Post 405: Great Find Video - Body of Work

Great Find Video - Body of Work

If someone were to ask you, what is your body of work, how would you answer them? What does the term "body of work" really mean as an artist? Let's take a more in depth view as we grow and develop as artists.

The Exploration of an Idea

Being a member of the Prince William Art Society and then being a part of a local gallery, as well as other area art shows and spaces, I've started seeing and understanding the term "Body of Work" as I watch the different artists on display featuring their art.

We should define the term:

A body of work for an artist can be defined as multiple art pieces that are cohesive in nature.

I believe many artists see it as their entire life's artwork, but in truth, I can see it as being more meaningful than that.

 

Photo by Klaudia Piaskowska on Unsplash 

I'm seeing it more as a series of works with a shared theme - in whatever way the artist chooses to run with it.

It could be in the palette - color choices, the size, the subject or more. Or any combination desired.

5 Benefits to Creating a Body of Work for Your Art by Sergio Gomez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsQWrZOnUJ4 

Collection, a series of work that connect in some fashion. The theme, the idea - the unity - something that brings them all together.

1. Increase focus and direction

2. Develop a unique style

3. Find more opportunities to show opportunities, exhibitions

4. Increase your exploration on that idea (research)

5. Engaging deeper in a more meaningful way with your audience

Why Creating a Body of Work and Style is Important to Your Art Career by Lori Mirabelli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M9IQh1Nmic

• Signature style - your artistic voice unique to you
• Art Series - 2 to ? A body of work 5 to ? Explore a theme or an idea until they are DONE.
• Establish your brand and evolving as an artist.

Does this get you thinking more about how you would define your own body of work? What do you think?

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA and Artistry Spin Blog Admin, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows and our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center 12298 Cotton Mill Drive, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

Post 350: Great Find Video - 5 Art Exhibition Tips...

Great Find Video - 5 Art Exhibition Tips That Can Help You Be Successful

If you haven't come across Rafi Was Here Studios on YouTube, you've been missing out. He is a fun artist to subscribe to and you'll get some great tips from. Here Rafi tells his top 5 tips when having an art show.

 

 

Photo by Justyn Warner on Unsplash

Rafi's Suggestions for Success

Watch the video here but I have some notes below...

 

 

 

1. Story, have a theme when selecting your artwork for the venue with diverse pricing

2. Transportation - think of easy ways to get the stuff there

3. Promotion - you're not having a show if you don't promote it in every way possible

4. Impression of the show itself tells a story - a beginning, a middle and an end.

5. BE BOLD, have fun - you're an artist, be weird

Or click the link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjDmABwlwOE

Do you have anything you would add?

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA and Artistry Spin Blog Admin, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 #140 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 52-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

Post 297: Great Find - Improve Your Paintings Video

Great Find - Improve Your Paintings Video

A new series of Artistry Spin Blog Posts are "Great Find Art Videos". PWAS members are welcome to suggest videos but do send me why you found it so interesting or valuable.

Learning This One Thing Instantly Improved My Paintings

I am a self-taught artist. A lot of the people in our art group, the Prince William Art Society (PWAS), went to art school, have taken a lot of art classes, and have a lot more art experience than others. I wonder if this type of art tip was taught in their art classes?

 

Paint Coach Chris Fornataro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thyjqwox-cA

 

- Painting with the right amount of "blockiness".

 

True, all of us can learn how to do almost anything from watching and finding the how-to videos anywhere on the internet, but we can also get lost, or go down a rabbit hole at times too. Then we find ourselves, hours later, thinking, "where did our day go?" We've spent way too much time researching and/or watching way too many videos (maybe cat videos?) and we realized we wasted a big block of time. 

Great Find Art Videos is, I am hoping, a way for our art group to share invaluable art tips, whether in art sales, art pricing, art creating. Let me know if you learn something new with these "great find" videos!

 

Do you have a Great Find Art Video to share? Send me the title and link and tell me why you want to Share it. 

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at https://DonnaLiguriaArt.com & her Blog at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/.

Etsy Shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/DonnaLiguriaArt

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 50-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

Post 294: Great Find - Varnishing Artwork Videos

Great Find - Varnishing Artwork Videos

I have been asked by several Prince William Art Society members, "Do you varnish your paintings? If you do, what do you use?" Perhaps it is because of how my finished artwork appears or just in general. For whatever reason, I'm offering these 'Great Find Videos' here about varnishing videos I have watched and found quite useful, and I will give you my answer to the member questions too.

 

Photo by Surface on Unsplash 

Acrylic Varnishing

Finding Jerry's Live videos with Emmy - every Tuesday at about 5pm have been very informative. You may want to go to Jerry's Artarama and get signed up for the reminders. The videos can also be found on Jerry's Live on Youtube - so have at it! I actually won a really nice watercolor set one time from Jerry's when watching a live show and answering a question! I often take notes because they offer so much info!

 

Jerry’s LIVE Episode #JL205: Varnishing Acrylic and Other Media Paintings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d6d9IcL6TU

 

I mainly paint in acrylics so this first video was of great interest to me. Nonetheless, with all the fluctuations in prices and supply chain shortages ongoing - my favored varnish to use on acrylic paintings has been Krylon Kamar Varnish. The cost of a can has increased, so do shop around. Walmart may still be the least expensive place to occasionally find it. Originally, I was finding it at about $5-6 a can, but its more now.

I've also been asked, "Do you feel like artwork should be varnished?" Empathic "YES!" from me. I feel like it protects the artwork from wear, tear, sun, dust far better than not having it. You do want varnish with longevity of the artwork in mind and non-yellowing. 

 

I DO RECOMMEND taking your art photos BEFORE you varnish though. The camera will often pick up the shine and you will have to deal with that in Photoshop. 

Can you paint over the varnish, touchups, changes? Yes, with the Kamar Varnish. Then respray.

As far as the color changing after you varnish, I LOVE IT. I love the intensity and depth that a good varnish brings out. That's me. You do you.

Oil Varnishing

Jerry’s LIVE Episode #JL203: Varnishing Oil Paintings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr83mBD9LlU

 

I haven't oil painted in awhile, but I hope to try it again in the near future. I'll be rewatching this video when I do. 

What do you use, if you varnish? Why?

Great Find Videos - do you, as a PWAS member, have a suggestion for a video you have found? Send me the link and the reason why we need to share it on this blog.

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at https://DonnaLiguriaArt.com & her Blog at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/.

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 50-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

Post 291: Great Find - Art Sales Video

Great Find - Art Sales Video

Perhaps a new series of Artistry Spin Blog Posts are "Great Find Art Videos". One of the PWAS (Prince William Art Society) members sent me this video link and it is really good enough to share with our art group...because we volunteer at Open Space Arts. We as the volunteers are the "sales persons" and we represent all the artists that have artwork up whether our art is up or not.

Sales Tips for Live Art Shows

Please click the video below or the link to watch the video.

ArtsyShark Carolyn Edlund https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wi82l2w5Mw

  

Notice all the tips...

1. Greeting 

2. Be prepared to engage

3. Listen to them

4. Ask questions

5. Place item in their hands (a little tougher with a painting, any ideas with this one?)

6. Include everyone in their party

7. Eye contact!

8. Child with party? Bubblewrap diversion

What do you think? Do you have suggestions to share with our volunteers at the gallery?

Do you have a Great Find Art Video to share? Send me the link and tell me why you want to Share it.

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at https://DonnaLiguriaArt.com & her Blog at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/.

 

Video suggested by Sandra McClelland Lewin

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 50-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!