Design for Artists

I am one of those few artists that has taken some time in their education to learn a few design skills. In fact I actually focused on design while in collage rather than fine arts which is rather silly since now I'm leaning away from that currently.

So I have some design skills... So what? I'll tell you what. Design skills are an important thing for a fine artist to have because it gives them an edge over those that don't and it also gives them more power in the ways of advertising themselves and in forming their own personal 'branding'. Being able to create your own designs for things such as business cards, stationary, posters, and also having the confidence to edit their own photos (and even take their own photos) is something that I hear fine artists typically don't and can't do. I often hear that artists are quite computer illiterate.

Not good.

Being able to do your own design work saves an incredible amount of money and also makes those designs so much more personal than if you have a random design company do it for you. Of course, just because you can paint doesn't mean you can design, so if you can but shouldn't... then you probably should let someone else do it. ;)

I have created many different logos, booklet portfolios, and business cards for my business (both for the design and the fine arts side of it). I made my own website, edited my own photographs, took my own photos with my own camera. One of the things that I do let 'professionals' do is make high quality scans of my work (mainly because those scanners cost thousands of $ I don't have) and produce the prints from those scans since I don't have a high quality printer that can do that level of work.

Let me show you an evolution of my business cards as an example of an artist that can also do some basic design work for herself. The newest ones are by far the best.

For a while I didn't make specific cards for my art (since I hybrid between art and design, but I'm finding that it seems to work better if I do.




This was the first one I made for my business. It relied heavily on some of my environmental graphics I made during for my BFA Thesis.



This is the second design I played with. I used the same tree graphics (it was basically something I considered as a logo at that point). Turned it red and if you notice the cards form a set because of the background image.

This also shows how I save money printing the cards. Printing cards on a normal sheet of cardstock paper and cutting them myself saves me a ton of money.



I used the same background technique with this one but focused more on making it more about my art. When you cut it apart the background looks really cool, whether or not you have a full set to put the image together.




This is the latest design I've come up with. My plan with these ones is that the image on the card will show different works of my art, especially when they display the price of the corresponding piece.

I am liking my new design the most currently, which always happens with everything I do. Which may or may not have anything to do with how much I love the piece of art that is featured on it. ;)

I think it's really important for artists to be able to do their own design work. I was initially going to focus on that for my BFA thesis (2005) but my professors didn't approve of the idea. That was back when I still listened to my professors...

First Ordered Print Arrived Today!

So I was working on some web design this afternoon when the FedEx guy came and gave me a package. Not just any package... A fantastic package with a beautiful item inside.

A fan of my art had ordered a photographic print of my piece called Keukenhof. It turned out fantastic and I am really pleased not only with the job that the company that scanned my work did but with the quality of the print. It is just beautiful and I can't imagine any other company doing a better job.

I made this print the full size of the original which turns out to be 16 inches by 20 inches. When you look at it it seems so much larger but that might just be the work itself sucking you into it.

This is the piece that she ordered.

The Futurists

I'm posting this article because of its value to the art world and also because those that know next to nothing about art might get a kick out of it.

What is it? The Futurists!

It's been 100 years today since the first art manifesto of the 1900's was written. And it was written by a guy who was rather fond of stirring up trouble. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.

This is an entertaining article - Back to the Futurists

I am including below the manifesto for your enjoyment.




THE FUTURIST MANIFESTO

1. We intend to sing the love of danger, the habit of energy and fearlessness.

2. Courage, audacity, and revolt will be essential elements of our poetry.

3. Up to now literature has exalted a pensive immobility, ecstasy, and sleep. We intend to exalt aggressive action, a feverish insomnia, the racer's stride, the mortal leap, the punch and the slap.

4. We affirm that the world's magnificence has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed. A racing car whose hood is adorned with great pipes, like serpents of explosive breath - a roaring car that seems to ride on grapeshot is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace.

5. We want to hymn the man at the wheel, who hurls the lance of his spirit across the Earth, along the circle of its orbit.

6. The poet must spend himself with ardor, splendor, and generosity, to swell the enthusiastic fervor of the primordial elements.

7. Except in struggle, there is no more beauty. No work without an aggressive character can be a masterpiece. Poetry must be conceived as a violent attack on unknown forces, to reduce and prostrate them before man.

8. We stand on the last promontory of the centuries! Why should we look back, when what we want is to break down the mysterious doors of the Impossible? Time and Space died yesterday. We already live in the absolute, because we have created eternal, omnipresent speed.

9. We will glorify war-the world's only hygiene - militarism, patriotism, the destructive gesture of freedom-bringers, beautiful ideas worth dying for, and scorn for woman.

10. We will destroy the museums, libraries, academies of every kind, will fight moralism, feminism, every opportunistic or utilitarian cowardice.

11. We will sing of great crowds excited by work, by pleasure, and by riot; we will sing of the multicolored, polyphonic tides of revolution in the modern capitals; we will sing of the vibrant nightly fervor of arsenals and shipyards blazing with violent electric moons; greedy railway stations that devour smoke-plumed serpents; factories hung on clouds by the crooked lines of their smoke; bridges that stride the rivers like giant gymnasts, flashing in the sun with a glitter of knives; adventurous steamers that sniff the horizon; deep-chested locomotives whose wheels paw the tracks like the hooves of enormous steel horses bridled by tubing; and the sleek flight of planes whose propellers chatter in the wind like banners and seem to cheer like an enthusiastic crowd.

February, 20th 1909 written by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

Design Off ... ummmm I mean, make a cd cover

This game was sent to me on Facebook by a friend I studied design with overseas. I was entertained so I thought I'd post it on my normal blog also. This game is to challenge your design skills and creativity by giving you random elements to work with to create something interesting. There is no intent here to infringe upon copyright and at this point I probably couldn't even find the random image I got to cite it properly.

This album is either a self help type or it's one that gets you in the *mood*. O.o

Does this seem really dirty to anyone else? The picture along with the album name just seem to suggest it in my opinion.

Järnkaminerna

Better partners, better parents, and better lovers.


by Kathryn

GAME

To Do This
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together. (for those of you non-designers, you can even use Word)

5 - Post it to the FB notes section with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in. (Obviously only if you are posting this in FB otherwise ignore this last one.)

The full quote is:

I believe that [everyone] is the keeper of a dream - and by tuning into one another's secret hopes, we can become better friends, better partners, better parents, and better lovers.

Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ), O Magazine, June 2003

And evidently Järnkaminerna is a sports nickname. "The nickname derives from the 1950s when Djurgårdens IF's football division was renowned for their physique and physical training as well as their rough style of play on the pitch." - Wikipedia

Entertaining game.

Prints Available! O.O

As many of you may know I have been scanning my artwork so that I may be able to produce prints of my work to sell at some point. I've finally got to the point where I feel comfortable in doing so and I have a few people already requesting prints and more information about them. Because of this, and the fact that I would love to be able to sell my work and prints as a main form of income in the future I am posting information about my prints and prices for ordering.

Firstly, I do not mat or frame prints unless the orderer requests that, and it will cost extra depending on preferences such as if I make the frame or if I have someone else make it or if I go out and purchase one for the print. I do not mat my prints as I do not even mat my originals. If you would like them matted let me know and we will discuss the options.

I am not currently set up to take credit cards as that is a monetary investment I'm not quite ready for, but I can work with Paypal for money transfers and I do of course accept cash and checks. Checks may be held until they are shown to be good and then the item shipped after that. And I almost forgot, I do charge Idaho sales tax for these which right now is at 6%.

I can get three main types of high quality prints made of my work. Ok, well technically five but I don't count the different photographic preferences.

Photographic Prints
Glossy
Lustre/Matte
Metallic

Somerset Velvet Giclee Prints

Canvas Giclee Prints


I can print up to the original size of the original piece of art requested for the print and pretty much anything smaller. Certain types of prints have some restrictions on size but it shouldn't affect me too much.

Shipping completely depends on if I can hand deliver these or if I have to send them on to you.

The print prices vary considerably by material. The canvas prints being the highest quality and what you might want to consider as an investment as when I'm rich and famous and highly sought after the prints will be worth something since they are limited to a certain number.

Most pieces (as of this post) are available as prints except for West Highland Way (the bridge) and Breadth of Vision (the color blindness lily). They will be scanned probably by late next month of so, depending on when they are released from the Civic Center Show.

CPSA Explore This! 5 show links

The show is finally up!

Here is the link for the main gallery:

http://www.cpsa.org/EXHIBITION/EXPLORE.THIS/Explore5/exp5online.html

And here in the link for the award winners:

http://www.cpsa.org/EXHIBITION/EXPLORE.THIS/Explore5/Awards-Explore5.htm


Go and look! It's fantastic!