TipArt

Thank You Photoshop For Making Us Look Good For 20 Years

2010-02-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

Adobe’s premier image editing software, Photoshop, turns 20 today, February 19, 2010. Around the world, Photoshop fans are celebrating the impact their favorite software has had across photography, art, design, publishing and commerce.

In the United States, the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) will be hosting a special Photoshop 20th Anniversary celebration for over a thousand attendees in San Francisco at the Palace of the Fine Arts Theater. The event will feature Adobe’s SVP Creative Solutions, John Loiacono, as well as VP Photoshop Product Management, Kevin Connor, Photoshop co-creator Thomas Knoll and famed Adobe creative director and Photoshop evangelist, Russell Brown.

To be a part of this celebration and view the live Webcast, visit: www.photoshopuser.com/photoshop20th.

The festivities continue overseas in Japan, Southeast Asia and throughout Europe. In honor of the 20th anniversary, Adobe Germany will host a special 20-hour online marathon, featuring over 15 local Photoshop “gurus” demonstrating their favorite tips and tricks live for Photoshop fans. In India and France, digital imaging contests will be held to showcase the work of Photoshop users.

A special Adobe TV broadcast will also air on the anniversary date at tv.adobe.com/go/photoshop-20th-anniversary, reuniting the original “Photoshop team” for the first time in 18 years, to discuss their early work on the software and demonstrate Photoshop 1.0 on a rebuilt Macintosh computer.

The Photoshop community is also sharing their favorite stories online, with the product and its over 400,000 fan-strong Facebook page, the hub for a worldwide look at the product’s impact. A new “Celebrate” tab directs users to a 20th anniversary logo, which many have already personalized with Photoshop and used as a replacement for their profile image. Connect with the Photoshop team at www.facebook.com/Photoshop or twitter.com/photoshop, and add the tag #PS20 to tweets about the anniversary.

“For 20 years Photoshop has played many different roles—it has given creative people the power to deliver amazing images that impact every part of our visual culture and challenged the eye with its ability to transform photographs,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO at Adobe.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that, thanks to millions of creative customers, Photoshop has changed the way the world looks at itself.”

The impact of Photoshop is everywhere—billboard signs, magazine covers, major motion pictures, even the logo on the coffee cup you drink out of every morning. All have likely been touched by the software. Over 90 percent of creative professionals have Photoshop on their desktops and today Photoshop is used by professional photographers, graphic designers and advertisers, as well as architects, engineers and even doctors. Whether it’s bringing visual effects to life in the blockbuster film Avatar, helping save lives in partnership with forensics departments and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or challenging the human eye to determine if an image is real or fake, Photoshop continues to find new uses and advocates.

The beginnings of Photoshop are rooted In 1987, when Thomas Knoll developed a pixel imaging program called Display. It was a simple program to showcase grayscale images on a black-and-white monitor. However, after collaborating with his brother John Knoll, the two began adding features that made it possible to process digital image files. The program eventually caught the attention of industry influencers, and in 1988, Adobe made the decision to license the software, naming it Photoshop, and shipping the first version in 1990.

“Twenty years ago, Adobe predicted that it would sell 500 copies of Photoshop per month,” said Thomas Knoll, co-creator of Photoshop at Adobe.

“I guess you could say, we beat those projections! It’s amazing to think that millions of people use this software today. We knew we had a groundbreaking technology on our hands, but we never anticipated how much it would impact the images we see all around us. The ability to seamlessly place someone within an image was just the beginning of Photoshop’s magic.”

Over its 20-year history, Photoshop has evolved significantly from a simple original display program to a wildly popular application that has over 10 million users worldwide. With each release, Adobe has introduced technological innovations that defy the impossible. Layers, introduced in Photoshop 3.0, gave designers the ability to create complex compositions easier than ever before. The Healing Brush, another groundbreaking feature introduced in Photoshop 7.0, allowed users to magically retouch images by seamlessly removing blemishes and wrinkles, while preserving lighting and texture. Photoshop tools like crop, eraser, blur and dodge and burn have become part of the creative vernacular worldwide.

The Photoshop team thrives off its rich beta tester program, with active and vocal users who have submitted requests and helped shape the development of features throughout the years. Adobe has maintained a strong connection with its customer base through blogs, user research, customer support, forums and feedback from Adobe “evangelists” who travel the world to engage with Photoshop users.

Source: designtaxi.com

The Purpose Of Contemporary Art

2010-02-17T03:30:00.001-08:00

"Artists must continue the conquest of new territory and new taboos"
- Norman Rosenthal, Director of the Royal Academy of Arts, London

As time has moved on and contemporary art has moved with it, controversy has somehow always managed to keep up. Going back to the beginning of art historical study we can find cases of both individual artists and groups who have rocked the artistic status quo with their innovative contributions to the art of the day. The 20th century was no exception.

Contemporary art has a purpose. The purpose is simply to beautify your surroundings with intrigue. Ok, but why do people pay so much for what looks like a canvas with some paint thrown on it? Abstract paintings can actually be very affordable if purchased from an up and coming artist. And believe it or not, most often there was a deliberate attempt at where that paint landed on the canvas. The beauty of abstract art, both for the artist and the viewer, is that anyone can take what they see and interpret it however they see fit.

There are many different interpretations of contemoporary art. An artist can be completely non-representational, or he/she can conjure up recognizable forms and symbols. In a broad spectrum of contemporary art paintings, you can find landscapes, seascapes, natural objects, and colorful shapes and forms. All and all, abstract paintings tend to have a strong focus on color patterns, and/or texture. Nowadays, with photography, digital art, and the ability to create prints, it's no wonder why artists are seeking to make it perfectly clear that what you see on the canvas was in-fact created with a more personal human element. How you ask? Through building up layers of texture, depth, or using a glazing technique that collects and redistributes light, making the paint appear luminous.

There is so much joy in painting abstractly because the walls of rigid preconception are torn down. Many artists are using abstract art as a means to release feelings, and also as a way to freely express what they have seen in nature. When something is done in spirit and spontaneity, it's obvious and it shows in the work. The purpose of contemporary art is to capture this essence and bring this joy into the lives of others.

But not all contemporary art is so inocent. The article starts with the words of the man behind the exhibition that has caused the biggest Sensation of recent years. Words that suggest that he had more than an inkling of, in fact wished for, the furor that would follow. It seems implausible, however, that he would have anticipated the scale of the revolt. More accurately, Rosenthal was just one of the men behind the show; the other was the advertising mogul and art collector Charles Saatchi.

Jenny Saville

Examining the exhibition catalogue, it is interesting that many of the artists - there are 42 in total - are far from "notorious," and their work is unlikely to bring them any such accolade. The works include a significant number of paintings, and while Jenny Saville's works may pose a challenge because of her eschewal of models of conventional beauty, the clear, bold, colorful works of Gary Hume, Britain's representative at the 48th Venice Biennale, seem positively tame. In the place of Tracey Emin's bed was her tent, embroidered with the names of all her sexual partners, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995. The evident skill in the crafting of the piece does not save it from the critics of the show, and indeed of contemporary art, whose favored argument is to question whether such works "merit" the title of art.

The crescendo begins with the more clearly distressing Dead Dad (1996-97) by Ron Mueck, an eerily life-like silicone model lying prostrate on the floor, and Self (1991) by Marc Quinn - a perspex sculpture of the artist's head, filled with his own blood and displayed in a fridge, which disturbs in the tradition of the Surrealists. And then we reach the Chapman brothers and Damien Hirst. The shock tactics favoured by Jake and Dinos Chapman are deemed puerile and infantile by their detractors; Great Deeds against the Dead (1994) presents us with mutilation and castration, Ubermensch (1995), with its model of the scientist Stephen Hawking about to plummet off the edge of a cliff in his wheelchair, favors cruelty and insensitivity over political correctness, while Zygotic Acceleration, Bio-genetic, De-sublimated Libidinal Model (Enlarged x 1000) (1995) and Tragic Anatomies (1995) feature genetic freaks made up of girl mannequins morphed together, many with the Chapmans' trademark phallus nose and rectum mouth. Damien Hirst found controversy and fame in Britain for his practice of cutting up dead animals and preserving them in formaldehyde when he won the Turner Prize in 1995. Several of these works are featured in the show, including perhaps the most famous exemplar, the shark, entitled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991).

Some of these works sparked controversy, but it was in fact two other pieces, by different artists in London and New York, which caused the biggest uproar.

In London it was a painting by Marcus Harvey, a monochrome canvas entitled MH (1996-98). The image, made up of prints from a plaster cast of a child's hand, depicted the infamous imprisoned child murderer Myra Hindley. The work became the subject of a fierce tabloid campaign, with one newspaper paying for the mother of one of Hindley's victims to attend the show. The media was successful in fueling a frenzy, and ink and eggs were thrown at the painting by a member of the public. The vandalized canvas was taken away and cleaned, after which it was reinstated, behind glass, with the Royal Academy preaching the defense of freedom of expression.

The Holy Virgin Mary (1996)

Chris Ofili

It was Chris Ofili who found himself at the center of the storm in New York. Ofili had already experienced controversy when he too won the Turner Prize in 1998. His intricately patterned mixed-media works draw on his Nigerian heritage and are characterized by their inclusion of elephant dung. The focus of the outrage was The Holy Virgin Mary (1996): a mixed media painting/collage depicting a black madonna, surrounded by images of buttocks, with the addition of the ubiquitous dung. Ofili stayed well out of the affray as his work was branded blasphemous. [1]

And the list continues because the show must go on, right? Is the purpose of contemporary art to provoke a reaction even if it's an ugly one? The purpose of art was never only pure beauty or merely decorative. But nowadays, probably more than even art became more intertwined with our day by day problems and issues, like traffic lights in our eyes, trying to get our attention about the present we have here in front of us. Sometimes contemporary art can be naive and colorful but most of the time it is like a bell that rings in our face the message: live your live, don't let your life live you.

[1] www.csa.com

5 Digital Photography Tips For Better Shots

2010-02-17T03:25:00.000-08:00

In this article I want to go over some basic digital photography tips that beginners and professionals should review from time to time. Digital cameras on the market today are very capable of producing breath taking photos that will amaze your friends and family with the help of a few easy tips.

Photography Tip 1. Know Your Camera

I know it sounds rather silly and perhaps a bit boring but, when you sit down and take the time to go through the manual, you may be surprised by the amazing things your camera can do. Scroll through the menus and push the buttons; when you come across something you don't know...look it up in your trusty manual. Most manuals are simple and easy to read and are small enough to keep in your pocket or camera case. Becoming familiar with your camera will allow you the freedom and confidence to capture those amazing once-in-a-lifetime shots. You can learn variety of Digital Photography Tips just by reading the manual.

Photography Tip 2. Know Your Interests

You can quickly become disinterested in photography and burned-out if what you are shooting is of little or no interest to you. Sit down with yourself and write out a list of the things that excite and motivate you. Looking at photos online through one of the photo hosting sites like Flickr or Photobucket can give you an idea of what makes your shutter finger twitch. It is difficult to capture those stunning shots if your heart's not in it.

Photography Tip 3. Know What Equipment You Need

Researching through the internet can give you a good idea of just what equipment you will need to take the shots you want. Photography Forums are a wonderful resource that will not only show you the kind of photos you'd like to take but will also, in many cases, tell you how the show what was taken and with what equipment. Hot shoe flashes and tripods are always a sound investment.

Photography Tip 4. Know Your Lighting

Lighting in photography is like flour is to bread. You just can't make bread if you don't have flour. You just can't make stunning photos if you don't have light. Learn how to use the light to your best advantage. When and how to use your flash, using available natural light and using other artificial light sources is worth taking the time to learn. Going back to Tip #1, Know Your Camera, can help you utilize all the sources of light you have available. Knowing this one point alone can make the difference between okay shots and absolutely stunning photos.

Photography Tip 5. Practice, Practice, Practice

With the digital memory cards now available you can take a ton of shots and it won't cost you a penny. Learn how to frame your shots, look for nice clean backgrounds and bring the focus to bear on the main subject. Poles or trees coming out of people's heads can spoil an otherwise sweet shot. The more you shoot, the more you will start to recognize what makes a great shot and you will find yourself planning it before you click.

Use these Digital Photography Tips to help you produce those stunning photos you have a desire to shoot. You'll soon stand head and shoulders above your friends and have them wondering how you produced those amazing photos. You will learn the most from constantly taking shots and learning what works and what doesn't.

Japanese Paintings

2010-02-10T02:55:00.000-08:00

Japanese painting Muromachi period

Painting is one of the most popular forms of art in Japan. Japanese paintings, which were highly influenced by Chinese style of painting, are exquisite and at times can be very intricate. In the Muromachi period (1338-1573), Chinese paintings were introduced in Japan, owing to the influx of Chinese trade. Many Japanese noblemen started purchasing Chinese paintings to adorn their house and developed a liking for the Chinese style of painting. Due to this affinity for Chinese paintings, many Japanese painters adopted this style to create fine masterpieces that would appeal to Japanese taste.

The Japanese painters belonging to the Muromachi period reflected deep sense of space and each painting depicted a story. Later, landscape painting was developed in the Momoyama period (1573-1603); the paintings were usually produced on giant screens. During the Edo period (1603-1867), a different style of painting evolved where paintings had gold leaf backgrounds to create an effect similar to holy mosaics belonging to the Western Medieval period. Around the same time, the Ukiyo-e style emerged; it involved woodblock printing.

In the Meiji period (1868-1912), Japanese paintings came under the influence of western styles as well. Several painting schools were established in Japan and each school pursued a style of their choice. The term "Suibokuga" refers to paintings that utilized black ink for painting. It was inherited from China and bore the distinct mark of Zen Buddhism.

Kano Masanobu, along with his son Kano Motonobu (1476-1559), laid the foundation of the Kano painting school, which was started in protest against the Chinese black ink painting method. The Kano school made use of bright and vibrant colors and experimented with bold compositions that included large and flat areas. These paintings became a source of inspiration for the Ukiyo-e designs. The "nanga" painting style was highly prominent during the Bunka and Bunsai era.

Japanese paintings have managed to capture the hearts of many people mostly due to their sense of space and aesthetic beauty. Japanese artists utilized a wide range of mediums for their paintings. Some of the popular subjects of Japanese paintings include landscapes, women, famous places, and spectacular views.

The Best Art Is Meaningless

2010-02-07T12:14:00.001-08:00

Art doesn't have to be about anything to be good. In fact, the easier it is to say what a work is about, the less interesting that work becomes. The greatest art takes a lifetime to understand; the slightest takes a moment. And if it really is reducible to an explicit message, is it actually art at all?

I love the scene in DA Pennebaker's 1967 documentary Dont Look Back, where the young Bob Dylan is interviewed by a journalist who demands to know what his message is. "Walk tall and always carry a lightbulb," he replies.

Of course, Dylan didn't have a message – or so he explains in Martin Scorsese's 2005 film No Direction Home – and the reason he changed his music and lyrics so profoundly in the mid-60s, from the agitprop of his early folk songs to the tumbled words of Desolation Row, was precisely to escape from people who thought they understood him. It was a self-conscious defence of the idea of art.

Visual artists today have a lot to learn from Dylan – or from Mark Rothko, or Wassily Kandinsky, or frankly anyone who has created real art with real art's difficulties. Yet they could also learn from, say, an 18th-century furniture designer, for beauty is better than a big idea.

The most deadening influence on art in our time is the belief that content matters more than style. If you look back on the artists who have won the Turner prize since the 1980s, or the artists most often mentioned in the media these days, what they have in common is a message. Artists like Marc Quinn, Antony Gormley and Tracey Emin – all have very clear points to make. Once you've understood them, what's left to say?

Real art doesn't have a message, doesn't necessarily say anything. It is an arrangement of shapes, a pattern of words. If you want an antidote to this idea of art, watch Bob Dylan manically arranging and rearranging words on a shop sign he and the band spotted one day. That is art.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

Art Theft: The Most Famous Cases in History

2010-02-06T05:13:00.000-08:00

Art theft is an ancient and complicated crime. When you look at the some of the most famous cases of art thefts in history, you see thoroughly planned operations that involve art dealers, art fakers, mobsters, ransoms, and millions of dollars. Here you can read about some of the most famous cases of art theft in the history.

The First Theft: The first documented case of art theft was in 1473, when two panels of altarpiece of the Last Judgment by the Dutch painter Hans Memling were stolen. While the triptych was being transported by ship from the Netherlands to Florence, the ship was attacked by pirates who took it to the Gdansk cathedral in Poland. Nowadays, the piece is shown at the National Museum in Gdansk where it was recently moved from the Basilica of the Assumption.

The Most Famous Theft: The most famous story of art theft involves one of the most famous paintings in the world and one of the most famous artists in history as a suspect. In the night of August 21, 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen out of the Louver. Soon after, Pablo Picasso was arrested and questioned by the police, but was released quickly.

It took about two years until the mystery was solved by the Parisian police. It turned out that the 30×21 inch painting was taken by one of the museum employees by the name of Vincenzo Peruggia, who simply carried it hidden under his coat. Nevertheless, Peruggia did not work alone. The crime was carefully conducted by a notorious con man, Eduardo de Valfierno, who was sent by an art faker who intended to make copies and sell them as if they were the original painting.

While Yves Chaudron, the art faker, was busy creating copies for the famous masterpiece, Mona Lisa was still hidden at Peruggias apartment. After two years in which Peruggia did not hear from Chaudron, he tried to make the best out of his stolen good. Eventually, Peruggia was caught by the police while trying to sell the painting to an art dealer from Florence, Italy. The Mona Lisa was returned to the Louver in 1913.

The Biggest Theft in the USA: The biggest art theft in United States took place at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. On the night of March 18, 1990, a group of thieves wearing police uniforms broke into the museum and took thirteen paintings whose collective value was estimated at around 300 million dollars. The thieves took two paintings and one print by Rembrandt, and works of Vermeer, Manet, Degas, Govaert Flinck, as well as a French and a Chinese artifact.

As of yet, none of the paintings have been found and the case is still unsolved. According to recent rumors, the FBI are investigating the possibility that the Boston Mob along with French art dealers are connected to the crime.

The Scream

Edvard Munchs

The Scream: The painting by Edvard Munchs, The Scream, is probably the most sought after painting by art thieves in history. It has been stolen twice and was only recently recovered. In 1994, during the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, The Scream was stolen from an Oslo gallery by two thieves who broke through an open window, set off the alarm and left a note saying: thanks for the poor security.

Three months later, the holders of the painting approached the Norwegian Government with an offer: 1 million dollars ransom for Edvard Munchs The Scream. The Government turned down the offer, but the Norwegian police collaborated with the British Police and the Getty Museum to organize a sting operation that brought back the painting to where it belongs.

Ten years later, The Scream was stolen again from the Munch Museum. This time, the robbers used a gun and took another of Munchs painting with them. While Museum officials waiting for the thieves to request ransom money, rumors claimed that both paintings were burned to conceal evidence. Eventually, the Norwegian police discovered the two paintings on August 31, 2006 but the facts on how they were recovered are not known yet.

About the Different Kinds of Oil Paintings

2010-02-06T04:13:00.000-08:00

"Woman with veil" - Raphael

For many years, the collecting of artwork has been a symbol of those who are upper class and have a great deal of money as well as taste. However, you don't have to be made of money or have a certain kind of taste to be able to collect some really fine art. Some of the best kind of art is oil paintings and you will need to follow few tips when you are planning to buy them.

Don't be fooled by paintings that are reproductions of an original. A lot of people who aren't that knowledgeable in the world of oil paintings may be easily fooled into believing a reproduction is an original work and end up paying a high price. Some of these reproductions are merely prints that are touched up in places with paint.

You may want a reproduction when it comes to some of the more famous paintings that are way too expensive for the average person, but you want to make sure that what you are paying is worth what you are getting. Sometimes these paintings are priced much higher than what they are worth.

Oil paintings are some of the most beautiful and long lasting art there is and this kind of painting goes back centuries. If you have a certain scheme of colors in mind for the paintings that you re looking for, you may spend a little more time looking, If you already have a color scheme in mind that you want to hang in your den to match a certain decor, then you might want to hire a painter to help you get the exact painting.

A collection of oil paintings may mean that you want a collection from just one artist. If you have seen something from an artist that appeals to you, then why not see if you are going to be able to contact that artist and see about getting a deal on a bulk project of that artists painting. You nay end up getting some really great art for a great price.

Are you thinking of a certain object painted into oil paintings, like a certain kind of flower or a particular kind of landscape? Are you interested in obtaining a painting that has animal life or just a city scene? If you are thinking of a kind of painting that you see in your mind's eye, then you should start looking for something will suit you in online galleries. You mat find the right painting and more.

If you happen to know someone who paints with oils, you might want to get their input about what to look for in a good quality oil painting. How will you know if the paint is going to crack a few years later? How will you know if the paint is going to fade later on? These are a few things you will want to know about before buying an expensive oil painting.

Collecting paintings is a great way to have some of the finest kind of art. There are many people who collect and you will meet many of them as you begin to visit galleries. You may find that many different kinds of art appeals to you and you never know what will start to grow on you in the way of paintings.

Drawing With a Digital Drawing Tablet

2010-02-06T04:09:00.000-08:00

Fifi and the mummy

Digital art by Steven Stahlberg

For all artists everywhere who take pride in doing putting out their skill in an excellent way, the sure way to do this is to create their own art by themselves. This means creating it by scratch: sketching it in first - with a lot of erasures to go with it - before finalizing it and putting in the final details. But artists today have to catch up with the advancement of technology. They are then asked to submit electronic files of their artwork. If you are an artist - or just about any person who might need updated tools for their trade - and want to be in the know in technology without compromising their work, then you might want to consider getting for yourself a digital drawing tablet.

With a digital drawing tablet handy, you get the ideal blend of art and technology. A tablet, such as this looks like a heavy, flat board with a large screen on it. Along with it also comes a stylus, which the user can use as an ordinary pen. With a drawing tablet, you still get the same feeling as using the old tools of pen and paper. You can automatically draw in your artwork right into the screen and immediately save yourself an electronic file of it, greatly saving you time and money in purchasing separate electronics to do the job. For graphic artists who prefer the old school pen and paper pair, they might warm up to the drawing tablet easier as it provides the same experience. And with a stylus in tow instead of a mouse, drawing in an artwork is more accurate, precise, and therefore more pleasing to the eye.

Along with the screen and the stylus, a good digital drawing tablet also has a feature called pressure sensitivity. Basically, pressure sensitivity means that the boldness and the darkness of the lines drawn in are determined by how hard the stylus is pressed upon the screen. This gives more control and more variety for both the artwork and the artist. These tablets can also be used independently without having to connect it to the computer for file saving, making it portable and convenient to carry around. But in cases that a user has to connect the digital tablet to a desktop computer or a laptop, recent designs are made with a feature of a wireless connection through the Bluetooth technology. Other tablets can also be connected through a USB port and cables.

For more selection for the users, some drawing tablets also come with their own wireless mouse, which is useful for navigation purposes. A typical digital drawing tablet can range from less than $100 to more than $1000, so you might want to shop around for a good one before making a decision. The sure thing about buying one for yourself is that it is a good investment for long-term use.

Auction Breaks Records

2010-02-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

Walking man I
Alberto Giacometti

The life-size bronze sculpture "Walking man I" by Alberto Giacometti sold for £65 million ($104 million) at Sotheby's auction in London on Wednesday, 3rd of February, 2010. It took just eight minutes before an anonymous phone bidder placed the winning bid after Giacometti's sculpture opened for bidding at £12m at Sotheby's (BID) auction house in London.

"Walking man I" by Alberto Giacometti now ranks as one of the most expensive works of art ever sold and the most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction. For Sotheby's, Wednesday's Impressionist and Modern Art auction was a huge success, yielding a total of £147 million versus its pre-sale estimate of £69-102 million (before buyer's premium). Perhaps more than anything else, the auction proves that despite the economic crisis individual wealth is well and alive, if only limited to the few. It also proves the attractiveness of Sotheby's business model, which benefits from a duopolistic industry structure.

Art. Past or Present?

2010-01-30T06:36:00.000-08:00

"Virgin Mother" by Damien Hirst

Art; some say it is at best a set of compromises. Perhaps they are right, when we look at the world around us with all our different senses. Can an artist ever really manage to capture the essence of what his trying to portray? Well, some seem to come closer than others, but it is indeed a debatable subject. People's tastes, or rather preferences, vary greatly, and what one person finds interesting, another will find extremely tedious. If however, a piece of art brings an element of joy or realisation to one person, then it has of course earnt its place in the world.

A rethink into the use of art was necessary after the arrival of the camera. It's main use was as a record to illustrate the way of life, and perhaps in some instances to leave one's mark. However with the coming of photography in the early nineteen hundreds, art moved into a different sphere. necessary to illustrate anger, love, hate, greed, caring, lust and many other emotions that remain not easily seen. Cartoonists would for example exaggerate certain features of a person's personality to make them look funny or scary. It is fascinating to look at old watercolour paintings and watercolours by artists for example John Constable, and imagine the world as it must have been in those times, with the horse and cart trundling along a dusty unmade track on its way home... in a time when tarmac roads did not exist, and the only noise was that of the rumbling of the cart and the singing of the birds. It may portray a physically hard life as a farmer, or an extravagant overindulgent life of an aristocrat, in the most subtle ways.

Modern art tends to place a lot of emphasis at least at present, on an instant 'reaction', a display of emotion 'shock'.. Trying to 'jolt' the viewer into new way of seeing...

Artists such as Damien Hirst are at the forefront of such art. It is undoubtedly marketing at its finest... there are many simply enjoy the work for one of many reasons. The fact that his works have been sold for many millions of pounds; eg. the animals cut in half and preserved in a container of formaldehyde, may leave one wondering...

So what is art, and what is its purpose? Could it be to allow the world to see in another way that is not of their normal day to day view, or simply to give pleasure. Was Professor Timothy Leary one of the great true artists, when he advised the world that a change of perception was necessary in order to see the world in new and fulfilling light. In comparison to some winners of the Turner prize it is indeed a debatable subject.

Where is the joining link between money and art? Is it that art cannot really be priced, and therefore open to the choice and speculation of others. Certainly some of the great masters, Van Gogh, Lowry lived their lives in relative poverty, and had little material concern.

Creating Your First Canvas Painting

2010-01-30T06:13:00.000-08:00

Creating your first canvas painting can be a daunting task. There are so many things to consider; which canvas to use, whether to use oil or acrylic paints and what type of brush to use. The best thing to do is to experiment and find what works best for you.

There are a number of different canvases to choose from. You can choose between stretch canvases, rolled canvases, canvas boards and canvas mats. Each one works better for different styles or different types of paint. The best thing to do is to work out which style you prefer, the paint you use, and then choose which canvas to use based on that. The canvas greatly effects how your canvas painting turns out, making it a very important aspect to consider.

Choosing between oil or acrylic paints is a simple task for the more experienced canvas art painters; however, if you are new to canvas painting, you may struggle to make the decision. It is important that you recognise the difference between the two, in order for you to choose one most suited to your style or preferences. Acrylic paints dry extremely quickly; this can cause trouble to the inexperienced, as any mistakes may become permanent. Acrylic paints work best for shorter projects, due to the speed that it dries. Another positive side to acrylic paints is that they are incredibly easy to clean up afterwards. The brushes wash up quickly and cleanly.

Oil paints work better for longer projects; they take a great deal longer to dry. This makes it possible to alter any mistakes and to go back and add more detail at a later time. However, the brushes used for oil paintings must be cleaned extremely well. Failure to do this may result in the bristles losing their shape.

The important thing to note with canvas paintings is that you need to experiment. Try out all the different techniques, materials and paint. Find out what works best for you, and then master it.

Urban Art and the Collapse of Hyperrealism

2010-01-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

There exists a generation of artists who as students were continually bombarded with the rhetoric of French philosophers and conceptualists from the 1970s and 1980s. There was a lot of talk of signifiers and the nature of a surface reality, even the implosion of meaning. This was at a time when Urban Art was almost in its infancy, and wouldn't receive serious criticism let alone praise for at least another decade.

Living in a vibrant artistic community I have found that many artists who would describe their work as "urban" in influence share a similar opinion towards the change in direction for both creatives and art consumers.

One local artist is quoted as stating "In my final year at university I was told by the head of my course, which focused primarily on conceptual art, to ignore the opinions of an uninformed public, a public who had taken the time to come and see a small exhibition featuring my and my fellow students' artwork.

As the years passed by it has become apparent to me that I, as I am sure many many generations before mine, have experienced a collapse in faith. Not of a spiritual bent, but one steered by the tenets of perception and the contrivance of objectivity, which in it self is a subjective choice."

Urban arts has brought the fine arts market to the attention of a whole new audience, primarily younger, city-based, many being of a creative bent themselves. The phenomenon of trading art between urban artists is just one cited example of a classless and more liberal artistic "economy". I use that word cautiously however as this cultural practice refers as much to the place and position of art in society as much as monetary value. Much of urban art originating from the streets, made by the people for the people, with no social, economic or political leverage involved.

For those who need more clarification of the essence of urban art, the term "urban" essentially refers to "the city" and all the cultural and physical references that living within it entails. However the truth is that as urban art has risen in the public consciousness it has come to represent far more than mere city life, the scope of imagery in this most contemporary of genres may have evolved from literal urban environments, graffiti style tagging, and socially progressive slogans but has duly evolved in complexity into something far more surreal, and in some aspects iconographically metaphysical.

Banksy is no doubt the most famous proponent for urbanism within the arts, his iconic imagery having been seen on the streets of cities across the globe, his antics within the arts system such as hanging works in national galleries and painting tranquil landscapes along Israeli/Palestinian border defenses have brought him much attention. Yet in the present day, with at least a decade of solid public recognition behind it, the urban arts movement, if it can be named as such has since extended in all manner of styles, purposes, mediums and messages.

There are those such as Shepard Fairey of OBEY who have distinctly built a following with sentiments more akin to the Arts and Crafts movement of the late C19th and early C20th. Elaborate woodcut-style prints, ornately bordered, simply high contrasting, thickly outlined images that serve as much as highly emotive interior design as they do political gesture.

With no doubt the advancement of social networking and arts representation online, more and more artists are beginning to challenge the assumptions of both what exactly urban art is and what it can represent. One of the later arrivals in the urban arts scene is Paul Baines. Tending to "target" media celebrities, political leaders, and corporations, infamously known for his portrayal of Barack Obama in "Black Christ". Other proponents of urban, street and graffiti art worth a mention are Jef Aerosol, who's art is very much akin to the early work of Banksy. D*Face who has a passion for skulls, deeming to deface (hence the name) a series of cultural icons including Disney characters and Marilyn Monroe with 19th century illustrated skulls. FAKE, famous for his hummingbird spray can and part of E. London's Wonderland Collective. Sickboy who creates iconic Indian temples in print and vinyl in the corporate colours of the McDonald's fast food franchise. Luke Insect who's work leans towards a more traditional genre, surrealist painting and figurative study. C215 who also leans towards figurative study and has a unique style akin to the "digital maps" offered by vector software, deconstructing forms into abstract shapes. Sweet Toof known for his large lipped, smiling grotesques which are commonly seen dotted around London.

Urban art has indeed itself managed, through the origins of its environment and process begun to dismantle the efficacy of the notion of hyperrealism. The surface is now untrustworthy, its appeal is tainted by the collective conscious' memory of past failures, disappointments and to a degree lies.

Suspicion, be it of governance, the financiers, or celebrity endorsement, historical truth, the equitability of consumerism or capitalism, and even the proliferation of truth itself has left the public with an ever deepening suspicion of almost all things manifest. Be it the nature of power or the true cost of never ending urban expansion and over population, to more existential matters such as the essence of existence and the nature of being. This questions jar the mindset of a generation of potential "managers" of society, their tradition mouthpiece the media has been stunted by the explosion in user contributed video reportage and the power of social networking to proliferate opinion.

The advertising executives, Hollywood, corporate heads and governmental leaders have all done their best to incorporate this "outsider" philosophy, the acceptance of disenfranchisement, at least to a degree, and a more muted presentation of factual substance rather than a glossy and fabricated hyperreal montage of exaggeration blended with outright fantasy. For instance laws have been introduced to reduce the amount of airbrushing involved in the fashion and beauty media, a response to everything from marked relationship between their products and the rise in bulimia and anorexia within teenagers. As the economy collapses more and more advertising and indeed corporate branding in general has learned to downplay the lives of the rich and famous, an impossible perfection of beauty, a fantastical landscape, or product that by implication has almost mystical properties, and instead had to deal with the ugly truth.

This is in essence why Urban Art, including graffiti, street art, and modern day illustration, painting and print, and to some degree 3d art, has literally unravelled the "futorologisms" of a once artistic elite. The art market has been slain by recent economic disasters, those who have purchased contemporary art at the height of the market have lost fortunes to the downturn in demand. Leaving the urban artist community's ethics intact. They are working, within and for society, to change society. They are, for the main part, not the toast of high society, but rather an integral part of it, working more effectively than any politician to disseminate public opinion on a wide variety of pressing matters, in a more novel, more creative, more challenging way than ever thought possible.

To view the work of some of the UK's most vibrant and urban artists online visit:- http://www.arturban.co.uk

Women & Wheels

2009-04-12T02:30:00.000-07:00

"In an ideal world there would only be bicycles, roads smooth as silk and the wind always at your back." Vita 2005

"...there is nothing that has contributed more to the emancipation of women than the bicycle" Susan B. Anthony 1896

The first paintings are part of the series described as "Women & Wheels". Other Vita´s oil paintings elaborate on those socio/humanistic perspectives which are often subdued by the veils of political correctness, on the detrimental effect of those feeding on food produced by corporations, some paintings offer sardonic comments about the current state of "art" while others allude to the decadence of the Olympic spirit. But all of Vita´s paintings are full of a realistic tone, inovative and fresh.

Top 10 Most Expensive Sculptures

2009-03-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

1. Alberto Giacometti: "Walking Man I"

$104 million - Sotheby, London, 2010

2. Damien Hirst: "For the love of God", 2006

$100 million - Private sale, August 2007

Hirst's diamond-encrusted skull smashed all records when it was sold for $100 million in summer 2007.

3. Unknown artist: "The Guennol Lioness", c.3000 b.c.

$57.2 million - Sotheby's NY, December 5th 2007

The Guennol Lioness, a true masterpiece of Ancient Art, was created approximately 5,000 years ago in the region of ancient Mesopotamia. This work is also the most expensive antiquity ever sold.

4. Constantin Brancusi: "Madame L.R"

$ 37.2 million Christie's auction, 23 February 2009

In 2002, a sculpture by Brâncuşi named "Danaide" was sold for $18.1 million, the highest that a sculpture piece had ever sold for at auction. In May 2005, a piece from the "Bird in Space" series broke that record, selling for $27.5 million in a Christie's auction. In the latest Christie's auction, the Yves Saint Laurent/Pierre Bergé sale on February 23, 2009, another sculpture of Brâncusi, "Madame L.R", was sold for € 29.185 million ($ 37.2 million),

5. Pablo Picasso: "Tete de femme (Dora Maar)", 1941

$29.1 million Sotheby's NY, November 2007

Picasso is a "must" in any most-expensive-Art list. This piece slightly surpassed the auction record set by a Roman antiquity (see below), but was smashed by the Guennol Lionness

6. Unknown artist: "Artemis and the stag", 1st century b.c.- 1st century a.c.

$28.6 million Sotheby's NY, June 2007

7. Constantini Brancusi: "Bird in space", 1922-23

$27.5 million Christie's NY, May 2005

Brancusi is arguably the most important sculptor of the 20 th century and his Birds in space rank among his most iconic works. This stylized piece surpassed the previous auction record for a sculpture -also held by Brancusi- in almost $10 million.

8. Alberto Giacometti: "Grande Femme debut", 1959/60

$27.5 million Christie's NY, May 2008

Executed in response to a commission for the new Chase Manhattan Bank headquarters and public plaza in New York

9. David Smith: "Cubi XXVIII", 1965

$23.5 million Sotheby's NY, November 2005 Buyer: Eli Broad

Smith's impressive sculpture - formerly in the Guggenheim Museum- was purchased by Larry Gagosian, representing collector Eli Broad. This is the most expensive contemporary sculpture ever sold.

10. Pablo Picasso: "La grue", 1951/52

$19.1 million Sotheby's NY, May 2008

*11. Auguste Rodin: "Eve, grand modèle", c.1885

$18.97 million Christie's NY, May 2008

"Eve, grand modèle-version sans rocher" by Auguste Rodin marks one of the great turning points in modern sculpture and was initially conceived in the 1880s for The Gates of Hell

Giovanni Bellini

2009-03-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430 – 1516) is considered to be the founder of the Venetian school of painting. Giovanni Bellini, son of Jacopo Bellini, brother of Gentile Bellini and brother-in-law of Andrea Mantegna, was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known from the Bellini family of painters. Giovanni Bellini, is considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it towards a more sensuous and colouristic style through the use of clear, slow-drying oil paints and the creation of deep, rich tints and detailed shadings. Giovanni Bellini's sumptuous coloring and fluent, atmospheric landscapes had a great effect on his contamporary colleagues, especially on his pupils Giorgione and Titian.

"Naked Young Woman in Front of the Mirror" by Giovanni Bellini
Bellini's first female nude, painted when he was about 85 years old.

Up until the age of nearly thirty Giovanni Bellini's paintings display a religious feeling and human pathos which is his own. Executed in the old tempera method, the Biblical scenes are softened by a new and beautiful effect of romantic sunrise color. Unfortunately, many of Giovanni Bellini's great public works are now lost.

After 1479-1480 Giovanni Bellini worked as conservator of the paintings in the great hall of Palazzo Ducale. Besides repairing and renewing the works of his predecessors he was commissioned to paint a number of new subjects, illustrations of the part played by Venice in the wars of Frederick Barbarossa and the pope. These works, executed with much interruption and delay, were the object of universal admiration while they lasted, but not a trace of them survived the fire of 1577.

"The Madonna of the Meadow" by Giovanni Bellini

Fortunately many of Giovanni Bellini's altar-pieces with figures and simple Madonnas, have been preserved. Bellini gradually throws off the last restraints of the Quattrocento manner and gradually acquires a complete mastery of the new oil medium. Giovanni Bellini's method of using oil paint brought not only a greater maturity but an individual style, achieving a certain richness by layering colors in new and varied ways. The old intensity of pathetic and devout feeling gradually fades away and gives place to a noble, if more worldly, serenity, sweetness and charm. Bellini's saints gain in power, presence and individuality. In his later work Bellini achieved a unique religious and emotional unity of expression.

"Madonna with saints" (1505) by Giovanni Bellini
Altar painting: oil on wood, transferred to canvas 402 x 273 cm
Church of Saint Zaccaria, Venice

The German painter, Albrecht Dürer, visiting Venice for the second time in 1506, wrote of Giovanni Bellini: "He is very old, and still he is the best painter of them all".

Bellini makes use of religious symbolism through natural elements, such as grapevines and rocks. Yet his most important contribution to art lies in his experimentation with the use of color and oil painting. Both in the artistic and in the worldly sense, the career of Giovanni Bellini was, on the whole, very prosperous. His long career began with Quattrocento styles but matured into the progressive post-Giorgione Renaissance styles. Giovanni Bellini raised Venice to a center of Renaissance art that rivaled Florence and Rome. He brought to painting a new degree of realism, a new wealth of subject matter, and a new sensuousness in form and color.

"The Feast of the Gods" (c. 1514) by Giovanni Bellini
Completed by his disciple, Titian, 1529
National Gallery of Art, Washington

Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings

2009-03-07T02:57:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Most Expensive Photographs

The world's most famous paintings, especially works done before 1800, are generally owned by museums, which very rarely sell them, and as such, they are quite literally priceless. Guinness World Records lists the Mona Lisa as having the highest insurance value for a painting in history. It was assessed at US$100 million on December 14, 1962, before the painting toured the U.S. for several months. However, the Louvre chose to spend the money that would have been spent on the insurance premium on security instead. Taking inflation into account, the 1962 value would be approximately US$670 million in 2006.

This is a list of the most expensive paintings ever sold:

1. JACKSON POLLOCK: "Number 5, 1948", 1948

$140 million

Private sale, 2006. Seller: David Geffen. Buyer: David Martínez (claimed)

Right now, this stunning "drip" by Jackson Pollock is the most expensive painting ever sold, though the stunning price is still not confirmed (but also not denied). The exorbitant sum demonstrates not only the strenght of the Art market, but also the increasing interest for the contemporary works of Art.

2. WILLEM DE KOONING: "Woman III", 1952-53

$137.5 million

Private sale, 2006. Seller: David Geffen. Buyer: Steven Cohen

Pollock the first. De Kooning second. The inmediate conclusion is that the american abstract expressionism has displaced the impressionism as the most sought-after Art period. This painting is the only "Woman" by Willem de Kooning still in private hands. One of this women -described by T. Hess as "black goddesses"- has been chosen by theartwolf.com as one of the 50 masterworks of the history of painting.

3. GUSTAV KLIMT: "Adele Bloch-bauer I", 1907

$135 million

Private sale, 2006. Buyer: Ronald Lauder.

The acquisition of this iconic work by cosmetic magnate Ronald Lauder caused a shock in the Art world, not only for the spectacular sum paid for it, but also for the way it was sold, far away from the noisy auction houses. The painting was part of a group of five canvases recently returned to the heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. The Nazis confiscated his paintings during the World War II, and after the war, the canvases were placed at the National Gallery of Austria in 1948.

4. PABLO PICASSO: "Garçon a la pipe", 1904

$104.1 million

Sotheby's New York , May 2004. Buyer: anonymous

The sale of this young smoker was a milestone in the Art auctions world. First, it's still the most expensive painting ever sold at auction (the case of the Klimt is a private sale). But it also broke the record that Vincent van Gogh held since 1990, and it was the first time that the $100 million barrier was broken. Although the name of the buyer was not revealed, some sources says that it could be Guido Barilla, the Italian pasta magnate.

5. PABLO PICASSO: "Dora Maar au chat", 1941

$95.2 million

Sotheby's New York , May 2006. Buyer: anonymous

Dora Maar (1907-1997) met Picasso in 1930, and their sentimental relation lasts until 1946. A native from Paris , grown in Argentina and fluent in Spanish, Maar was one of Picasso's favourite models. This painting, measuring 130- 97 cm , was recently rediscovered and authenticated by Picasso's daughter, Maya Widmaier Picasso. You can read theArtWolf's article informing about this sale in this link.

6.GUSTAV KLIMT: "Adele Bloch-bauer II ", 1912

$87.9 million

Christie's New York , November 2006. Buyer: unknown

Sold only a few months later than Klimt's first version of Adele, this extremely appealing canvas was the star lot in a highly succesful auction in which four works by Klimt -including this- totalled a stunning $192 million

7. FRANCIS BACON: "Triptych 1976"

$86.3 million

Sotheby's New York , May 2008. Buyer: European private

Francis Bacon is one of the most sought-after names in the Art market, and this work easily surpassed its impressive $70 million estimate

8. VINCENT VAN GOGH: "Portrait of Doctor Gachet", 1890

$82.5 million

Christie's New York , May 1990. Buyer: Ryoei Saito

The story about this famous and brilliant work resumes by itself the "Japanese buyer boom" on the late 80s and early 90s: great painting, sold for an astronomic amount of money to a Japanese buyer (Ryoei Saito), who was later ruined, and the whereabouts of the painting are now unknown. Some sources places it in Europe , waiting for its return to the Art market

9. JASPER JOHN: "False Start", 1959

$80 million

Private sale, Autumn 2006. Buyer: Unknown

This iconic work by Johns, sold by David Geffen, is the second highest price ever paid for work by a contemporary artist

10. PIERRE AUGUSTE RENOIR: "Le moulin de la Galette", 1876

$78.1 million

Sotheby's New York , May 1990. Buyer: Ryoei Saito

Another victim of the Japanese "buy it and forget it" boom was this masterpiece by Renoir, the little sister of the version now in the Orsay. As the previous painting, it was bought by Ryoei Saito for $78.1 million at Sotheby's, 1990, and sold in 1997 to a "European private collector" for $50 million

Photoshop Brush Tutorials

2009-03-06T12:21:00.000-08:00

There are essentially unlimited options when working with brushes in Photoshop. Some of this tutorials cover the basic uses and functionality of brushes, some tutorials will teach you various ways to create your own custom brushes, and some will help you to develop your skills by using them as an integral part of a design.

Managing Your Brushes and Brush Libraries in Photoshop
Once you’ve downloaded and created a number of brushes, managing and organizing them will become more important.

Rotating Brushes in Photoshop Tutorial
A simple way to rotate any brush to fit your needs.

Photoshop Brush Tutorial: Shape Dynamics - Size Controls
This tutorial looks at the basics of working with brushes and how size control can impact your results.

Define Brush Photoshop Tutorial
A simple tutorial for getting started with creating and working with brushes.

Custom Photoshop Brushes Tutorial
A quick tutorial to help you create your first brushes in minutes.

Funky Web Design Layout Tutorial
Create a layout using several different brushes for the header.

How to Install Photoshop Brushes Tutorial
Knowing how to install brushes is a basic, but necessary, skill.

Creating Your Own Custom Adobe Photoshop Brushes
A nice tutorial for creating useful brushes from public domain images.

Fire Brushes: Photoshop Tutorial
Using brushes can be a quick way to create excellent fire effects.

Adobe Photoshop Brush Dynamics Tutorial
This tutorial will show you how to get the most out of simple brushes.

Create Photoshop Brushes for Coffee Stains and Splatters
Use real coffee stains and a scanner to create effective brushes.

Creating Your Own “Dirt” Brush in Photoshop Tutorial
An easy way to create a grungy, dirt brush.

Building a Lego Bricks Photoshop Brushes Set
A fun way to work with brushes and Lego shapes.

Creating Grunge Brushes In Photoshop Tutorial
Veerle shows us some simple techniques to create impressive results.

Creating Your Own Grunge Brushes in Photoshop
Get a trendy grunge look by making your own brushes.

Design a Grungy Web Layout in Photoshop Tutorial
A real-world example of brushes in action while creating a layout with Photoshop.

Advanced Brush Techniques in Photoshop
Go beyond the basics with some of these techniques.

Photoshop Brush Tutorial on deviantART
Learn how to quickly create stunning light effects.

How to Make a Photoshop Brushes Tutorial
Bittbox’s tutorial for creating brushes.

Create Eye-Popping Graphics with Photoshop Brushes
This tutorial from SitePoint shows a few different styles that can be created by using brushes.

Stroke Text with a Brush in Photoshop Tutorial
A simple way to add some life to text, with plenty of possibilities.

Grunge Type Photoshop Tutorial
Creating Grunge-style text is easy with the help of brushes.

Master the Brush in Photoshop
Learn more about various aspects of working with brushes.

Create Custom Photoshop Brush from a Photo Tutorial
Learn how to create awesome brushes straight from a photograph.

Lighting Effects in Photoshop
This tutorial from Digital Arts makes heavy use of brushes.

Photoshop Brush Tutorial
This tutorial shows how to create a brush from a texture image.

Photoshop Brush Tutorial
See several different possible effects that can be created with brushes.

Add a Sparkle Trail to a Photo Tutorial
Use a sparkly brush to enhance a photo.

Really Cool Eclipse Effect in Photoshop
Fabio shows that brushes can even be used for creating an eclipse.

Create Cool Watercolor Effects in Photoshop
Several different brushes are used here to create the watercolor effect.

Amazing Photoshop Light Effect in 10 Steps
Brushes can be used to create sparkling light effects.

Create a Space Explosion from Scratch in Photoshop
Brushes are used here to create the debris in the explosion.

Easily Create a Beautiful, Unique Website Header in Photoshop
Brushes are used for creating the lighting effects on this header.

Abstract Dust and Spray Effect Using Photoshop Brushes
Using brushes to create this abstract effect.

Andreas Gursky, King of Photographers

2009-03-06T06:10:00.000-08:00

Andreas Gursky (1955, Leipzig, Germany) is the photographer that holds the record for highest price paid at auction for a single photographic image ("99 Cent II, Diptych", sold in 2007 for GBP 1.7 million (USD $3.3 million) at Sotheby's, London.). Andreas Gursky is also known for his enormous architecture and landscape color photographs, often employing a high point of view. Andreas Gursky makes large-scale photographs distinctive for their critical look at the effect of globalisation and capitalism on contemporary everyday life.

Andreas Gursky's Early Life

Andreas Gursky, the son of a commercial photographer, grew up in Düsseldorf where he learned the tricks of the trade before he had finished high school. In the early 1980s, at Germany's State Art Academy, the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Gursky studied under Hilla and Bernd Becher, a photographic team known for their distinctive, dispassionate method of systematically cataloging industrial machinery and architecture. Andreas Gursky also studied under the British landscape photographer John Davies, whose highly detailed high vantage point images had a strong effect on the street level photographs Andreas Gursky was then making, and under the American photographer Joel Sternfeld. So one might say that Andreas Gursky learned photography three times.

Andreas Gursky's work in 1990's

After the middle of 1990's, Andreas Gursky started to rely on computers to edit and enhance his photographs, creating an art of spaces larger than the subjects photographed. Andreas Gursky's pictures are vast, splashy, entertaining and literally unbelievable. The critic Calvin Tomkins described Gursky as one of the "two masters" of the "Düsseldorf" school. Andreas Gursky’s world of the 1990s is big, high-tech, fast-paced, expensive, and global. Within it, the anonymous individual is but one among many.

Andreas Gursky's work in the 21th century

In pursuit of this project, Andreas Gursky expanded his scope of operations from Düsseldorf and its surroundings to an international itinerary that has taken him to Hong Kong, Cairo, New York, Brasil, Tokyo, Stockholm, Singapore, Chicago, Athens, Paris and Los Angeles, among other places.

Andreas Gursky´s early themes of Sunday leisure and local tourism gave way to enormous industrial plants, apartment buildings, hotels, high-rise facades at night, office lobbies and warehouses. Family outings and hiking trips were replaced by the Olympics, a cross-country marathon involving hundreds of skiers, the German parliament, the trading floors of international stock exchanges, alluring displays of brand-name goods, and midnight techno music raves attended by casts of thousands.

Tomkins described in 2001, the experience of confronting one of Andreas Gursky's large works: "The first time I saw photographs by Andreas Gursky...I had the disorienting sensation that something was happening—happening to me, I suppose, although it felt more generalized than that. Gursky's huge, panoramic color prints—some of them up to six feet high by ten feet long—had the presence, the formal power, and in several cases the majestic aura of nineteenth-century landscape paintings, without losing any of their meticulously detailed immediacy as photographs. Their subject matter was the contemporary world, seen dispassionately and from a distance."

Painting: The Glorious Art of Colours

2009-03-06T01:09:00.000-08:00

Painting is an aesthetic representation of the imaginative mindset of a painter. This form of art exerted tremendous influence on the society since its inception several thousand years ago. Painters are like alchemists who can make formidable creations intermingling colors on a piece of canvas.

It is through painting that artists of all ages portray the conditions of the mainstream society, the various ethos, culture and traditions. A painting can best reveal the good and evil of the everyday life and urge the common people to be good in thought and action so that the society becomes beautiful and beneficial to the mankind.

Originated as a creative pastime as cave depictions by our early ancestors, painting has undergone several alterations with time. The history of painting clearly indicates the various transformations of paintings from cave paintings to watercolor paintings and oil paintings.

The use of colors and shades are very important in painting. As a melodious music is not possible to originate without appropriate rhythm similarly a painting does not get life without perfect shades. Painting is a spontaneous manifestation of the true self of an artist; it speaks out his heart through the tinges of colors.

The Renaissance period (14th C to 17th C) is perhaps the golden period of arts and paintings in Europe. Renaissance classicism imparted a realistic touch to the paintings. The painters had good concepts on light, shadow and human anatomy and this made their art more appealing and communicative.

Luminaries like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael stirred the world through their world-class paintings during this time. Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is a painting unsurpassed down the ages.

With the establishment of various schools and movements of arts emerged the various theories on arts like abstract expressionism, art deco, constructivism, cubism, impressionism, modernism, neo-classicism, post modernism, romanticism and surrealism.

These gave birth to various painting forms like abstract paintings, figurative paintings, landscape paintings, collages, calligraphy and digital paintings. To an artist a painting is the enlivening of his soul on the canvas that transgresses all theories and echoes the great words of Keats – “Beauty Truth, Truth Beauty’.

Source:

Top 10 Most Expensive Photographs

2009-03-05T02:01:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings

This is a list of the most expensive photographs by auction price. What makes this ten photographs the most expensive ones in the world, will probably remain forever a mistery .

1. Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent II Diptychon (2001), $3,346,456, February, 2007, Sotheby's London auction. This was the third time the photograph had sold for more than $2 million. It was not only the most expensive photography ever sold, but also almost triplicated the auction record for a contemporary photography. Another print of the same image was sold for $2.25 million in May, 2006, and yet another print had reached $2.48 million just six months later.

2. Edward Steichen, The Pond-Moonlight (1904), $2,928,000, February 2006, Sotheby's New York auction.

3. Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy) (1989), $1,248,000, November 2005, Christie's New York auction.

4. Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, 113.Athènes, Temple de Jupiter olympien pris de l'est (1842) $922,488, 2003, auction.

5. Gustave Le Gray, The Great Wave, Sete (1857) $838,000, 1999.

6. Robert Mapplethorpe, Andy Warhol (1987) $643,200, 2006.

7. Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico (1948) $609,600, Sotheby's New York auction, 2006.

8. Andreas Gursky, Untitled 5 (1997) $559,724, 6 February 2002.

9. Gustave Le Gray, Tree (1855), $513,150, 1999.

10. Diane Arbus, Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, 1967 (1967) $478,400, 27 April 2004.

Painting Tips For Beginners

2009-03-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

The play of color in a canvas is what can be called as painting. A good painting is an intellectual self-expression of its creator. It requires great aesthetic sense, artistic concepts and creative power to lay down a painting. Various schools of arts have established different theories on paintings.Tips on painting are simple and general guidelines that may help to create various forms of paintings. The amateur painters and the beginners can put a glance on the painting tips before trying their hand out. Our online art gallery will also entertain you with some of the finest paintings in the world. Drop in and get spoilt with choices.

While sketching the under-painting use light pencil or thin acrylic or oil as the base. Under-painting is just the foundation of your painting; so do not thicken it with dark tones. At first try to apply thin and light touches and then cover them up with thick layers. Put your colors on the palette and apply coats using a paintbrush. After application of the first coat let dry and then start applying the second coat.

In case of watercolor painting you can use wet cotton pieces to remove the excess paint from an unwanted area. In case of oil painting you can wipe out a layer by using oil varnish. Be very careful while preparing the mixture of paints and oil in an oil painting. Improper mixture may crack up the painting. You can use colors having lead or manganese in them, as these enhance the drying process. Do not dry oil painting in the absence of sunlight.

Color and tone are the most important aspects of painting. It is very necessary to understand the visual effect of each shade of colors. Red, green and blue are the primary colors. These colors can create other shades of colors when blended in appropriate portions. If you are not very used to mixing shades then use particular shades that you are acquainted to.

If you are hesitant about how a specific color will look in a particular area then put the color on the palette knife and hold it near the place where you want it to apply and check out how it appears to be. While painting concentrate on your object and try to think it in terms of its dimension that is its shape, size, length, breadth and height. Work on every part of the painting simultaneously. Visualize your painting half closing your eyes from a distance at frequent intervals to get a better perception.

Painting Tips provided by Ethnic Paintings

Melanie Delon's fantastic digital art

2009-03-04T06:29:00.001-08:00

Melanie Delon creates enigmatic fantasy portraits, each with their own rich mythologies. Melanie creates otherworldly portraits that are mysterious and often emotionally charged.

Images with titles such as Madness and Lost in the Darkness show her attempts to try to capture the power of these feelings on a digital canvas. “I try to re-transcribe what I am feeling when I have an idea, and to paint them I often contrast colours,” she says. But not all of Melanie’s paintings deal with such morbid subjects – images like Boheme and Sucre d’Orge show she has a much lighter side. “They are all a part of me,” she says, “kind of like a puzzle.”

Melanie Delon was born in 1980 in France and she's been drawing ever since... but on paper. Melanie Delon studied archeology and history of arts and she went to a gamedesign school for 2 years. Melanie Delon discovered Photoshop in 2005, but rather than seeking professional training or reading manuals, she learned entirely through experimentation. “It wasn’t easy at first, I didn’t know which way to go, but I kept on working and working, and the more I painted the more I tried to surpass my last work while learning new things,” Melanie Delon says. Like many fantasy artists, Melanie Delon is an avid reader and she draws on literary references from Philip K Dick, Tolkien and obviously Terry Pratchett. “Some drawings are inspired by music, other drawings, movies and everyday situations. All my characters have their own stories – it helps me to create them and to give them life,” Melanie Delon muses.

Read all Melanie Delon's profile on ImagineFX or visit Melanie Delon 's webpage.

Digital Photography Resources and Books

2009-03-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

The Art of Photographing Nature
The first how-to book by Art Wolfe, America's most renowned nature photographer, written in collaboration with the former photography editor of Audubon magazine. Together, they help everyone from novice to experienced amateur to see like a photography professional. Full-color photographs.

John Shaw's Landscape Photography

An acclaimed nature photographer teaches that producing good photos means knowing how to control the tools of photography: camera equipment, lenses, film, light, and exposure. This guide covers the basics of photography and discusses the common problems and solutions in landscape work. 190 full-color illustrations.

John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide
Nature Photography is a book with extraordinarily beautiful photographs of nature contains state-of-the-art instruction on how any photographer can aim for equally impressive results every time a camera is focused on the great outdoors.

Creative Digital Photography
Covering more than 50 separate topics, this book demonstrates everything from simple manipulations such as removing minor flaws or background distractions to advanced techniques of layering and combining elements from a variety of sources.

Posing Techniques for Photographing Model Portfolios
“Simple tricks of the trade will enable you to bring out the best in every subject. This comprehensive book will quickly prove its worth.” —Shutterbug

Wedding Photography: Creative Techniques for Lighting, Posing, and Marketing
"Wedding Photography" provides tips and techniques for the beginning wedding photographer as well as for professionals seeking to refine their techniques and expand their business.

Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories
Professional wedding photographer Glen Johnson knows there's a huge difference between being able to take good pictures and being a good wedding photographer. In this exquisite, full-color book, Glen dispenses sage advice and solutions for taking impressive digital wedding images - posed or candid, in any weather, in any setting, at any locale.

A Lark Photography Book
It’s the latest and hottest technique, made possible only through digital. High Dynamic Range photography is the process of taking several pictures of a scene at various exposures, then merging them into one file.

Photography Secrets

Joe McNally, one of the world’s top pro digital photographers, whose celebrated work has graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, Time, and National Geographic (to name a few), breaks new ground by doing something no photography book has ever done—blending the rich, stunning images and elegant layout of a coffee-table book with the invaluable training, no-nonsense insights, and photography secrets usually found only in those rare, best-of-breed educational books.

The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital PhotosThis is the most complete volume on this subject out there in terms of numbers of topics introduced and discussed at a reasonable length. It is also the most effective melding of the insights of current Gestalt perception theory with traditional design elements/principles in print.

How to Shoot Great Photographs

For serious amateur photographers who already shoot perfectly focused, accurately exposed images but want to be more creative with a camera, here’s the book to consult. More than seventy techniques, both popular and less-familiar approaches, are covered in detail, including advanced exposure, bounced flash and candlelight, infrared, multiple images, soft-focus effects, unusual vantage points, zooming, and other carefully chosen ways to enhance photographs.

The Digital Photography Book

Scott Kelby, the man who changed the "digital darkroom" forever with his groundbreaking, #1 bestselling, award-winning book The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers, now tackles the most important side of digital photography--how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today's top digital pros use (and it's easier than you'd think).

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2

In Digital Photography Volume 2, Scott adds entirely new chapters packed with Plain English tips on using flash, shooting close up photography, travel photography, shooting people, and even how to build a studio from scratch, where he demystifies the process so anyone can start taking pro-quality portraits today! Includs loads of tips for landscape photographers, wedding photographers and pro's secrets.

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3
The Digital Photography Book Volume 3 follows in the footsteps of the wildly successful first and second volumes of this series, giving photographers nearly two hundred more closely guarded photographic to get them shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos with their digital camera every time they press the shutter button.

Elena Bissinger's Flowers Of Life

2009-03-03T03:16:00.000-08:00

Elena Bissinger's paintings are full of life. The colours are so well chosen that you can even breath the scented air that sorrounds Elena's flowers. Elena Bissinger paints innocent pieces of nature untouched by the negative part of the human soul and I really like the end result.

Elena Bissinger born on 2th January 1964 in Beius(BH) - Romania, is member of the Association of Fine Arts Artists in Oradea, completed her artistic studies to Art School 'Francisc Hubic' and graduate Visual Arts University in Oradea, has paintings in private collections from all the world and group - personal exhibitions in Romania, Germany, Netherlands and Hungary.

Andrew Jevremovic´s Sculptures

2009-03-01T08:48:00.000-08:00

Andrew Jevremovic's sculptures made out of steel and stone sugest at the same time force and sensibility. Jevremovic´s sculptures are like a hermafroditus, combining the two poles of the human nature into harmonious pieces of art.

Andrew Jevremovic finished his studies in 1983 at Alfred University, School of Fine Arts, B.F.A in sculpture (with honors) and since then he had numerous exibitions, publications and received two awards.