The Artistic Conundrum a.k.a. Somebody buy a shirt please!

A looming concern over anyone, artist or not, is how to make money. Like it or not, you need money just to live from day to day. As an artist in the digital age you would think that gathering enough exposure to spread your work while bringing in some change would be easy, but in reality it is becoming increasingly difficult.

Taking into consideration the amount of sites on the internet which sell artwork, the number of artists on those sites, the number of customers browsing those sites (those willing to spend on art during the recession) and mixed into that the number of people trying to make a quick buck off of anything they can sell (craft or other). If you're an artist, you're probably at this moment drowning in this electronic ocean. So the question is how does one sell their work in hopes to make a living or just anything at all.

I don't have that answer and I don't think anyone really does. But don't sweat it, artists aren't the only one with this particular conundrum. Large studios and corporations are looking for their money on the internet as well, and discovering that there is no particular equation. The internet is in a position of flux, which is why it's so popular. Internet allows the people to control the culture, they no longer receive it but adapt it and make it their own. So there really is no silver bullet, magic equation and if someone tells you other wise they are selling you snake oil, you probably know more than they do.

So why am I telling you all of this. To sell you something of course. The internet with it's multiple solutions and it's infinite wisdom has taught me to be thrifty and to sell out at any chance you get. So when I recently heard of Razzle, with it's no money in, turn a profit off of your designs I was sold.

Without further explanation here is my first Razzle attempt (tell your friends):

http://www.zazzle.com/rawr_tshirt

Happy Holidays!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Holidays, before I disappear for another week into the physical world.

Holidays are a great time to relax and come up with new ideas. Although some genuine ideas are created through pressure, I prefer to create ideas through relaxation.

'How Birds Breathe' available in January!

My 'How Birds Breathe' print will be available on my Etsy shop beginning of January. Although I had hoped to sell my Intaglio prints from school the quality of the prints weren't as great as I had hoped. So I've decided to print on the same white stonehenge paper as my intaglio but printed using my Epson print.

So look for my print starting in January!

More of my Current Work

The semester ended and you know what that means...

more of my fun personal work. Continuing my Squid 'n Bear comic and working on Christmas cards.

Bonsai

Finals - Sculpture

My final sculpture this semester was supposed to take a song from the 50's, 60's or 70's and relate it's message to ideas from today. My opinion that I expressed in my sculpture was that there is a disconnect between that music and current generations because we are unable to fully understand what previous generations have gone through. it is impossible and silly to compare each generation to the next because each is so different.

So I went out of my comfort zone and created a performance piece to show this disconnect and separation of generations, through visual and audial support. Here are some pictures from my one and only performance for the class.

Quick Update- Really Quick

Since this is the craziest time of the year, I will make this quick... very quick. Heres one of my latest images from print making. It could be a possible theme I may want to continue through my work as I look forward to applying for my MFA.

The theme if you haven't picked up on it, is the scientific dissection of every facet of life. It's also are need to classify, organize and understand all things living.

And if you haven't done your Christmas shopping like me, then maybe you should visit my Etsy shop and get your loved one a monster or animal print!

The Octopus as Design

Just did a little digging into the octopus as used in art and design. Mycenaean pottery.

The Value of Value - Cont.

If you couldn't see the value of value in my previous post you should be able to see it now. The amount of depth and volume created by placing a light source and shadow into your work is incredible. Because of shadows tentacles seem to inhabit the space rising up out of the tub rather than laying flat against it. The head and tentacles also are given new life, a sense of roundness.

You can see why value is so important, but before I took Fundamentals of Drawing I gave the concept of value little to no thought. Now I can see the value of value.

The Value of Value

I'd hate to say it but I'm really benefiting from returning to undergrad at IUP and learning the basics. It's the studios in which I can see what I've really missed out on. Fundamentals of Drawing has really taught me lessons that extend beyond drawing and has found it's way into my digital art work.

Working in film and video you really take for granted being able to set up lights, tear them down and reset them within minutes. Within that time you can create several different pictures without having to finalize anything. In drawing,more or less your final drawing is your final drawing. You can visualize and play with your lighting set up before you begin but I feel it's real easy to ignore that step and just draw better or for worse what you see.

This concept of light and values has really made me step back and look at the work I've recently produced. It's made me realize how flat my images really were. And so I've come to value the use of value in my work, being able to create depth and volume. Making me consider setting and composition in my image.

Initially I wanted to go back and add value to an older image to show my point, but all my work is located on my external HD in my apartment. So I created an image used a lot by professors teaching values. If anyone ever tells you to go back and learn the basics, don't laugh or take offense because it really can benefit you. I've learned this the hard way but I've still learned it.