Friday, June 29, 2012

Show and Tell Saturday #29

Welcome to all of our new members who recently joined us! One of our members suggested that we do an ATC swap here. What do you think? Would you be interested? How many would be a good number to trade?

Thanks for participating! Are you doing anything exciting? Hosting a challenge? Conducting a workshop? Tell me about it and I will write a post to put on Artists in Blogland.

If you are an art journaler, feel free to also add your link to my Just Journals Link Party.


Show and Tell Saturday
 (also, don't you just love this font?  It's a font of my handwriting that I made at yourfonts.com.  You have to pay $9.95 for it, but I really really wanted a handwriting font of my own!)

Add your link!
Try to visit at least 3 other artists and put a link back to Artists in Blogland, so other people can find us. 


Grab a button for your page:




Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Books and Websites

I've asked this awhile ago and put a button on the side of the blog, but I thought I'd ask again... what are your favorite inspirational art website or favorite art related books?

Summer Art!

I hope you all are having a great summer.  I'm sorry I haven't been super active on Artists in Blogland.  We went on a trip to Disneyworld and I've been busy taking care of my sick toddler... luckily she is slowly getting back to normal.  Here are a few of the awesome artworks our members have been creating:






I am asking you for any ideas that you might have for this group!  Anything at all... let me know what you think might make this group even more exciting.

--- Would you like to host a giveaway?  Giveaways are always exciting!  Maybe you have a piece of art or a spot in a workshop or something that would promote your Etsy shop or blog?

---  Guest posts:  Would you like to write a guest post about creativity or a special project?

---  Anything else?  Let me know!


Have a creative week and come back on Saturday for our Show and Tell Saturday!--- Marcia

Friday, June 22, 2012

Creatively Featured - Sunayana Sarangi

Hi all! We have another fabulous artist to share with you today - Sunayana from SK Art Studio! You can find her at her blog or Facebook page where all her photos are in one place.

Tell us about blogging and how it's worked for you.
Having a blog audience keeps me motivated and alive as an artist !

I think it was already late by the time I realized the strengths of Blog-world, I would term my entry into blogging as ‘late than never’ with a sense of optimism.

Within this online world of Blogging, I meet so many like-minded people and more importantly Artists across the globe. The ease of communication and discussion I am able to have, is the most striking factor about blogs. Websites, in most cases, are devoid of this luxury, they stay there even passive. In contrast, bloggers stay close to their blogs, active, always keeping blogs alive and happening.

This feature about the Blog forces me to stay lively with regular updates meaning 'I get down to painting ', to post something new without excuses.  I think, if I were not an active blogger, I would have not painted as much as I do now. This reminds me of a saying - if you write for the drawer - you might as well endup writing bad stuff! So definitely, having a blog audience keeps me motivated and alive as an artist.

Blogs are like Wild Fires - If one blogger comes up with a creative idea, it gets adapted by so many other bloggers and I haven’t come across any blogger saying, '' hey that’s my idea, I am going to sue you for adopting it ''. With due respect to copyrights; knowledge and creativity hold a basic nature of being adaptable and inspirable. I find so many artists on blogs sharing how-tos and DIYs. This is all worth a mention and loads of appreciation.

How did you discover your favorite art medium?
I like to work on varied mediums; to me art is all about experience through experiments. However, my search is still on for that one favorite medium..

What inspires or influences you artistically?
To me Human mind is the most abstract in nature. Human relations, responses, behaviors and emotions are the areas which interest me the most.

Which aspect of your art do you enjoy most?
Understanding the horizons of my subject/theme and composing a creative illustration is what I enjoy the most. However, to develop a composition from a vague idea and to extrapolate that on to a canvas has its own little surprises that keeps me excited.

How do you see your future work and style developing?
I see myself developing as a Socially Inclusive illustration artist. While my direction is pretty determined, I am striving to train myself with both the classical and the comtemporary painting theories and techniques inorder to be able to do justice with all my subjects.

How do you manage your time?
I am not a great planner. I love to follow my heart. I am lucky to have a husband who makes sure I keep a balance. I also did a post on this and its really interesting to know that this post got much more likes than my posts on my paintings.

Have you exhibited work or taught classes?
I haven’t exhibited my work in any gallery untill now. My first exhibiton will be held in mid July in Munich, Germany. That’s where I am living at the moment.

Do you work to a design or theme or just go with the flow…or something else entirely?
I work mostly to a theme, and I am a bit partial towards the Socially Inclusive ones.

What have you done this past year?
The past year was quite a productive year, since it was the first year out of IT and full time in to Painting. Lots of enthusiasm and lots of time resulting in quite a number of paintings. All of them can be seen on my Facebook page.

What artistic plans do you have for the coming year? 
The coming year will see a lot more variety in my compositions, possibly good improvement in my sketching skills (thanks to the drawing classes I have been forcing myself to take up) and some experimentation with other medium like Aquarell and Pastels. The next year will also see some good amount of ,Reading ‘ !

Friday, June 15, 2012

Show and Tell Saturday #28

Show and Tell Saturday Rules
Add your link!
Please visit at least 3 other artists and put a link back to Artists in Blogland, so other people can find us. 


Thanks for participating! Are you doing anything exciting? Hosting a challenge? Conducting a workshop? Tell me about it and I will write a post to put on Artists in Blogland. Grab a button for your page:




Thursday, June 7, 2012

Creatively Featured - Sharon Hinchliffe



Hi Everyone! June's Challenge is up and as always, please send me an email if you are interested in being featured here on our blog! Please join me in welcoming fellow artist Sharon Hinchliffe! You can find her at her blog Delartful and her Etsy Shop.




Tell us about blogging and how it's worked for you. I came across artists blogs a few years ago after learning a friend had started blogging. I realized it was possible for me to incorporate my passion for art into my daily routine through starting my own blog. It opened me up to other artists' worlds and gave me confidence and incentive to explore my own goal to be a practicing artist.


How did you discover your favorite art medium? My favourite medium had always been acrylic paint which I discovered back in highschool. I love painting with layers and acrylic paint dries quickly and allows you to add to it without waiting - because
I am not very patient! I also love working with ink and after a lot of trial and error found that a fine tipped roller ball pen is my favourite to draw with.


What inspires or influences you artistically? There are a lot of artists with varying styles I am inspired by who I learn about through exhibitions and magazines, and write about on my blog. I also have many favourite blogs of artists and designers I read regularly. I am inspired daily by nature, my children, my family, friends and my wonderful partner who are all very supportive of my work.


Which aspect of your art do you enjoy most? I spend the first part of my paintings putting down layers of colour without knowing what will 'appear'. I really enjoy seeing a painting begin to take shape and when it does I can become totally absorbed in it.


How do you see your future work and style developing? I see my future being more about painting as a lifestyle and not something I have to fit into my daily job. I want to keep developing patterns to include in my work and give my characters more life. I also have plans to create homewares using my designs, which I am working on now.


How do you manage your time? I work best creatively late in the day, so the mornings are dedicated to my “real” job which I am very fortunate to have been doing from home for many years. If I am not too busy I can then get into painting and drawing in the afternoons and at night - once my kids are taken care of!


Have you exhibited work or taught classes? I have only exhibited through college classes I have attended and I have submitted paintings into the occasional art show. I plan to hang my work in galleries by the end of this year and hopefully in the not too distant future hold my own exhibitions.


How do you go about the design process? I do this as I go, usually beginning with a basic form then working from that. I will paint in colours and work with the most dominant parts of the design until it begins to take shape.


Do you work to a design or theme or just go with the flow…or something else entirely? I definitely go with the flow. I feel as though the painting almost grows in its own with only a small amount of mental input from me!


Is/was there a significant turning point or defining moment in your style of work? Yes I found it came this past year - the more I drew. I would often sit and experiment with different patterns and styles until finally I was happy with what I was producing. But it took a lot of time and repetition to work it out.


Can you tell us a little about your methods and/or techniques? I begin with at least 5 – 10 paintings which I do on either wood, canvas or recycled materials. I will fill then with basic shapes and blocks of colour and collage, I do each one in layers and move quickly from one to the other so I am not overthinking each piece. When they start to take shape I will draw in some detail and work around that. With the final stages I am layering colours in watered down acrylic so the underpainting comes through, then finishing the detail with ink.


What have you done this past year? This year I have spent more time painting than before. I was thrilled to have one of my paintings chosen as a winning entry in a local art prize. From that I sold some of my work, begun to sell prints online,  and have been featured in a creative magazine. I have also made more time to network and try to get an online presence which I learnt since I began takes a bit of work. There have been some great people I have gotten to know along the way. I have also developed ideas for lamps, clocks, pendants and other products, which I am planning on launching later this year.


What are your artistic highlights? It is always a highlight when someone approaches me feeling positive after seeing my work. My main desire is to translate the inspiration and joy I feel when I am creating onto a piece of art, that people can then view and get something positive from it.


What artistic plans do you have for the coming year? I am working on getting products ready to sell in art markets, and have been getting a collection of original paintings to take to galleries. I hope that by the end of this year I will have both plans accomplished!





Wednesday, June 6, 2012

June Challenge


Welcome to June's challenge! I'm looking forward to seeing the fabulous creations you come up with. Use the theme for the month as inspiration in any way you like. All mediums are welcome... no rules.  The theme for the month is...

Dream

Please enter a direct link to your blog post by June 30th (if you need help with this just contact Heather). Voting will begin July 1st.

**If you are interested in providing a prize for this month, or any future challenge, please contact Heather.**

May Challenge Winner





Everyone's work was, once again, absolutely wonderful! Thanks so much for playing along and stay tuned for the next challenge! Nora, here's a badge for your blog:


Friday, June 1, 2012

Show and Tell Saturday #27

Show and Tell Saturday Rules
Add your link!
Please visit at least 3 other artists and put a link back to Artists in Blogland, so other people can find us. 


Thanks for participating! Are you doing anything exciting? Hosting a challenge? Conducting a workshop? Tell me about it and I will write a post to put on Artists in Blogland. Grab a button for your page:




Voting Begins for May Challenge

It's that time! Please vote for the two entries that you feel most fit the theme of the challenge. All of our followers and readers are encouraged to vote. You will have until June 4th to vote, with the winner announced on June 5th. The new challenge will go up at that time too.


We don't have a prize this month, so if you are interested in providing a prize for this month, or any future challenge, please contact Heather.