixing colors, use a minimum of colors in your mixtures–three or four at the most, or the result may be muddy. To maintain the freshness of the colors, avoid over-mixing your paints, and apply them to the canvas with minimal brushwork. The use of white should also be approached with caution; it can easily turn a color mixture muddy. Remember that it isn’t always a good idea to lighten a color with white, or to darken a color with black. Other colors can be used for these purposes; a lighter color such as yellow ochre can lighten a green, and ultramarine blue can darken it.

If your subject is painted from life, remember that the colors of nature are only a guide; the painting is a separate entity from the subject–it has a life of its own. All that matters is that the use of color in your painting is effective. Of course, you should choose colors that help to express the mood and atmosphere of the subject; you would not choose bright Impressionist colors for a moody landscape.

The basics of color theory are applicable to any medium; however, some media such as pastel and colored pencil do not lend themselves well to the mixing of complimentary colors to create neutral greys. In these dry media, colors cannot be mixed directly as with paint; it will be necessary to blend colors visually, using hatching, stippling or scumbling techniques. You may also have to use a greater number of colors to compensate for this limitation.

In some media, such as oil or acrylic, different colors have different attributes: some colors may be transparent, semi-transparent or opaque. These qualities will affect how the colors can be used; for example, transparent colors are better used for glazes than opaque colors, but transparent colors will not provide adequate coverage to conceal an underlying color.

All paint, as it dries, changes color or intensity to some degree, or “sinks.” Acrylic seems to be one of the biggest offenders in this regard; oil seems the most resistant to this. This is not to say that one medium is superior to another; every medium has its strengths and weakness, and should be used accordingly. However, I have found it more difficult to maintain color harmony in acrylic than in oil; the colors often change quite noticeably as they dry.

A final word about color; as with any aspect of art, there is no better way to study the use of color than to learn from the great masters. Study the works of artists whose paintings you admire; see how they used color. The works of Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Edward Hopper, El Greco and Henri Matisse have always impressed me with their rich and sophisticated use of color.

If drawing is the skeleton of a painting, then color is its flesh. Color is the essence of the painter’s art, and its application brings life to the artist’s concept. As you gain experience you will instinctively gain a greater “color sense” and develop your own preferences. Equipped with a solid grounding in color theory and a study of the great artists’ works, in time you will blend understanding with knowledge to create your own personal philosophy of color.

About the Author:

Charles Griffith’s interest in art began in childhood, and was encouraged by his family. Later, while serving in the U.S. military in Europe, he was inspired by seeing firsthand some of the treasures of European art. Today his art focuses on traditional realism, often with elements of Expressionism and Surrealism.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
How The Artist Uses Color

Resume

By
Reinaldo Arvelo

Author:
Miata Edoga

I recently had an email from someone who had visited our website, liked what they had seen, but had a question about our methods and philosophy. The question was this:

“What about if I am an artist and I don’t want to change my profession and also I don’t want to have another job on the side? I want to keep my work and have great benefits from that.”

In other words: I don’t want to do anything apart from my
acting career
, and I want to get well paid for it. What do you think about that?

My immediate response was a mixture of amusement and irritation. Of course, for everyone pursuing an artistic career, what we all ideally want to do is get paid a ton of money for doing what we love (just make sure you have had your
financial education
before this happens – you don’t want to end up a morality tale!). If you are a dramatic actor, making $100,000 per episode for being in a high quality night-time drama is about as good as it gets. For a musician, platinum albums generating millions in residual payments is where it’s at. For a sculptor, having ones work on display in private collections and museums world-wide would bring home more than enough bacon for any number of New York apartments and trips to South America. But, assuming that it may be some time before we find ourselves in those enviable positions, what are we going to do about money?

And that, I think, is the problem with thinking along these lines. Sure, there are those, very few, people who are lucky or talented enough to walk out of their
acing schools
and into full time acting careers, or whatever other artistic endeavours you chose. But, for the rest of us, there will be a period (anywhere from a few months to several years), where we will have to do something else in order to make ends meet, while we wait for the income from our art to allow us to live in comfort.

“Have to”. Those are the operative words in that sentence. Not “want to” or “like to” but “have to”. There is a great line in “Gladiator”:

“Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to”.

Now, do you have to have another job while you pursue your artistic career? Not necessarily; but unless you are either supported to willing to live on the streets, then it is something that you seriously need to consider alongside your artist development.

For the person who asked the question above, I would say this, finally: At Abundance Bound we have tools to help you work out exactly how much you need to earn in order to live (email us at mailto:info@abundancebound.com with “Chart of Expenses” in the tag line for help with this). Having gotten that number, you can then find work, be it your own business or a regular job, that will provide that amount in the least time possible, leaving you free to pursue your art around it. If you can sell enough pieces or work enough days to not need anything else, then that is truly great for you, and the focus now becomes what to do with the money you are earning, so as to get the greatest benefit out of it (that is where financial education comes in)

But, for the rest of us, truly consider the options before you. Take control of your financial lives so that you can pursue your art free form the crushing weight of financial stress. Bite the bullet and handle things now, so that they do not get out of control later. And, above all, never stop focusing on your artistic success, because by doing that, all things are possible.

About the Author:

Miata Edoga is a working actor, as well as being President & Founder of
Abundance Bound
. Inc, the
financial education
company for actors & artists. Her vision is to develop a community of artists able to pursue their creative goals free from the crushing weight of financial stress.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Having your Artistic Cake & Eating it Too!

Author:
Paula Atwell

Do you often feel depressed or bored? Does your daily routine get you down? Do you feel like you left a piece of yourself behind along the way?

This is not uncommon for adults, especially once you reach your forties or fifties. We get so caught up in our routines, going to work, paying bills, raising our children, that we leave part of ourselves behind, sometimes our best part.

When was the last time that you did something to nurture your creative side?

Do you ever take time for yourself, not just to pamper and relax, but to do some left-brain activities?

Escape from the routine by finding ways to revive your creative self. Creativity is a necessary part of our lives whether or not we have artistic talents. We use creativity at work and at home for most problem solving.

When you were young, did you enjoy painting and coloring when you didn’t have to produce something specific? Our artistic muscles need to be stimulated from time to time just like our physical muscles. We all know that the best way to keep in shape is to exercise on a regular basis. Well, that is also true for your creative muscles. You need to exercise them every once in a while to keep them in tune.

What are some ways to exercise our creativity?

1. Take a class at your neighborhood community center. Usually centers will offer short term workshops for people who are just learning.
2. Go to a museum and take in some visual art.
3. Read a good book.
4. Take a nature walk.
5. Do an art project with a child.
6. Get together with friends and have a jewelry party

For more information on this topic, visit
How to Find Your Inner Artist as an Adult
for ideas and book suggestions.

About the Author:

I am the owner of a small gallery in
Cleveland, Ohio
called
Lake Erie Artists Gallery
and a
Giant Squid
on Squidoo.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Have You Left Your Inner Artist Behind?

Author:
Boris Tomson

Grants for Artists
#NAME?
Artists

Here is a typical example of a grant program specifically aimed towards artists. In fact the organization that is awarding this grant is encouraging artists in the area to apply! In this case the grant program is only available to artists who reside in certain parts of North Carolina.
Apply Today
http://available-grants-money.blogspot.com

To be eligible for this grant you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the area. All disciplines of art media are eligible. You must submit examples of your work and details about the project that you want the grant for. You also have to show how serious and committed you are to the project that you want the grant for.

Maximum grant award is $1,200.00

The deadline to apply for this grant is Aug. 2009!

At best, the most general information about the grant process in general including answers to your questions about grants and whether or not you are eligible for them. This blog will also help to dispel some of the myths about grants as a whole!

Still think that there are no grant programs for a for-profit daycare? Just ask my last for-profit daycare client who received over 10 pages worth of grant program information that they may be eligible to apply for!

I don’t know what it is with people that say that there are no grants for the individual artist when I have just noted an example above. And this is just one example of a current grant program that is open to individual artists.
Apply Today

http://available-grants-money.blogspot.com

About the Author:

Hi,I am Boris.If you are looking for ways to make money and you want advice on the best work from home programs you have come to the right place. I was a researcher for Make Money Magazine for 11 years, during that time I covered every make money programs in the book. Five years ago when the “How To Make Money” market changed for the better because of the internet advances I decided to use the knowledge I gained from working for Make Money Magazine to quit this job and start up my own successful home business.I am now earning close to $20,000 every month from(
Google Income Plan
)the home businesses I setup, so I haven’t looked back once. I have now devoted most of my life to the make money field and now I think it’s time to give something back, so I have decided to write this review website to tell people about the best home business programs around the world and what programs are just right for you and whats are scams . I highly recommend that you take a look at the programs That i have suggested because out of the home business opportunities which I am currently using these are the ones which are making me the most money.Also my suggestions on How easy each program was to set up, their success rate and which programs are best for your country.Visit to
http://www.onlinesfortune.com
or Join to
Boris Tomson
Make Easy Money programs Today!

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Grants For Artists – The American Center For Artists

Author:
Agora Gallery

You are an artist.

You are in a slump.

You have lost confidence.

Nothing looks like you want it to look.

Your inner juices have dried up.

As an artist, a professor of Integrated Arts at York University in Canada, a teacher of Expressive Arts, and as a consultant who works with other artists who feel like they’ve lost their edge, I have years of experience in facing the demons that are sometimes referred to as “artist blocks”. The following is tried-and-true advice for those artists who are questioning their own abilities and internal strengths.

I feel like I’ve lost my edge.

For this statement to have any real meaning it suggests that you know what it was like when you
had
your edge, and, this is what you’re trying to recover. Don’t go there. Going back is impossible except in movies, novels, or Freudian psychoanalysis. Today you are not the artist that you were yesterday let alone days/weeks/months ago. You grew.

The sheer passion of an artist is the dynamic force behind his/her professional expertise. Pay attention to your gut and not your head. It is not about your art… it is about you. Your job is not to
re
cover but to
un
cover the power of the moment right now. Today.

How? This is as individual as you are however I’m going to give a few examples of what has worked for others who have experienced the same negativity as you.

My ideas depend upon your appreciating how I perceive learning… that both the cognitive and affective domains drive each of us.

When talking about the cognitive domain I like to simply describe this as the
thinking
component of learning… of “being in your head”. When we’re discussing the affective domain I describe this as the
emotiona/feeling
part of learning…when the whole self is responding to an idea/thought/image/dream/inspiration.

When we are in “the slump” we’re in our heads. So one of the obvious solutions is to get out of our heads to get out of our slump. Activate your affective domain.

I know of one person who, I kid you not, took up scuba diving (She did it in a swimming pool!) in order to move herself into a totally new space in her body and mind. The results in her art were staggering.

Another artist decided, as he began to sculpt, to begin the process by putting on a Bob Seger CD and turn it up as loud as he could while belting out “Old Time Rock & Roll”. This man was a classically trained musician as well as a sculptor and when he sang and moved to rock ‘n roll he placed himself in unfamiliar territory. He purposefully took himself out of his head and his sculptures took on new dimensionality.

When involving the whole self in something novel, it can be as simple as going for a walk to somewhere you’ve never been, putting yourself outside the four walls of a studio and into ‘nature’, yelling at the moon, dancing the salsa, singing your guts out while driving in traffic, gently touching the petals of flowers, walking a dog from the dog pound… anything that
you
(because after all, if you are an artist, you have the predisposition to be creative!) dream up to get yourself into the affective and out of the cognitive domain.

When consulting with artists who feel trapped I often encourage them to leave their own environment/studio and view their newest work (or an image of their work, if it’s too large to transport) in some place different. It could be that those familiar surroundings were a part of the reason for the ‘block’. And, it’s good for artists to see their work out of the context of the studio. This engenders a totally different perspective.

While out of the studio (or in it if they cannot leave the studio) I ask artists to concentrate only upon current works of art…especially those that are troubling.

They examine three of the most recent pieces and place them in order from the piece with which they are most happy to the least. (We are building on what is positive instead of dwelling upon what is negative about the work.)

The artist quickly goes to each piece and immediately identifies the one small spot/ the kernel that is most pleasing. It’s important to do this rapidly because we are after a gut-response/spontaneous reaction rather than a prolonged turgid critique.

After being in a responsive, non-thinking mode, the artist now goes into the contemplative mode. Affective to cognitive. He/she spends time delving into what it was about each of these three small pieces of excellence that brought about a personal visceral response. This often leads to incredible insight and a real need to get back to work and the block has disappeared.

Learn from this positivity and build upon it.

Discover the essence of your work that most pleases you. You can remove your own seeds of self-doubt.

You have a choice. Stay in your head or involve your whole self in your art.

As my best friend says to me when I become pessimistic about my work, “GET OVER IT!” So I do.

About the Author:

About the author: Lynda Pogue is a Canadian artist, writer, professor and consultant currently represented by the
Agora Art Gallery
, located in Chelsea the main art galleries district of New York. Her articles have been published in
ARTisSpectrum Art Magazine
, specialized in fine contemporary art. Her work may be viewed on the online
art gallery

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Get Over It!…or…No More Self Doubt

Author:
Mary McNeil

If you think the creative life is the one for you and you’d like some practical advice as well as inspiration on the topic, just take a look at these four superb books…

1. Creating A Life Worth Living by Carol Lloyd.

Billed as ‘A practical course in career design for artists, innovators, and others aspiring to a creative life’, there’s a clear message right from the start that creativity can take a vast number of different forms. Simply assigning someone the label of ‘creative’ is a serious generalisation. Your version of creativity might be making art, teaching, generating ideas, inventing objects, interpreting music… and Carol Lloyd is most helpful in encouraging you to understand your own unique brand of creativity.

The book begins with a section somewhat similar to Julia Cameron’s Artist’s Way programme – a process of search and research through your childhood desires, your timeless inclinations and present needs. From there it goes considerably further into the dreaming, planning and design stages for a new way of living. And on into the development of a down-to-earth action plan for your day-to-day life.

There’s a chapter on the various kinds of day jobs which can support or undermine your long-term creative goals. Another on how to deal with indecision and competing interests. And one that asks you to analyze your current lifestyle and build a new model for your everyday creative process.

This book is an excellent tool if you want to undertake some self coaching. I have learned much from it to enhance the life/creativity coaching that I do. So if you want to redesign your life in a way that will support and inspire your creativity, this is the one for you.

2. Your Life As Art by Robert Fritz

What a great concept! To take the nuts and bolts of the creative process and apply them to creating your life. Your Life As Art takes that idea and explores just how you can make it real.

The interesting thing about this book is that it concentrates on the structural processes that make up the creation of works of art, be they paintings, musical compositions, films, novels, poetry. It’s not about ways to find inspiration – in fact it advises strongly against relying on inspiration. The theme is more about conscious creation through the application of appropriate structure, and how to achieve it in your life.

The first half of the book looks at the concept of structural tension as it applies to both creating works of art and achieving life goals. This involves having a clear and realistic sense of where you are now, combined with a vision of what you want to achieve. The structural tension is the gap between the two and it’s what pulls you towards your vision.

The second half of the book looks at the structural patterns in our lives. Some people have structural life patterns which lead them through one successful project and onwards to the next, and the next. Others have repeating life patterns which take them round in less successful circles. Fritz describes how the self concepts you hold can block your success and steer you frustratingly into a repeating pattern. He also explains (hurrah!) how to stop going round in circles and to change the structural patterns in your life.

If you want your thoughts provoked on the nature of creativity as a structural form, both in relation to art and to life itself, this will really get you thinking. It may sound complex, but it’s well written, easy to follow and well worth the read.

3. Coaching The Artist Within by Eric Maisel

Eric Maisel is described as ‘America’s foremost creativity coach’ and in this book he offers well-structured advice, illustrated with anecdotes and personal reflections on his many years of creativity coaching experience.

The book is divided into twelve sections – each one covering a skill that will help you along the path to becoming your own creativity coach. To give some examples, three of the skills he covers are: ‘Passionately making meaning’, ‘Becoming an anxiety expert’ and ‘Creating in the middle of things’.

As is the rule with all self development books, there is no quick fix here, but the advice offered is shot through with the occasional artistic twist and steeped in common sense. All the books I’ve read on the topic of the creative process are unanimous in stating that, ultimately, it’s a case of simply getting down to and getting on with the work. This book is no exception, but it includes an interesting extension to the theme by advocating positive forms of obsession. Maisel explores the fine line that divides emotional stability from instability when you’re in the midst of a creative obsession. In those moments when you produce your most inspired work, how sane are you?

I found this book to be both practical and inspiring. So if you want to try a spot of creative self-coaching why not take a look?

4. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp

The full title of this book is ‘The Creative Habit. Learn it and use it for life. A practical guide’. And that’s genuinely what it is… a practical guide, setting out and exploring the habits and attitudes that sustain a fully creative life.

Twyla Tharp, the world famous choreographer, now in her sixties, details with clarity, style and authority how to keep yourself productive and motivated even when you think you’ve run completely out of enthusiasm.

She writes about the structure and organizational aspects of creative projects – ‘Before you can think out of the box, you have to start with a box’; scratching for inspiration in potentailly productive areas, like scratching a lottery ticket to see if you strike lucky; mastering the underlying skills of your creative domain and building your creativity on the solid foundations of those skills; getting out of ruts (stuckness) and creating grooves (productive flow).

The habits she describes are woven together with stories from her long career and anecdotes from her wide-ranging creative friendships. Unlike other books I’ve read on the topic of active creativity, she includes a chapter on what a creative life means in ‘the long run’. How the great masters continue to grow and develop their skill over many decades.

The Creative Habit is a personal account of what works by someone who’s lived a vibrantly successful creative life. Tharp’s style is crisply clever and captures a strong sense of authority and vitality.

About the Author:

If you’re brimming with creative ideas but struggling to develop them into tangible output, the practical support of a coach can make all the difference. Mary McNeil of
Create a Space
is an experienced, ICF-certified life coach, natural born planner and declutterer extraordinaire! She works with artists, writers and musicians, coaching and supporting them as they make creative output a practical reality.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Four Great Books to Read if you Want to Live the Creative Life

Author:
Stephen Tanenbaum

The Internet has become an indispensable tool for artists. With the click of a button, art enthusiasts around the world can view your artwork. But before you begin posting your images on the web, there are five important things you should know. The following is a guide to effectively selling your art online.

1. Where to Exhibit – There are thousands of online galleries, so how do you decide which ones are best? Do your research. You need to find out how much they charge in fees or commission, what services they offer, if the gallery is curated, what type of marketing efforts they participate in, and most importantly, how much art they sell. Some of these questions can probably be answered right on the gallery’s website, while others will require a phone call or email. Their contact information should be easily visible on the site. If not, that should raise a red flag. By contacting them, you are also testing their customer service. See how knowledgeable they are on the phone, or send them an email and see how quickly they respond. Overall, you want to determine that they are working hard to promote the art they display, and not just making money off of signup fees and advertisements on the site.

2. Approaching a Gallery – When you are ready to put your art on a site, there are two things you need: great images of your work and an artist’s statement. Most online galleries are not curated, which means that anyone with a paintbrush and money to cover the signup fees can post their art. Be cautious of these sites. Instead, you want to apply to a gallery that has reputable curators who oversee the quality and direction. This is where great images and a statement are crucial; they represent everything about you and your art, and make it much easier for the gallery to see what you do. Once accepted to the gallery, these things will also be important for customers, who will be able to see your art clearly and understand it. As a result, they will be more likely to make a purchase.

3. Professionalism – Throughout this whole process, professionalism is key. You must respond promptly to emails and phone calls, do what you say you are going to do, and be conscious of small things like typos in your artist’s statement. Above all, you need to know your work. If you are a photographer, than you need to be an expert about everything related to your camera and prints. Are these pieces in a limited or unlimited edition? How many prints in the edition? Signed and numbered? To truly be a successful photographer or painter or anything else, you have to know your trade. Professionalism will show your gallery and customers that you are a serious artist worth their representation and money.

4. Pricing – Pricing your art can be one of the most difficult aspects of being an artist. Your prices should be based on the size, medium, and complexity of the piece, and your sales and exhibition history. If the only work you have sold has been to your family, or you have never sold anything, you need to start low. It may be less than you want in the beginning, but that is how you work your way up. If you throw a $10,000 dollar price tag on your first painting for sale, it’s probably never going to sell. Start with a couple hundred dollars and if the first pieces sell quickly you can raise your prices a bit; a ten to 15 percent raise is considered standard gallery practice. One important thing to remember is that you should almost never discount your art if it’s not selling. It makes collectors very unhappy, and it can devalue your whole portfolio. If someone buys a piece from you for $1,000, and then later you lower the price of a comparable piece to $500 because it isn’t selling, in effect you’ve just decreased the value of the first piece to $500 as well. Galleries and buyers will catch onto this and keep away; no one wants to put their money into a risky investment. Start low, be patient, and the right buyer will comes along.

5. Personal Websites and eBay – We’ve talked about online galleries, but what about creating a personal website? Selling your art on a personal site is difficult. The reason you pay signup fees or a commission to an online gallery is to handle things like building an e-commerce site, pursue marketing opportunities, and fostering relationships with customers. Having the time and resources to do this yourself is rare. eBay is even more dicey than a personal site. Although the customer base is there, it is somewhat of a black eye to the art world. Forgers go there en masse to offload knockoff paintings. Beyond that, you are probably not going to build a proper sales history that you can take to a physical gallery selling your art this way, which should be your goal.

Do your research, find a gallery that works hard for you, be professional and realistic, and your chances of being successful will increase infinitely. Once you build a sales history online, it will be that much easier to approach physical galleries. And the best part is, you can use these same five points.

About the Author:

This article was written courtesy of
affordable art
and
original art gallery
Ugallery.com where you can
buy art online

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Five Things you Need to Know to Successfully Sell your Art Online

Author:
Tanya Vallianos

Art therapy is a modality in the psychology field that’s focus is on the transformative power of nonverbal language. Because art therapy brings together the fields of art and psychology, it integrates visual arts, human development, behavior, mental health, creative process, imagination and personality. It is based on the belief that the act of art making can help us understand more of who we are, enhance lives, and lead us towards personal growth through self-expression.

Although art therapy as a modern profession is quite new, creative expression through visual art is one of the oldest forms of healing in history. This is the way that mankind began expressing itself as a means of communication on cave walls, through hieroglyphics and within sand paintings. Art has always been a way to express the deepest of sorrow as well as the most joyous of moments. The expression of these many varied emotions has brought catharsis and self-awareness to many an accomplished artist and non-artist.

How Can Art Be Healing?

Art therapy enables people to express themselves in areas that are impossible to express in words. Since art expression does not occur, as a linear process as is found in spoken language, there is the ability to allow ambiguous, confusing and contradictory elements to show up in the art. This ability of art to contain paradoxical elements helps people more easily integrate and synthesize conflicting feelings and experiences…

The sensory qualities of art making are a way to move more readily into our emotions and perceptions than spoken word alone. The tactile quality of the art materials allows us to integrate healing qualities such as the ability to relax, self-soothe, and enhance emotional catharsis.

The art making process can literally be a means of “cleansing” to discharge strong emotions for relief. The alleviation of stress and anxiety through creative expression can then offer a physiological response of reduced blood pressure, decreased heart rate and respiration, while pleasure enhancing biochemicals such as serotonin and endorphins are increased.

Expressive art also touches us at a soul level by enabling people to overcome feelings of existential emptiness and disconnection that is often felt in our modern culture. It allows us to become more connected to our inner selves in relationship to “other,” the world, and spirit. In doing so, art making becomes an enlivening and energizing experience. It helps us grow, self-actualize and problem-solve more readily. We find new ways of seeing.

Who Can Benefit From Art Therapy?

A common misperception of art therapy is that people need to be artistically inclined in order to participate. The beauty of art as therapy is that artistic ability is not required, because art expression in any form is embraced. The goal here is not that one make masterpieces, but rather to have an understanding and acceptance that everyone has an innate ability to be creative. Through the process of creating one can gain personal insight, new perspective, and have an opportunity to transform.

What is an Art Therapy Session Like?

In all forms of psychotherapy, the presence of a professional facilitator is a central aspect to the healing process. Having a safe, trusting relationship with an art therapist along with the making of art enhances the potential growth within the client. Within an art therapy session, the therapist can serve as a supportive guide to clients’ exploration of materials, help with the examination of content and meaning of images, and be a compassionate witness to the artists’ expressions. The therapist’s non-judgmental presence can be the impetus for a client to take risks, build self-esteem skills and find insight during sessions. These new found skills could then translate further into his or her daily life, thus allowing for transformation to occur.

Did You Know…

•That 97% of 2,000 hospitals surveyed had implemented expressive arts programs.

•That CareerBuilder.com, recognizing it’s increased popularity and validity in the mental health field, rated art therapy as one of the top 10 careers of 2007.

•That art therapy has been acknowledged as a “mind-body intervention” by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, in recognition of the power of self-expression and creative process in mental, physical, and spiritual health.

About the Author:

Tanya Vallianos, MA, is a counselor in private practice in Fort Collins who specializes in art therapy, mindfulness, and body-centered practices. Tanya can be contacted here:
Good Therapy
/
Therapist Plesantville

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Drawing From Meaning: Finding Self Through Art

Author:
Paula Andrea Pyle, MA

During the staggering momentous critical years from nine to twelve, you experienced your artistic self in such a way as never before or since. Most emphatically during the phase from eight to nine, a calibrated mechanistic artistic phase slipped in. This liberally gifted induced period opened a portal of instinctive talent from which you will draw for the remainder of your life. (In essence, you were grown by the end of this point, though the tender age did not necessarily reflect your innate maturity and society certainly would not have accepted the reality of this outrageous statement.) Nevertheless, the artistic vision of your life was formed and you were acutely aware of your inbred talent. The things that occurred during this most blatantly injected artistically sensitive period from 9 to 12 would determine the temperature of the road you would most likely travel until you reconnected with your latent gifts. It does not matter whether the time frame was obviously productive, non productive, abusive or flourishing, the scenario retained for you untold possibilities that would paint the canvas of the next forty four years. During this winding road of inductive dramatic scrambling and rearranging, you would/will find several pieces of the puzzle of your particular life’s purpose, which left uninvestigated, would cause massive blurring and confusion.

If you would take a moment to go back to the specific year, beginning two weeks before your 8th birthday and run concurrently until your two weeks after your 9th birthday for a period of approximately 13 months, you will able to follow along to decipher the ‘art’ message offered. Remember back most specifically the exact 13th month period of the 2 years involved. Where did you physically reside? More than likely, you were in the 3rd grade of school. IF by chance you can not recall your 3rd grade teacher, the blurred memory will be highlighted within the entire 4th grade year. Do you remember ‘that’ teacher? Do you remember the circumstances of where you were residing? There are so many viable clues linking your current personality to that poignant part of your existence. {Parts, that you may or may not recognize, as important to you, now.} The reason you may not be aware that you possess an incredibly defined essential ‘artistic nature’ is because when you were young, the ARTIST in you was dismissed, discredited, disavowed or disenfranchised. This unfortunate event could have taken place in a variety of ways, not he least being that you felt inadequate to produce what was expected of you artistically. You felt you either had to compete or compare or both. Daunting as the task set before was, you felt embarrassed to offer your artistic self since “IT” was more precious you then as opposed to any other period in your life.

During the precarious period of your life from the ages of 9 to 12, the most influential and crucial artistic stage presented itself. Depending upon the situation, circumstances, events and people who surrounded you at that time, the “ART IMPETUS” was either nurtured/supported or devalued and denigrated. In other words, whatever was going on in your particular world at that specific time frame, determined how much of an artist you perceive yourself to be. Unless you were recognized and encouraged to pursue your individualistic artistic expressions, that vital ‘natural and convenient’ artistic essence of yours got shut down, closed off, pent up like a caged animal. During this fragile time, if you were placed in a position to either compare your work or to compete with another in order to “show yourself worthy and accepted”, a silent death occurred which would take years to resurrect. Because of the ignorance and inadvertent (deliberate or not) neglect associated with our natural artistic impulse, we end up carrying around useless baggage that prevent us from ‘de-assing’ certain programs of conditioned thought and/or self-sabotaging beliefs that confine and constrict our creative attempts.

How many of you ever wanted to sing but never tried because you were afraid someone would make fun of you? The same principle is applied to ART, MUSIC, DRAMA, and of course simple honest communication. Unless you are willing to search and retrieve those buried artistic aspects of yourself, which you have never been properly introduced to, you will remain a mystery to yourself and others. Your relationships will suffer because of it and you will remain unhappy and unfulfilled seeking outside remedies for inner barricades. In order to ‘kick down the barriers’ that prevent you from being a natural born artist, you will be required to stop bad mouthing yourself or others who you deem more fortunate or talented. You have not been robbed. You were never going to meet these aspects of yourself until you were ready, anyway. If these words resonate with you, it is only because you are ready to pursue the voyage of yourself. {A launching of new indescribable possibilities stand before you ready for you venture into.} Moments of hesitation will be cast into the sea of forgetfulness never to be remembered anymore. Self-doubt, fear of change, and the thoughts of not having any talent will be swallowed up by your natural desire to express yourself artistically. An instinctive GUT ‘detector’ enables you to contact your lost/hidden artistic needs, as long as you are willing to move through the door of self-delusion. By careful study and application, you will be able to break through that wall of self-incrimination into a field your unrealized artistic potential.

As you begin to get still and listen to your inner soul’s yearning, you will discover a world of untold merit. You will literally be stunned by the accuracy of the things you know without knowing how you know them. You must trust your gut, however without reservation. It is the sole intent of your inner compass to provide an avenue of immaculate perception, where you no longer ‘take for granted’ the exquisite beauty found within the mundane, dull, and seemingly lifeless artifacts peppering your world. Without having to dig and search, “What are the closest photographs you have near you?” (Wherever you are sitting) These photographs are designed to elicit a response in you. Whether the response is negative or positive, matters little. What does matter is that it makes you ponder.

Next, what is the first painting you see? The combination of photographs and the one ‘in your face’ painting have been placed together arbitrarily (no matter how far apart they are in physical location) to act as a measuring stick of your present circumstances. You may feel some of the photographs and that painting have been haphazardly placed together. That immediate sensation too is an individualistic artistic response. Either way, the photographs are depicted as RAW symbols of expressions that will speak to you, according to where your consciousness resides. Also, because there are two parts of your artistic nature that needs acknowledging, (one who knows; one who doubts) you will have inadvertently fixed the photographs in your mind, {probably not being able to elicit the real picture the first time you look at them.) Be patient with yourself.

This reaction is part of the artistic development process. The painting plays a significant role in opening for you a panoramic view of things that are connected to your individual destiny. So that whenever you see or think about the object in question, a certain revelation of, “what’s blocking you” will become apparent. And, just as important you will be constantly reminded: it is in the ordinary “things” that the extraordinary is found. Because you have been indoctrinated to strive for perfection, you have forgotten how magnificently beautiful the so called ordinary things really are. No other person can take this cosmically enlightening journey but you. You will be in a type of private cosmic therapy; it is the art that will guide you in all truth.

Its fundamental premise belies the notion that we are separate from any portion, element, attribute, or “THING” that makes up our world. This exhaustively researched method presents the concept that:
Everything in life is interconnected,
including every single word, sight, smell, taste and feeling that one encounters in the run of a day
.
Not a person, place or object is exempt. If you interacted with ‘it’, ‘it’ has meaning for you. Though people often ignore or dismiss the obvious evidence that supports the appearance of various signs, symbols, clues, omens, as representational personal truths, the fact remains: “if you saw ‘it’, there’s a valid reason for it’s recognition and validation. Though
everything
is exactly as it’s supposed to be for reasons we can’t see, it’s important for us, as mortals, to investigate the possibilities. What “if” there really is a Divine Purpose for our lives? Wouldn’t you want to know what that purpose might entail? Wouldn’t you want to discover how and why that purpose related to you? And, most especially if that so-called purpose could eradicate the continual sense of frustration, monotony and restlessness you experience so often.

You are here to produce something of the worthwhile value that you alone can express, connect and enjoy. The determination of that value resonates from the effort, energy, time, money and interest you are willing to invest. {Extremely personal choice: you pursue only what interests you!} Unless you take it upon yourself to explore (all that you possibly can) about you, no other success you ever obtained will compensate. The arduous task of unveiling ‘you to you’ requires that you first eliminate the idea that anyone, NO MATTER WHO IT IS OR HOW MUCH POWER, AUTHORITY, AND INFLUENCE THEY EXERT, has the right to determine for you what path you should pursue or not pursue while you are alive. They are not nor will they ever be in a position to decide for you “What’s best.” Hah! You’re the very best you can be at any given moment for that moment. You are currently in the artistic processing mode and will continue to be for the rest of your natural born life.

Whatever you choose to do and however you choose to do it is all the RIGHT you need to know. No one can say whether your art, music, drama, writing, or any other individual method of expressing yourself is good or not. If you have produced it, IT is worthy. You are governed and maintained by the same innate compassing devise that so-called worthy artists reflect in their work. True ART is expressed by saying what, how, when, where and to whom exactly what you want to say without feeling the need to be praised or validated. If you are glad you produced it, for no other reason than for the sheer joy you derived from creating it, THAT is enough. Don’t feel ashamed, afraid, humiliated, inferior, worried, or intimidated by others. Art is spontaneous natural convenient creative energy! It moves through you while it liberates you at the same time. Recognizing yourself as a genuine artist is no doubt a frightening and horrific experience. Only the inherently determined and ruthlessly focused will survive to penetrate and forge their innate masterful visions.

About the Author:

Proud Native {Born, Bred, and Resident} of North Carolina, married 39 spectacular years, 6 children, 11 grandchildren.

I am passionate about love, living, laughter, liberty, learning, listening, loosening up, lounging, lunch, liveliness, literacy, lip stick, letting my hair down, leaping, leaning, libido, lifting, linking, looking, lodging, lemons and lyrics.

My personal and professional background is wide and varied. I have a BS in Communication with a MA in Art Education. I am a Cosmic Therapist, artist, entertainer, singer/songwriter, musician, composer, playwright, perfumer, astrology, author, teacher, speaker, poet and self-taught chef.

I am also a radio/television talk show creator, host and director. In addition when I’m not busy, I maintain a presence at M.O.D.E International School of Esoteric Arts and Sciences of which I founded many years ago,

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Digging Up the Artistic Gold Found Within

http://images.articlesbase.com/authors/143227_ehxeeqn.jpg
Author:
Chris Standring

There are musicians who are more than comfortable remaining anonymous. You know, happy to hide behind their guitars or keyboards and be sidemen to the stars of today or tomorrow. Then there are those that have grandiose aspirations of stardom, adoration and limelight. And then there are those who have a driving desire and need to say something original artistically, to express themselves and to communicate that expression to an audience, be it a small niche market or wider demographic.

Those falling into the first category can make a living, albeit fairly modest as a general rule. Those falling into the second category often live in a little bit of a dream world and, depending on their tenacity and ‘smart’ skills, usually end up disappointed because the focus is set on the destination rather than the journey. The third category usually reaps the rewards of the second category gaining all the success and limelight, but as a result of focusing on their art rather than the shallow and flighty end of the musician’s world. These are usually the most fascinating people too, because they generally have a little mystery about them and because they actually possess what most entertainers really want; sincere and dedicated talent!

But there are also those that are in the early stages of artistic development who are still learning their craft, and open to influences. Possibly they will become great artists in the future, possibly not. It will be a question of choices and consequences, and doors opened and opportunities taken advantage of – or not. Life certainly will take you places.

But for those that do have aspirations of artistry and expression, then I firmly believe you must have qualities that others do not have. As an artist I believe one must stand out from the herd in order to be heard. It is so easy to make a record these days. One no longer needs to have the luxury of a recording contract in order to stand on a pedestal and say “I am an artist – buy my record!” With home studios costing one 16th of the price they did ten years ago and with software programs that do it all, you can churn out albums by the dozen if you put your mind to it. And many do.

However, just because you can, why would you? – is my question. Just for fun? OK, valid I suppose. But Isn’t it better to spend that time and energy searching relentlessly for something unique and different? God knows record companies are releasing enough mediocrity by the hour. Even signed artists are now under the impression they have something to offer. Maybe they have, but for the most part I don’t think so (as public reaction and their CD sales will attest!)

Perhaps I am being extremely unfair, but I think too many artists do not realize that they have a responsibility to say something profoundly unique, certainly if they expect any kind of career longevity. We live in a world where musicians spend their lives emulating their heroes; singers spend their lives emulating Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra and so on. Rock guitarists spend their lives emulating Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Paige, Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen. Jazz guitarists are proud emulators of Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Wes Montgomery. Saxophone players worship Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Michael Brecker. And so on…

Before I go on I have to say that emulating heroes is absolutely imperative in your formative years as musicians. You simply MUST listen to the greats, past and present. One has to have a strong grounding and musical knowledge and one simply cannot get there without listening. However, way too many ‘artists’ cannot get passed this stage. They need to have peer approval, have to know that other respected musicians around them recognize them and applaud their abilities. Often all this takes place subconsciously.

This ‘peer approval’ is a stage of development that is also important. Every musician goes through it at some point. It is absolutely natural, but I firmly believe that to become a great artist, you have to move beyond that stage and look inward. I always liken it those wedding band singers, who despite having an honorable and justifiable (and in some cases envious) career, they are all too often ‘performing monkeys’. They are often fine vocalists but at the end of the day they are seeking approval and applause and not communicating or expressing anything artistic. They certainly know how to entertain but do they know how to intrigue? It’s a huge gap. Nothing remotely subtle about it as far as I am concerned.

The real communicating artists seek unique expression. They are not interested anymore in sounding like their heroes. They have moved past that, now searching constantly, developing and refining their own unique voice. Look at any of the true giants of yesterday and today. Yes you can hear their references, but they also have their own strong identity. At some point during their development something bigger than them took over. The chances are they knew it at the time and took advantage of it and made an extra effort to really hone that uniqueness.

Finding that unique inner voice might not be as easy for some. I think it starts by recognizing your technical weaknesses. It is often those weaknesses that ultimately end up becoming your artistic strengths. Let’s face it, if you were able to play the guitar technically perfect, at all speeds, meticulously so every note that came out was totally clean and audible, would this be ultimately interesting to an audience? Yes it might be very clever and impressive, but for how long could you listen to an album where every phrase felt like you were having your teeth drilled!!?

Wes Montgomery played with his thumb because he didn’t want to wake the neighbors, ultimately enabling him to become the greatest and most influential jazz guitarist of all time. BB King has about three licks in his entire blues repertoire. Does anyone NOT know BB King when they hear him? Thelonius Monk refused to conform to traditional piano techniques and musical ideas. He simply HAD to play music the way he heard it in his head. He made such a bold musical statement during his time that he is now emulated the world over and revered by the greatest musicians living today.

Technical shortcomings can be the very essence of your unique artistry. Now, should those shortcomings get in the way of what you need to say musically then those weaknesses might need to be turned around so they don’t restrict what you hear in your head.

Remember, the true artist simply communicates from within. All other extraneous thoughts, influences and distractions need to fall by the wayside. The minute a lick or a phrase that your hero played or sung (and made famous) ends up on your record – watch out! You might be in trouble. Absolutely steal from your heroes, but just remember that real artistry is about what YOU have to say, not what your heroes have already said before, and have possibly said better.

Push yourself to the max and search for that truly unique quality within. After all, that next great talent we are all so desperately waiting for might just be you!

About the Author:

Chris Standring is a recording artist and the owner of
Guitar

Made Simple.com
Visit this website for free
guitar

lessons
and a truly ground breaking home study guitar course.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Defining the True Artist – Do you Have What it Takes?

Author:
Rilwan B Motolani

There are musicians who are more than comfortable remaining anonymous. You know, happy to hide behind their guitars or keyboards and be sidemen to the stars of today or tomorrow. Then there are those that have grandiose aspirations of stardom, adoration and limelight. And then there are those who have a driving desire and need to say something original artistically, to express themselves and to communicate that expression to an audience, be it a small niche market or wider demographic.

Those falling into the first category can make a living, albeit fairly modest as a general rule. Those falling into the second category often live in a little bit of a dream world and, depending on their tenacity and ‘smart’ skills, usually end up disappointed because the focus is set on the destination rather than the journey. The third category usually reaps the rewards of the second category gaining all the success and limelight, but as a result of focusing on their art rather than the shallow and flighty end of the musician’s world. These are usually the most fascinating people too, because they generally have a little mystery about them and because they actually possess what most entertainers really want; sincere and dedicated talent!

But there are also those that are in the early stages of artistic development who are still learning their craft, and open to influences. Possibly they will become great artists in the future, possibly not. It will be a question of choices and consequences, and doors opened and opportunities taken advantage of – or not. Life certainly will take you places.

But for those that do have aspirations of artistry and expression, then I firmly believe you must have qualities that others do not have. As an artist I believe one must stand out from the herd in order to be heard. It is so easy to make a record these days. One no longer needs to have the luxury of a recording contract in order to stand on a pedestal and say “I am an artist – buy my record!” With home studios costing one 16th of the price they did ten years ago and with software programs that do it all, you can churn out albums by the dozen if you put your mind to it. And many do.

However, just because you can, why would you? – is my question. Just for fun? OK, valid I suppose. But Isn’t it better to spend that time and energy searching relentlessly for something unique and different? God knows record companies are releasing enough mediocrity by the hour. Even signed artists are now under the impression they have something to offer. Maybe they have, but for the most part I don’t think so (as public reaction and their CD sales will attest!)

Perhaps I am being extremely unfair, but I think too many artists do not realize that they have a responsibility to say something profoundly unique, certainly if they expect any kind of career longevity. We live in a world where musicians spend their lives emulating their heroes; singers spend their lives emulating Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra and so on. Rock guitarists spend their lives emulating Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Paige, Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen. Jazz guitarists are proud emulators of Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Wes Montgomery. Saxophone players worship Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Michael Brecker. And so on…

Before I go on I have to say that emulating heroes is absolutely imperative in your formative years as musicians. You simply MUST listen to the greats, past and present. One has to have a strong grounding and musical knowledge and one simply cannot get there without listening. However, way too many ‘artists’ cannot get passed this stage. They need to have peer approval, have to know that other respected musicians around them recognize them and applaud their abilities. Often all this takes place subconsciously.

This ‘peer approval’ is a stage of development that is also important. Every musician goes through it at some point. It is absolutely natural, but I firmly believe that to become a great artist, you have to move beyond that stage and look inward. I always liken it those wedding band singers, who despite having an honorable and justifiable (and in some cases envious) career, they are all too often ‘performing monkeys’. They are often fine vocalists but at the end of the day they are seeking approval and applause and not communicating or expressing anything artistic. They certainly know how to entertain but do they know how to intrigue? It’s a huge gap. Nothing remotely subtle about it as far as I am concerned.

The real communicating artists seek unique expression. They are not interested anymore in sounding like their heroes. They have moved past that, now searching constantly, developing and refining their own unique voice. Look at any of the true giants of yesterday and today. Yes you can hear their references, but they also have their own strong identity. At some point during their development something bigger than them took over. The chances are they knew it at the time and took advantage of it and made an extra effort to really hone that uniqueness.

Finding that unique inner voice might not be as easy for some. I think it starts by recognizing your technical weaknesses. It is often those weaknesses that ultimately end up becoming your artistic strengths. Let’s face it, if you were able to play the guitar technically perfect, at all speeds, meticulously so every note that came out was totally clean and audible, would this be ultimately interesting to an audience? Yes it might be very clever and impressive, but for how long could you listen to an album where every phrase felt like you were having your teeth drilled!!?

Wes Montgomery played with his thumb because he didn’t want to wake the neighbors, ultimately enabling him to become the greatest and most influential jazz guitarist of all time. BB King has about three licks in his entire blues repertoire. Does anyone NOT know BB King when they hear him? Thelonius Monk refused to conform to traditional piano techniques and musical ideas. He simply HAD to play music the way he heard it in his head. He made such a bold musical statement during his time that he is now emulated the world over and revered by the greatest musicians living today.

Technical shortcomings can be the very essence of your unique artistry. Now, should those shortcomings get in the way of what you need to say musically then those weaknesses might need to be turned around so they don’t restrict what you hear in your head.

Remember that the true artist simply communicates from within. All other extraneous thoughts, influences and distractions need to fall by the wayside. The minute a lick or a phrase that your hero played or sung (and made famous) ends up on your record – watch out! You might be in trouble. Absolutely steal from your heroes, but just remember that real artistry is about what YOU have to say, not what your heroes have already said before, and have possibly said better.

Push yourself to the max and search for that truly unique quality within. After all, that next great talent we are all so desperately waiting for might just be you!

5 Work at Home Solutions for Working Musicians

As creators and artists of original music, we all would like nothing more than to have our tunes blasting out all over the airwaves bringing in a constant revenue stream of ongoing residual income. Some people figure that out and more power to them. I for one have not and that is not the purpose of this article. I will say good luck to you in your pursuit of that dream if you are still running it down.

The objective here is to discuss 5 solutions working (or non working for that matter) musicians can use or apply to bring in extra income.

These are not get rich quick or easy Internet money programs. They are 5 solid solutions to realistically making extra money to compliment your true passion, playing music. Some of these you may have considered and some sites you may not be familiar with. The Internet has changed everything and it is always changing. There are always opportunities out there. You just need to be careful not to get involved in the wrong ones or involved in too many. The Internet really can be a tangled web if you let it snare you.

One of the best things you can do is to find a business mentor; someone who is successful in the endeavor you are pursuing. Surrounding yourself with successful people will help you overcome obstacles everyone faces when pursuing a venture. You also need a healthy positive attitude and a confidence in yourself. When you develop these, you become inspired to do great things.

With that said here are 5 Solutions:

Solution 1: Royalty Free Music Factory

Royalty Free Music Factory is a website that pays you, the musician, a commission on the sales of your soundtracks. The founder of the site, Mike Rowntree, is a musician and sound engineer who came to realized that there is a huge international market for music tracks you hear on radio, television, and internet sites. Producers of advertisements and programs in these media want to avoid paying ongoing royalties which is how this market niche developed. You upload your 15, 30, and 60 second MP3 tracks along with your full length version(counts as one track) and they are reviewed within 2 business days. Upon acceptance, they are listed on the site for sale. They pay you a 35% commission on each track sold. Visit them at:
http://www.royaltyfreemusicfactory.com/

Solution 2: Digitally Delivered Products

Digitally delivered products are all over the Internet and music instruction is certainly no exception. The biggest retailer of such products is Clickbank. Products range from simple ebooks, to full blown membership sites like
http://www.musicmasterpro.com/
with online video instruction. To get started on a shoestring, you will need a PDF writing program and a free Clickbank account. The most popular PDF software is Adobe Acrobat, but you can probably find a free shareware program that will do what you need. Accompany that PDF with MP3 files and not only can you charge more, but you’ll probably sell more. I purchased Alex Sampson’s
http://www.bassguitarsecrets.com/
and thoroughly enjoyed what parts I’ve gone through. Alex charges $49.95 for that product and I feel like he over delivered.

Solution 3: Become An Affiliate.

With your Clickbank account, you can also become an affiliate for other marketers and make a commission on your sales. For example, MusicMasterPro pays 70% commission on membership sales. With your free Clickbank account you will need what is called a “Hoplink” to the affiliate you are promoting. The hoplink is a combination of your unique Clickbank ID and the affiliate you are promoting’s ID. Clickbank pays you directly for your commissions.

Another huge Affiliate website is Commission Junction.
http://www.cj.com/
You can find other complimentary products to sell and receive a commission if a sales is made through your link.

Solution 4: DVD Production & Sales

An old friend of mine, (Tony who happens to be the Godfather of my daughter), makes great extra money doing this. He is a full-time drummer on Bourbon Street here in New Orleans and makes DVDs and sells them in the clubs he works in. To do this however, you will need to make a deal with the club owner and split the proceeds. They certainly don’t want you taking money out of their clientele’s pockets, but if you make an arrangement you can both profit from DVD sales.

Back in the day we would pay a sound studio $50/hr, practice to perfection not to screw up in the studio, and then send the thing off to a place called Disc Masters or something like that to make the CD. I guess people still do that, but with all the technology out there you can do this yourself. Like I said in the beginning, we’re talking about making extra money – not being a rock star!

Aside from the camera, you will need video editing software like
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/
and a CD/DVD label maker. Instead of using the camera audio, Tony has some really small, really inexpensive handheld recording device he uses to record the band live. It’s quick and easy and he can pop out DVD in not time. Of course, it does help to have an outgoing singer/frontman to push the product!

Solution 5: The $9 Solution

Chad Rissenan, The Marketing Cowboy, has a $9 Solution to making money online and work at home business. Chad is a guitarist and singer with the North County Band.
http://www.northcountyband.com/

Chad’s $9 Solution teaches you everything you need to know about Internet marketing and how to develop a successful work at home business. With the $9 Solution, Chad has an audio file and guides you through the whole process of how to build a successful business right from your computer, without ever having to sell products. It also comes with a 10 Day Marketing Success Guide that has income producing activities that ensure your success.

www.ninedollarsolution.net

As a musician and small business owner, I sincerely hope you find some of these solutions helpful in your quest to play music and make more money at the same time. Whatever you do, do something! Stay positive, focused, open-minded and visualize your success.

About the Author:

i will tell you later

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Defining the True Artist

Author:
Mary McNeil

Intuitively the link between decluttering and creativity makes sense doesn’t it? Creativity thrives in the land of new ideas and open thinking, while clutter tends to be characterised by clinging on to old ideas, attitudes, habits and possessions. In order to free yourself up to be fabulously creative, you often need to be prepared to let go of the clutter first. Inspiration is unlikely to emerge unless you’ve created a space for it.

Clutter generally builds up quietly and imperceptibly over time. The reason for this is that not all clutter starts out its existence as clutter. If you think about the clutter in your life at the moment, you can probably recognise that much of it was originally useful and meaningful. It’s the passing of time and the moving on to different phases of your life that convert many of your once-wonderful ideas, items and relationships into life clutter.

You’ll probably find that, strangely enough, some of your old clutter consists of items and ideas that were once your creative playground. Many of yesterday’s creative sparks evolve into today’s clutter. It doesn’t mean that they weren’t creative at the time or that they had no worth, simply that time has passed and they are no longer current. I like to imagine them as the creative stepping stones that have brought me to where I am now – I couldn’t have got here without them, but their value is now in the past and by clinging on to them, I prevent myself from moving forwards.

That’s why decluttering has to be a way of life, a state of mind and an ongoing activity. Particularly during the times when you want to produce creative output.

There’s an important distinction to be made between clutter and creative messiness, though. A reader of my newsletter wrote to me about her decluttering routine: “I am an artist and always clean my entire studio before beginning a new series of paintings. Sometimes this might take two days! I put everything in the correct place, vacuum, wash windows, rearrange the feng shui, etc. When I am finished, I bless the space and then proceed to totally mess it up with all my creative materials and energy!!!”

The space you declutter may be a physical or a mental one – the important thing is that it’s clear, and that’s what allows it to be a creative start point. It liberates you to get out all your coloured pencils, all your bright ideas, all your interesting words… to throw them in, mix them around and to make a gloriously creative mess. Then comes that amazing flow experience of being totally absorbed as, from the mess of creative potential, a sense of focus gradually emerges.

Most times, for me, I don’t think the focus would come unless I allowed myself the creative messiness first.

In this context, then, clutter is the stuff that blocks you from having the clear space in which to get creatively messy.

It may be environmental clutter – physical things gathering dust and taking up your creative space. That’s generally the most obvious kind of clutter to spot and to do something about.

But it may be mental or emotional clutter. For example: the internal voice that says you should be getting on with something more important, or the fear of producing creative output that isn’t perfect first time. These thought patterns and emotions are clutter too.

To embrace decluttering as a way of life and turn it to your creative advantage, there are three key skills to develop:

– Recognising clutter before it even enters your life and stopping it at source

– Acknowledging which of your previously useful thoughts, attitudes and items have now turned into clutter

– Being prepared to thank the clutter for its earlier usefulness, then let it go

What life clutter would you like to thank for its usefulness, before letting it go and freeing yourself up for new creative ideas and output?

About the Author:

Mary McNeil of
Create a Space
is an experienced, ICF-certified life coach who works with her clients on a variety of decluttering, success and creativity projects. Her 30-day home learning e-course: ‘Declutter Your Way To Creativity’ is available from

www.Create-a-Space.co.uk

.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Decluttering & Creativity

Author:
Pat Samples

Want to write a memoir or novel but can?t seem to get started? Want to create a memorable painting or performance but you?re too busy to work on it? It can be frustrating when your creative fire just never seems to get lit.

Fire Up with Creative Habits

To ignite a daily fire in the fireplace requires that you bring in the wood and place it in the hearth, then strike a match to set it ablaze. In the same way, to ignite your creative fire you must have certain habits and rituals that will fire up your enthusiasm and energy, allowing you to plunge into the joys and mess of creating an artistic work.

In her book The Creative Habit, the famed choreographer Twyla Tharp says emphatically that creativity has much less to do with talent or genius than with hard work. Tharp, who is in her late sixties, illustrates by saying she gets up every day at 5:30 a.m. and heads to the gym for a two-hour workout with her trainer. She says that, because of this kind of dedicated habit associated with her creative work, she is able to feel confident when she has just five weeks to create a new dance for a major performance venue. She has prepared her body and her mind well, beginning with a daily ritual.

It?s the ritual of calling the cab that actually gets her in motion, she says. The well-established routine of making the call gets her past the resistance that might arise about being too tired or otherwise reluctant to put herself through the hard routine at the gym.

Set Up Habits and Rituals That Inspire You

So, what are the daily or frequent habits and rituals that activate your creative productivity? Here are five examples of habits you can borrow from successful artists, along with rituals to set the stage for each habit:

Habit 1: Be observant and make a record of what you observe.

Ritual: Carry a notebook and pen or pencil with you everywhere you go to do a quick sketch, jot observations, or make a note of dialogue you overhear.

Habit 2: Study the work of artists you admire.

Ritual: Keep a set of books by your reading table or bedside and spend 15 minutes or more reading before going to bed. Or check out the arts calendar each Sunday and select a show to attend.

Habit 3: Practice, practice, practice what you want to get better at.

Ritual: Set a specific time to practice each day or on certain days. If you begin with a specific activity such as sitting in a certain place or turning on a certain light, you set up the habit to take on a life of its own.

Habit 4: Take time for solitude to give your muse a chance to play and have its say.

Ritual: Have a pen by your bedside and pick it up as soon as you wake, using it to record your creative ideas before you engage with other people (even before your coffee). Your muse will soon get in the habit of showing up for the appointed time. Or plan a weekend a month when you retreat to your bedroom or a quiet getaway place, and always start the weekend with a set activity such as lighting a candle.

Habit 5: Celebrate your successes. You may want to recall yourself at your best to boost your confidence during slumps.

Ritual: Create a screensaver of an art piece of yours that you?re happy with, or display a testimonial quote from an admirer.

Being creative is most satisfying when it moves from an idea in the mind into the actual creation of an artistic work. That happens more easily and more often if you have habits and rituals that light your creative fire. When starting or renewing a creative habit, build in a ritual to start you off each time you do the activity. Be sure to do the ritual every day for at least 30 days to make it stick. That ritual, faithfully practiced, will become like a book of matches you can count on set off that creative spark.

About the Author:

Learn more from Pat Samples about practical and inspiring ways to live creatlvely at

http://www.patsamples.com

. Her new book, The Secret Wisdom of a Woman’s Body: Freeing Yourself To Live Passionately and Age Fearlessly, has been called by AARP’s magazine “what our generation wants to read.”

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Creativity Starts With a Habit

Author:
Charles Griffith

The artist’s inspiration has been the object of wonder and misconception ever since early Man created the first painted images on the walls of his caves thousands of years ago. In truth, there is nothing mystical about creative thought; the average person uses it in his daily life to solve everyday problems, just as the engineer, scientist and architect employ it in their professions. And to expand the mind’s ability to conjure new ideas can be accomplished by simply learning to break free of restrictive ways of thinking, and by exposure to new and stimulating experiences.

Everyone falls into a mental rut sometimes, where habit takes over. But habit is the enemy of creative thinking! You have to open your mind to new ways of experiencing and perceiving in order to gain fresh ideas. There are many established ways to improve your ability to think creativity. To begin with, you should always strive to avoid time-worn cliches; for the visual artist, this could mean taking a common subject, such as a still-life, and injecting some new element into it that normally wouldn’t be associated with that subject. Consider my painting “Voodoo”, found on my website. Instead of the usual flowers and vase, I have used an African ceremonial mask and a human skull, adding a darker twist to the traditional still-life genre.

Many innovative ideas originate in the subconscious mind. Therefore dreams have often been the source of new ideas for the artist, and for Surrealists such as Salvador Dali they were usually the main source of inspiration. Sometimes the mind can be stimulated simply by drawing or painting in a different location than usual. I often find walking or pacing helps me to think and sort out any confusion in my mind. Trying your hand at other fields of artistic expression, such as writing or music, can give you new perspectives. Literature and film can also be rich sources of ideas. I found that studying poetry helped me to draw more upon the subconscious, and to gain a greater appreciation of the principles that are common to all art forms.

One of the greatest obstacles to creativity is conformity. Don’t allow yourself to be restricted by what is socially or culturally acceptable; society encourages uniformity of thought and attitude–this is the death of creative thought! Follow your own instincts, believe in your own view and perceptions; don’t be afraid to be provocative if that is what your concept demands. Look at my works “The Lady Of Ill Repute” and “The Years”–certainly not everyone’s idea of beauty. But beauty can be found in the truth expressed in these women’s faces and in their lives, like the beauty found in the ruins of a forgotten temple. In these women one sees the scars of past experience and the price that time exacts from the human soul. In short, they tell a good story, something art should always strive to do.

It is a great mistake to think that every idea that you arrive at should be a good one. The creative process is by nature somewhat chaotic–this naturally means that some of your ideas, perhaps most of them, are simply bad. This is fine! Even a bad idea can be of value, as it may lead you to make an unconscious connection that eventually matures into something useful. In fact, sometimes deliberately coming up with a bad concept can open the mind to something better. It’s all a matter of making unconscious associations.

I have come to believe that there is no truly original idea. Everyone builds upon the work of others. Consider Van Gogh’s style: his use of color comes from the Impressionists; the hard outlines and flat forms from Japanese woodcuts; his everyday subject matter from earlier artists like Millet. Perhaps his fluid brushwork is his only personal contribution to his distinctive style. But by blending these different elements he came up with something totally unique and personal. This is an example of combining influences. And there are other approaches, such as modifying, maximizing, minimizing, substituting, rearranging, reversing, exaggerating and separating.

Inspiration is always an uncertain commodity; some people will always have the advantage over the rest of us when it comes to innovative thinking. But everyone can expand their capacity for creative thought by ridding themselves of old ways of thinking, and by exposure to new experiences. However, it isn’t always necessary to be clever; the most important consideration for the artist is to have something to say, and to say it well. I hope that the methods discussed here will help you to do just that.

About the Author:

The artwork of the author, Charles Griffith, can be found at
http://charlesgriffith.tripod.com
and he can be contacted at
charles_griffith@lycos.com
.

Charles Griffith’s interest in art began in childhood, and was encouraged by his family. Later, while serving in the U.S. military in Europe, he was inspired by seeing firsthand some of the treasures of European art. Today his art focuses on traditional realism, often with elements of Expressionism and Surrealism.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Creativity and the Artist

Author:
Tom Williamsen

We all know that cover designs of any product found anywhere have various messages and objectives. These cover arts and designs are used to capture the imagination and interest of ever single person that will see it. It is like the armor and at the same time the weapon of the seller of the product because it greatly depends on the cover if the buyers will like the product that these covers are representing. Although these facts are undeniable, it is also a fact that most people fail to notice the other side and functions of these cover designs.

Cover art or cover designs are also a way for artists to express themselves. Of course, the best way to express the feeling of an artist is by letting as many people as possible to know about it. And what better way to do this than using an artist’s work to front a product? What many people do not know is that cover design for artists is an excellent way for them to display their skills and be known to many people. It is a given fact that many artists volunteer to be a part of a brand or a product so that they can develop their talent and for other people to notice them.

Some may think that this is a very selfish manner for some artists because it is like using a product to be able to climb their way up the success ladder. The truth is that cover design for artists are very important because they are not just given the chance to support and patronize the product, but at the same time, they are also given the chance to speak their emotions through their art. Of course, part of doing this is also to become popular but this is not the defying reason why artists agree or decide to create a design for a certain product.

Therefore, if you are an entrepreneur who wants to sell something online or anywhere else in this planet, just remember the impact and importance of a cover design for artists. In short, as much as possible go with someone you know who is an aspiring artist. This way, you will not only give them the chance to earn some money but you will also give them a chance to bloom as an artist. The thing that you entrusted them with a responsibility – no matter how trivial it is – is an indication that you trust their capabilities. And of course, this in turn will really boost their confidence in themselves and in their works. This will also be good for you not only because you will have a very expressive cover design for your product, but also because you know that you have lead someone towards what he/she is really passionate about.

Even though you know that you will become the medium to someone’s success and there is a possibility for you to feel used, it is still more important that you feel honored because you became a part of why an artist will become successful in the future.

About the Author:

Looking to design quality and professional images quickly? You don’t need to use third party software – use

http://www.ecover-go.com

to create quality images and then turn them into ecovers, software boxes, or even
Cover Design for Artists
!

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
Cover Design for Artists – Everything You Need to Know