New Website!

I have almost finished my professional website so I thought I would post the link here (as it has managed to get around to my family and a few others already!… I am going to flesh it out over a while but I needed something up to point to now.I am still doing some final tweaks but its Here: http://jennie.liquidpurple.comMind you, I tweak every website I make to DEATH… Or at least the ones for me..The great people at liquidpurple.com are to thank, brilliant free websites and email – the platinum plan for a whopping US$9.95 per year is very sexy indeed.

Technique, Talent and Tripe – Part 2

My works were realist and portraiture based but with a concession to the wankyness that we were expected to secrete in massive gobbets.Is talent necessary to the arts anymore?… And critics seem to lap it up!I am not saying that all pieces where paint has been thrown on a canvas are done by no talent hacks, Jackson Pollock was a paint splasher and there is evidence of composition and planning in his pieces (I haven’t studied him extensively though)…. I am, however, bagging the people who think that they can succeed in an art career by assaulting canvasses with their lack of talent.I look at some pieces and think, I could do that, and I could – I just don’t want to!am I maintaining an idealized view of art?

Technique, Talent and Tripe

Oils are designed to be layered – when they do a basic paint-by-numbers rough blocking style with no consideration for the noble medium it twists my gut!I saw one series by an artist who was inspired by Gaugin but had clearly never actually studied him or even seen a Gaugin in true life. He interpreted the somewhat flat appearing nature of Gaugin’s works to mean that he could use sloppy workmanship and not even have the rough blocks of color meet each other. While a true Gaugin has a complexity that belies a simple first glance, these works were simplistic with no real depth and appalling technique.I think it is crucial to understand the techniques involved with each medium and find out what works for you.

Lover sells Picasso works for 1.54 million euros

Entertainment News Article | Reuters.comImagine being almost eighty and selling works where everyone knows it was you nekkid during a sordid little vacay… hmmm one presumes she was a hottie when she was dating Picasso but it must be a little werd reconciling the two. personally I dont know how she could bear to sell them – unless her kids wouldn’t appreciate them!sounds fascinating though, I hope there is an exhibition mounted (although it would be in Paris….

Works in Progress 2

100_0423 Originally uploaded by minxdragon. This is the next step in my musician piece. His face is now almost completely done, I am obviously still working on the shirt – although the subject is wearing a T I am thinking of making it a shirt shirt or polo so that he looks less like he…

Show update

the level of artwork was quite varied actually, some were very good and some were very bad (the dove soap bars glued to a canvas come to mind…) it wasn’t at all like I expected but it was a really interesting experience and well worth participating in.I am a little disappointed in that I was hoping for some constructive feedback on my pieces (apart from some of the staff saying that they were beautiful!)… It was quite like the affordable art show in a way, and I have learned heaps from the experience.

Bar of soap sells for $18,000 at frenzied Art Basel

Entertainment News Article | Reuters.com“Prices are soaring for star-quality artists, topping levels charged for the old masters in a market that has an estimated $20 billion annual turnover, making veteran art experts wonder if this feeding frenzy can really last.”A particularly interesting article on the Huge Art Basel sale and the frenzy it produced. sorry I dont have more at the moment, I am working on two essays due this week for art history and photography and am very brain dead!more work in progress info coming soon – maybe even a photograph taken with an actual camera!

Works in progress…

Works in progress… Originally uploaded by minxdragon. The first in the progression on my current work. This was how it was a few weeks back. (i only just worked out moblogging) this is quite an ambitious piece due to the size and the fact that i am using glazing. (further note added later) sorry this…

The art life: Words of Advice for Young Artists

Some of it is funny, some is relevant and worth taking on board.the art life: Words of Advice for Young Artists #1I like the part about giving up a lucrative IT career! (not that really had a choice when you come down to it)“It’s easy, find a job that pays well enough to cover the bills and buy the paint, make babies when your still in your twenties, spend every waking minute summing up life and don’t forget to keep a journal so that when the kids leave home in your forties you can really remember what it was like to be young and revisit your creations with the experience of it all” – Lindon Langdon.hey – I am creating a journal! it does all have a point!

Art News Blog: Turner Prize Shortlist

Art News Blog: Turner Prize Shortlist“The prize that has made itself famous or infamous for shock and controversy has thrown in another surprise : Traditional still life oil painting!”Hopefully this represents a turn in the tides for artists such as myself. I have seen trends shifting back towards realism and painting a little but this seems to me to be the first clear sign. Even if it isn’t a real sign – it is a welcome change!