When photografic art speaks of our inner world

Today I want to show you the work of an artist that exceeds normal expectations regarding photography. She is Juli Scalzi and it's difficult to define her. She is not just a photographer, she goes far beyond giving the images the ability to transmit more than a simple figure or a landscape in the composition.

She takes some elements, as does a painter, and she gathers them to express a very precise idea or feeling. The first time I saw her artworks I thought that they were paintings, and I was not so far from reality since she uses the images taken with her camera in the same way. Such works can only be done with great creativity and talent, they make you think and it's unavoidable to feel emotions at watching them. Her works also have a certain innocence, the ability to take normal elements and convert them into compositions full of symbolism.

No matter what type of photography that is, a landscape, an animal or a composition, she always manages to make it a work of art.  I leave some of her work below, you can click on the picture to see the details and enlarge, I invite you to do so you can also see more variety of her beautiful work and know more about Juli Scalzi, an artist that makes you think and feel.

The magic pencil

Some painters have problems to determine the best medium to use in order to show what they want to express and capture in their works. There is just something that I feel completely sure about and it's that it doesn't exist the best medium. The best medium is the one that makes us feel better with our final work and the one that makes us enjoy all the procedure. 

On the other hand, some times artists complain too much about not having the perfect materials. I could be the best example for this, I'm always complaining about the paper or canvas quality, about brushes and about all other kind of materials perfection..., and that's why when I see some people artworks I arrive to the conclusion that sometimes we lose sight of creativity in terms of materials.

A good artist is able to create amazing works simply with a pencil and paper, and when I say it's just simply I don't mean that it's easy , but that we should just only need those materials.

There are some great artists who perform their work with pen and paper and they are able to show the details and magnificence of a complex work done with other sophisticated materials. 

Paper and pencil, that's all, plus talent and creativity.

To illustrate what I comment I want to show you Maria Boklach's artworks. Her portraits have a perfectly defined style that combines realism with contemporary vision. Her works have a striking and powerful detailed realism while adopting a contemporary fresh air that renews the idea of what we consider a portrait. 

I encourage you to click on the images to see her galleries and know more about this young and excellent artist who delights the senses with her wonderful works.

What about mixed media?

What mixed media is? It's just when we work with diffent mediums and not only the usual ones. This is a plus for contemporary artists, being able to work with different materials that help to express themselves better, as for example with texture.

Why should we use mixed media? It's just about you, it's about the joy that you feel working like that, there are no technical reasons even when some say the opposite I personally believe that it's your personal choice. You can create wonderful pieces of art with mix media and the best of it is that they will all be different. The good thing is that you have an almost endless type of mediums to use, this goes from using oil and acrylic to other materials like wood, paper, wires or everything you want to express yourself.

Today I want to show you Lori Kingston' works, she a mixed media artist and she makes wonderful artworks with diffent techiques. What I most like of Lori is her rich imagination and that it seems that she lets herself go to creativity in her works, as if there were no limits to experiment. 

She is working in a Silhouettes Serie now. She is a great phographer as well and you can know more about her and her art just clicking in the images below.

When a photograph captures the soul

Let's go back to photographs, this incredible new way of art since the last century. We can talk a lot about it, but this time I want to focus on creativity & soul. 

There are some photographers that trap the spirit of the person or situations that they are shooting, people that are able to show the inner mood of anything that comes in front of them. They see what others don't. Let's imagine a portrait, we can make a piece of art of it or just a simple photo and that depends no only about the light, contrasts or other features. They just have talent and that's not something that anyone can study in any University.

I personally love photographs that go beyond being simple pictures.

Today, I want to show you Sotiris Filippou's work, who is one of the best examples about what I'm telling above.  He catches the 'spirit'. As he says in his biography "Photography is a way to express the secrets people don't see", and that's true.

In invite you to visit his complete gallery, just click on the images or visit his wonderful site: www.shot-iris.com . If you want to follow him you can do it here:  https://www.facebook.com/SotirisFilippouPhotographer/

Great sense of beauty in watercolor

Talking about the different mediums to paint, let's introduce to watercolor. One of the things that have always caught my attention about watercolor is the spontaneity that the artist need to express the idea. 

Those who develop this technique should be very clear about what they want to express and how. Imagine that you want to paint a flower, it is not as simple as it seems, you must have perfectly in your head the image of what you want to express, you have to know in advance where shadows and lights are, since you don't have much time to think once you put the brush on paper. This needs lot of experience and hard work before starting to achieve a good painting. 

This is not like oil or acrylic that if you get wrong you can wait (in general, sometimes not...) and correct it if you changed your mind or if you just made a mistake. With watercolor you get exactly what you do at the moment. So, think for a while before start working, that would avoid you some headaches. 

Giving shadows and lights to a watercolor painting is a real art, and as the name itself says "water" is much important, not too much, not few... You can get fantastics works with this medium, but take your time experimenting first.

There are some artists that perfectly know what they want to show and achieve it, thats Jasna Dragun's case. She is a flower watercolor painting expert, although her paintings are not limited to that (she works with different subjects and mediums as pastels or acrylic and is an incredible photographer as well). 

I invite you to see her paintings below just as an example of the great work that you can get with effort and, why not, talent.

You can see more about Jasna Dragun cliking on the images or in her blog: http://jasnaart.blogspot.com

Regarding this artist, just to reinforce the idea that watercolor is not as easy as some may think, she traveled throughout Europe as a member of the cultural and artistic society 'Metkovic'. In Zagreb, she is included in the joint work and activities of the group of artists gathered around of the Museum Prigorje, Sesvete. The first solo exhibition of paintings and drawings 'Impressions'was in the Gallery 'Kurija', Zagreb. She participates in several international and group exhibitions, juried exhibitions in the United States, VIII, IX and X International Exhibition 'Women Painters' in Majdanpek, Serbia, 5. Zaprešić Watercolor Biennal '09. / '10., and 6. '11. / '12. At the International Exhibition and Competition in Contemporary Art, Lituanian ArtWeek, Vilnius, Lithuania, won 1. place in the landscape category and 3. place in the watercolor category, participated in the AIR / HMC International Artists and 9 x 12 cm, the exhibition in Budapest, Hungary, the members HDLLU group exhibitions and solo exhibitions at the National University, Zagreb, 2011. Participates in international art contest-exhibition Confluence'12, in the Galerie Art Eterne, at the Lalit Kala Akademi,New Delhi (India), III. „VoVa”- MINIArt 2013. The international biennale of miniatures, Vonyarcvashegy, Hungary (8/2013). Won 2. place at the V. International Exhibition and Competition of Contemporary Art at the ST.Petersburg's Art Week, Russia (7/2013). 2015 The XVII International Exhibition and Competition of Contemporary Art in Moscow, won second place in the category of still life. She also participates in the International Exhibition 'Moslavačke miniatures'. Another technique that draws attention and which complements her artistic view of the world is a photo and so participates in the TIAS: BIENNIAL, INDIA, International Photography Show, 2014, in Virsa Vihar Art Gallery, Jalandhar, India. 

Large involvement in many solo, group and international exhibitions and has brought numerous awards and the last solo exhibition at the Library of the City of Zagreb 'Tin Ujević' showed works with higher boiling artistic concept executed in watercolor. 

As a member See.Me organization participates in a spectacular show and an international gathering talents from 100 different countries: The Story of the Creative in New York City in the summer of 2013. Also, her works have been presented in the mass of animated collage on one of the largest buildings on the Billboard in Times Square the heart of New York City in the summer of 2014, also her image is digitally displayed in the Louvre Paris celebrating the Exposure Award in July 13th, 2015 among 190 countries of the world. 

As well, she published in the book Croatian Neretva's Bulletin 2 / '10., 4 / '12., WWAB (International Dictionary of Artists) and in the 'Costumes in the Neretva Delta over the centuries.' She is the member HDLLU (Croatian Association of Visual and literary artists), Zagreb. 

When the magnificence of nature is shown through a camera

We have a camera and the desire to capture beautiful images but that is not enough. There are many ways to take pictures, and those who do not perform this task in a professional way can consider that it is easy, but it's not...

We can gather 100 people with the same type of camera in the same place and none of them will take exactly the same photograph. It's about "eye", talent and creativity. Some photographs not only show the object that has taken the camera but beyond, they pick something that goes beyond words and explanations and that is inherent in what has been achieved through the image, a particular image that is different though thousands have seen it before, because it has its own soul. 

Some photographers specialize basically in nature, everyone can take a picture of a flower or an animal, but some of these specialized photographers have the ability to show it splendidly, simply through the eye of their camera, their own eye, which can see what nobody else can.

There are photographers who make art and are able to show nature in all its magnificence as no one else can do it. Capture the beauty and complexity of nature requires great sensitivity and only a true artist can do it.

Today, I want to show you Evie Hanlon's work. She is an Australian photographer and artist that delights us with her wonderful photographs that capture the essence of what she wants to show. She is a true artist who shows her vision of nature beyond what the simple eye can see.

You can click on the images to see her complete gallery, and I suggest you to pay attention to her drawings as well, which have a magical touch.

If you want to know more about Evie Hanlon you can visit this link: http://www.redbubble.com/people/eviehanlon?ref=account-nav-dropdown

The right moment for the perfect photograph

The right moment for the perfect photograph

Some photographers perform compositions for their photos while others specialize in searching and waiting for the best time to shoot. It's a real art to look for the right scene at the right moment, neither a second earlier nor a second later, but just at the right time and shot. 

A great knowledge and experience about photographic technique are necessary for this kind of photographs. We all see things around us but we not always know how to recognize the details that make what we see in a work of art.

As an example of this type of art and photography, I want to show you Randy Dyer's work. He is a clear example of what every photographer should take into account when making  photos. He looks for the right thing and the right moment and and he has the ability to capture images highlighting the beauty.

Randy Dyer has been into photography for over 25 years and he specializes in railroad photographs, however his work is still much wider.

You can visit his gallery to learn more about his work.

When photography highlights the concept

When photography highlights the concept.

Here we have an artist who has no doubts about how to stress the importance of the concept in a photograph. Allen Beatty, a versatile photographer, who perfectly knows which is the best image to show beauty, feelings or emotions. He creates interesting abstract works with digital tools, one of the most prominent manifestations of contemporary art since this tool didn't exist until a few decades ago. 

As Allen Beatty says in his biography: "Images are much more than a simple record. Photography speaks to the best and most generous part of our human nature--the desire to share what we find beautiful and interesting with others. Photography allows us to express ourselves through an art form. We notice a beautiful landscape or a sunset and we want to capture it. Each of us will have a different reason to do so but, essentially, we want to create something that speaks to our spirit. A well executed photograph grabs our attention and speaks directly to our emotions. Photography at it's best, is a powerful language which evokes emotion. It allows us to tell our story and show others our framing of the world around us. And for the photographer who trips the shutter, it feels good. "

Check out these photographs and you'll find his complete gallery.

Sensitivity in artistic photography

Sensitivity in artistic photography

Today, I want to show you Melissa Fague's pictures which stand out because of their tenderdenss, subtlety and symbolism. As Melissa says in her biography:  "My goal as a nature and landscape photographer is to create art out of the natural world that surrounds us and exhibit the fine details of the objects that are normally overlooked in the daily grind."

You can visit her gallery and see more about her.

What about oil?

What about oil?

Some think that the oil is out of fashion today, they relate it to the old Renaissance painters. Others complain about drying time, the difficulty of handling and cleaning materials. Personally, I believe that oil is for certain types of artists and works, but can provide great satisfaction.

You need to have some of these features to use it properly:

1. Do not be lazy
2. To be organized
3. Do not go crazy every time you tha you have to clean brushes, palettes, etc.
4. Be patient
5. Be aware that learning is long, and
6. love this technique

There  are no limits for oil painting, you can develope any style (not only portraits and landscapes). I believe that in a world that seems to move ever faster we want everything to be done right now, but oil gives us the opportunity to evade the rush and focus on our work and creativity. Why not try?

I let you one of my works as an example with oil:

Laura Greco

Helplessness

Oil on canvas

50 x 70

What about acylic?

What about acylic?

Acrylic is one of the most used techniques in recent decades. It takes time to get adapted to this kind of material, but you can get very good artworks.

It works layer upon layer and it dries extremely fast. It is one of the most used materials today.

If oil makes you lose patience because of its drying time and  if you don't fading away but with layers, then acrylic is the right medium for you.

Despite of what many believe, you can get very good transitions in light or dark, it's just practice. 

Others use it for spot painting and abstract, for which it's (at least to me) the best one.

It can also be used combined with other materials in a mixed technique.

Everything is up to you!

You Chose

Laura Greco

40 x 60 cm

Acrylic on Canvas

I'll post other artists artworks soon!

Illustrations and commercial artworks

Illustrations and commercial artworks

Most of us work with illustrations and commercial works to earn our life. There are many ways to sell our work, some better than others. The matter is that during the last decades things changed a lot. 

There was a time when we had to go with our portfolio (on paper) to show the potential clients what we do. Now, things are different, and we have the opportunity to show what we do online. 

Like this:

And remember, when a door closes an other gets opened...

Starting point

Starting point

There are two ways to start a work: we know what we want to say from the very beginning and we try to find de way to express it or we simply know perfectly well what we want to compose. The other is when we want to please the others, so we try find a subject that could be interesting to other people.

Both are valid, one is for our own pleasure and the other is to earn our life with a commercial artwork. Whatever the reason is let's not stop to do what we love: "painting".

But going back to the tittle of this, the only way to start is just starting, forgetting about what other people might think about our work, that's what make us original.

Woman and social stablishment

Oil on canvas

50 x 40 cm

Are we doing well?

Sometimes we wonder if we are doing well, we try to please others with our creations but not ourselves. We should try to enjoy what we do, despite it's just an artwork to sell or as an expression of our soul.

No matters what other people think, just be yourself.

Exclusion

Oil on canvas

40 x 60 cm

There are so many ways to feel onseself excluded, it's not necessary to belong to any marginal sector to feel like. It's enough to be different.

What is art?

It has been much disussed through the years about what is art or not. I think art is anything produced by men that brings you an emotion.

Let's start this blog with one of my pictures.

Inner World

Oil on canvas

50 x 70 cm

Sometimes we need to seclude ourselves and get away from the bustle outside. Real peace is just inside you.