TheVirtualInstructor Blog

Art and technology have always danced together.  Throughout history, art has reflected the technology of the period.  From the invention of oil paint, to the camera obscura used by Vermeer, to devices used by modern artists (think Photoshop), technology has played a major role in the creation of Art.  There is a new breed of artists that are embracing cutting edge technologies and are using these methodologies to push the limits of art.  These creative thinkers are trailblazing a new and exciting direction in the world of art, taking advantage of the science of the day. These new, unique techniques must be embraced because they may well be the direction of the next artistic movement in history.

It may be argued that artists are those that truly open others’ eyes.  They allow others to see and experience things in new ways.  Technology in itself allows us to experience in new ways.  In the hands of an artist, this experience is enhanced.  In the hands of artist Aaron Koblin, this experience is multiplied beyond enhancement.

Aaron Koblin is a thinker- a creative thinker-a true artist.  His work opens others’ eyes.  Aaron uses technologies in different ways to create collective experiences.  With traditional art, there is an artifact that the artist creates.  The viewer interacts in some way with the artifact, but doesn’t usually create the artifact itself.  This is the job of the artist, after all.

Koblin’s work doesn’t work this way.  And that is what makes it so exciting.

Instead, Koblin allows the viewer to actually create the artifact.  The collaboration that manifests in the process is the art.  And the collaboration only happens because of the technology. In the following video recorded in February 2011, Koblin explains a few of his projects…

This is truly an exciting time to be an artist.  We exist at a point in time, when technology can help us communicate artistically in new ways.

To learn more about Aaron Koblin and his projects, visit his website>Aaron Koblin

Why isn’t your artwork selling?
Well there are several possible answers to this question. Determining the reason why you’re not selling your artwork is the first step in selling your artwork. For many artists not making any sales or very little sells, can be quite demoralizing. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why your art may not be selling.

Reason #1-You need more practice. This reason is pretty harsh, but it needs to be recognized. Take a look at what some other artists in your target market are creating. Is your work on the same skill level as theirs? If not, then you may need to spend a little more time practicing and get your work to that level.

Reason #2- You have not targeted the right niche. Okay, so you’ve determined that your work is quality, but you’re still not making those sells. Perhaps you haven’t targeted the right niche or any niche at all. Take a look at your portfolio. Is it all over the place with a variety of subject matter and media? If so, then you need to target a niche. Pick your favorite subject matter or media and develop ten works in that niche. Then your customers will know exactly what to expect from you.

Reason #3- You do not have enough exposure. So, your work is quality and it can be catergorized into a specific category, but it’s still not selling. Do people know about your work? Have you visited galleries and asked about showing your work? Have you exhibited at local arts and crafts shows? Have you passed out cards and advertised in papers and magazines? Do you have a website? Do you need an agent? Sometimes exposure is everything. If people don’t know about you, then they definitely won’t be buying any artwork from you. Sometimes it’s okay to “toot your own horn”. Let the world know how great you are.

Reason #4- You have overpriced yourself. Your art is quality within a specific niche and you’ve got great exposure, but your artwork is still not selling. Perhaps you’ve overpriced yourself. Sure, wealthy art collectors will pay quite a bit for orginal works of art. But in reality, most of us aren’t wealthy art collectors. Maybe you are charging more than people are willing to pay. Pricing your artwork can be pretty tricky and finding a nice balance between your efforts and your rewards can be a hard thing to do. But if your artwork isn’t selling, it may be time to lower your rates a bit. Not interested in lowering your rates for original art? Check out the print market. You could try creating prints of your original art. Many people can afford prints and are more willing to pay for them. Plus, if you have an artwork that is appealing to a large audience, you could end up selling lots of prints and make quite a bit from one painting or drawing.

All of these are common reasons art doesn’t sell. Any apply to you?

Pricing your artwork can be tricky business.  You want to quote a price that makes all the hard work that you put into your artwork worth it, yet you want to name a price that will result in a sale.  Although there are art collectors out there that will pay loads of money for artwork, the reality is most people aren’t art collectors.  So how do you price your artwork?  Well, here are some suggestions…

First, determine what kind of artist are you.  Are you creating artwork to exhibit in a gallery with hopes of a sale, or are looking for commission work?  Or are you an illustrator or designer, whose work will be reproduced?

Galleries- Galleries make money off of your artwork.  They take a percentage of the price of the artwork, sometimes as high as 50%.  Therefore, you should consider this when you price your artwork for a gallery.  If, for example, you want to make $300 on a work of artwork and the gallery demands a 50% commission, you should price the artwork at $600.  You then need to ask yourself, “Will this artwork sell for $600?”.  If the answer is “no”, you may need to lower your take home expectations, change galleries, or look into other options.   Some artists are turned off by the idea of a gallery, because of the commissions they have to pay;  but galleries can help an artist gain respect, find buyers, and expose an artist to region.

Commissions- Once an artist has gained some notoriety they may be able to create artwork on a commission basis.  In this case, a buyer may approach the artist about creating a specific artwork for purchase.  In this case the artist may give the buyer an estimate of the final price.  The artist may require that a portion of the agreed price be paid in advance of the completion of the commission.   Upon the completion of the artwork, the remainder of the balance is paid.

Illustrations- Art that is sold in order to be reproduced could be considered illustration.  Illustration work could be handled as a commission or the artist may require the rights of the work to be purchased.  Because illustration work  can be complicated, a contract is often involved.  Most illustration work is considered freelance, where an artist will create one work for a specific project.  If your artwork falls under this category, it would be best to arrange a contractual agreement between yourself and the buyer to ensure a mutually beneficial arrangement.

So how much do you charge?  Well, that question can only be answered by you.  For myself, I like to consider the amount of hours put into a project.  I decide how much an hour of my work is worth.  Right now, I would consider my rate a bargain.  I charge $35 a hour for commission work.  That means if an artwork will take me 10 hours, I should expect $350 for the art.  Most of the work I complete is created on a commission basis.  Therefore, I don’t have to worry about a gallery taking a cut.  I give the buyer an estimate and then stick to it.  In other words, if I estimate that a work will take me 5 hours and charge $175.  The final price will be $175, even if it ends up taking me longer.  I feel like this is the right thing to do.  When  I am creating illustrations, I work on a contractual agreement and this varies from project to project.  However, I still consider my time and what it is worth to me when drawing up these contracts.

Bottom line is that you should charge what you think is fair.  Some artists charge too much and seldom make a sale, others charge too low and are overworked and underpaid.  The key lies in finding the happy medium.

Drawing is the most basic form of art-making.  Drawing is NOT a talent, instead it is a skill that can be developed.  The best way to develop any skill is through practice.  Check out the following list of drawing exercises that will help you practice your drawing skills.  The more that you  draw, the better you will become.  You should try to draw at least 30 minutes a day.  Draw anything that you see, no matter how uninteresting it may seem.  Your observation skills will improve and so will your ability to draw well.  Try to draw as much as possible from life.  Avoid drawing other people’s drawings.

Here’s a list of drawing exercises to help you on your way…
The Face/Vase Drawing Exercise
Drawing From Observation with your Memory
Gesture Drawing
Negative Space Drawing
Value Gradation
Blind Contour Line Drawing
Non Dominant Hand Drawing

When creating a watercolor painting, one must make a critical decision even before the painting is started.  That decision is what paper to use.  Many people believe that watercolor paper is well, watercolor paper.  This, however, just isn’t the case.  There are many types and forms of watercolor paper.  Not to mention many different manufacturers of watercolor papers.  Knowing which paper to use for your project is very important.  Choose the wrong paper and you may regret it in the middle of your painting.  So how do we choose the right paper and steer clear of the wrong paper?  Understanding how the paper will affect your painting will help you decide.  There are generally three different types of watercolor papers.  Do you know what they are?  To learn more about watercolor papers and their affects on watercolor paintings check out this free art lesson-> Watercolor Papers

Another important skill for watercolorists to know is how to stretch watercolor papers.  Watercolor paper is sturdier and can accept the paint better when it is stretched.  It is fairly easy to stretch watercolor paper, but it does take some patience when waiting for it to dry.  Check out the video below on stretching watercolor papers.

How do you evaluate art?  This question is answered differently by just about everybody.  There is also quite a lot of argument over that question as well.  What really constitutes  good artwork?  We all know that opinion plays a major role in what  a person may feel is good artwork.  But should it?  Should there be a defined framework for what good artwork is?  Should there be a standard?  What would that standard be?

I often ask students, “What is Art?’  The range of answers I get to this question is staggering.  One answer keeps rearing it’s ugly head, however. “Art is whatever you want it to be.”  What??? Is that what art is?  Whatever you want it to be.  My skin cringes when I hear this statement.  Why?  Art is NOT whatever we want it to be.  It is a discipline that requires study, dedication, and practice.  It takes knowledge to produce good artwork.  Not whatever.  How can we evaluate art when we think it is whatever? If you think art is whatever you want it to be,  discontinue reading this post.  What I’m about to discuss will have absolutely no relevance to you if you think art is whatever you want it to be.

Evaluate yourself before you evaluate art.  Do you like the expressive qualities of a work art, the message it conveys, and the emotional qualities within?  Do you find that artworks that strive for realism  suite your fancy? Do place most importance on the use of color theory, use of line, composition, shape, form and so on?  Or perhaps you find all of these attributes to be important in good artwork?

Are you an Emotionalist?- If you find the expressive qualities of an artwork to be most important, you may be an Emotionalist.  An Emotionalist looks for the message the artwork conveys, evaluates how the artist has communicated this message, and proceeds to evaluate the artwork’s success on this notion.

Are you a Realist?- Do you find the realistic qualities of a work of art to be the most interesting?  Are you the type that looks at a work of art an says, “That doesn’t look like a person”?  Or maybe you look at a drawing and become amazed at how much the artist has made it look like a photo.  If this describes you, then you probably are a Realist and evaluate the success of artwork based on it’s realistic qualities.

Are you a Formalist?- Do you look for the color scheme, the use of the elements and principles of art, the composition and other formal qualities to evaluate the artwork?  If you do, then you probably are a Formalist.

Evaluating artwork is different for everyone.  We will all look and see artwork differently.  We will find merit in different places because we are different people.  Should there be a standard for evaluating art?  I don’t know.  I’m divided on this.  I think that there should be standards but not at the expense of what drives great art-creativity.  What do you think?  Should there be standards?  Are you a Formalist, Emotionalist, Realist, or a mixture?

Eye movement refers to the way a viewer’s eye “moves” through a piece of artwork.  By manipulating the placement of objects, lines, values, shapes, subjects, and so on, we can control the relative path a viewer’s eye may travel.

Movement is one of the principles of art.  The principles of art should not be confused with the elements of art.  The elements of art are the basic components of art.  Line, shape, form, value, color, texture, and space are the elements of art.  Composition mainly deals with the placement of the elements.  Ironically, most of the principles of art deal with composition.  Some of the principles of art include, harmony, unity, balance, proportion, movement, rhythm,  and variety.  In this lesson, we are dealing with eye movement.

One of the ways eye movement can be achieved in an artwork is through the use of geometric configurations.  People, in general, find geometric shapes to be aesthetically pleasing.  By creating geometric configuration to control eye movement in composition, you have greatly increased your chances of being successful.  To learn more about eye movement through geometric configuration in artistic composition, see the video art lesson, and examples of geometric configurations, click here-> Artistic Composition, Eye Movement

Not many people realize that Plato presented philosophies on everything, including art.  Although Plato, himself, was not a visual artist, we stand to learn a bit from him when it comes to composition.  Composition in visual art, to many people, is the hardest part of crafting a successful work of art.  Many artists, especially new ones, tend to view composition as a “trial and error” endeavor.  This is the wrong way to approach composition.  Creating good composition is almost a scientific process, complete with “rules” that will help you be successful.  The first “rule” that we are exploring comes from an unexpected source- Plato.  One of Plato’s students asked of him, “What makes a good composition?”  Plato’s answer was quite interesting.  Plato responded by saying, ” Find the variety within the unity”.  This statement is quite enlightening.  What Plato is saying is that we must have both variety and unity in our artworks, but they must work together. Too much variety leads to a lack of unity.  Too much unity leads to a lack of variety.  So where’s the balance.  That’s where the artist comes in.  To learn more about Plato’s Rule in composition and to see the video demonstration click here-> Composition in Art Part 1- Plato’s Rule

Watercolor pencils are an interesting medium.  They allow the artist the versatility to draw AND paint.  Watercolor pencils are somewhat like colored pencils.  Instead of a waxy or oily binder like those found in colored pencils, they have a water soluble binder.  When water is added to them, they behave like watercolor paint.  Therefore, all of the watercolor techniques that you may already use, apply to watercolor pencils.  Watercolor pencils should be applied to watercolor paper or a heavier board, like illustration board.  Watercolor pencils are easy to store and transport, making them an ideal choice for color studies or quick preliminary sketches.  Watercolor pencils  are inexpensive and readily available almost anywhere.

To see the video demonstration of watercolor pencils click here-> How to Use Watercolor Pencils

Often times the need arises to create many copies of the same shape, image, or text.  You could select what you want copied and then paste carbon copies to edit but why waste all of that time?  Instead you could quickly create a custom brush to save you lots of time.  Or maybe none of the brushes in Photoshop suit your fancy, well-just create a new one.  It’s incredibly easy to create custom brushes in Photoshop.  Best of all, the brushes that you create are completely editable, just like all of the brushes already included in Photoshop.  You can get really creative with custom brushes.  Here’s how easy it is..

First, select your image, shape, or text that you would like to make into a brush.  The go to “edit”->”define brush preset”.  Name your brush and you’re done.  All of the brush attributes can now be applied to your custom brush.  And, until you delete it, your brush stays in your brush menu.  Have fun and be creative.

To see the video demonstration of How to Create a Custom Brush in Photoshop click here-> How to Create Custom Brushes in Photoshop