Do You Squidoo?

Golly, time certainly passes when you are enjoying yourself. I have been creating and updating lenses ( single page web-sites on a niche subjects) on Squidoo.

I love to write about what I am doing as much as painting and collaging, so I am enjoying this at present to the detriment of new art. I am also reading a lot about art and making notes of some new ideas to try! I have updated my lenses on "making, collecting and selling ACEO's". Still have a way to go to complete these and they remain work-in-progress but why hide them away. Actually there is a series of four introduced by the named lens.

I have also added recently, tutorials on:-

making a simple collaged ATC
ready made and easy ATC backgrounds
making marbled paper with shaving cream 
the basics of how to use the colour wheel
and for those of you new to layering in digital work, adding ghost images in Photoplus

Hope you find time to take a peek. comments of course are very welcome - always. especially if they help to improve the content and the manner in which it is presented. Thanks in anticipation.

ATC's and digital collages

It has been a little while since I posted any new ATC's, I have been really busy with several things including my art group's annual exhibition. And also our main holiday, photos of which will be appearing on my photography blog.

But I am going to take the opportunity to let you see what little collage work I have been doing, both atc's were for scheduled swaps and so I couldn't really miss doing them. I hope that the pressure didn't show in the work I did.The first was for a swap on Flickr group, Artful Ideas with a theme of Autumn Romance. The main image seems to be missing a little contrast compared to the original, not quite sure why. Must be something to do with the scanning.
 

The second was from a swap on PDA, with a theme of Family Matters. I called this one Sisters, a little tongue in cheek but I call it artistic licence.

The other piece I have to show this time is a digital collage. A little bit of fun really but again it was for a challenge on PDA . the challenge was to use what Kim called an "ugly image". I was playing around with the image and background ( both from one of Kim's collage sheets) and then whilst browsing found the image of the men amongst the free images on PDA. The text came to me at once and I thought, "why not". A little sexist perhaps, but I don't think it does any harm.

PS the "ugly" adjective was the image, not the lady. Kim seems to have some of these less than pretty images for us to come.

Oh well , back to the preparations for the groups exhibition, see you soon

Considerations for framing ATC and ACEO art cards

Further to my last post I have taken an opportunity to create a Squidoo Lens with a few thoughts on framing Art cards. As a painter, I have always placed a mat in front of the painting when framing art. But I have decided that for many art cards, it is easier and better if the art card is placed in front of the  mat. This opens up a number of benefits (easier to cut the mat, etc) but it can also provide a means of protecting cards with 3-d embellishments. In the extreme this leads to the use of a "shadow box arrangement" for framing very bulky cards.

Framed ATC collages for 2010 Art group Exhibtion

I usually keep my painting and "crafting" activities quite separate. No real reason but I paint at my art group and "craft" at home. Most of my internet activities are about the crafting side. However, this year I am determined to bring both activities together for my art group exhibition.

I have framed a selection of ATC's (which have not been snapped up for swapping) and intend to offer these as part of my submission to my art group's exhibition this year. Just a couple of weeks away and I have very nearly got them all ready. Just need to write some sticky labels and decide how much to ask for the individual works.

In this neck of the woods there are several large outlets ( department stores, athena prints, IKEA) for prints from the famous and the infamous, whch seem to get picked as wall decorations by the modern "art lover". This means of course that real art from up-and-coming artists does not sell well at all. Do I pick a price which may lead to a sale, but will simply show the public that it is not worth anything. Or do I set a price which I feel I am worth and hang wether it sells or not. Decisions, decisions !!!! Whichever way, I gave up on Ebay a long time ago as a means of making sales; I might as well have given them away for all the good it did me.

see also my other blog for a view of the pastel paintings