A different touch

Hi friends! I want to show you Selena Wagner's photographs today. As we have said on other occasions, the same object can be portrayed in many different ways and this depends on the artist's vision. We can see many versions of famous monuments or emblematic sites, but only a few can show a different point of view. This is what happens with Selena's, she shows us a different and personal version highlighting the symbolic characteristic of the composition. Although the composition itself is extremely important, in this case we find certain elements that make the difference, sometimes because of its symbolic meaning, in others because of its aesthetics in combination of visual lines and because of having found the artist an out of place element that shows a different result than normally expected.

The best conclusion we can draw is that Selena has her own style, a style that comes to us through her own vision of the world and her great ability to rescue the symbology either through elements, shapes or lights. I invite you to click on the photos to enlarge them and to know more about this great artist.

Light and Beauty

Today, I want to show you  Joseph Kelly's artworks. Photography about nature is one of his main lines (but not the only one), nevertheless this artist is more interested in what a capture transmits or moves than in the forms themselves. 

Each photographer shows the world from his/her own eyes, so it is extremely interesting to know that external vision, from another perspective, that maybe we ourselves would not be able to see. In his works, Joseph shows us a world of color and light, perhaps as a representation of his interior through the external objects he captures. Beauty is the common denominator of his works, which, although at some point they have a touch of drama, this only highlights the beautiful. 

Click on the images below to enlarge the pictures and know more about him.

When elegance is present in all its forms

Hi friends! It's a pleasure for me to show you Scott Kemper's photographs today. On many occasions, when I write about an artist, it isn't difficult to choose some of the works to show them here, but this time it has been really difficult to choose. The first sensation I had when I looked at Scott's galleries  was that of wishing to be in the places he portrays.

The images he captures, all without exception, take us to the right place with elegance and simplicity of the shapes. The elegance is detached in each of his works creating a perfect balance for the eye. The balance of the composition is subjugating, and the simplicity I mention is that which avoids recharged elements and leaves, simply, those most important ones, which really mean something relevant and that, somehow, being the only ones existing inevitably lead us to place with which we identify those parameters.

This artist plays with one or more elements, all important for what he wants to express, as if he had placed them there on purpose. We all know the icons' (and landmarks) importance, those which our mind knows and identifies with a particular place or situation. In his photographs Scott recreates this icons in an exceptional way and with sublime elegance, there is no noise or confusion that disturbs or distracts the viewer, in his photographs there is only what must exist.

On the other hand, the choice of colors is exceptional (remember that they are photographs and not paintings, so you have to get those colors that exist in reality). We all know the importance of colors as well, as each of them tells us something special and takes us to a different feeling. Well, there is no mistake in the colors, there is not a single color that leads to errors and makes us feel something different from what the artist has intended. As if we could imagine something and turn it into reality, Scott Kemper that sensation transmits in his photos.

And so, it was very difficult for me to choose only 3 of his works to show here since all deserved it, but you can see that by yourself clicking on the images, enlarging them and visiting his gallery. You can also visit his site http://kemperimagery.com. Enjoy it!

Captures with style

Hi friends! I want to show you John Franke's photographs today. It's a real pleasure to see his galleries since it is as if he had captured the best of all the places where he has been and he has done it with style and a personal vision. As we have talked about before on this blog, as a good photographer, he has been attentive to everything that could come to surprise him making really amazing shots of what would have gone unnoticed by anyone else.

Colored pencils: The unjustifiably little admired way of expression

Surely we have all worked with colored pencils since this is practically the first thing given to a child start expressing him/herself. Perhaps that first contact of children has left an wrong impression, as it is a basic medium, we don't have to worry about how much water, oil, turpentine or other product to add, nor the drying time, nor so many other details that must be taken into account with other techniques to which we accede being already a little older. But, my dear friends, working with colored pencils is not so simple and the work that can be done with this medium goes far beyond what our nephews can do.

There is a whole spectrum, a range of works that can be done by the skilled and talented hands of those who know how to use that medium, which would really astonish us if we were only able to take these works to their proper level: the level of true artistic expression. This technique can be as realistic as working with oil and as abstract as working with acrylic, It only depends on the hands that perform the work. Personally, I admire artists who work with this medium, almost more than anybody they have be very clear what they want to show and shape, no mistakes are allowed since these are almost impossible to solve without spoiling the work.

This medium can show us the smallest details, or work with reinforcements of shadows, lights and contrasts, we can sail exploring all possibilities and these are, in truth, almost endless...

But words are insubstantial when it comes to talk about something visual, that's why I want to show you Maryann DellaRocco's artworks as an example, a talented artist who uses colored pencils for her works granting them all the expressiveness and emotion and even more that could be done with other mediums. As she says her work is an "emotional thing" and seeing her works they undoubtedly are the product of her heart and feelings, what I insist make the difference between artists. I'd love if you could visit her site: www.maryanndellaroccofinearts.com, where she tells us about her work, motivations and life and what could make us more understand her beautiful art. She also says that she enjoys capturing the joy seen through children eyes, which is very interesting since the vision of this artist has a very special load of innocence but not devoid of reality.

Let's enjoy her works clicking on the images below to enlarge them, that will make us know her better, as well as the wonderful range of artwork that can be done with colored pencils.

Art vs. Commercial Art - We all need to eat

"Creating" is one of the things that characterize an artist, but that term is rather ambiguous. We have the need to bring out what we have into our heart, our mind and our body in a different way. Sometimes people like our works and others don't, as well as we create works that are fantastic for everyone except us ourselves.

The problem raised in this post is that an artist also needs to eat. Based on the fact that everyone needs to pay their bills, rent, mortgage, food, etc., we find the great and terrible obstacle that must be faced by every artist and that is: earn a living with his/her art (it should be clarified that some artists have some styles and make works that are for the taste of almost all audiences, so these lines don't really involve them).

It is quite difficult to make a living with art, at least if we talk about the kind of art that comes out like a whirlwind of our interior and that makes us unique. As this is difficult, then we start working as commercial artists, making illustrations, drawings, pictures, photographs, among other things, that people in general consider nice or pleasant to have at home. People don't usually like to have a dramatic scene hanging on their wall, even when that scene speaks from inside, performs a social or internal criticism or establishes clarity to certain principles. Buyers prefer, in general, to see something that doesn't make them think too much and if it's so that has to take their thoughts to something positive, even if this is inconsequential in fact .

Then we have a great dilemma, we want to earn our living as artists with what produces our intellect and our spirit but we must adapt to the rules of consumption and "create" according to the buyers taste. Are we artists still doing this? Are we betraying ourselves? Is there a limit? Is there a balance between our artwork and our style and what we adapt to sell? Should we separate the type of work we make? I would say that depends on each case, but in general we should separate things.

We shouldn't change completely our style to fit with a fashion or a special buyer. It is our own style, the one we use to narrate and show our creations, the one that gives us an identity. We can't betray ourselves so much. So, how do we deal with it? Well..., let's continue working with our own and personal creations while creating a different line of works that we could call "commercial" but never let other people get confused. Otherwise, art itself is devalued and becomes a simple decoration product or a brand sale, among other things, but it isn't what it should be anymore: "a soul true expression".

I put myself as an example since criticism must begin at home. I have different lines of work, many ..., but I think that few of them really express art, even if some others can be considered like that for the rest of the world.

This is one of my commercial works, even this style can have some heart on it, but it is what it is:

And this is one of my paintings, perhaps it hasn't  so much details as my commercial works but it comes from my soul:

So, what is important here is to separate concepts, areas and works. We have to be conscious about our changes and the reason that leads us to make one or other kind of work. We should not lie to ourselves, our commercial work can be wonderful and even performed with a perfect technique but it's not coming from the original fire that burned our heart when we started with art. 

Nothing better for an artist (at least for those who aren't famous) than earn a living with commercial art but, please, never forget why you started in art, what took you there, what you felt when expressing yourself, in short, do not lose your identity and the way to yourself.

Find your style in photography - 8 - The right place and the right time

Hi friends!, here we are with "Find your style in photography" again, this time with an important tip that is: to be at the right moment at the right place.

As we have already talked about, there are too many photography styles and they all have their relevance. In this case, I imagine that usually happens to us of being specially looking for something that we have in mind and then we suddenly meet a different scene that captures our attention. No matters what we wanted, the composition we tried to work with or the previous idea we had, never let that new an unexpected capture go. We have (and need) to be really open minded with our camera, we never know when we're going to find something that could even be better than what we were looking for. An unexpected rain, a sudden flight of a bird or the feeling shown in a child's eyes.

We are surrounded by surprises and we just have to pay attention and be ready to shoot what comes to us. A good eye is the one that transforms a simple fact of life in an artwork, so don't wait for amazing things since simple ones make the difference sometimes. 

As an example of this, I want to show you Michael Hills' work that higlights for the spontaneity it reflects as if he always knew how to be at the right place at right time. Click on the images to enlarge them and know more about this artist whose works cover a wider variety than the ones shown here below.

When art reflects emotions

Hello friends! Today I want to talk about art, experiences and emotions. I think there is a great variety of artists, they are so varied as people are and, even when experts try to define and put them into categories, sometimes it is very difficult to reduce a style to simple words.

We have reached a point where it seems that art should only reflect those good and simple things of life, as if we had forgotten that we are something more than that, that we are made of experiences, emotions and feelings, and that it is these internal and immaterial issues brought to paper or canvas that really defines us as artists.

I have always admired those who have the ability to show in images what happens inside themselves or inside other people since they have the sensitivity of being able to appreciate things beyond the obvious. Either through colors, elements or lines used, these artists transmit us something different, something that comes from their own inner elaboration and often from their heart. What is an artist but who releases his/her inner questionings through a painting and allows us to see a personal own vision of the world through it? No matter how good you are with a pencil or a brush, if you don't put a little of your heart in what you do you only reproduce the evident.

We have Adina Art's works as an example of this. She, as an artist, offers us her idea about the facts of life showing us that a line is more than a line and that a color is more than that in what seem to be innocent compositions but that lead us to question ourselves about our experiences and feelings, yet without being exempt of great beauty. Adina does not delve into the drama, she uses the symbolic elements and leaves us enough freedom so that we can go further and reach our own conclusions.

I have chosen three of her works to show you, those that have personally been more representative to me, but it would not be fair that you only see these, as her work is more extensive and varied than what I can show in this article. So, I invite you to click on the images to really appreciate the work of this sensitive and great artist.

Find your style in photography - 7 - Luck or creativity?

Today I want to talk about Alan Brown's photographs which could teach us a lot about how to create good images. He seems to find beauty everywhere, do you think that he's a lucky guy or that he is a talented one? You know, sometimes one is lucky enough as to live in a paradise and have the opportunity to take good photographs, but if you think this you're wrong. You don't need to live in a wonderful place to make good photos and nothing assures that you would make them so.

Of course, Alan's photographs show us wonderful places but that's not all, he captures a special moment with a special distribution of elements and a special perspective among other details that make the image different from all that could have been taken in the same place. As he tells us in his bio: "I learnt quickly from the harsh critique of contest judges that great images are not taken, they are created, and that each image has its own story . This mantra has been a constant throughout my many years as an avid photographer." 

In the same sense, he's driven to create exceptional images, he's self demanding what leads him to produce excellent works. So, we can learn two different lessons through his work, the first one is that it isn't the same taking a photograph than creating one and the second is that if you don't have the strength to exceed the average expectations about a photograph your work will be very similar to everyone.

I invite you to click on the images below to enlarge them and know more about Alan Brown and his fantastic works that takes us to unimagined places that whisper stories. 

Find your style in photography - 6 - Make the Viewer to be There

Following with photography styles, as we have already commented, it's very important to find your own syle as a photographer, it isn't just a painters issue, as a proffesional you have to leave your mark on each of your photographs so that whoever sees them knows that image was captured through your camera and your eyes. 

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of styles with small differences between them. But, what is it that makes a photograph not only have its author personal impression but reach the viewer? Well, one of the answers would be to make the viewer like being in that place, convert the photo from a piece of paper to a trip, make feel the sensations and emotions that we ourselves have when capturing an image. It's difficult, isn't it?

First of all, we can't transmit an emotion that we don't have. If we go around with our camera and just shoot what we think it's nice to choose a good one later we can get some good pictures. But, if we go for what we want or if we go around and find exactly what we need, if we enter into communication with the environment and with what we want to portray, for example: an animal, if we get really involved with what we are capturing, then we get great photographs. However, even though I believe that this way of working can be learned, personally I consider it requires an innate personal condition of the photographer. We can all learn about everything, much more if we strive, but we also have personal skills that lead us to be better in one area or another. 

We have Carter Spade's works as an example of this. You feel close to the image as if you were there and as if you could touch it. As he says: "I want the viewer to feel the connection to the animal or place that I felt at the time that sparked me to take that photo. I try to find an angle that makes the viewers feel like they are seeing it for themselves.", and he always gets it. He's an animal lover (even his work is not limited to that), and we can really feel that those eyes on the image are watching us, and we can feel that connection of which he speaks about as if we were there. Therefore, although the technical and specific issues of photography are very important, not least is to convey feelings to the viewer. Click on the images to enlarge them and know more about Carter Spade and his wonderful style and photographs, you can also visit his site www.spadephoto.com .

Brushstrokes's Importance

I could have called this post "How to find your style in oil or acrylic...", but it's actually applicable for different techniques.

Artists sometimes think too much about brushstrokes, so much that they lose spontaneity, and it's not pleasant to see a non spontaneous painting, which has been too thoughtful, as if the hand had not known exactly what to do in each case. Others, try to make the brushstroke not to be noticed as if they were afraid of mistaking. All these is normal when we start to learn how to do things, but it's clealy shown in the final artwork.

Talking about this, there is a style that stands out by the force and the thickness of the stroke, without being impressionist, that plays with lights and shadows in such a way that the elements seem to shine from the canvas, almost as if it were a 3d effect. Obviously, only a very experienced hand can do this, taking the eye of the viewer to the whole work and giving it a relief that it still don't have.

It is surprising how this type of work, even without being realistic, may look like that providing an interesting visual game that leads us to complete the missing blur.

Therefore, it is important that we don't hesitate in every brushstroke, that our mental object can be represented by our hand beyond the hyperealist vision without losing the accuracy of what we want to show. Sometimes this takes months, other years, it all depends on how much we practice and how much we let ourselves go with regard to our own vision of things. We don't have to fear or hesitate when painting since sometimes it's better to make mistakes and learn from them than have lot of shy arts from which we learned nothing. 

As an example of this kind of artworks, I want to show you Samantha Black's ones. Currently, she basically works with oil and acrylic and she always knows how strong, thik, clear or dark the stroke has to be in order to give the viewer the perfect idea of what she wants to show. Click on the images to enlarge them and see her work on detail, you'll find she developed other styles with great skill to represent beauty as well. 

Beauty and Innocence

Hello my friends! Today I want to talk about Ashley Gore and her artworks. I use to give some advices and tips and then put an artist as an example, but this time I prefer talking about this artist since her work caught my attention in more than one sense. 

As you can read in her site: http://agore72185.wixsite.com/ashleyartgallery , she has a disease that she struggles with every day and which could be an obstacle for anyone but she decided to do something positive about it. What calls my attention the most in addition to the brave way she faces life it's how she transmits it through art. When we see her works, mostly made in acrylic, the first thing that comes to our mind is an innocent style that looks at life with a very particular candor. 

Her work is soft, delicate, feminine, with subtle lines and colors that celebrate life. Her works have a distinctive but not overwhelming symbolism, which leads us to see beyond the simple elements. In many of her works this artist seems to have a close relationship with nature, in how it is modified and what can affect it. She eliminates some superfluous elements of realism to add her own that give us a more intense vision of what she wants to express, such as a particular use of light that takes our eye to the right place, close-ups that indicate its importance and the playfulness between colors and lines.

Likewise, at some point she secretly reveals her pain, not as a complaint, but as a simple commentary on life which makes it even more revealing. In her work "She's gone" (you can find it below), for example, in that case she has an impressive creativity to show a fact of life (which can touch both physically and emotionally) from a symbolic and even surreal point. I do not like comparisons, but seeing that work reminded me Frida Kahlo's works in which her pain showed itself openly and not, since the beauty of the composition could only lead us to empathy. 

As I always say, I admire artists who go beyond, those that a flower is not simply a flower but rather says something else, who show us a series of colors that is not a simple composition for the visual but also for the spirit. 

I invite you to click on the images to enlarge them and know more about Ashley Gore, you can find her on facebook as well: https://www.facebook.com/AshleyGallery/ .