Check out these excellent art-related articles to help any artist- no matter their skill level- broaden their thinking & horizons.

A New Years Resolution You'll Actually Enjoy!

Many people around the world make new years resolutions but how many actually keep them? A very small percentage I'm sure; I won't bore you with a bunch of statistics but if you speak with your friends & family who make resolutions, you are apt to see exactly how many keep their resolutions and how many break them within a matter of weeks or months. I'm going to help you come up with a great New Years Resolution you will actually WANT TO KEEP & that is making a resolution to get involved in some way in an artistic endeavor in the new year!

Let's face it, many people are stuck day to day sitting behind a desk, working in stores, and other places they'd really rather not be at because they need to pay the bills. They have responsibilities and I'm not saying that's a bad thing at all; being responsible is very important but many of these jobs also don't let your creativity come out in any way, shape or fashion or at least in minimal amounts. I know this because before I began my business I also was in this sort of position. Naturally, running a business also involves sitting behind a desk but at least most of my business involves letting the creative side show and express itself. How many of you when you were children loved to finger paint, draw or water color? How many of you enjoyed building things with blocks or going to the beach and building a sand castle? I see you raising your hands don't be shy! As you got older, these sorts of things began to fade from your life little by little didn't they? Slowly you began to draw less, you began to paint fewer pictures and the trips to the beach involved suntanning rather than building a sandcastle. Unfortunately, these sorts of things happen all too often to many of us as we grow up and in the process we lose a part of ourselves, the part that loves to create, to express yourself, to let your ideas flow freely in whatever creative endeavor you chose to express yourself. This happens all too often yes but it's not something you have to live with for the rest of your life; you can choose to change your habits and these changes can start right now!

What do I mean by "artistic endeavor"? Do I mean that you should go to the local art store and purchase hundreds of dollars worth of brushes, paints, palettes, canvases & so on? Do I mean you should spend a ton of money on a fancy camera so you can become a famous photographer? Do I mean you should take an acting course at a local college and get involved in the theatre? You'll be surprised that the answer is "Yes!"- That is if that is what you wish to do then go for it, I wouldn't discourage you from following your dream. But you can also start with something as simple as a plain sheet of paper, a pencil and a subject and start sketching whatever comes into your mind or whatever is in front of you. You can also start by taking the camera you already probably have, no matter how fancy or simple and start shooting things that matter to you like your garden, or perhaps your family & friends or why not go for a hike and take a few photos of your natural surroundings(yes there is a life outside the house lol). Do you enjoy singing? Why not grab a tape recorder or if you have it, a digital recorder or camcorder and set it up to tape yourself singing your favorite songs. Why not grab a few friends and make it a project and form your own band! Again, does this mean you have to go out and buy a bunch of fancy instruments? Only if you wish to do so; otherwise, why not just get the music for the background to whatever you want to sing and then you and your friends provide the singing?

As you've seen from a few of my suggestions, you don't have to get a bunch of fancy and expensive items to get involved in an artistic pursuit of any sort; all you need is an idea, inspiration & the passion to go through with it. It doesn't mean that if you make a recording of yourself singing that you need to submit it to a recording studio or show it to a bunch of people; it also doesn't mean that you need to sign up for expensive lessons to learn how to play a musical instrument or lessons for art. All of these things will make you much better at whatever you're trying to do but they're always something that is up to you to pursue. Art of any sort, whether it's music, painting, drawing, photography or any of the other myriad forms of art that are out there doesn't have to be perfect as long as you're enjoying yourself.

In closing, resolve to make at least one new years resolution that you'll actually want to keep and make art a part of your new year and all the years after. Don't let your creativity fade simply because your job doesn't allow you to show your creativity. Take a half hour to start, each day or if you're so busy you can barely find any time, start with half an hour a week to devote to something creative and then gradually expand that time and you'll find yourself being a much happier & fulfilled person!

Author : Mike"Birdman"Sexton
Copyright -2010
All Rights Reserved
Please do NOT reprint this article unless you have my permission, thank you.

A History of The Abstract Expressionism Movement - Abstract Art

The Abstract Expressionism Movement, also called the New York School was exclusively an American abstract art movement that mainstreamed in New York City in the period following the Second World War. This movement was significant in the sense that it was the earliest American movement to declare non-dependence on European styles and to get a sway all over the globe. It also enabled New York City to replace Paris as the art hub. Prior to its reference to American art,“abstract expressionism" was a term used in the Berlin periodical named Der Stuerm, in 1919.

Arshile Gorky played an important role in inducing The Abstract Expressionism Movement. The abstract art works produced during the period of this movement are considered to be a combination of certain visual aspects of abstract European schools like Futurism, Synthetic Cubism and Bauhaus with the self-expression and emotional strength of German Expressionism. Though this abstract art was a mixture of a number of styles, its basic philosophy was to search and seek out answers for questions relating to human existence.

There are many similarities of style between abstract expressionism art and the work of Russian artists of the early 1900's, the most prominent being Wassily Kandinsky. The abstract art from this period of the movement is often characterised by giving the impression of being produced in an act of artistic spontaneity. The work of pioneers of the movement such as Kandinsky, Kunz and later Rothko dealt with the expression of subjects including spirituality and the subconscious. However, meticulous planning and conscious thought was often involved in creating the many of the well known works of art which define this period of the expressionist movement.

In the 1930's in North America, prior to the mainstream acceptance of abstract art, social realism art had been the prominent genre of art. Mexican social realists such as Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros together with the Great Depression strongly influenced the acceptance and widespread popularity of this relatively short lived movement. Preceding the Second World War in the United States there arose a time of political sensitivity. Due this change in the political climate social protest made through art would no longer be tolerated. In American society an artistic vacuum had opened and the abstract expressionism movement arose into the mainstream, showcasing at major galleries in New York such as The Art of This Century Gallery. The abstract expressionist movement spread rapidly thorough the elite art community of the United States through its major artistic communities such including the San Francisco Bay area and California.

During the period of The Abstract Expressionism Movement, several artists started experimenting with shapes and colour. They broke away from what was considered to be artistic, conventional painting and painted complete canvases in blue, orange or other colours. Dripping, splattering and big brush strokes were characteristic features of Abstract Expressionist Art. The artists of this period preferred larger canvases positioned on the floor over canvases that were easel bound and moderate. The focus of abstract art within the expressionism movement was not the portrayal of objects but the portrayal of emotions.

In the broad sense, Abstract Expressionism was of two streams - Colour Field Painting and Action Painting. Colour field painting came up in the beginning of the 1960's and involved using shape and colour to create religious serene paintings that were devoid of representative subject substance. The composition of colour field works were huge coloured areas with no forms or signs. Helen Frankenthaler, Mark Rothko and Ellsworth Kelly were some painters associated with this type of painting. Action Painting was a painting stream that arose prior to Colour Field Painting (between the 1940s and 1950s) and practiced by artists such as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline. The driving force for the works of these painters was often considered to be the painters' soul and life energy.

Abstract Expressionist Art appeared to be defiant, idiosyncratic and radical, and to some, nihilistic. The movement weakened in the 1960s while other movements such as minimalism and pop art arose in opposition to it. Despite the movement losing importance, a good number of abstract expressionist painters continued following its characteristic painting fashion for many more years. In addition, this art movement profoundly influenced how some American artists of later generations used materials and colour in their Abstract Art.

Author: Innes Desborough

Activities for Kids

All children are artists, while some develop their skills to great extents others merely get past the first level. Hence it is all up to parents to encourage their children towards art.

In India art is given equal importance along with other subjects. In fact it is one of the important subjects in school with elementary tests held to classify students to the next level. But it all begins with the interest developed at a tender age. You can stir your child by bringing him or her crayons and color pencils to begin with.

Once they can handle a brush, gift them water colours and leave them free to paint what they want. Do not have any expectations from your child as it defuses their inner strength. You can sit along with your children while painting and draw a different picture altogether. So if your kid is drawing scenery, you draw human figures and use completely different colours. Do not compare their drawings with anyone it deters them for the next time. You can add some excitement to art activities for kids by taking them outdoors. Let them take in fresh air and get some fresh ideas.

Edgar Mueller, also a renowned street painter, has been in the craft for more than 15 years. During this time he created a lot of paintings. A collection of his paintings gives a view of his most beautiful ideas as an artist. Street painting 3D

Paper craft is also a great art activity. You can put up your child's creative on the walls or in the showcase, so your little one feels proud of his or her creation. This encourages them to get better and work harder. Cane is also a great weaver and can be crafted into vases, baskets and little creations. Girls can be taught knitting and crochet, soon they can get expert and earn an extra income by designing blouses, dresses and bed sheets which are always in demand. Boys too can be taught basic short and long stitch, hemming and button stitching so they can be independent when they grow up.

Building blocks and creating figures from clay are also a fun art activity. It develops the child and lets them bend the mind the way they want it. This activity also builds the logic and common sense in a child. He is able to understand what fits into what and how a basic structure should look.

Organizing art related games peps up the atmosphere for your kids. You can call in the neighborhood children and have a theme for the competition. It should be a friendly competition with no strings attached. And if you do not want to clean up the mess once it's done, then make it clear at the beginning that the children will have to be a part of the cleaning, after the competition.

Invention is the baby of new ideas and if you let your kids go wild with their thoughts, then they too get inventive. Allow them to make their own toys by using different parts of other toys. Make a dress out of a newspaper. Craft a candle or make wool friends. Have you ever thought what you can make out of jar lids. Let your kids go wild with ideas like, candle holder, spinning wheels, tops, caps and more. In fact the possibilities are endless with items that have multiple uses. So think of an item and let your kids get innovate with their art ideas.

Joe Weiss

About the Author: for more info visit our website at www.thecraftshoponline.com .

Stop It!

I know it's not easy; believe me I know as an artist you're always wanting to create and run with an idea. I don't know about you but for me it gets even more so when I have a creative block and I'm trying to get a spark going but take it from me, the name of this article fits perfectly for such situations- STOP IT! When you run into a creative block, stop what you're doing and take a break; go for a walk or play a game or go running or whatever you enjoy doing this is the time to do it. If you are in the midst of a creation you've envisioned but are getting stuck or feeling like you have to push the idea further-STOP IT! Put your paintbrush, pencil or whatever you are using to create with down, step away and play with your dog or your children, take your spouse to a movie.

I've been in this boat many a time and believe me, your creative vision will look much better to you and everyone else if you don't push yourself to continue on the project when you are getting to an area that just isn't flowing naturally. What do I mean by this? What I mean is say you have an idea to paint a beautiful river and you have been working on it for a couple of hours now and you're at the point where you have to give the water it's feeling, it's sense of movement but you're looking at the entire image and you just can't decide where to start, what shades of color to use, etc. Should you keep pushing yourself til you figure it out? I say emphatically "NO!" and trust me, I know it's easier said than done but at this point you need to walk away and grab a new perspective. When you come back to it you should have a better idea of how to continue with the painting. Am I saying that after one break you'll come back and be able to complete the painting? No I'm not because sometimes you'll come back and you'll be just as stuck as you were before your break and you'll get frustrated & maybe even angry. How do I know this? Because I've been in those shoes more times than I can count. There've been times I've had to literally take a dozen breaks before I was able to get the painting flowing again.

I think one of the hardest things during these break sessions is to wipe the idea of laziness from the mind. What do I mean by this? I don't know about you but I'm the type who's always got to be busy and preferably doing things I love and that I am making money in such as painting so when I have to take these breaks it's very difficult for me to not feel like I'm wasting my time, or fear getting lazy. A dear friend of mine recently gave me a good perspective on this thought process and it's this: "Don't think of it as being lazy; think of it as recharging your creative energy." And you know what? She's exactly right! When you take a break from your painting,sketch,carving or whatever form of art you're working in, you're not being lazy; what you're doing is giving your mind a chance to re-energize itself, to work out the chaos in your mind that are a bunch of great ideas but you can't organize them into a flowing thought and hence it'll show up in your work as well. For example, as I write this article, I'm taking a break from my latest painting because I became stuck on what to add to it, if anything, where to add a bit more shadow, etc. I have several, what to me are "good ideas" in my head but I can't get them organized and flowing so instead of wasting my time or risking destroying the very integrity of my work, I'm taking a breather and I will return to it later and hopefully it'll flow again.

If you're anything like me- a workaholic, driven to succeed, intense, passionate about your work-will it be easy to take breaks when you get stuck or to take a breather from art all together when you have a creative block? Maybe but more than likely it won't be an easy transition because more than likely you've had this same mindset for your entire life; rarely do you develop such characteristics overnight. You're going to find yourself stuck on a project you're working on or maybe driven to think up a new project because one isn't coming to you automatically. Sound familiar? And you know what? You're going to find yourself still trying to work through it, you're going to find yourself still thinking about what your next project could possibly be. How do I know that? Because after three years as a professional artist I still find myself doing the exact same thing at times. Changing the way you handle art, especially when it's your livelihood isn't going to come over night and for many it won't even come within a few months but it WILL come.

In conclusion, when you see yourself getting aggravated with your artwork or you are having a creative block just try these two simple words that will make all the difference in the end-STOP IT!

Author : Mike"Birdman"Sexton
Copyright -2008
All Rights Reserved
Please do NOT reprint this article unless you have my permission, thank you.

Keys to Successful Art

Are you a budding artist or perhaps someone who just dabbles in art- whether it's painting,drawing,sketching, sculpting or any other avenue of art? Or perhaps you're someone who's been involved in art for a while but are still frustrated at times and think of giving up on art as a hobby or professional venture. If you are such a person or just someone who loves art in general I have a few key concepts you should keep in mind when it comes to your work that might help you from getting burnt out or quit altogether.

1-Passion!

The First Key Concept I'd like to discuss is passion. Without passion or desire your art won't mean too much & will really be just another drawing,painting or what have you. Also, without passion you won't want to stick with art, not only as a professional but also as a fun hobby! If you are into art and really love it you're going to want to create things that you're passionate about; that can be anything from a cause such as endangered wildlife, historical love like a specific time period or perhaps you just love people and want to catch them on paper,canvas or sculpture. Whatever you are passionate about you need to tap into to create really great art- without passion art is very boring just like anything else in life and let's face it, art isn't a hum drum area- you want to give it some zest, some life and when you're passionate about something it shows in your artwork.

2-PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

The next item I wish to discuss is something that's very obvious yet often overlooked and that is PRACTICE. You have to practice each day if you want to get better and get to where you want to be. That's true whether you sketch, paint or sculpt. I'm not saying you have to practice 4-5 hrs each day- the time amount is not as important as sticking with it is. For example, practicing 5 hrs one day and then maybe 20 mins the next and then no practice for a couple of days will NOT get you as far as simply practicing an hour each day faithfully. If you want to practice 5 hrs each day that's fantastic but just be sure you can stick to it and make it a reasonable time allotment or you will not get as far as you want to go.

3-Knowing When to Stop

This is just as IF NOT more important than practicing because trust me, I've been there- you get frustrated with your sketch or painting and if you have a stubborn streak like I have, you want to keep going til you get it JUST RIGHT. Yet the more you keep going, the more frustrated you get & the sketch or painting or what have you, goes no where. I know it's hard for some of us to do this but when you get frustrated or are losing focus it's time to take a break. That could mean 5 mins, 2 hrs or a couple of days; whatever it takes for you to get back in the positive mind set. Trust me, I've been in this boat many times and I'm not one to just sit idle; it drives me crazy BUT I know that working further on a piece that's frustrating me at the time will get me no where but wasting my time and blood pressure. There is no time limit on your creative process ( unless it's for a class or commission project) So please just take your time & when you feel yourself getting angry & frustrated- take a break and do something else.

4-Keep at It!

This is where many people also get into trouble. They have the desire to draw, paint or sculpt and so they give it a go and in the end the piece doesn't look anything like they wanted it to and after a couple more tries or sometimes even after the 1st try they give up completely. I'm here to tell you YOU CANNOT LET YOURSELF GIVE UP! That's the worst thing you can do. There are very few natural artists out there who can whip up a perfect image the first go at it & take a look at your life, very few things have you accomplished on the first try that mean anything of importance; whether that's learning to ride your bicycle, driving,math, acing tests, etc- it all came to you after practice and trial/error so don't think that art is any different because it's not. Stick with it and you will improve.

5-Don't Do the Comparison Project

By this I mean we all tend to compare our talents or the lack thereof with other people, whether that's our friends, family or professionals. It's only natural to do this but it's also a superb hindrance! Everyone is different, that doesn't just mean how we look & act but also our skills and talent and vision. You will never paint like da Vinci or Rembrandt no matter how hard you try so please don't put a pressure on yourself that you'll never be able to live up to. You have to the BEST YOU you can be; not a copy of someone else. The sooner you realize this, the happier you'll be and the more confident you'll become and that too will show in your work.

6-Final Key- atleast for now- Have Fun

I'm sure I'll be adding a few more keys as time goes on but for now this is my last one and it's absolutely THE MOST IMPORTANT- have fun! It won't do you any good if you're not happy with sketching or painting & just do it cause it's expected of you. If you don't have fun at it you may as well find a different hobby or career choice because you'll become miserable and it'll show in your work too; you can't hide such a mindset.

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