The Art of Success in the Arts

Art, in all its forms, demands the intrinsic creativity of the human person: an artist. Art is an application of skill, an exercise of the mind, and above all, a demonstration of the patience, drive, and perseverance involved with the manifestation of a wisping, ethereal goal. They say, "Don't go to art school. You will never be successful or make any money doing art for a living!" Yet the very practice of being a successful artist is an art of its own.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."

Vincent Van Gogh
Like any other major life or financial goal, pursuing a career in the arts requires planning, dedication, and sacrifice. Of course, as artists, we are all intimately familiar with these aspects of the practice. How does one then balance the demands of everyday life with the goal of pursuing art as a full time, self-supporting venture?

The Day Job Is Empowering, Not Soul-Crushing
First, one must recognize that supporting oneself with one's art alone is not a measure of success as an artist. In order to make it as an artist, one must let go of the classic image of the starving artist: living solely off of commissions for works, selling wares on sidewalks, in poverty, struggling until they land that one big sale or recognition. In order to honestly and truly practice one's art, basic needs must first be met. Art produced under duress will never be indicative of its full potential nor the great potential of the artist herself. Great art is created by great artists. Working a second job to secure income, housing, nutrition, and essential wellness is perfectly acceptable and often necessary to produce the quality work that will lead to lifelong success, and yes, the ability to live on art alone.
"A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do."

Bob Dylan
Art School is Still an Option
A common epigram among those in film is: "Don't go to film school; go make a film!"
Contrary to popular rumor, a degree in the arts is not a guarantee of years of unemployment or waiting tables. Most art school graduates go on to work in the arts that they have studied, including arts education, nonprofit organizations, graphic or film design, and other work, enjoying a moderate salary not unlike other liberal arts graduates. In addition, the university environment allows for social networking opportunities and lifelong connections one simply cannot gain elsewhere. Taking the time to study traditional techniques allows for self-expansion as an artist who knows himself.

Art school graduates also carry the advantage of internship opportunities not normally extended to the general public, marrying structured education with real-world study that makes for a truly dynamic field artist. This practice is not unlike graduates in other disciplines, such as medical personnel, accountants, business analysts, and educators.
"A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind."

Eugene Ionesco
Success as an artist is at least a little bit of a measure of one's own perspective, and the "day job" further reveals itself as a manifestation of the true dream of the successful artist.

For more information, check out our website http://www.dmdcareerconsulting.com for more information on how to brand yourself for potential employers. DMD & Associates is a premier career search and outplacement firm based in New Orleans.

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9 Hip Options For Filling Your Walls With Art

Have you ever walked into a friend's home and felt a bit envious of their art collection? Maybe they have huge abstract oil paintings, or perhaps a neat collection of photographs or illustrations. If your empty walls feel more like your worst nightmare than a blank canvas, this post's for you. Many people find they have trouble figuring out what to put on their walls, and others just don't know where to look. We've rounded up a list of our favorite online places to find affordable art. With these websites, you'll be able to find something to fill your wall no matter what your style or budget. The greatest thing about online art shopping? It's the perfect way to shop with the whole family! Young kids might not be interested or able to go to local art galleries (where we do recommend trying first) but gather around the computer screen and everyone can have a say, as well as be exposed to great artistic styles.

Here are nine hip options for filling your walls with art:

20 x 200
This website offers a neat idea. Each week, two pieces of art (a photo and a drawing) are featured. The smallest size print of the work is available at the lowest price and the largest batch, and the largest size priced the most and available in the smallest batch. Brilliant, really. With lots of different sizes and price ranges, you'll love all your options.

Tiny Showcase Art
Another website dedicated to bringing affordable art to the masses, each week they choose a new piece of tiny artwork and turn the work into a limited-run print production, with really affordable prices.

Art Wall Online
This site is a virtual display space that exhibits art from independent artists. Art is placed on a virtual wall, and all of it curated by founder Katie Stephenson.

The Beholder
This website is an online gallery that shows and promotes emerging and contemporary artists. While not as affordable as some other online art websites, you can still find some great deals, and always great art.

New Blood Art
This website specializes in artwork by new artists who are still early in their career, meaning you get the chance to buy affordable art from an artist who could very well be famous one day!

Creativity Explored
We love this website because it's affordable art for a good cause. Creativity Explored is a nonprofit arts center for artists with developmental disabilities. Fifty percent of profits from art sales go directly to helping out the artist.

An honorable mention goes to:
Little Paper Planes; the only reason this great website isn't on the above list is because I've just discovered it myself! You'll of course not want to forget about two other online resources that you can sometimes find great affordable art on: Etsy and eBay. If you're in Austin and looking for local art in person first, a great place to start is the Austin Art Garage. Full of the freshest artists in Austin, prices are kept intentionally low so everyday people can invest in art. We recommend doing research in your own city to find a similar place for art.

Jennifer Gruskoff is a screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles. Earlier this year she launched a company called Goodkin http://www.WeAreGoodkin.com a website that focuses on the lifestyle and trends of non-traditional families, where she is currently Editor In-Chief.
http://wearegoodkin.com/article/hip-online-art-resources

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Exhibits Various Works of Art

An art gallery is a space where artists can display their works of art to public. It refers to a series of rooms where various forms of arts are exhibited for public review and sale. In such galleries, the most commonly displayed medium is painting. Besides painting the other forms of art that are showcased in these venues are sculpture, photographs, illustrations etc. Although it is focussed on such applied arts but it also hosts other activities related to art such as music and poetry.

The art gallery can be classified into private and public galleries. In the public art galleries, a limited and selected collection of art is displayed to the public. Whereas, the private galleries or contemporary art galleries refers to a private-profit-motive intended for the sale of art. Private art galleries agglomerate in urban areas. But, both art galleries carry a common objective i.e to promote art and encourage the artists. An art gallery very often choose to represent an artist's work exclusively to gain business contracts. In these venues, people get opportunities to meet renowned and fresh artists. Art lovers can exchange their ideas and enhance themselves with the changing views and perspective.

An art gallery acts as a career launcher for young artists. Fresh artist can showcase their work for interpretation that helps a lot in shaping their creativity and also make themselves acquainted with the changing views of the people. To encourage and perpetuate the species of artists art galleries held showdown. The winners are awarded with scholarships or worthy prizes so that they can execute their expenses and keep their spirits high. The tradition of art gallery has undergone a sweeping change. Artists can now create their own profile and upload their images online sitting comfortably from their homes. They can upload multiple images and distribute it through emails and e-cards.

The best place to know artists and purchase good work of art are the art galleries The transition in the world of art can be known by visiting an art gallery.

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What is the Point of Art?

I've got a lot of gall. I admit it. When I am asked to juror an exhibition, teach, demonstrate or talk to a group of artists or host a TV show I don't shy away. I see it as another opportunity to spread the word about the transformative power of the arts in our society, our community. I try not to question why I do it anymore. It's important, so I do it. So do a lot of us.

Recently, however, a fellow artist confronted me about what I hoped to accomplish with all this "educating" I'm doing. "After all," he pointed out, "didn't you start out as an artist?" He went on to explain that the job of an artist is "to express a point of view, to satisfy an inner muse, not to educate the public about the value of arts in our lives." Naturally, this got me thinking, a very dangerous pastime indeed.

He was right. This whole thing started from a love of being inside the creative process. I truly love to express myself. I love ideas. I love to invent. I love the contradictions, which are all part of the making and appreciation of great art. After all, it's just my materials and me. I love to throw myself into an invented structure and fly away into the supreme ecstasy of the moment. Who wouldn't?
So why am I doing all this other stuff? When do I get time for me? What art have I done for me lately? I'm so busy writing this book, hosting TV shows, running a gallery, directing plays, managing programs, when do I have time to be an artist? People have even asked me, "when do you find time for a life," as if to say, "get a life."

Ouch!

It's true. Sometimes I get so wound up with all the stuff I'm doing and so caught up in all the questions about why I'm doing it that my head starts to spin.

Then I get to thinking, what if this whole bit I'm doing IS the art? What if my whole life is a work of art? I've always thought of art as a metaphor for life. But what if the opposite is also true? What if life is a metaphor for art? In other words, what if my entire life were one giant work of art in progress?
Everything I know about life I've learned as an artist. Art is not something I do for a living; it is who I am. It is my access to the present and to eternity and to the spiritually unknowable. I can't imagine doing anything else.

And I'm not alone in this passion. Others too, feel their creative life IS their life. And their lives are powerfully lived because they know who they are and what they are doing. Together, we are the creative community and we are the key to a healthy society.

That's why I talk so much about the need for arts. It's a pretty great life. And I live for the day when everyone can find a way to express their humanity instead of negating one another with hatred and wars and the black and white insanity that comes from a life without art.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the arts actually contain all the answers to the world's dilemmas. Rather, it is the myriad of questions asked by the artist, which bring us ever closer to the truth. But never close enough to touch it. For instance, how is it possible that an artist can transmit the joy or pain of his/her life through the manipulating of common objects and materials available to everyone? What is it about listening to a Beethoven Symphony that makes being alive somehow make sense? We'd have to ask a lot more questions to get to the "Point of Art." The artist is someone who recognizes an amazing thing when it happens and has just enough skill and courage to create the circumstances where its true expression can be allowed to happen. Being an artist is to walk the thin line between order and chaos. The artist must learn to know when to take control and when to give it up. The lessons only great art can teach us, are a requisite for a balanced, fully realized life.

That's why I can't shut up about the arts. That's why I do what I do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some art to make.

Since 1980, Robert Maniscalco's exquisite oil portraits and fine art have become part of over 850 distinguished private and public collections throughout North America. Born in Detroit in 1959, he is the son of internationally renowned portrait artist Joseph Maniscalco, with whom he apprenticed during the early 1980's. He moved to New York City in 1986 where he continued his studies and professional activities. In NYC he also worked as an actor and director on numerous stage, film and TV projects. He returned to Detroit in 1997 after a three year residency in New Orleans. In Detroit he founded the Maniscalco Gallery, which showcased many local and international artists. As host of Art Beat, the critically acclaimed PBS series on Detroit Public Television, he explored the creative process with his celebrated guests.

Excerpt from "Point of Art" by Robert Maniscalco, advice for the serious artist.

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Providing a Unique Perspective to Art

If you imagine meeting artists and studying their work personally then visit the art fairs. Art fairs are a festival where various art forms: both visual and other forms of art, are showcased to public. In such fairs, the participation of artists can also be marked.

The art fairs are held annually or at uneven period of time by internationally recognized curators selected by a committee of elite persons. For persons who admire art and artists will find the art festivals as niche in the world of art. The art lovers can acquire knowledge and have a vivid insight into the artists mind. By perusing the works of the artists they will also evaluate their skills and techniques of shaping ideas. Art fans will have a great opportunity to learn about the adroitness of artists. Art fairs also act as the platform to develop skills for young artists. For fresh artists these fairs of art act as the career launcher where they can exhibit their art. Artists of both local and worldwide admiration also display their work for sale or public interest.

Now-a-days the practice of displaying art has undergone changes. With the help of the hi-end technology art aficionados and artists can upload the images of their work and send it to friends and dear ones. Using the same provision artists can sale their work and also enable them to collect feedback to improve their work in a better way. The main objective of such art fairs is to encourage the species of young artists and art lovers. These art exhibitions also cultivate showdown to inspire art among the people by providing scholarships and other forms of support.

So, if you want to know more about art and artists just collect information about art fairs and pay a visit.

The best place to meet artists and have an unforgettable insight to the artists mind is by visiting art fairs Various forms of arts are displayed in the fairs for public entertainment and to promote art among people.

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Artists & Art Dealers Work Hand-in-Hand

Artists & art dealers are art professionals who have to work hand-in-hand to make money out of what they do for a living. Artists are gifted individuals who can create visual artistry using paint, canvas, paper, and other media to produce paintings, sculptures or any works of art. Art dealers, on the other hand, are those who buy works of art from artists and sell them to collectors and museums. They should have a good understanding of the arts and the market trend for them as well as particular styles, period and regions to be able to give sound advice to those who are buying from them.

Artists have different styles and medium used when creating pieces for display and for sale. They usually need the help of art dealers to have their works of art to be sold and displayed in galleries, studios or museums. However, artists can also act as art dealers themselves and put up their own galleries and studios. Artists have come a long way since ancient times because in ancient Greece artists were regarded similarly to manual laborers whose social status came in between freemen and slaves. In the Middle Ages, their status became similar to craftsmen but artisanal products were more expensive than the artists' paintings and sculptures. It was only in the 16th century that artists earned a more distinct place in society in which their intellectual skills were given more importance.

Nowadays, an artist is defined according to his own form of art which can be specific or a variety of media. These include drawing, painting, sculpture, acting, dancing, writing, filmmaking, photography and music among many others. Some of the most renowned artists whose work were more concentrated on paintings include Pablo Picasso, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Claude Monet, Salvador Dali and Vincent Van Gogh among many others. Many of their works of art are displayed in world famous galleries and museums but a number of their paintings are also owned by wealthy individuals and families across the globe. The popularity of their work is also due to the hard work of art dealers who tirelessly look for the best works of art and who influence the art trends especially those who are already prominent in this field.

Art dealers often have degrees in art history before entering on their careers and can have options of becoming curators, art auctioneers, art critics and art instructors among many others. Their work usually focuses on looking for potential artists they can represent for the sale or display of their work. They often deal with collectors and museums or can even have their own art galleries. Art dealers often go around the country and abroad to visit exhibitions, participate in auctions and look for artists' studios. These are ways by which they will be able to look for good buys, new works and artists, and if lucky, they will be able to find lost artwork by famous and established artists.

Zipcodez.com is a widely-used local business listings service and search engine. It features a complementary collection of useful topics and resources from "Arts & Entertainment" to "Wireless & Telecommunications." If you are interested in "Artists & Art Dealers," you might also want to read "Exhibiting Talent - Art Gallery" available at [http://www.zipcodez.com/article/featured-articles.htm]

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Secrets of the Artist - Art Overload, Painting Techniques, and Joyful Artistic Inheritance

There are so many options for purchasing art that it is easy to become overwhelmed with options. For example you can find simple paintings at Marshall's, or their name brand cousins, like Marshall Fields aka Macy's. There are paintings in small boutiques, galleries, and of course all over the online world. If you are a super bargain hunter you will certainly bump into artwork at garage sales, basements, and estate sales. You may have gotten something from a friend too or a family member may have passed something on to you. But, within all these options comes the single most important issue, how is it that you are supposed to narrow the field and make an informed decision regarding your final purchase? Even more important is the concept that you may need to decide again in the future, and if you just seemed to like the painting without any rationale you will never be able to duplicate it with another paintings and you will be hard-pressed to create a cohesive art collection.

Initially when you look out at a painting, and try to determine if this is the one you will buy, you need to forget everything that exists external to the image. This means that it is this painting that is in front of you that needs to determine if it has value. Not a categorical system, or your friends, or the gallery owner. The painting you are judging must stands on it's own merits. This is also true for art that is not what you are seeking to buy--that is, it will also fail only based on it's own conversation with you.
One reason we can classify a piece of art without a starting point, or 'zeroing out the scale', is because the evaluation of the composition and other niceties of the painting can be measured independently of external things. Such as the golden ratio, or color scheme. None of these analytical tools of painting assessment require a need for baselines to tell us what the human brain enjoys.

If the artwork you are looking at grabs your attention then the artist was effective in creating a painting that teases the subtle nuances of the human mind. This means that they must employ certain psychological and biological tools to capture you within the painting.

The first thing that is required is a very strong primary interest. This is because without a strong entrance into the piece of art you will never give it more than a glance. This primary interest uses the color theory tools of the biological realm to create a sharp contrast between darks and lights in one location. This type of tool forces your eyes to the painting. Regardless of what the subject matter of the painting is. It is pretty powerful when an artist says first look at my work, and then demands thinking about it's subject. But, the great master artists design other components into their works too. Such as the psychological concept that humans tend to seek eyes to understand emotions right away to determine threats. This is another inescapable tool for captivation. As a viewer you will have no control when looking at a great work of art. It will grab you and force you to look at it.

But, what happens to you once you looked at the masterpiece laid out on the canvas in front of you? You will be forced to move your eyes from the initial point to another point on the painting. This movement is much harder for an artist to do to you. It means that they have a cohesive canvas with a single primary point of interest and then other subtle secondary interest points. The secondary points can not compete with the doorway into the painting. It is much harder to employ since you should actually be zipping your eyes from one secondary point to another within the painting. This zipping back and forth requires your eyes to never fly right out of the canvas. In fact, some of the master artists had 3 or more secondary points that they captivated you within. The lines of the drawing help guide your eyes from one to the next. If a line of sight--such as a tree line, fence, median of the road, knife on a table, building roof-line, or shaft of sun--guides you right out the painting or has something that crosses it your eyes will be gone from the artists captivation.

This is very important to understand since this is where the artists allows you a moment to grasp the 2, 3, or more elements that form the subject area of this painting. You are given a moment to think about them while having your eyes scroll from one to the next in a repeatable pattern. But, what does the artist do after introducing you to his subjects in the painting? He should be able to give you an escape hatch to stretch a moment from the main subject. So your eyes have been grabbed towards the painting, then the artwork slowly guided you from point A to point B to point C right into an area where the tones are all similar, the colors match, and there should be a hidden gem that ties the painting together and gives you one of those special moments. These moments are extremely important to you. It is where you will say oh my god, or wow.

Functional MRI or fMRI has conclusively shown that the 'ah ha' moment is a lot like the moment when your brain gets a joke. It all fires in synchrony and you suddenly get it. It is exciting, and refreshing to have your mind take a few disparate items and then merge them in a new manner. This treat for your mind is what the painting should be about to you.

But, what do you seek afterward? The painting should now talk to you on a very personal level. The true masters that have stood the test of time are art that spoke to moments in human history that are repeated in cycles and will exist in every generation. Thus allowing each new person viewing the art to merge it with their current lives circumstances. This is what will make the painting loved by everyone else, and this is what will make is special to look at every day in your family room or another prominent location. If it does not pass this test then the painting is only good for your eyes, and will be difficult to express to others the joy you inherited from this art piece.

Menachem (Mendy) Zimmerman is the owner of Exclusive Canvas Art [http://www.exclusivecanvasart.com/index.com/]. His art speaks to the mind as well as to aesthetics. His art typically hovers around the Impressionistic, contemporary genres, and he typically includes figures, music, and Religious Motifs from his early years. He works on private commissions, public commissions, and has many of his works recreated in low number lithographic reprints both on paper as well as canvas. He Blogs About Art as well too, so be sure to check their first before purchasing an artwork to ensure you are getting the best prices on the most amazing art at Exclusive Canvas Art.

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Unique Artwork - Big Demand for Emerging Artists' Art

All types of artists enter into the art industry at a rapid pace daily. Their artwork is usually unnoticed, and the value of each art piece they create is often priced extremely low. Not until many people realize how wonderful and well respected their art becomes through artwork such as realism artwork, Japanese artwork, metal artwork, abstract artwork, and/or Native American artwork do people realize the value of an emerging artists work.

Today's artwork is appealing to a new type of buyers. For the first time around the entire world, young wealthy professionals are choosing artwork to represent their uniqueness and for culture purposes. Many new art buyers are appreciating the way art and music influence and inspire the new emerging artists. Once you get your name out there as an emerging artists and gain lots of respect, you will see a great increase in your wealth. As today's society learns more values and ideas of art as a justifiable investment wheel, more and more people will start investing in emerging artists work and watch it increase in value. They will sell after a few years and make a huge profit. A $100.00 painting could net you a lump sum of 50K in just 2 years. It happened, happens, and will continue happening all across the world as these emerging artists come into the art selling market. The overall goal is to buy a piece of artwork when the artist is fairly new and emerging and turn around and sell it when they are producing famous artwork and are a famous artist.

The great thing about buying artists work is that you are cutting out the middleman. When you buy from an emerging artist it is almost always direct to consumer. This is the perfect chance for any art lover to get a valuable painting for cheap. You definitely should have no problem investing in artwork if you do your homework, research, and have patience. The art selling market has the potential to explode all thanks to emerging artists.

Society is changing and the way we view art is changing also. Please do not buy fancy artwork directly from an art gallery, you will be paying over 40% in markup costs then the piece of art is actually worth. Even online art galleries are cheaper than going directly to an art gallery and buying artists artwork from their. An online art gallery will not markup the artwork more than 40% due to the fact that they are paying no storage costs. You also save money buy not having to travel and waste gas going to your closest art gallery. I wish you the best of luck in whichever you decide to do and I hope that you have learned the value of emerging artist's artwork. It is a highly profitable means of investment and has the potential to become one of the largest investment opportunities in the world.

EmergingArtists is an on-line Art Gallery Of Original works of Contemporary Art. Learn more about unique artwork and how to sell at an online art gallery via http://www.EmergingArtists.com

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Move To Bali & Enjoy The Paradise On Earth

When we talk about Bali, three aspects come to mind. It is a tropical state of mind, it is a mood and it is an aspiration as well. No wonder being comprised of beaches, ancient monuments and rice fields, make it the most beautiful places on Earth respectively.

Around 3.2 million tourists visit Bali every year as it has remained a spiritual, culinary and cultural hub for many years. There are four reasons why you should visit Bali in order to understand why it is called 'Heaven on Earth'. They are listed below.

1. Food:

Presence of volcanic soils and humid climate allows growing of many tropical fruits respectively. Since temperature can rise, don't forget to eat sweet coconut to bear the heat during your stay in Bali.

Food vendors in the island of Bali are mostly mothers and grandmothers who are very skilled and professional in their work. They make traditional meals or serve new ones which are tasty and can even soothe a sick person as well. The local markets in Bali are filled with various ingredients and crops which you can buy and make food of your own with ease.

One of the famous supermarkets is Ubud's Organic Market which consists of fresh produce, as well as a range of groceries like seeds, coffee, nuts, medicines, cakes, milk, bead, wheat-grass, tea, soya milk and raw chocolate respectively.

2. People:

The natives of Bali are warm and hospitable people. You will not feel lonely or strange at this place at all. In fact people are very happy and contented here, so you will enjoy talking to them.

The locals are very spiritual and most of them follow Islam. They celebrate a ten day feast called 'Galungan' to honor the spirits of their ancestors and the creator of the Earth. This is a major event which occurs on the two hundred and tenth day of the Balinese Pawukon calendar. The Hindus during the feast celebrate Dharma's victory over the evil Adharma. Likewise, various temples are decorated with flower and food show reverence and gratitude for life and protection.

3. Lifestyle and Staff:

Once you are in Bali, you will want to reside in it. There can be many cost-savings and perks for you here which are much rare in other Islands across the world.

The best part is that luxury is not only for the rich, but good chauffeurs, personal chefs and villas can be managed by an ordinary person as well. But you need to do a research about living and hiring personnel for your daily routine. You plan and organize about where you will work and search for the right jobs. Then, you need to pay attention to other amenities like food, medicine and a hospital; whether they are close by and how will you get the genuine ones respectively.

4. Accommodation:

In Bali, accommodation is not big problem. You can search for a house, serviced apartments and villas. Ray White Paradise Property Group can be contacted to know about the locations and price range, as well as which would be the best place to stay in the long run.

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If you want a part of Bali in your home instead of moving there, visit The Gallery London for works of art from Indonesia 

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