 The 17th Annual LA Art Show kicks off Wednesday night with the Opening Night Premier Party, benefiting The Art of Elysium and the education department at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Hosted by David Arquette, this is an evening that celebrates creativity, diversity, and charity. You can learn more and purchase your tickets to this exciting event here. The LA Art Show runs Thursday, January 19 through Sunday, January 22 and unites top galleries from around the world, with daring and innovative work from contemporary artists and thinkers. With a focus on the immediate past, as well as modern trends for the present and future, the show exhibits performance pieces, mixed media, photography, painting, and more. Learn more by visiting the LA Art Show website at: http://www.laartshow.com/index_laas.html. | "A good painting is the result of good planning,” —Daniel K. Tennant Like many artists, Daniel K. Tennant believes when you approach a new piece, “it is good thinking to sketch the idea on a piece of paper the same size as the surface you'll be painting on.” When you do this you leave nothing to chance, which can ensure better results when you have finished. Daniel references the great American illustrator, Norman Rockwell , whom he says mapped out every square-inch of his compositions before he applied any paint. “I agree with him that a painting is difficult enough without having to compound the process by making design decisions while painting.” Dan is also quick to point out that you should not limit yourself by this process. “It’s not a straight jacket! Some of the greatest paintings ever created have been changed during the painting process—as x-rays have shown—but usually the adjustments were simply a bit of fine-tuning here and there.” Finally, Dan suggests drawing or sketching the entire painting might make the process more enjoyable. While there are no specific rules for how you must approach your work, remember to try and finish each piece. You can always go back, make a few tweaks here and there, or start over from the beginning. Remember to have fun, be creative, and never stop believing in your talent!
Below is a sampling of Daniel's recent work:
"Early Morning Mist"
Gouache on museum board
11"x14", 2011
"A Syracuse University Still Life"
Gouache on museum board
36"x37", 2011
"Still Life With Large Lobster"*
Gouache on museum board
26"x34", 2006
*This painting was voted the "Most Popular" painting at the 2010 National Exhibition of American Watercolors in Old Forge New York.
"The Artist's Magazine" has called this show one of the top ten juried watercolor shows in the country. In the four times Daniel has entered the show, his paintings have won the most popular vote every time!
| Young cancer patients face many harrowing challenges that often prevent them from enjoying typical, carefree childhoods. The Children’s Art Project serves as a way to raise funds for programs that make life a little better for children diagnosed with cancer . The project began in 1973 at the University of Texas MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital in Houston when a volunteer suggested creating Christmas cards from a child’s artwork. Since then it has grown into an international, multimillion-dollar business that funds summer camps, ski trips, alternative therapies, college scholarships, and other programs for cancer patients. Patients participating in weekly art classes funded by the project’s proceeds create the designs and images that serve as the basis for gift cards, calendars, clothing, and other items. These popular products are sold online and in more than 2,000 retail outlets. Last year the program funded $1.25 million in programs for the hospital’s patients. To learn more or view available products, visit www.childrensart.org. 
This iPhone case is just one
of the many products available
from the Children's Art Project.
| New reality show invites you into the colorful world
of surf artist Drew Brophy At first, Drew Brophy didn?t want his own television show, but after a little nudging from Maria Brophy, his promoter, manager, and wife of 11 years, he agreed to share his unique brand of eclectic surf art with, potentially, millions of viewers. What sets The Paint Shop apart from the onslaught of reality television currently dominating the airwaves, however, is Drew?s educational approach, colorful designs, and surfer attitude. That and there?s no drama?the main ingredient in most other reality shows. ?We keep the negative drama out of it,? says Maria. ?The downside is that our ratings will never be as high as Jersey Shore, but we want to show people that they can design a lifestyle where they are doing what they love for a living. We want people to see that it?s possible!? And this wave-riding couple is doing just that. Along with their 9-year-old son, Dylan, the Brophys live and work in the beautiful seaside town of San Clemente, California, where the majority of the show is shot. From his studio, Drew walks viewers through some of his more interesting commissioned projects?from initial design to finished work of art. Whether he?s painting screamin? skulls on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle or installing abstract art in a hotel, he?s having a blast?and rockin? out while he?s doing it. But the best part of the show is seeing the customers? enthusiastic reactions when they first see how Drew has transformed their humdrum surfboard or bike helmet into a colorful work of art that?s sure to get noticed. After all, the Brophys are in the business of making people happy. The fourth episode of The Paint Shop will begin airing in a couple of weeks, and Maria says it?s the ?most colorful one yet!? In this episode, Drew and tattoo artist Mark Longnecker take a street-art tour of Los Angeles, paint the exteriors of some vans alongside a few famous graffiti artists, and complete the show with a tattoo demonstration. Maria said the show has opened a lot of doors for Drew?s business. They currently are in discussions with some major television networks and hope to see the show broadcast nationally in the near future. For now, The Paint Shop can be viewed locally in Southern California or online. Visit http://www.thepaintshop.tv for air times.  Drew, Maria,
and Dylan Brophy in
front of their
?Dream Machine.? Photo (c) Michael R. Foley. |  Faded pictures in a yearbook, an old family photo, a tattered teddy bear high up on a closet shelf: These are the possessions that evoke childhood memories of family and friends—the roots from which a life sprung into existence. We often ponder these memories when we think about who we are and how far we have come. But what if these things never were? For millions of orphans living in developing nations around the world, fading memories serve as the only link to their impoverished upbringing. They often leave the orphanage and go into the world without one photo or keepsake from their childhood.
In 2003, while volunteering at a Guatemalan orphanage, graduate student Ben Schumaker met a man who had grown up in an orphanage himself. He told Ben that he had not one photo, not one trinket—nothing from his childhood to remember it by. The man then suggested that Ben help the children in the orphanage where he volunteered by giving them something that would help contribute to their sense of identity—something they could look at years later to remember a time in their childhood. This conversation inspired Ben to organize The Memory Project. It started as a low-budget endeavor run out of a bedroom in his parents’ home in Madison, Wisconsin. Ben would invite a few high schools to ask their students to paint portraits from photographs of orphans, and he would ask a few orphanages to receive the portraits. It was Ben’s hope that receiving the portraits would be special for the children—an event they would remember fondly in the future when they looked upon the paintings. Today, The Memory Project collaborates with art students in the US, UK, and Canada to bring individual hand-painted portraits to thousands of disadvantaged children the world over. After CBS Evening News aired a story on The Memory project in 2006, hundreds of requests from art teachers who wanted to participate in the program started rolling in from all over the country. Since the program’s inception in 2004, more than 30,000 portraits have been painted and delivered to children in 33 countries. But participation isn’t limited to art students. “There are actually many individual artists involved in the project…people who sign up to make one, two, three, or more portraits on their own or as part of a group they organized for the cause,” Ben said in an email to Walter Foster. Each participant is supplied with a photograph of a disadvantage child to use as a reference for a portrait that they will paint. Children who take part in The Memory Project receive several portraits made by different artists. This helps to provide them with a sense of identity and it gives them something that is uniquely theirs. But the orphans aren’t the only ones who benefit from the experience—the art students gain a greater sense of social awareness from connecting to the impoverished children on such a personal level. Many art teaches whose students participate in the program have testified to the profound impact it has had on their classrooms.  While many orphans in Nicaragua, Uganda, El Salvador, and other parts of the world don’t have doting parents snapping photographs at birthday parties and graduations, thanks to Ben, they do have an original painting of their likeness. A painting that they can look at for years, fondly remembering the day in their childhood when they received their very own portrait.
For more information on The Memory Project and to learn how you can help, visit thememoryproject.org. Note: The information contained in this blog was taken directly from The Memory Project Website and an interview with Ben Schumaker at help-portrait.com. | Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode had a unique solution to the rampant graffiti that was decimating his city back in 1984: Give the vandals a positive way to channel their creativity.
The Anti-Graffiti Network was born. It hired muralist Jane Golden to reach out to those responsible for defacing Philadelphia’s buildings and alleyways and encourage them to decorate the urban landscape with organized murals instead. Golden successfully forged a relationship with the graffiti community and gave its members opportunities to take part in creating expansive murals that beautified their neighborhoods.
Since its inception, this grassroots program—now called the Mural Arts Program—has contributed to more than 3,000 murals adorning the city of Philadelphia. These murals created by at-risk youth convey Philadelphia’s history, character, and notable figures. Philadelphian citizens and neighborhoods submit many of the mural themes by way of an online request form. According to Rueters news agency, Golden said that only a half dozen of the murals have been defaced to date.
Today the program has expanded to local prisons and rehabilitation centers as well, furthering its mission to save lives with art. More than 300 inmates and 200 juveniles receive instruction from the Mural Arts Restorative Justice program every year. Inmates, ex-cons, and juvenile offenders are afforded the opportunity to learn new skills, repair any damage they may have imposed, and contribute to their communities. By way of art, the program gives a voice to many who otherwise feel at odds with the community.
The Mural Project is currently painting one of the largest murals in the country. Slated for completion this June, “How Philly Moves” will reach 75 feet tall and span a half-mile wide, greeting travelers as they arrive at the Philadelphia International Airport.
Visitors to Philadelphia have a variety of mural tours from which to choose, including walking tours, mobile-phone tours, bike tours, trolley tours, and themed tours. The Love Letter Train Tour takes tourists by 50 romantic murals, the Ale & Arts Adventure Tour serves as both a mural and a brewery tour, and the African American Iconic Images Collection Train Tour includes murals of such figures as Malcolm X, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Jackie Robinson.
Note: The information contained in this blog was taken directly from the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program website.
 Mural painted on a wall on the south side of Philadelphia. Photo Christian Carollo. | Opening the doors of acclaimed museums around the world to anyone with Internet accessAfter 18 months of collaborating with some of the world’s most highly acclaimed art museums, the search engine giant Google unveiled Art Project yesterday. Not only does this new website allow visitors to view more than a thousand artworks in high resolution, but it allows them to take virtual tours of the participating museums, as well.
Art lovers will no longer have to travel to New York City to peruse the halls of its Metropolitan Museum of Art; they will no longer need to plan an excursion to Europe to see the Palace of Versailles or Amsterdam’s van Gogh Museum. With the click of a mouse and an Internet connection, anyone can admire the classic, famous, and awe-inspiring works of art contained within the walls of these museums.
Guests can travel from room to room inside the 17 featured museums and galleries using Google’s Street View technology. Unfortunately, some of the works of art are blurred for copyright reasons, and images of other works are less than clear, even when the virtual guest is “standing” right in front of them.
But use the site’s View Artwork option, and many of the works can be viewed in high resolution, with the ability to zoom in to see fine details—even brush strokes. With another click of the mouse, a visitor can learn the history behind and media used to create any particular piece, along with viewing notes, size, and other important specifications.
Is zooming in and out of a high-resolution image of a painting on your computer screen any match to physically standing before it and taking it in? Maybe not. But some may argue that it’s better than never seeing it at all.
Art Project Head, Amit Sood, stated in a press release that the collaborators hope the new site “will be a fascinating resource for art-lovers, students, and casual museum goers alike—inspiring them to one day visit the real thing.”Visit: http://www.googleartproject.com/  The Bedroom is just one of 30 pieces from the van Gogh Museum that can be viewed in high resolution. | Online art gallery aims to help emerging artist promote their work and build their resumesJohn R. Math knows it takes a lot of work for an artist to build up his or her resume—especially to build it up to the point where it is taken seriously by gallery owners and art representatives. Before John was able to successfully sell his work through galleries, he participated in many art shows, exhibitions, and competitions. "There must be an easier way," he thought. He searched for other, easier ways for emerging artists to introduce their work into the world, but found nothing. It is for this reason he began operating Light Space & Time, an online art gallery that runs monthly competitions and notifies gallery owners and other art world decision makers of the winning entries via email. Winners are also promoted to news and press release outlets, which can ultimately help to create more traffic to the artists' websites. This month's competition is "Seascapes," and entries must be in by January 29, 2011. Both amateur and professional artists are welcome to enter any form of two-dimensional art or photography. There is a $15 fee per five entries. Simply upload images to the gallery's website. The information in this blog post was taken directly from the Light Space & Time website. For more information go to: http://www.lightspacetime.com/ | When I reminisce about the best gifts that I have received over the years, I don’t think about clothes and jewelry, or about gadgets and appliances. I think about the gifts that were crafted with love and care—the gifts that were made with me in mind, and that will always serve as a reminder of the people who gave them to me.
Last year my holiday budget was smaller than usual, so I decided that instead of buying the women in my family expensive gifts for the holidays, I would put a new hobby to the test and make them jewelry out of beads and wire. I have always struggled with what to buy for my little sister—no matter what I put under the tree, it never seems to bring a believable smile to her face. The previous year’s gift was the worst—a Belgium waffle maker when she had just started a carb-free diet. But last year I gave her handmade earrings, and she wears them all the time. It was not only the most inexpensive gift I had ever given her, but also her favorite.
A similar revelation came to me before my wedding this last September. My soon-to-be mother–in-law threw me an amazing bridal shower. The gifts were piled high and ranged from practical to luxurious. But the gift I received that I will treasure the most was not an item I had listed on my registry, nor was it the most expensive. It was a stained-glass heart made by my aunt that contained my and my fiancé’s initials. She couldn’t believe I was more excited about her homemade gift than I was about the crystal pitcher she had given me as well—but I was. It was special in a way that nothing from a department store could ever be.
Now that the holidays are approaching once again, I am heading to the art supply store instead of the mall. This year everyone on my gift list will receive an original watercolor painting, not a mass-produced trinket or last-minute gift card. And of course, I am including with their gifts, a collection of Walter Foster books and kits, in the hopes that next year I might get something just as special in return.
As a special thanks to all of the aspiring artists out there, we are offering 40% off any online purchase this holiday season. (See the coupon below.)
| How to make the move from amateur hobbyist to professional artist
 There comes a time in the life of every artist when the question is asked: “What's next?” After a few years of painting I had to ask myself, "Where do I want to go with my art?” Do I continue to paint for the shear pleasure of creating something beautiful, or do I want to take it to the next level? Being a stay-at-home mom with four children, my world was pretty limited, but I knew I wanted my art to be more than a hobby. I decided to get my work “out there” by taking some basic steps. This was my “baby steps” plan.
Join Art Associations
Joining an art association is always the first step in getting more exposure. It provides you with opportunities to show your work and get feedback. There is nothing more valuable to your growth as an artist than listening to what people have to say about your work. Their compliments and criticisms (you have to take the good with the bad) can help you take an objective look at what is, and is not, working in your art.
 Find Mentors Try to surround yourself with artists who are more accomplished than you are. Be a sponge—listen to them and learn from their experience. Let their skill and expertise motivate you to push yourself to the next level.
Enter Competitions Broaden your horizons by entering some art competitions. Either go online, or turn to the back pages of you favorite art magazine and you will find a multitude of contests. Not only are these competitions a great experience, but they will add to your resume as well. Although there will be rejection, there will eventually be success! The key is to not give up. Don’t let the small defeats discourage you. Use them as motivation to keep working and improving. As the saying goes, "If you throw enough pasta at the wall, eventually something's going to stick.”
Sell Your Art Try your hand at selling your work. Whether it’s a local art fair or the holiday bazaar at your child's school, you will find a place to sell your work. Nothing fuels the creative fire more than someone willing to pay money for you art. Always remember to start out small. Don't expect someone to shell out $1,000 at a community event. To make your art affordable, try working smaller.
Eat & Breathe Art
Stay motivated and inspired. Visit museums and study the work and techniques of artists you admire. Improve your skills by reading books, taking classes or workshops, and most importantly, by practicing, and practicing, and practicing some more! Always keep a pen and camera nearby. You never know when inspiration will hit. I always seem to get great ideas at two or three o’clock in the morning, or I see a great scene for a painting while I’m waiting for my kids at soccer practice.
Enjoy the Process Most importantly, don’t take yourself too seriously! Learn to enjoy the process. It’s not always about the results. It’s only canvas, paint, or paper. Today's failures may be tomorrow’s success.
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