September 2009

  • October is Right Brainers Rule Month

    By sarajean on 9/30/09 9:19am
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    Are you tired of people asking you to be “more down to earth”? Do you cringe every time you realize you’ve left a paintbrush in your utensil drawer, or you left the house with a pencil behind your ear again? If you’re tired of having to leave your “zone” because of phone interruptions or mindless conversations with people who don’t “get it,” you are not alone, Right-Brain Thinker.

    You are not alone—and you should be proud!

    The world would be a dull place without right-brain thinkers. Without sculpture or poetry, paintings or movies, where would we be? Still picking gnats out of one another’s fur, likely. Right brain thinkers are pioneers, innovators—the people who come up with new ways to make the world a better place each and every day.

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  • Enter the Best of WetCanvas Art Competition

    By sarajean on 9/30/09 9:01am
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    WetCanvas forums are a favorite of many artists and often host challenges and contests to showcase individual art. If you’re interested in having your work featured as the “Best of WetCanvas,” don’t miss the chance to enter the Best of WetCanvas Art Competition! Landscape, still life and portrait paintings are all accepted until the deadline, October 31.

    Prizes include the prestigious title above plus a grand prize of $1,000, $100 plus ArtistsNetwork.TV subscriptions for the first place winners in each category, $100 gift card for NorthLightShop.com for second place winners in each category, and a one-year subscription to an art magazine for all third place winners. Each winner will also receive a certificate commemorating their achievement.

    A Jury of Your Peers

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  • Pitches: An Undefined Art

    By cobwebsandstrange on 9/24/09 5:32pm
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    Every editor I've ever worked for has taken pitches in a different form. Some are detailed, some are lists. What I came up with for my undefined assignment, seem like a series of ledes. I was taken to task for inserting too much opinion in my review pitches, but I'll take care of that at some point.

    -Once loosely organized through the Wicker Park/Bucktown Arts Association, the eight affiliated galleries banded together amidst difficult economic times. Leaving all involved to fend for themselves as a result of this problematic patch in our economy, the organization has gone on hiatus. A number of galleries have closed, or been turned into bakeries. It’s a bummer for that part of town for a number of reasons. Mostly, though, North Ave. just doesn’t need another restaurant. (News)

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  • Brandon Mcconnell: Spray Paint Art

    By lisala on 9/18/09 8:22pm
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    I've never seen anything quite like this. It's art using cans of spray paint, sometimes two at a time, and various objects like paper, or spray paint cans, or the lids of cooking pots to create stunning paintings. This particular video is by Brandon Mcconnell, but the Space Painting site has lots of videos by Brandon Mcconell and other artists, as well as instructions and supplies for trying it out yourself. Don't underestimate this video; watch it all the way through. These are artists with talent and some sophisticated techniques

  • The Art Zone

    By sarajean on 9/12/09 8:40am
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    Whether seeking a cure for boredom, providing your brain with a bit of novelty to keep it nice and active, or simply giving in to a creative itch, The Art Zone may have what it takes to satiate your artistic needs.

    The Art Zone is an interactive hub for artists, a place where we can make art online through a variety of tools. Though mainly designed for kids, it’s really a lot of fun for all ages. From painters to photographers to just about every kind of artist there is, The Art Zone probably has something for you. And while there are some system requirements—mainly Shockwave—they are absolutely free to use. Here are just a few of the delights you can find at the site.

    Brushter

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  • Arts Journalism: What It Do...

    By cobwebsandstrange on 9/11/09 3:59pm
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    The fact that arts journalism and criticism is seen as separate from arts in a general sense is a rather disconcerting reality. The deference afforded fine artists is of course deserved, but over time has also concluded in a spate of egos too large to be housed in a single venue.

    Today, an ever broadening clutch of caveats separate one discipline from the next. It seems that only the most true of creators is able to ignore whatever accepted belief system has been set up to yield a body of work that is not only a singular thing, but able to be viewed with pleasure – whether it’s visually appealing or able to illicit actually thought.

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  • Women in Art Video

    By lisala on 9/10/09 11:03am
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  • Nicole Gordon: Monkeys, Hats and a Lake of Fire

    By cobwebsandstrange on 9/9/09 6:42pm
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    Monkeys surrounded by pits of fire that seem to engulf entire landscapes might not be suitable for all to view. If not accompanied by an impressionable youth, taking in the work of Nicole Gordon could prove enlightening if just short of terrifying.

    A painter and sculptor, Gordon currently displays three distinct pieces of her work at the Chicago Cultural Center, on view through Oct. 4th. Her stand alone totem pole presents a few menacing faces, but it’s in her paintings that viewers will recognize a confluence of stylistic variation moving through time along side what could be figured as cultural critique.

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