ARTicles and Videos, Old and New
In the Studio with Kate Ford
Inside the Studio with Robert Fionda
Inside the Studio with Virginia Bur
New Century Art Gallery asked artist Kate Ford “Which work has taken you the longest to complete?”
"That's easy, my Celtic cross. Getting all the color gradations correct with dyes was a challenge, and so was getting all the Celtic knots correct. A true labor of love, it took me about 30 hours over several weeks to complete."-Kate Ford
Inside the Studio with Virginia Bur
Inside the Studio with Robert Fionda
Inside the Studio with Virginia Bur
Inside the Studio with Virginia Bur
New Century Art Gallery asked artist Virginia Bur "What influence does modern culture have on your work?"
“Most people in modern cultures seem to move too fast, consuming cheaply made products, moving from one fad to the next. When I make my pottery I think about quality, functionality, and what kind of
Inside the Studio with Virginia Bur
New Century Art Gallery asked artist Virginia Bur "What influence does modern culture have on your work?"
“Most people in modern cultures seem to move too fast, consuming cheaply made products, moving from one fad to the next. When I make my pottery I think about quality, functionality, and what kind of thoughts could be provoked when viewing my art. I want to inspire people to slow down, get outside and think a little. To disappear into the wilderness and become interested in a new skill like fly fishing or identifying species of wild plants. I think that modern life has become to detached from real life for people don't know how to truly live.” -Virginia Bur
Inside the Studio with Robert Fionda
Inside the Studio with Robert Fionda
Inside the Studio with Robert Fionda
New Century Art Gallery asked artist Robert Fionda, Where do you obtain inspiration?
"Inspiration comes from having a full artistic well. Our five senses, the environment, past experiences and emotions are critical to filling this well. It is our source for ideas. Inspiration is the mental trigger for solving artistic problems or starting the creative process."- Robert Fionda
Inside the Studio with Sharon Taylor
Inside the Studio with Linda Drinkhorn
Inside the Studio with Robert Fionda
New Century Art Gallery asked artist Sharon Taylor, “Who is one artist, living or dead, that you feel a connection with?
“The artist that I feel connected with is Mary Cassatt. An American born artist, she studied for years in Paris and eventually returned to America in her later years. Influenced by impressionist painters, especially D
New Century Art Gallery asked artist Sharon Taylor, “Who is one artist, living or dead, that you feel a connection with?
“The artist that I feel connected with is Mary Cassatt. An American born artist, she studied for years in Paris and eventually returned to America in her later years. Influenced by impressionist painters, especially Degas she had many highs and lows. Making only enough money to pay for art supplies and even quit painting for periods of time. I so admire her painting style of unique composition, strong and emotional figures, lovely light effects, and the later influence of Japanese art. Without sentimentalizing her subjects, she created art that I enjoy and find so inspiring.”-Sharon Taylor
Inside the Studio with Linda Drinkhorn
Inside the Studio with Linda Drinkhorn
Inside the Studio with Linda Drinkhorn
New Century Art Gallery asked Mixed Media Mosaic artist Linda Drinkhorn, do materials and methods dictate your ideas, or vice versa?
“I usually have an idea of what I want to make before I start creating. I call my work mixed media mosaics (at least that is the main art form) that I love! I use old, or sometimes new China, bowls, cups, s
New Century Art Gallery asked Mixed Media Mosaic artist Linda Drinkhorn, do materials and methods dictate your ideas, or vice versa?
“I usually have an idea of what I want to make before I start creating. I call my work mixed media mosaics (at least that is the main art form) that I love! I use old, or sometimes new China, bowls, cups, saucers etc. I often add in surprise elements that are unexpected and fun, such as trinkets, stones, and jewelry. Many times I will add in stained glass and glass and ceramic tiles. Quite the conglomeration of materials but I love it! When I paint, I usually choose materials first, oils, acrylic, or fluids. I guess my painting has evolved to include mixed media as well, using hand painted, or transformed papers in the painting as collage! Or, using a whole myriad of materials for texture.” -Linda Drinkhorn
The Process of Batik
Inside the Studio with Linda Drinkhorn
Inside the Studio with Linda Drinkhorn
By Kate Ford, New Century Art Gallery member
Batik is the ancient art of dyeing cloth using a resist. A resist is a substance which stops dyes from penetrating the fabric; it is most often melted wax.
To begin the process, melted wax is applied to the areas of a white cloth that are to remain white and then the fabric is dyed with the pal
By Kate Ford, New Century Art Gallery member
Batik is the ancient art of dyeing cloth using a resist. A resist is a substance which stops dyes from penetrating the fabric; it is most often melted wax.
To begin the process, melted wax is applied to the areas of a white cloth that are to remain white and then the fabric is dyed with the palest color that is to be used. The process is repeated, adding wax, and then dyeing in successively darker dye baths until the desired result is achieved. Anywhere from 1-20 (or more!) dye baths may be used. The hardened wax may crack leaving a way for dye to absorb into the fabric, giving it a veined look, which is indicative of batik. The wax is then removed by several methods. I use boiling in hot water.
Applying the wax takes a steady hand and the right tools. I change the makeup of my wax according to how I want my piece to look. I use a mixture of pure beeswax and paraffin wax. I change the ratios depending on how much cracking I want in the particular work.
I use different methods of dyeing my fabrics for my batiks. I use vat dyeing, low water immersion dyeing and application with brushes. Sometimes I use all three in one piece. Each of these methods has benefits. Vat dyeing enables me to achieve even, solid colors. Low water immersion lets the colors flow into each other with almost no control-it goes where it wants. Using brushes lets me get a little more in-depth. Out of all those methods, I would have to say I like low water immersion the best because of the surrender of control. It is a welcome surprise every time I use that method of dyeing.
It's All About the Details
Watercolor: Practical & Creative Choices with Robert Fionda
Wearing Your Art on Your Sleeve
From the Blog, upsARTjeanius, By Jeanne Burris Johnson
Not making sure a piece of art is finished from every angle and area is a little like wearing a fancy cocktail dress with your gardening clogs.
~Jeanne-ism
I once had an artist come to the gallery on a Wednesday afternoon…In the middle of the day…During the winter months…and ask me why
From the Blog, upsARTjeanius, By Jeanne Burris Johnson
Not making sure a piece of art is finished from every angle and area is a little like wearing a fancy cocktail dress with your gardening clogs.
~Jeanne-ism
I once had an artist come to the gallery on a Wednesday afternoon…In the middle of the day…During the winter months…and ask me why we didn’t have many people at the gallery. My response was to tell him people don’t buy art like they do toilet paper. We rarely have the crowds that a drug store chain has. In fact, I would hazard a guess and say that NONE of you have ever heard the words, “I have to run out to the gallery and get some art. We are nearly out”. (If you have, contact me immediately. I know where you can get great art.) Further, if you are buying “art” at a place that also sells yoga pants, foot fungus cream, or “Jellies from Around the World” you are not actually buying art. You are buying tchotchkes. I myself own tchotchkes, so please, no haters.
When people decide they want to buy art, it’s an investment. Whether the investment is about spending money on an item that will hang over their credenza for the next 50 years or a belief that the piece will appreciate overtime, the buyer is making a serious investment that is meant for the long term. So, before you bring your work into a gallery, art fair, or display on Etsy, ask yourself this: Does it look complete, professional, and well executed? Buyers are very skilled at finding reasons to not buy your work. Parting with hard earned money is not easy for anyone, serious art collector or not. Why give them a reason to say no to your artwork because your coffee mug does not sit flat on a table, the frame you put your painting in is falling apart, or the tiles in your mosaic are falling out? If you want to attract serious collectors, make sure that your art is finished in every way. Your reputation and ability to get repeat buyers depends on this.
Original post written 4/1/19
Wearing Your Art on Your Sleeve
Watercolor: Practical & Creative Choices with Robert Fionda
Wearing Your Art on Your Sleeve
by Jeanne Burris Johnson
Showing your work in only one place is kind of like getting a new tattoo on your right butt cheek. The amount of people who will see your cool new tat is extremely limited. If you put a tattoo on your arm, the number of people who see it greatly increases.
~Jeanne-ism
Finding success in selling art, getting commiss
by Jeanne Burris Johnson
Showing your work in only one place is kind of like getting a new tattoo on your right butt cheek. The amount of people who will see your cool new tat is extremely limited. If you put a tattoo on your arm, the number of people who see it greatly increases.
~Jeanne-ism
Finding success in selling art, getting commissions, or becoming familiar to potential customers as an artist greatly depends on people seeing your art and knowing where to buy it. In days past, the only way an artist could become successful was to be picked up by a gallery or a benefactor. Galleries worked as middlemen between the artist and the collector. Gallerists would learn what collectors wanted in art and find artists that fit that mold. Collectors in turn would frequent said gallery and get first pick of the new work. A benefactor was someone who took a gamble on an artist and supported them so they could create important art. Often, the benefactor wanted first dibs on any art newly created. It was the cycle of “art life” that ensured mutual success for the rarified few. Everything depended on luck, who you knew, and making art that was popular in the area you lived and worked. In both cases, artists often had to make artistic choices based on what would sell rather than what they were inclined to create.
The world was very small at that time, but with the advent of computers and the internet that is no longer true. Because we are better connected through technology, you have the potential of being discovered and supported by millions of people all over the world everyday through a private website, media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram, or online art collective. When you join a gallery, whether it’s a Non-Profit or Private Gallery, you become exposed to all the people who follow them online as well as those who visit the physical space. A single gallery can have thousands of people come in every year to see art. In our case, approximately 4,500 people visit our website, Facebook page, and Instagram every month. That is exposure that connects many of our artists to new followers or collectors. When you join additional galleries, art fairs, and get word of mouth, the number of people who see or hear of your work becomes unimaginable.
In today’s world you don’t need a Peggy Guggenhiem to act as a benefactor, a Lee Krazner to promote you or an Alexander lolas to discover you. All you need is you.
Watercolor: Practical & Creative Choices with Robert Fionda
Watercolor: Practical & Creative Choices with Robert Fionda
Watercolor: Practical & Creative Choices with Robert Fionda
In conjunction with The Starkweather Arts Center and local WBRW television, I was asked to do a video presentation on watercolors based on their artistic series, “Under the Brush”. How could a retired art educator/artist not say “yes”. The difficulty lay in determining what to do.
I settled on discussing the longevity, characteristics, a
In conjunction with The Starkweather Arts Center and local WBRW television, I was asked to do a video presentation on watercolors based on their artistic series, “Under the Brush”. How could a retired art educator/artist not say “yes”. The difficulty lay in determining what to do.
I settled on discussing the longevity, characteristics, and versatility of the medium. While stressing that watercolor has a personality all its own; which can be exciting and frustrating at the same time.
“Watercolor: Practical & Creative Choices” is dedicated to exploring these topics, doing some demonstrations, and adding informal advice about supplies, the application of watercolor and most important, how an artist thinks and solves watercolor problems as they paint. The artistic choices we make in materials and at the beginning, middle and end of the process of painting definitely affects the final outcome. Hopefully, the program offers you some basic and intermediate insights into this wonderful and challenging water-media.
How to Organize a Private Commission
Try a Painting Out Virtually Before You Buy It!
Watercolor: Practical & Creative Choices with Robert Fionda
By Jeanne Burris Johnson
There is nothing more exciting and fulfilling than having a client that seeks out your artwork. The way an artist handles the business of setting up a commission with a client often is the deciding factor in actually landing it. Artists who operate their business professionally have clients that come back and/or re
By Jeanne Burris Johnson
There is nothing more exciting and fulfilling than having a client that seeks out your artwork. The way an artist handles the business of setting up a commission with a client often is the deciding factor in actually landing it. Artists who operate their business professionally have clients that come back and/or refer them to other art buyers.
Here are some tips on how to proceed with art commissions:
1. Make sure the client understands your art process. Most clients or collectors do not recognize what goes into the making of an art piece. This can cause confusion from the client regarding such things as use of materials, pricing, or a reasonable time frame to finish the piece. Taking the time to explain your process gives everyone a plan to follow.
2. Understand that what a client has in mind and what you have in mind can be two different things. As much as possible, show sketches, go over colors or sizes prior to starting the main work. There is no guarantee that you will not have to make some adjustments, but you should have fewer. None of us are mind readers, artists, and clients alike.
3. Keep any costs for framing, installation, and delivery separate from your commission price. All three tend to be expensive and with so many variables in how a client might want things framed, installed, or delivered, it could take a sizable chunk out of your compensation.
4. Once you have explained your process and worked out a basic understanding of the work to be created, write a contract. This is MANDATORY for commission work. In the contract you want to write down every detail of the work agreed upon such as:
A. Size and media of work
B. Compensation
C. Down payments and due dates for future payments
D. Who is responsible for framing, installation, and delivery?
I have always encouraged the client to manage these issues on their own. As I stated above, it can be expensive. Beyond the costs, there is risk involved. Walls being damaged, framing that the client does not care for, damage to the work itself during transport are all issues that can fall on the artist when they accept responsibility. If the client refuses to sign the contract with details agreed upon, it is best to walk away from the commission. Clients should not refuse to sign a contract that was fairly negotiated if they are serious about having the art created. This protects BOTH client and artist.
5. Do not begin work until the contract is signed. Doing so can result in time and money wasted. I have never met an artist who can afford that.
6. Keep the client informed of each stage in the creation of the work and seek their approval. This saves a lot of heartache. If the client wants to change something about the art, it is easier to do during the process rather than at the end.
With a plan and good communication, you will create a great working relationship that will encourage more commissions for the future.
Try a Painting Out Virtually Before You Buy It!
Try a Painting Out Virtually Before You Buy It!
Try a Painting Out Virtually Before You Buy It!
New Century Art Gallery offers interested clients the ability to visualize paintings in their space virtually.
All you have to do is:
· Download Art.Augmented (for Android users) from Google Play or KUIO (for Apple users) from the Apple Store. THE APP MAY NOT WORK ON OLDER PHONES, this is a new technology.
· Open the app to the WELCOME
New Century Art Gallery offers interested clients the ability to visualize paintings in their space virtually.
All you have to do is:
· Download Art.Augmented (for Android users) from Google Play or KUIO (for Apple users) from the Apple Store. THE APP MAY NOT WORK ON OLDER PHONES, this is a new technology.
· Open the app to the WELCOME page.
· Enter the Virtual Selection ID number that can be found in the art description for each painting in our Shop and click ‘Search’.
· Click ‘View Selection’
· Click ‘View in Room”
· Scan your wall slowly and when you see the small hand, tap on your screen.
· Once the painting appears, you will be able use your finger to move the painting where you would like it.
OR
Send a picture of the area you would like to hang the painting along with the name of the artwork to jeanne@newcenturyartgallery.com and receive an image of the work in your space by email. Please contact jeanne@newcenturyartgallery.com for any questions.