This is the official Blog for the EBSQ Self-Representing Artists Community, where you'll find news, reviews, site announcements, and of course, a generous helping of art!
EBSQ Artist Carolyn Schiffhouer has a solo show running now till May 31 at the Red Brick Gallery in Foxburg, Pa. If you’re in the area don’t miss out on her beautiful visions!
April 24 – May 31
Red Brick Gallery
17 Main St.
Foxburg, Pa
Hours:
Friday 2:00 – 6:00
Saturday 11:00 – 7:00
Sunday 12:00 – 4:00
This week’s Friday Five features five recent artworks from various galleries in our community. They are a taste of the diverse and amazing talent of our artists. I hope you enjoy them and have a wonderful weekend!
Please take a moment to check out the artist’s portfolios on EBSQ: Allesandro Andreuccetti, Sherry Key, Torrie Smiley, Martha Di Giovanni, and Janet M. Graham.
1. I know it’s not anywhere near Christmas yet, but I adore this Minced Pie painting by one of EBSQ’s newest artists, Jacqueline Gomez. Welcome to EBSQ, Jacqueline!
2. I snagged this from Wacom’s 90 Tips on Pinterest – How to breakout on Instagram. This is specifically for artists, illustrators, crafters, etc.
3. The big news of the week of course was the announcement made by the Met – Metropolitan Museum Initiative Provides Free Access to 400,000 Digital Images (be sure to read the press release, not everything in the collection is free to use.)
4. Tips for Creating a Newsletter by artist Julie Ann. Do you have a newsletter? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
5. How to Video: Embellishing Digital Art With Gel Medium
1. Have a look at this delightful painting from Kimberly Vanlandingham. April Showers bring May Flowers….as well as Puddles for splashing!
2. If you only click on one link in this blog post, make it this one: 5 Simple Ways to Talk about your Art.
3. Download Free Andrew Loomis books on illustration and drawing. These are classic gems!
4. This week it was announced that a dozen previously unknown digital artworks by Andy Warhol were discovered on floppy discs dating from 1985. What a discovery!
5. We are in the final days of the April Art Exhibits at EBSQ. Have you entered? I’m putting the final touches on my piece for Medieval-Inspired Mosaics. The Bluebells exhibit could use a few more entries too!
EBSQ’s Mark Satchwill has long been known for his watercolor paintings, particularly his portraits of amazing accuracy and depth. Over the last year, Mark has taken those skills and applied them digital painting. I had a virtual sit-down with Mark to discuss this transition, his challenges and passion.
Can you tell us how and why you ventured into digital painting?
There were a few factors involved. One was simple curiosity – I was seeing a lot of digital art around and wanted to try it. I was also doing regular illustration work and had ended up with a big pile of drawings that were just taking up space – I figured if I began to do that work digitally it would save on space and materials! I also felt I needed a new challenge, something new to learn. So, I bought a drawing tablet and then did some research to decide which art software to buy (I bought Painter, ArtRage and Manga Studio), then set about learning to use them!
What have you found most challenging when working in digital?
I think the hardest thing was learning to use a tablet and pen. It’s almost like learning to draw again, as instead of looking down at your hand on the paper as you draw you, your hand is drawing on the tablet and you are looking at what you’re drawing on the screen – so there is a disconnection that takes some getting used to. I think the other challenge is to retain your own artistic personality and style. So much digital art has a rather generic look to it, it’s lacking that stamp of personality that traditional has but I think coming to digital with good traditional skills makes a big difference in your approach.
For you, what is the biggest difference when using digital vs. traditional tools?
I think it’s the freedom digital allows. As I don’t have to think about buying new materials or wasting materials I can be free to be more experimental. I’m free do much larger work as I don’t have to worry about space. Thanks to working with layers if I paint something and it doesn’t work or I mess it up I can just delete it rather than have to start the whole image again from scratch. And there’s no mess or tools to clean up!
Have you encountered any issues selling digital art compared to traditional?
Yes. I think there are a couple of reasons. One is that if you purchase a digital artwork you purchase it as a file or a print, so that feeling of buying a physical object that someone has created isn’t there. I think people will gradually come around to the idea though. The other reason, relating to my own work, is that people have got to know me for traditional watercolour work and are less receptive to my digital work. I think there is mistrust from many traditional artists about digital – they think that it’s trickery and that it’s somehow easier and needs less skills, that it’s sort of cheating. Of course there are tools that can be used to cut corners if you want to but if you don’t have the basic traditional skills they will only take you so far. Ultimately digital is just another medium and it’s the end result itself which is most important. I’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible and I’m loving working digitally. It doesn’t mean I will totally give up working traditionally – there is plenty of room for both!
http://marksatchwill.ebsqart.com
http://marksatchwill.blogspot.com/
Mark Satchwill Art on Facebook
Who and where are you?
Hello my name is Craig Gourley and I live in Darlington Co Durham a small town in the north east of England. I’ve been painting and drawing since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I studied art and graphic design at New College Durham and Darlington Tec College.
How were you introduced to Facebook?
I was introduced to Facebook by an old school friend looking to catch up but I soon realized its potential as a promotional tool for my artwork.
Any tips for other artists starting a Facebook Page?
Try to update your page as often as possible, this will help you get more fans coming back to your page.
Promotion is important as well, I find Twitter is a good tool for this, following the right sort of people and tweeting your fan page every now and then will send people who are interested in your art to your page and hitting the LIKE button.
What’s your favorite Facebook Page feature?
I have a few, the link feature is a great tool, being able to pop a link in your status bar and have a thumbnail picture come up is really helpful. The SHARE tool is also fantastic plus the ability to link your Twitter and YouTube accounts together is really time-saving.
What’s coming next from your studio?
More ArtRage digital paintings and maybe some water colour artwork 🙂 I’m still working hard on my commissions for hand painted pop-art canvases plus an E bay shop may be on the horizon.
1. Day Off Art – Kathleen Ralph is a busy mother, artist, and student these days, but even on her day off she’s creating! I love this dragon done in Copic markers.
2. Analog to Digital – Artist Alma Lee is a wizard when it comes to taking one of her artworks, plugging it into her computer and transforming it into something amazing and new. Check it out!
3. March MOTM: Relax – Maureen Frank must be reading my mind, because relax is all I want to do in March. Check out this month’s free to download Mandala of the Month!
4. Two Art House Projects – From my own blog I share two new projects I’m going to be working on this Spring.
5. Your Blog Post Could go Here!! – Blogging isn’t always fun, but it can be a great way to connect with your buyers. Are you blogging at least once a month?
Have a wonderful weekend!
At sunset, Nature is painting for us… day after day… pictures of infinite beauty.
~ John Ruskiin
Featured above are: Carolyn Schiffhouer, Melanie Pruitt, Melia Newman, Elis Cooke, Windi Rosson, Diane Casey, Dee Flouton, Dia Spriggs, Nancy Denommee, and Claire Bull.
Are you an EBSQ Artist selling on Etsy, eBay, Zazzle, Artfire or RedBubble? Why not join Team EBSQ?
Featured above are: Sherry Key, and Dee Flouton.
Next month’s theme: Facial Features
Are you an EBSQ Artist selling on Etsy, eBay, Zazzle, Artfire or RedBubble? Why not join Team EBSQ?
Melanie Pruitt of The Creator’s Palette is a new member of EBSQ, but she’s already making her mark. Check out this beautiful treasury she curated at Etsy, featuring some of the talented EBSQ sellers!
 Memories Beach Pebb… $30.00
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 Double Joy EBSQ Ex… $20.00
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 Nautilus Shell 68 -… $65.00
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 3 Happy Starfish Ne… $20.00
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 Shell Tribal Neckla… $70.00
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 Treasured Conch – 8… $25.00
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 Zen Spiral, by Caro… $24.99
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 Lilac Sea Foam ACEO… $30.00
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 Aqua Blue Druzy Aga… $32.50
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 Original Landscape … $100.00
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 Fantasy Fish In Ora… $5.00
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 The Ocean is Callin… $6.00
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 2 Pewter Nautilus S… $3.00
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 Bali Hai ORIGINAL H… $100.00
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 Queen Conch, origin… $350.00
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 Mermaid Cat Origina… $80.00
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Technology – a wonderful thing. With the invention of microchips, circuit boards, and digital data – artistry took a high-tech step to a new realm. It opened creative doors with another way to express ones artistic nature. Who knows what will be the next outlet for our creativity – anyone care to guess?
More Digital Art can be found by browsing the EBSQ Digital Art Galleries or searching “digital” in all of our EBSQ galleries.
Our talented pool of EBSQ artists also have a healthy amount available sale on the following sites: Artfire, Etsy, Fine Art America, Redbubble, and Zazzle.
You can find out more about our featured artists on their EBSQ bio pages: Carolyn Schifhouer , Charlene Murray Zatloukal and Christi Schwartzkopf.
*If you would like to see your artwork featured on the EBSQ blog, you can find our theme and keyword search list here. (team is only used for Etsy) This is open to all EBSQ artists account holders. You can find out more about signing up here.
Next week: Ferns
The EBSQ Friday Five offers a brief look at noteworthy news from around the EBSQ Artist Blogosphere. This week it’s all about February’s fresh pressed art!
1. View from Under the Bridge by Barbara Haviland
2. New Pet Portraits by Rebecca Collins
3. Fractal Wildflowers by Christi Schwartzkopf
4. Abstract Painting by Nataera
5. Makeup Brush by Pati Springmeyer
What a beautiful month February has been!
This week’s EBSQ Blogger of the Week is an inspiration. It makes so difference what medium she chooses to work in, her art speaks to the heart.
Who and where are you?
I’m Ruth J Jamieson and thank you for featuring me as blogger of the week. I’m a visual artist and potter, though I have been on hiatus from clay for a number of years. I live and work in a little house my family and I built on the beautiful north shore of Lake Nipissing, in northern Ontario, Canada. My dining room is my studio and I watch the sun travel the sky and watch glorious sunsets many evenings while I work. I would say my current artistic focus is on photography and fractal art. I also create many digital art images by combining various elements including my photographs and fractals.
How did you get started art blogging?
I never really thought about blogging until 2009. I had begun reading various topical blogs on a semi-regular basis, but felt it was more of a commitment than I was able to make at the time. Finally though I set up a blog on Blogger and began featuring my artist friends periodically. My posting frequency dwindled off and my blog languished while I dealt with other issues until late 2010 when I decided that if I was going to blog, I was going to blog regularly. So now I have my original blog, remixed as “Isn’t This a Fine Kettle of Fish”, in which I now intend to chronicle what is happening in my studio and shops. I have added two new blogs, THE ZAZZLE REVIEW, and THE ETSY TIMES which feature a Zazzler or an Etsian weekly. As well I now do an artist feature weekly on my website blog. So Monday, Wednesday and Friday are now blog posting days at my house.
Any tips for other EBSQ art bloggers?
Blog regularly, at least once per week, preferably more often. Posts don’t have to be long or complicated but they should be genuine and share a little of you with your readers. Think about the kinds of things you like to read about in other artist’s blogs, what kind of posts keep you coming back to your regularly visited blogs.
It is VERY important to have pictures in every blog post. Readers like to see what they’re reading about. Keep your text in short, easy to read paragraphs with white space between them. Save the fancy flourishy text for titles or effect, the main text should be in a clear, simple, easy to read font, in a color that contrasts with the background. Be sure to activate links for anything that has a web presence. CHECK THE LINKS, make sure they work properly.
CONNECT, CONNECT, CONNECT! Your blog should link to the rest of your online presence and the rest of your online presence should link to your blog. This gives you an organized, competent, professional web profile. Be sure to have easy access for people to join, follow or subscribe to your blog, have a search feature on your blog and make it easy for visitors to share your blog via email, twitter, facebook and other sites if possible.
Be sure to reply to every comment made on your blog. Check out your followers and their blogs, if they have one (or more). Network with those blogs and others to build your visibility and draw traffic to your blog and your business.
What’s your musical inspiration of choice when you’re working in your studio?
I rarely listen to music while working. I work in my dining room which adjoins the kitchen and living room, so I get to listen to The Weather Network or whatever the family has on television and the sounds of activity in the kitchen. When everyone is out or elsewhere in the house, I prefer quiet. The only time I really feel like having music while I work is when I am working on Christmas themed art. Then I like to have Christmas music playing quietly.
What’s coming next from your easel?
What a question! I have so much to do this year it boggles my mind. Currently I am working on a 72 image series, which I want to complete before Pesach begins on April 18. The series is of the 72 Names of God. This is a Kabbalistic series. The images are digital collages of vector graphics, fractal images, photographs and Hebrew and English text.
I have set hefty goals for building my Zazzle shops this year. In particular I will be tackling more ‘occasion’ oriented images and designs for my newest shop. This is in addition to building a more robust inventory in my two original Zazzle shops.
I am also trying to keep up with the new EBSQ Fractal Challenge. I’m liking the challenge as it has prodded me to create some new fractal images. I have a very large library of existing fractals that I created and work with, but it is good to add more for future use. Photographically, I continue to follow the seasons as I do each year and add to my inventory of images to draw from when I am creating digital works. I think I need an assistant just to manage my image inventory.
This is turning into a busy, busy, busy year!
http://ruthjjamieson.blogspot.com/
Thank you Ruth for being an EBSQ Blogger of the Week!
If you are an EBSQ Artist and would like to be considered for Blogger of the Week just add us to your blogroll. I’m searching EBSQ profiles weekly for links to artist’s blogs. If you aren’t an EBSQ Artist, what are you waiting for?
Excuse the delay. I like to have all the EBSQ Artist Blogs in my feed reader and that feed reader is not cooperating today. Don’t fret! The show must go on, right?
1. Lady of the Forest Wip – I love watching an artwork come to life. Check out Sara’s latest WIP!
2. Blue and White – Photography by Micheal Lewis Glover. We saw his work in the recent Classic show at EBSQ and with any luck we’ll see a lot more soon! 😉
3. My Art Day Job – Cathy Darling shares her plan on selling art and also growing as artist behind the scenes.
4. Thinking of Kentucky – Kimberly Vanlandingham is nice and cozy in her Florida home, so why is she thinking of Kentucky?
5. To Catch an Artist off Guard – Yes, I’m plugging my own blog! If you haven’t heard my latest news, check it out! 😉
Have a great weekend!
This month’s featured gallery is Digital Art. Digital Art is not defined by one genre or style but rather the means used to create it. With the advance of digital tools and software, anything is possible. Like any medium, Digital Art requires the talent, patience, skill, and creativity of the artist to come alive. Digital Art is limited only by the imagination (and skill) of the artist. This month we are going to take a few moments to catch up with some of EBSQ’s Digital artists.
The medium of digital has opened up whole new possibilities for me and my art. I’ve always wanted to do collages of classic, old, imagery. Digital has allowed me to ‘gut’ the best of old illustration/advertising/Victorian trade cards and other materials that previously were not the sort of thing one would take a scissors to. It is paint without paint, light in the darkness, halls of mirrors and worlds of magic. The other amazing thing about digital is that it ‘democratises’ art – everyone can have a copy that is every bit as ‘good’ as anyone else’s. Art is meant to be seen and appreciated (hopefully), after all. – PQ Ribber
Like what you see here? We hope you’ll consider leaving a comment or subscribing to one of our feeds. Never miss another cool post from EBSQ. Subscribe to EBSQ: Art Meets Blog v2.0 by Email today!
The EBSQ Friday Five offers a brief look at noteworthy news from around the EBSQ Artist Blogosphere.
1. “All American” is a Winner – Congratulations to EBSQ Artist Pat Burns, who one second place at the Georgia in Bloom Fest for her painting All American!
2. First Post on Blogspot – Illustrator Natalia Pierandrei has moved blogs. Be sure to update your bookmarks so you don’t miss her updates.
3. Updates – Bethy Williams is new to EBSQ and I just wanted to welcome her to our community. 😀
4. Big 25% Sale – Little Gorjuss is having a sale on prints and original artworks! Sale ends May 9, so hurry!
5. Digital Painting & Video Tutorials – Ever wondered how Brigid Ashwood creates her stunning digital art? Wonder no more with this great tutorial.
Have a wonderful and creative weekend!
This month’s featured gallery is Digital Art. Digital Art is not defined by one genre or style but rather the means used to create it. With the advance of digital tools and software, anything is possible. Like any medium, Digital Art requires the talent, patience, skill, and creativity of the artist to come alive. Digital Art is limited only by the imagination (and skill) of the artist. This month we are going to take a few moments to catch up with some of EBSQ’s Digital artists.
First of all, I love digital art because it allows me to take my art in myriad directions, based on what constantly emerges as I work. Digital art has allowed me to see the world through my own rose colored glasses. I enjoy the fact that I can do detailed editing by adjusting hundreds of different parameters that affect the look and feel of the digital paint tool and the final result.
I was always frustrated with the desire to be able to paint well, but was never happy with the results. Then traditional (analog) photography satisfied my artistic curiosity for many years, until digital photography came along. A digital camera opened up a whole new world for me in conjunction with Photoshop. But somehow that did not seem enough. I wanted more, to be able to create more than what Photoshop or other paint programs offered. A review of Studio Artist sparked my interest and I immediately began working with an early version of this very sophisticated software whose learning curve (huge!!) frustrated me even more. However, I persisted and over the years have tweaked my art to suit my needs and visual aesthetic. The software is constantly evolving and I continue to learn but have not yet mastered all the technical aspects that I would like to due to the complexity of the software.
My work may be rendered as realistic or abstracted output, often times having no direct relationship to the content of the original source image. It is creativity ‘on the fly’ at times, and can result in a happy accident or a meticulously planned outcome. Its possibilities are endless, which makes it so exciting to work with. Guided by the image and imagination it is the magic of the transformation that inspires me at every step. Many versions of the same source image can be rendered, making it difficult to settle on one or more ‘best’ versions as keepers.
What I find compelling about this form is that Digital Art differs from Traditional Art, but because of technology and sophisticated digital brushes, Traditional Art can be emulated through brushes and other software tools which apply oil, acrylic, pastel or pencil “paint strokes” to the digital canvas. These are tools just as a brush, palette knife or pencil is to a traditional artist. It is the skill and vision of the artist that makes the art.
To sum it up my digital art is the creation of an image which reflects my vision through an organized and/or spontaneous process which evolves at its own pace. It is my personal interpretation realized through modification, and/or enhancement of a photograph. My original photographs are used as a point of departure for creation, taking creativity to the next level as an extension of the original photo. It is what keeps me going and on an even keel. – Deanne Flouton
Like what you see here? We hope you’ll consider leaving a comment or subscribing to one of our feeds. Never miss another cool post from EBSQ. Subscribe to EBSQ: Art Meets Blog v2.0 by Email today!
This month’s featured gallery is Digital Art. Digital Art is not defined by one genre or style but rather the means used to create it. With the advance of digital tools and software, anything is possible. Like any medium, Digital Art requires the talent, patience, skill, and creativity of the artist to come alive. Digital Art is limited only by the imagination (and skill) of the artist. This month we are going to take a few moments to catch up with some of EBSQ’s Digital artists.
The art I’ve made in digital mediums is creating collages with my photographs in Photoshop by taking each photo and manipulating them, sometimes radically, changing the hues, cropping, etc., and layering them within a composition as transparencies. Also adding line art that I’ve scanned and again manipulated to get the colors and effects i want. Finally “painting” on the piece with Photoshop’s airbrush and paint software that’s built-in. It’s a technique i discovered in college that i became comfortable with because of the total freedom it allows. It naturally turned me toward these modern graphic pop Robert Rauschenberg type of images because that what hit me when i first discovered Photoshop. Earlier than this, on Microsoft Paint, standard on all PC’s, I began literally drawing or painting with the program much the same way I would do an oil painting, with an underpainting, and then building it up in blocks of color and using the “airbrush” tool to soften edges in certain places. When you say “Digital Art”, you’re really describing art made with computer software and photography, where said software is just another tool or medium, the same as oil paints or pastels. – Kevin Wells
Like what you see here? We hope you’ll consider leaving a comment or subscribing to one of our feeds. Never miss another cool post from EBSQ. Subscribe to EBSQ: Art Meets Blog v2.0 by Email today!
This month’s featured gallery is Digital Art. Digital Art is not defined by one genre or style but rather the means used to create it. With the advance of digital tools and software, anything is possible. Like any medium, Digital Art requires the talent, patience, skill, and creativity of the artist to come alive. Digital Art is limited only by the imagination (and skill) of the artist. This month we are going to take a few moments to catch up with some of EBSQ’s Digital artists.
I was drawn to digital art by the challenge of creating art using a computer. To be able to wrestle with the limitations of the technology and come out successful is the greatest fun to me. I love taking an image and seeing just what can be done to it using the computer. It is exciting fun to experiment and see what happens when you do this or that to a bare photo or scanned image. It is a total experience to take an idea, find an image that might work and create something new within the boundaries of the computer. The challenge of creation and the beauty of a final image drew me to digital art and keeps me exploring and exploring. – Carolyn Schiffhouer
Like what you see here? We hope you’ll consider leaving a comment or subscribing to one of our feeds. Never miss another cool post from EBSQ. Subscribe to EBSQ: Art Meets Blog v2.0 by Email today!
Art & News from EBSQ 