Colour, Obsession, Joy and Torment-The Daily Painters Art Gallery 2008

Image Source-Amazon.com

Here is a new book from the Daily Painters website, a wonderful collection of the artworks and stories of artists around the world who have taken up the challenge of creating a painting a day.

I have been following a number of daily painters for about two years now, and I am frequently amazed at their talent and creativity to be able to paint a new painting every day (mostly 5 days per week). In virtual numbers, this can add up to as many as 365 paintings per year. Truly amazing!!!

Some believe the "Painting A Day" art movement began when Duane Keiser was featured in a news article in USA Today in 2006. Most of the artists in this niche produce smaller works from 4" x 6" to usually no larger than about 9" x 11" and many of the works are priced at $100.00/us or less, which makes original artwork more affordable for the cost conscious collector.

Since 2006, hundreds of artists around the world have joined this art movement, and have succeeded in expanding their portfolios, increasing their sales, and gaining more attention and critical acclaim within the arts community.

Below is a list of some of the Daily Painters I follow

Duane Keiser
Jeff Hayes
Carol Marine
Jan Blencowe
Karin Jurick
Darren Maurer
Michael Naples
Priscilla Treacy
Stephen Magsig
Dustin Boutwell
Belinda Del Pesco
Shanti Marie

If you are a Daily Painter, and want a Permanent Link in this post, just leave a comment, with a link to your Website or Blog, and I will expand this list.

Consider adding The Daily Painters Gallery 2008 book to your collection

What's In Your Wallet?-Your Business Card I Hope

On Christmas Eve I got invited to visit some friends on Boxing day, and I wanted to share my new blog with them and ask them to drop by for a visit sometime. The trouble was that I did not have any new business cards, and of course it was too late in the day to get a shop to print them.

No panic, I make my own. I am a bit of a Do It Yourself-er, and years ago I bought the PrintShop software, and blank business cards so that I could make Greeting Cards, Business Cards, Postcards and more.

The benefit of making your own are;

1. You can make your own designs from scratch or use the many pre-designed templates that come with the software.
2. You don't have to pay for artwork which can be expensive by getting a company to make the cards. Even if you supply them with your artwork, they have to scan it at a cost.
   
3. You have complete control over design, layout, colors, information and style.
4. If you want a different painting for example on each card, just print out one sheet of 10 and arrange them in your stack of cards so that each one you give out is unique. It would cost you a small fortune for a company to do that for you.
5. You only print as many as you need.

The only cost to you is for the software (not expensive), blank business cards, (not expensive), and the cost of the ink for your ink jet printer.

In the example above I was in a rush, so I used a template design (the artwork is not my own), and just input my information in a flash. Total time to produce 30 cards from start to finish was one hour. Not bad!!!!! I liked the design of the drawing so much, that I will do my own, scan it, and put it into my new business card next time.

I hope you found this post helpful, feel free to leave a comment.

Watercolor Tip-Make Your Own Color Chart

My Cotman Color Mixing Chart
copyright Terry Krysak

Have you ever wondered how to mix a particular color, and found yourself at a loss as to which colors to use? Sometimes you end up with mud, or you just can't get it right.

Why not make your own color chart? It takes a fair amount of time and work, but it is something that you will always have as an excellent reference to use when you are painting.

I majored in pottery at art school, and this was the method we used to test out various glazes to see what they looked like after they were fired. It saves you from ruining your pots, if the glaze does not turn out right.

As you can see, it gives you every possible color combination possible, and you can use as many colors in the top row as you wish. However, the more colors you use in the top row, the bigger the chart will be.

Winsor and Newton Color Mixing Guides

Winsor Newton Color Chart

You may download My Cotman Color Chart for your own personal use. If you use it on your website or blog, or for any other commerical purpose all I ask is that you provide a link directly back to this blog and give me credit.

Here is a link to my latest post How To Mix Colors For Oils And Acrylic Paints

Great Book On Color Mixing 1500 Color Mixing Recipes for oil, acrylic & watercolor

 

Terry Krysak is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Winsor and Newton Field Box-The Perfect Companion for the Watercolor Artist

The best advice I ever received was to buy the best artist materials that you can afford. In my mind, Winsor & Newton provides the best products that money can buy and if you buy the best, you will never be disappointed.

I bought the field box in 1982, as I was building up my supply of watercolors for the future, and I still have the field box and use it today. It was my first experience with using watercolor pans which completely eliminates the hassle of watercolor tubes. The problems with tubes includes the paint drying inside the cap, and freezing to the tube making it difficult to get off, and eventually the paint in the tubes dries up solid.

A tip for getting frozen caps off the tube is to heat the cap up with a match or lighter. Be careful though because the caps are made of plastic, and will easily melt. If the paint dries up, you can still use it if you cut the tube open and peel off the metal. Re-wet the solid paint the same as if you were using a pan of watercolor.

The Winsor and Newton Field Box is made of plastic, is durable, and closes up into a small compact package that you can take with you anywhere. It also has a small water bottle, and small watercolor brush as well.

Terry Krysak is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Dave Edwards-BlythArt

185-Bamburgh Castle-02 (Gouache)
Copyright Dave Edwards

This is another in my series of My Favorite Artists. Today's post is about Dave Edwards who lives in Blyth, United Kingdom. In this case it was hard to choose a favorite when looking at his work, as there are so many.

I first met Dave online, as we were both subscribing to the Art Newsletter Painters Keys, and Dave had asked for information about totem poles. I had a number of photos and resources on the subject, and emailed him. Over a short period of time as email buddies, we became friends, and we communicate via email a few times each week.

Dave is a self taught artist who works in watercolor, gouache, pencil crayon, pen and ink, an on occasion oil paints. He uses vibrant colors in his work often depicting scenes and places around the UK, in a mystical whimsical style that I like very much.

Dave's subject matter is diverse, and covers a broad range from still life, landscape, to birds and cats and more. If you visit his blog or website, you will find Dave to be very friendly, energetic, and engaging as he shares his artwork and thoughts with an audience on the edge of their seats waiting for more.

Image Bamburgh Castle used with permission of the artist.

Visit Dave's Blog
Visit Dave's Website on RedBubble