Tag: contemporary art

The Canvas of the Soul: How Art Improves Your Emotional Well-being

ingres-Princesse-de-Broglie-1853-closeup-of-face-and-jewelry-the-met-best-art-museums
Ingres, Princess de Broglie, 1853, closeup, the Met, New York

Imagine this: We can feel confidence and inspiration in bold brushstrokes of Sargent. Or, perhaps, we find solace in quiet portraits of Vermeer. Or maybe, the gaze of Frida’s self-portraits can reflect our own inner strength. Visual art, in its myriad forms, is a keepsake of our emotions. And the best part? It’s open to everyone, regardless of age, culture, country or education level.

lady reading letters of Heloise and Abelard-1780-A. dAgesci
A lady reading letters of Heloise and Abelard-1780 by Auguste Bernard d’Agesci, oil painting, Art Institute of Chicago

The Science of Art & Emotion

When we go out to an art museum to marvel at the technical skills of artists, research reveals a deeper magic at play. Studies have shown that engaging with visual art can trigger a cascade of positive effects on our emotional and mental well-being:

1.Reduced stress and anxiety: A 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that museum visits lowered cortisol levels, the stress hormone, in participants. Promoting relaxation, art can be a useful technique to lower your anxiety level without taking the prescription.

2. Enhanced mood and happiness: A 2015 study by the University of Westminster revealed that looking at art increased feelings of pleasure and excitement in participants.

3. Improved empathy and social connection: A 2020 study in PLOS One found that viewing art together fostered greater empathy and prosocial behavior among participants.

Federico Uribe art, Adelson Galleries, 2023, Miami Art

The Secret Weapon is Art Education

The impact of visual art isn’t just for art nerds; it’s an effective tool for nurturing well-being from a young age. Art education is often ignored in public schools giving more value to sciences or sports. However, we have many parts to us and we grow emotionally by incorporating many subjects and social cues into our life. Art isn’t about making pretty pictures; rather it’s about:

Building self-esteem and confidence: As children express themselves through art, they discover their unique creative voices, boosting their self-confidence and sense of accomplishment.

Enhancing cognitive skills: Studies show that art education improves critical thinking, problem-solving, and spatial reasoning skills, giving young minds a well-rounded workout.

Fostering emotional intelligence: Through art, children learn to identify and express their emotions, developing a healthy vocabulary for their inner world. I think this is the most overlooked, yet most powerful application of art in our daily experiences.

Tips to Tap into Art’s Therapeutic Power in You

Every person has the artistic side inside him. It may be dormant or not fully explored. As we nurture this part of our personality, we discover new ways of looking at the world. We become more creative in our jobs. We feel emotional connection to people. We engage with others with empathy. We see beauty in ordinary places. We become more connected to the source of our divine nature.

So if you’re in the mood to discover and process your emotions via visual art, here are some tips to get you started:

1. Visit an art museum or art gallery: 

When you travel to another state or city, place the largest art museum and a few art galleries on your list. Not everything is going to look as art to you or become your favorite, but you learn to explore art beyond your comfort zone; you also understand what you really like or dislike. Sometimes, I go out and get disappointed in the shown objects promoted as ‘art’, but there are moments when I find paintings or sculpture that inspire me to create art or try new art materials or just look at the subject differently. I often study paintings by looking at unusual composition, color use or texture created in paint. Such visits cultivate my taste and appreciation of art.

OtherWorld, interactive space, Columbus, Ohio

Digital art and technology: I find this new realm of technology exciting. I’m not talking about the NFT scams or bitcoin-get-rich schemes. I think that the interactive, digital art installations are becoming more creative and exciting in comparison to contemporary painting. Some interactive installations can help you explore yourself and grow your understanding of reality by going to these virtual reality rooms. I like how some artists combine nature and technology to create moving exhibitions. My favorite artists in this field are: Studio Drift, Studio Olafur Eliasson, Kusama’ Infinity Rooms. You can also explore new interactive spaces like Other World, a 32,000-square-foot immersive art installation in Columbus and Philadelphia. It’s an interactive, multilevel playground filled with large-scale art, mixed reality playgrounds, and secret passageways. It’s a surreal mix art, technology and interactive experience.

OtherWorld, immersive space in Columbus, Ohio. Mushrooms changing color and sound.

2. Let your inner artist shine: 

Grab a brush or a pencil and make a drawing of something in front of you. Sketch a tree outdoors or a flower on your table. Write a note next to your sketch about your feelings as you’ve been drawing it. It’s about finding joy in the process of creation.

3. Turn your home into a gallery: 

abbotsford house castle library
abbotsford house castle_interior2

Surround yourself with art that speaks to your soul. Photographs, paintings, small sculptures or even handmade coffee cups can create a nurturing environment that reflects your inner world. Sometimes I visit homes that have 100% white walls. These houses look empty of color and emotion. Lacking personality, such houses are generic and sterile. Every human being is unique and by exploring your emotions in art, you create beautiful and healing space for yourself and others around you.

midnight dream_bedroom interior shot_celestial painting

4. Engage with art in everyday life:

Notice the beauty in the architecture you pass, the patterns in nature, the colors of a sunset, the texture in your friend’s bag. Collect those moments in a sketchbook or pictures because the world is your scrapbook of memories and emotion.

Church in Venice with mosaic floor design

5. Art therapy: 

Art therapy is a profession and service that grew out of art-making. It’s about using visual arts as a tool for self-expression, emotional exploration, and healing. From trauma recovery to managing chronic illness, art therapy offers a powerful outlet for processing difficult emotions. If you think that drawing is not your thing, try making collage pieces out of magazines and postcards exploring your emotions. I find that I often make art and collages without any particular thoughts but the meaning reveals itself when the art is done… Just like writing or a combination of the two, such process can help you understand and process your painful past to move into the light.

Sometimes psychologists use projective tests to understand your psyche.

Deep Dive into Projective Tests:

Projective tests, like inkblots and incomplete drawings, offer a glimpse into unconscious thoughts, feelings, and conflicts. They often look like symmetrical blobs of paint juxtaposing negative and positive space. But how does it work, right?

The Projective Hypothesis: Imagine throwing a pebble into a still pond. Ripples emanate outwards, revealing the contours of the pond floor. Similarly, projective tests are thought to “disrupt” the calm surface of the mind, provoking responses that reflect our inner landscape. By presenting ambiguous stimuli, such as inkblots or unfinished sentences, psychologists encourage individuals to project their own interpretations and motivations, revealing facets of personality that might otherwise remain hidden.

Rorschach inkblot

Common Projective Tests:

  • Rorschach Inkblot Test: The Rorschach presents ten inkblots of varying shapes and complexity. Psychologists analyze the patient’s interpretations, focusing on content, location, and movement. A bat in the blot might indicate anxiety, while seeing multiple figures interacting could suggest interpersonal struggles.
  • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): In this test, individuals tell stories about ambiguous pictures depicting people in various situations. The psychologist delves into the themes, emotions, and conflicts projected onto the characters, gaining insights into the patient’s underlying motives and needs.
  • Draw-a-Person Test: Simple as it sounds, this test can reveal volumes about self-perception and emotional states. The size, posture, and details of the drawing can offer clues about self-esteem, anxieties, and interpersonal relationships.

You can read about these tests here: https://pdx.pressbooks.pub/thebalanceofpersonality/chapter/chapter-3/

Evaluation and Interpretation: Projective tests are not designed to provide definitive diagnoses, but rather to offer additional information alongside other clinical tools. Psychologists consider contextual factors, compare responses to established norms, and analyze the specific details and patterns in the patient’s interpretations. Projective tests can reveal deeper dynamics:

  • Defense mechanisms: The way individuals cope with stress and anxiety can be evident in their interpretations, revealing defense mechanisms like denial, projection, or rationalization.
  • Unconscious conflicts: Underlying anxieties, fears, and desires can surface through projected themes and symbolism, helping psychologists get to the root of emotional struggles.
  • Relationship dynamics: Projective tests can shed light on how individuals perceive and interact with others, offering insights into potential relationship difficulties or attachment styles.

However, it’s crucial to remember that projective tests are not infallible and rely heavily on subjective interpretation with some cultural biases and individual quirks that can influence responses. While not perfect, they can be valuable tools for psychologists to gain a deeper understanding of their patients, their personalities, and the emotional forces that shape their lives.

6. Community art projects: 

School building in Nicaragua

It’s often difficult to make yourself do something outside the house if you’re introverted or feel tired after a work week. However by going out and participating in collaborative art projects, you gain a sense of belonging, connection, and collective creativity that improves your mood and well-being. Imagine painting a mural for your community or taking an art class to learn the basics of pottery or sculpture. This activity can make you feel needed and appreciated by other members of the circle.

In conclusion:

Art is a valuable tool helping people express their emotions in a safe environment. Children benefit from doing art greatly by learning to explore their feelings and their relationship to the world around them. Art nurtures creativity, intrapersonal skills and grows emotional intelligence that becomes useful in a wide range of daily tasks. Art reduces stress and anxiety.

Remember, the emotional impact of art is unique to you. So, the more you explore, experiment, and record, the more your soul expands with empathy, love and curiosity. Art provides emotional connection to ourselves and the world while other activities may not have the same reach. Create healing space in your mind, home, relationships by developing your skills in painting, drawing, sketching, photography, pottery, etc. The world awaits your light.

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John Dalton-accelerate your creative vision-hooked-on-art-podcast

Accelerate your creativity with John Dalton

Irish artist, John Dalton is an accomplished writer, podcaster and craniosacral therapist. He is the host of two podcasts – “Further Emergence” and “John Dalton Gently Does it”. “Further Emergence” focuses on topics of spirituality and emotion, while “John Dalton Gently Does It” is dedicated to interviews with contemporary figurative artists. John has an extensive experience working in the field of craniosacral therapy as he founded the Australian Institute of Cranio Sacral Therapy in 1998.

Dalton’s books include “The Gentle Snap,” “Maya Noise,” “Why Do We Get Sick? Why Do We Get Better? – A Wellness Detective Manual” and “But then again . . .” available on Amazon.

To contact John: https://www.johndalton.me/ | https://www.furtheremergence.com/

John is a kind and sensitive person who shares his views on art and life. We discuss his background in animation and therapy. He shares his observations about artists in regards to self-doubt, financial pressure, and art contests. John advises how artists can improve upon their art submissions. He also shares his thoughts on the comparison game, affirmations, illusion of reality, hope, loneliness, rejection and reparenting of yourself to get rid of emotional pain.

The only things that I’ve seen that’s real in existence are communication and love.

John Dalton

To watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yTsQtpfLcbQ

Subscribe & rate this podcast on Spotify and Apple | Show your support for the podcast: here | Host: Veronica Winters, MFA | veronicasart.com

How to spot art market fraud in contemporary art world

Art Palm Beach 2018

The uncomfortable truth about the art market corruption

Is this painting great? No. Discover why we face the fraud of contemporary art every day.

This is an opinion piece that you may not agree with. I’m going to explain some art market money laundering and Ponzi schemes prevalent at the top art market today. I’m a realist artist myself and I see how the majority of talented artists can barely make a living, while others are killing it in the contemporary art market. The obvious question is why some artists are incredibly successful while the majority struggle. This question is not about feeling jealous or insecure, rather it’s about observing and understanding the driving force behind successful artists so you can make informed decisions whether you’re an artist or art collector.

The first answer to this question is relationships. Artists who grow their network and connect to the most influential art dealers, gallerists and curators in New York, LA, London and other top art destinations can become famous early in their career. Artists who get exhibited in art museums in New York stand a much better chance of growing their artistic career exponentially according to Magnus Resch, the author of “How to become a successful artist” book.

The second answer to this question- why some strange artists become famous- is art market collusion. In essence, art investors pose as art collectors. This category of art collectors want to make money by buying modern and contemporary art at the art fairs and top art galleries, hoping to flip the art in a few years making a considerable profit. This leads to some remarkable art market corruption schemes at the very top tier of the art market you can learn about in podcasts, art law books and some YouTube videos. (I’m going to mention some of them below.)

There is no art market regulation. Therefore it attracts many speculators to it. In this post, I’m going to discuss several most used art market corruption schemes, however there are many more I’m sure.

First, let’s look at the numbers because art seems to be a profitable business overall.

How big is the art market?

Despite billions made in revenue, the art market is a relatively small market if you look at the numbers in comparison to revenues of some blue chip companies. For instance, FedEx annual revenue for 2022 was $93.512B. Walmart generated over $572 billion in revenue in 2022. In its 2022 financial year, Apple reported 394.33 billion U.S. dollars in revenues. The global art market for 2022 was $67.8B.

  • The global art market: the art market worldwide totaled $67.8 billion in 2022, growing by 3% year-over-year and reaching its second-highest level to date, according to The Art Market 2023, authored by Dr. Clare McAndrew, Founder of Arts Economics and published by Art Basel in partnership with UBS. The US was the top market, commanding 45% of global sales by value in 2022 and growing by 8% year-on-year to reach $30.2 billion! Significant growth at the high-end of the auction market, along with some growth in dealer sales, propelled the increase.
  • Other art markets: The UK and China ranked second and third among global markets respectively.
  • Dealer sales: art dealer sales went up 7%, reaching the pre-pandemic level of $37.2 billion. Nearly two-thirds (61%) reported an increase in sales year-on-year, and a majority (58%) even saw an improvement in values over 2019. About a quarter (24%) reported a year-on-year decline in values. The return of art fairs resulted in dealers making a growing percentage of their sales at in-person events in 2022. 
  • Online-only sales: Online fell to $11 billion, dropping 17% from their 2021 peak of $13.3 billion, though still 85% higher than in 2019. Online sales represented 16% of the art market’s 2022 sales volume overall.
  • Auction Houses: The strength at the top end of the art market – Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips each achieved a record high in 2022, with combined annual revenues of $17.7 billion.
  • Source: https://www.artbasel.com/stories/key-findings-art-market-report-2023

Top 5 art galleries in the world:

  • Larry Gagosian of Gagosian Gallery, 17 galleries worldwide! $1B in revenue
  • David Zwirner of David Zwirner Gallery, 6 locations, $1B in revenue
  • Manuela Hauser and Iwan Wirth of Hauser & Wirth, 10 galleries, slightly under $1B in revenue
  • Marc Glimcher of Pace Gallery, 6 locations, $1B in revenue
  • Jeffrey Deitch of Deitch Project, 2 locations, considerably under $1B in revenue

Data Source: Magnus Resch

Art market fraud at the top tier of the art world

Money corrupts people. That’s human nature. The top tier of the art market is all about making money, not selling or purchasing beautiful art. Because of deregulation and tax laws in the US, art has become a place to write off taxes or to store millions in overpriced works. Art dealers, curators, advisors and top mysterious clients all participate in these art flipping or art market tax evasion schemes to make money and to avoid paying taxes. Let me explain.

Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud in which belief in the success of a nonexistent enterprise is fostered by by the payment of quick returns to the first investors from money invested by later investors.

Art market fraud refers to deceptive and dishonest practices within the art industry that are intended to deceive, manipulate, or mislead buyers, sellers, collectors, investors, and other participants for financial gain. This type of fraud can encompass a wide range of illicit activities aimed at misrepresenting the authenticity, provenance, value, condition, or ownership of artworks.

#1 Charitable donations to art museums

Let’s look at the charity donations to art museums. These charitable contributions have several angles. In the first instance, while the artist gets zero in return from donating his art to a charity (only the cost of art supplies can be written off taxes as a business expense by the artist), the art collector can write off the entire price tag spent on art by donating it to an art museum or other non-profit organization. Yep, the artist gets nothing but the art collector is getting paid via a legit art donation.

In the second instance, charitable art donations can be good for artist’s brand name recognition. To advance artistic career, artists must receive validation by exhibiting their art at the top art museums in New York City. What does it mean exactly? Art must be chosen for shows by leading art curators working in New York. According to Magnus Resch, New York is the center of the art world and the “Holy Land” of art institutions and galleries. The Holy Land consists of Gagosian, Guggenheim Museum, MoMa, the Whitney Museum, Pace gallery and Houser & Wirth. A commercial gallery’s director representing work of such artists, would say that it’s a stamp of approval from professionals who choose the artist by merit. The more art museums the artist concurs, the more validation he receives, the much higher price of art follows. As a result, galleries sell very expensive art because of formal validation, not the aesthetic principles of art or the artistic genius. Art market ethics is questionable here.

This leads to art museum purchases or donations that raise the value of art. Nothing wrong with that, only many mega wealthy individuals sit on museums’ boards and pump the artist’s price up by giving the artist a show and then donating the art from their personal art collection to that museum at a much higher price. Donation is a tax write off. Nothing more and nothing less. Big money donations to the art museums are simple tax write offs. Plus you get your name written on a bench or a plaque. How exciting!

donation to charity law
Donation to charity: Another means by which a taxpayer can shelter income is to donate appreciated property. If, for example, an individual is lucky enough to purchase a valuable work of art for an amount less than its fair market value, he or she may hold the piece for one year and then donate it to a qualified charity. The tax deduction which may be taken for this donation is based on the fair market value of the work on the date of the donation. As discussed in Section C of this chapter, valuation is an important consideration and a substantial penalty can be imposed if an underpayment of tax occurs as a result of overvaluation.
A taxpayer may take this donation concept one step further and set up a systematic plan of donations involving limited edition prints or books. In this situation, the investor purchases the prints, probably at a discount, or the books at cost, holds them for 12 months plus one day, then donates them to museums or charities. He or she then may take a charitable deduction in the amount of fair market value of the prints on the date of contribution and in the amount of retail list price of the books. However, two revenue rulings make it clear that the investor’s activity with respect to these types of art shelters makes him or her substantially equivalent to a dealer who sells the objects in the ordinary course of a trade or business. Rev. Rul. 79-419, 1979-2 C.B, 107. Source: Art Law in a nutshell by L. DuBoff, 4th edition.
ingres-Princesse-de-Broglie-1853-closeup-the-met-best-art-museums
Art: Ingres, Princesse de Broglie,1853, closeup, the MET

#2 How some obscure artists become famous.

Do you ever wonder how some strange art gets popular among the elite and good art remains in the shadows? Here is how you can become a famous artist participating in art market money laundering. Say, a wealthy person X must write off millions to avoid paying a big tax. So he must own an expensive painting, say a $15 million one without spending that much money on it. That wealthy person finds an underrepresented artist and buys some of his art for a few thousand dollars. But how do you make a $1k painting worth $10 million? Here is how. Such people are usually well connected and either already have or will find necessary people in the art world to realize their scheme. It means finding high end curators, appraisers and gallery owners who can decide on pricing of art. If the artist is underrepresented, they can’t justify price increase without a reason. Therefore they do something like this.

The unknown artist gets a massive marketing boost by hiring a PR firm to promote the artist’s work. These PR agencies place the artist in top publications, magazines and art influencer accounts using their connections. After a while, the artist gets a show at a high-end gallery where the right people shop for art at high prices. This process gives lots of credibility and social proof to the artist. As a result the unknown artist becomes “hot” as his artwork gets continuously promoted. The appraisers can put a high price on art from now on. At about that moment, the wealthy person X would cash in on his original investment because the art was purchased for pennies and sold for thousands. The investment is worth a million or two and can be donated to a setup charity. By spending some money on art and promotion, the artificially raised price becomes income after donation giving the investor profit not to spend it on taxes.

Adrian Ghenie – Pie Fight Interior 12

A variation of this business practice is when a ‘hot’ artist gets flipped a lot for higher prices in a pyramid-like scheme.

The most recent example of this Ponzi scheme is New York art advisor Lisa Schiff. She has got a lawsuit where two plaintiffs allege that she owes them $1.8 million related to the sale of a painting by famous Romanian artist Adrian Ghenie (b.1977). Ghenie is a hot artist represented by one of four top galleries-Pace. According to the Artnet news, the record for a Ghenie work sold at auction is $10.3 million for Pie Fight Interior 12 (2014), sold at Christie’s Hong Kong in May 2022. This lawsuit opened a can warms exposing Schiff’s business model of flipping art for profit for many years! In this particular case,

In 2021, Schiff told Barasch and Grossman that a Ghenie painting, Uncle 3 (2019), was available for purchase. After discussions they agreed to buy the painting. Barasch took a 50 percent share and Grossman and his spouse each acquired a 25 percent interest. No one got the art as it was shipped to a storage unit in Delaware. Source: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-advisor-lisa-schiff-hit-with-lawsuit-art-flipping-deal-2300709

Next year, the plaintiffs agreed to resale the art with the help of Lisa Schiff. They agreed on price of art – $2.5 million and to split the proceeds, after a commission to Schiff of $250,000. The art was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong and the sellers received $450,000. Schiff got the commission. The rest of the money, which was $1.8 million were never wired to the sellers by Schiff, hence the lawsuit.

The art world knows Lisa Schiff, an art advisor to the rich in New York who worked with high- profile clients. She was a well-connected, influencer seen at art fairs, on museum boards, and in New York and LA, running her upscale business from a gallery in Tribeca. Schiff was frequently quoted as an expert in the art press, until the day the lawsuit dropped accusing her of running a Ponzi scheme flipping really expensive art from one buyer to the next.
What’s common among such schemers like Bernie Madoff* or Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is their low sense of consciousness and unbelievably lavish lifestyle. Schiff maintained her business model and lavish lifestyle for many years at the expense of those art collectors/investors who chased hot contemporary artists to get a lucrative return on their investment within a few years.

*Bernie Madoff, a prominent New York financier, pleaded guilty in 2009 to running a Ponzi scheme that resulted in as much as $20 billion in cash losses and $65 billion in paper losses. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison and died in April 2021 at age 82. Sam Bankman-Fried’s case is ongoing in 2023.

#3 Art purchase as a bribe and exchange for a valuable position

In this art market money laundering scheme, you usually see inflated art prices on art selling at a high-end art gallery where an “art collector” comes in and purchases art in exchange for a big favor or a valuable position within the government or other entity. The Hunter Biden case illustrates this concept perfectly. I’m not going to discuss the political views and implications here, rather I’d like to focus on the art corruption scheme itself.

In this particular case, the art gallery sold Hunter Biden’s art to some art collectors for 1.3 million dollars. According to the Insider, one art collector bought 11 artworks for $875,000 according to the Insider. Upon close investigation, the names of at least two people who were art collectors became known- Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali & Kevin Morris. Eight months later after the Hunter Biden’ solo show opening, Joe Biden-the president- put Naftali to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.

This case illustrates how valuable positions can be sold when you can’t do a simple money transfer in exchange for it.

This was first published in Insider on July 24,2023 by M. Schwartz. You can read the full article here: https://www.businessinsider.com/hunter-biden-joe-artwork-berges-gallery-elizabeth-hirsh-naftali-2023-7

#4 Murky Pricing at high-end galleries

Pricing is murky. When you enter a top art gallery, you won’t see prices for art sold at the gallery. When you go to Miami Art Basel, you see very few art galleries displaying prices on walls next to paintings. There is no art market transparency. Shrouded in mystery, prices are not publicized by dealers for a reason. Price varies depending on your looks and status.

Hot artists are not sold to first-come, rich art collectors. If you just walk in wishing to buy a particular hot artist, you’d be placed on a wait list with a promise that you need to buy a “less hot” artist first. Hot artists are sold to the most known art collectors first to bump up the price further.

art miami 2018_ron isaacs
Ron Isaacs, 3D wall art at Miami Art Context 2018

#5 Freeports

Freeports, also known as Free Trade Zones or Free Economic Zones, are specialized facilities that provide secure and tax-advantaged environments for the storage, trade, and exhibition of valuable assets, including art, collectibles, and luxury goods. These areas are typically located within a country’s borders but are considered to be outside its customs territory. Freeports offer various benefits, such as exemption from customs duties, taxes, and stringent regulations that would normally apply to imports and exports. In other words, the simplest way to use freeports is not to pay a sales tax on sold art by storing it in freeports, which speaks volumes of art market tax evasion.

Freeports have gained prominence as a solution for wealthy individuals, collectors, galleries, and art institutions seeking a secure and flexible space to store and manage their valuable artworks. They offer a range of services beyond simple storage, such as conservation, restoration, cataloging, and even private viewing rooms for potential buyers or patrons. These facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art security systems, climate control, and specialized expertise to ensure the preservation of delicate and valuable art pieces. The example of such facility is shown in the Tenet movie.

The primary advantage of using freeports for art storage is the ability to defer tax payments and customs duties until the items are brought back into the domestic market or are sold. This art market tax evasion feature can be particularly beneficial for collectors who acquire artworks from various parts of the world and wish to avoid immediate taxation or customs complications. It also allows for more fluid movement of art across international borders for exhibitions, auctions, and art fairs. Examples are:

  1. Geneva Freeport (Switzerland): One of the most famous freeports for art storage is the Geneva Freeport. Located in Switzerland, it offers secure and climate-controlled spaces for storing high-value assets, including artworks, fine wines, and precious metals. The Geneva Freeport gained notoriety for its confidentiality and lack of transparency regarding the ownership of stored items, making it a popular choice for individuals and institutions looking to keep their collections discreet.
  2. Singapore Freeport (Singapore): The Singapore Freeport is strategically positioned in Asia and serves as a hub for art storage and trading in the region. It provides specialized facilities for storing art, precious metals, and other valuable assets. The Singapore Freeport is known for its stringent security measures, advanced technology, and favorable tax policies.
  3. Luxembourg Freeport (Luxembourg): The Luxembourg Freeport is another significant player in the world of art storage. It offers a range of services beyond storage, including customs clearance, art logistics, and private viewing rooms. The facility’s location within Europe makes it an attractive option for art dealers and collectors seeking a central point for their art transactions. The LUXEMBOURG HIGH SECURITY HUB is a 22,000 m2, 4-story building with beautiful architecture. The facility has 24h-security and offers storage rooms, vaults and safes of custom sizes. https://lux-hsh.com/luxembourg/

In recent years, freeports have faced criticism and increased scrutiny due to concerns about money laundering, tax evasion, and lack of transparency regarding the ownership of stored assets. Some countries have taken steps to address these issues by implementing stricter regulations and transparency measures within their freeport systems.

This video gives a good overview of freeports to store super expensive artworks as means of tax evasion. It also explains some schemes in art fraud, manipulation, and price gauging. It explains some shady financial setups for trafficking of cultural assets through shale companies and freeports. For example, according to this video it’s estimated that the Nahmad family of art dealers stores over 4 billion in art at the Geneva freeport. Art Basel is the place for art dealers to make business.

Sometimes you can see the depiction of freeports in movies. They show such facilities where valuable items, like art can be stored, traded, or showcased. Some movies include:

  1. “No Time to Die” (2021): In the James Bond film “No Time to Die,” there is a scene set in a fictional Cuban Freeport where a valuable art collection is stored. This location plays a significant role in the plot of the movie.
  2. “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1999): This remake of the 1968 film features a scene set in a freeport where the wealthy protagonist stores his art collection, including stolen pieces. The freeport becomes a focal point in the investigation of a major art heist.
  3. “Rush Hour 3” (2007): In this action-comedy film, there is a sequence set in a French customs warehouse that operates as a kind of freeport. The film’s protagonists discover valuable artworks stored there as part of the plot.
  4. “The Good Liar” (2019): While the film primarily revolves around a con artist and his schemes, there is a scene involving a high-security storage facility in London that serves as a freeport for valuable items.
  5. “Duplicity” (2009): This movie involves corporate espionage and features a subplot that revolves around a secure storage facility where high-value products are kept. While not a traditional freeport, the concept is similar.
  6. “Danny Collins” (2015): While not the main focus of the film, there is a scene set in a storage facility where valuable items, including artworks, are stored. This scene contributes to character development and plot progression.
“Tenet” (2020): In Christopher Nolan’s movie Tenet, the protagonist travels back in time to the freeport in Oslo airport. The Protagonist approaches Sator’s wife who is an art appraiser. She sold Sator a forged Goya drawing for $9 million. As a result, Sator uses that forged drawing to blackmail her. The Protagonist plots to steal the drawing from a freeport facility visiting it as a potential art collector.

While freeports don’t play a central role in the movies, they serve as intriguing settings for some movie scenes or plot developments. Keep in mind that movies often take creative liberties, so the portrayal of freeports in these films may not fully represent the real-world complexities and operations of such facilities but somehow illustrate the nature of art market tax evasion.

#6 Art market forgery

There are numerous art market forgery schemes. While they’re somewhat different in motivation from all the previous art market collusion schemes listed, they do exist as forged art gets produced and sold to art collectors, art museums and private companies.

Art market forgery means creating or selling artworks that are falsely attributed to a well-known artist or created to imitate a particular artistic style in order to pass them off as genuine.

Misrepresentation of Provenance means providing false or fabricated ownership histories and records of an artwork’s past ownership to inflate its value or authenticity.

A very interesting documentary about a German art forger (born in 1951) who made over 35 million euros on forgeries. Because pricing of the top art market is so opaque, its sort of easy to sell art forgeries. The artist and his wife kept selling forgeries until their mid. sixties!
A single parent with two young children, the art forger made a living lying confidently about almost everything. He not only forged the modern art but also inserted forged provenances into the catalogs of the Tate museum’s archive. Amazing!!!

#7 Art Philanthropy

What is philanthropy? The original meaning of this word gets corrupted by human nature. Philanthropy raises the person’s profile. It also looks great on paper when the philanthropist is giving money to the foundations. The only problem is that that philanthropist controls the foundation behind the scenes. If it’s an LLC, these companies make and spend money as they want. During the money transfer to the foundation they get a tax break for a charitable contribution. In reality it’s same old tax evasion. If registered as charity, philanthropists donate to both nonprofit and for profit companies with direct interest in those companies that make them money. It’s a business, not philanthropy.

Tax Shelter: Another type of tax shelter involves an investment tax credit available under IRC § 46 for qualified rehabilitation expenditures. This is one of the few shelters which Congress appears to favor. It is a means by which the legislature can encourage rehabilitation activities that it deems beneficial. In these situations, the taxpayer deducts the tax credit directly from taxes owed. The amount of investment tax credit is 20 percent for certified historic structures and 10 percent for other qualifying structures. To qualify, most buildings must be non- residential at the time rehabilitation begins; however, certified historic buildings can be either residential or nonresidential. The building also must have been placed in service before the beginning of the rehabilitation, and it must have been substantially rehabilitated…Source: Art Law in a nutshell by L. DuBoff, 4th edition.

#8 Price gauging at art auction houses

Price gouging at art auction houses refers to the practice of artificially inflating the prices of artworks beyond their fair market value through various means, ultimately leading to higher auction results. This can occur due to a combination of factors, including manipulation, collusion, hype generation, and unethical practices by auction houses, bidders, or intermediaries involved in the art market. While not all art auction houses engage in price gouging, instances of such behavior can undermine the transparency and integrity of the art market.

Methods of Price Gouging:

  1. Shill Bidding: Auction houses might use “shills,” which are individuals posing as legitimate bidders, to drive up the bidding and create an illusion of high demand. Shill bidders artificially increase the price of an artwork, encouraging genuine bidders to offer higher bids.
  2. Pre-Arranged Sales: Some artworks might be sold privately before an auction but are then presented as fresh-to-market items. This tactic can create the perception of high demand and value, leading to increased bidding during the auction.
  3. Chandelier Bidding: Auctioneers might falsely claim to have received bids from the audience, inflating the price of an artwork even if no actual bids were placed. This technique encourages real bidders to compete at higher price points.
  4. Limited Information: Auction houses might withhold relevant information about the artwork’s condition, provenance, or authenticity, leading to higher prices based on incomplete or misleading information.
  5. Hype Generation and Marketing: Auction houses often use elaborate marketing campaigns, glossy catalog descriptions, and celebrity endorsements to generate hype around certain artworks or artists. This can create an atmosphere of excitement and exclusivity, driving up demand and subsequently inflating prices.

Price gouging can have many negative consequences for the art market that include loss of trust of collectors and investors, loss of value of art, and damaged reputation of houses, dealers, etc.

Other art market scams:

In addition to price gauging, you must be aware of Online Auction Scams. These scams involve posting fake listings on online auction platforms, often using stolen images, to deceive potential buyers into making payments for nonexistent artworks. There are also scams involving undisclosed restoration or damage. The scammers conceal the fact that an artwork has undergone restoration or repair, or downplaying the extent of damage, in order to sell it at a higher price. Some art market participants also give false appraisals. By providing inaccurate or inflated appraisals of an artwork’s value to deceive buyers or lenders for financial gain. Finally, some can forge the Certificates of Authenticity by creating counterfeit certificates of authenticity or manipulating genuine certificates to falsely authenticate an artwork. Obviously, it leads to financial losses and legal battles by the art collectors.

In conclusion

You can call me cynical or too ironic describing the art world. After all it’s a web of connected art dealers, auctioneers, appraisers, art critics, influencers and gallerists – all participating in the art market collusion. My point is that art has nothing to do with art. All of these art market money laundering schemes are real and some thrive because of legit tax code in the US. Art as an investment is for people to do just that. To put money to work. Yes, they all say that they love and enjoy looking at art. Perhaps. And so many really talented artists live and work on the sidelines of these marketing machines and have no way of receiving a” stamp of approval” to either confirm or raise the value of their art.
Until the day we have a new voting system in place where people vote after seeing new shows or recent acquisitions at the art museums, nothing would change. We will continue to be mesmerized by exuberant pricing and ugly “art” hung in institutions telling us what’s great and what’s not. They will make you believe something that’s not true. You will continue being confused about what you’re seeing, saying to yourself that you don’t understand art.

The sad part is that the average Joe and Jane pay their taxes to support the government spending while wealthy people who can really contribute to the well-being of our society avoid doing just that.

If you’re an artist and want to take part in this marketing machine, now you know what to do. You can try getting into the shows at the art museums in New York or connect to a powerful player in the artworld who would promote your art.

As a side note, you can read about various cases and corruption schemes in this book. It’s a great read to understand other art-related issues as well. Art Law in a Nutshell, 6th Edition https://amzn.to/3Ds3SmJ Art Law in a Nutshell presents an overview of the legal issues concerning art. It covers the definition of art, and the theft and movement of art in wartime and peacetime. It examines the business of art for artists, dealers, museums, and collectors, including art as an investment, auctions, authentication, insurance, tax issues for artists and collectors, working artist issues, and aid to the arts. It also explains the intellectual property issues of copyright, trademark, moral rights and economic rights, right of publicity, and First Amendment freedom of expression rights. The latest introduction was written by a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge who actually wrote at least one of the opinions discussed in the book.

SHOP visionary art for sale now!

Nicole Finger: Unlocking the Secrets of Stunning Realism Art

Subscribe & rate this podcast on Spotify and Apple | Show your support for the podcast: here | Host: Veronica Winters, MFA | veronicasart.com

Nicole Finger-Freedom-30x36-oil-hooked on art podcast
Nicole Finger, Freedom, 30×36 inches, oil painting

Colorado-based realist artist, Nicole Finger is a super-talented, highly-realistic oil painter who creates figurative realism art inspired by her family and surroundings. Immersed in beauty of the San Juan Mountains in Telluride, the artist enjoys juxtaposing stunning snow peaks with gentle tulips and peonies. She creates luscious textures painting almost any surface she chooses- donuts, tacos, jackets, lace and portraits. Painting large, realist artist captures your attention with fresh color palette and an unusual placement of common subjects on canvas. Finger loves the precision in oil painting and depicts the sunlit portraits of her children so realistically you want to marvel every detail in her art.

Finger holds a BFA degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder and is represented by several art galleries including Victory Contemporary in Santa Fe and Skidmore Contemporary Art in Santa Monica. The artist received top awards for her realist painting in 2022 including IGOR, Best Portrait Award 6th Annual National Juried Exhibition, (ANJE) , Honorable Mention, John Dalton Art Prize, Finalist, International FiKVA Award Finalist, 16th International ARC Salon semi finalist, American Women Artists (AWA) Juried Spring Online Show- Presidents Award and many more!

Her art is in many corporate collections including San Francisco Delta Sky Club Collection, San Francisco International Airport, Copper Mountain Hotel, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Denver, Children’s Hospital, Denver, Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, Children’s Hospital, Parker, St. Mary’s Hospital, Grand Junction, Greeley Hotel, Greeley, First Warning Music, New York, NY and many more.

Nicole_Finger_Gossamer_24x36_oil-hooked on art podcast
Nicole Finger, Gossamer, 24×36 inches, oil painting, realism art

Contact Nicole: Website: fingerpaintingart.com | current project & charity info: https://www.instagram.com/postcodeukraine/ https://contribute.to/postcodeukraine

“The strength of the mountains and the fragility of the flowers and how that is a metaphor for life. It’s timeless and fleeting to be appreciative and grateful. It’s here. It’s beautiful and then it’s gone.”

Nicole Finger
NicoleFinger_WhereTulipsandWildflowersDance-hooked on art podcast
Nicole Finger, Where Tulips and Wild flowers Dance, oil painting

Interview:

1-10 min art overview

13:23 image transfer process

15:45-17:20 underpainting technique

17:40 What’s so exciting about the process of realism oil painting?

19:50 Photography process

21:30 Ideas and technique of oil painting “Freedom”

24:00 About artists on the Moon Project

27:20 “Floralscapes” series inspiration & meaning

31:40 Painting of Svetlana and Postcode Ukraine project

35:20 Going out to art galleries

36:00 What inspires the artist to create art

37:20-39:40 How the artist markets her realism paintings (art marketing tips)

41:48 Wearable art painting (paintings on dresses)

46:50 Greatest success

47:50 & 51:00-59:00 Getting into museum art shows and galleries, tips for young artists

49:50 What the artist wants to say with her hyperrealism art

Nicole_Finger_AntlersandLace_36x36_oil_2020-hooked on art podcast
Nicole Finger, Antlers and Lace, 36×36, oil painting
Nicole Finger art-hooked on art podcast
Nicole Finger art-hooked on art podcast

To watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rZ-5HYMysEc

ART WYNWOOD 2023: the sudden rise of commercial, mind-blowing art that changes the game in art collecting

Leo Manelli at art wynwood 2023-veronica winters art blog
Leo Manelli, Bel-Air Fine Art Gallery at Art Wynwood 2023 (price estimate 6000-12000 euros)

On February 16, 2023, ART WYNWOOD kicked off its 10th edition with exuberant crowds, diverse art and energetic vibe. Held during the presidents day weekend, the art fair welcomed art collectors big and small to enjoy art, cocktails and trendy hangout. Smaller than the CONTEXT Art Miami, this winter art fair was held in the same spot – One Herald Plaza @ NE 14th Street, on Biscayne Bay, Downtown Miami. Thursday’s VIP Preview benefited The Bass – Miami Beach’s contemporary art museum.

MARCO GRASSI HOFA gallery at art wynwood miami
Marco Grassi, HOFA gallery at Art Wynwood Miami
broken koons balloon dog sculpture-veronica winters art blog
During the opening night -VIP preview-someone knocked off Jeff Koons’s shiny balloon dog sculpture made of glass. Staff was very quick to take care of it and the crowd dissolved as quickly as it appeared around the broken sculpture. The gallery that displayed the balloon sculpture was also quick to delete the entry in the computer. Bel-Air Fine Art continued to show art that evening and no one seemed to be asked to pay for it. My guess, art of this kind gets insured to prevent accidents and stealing. You can see it in the video I shot displayed below.
Martín Mancera, Putin, mixed media,78in galeria casa cuadrada art wynwood- veronica winters art blog
Martín Mancera, Putin, mixed media,78in, galeria casa cuadrada, art wynwood 2023, $25000

ART WYNWOOD attracted international crowd of the rich during the opening night in downtown Miami. Some walked off their yachts to see the show, others stepped out of their winter houses to enjoy the artsy night. People with dogs, women in hats, men in colorful shirts. Hispanic. White. Black.

The most fascinating part about such art fairs is the variety of presented art. Painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed media art, light-based art, textile art, photography – these general categories take on a new life here. Walking into the art fair in Miami can be both exciting and draining seeing so much art at once. Cutting-edge, contemporary art often tests the limits of what’s possible, appropriate or imaginable. Attracting wealthy viewers from afar, most paintings are very large to occupy the white walls at the fair. In fact, some art won’t fit your regular living room wall. They range from 50 to 80 inches in length. That’s how big those artworks are. Sculpture is often a hard-sell in a commercial gallery but it doesn’t seem to be the case here. It’s quite impressive to observe an array of subjects, materials and sizes presented at the Art Wynwood.

Jorge Jiménez Deredia, Capullo, marble sculpture, Contessa gallery at ART WYNWOOD
vladimir kush, kush fine art gallery at art wynwood
Vladimir Kush, Kush Fine Art gallery at Art Wynwood

Art Galleries

Art Wynwood showcased contemporary art from more than 50 established and emerging international galleries. The galleries included the following: 

  • Aldo Castillo gallery: Aldo presented Daniele Fortuna who uses a variety of materials to create the the sculptures so they can be touched.
  • Blink Group Fine Art presented Hebru Brantley’s fiberglass and acrylic sculpture that borders childhood memories, pop-up culture, shiny colors and Hero narratives.
  • Bel-Air Fine Art showed Leo Manelli’s acrylic paintings that combine classical art with contemporary pop culture.
  • Chase Contemporary: RISK debuted four new Virtual Reality graffiti prints, which  come to life through the screen when activated via a phone camera. 
  • Heitsch Gallery showed Eike König, whose sarcastic social commentary is internationally recognized.
  • Liquid Art System presented hyperrealist art by Attilio Cianni and sculptures by Peter Demetz
  • Cernuda Arte presented works from 20th century modern artists Wifredo Lam and Carlos Alfonzo
  • Contessa gallery showed Jorge Jiménez Deredia‘s sculpture.
  • HOFA gallery presented popular Italian artist Marco Grassi who creates big figurative abstractions in gold and silver leaf, paint and resin.
  • Quidley & Company showcased a variety of wall art.
  • Goldman Global Arts Gallery presented a collection of 15 artworks by artists, including Leon Keer, Hebru Brantley, Dan Kitchener, Kai, and Okuda.  
  • Kush Fine Art Gallery presented paintings and sculptures of Russian-American artist Vladimir Kush who works in metaphorical realism combining surrealism and natural elements.
  • Laurent Marthaler showcased new works from Swiss artists Crystel Ceresa and Daniel Cherbuin.
  • Avant Gallery presented Tim Tadder’s works created with Artificial Intelligence.  
christian alexander albarracin-paper sculpture-blink group gallery-art wynwood
Christian Alexander Albarracin, paper sculptures, Blink group gallery at Art Wynwood
hijack-got your nose, contessa gallery, art wynwood
Hijack, got your nose, mixed media on wood cut, $62000, Contessa gallery, Art Wynwood 2023
DANIELE FORTUNA, girl with a pearl earring, aldo castillo gallery-art wynwood 2023
DANIELE FORTUNA, girl with a pearl earring, 27x17x26, acrylic and mixed media on wood, $8500, Aldo Castillo Gallery, Art Wynwood 2023
Jorge Jiménez Deredia, gemelos, sideview, bronze sculpture-contessa gallery-art wynwood-veronica winters art blog
Jorge Jiménez Deredia, Gemelos, sideview, bronze sculpture, $65000, Contessa gallery at Art Wynwood
joe black, beautiful game, plastic flowers side-eternity gallery miami-art wynwood
Joe Black, Beautiful Game, plastic flowers, eternity gallery Miami, Art Wynwood 2023
Leo Manelli, acrylic painting, Bel-Air Fine Art Gallery at Art Wynwood 2023
attilio cianni art wynwood 2023
Attilio Cianni, Liquid Art System Gallery at Art Wynwood 2023
Eddy Maniez.Fr- Moon Fish, resin,crystal silicone-gallery got-art wynwood
Eddy Maniez.Fr- Moon Fish, resin, crystal silicone, Galerie Got at Art Wynwood
roberto fabelo-a bit of us-art wynwood
Roberto Fabelo, a bit of us, bronze sculpture, 44x30x21, $145000, 6 of 7, Cernuda Arte gallery
This is a visual summary of my visit to the Art Wynwood art fair in Miami, February 2023

Location:

Tickets are: VIP-$225, General admission – $36.50, Senior/Student-$25. Garage parking is $30

http://www.artwynwood.com | February16-19, 2023 | Location: ​The Art Wynwood Pavilion, One Herald Plaza @ NE 14th Street, on Biscayne Bay between the Venetian Causeway & MacArthur Causeway, Downtown Miami

If you’d like me to cover your art gallery, event or show, Contact

Check out visionary art for sale

Jack of the Dust mask skulls-hooked on art podcast interview of Andy Firth

Jack of the Dust: the man behind the skulls in 2023

Subscribe & Rate this podcast on Spotify and Apple | Show your support for the podcast: here | Podcast Host: Veronica Winters, MFA | veronicasart.com

Jack of the Dust skulls-Hooked on Art Podcast Interview
Images: Jack of the Dust handmade sculptures of skulls | Hooked on Art Podcast Interview

In this candid interview Andy Firth aka Jack of The Dust shares his art, heart and vision. Andy is a self-taught Australian artist who established his art business in a home garage in 2013. Now he produces artful skulls in 4-6 releases a year and manages a crew of 15 people to make and ship art globally! He sculpts his original pieces by hand combining various materials such as clay, acrylic paint, and cinema-grade urethane resin to resemble various surfaces and textures that include skin, bone, steel, and stone.

Andy borrowed the term ‘Jack-of-the-dust’ from the Royal Navy of the 1800s. These were ship’s assistants who worked in the dusty bread storeroom. In the interview the artist explains his connection to the term and how it relates to his brand name and work.

The vanitas theme was one of major topics explored by artists throughout art history. The depiction of a skull, coffin, hourglass and dying flowers often illustrated the impermanence of human life in paintings. The skull served as a reminder of inevitable death in art. Yet, it has another meaning for Andy, which he eagerly shares in this interview.

The artist gives his reasons why art is important. He also shares his views on AI art. Andy explains his creative process, gives some cool art marketing and Instagram tips, and acknowledges the importance of failure to propel and ignite his creative and passionate career in the arts. Tune in now!

Video is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1EJOTNOlJ58

Contact Jack of the Dust: https://jackofthedust.com/

Why Artists Create

Why Do Artists Create Art? Online Group Exhibition

I’d like to thank all the artists who entered this competition and all the sponsors who support the artists. Please visit the sponsors via the links shown below.

Written by Veronica Winters, MFA | Edited by Vladislav Fomitchev

You might think that artists create art for a variety of reasons. We find an outlet to communicate our ideas, to express our emotions, to capture a moment in time, to tell a story, or to bring inspiration and joy into people’s lives. Some artists create art to make money, while most artists produce art to express their soul and talent because they feel a pure need to create.

Learning to express ourselves visually is a need. Without having this deep drive to create the artist may remain just a skilled illustrator or a good craftsman. Many artists experience the urgency to paint especially when they’re deprived of it for quite some time.
Most artists feel the need to paint because doing art is freeing. It fixes our inner yearning and heals our pain. Artists often paint to fill a void inside them because creatives process emotions visually. To develop a unique visual language, every artist must do a deep dive inside his soul to understand his Why. Why do you create what you create? What does it accomplish? What do you want others to see in your artwork? These are the questions that are always there for the creatives to think about. After all, that’s how the artist discovers his purpose and meaning as well as the meaning behind his own creations. 

Artists enjoy the process of creation so much that they commit to spending years learning the craft. It’s often not enough to have a 4-year college degree to master the skill and develop a unique vision. But because artists can’t live without art just like you can’t live without your heart, they are driven to produce art.
Many artists create art in progression of skill and personal growth. Artists keep painting, sculpting, and writing to make this world less dark and more beautiful. As art brings beauty home, artists paint emotions, not subjects or objects. And that’s the reason why you can really fall in love with a piece. You connect to it emotionally.
Since the 19th century, artists have gained freedom to create personal art that was very different from expected religious scenes, formal portraiture, and mythological illustrations. Stepping away from widely accepted academic painting, many new art styles have emerged since. Art Nouveau, Impressionism, Cubism, abstraction, surrealism, art installation, photography, new media and so many more!


The freedom of artistic voice is almost always affected by external culture. Why do we look at human history through ancient objects, architecture and painting? Early excavations, Renaissance masters, modern art… Art is never created in a void. Yes, it expresses emotion but it also comments on fashion, culture, events or political divisions in society. Sometimes it becomes a propaganda tool to express the political and economic glory of a nation.

Art is a visual language that’s often taken for granted because it’s all around us. However, if you remove every picture, poster, cover, book, sculpture, movie, cartoon, song just for one day you’ll experience a profound lack of beauty, thought, and inspiration. Art is a mirror for your soul. It’s a place to see your true self. It’s a depiction of feelings we often hide, suppress, or don’t even think about.


How long did it take you to paint this?
All artists get one question they may or may not find exciting. Viewers often try to start a conversation with this question. Artists either try to calculate the hours spent painting the art or get upset by the very nature of this question because the number of hours may not reflect all the unseen work, and sweat spent in the trenches learning the craft.
Don’t ask the artist how long he painted the art, ask him why he painted it. A lot of creatives need to process this question in their mind and heart themselves! This is the most fascinating part about creation. Artists produce something beautiful out of “nothing.” Understanding that space is peeking into the artist’s heart and mind. When I look at someone’s art, I also see how deep the artist travels inside himself. If there is exploration of feelings, social themes or intelligence. Painting is simply a journey into the artist’s soul. It’s an invitation to look into yourself without saying a word and to make personal discoveries. This in turn enriches our soul giving more meaning to what we do in our work.

When you see great art in a museum, you want to come back to it to experience it again, to find something exciting in it. The same painting can give you a different meaning, feeling, or story. It can make you look at life a bit differently. It can make you laugh or cry but it can’t leave you indifferent. While the curation of our taste in art comes from our knowledge and understanding of art history, art collecting should be about emotion, aesthetics, and the joy of appreciating beautiful work. By bringing art home you fill the need for beauty and emotion but you also make a difference in an artist’s life. You give the artists more reasons to create art and develop their vision and skill.

While there’s a lot of speculation at the top tier of the art market, most artists produce art to say something personal as opposed to making a quick buck. While top art collectors purchase art as an investment, most artists feel their art is getting devalued by daily offers of free work for ’’exposure’’ or with why-is-it-so-expensive questions. Even though they need it to continue painting, artists often search for meaning and beauty, not money. The dream of every artist is to keep creating and get paid for all their unseen work that can’t be measured in standard terms… To make a living, yes, but an artist’s real dream is to create art that touches your soul or makes a positive change in your life.

Nicole Finger

Award: Gift Certificate from Jerry’s Artarama

Nicole Finger, Off Axis, 24x36 in, oil on canvas, why artists create show
Nicole Finger, Off Axis, 24×36 in, oil on canvas, why artists create show

Making art has always been my most natural mode of expression. Creating something with my hands, eyes and mind always could be more highly curated than letting thoughts spill out of my mouth! I create because it has become habitual, meditative and satisfying. Harnessing creativity in both the process and end product is purely selfish; it fulfills a sense of productivity and feels like a daily hit of serotonin!

Barb Sotiropoulos

Award: digital subscription to the Colored Pencil Magazine

Barb Sotiropoulos-Midnight Reverie
Barb Sotiropoulos, Midnight Reverie,12×21 in Colored Pencil, PanPastel and Marker on Hot Press Watercolor Paper

 I have never known a time in my life when I wasn’t creating art in some way. There were seasons when I was able to create more abundantly than others, but I have always been driven to do something creative. In the times that I wasn’t creating as much art something always felt off or unnatural. I believe that artists are creative to their core and that when we aren’t making art our spirits often feel out of alignment. I endeavor to explore the themes and stories that I see in my head through my artwork. Often when these stories and themes find me they will haunt me until I create them. It’s almost as if they need to be born into the world somehow. As artists, I believe we are the conduits to make that happen. I create for myself, my spirit and to hopefully connect with others by experiencing the work I create. 

Ali Rouse

Award: Gift Certificate from Jerry’s Artarama

Ali Rouse, beaded scull, why artists create online exhibition
Ali Rouse, Larsonite Bushbuck. Beads on bone.

I create as I don’t know how to exist without creating. It is as breathing. Beauty is creation and creations surrounds us everywhere.

Nancy Jacey

Award: Gift Certificate from Jerry’s Artarama

Nancy Jacey, Getting Closer, colored pencil
Nancy Jacey, Getting Closer, colored pencil

Every day I wake up inspired by the world around us: the colors, details and elements that make up our surroundings. I am fascinated by life’s details, and I like to reflect this in my everyday life and in my career as an artist. I constantly study and photograph the world around us and use these references and experiences in my artwork and in my teaching.

I like to vividly capture these personal interactions and bring them to life for my audience in large-scale oil, acrylic and colored pencil paintings. I work as a full-time artist, mother, small business owner and private art instructor. 

Kimberly Raboin

Award: digital subscription to the Colored Pencil Magazine

Kimberly Raboin, Wings of Renewal, colored pencil
Kimberly Raboin, Wings of Renewal, colored pencil

I create art because I want to capture the beauty of the natural world and also communicate inner experiences and emotions. Recently I’ve been practicing realism with colored pencil and my subject matter has been landscapes. In my landscape work I’ve tried to capture the beauty of places I’ve visited, and also the feelings I experienced while there. My hope is that my recent landscapes convey a sense of vastness and serenity.

My most recent colored pencil drawing ‘Wings of Renewal’ combines my love of landscapes with symbolism. The butterfly in this piece is a symbol of transformation and change. I hope to create more work that combines realism and symbolism.

Dean Rogers

Award: digital subscription to Create! Magazine

Dean Rogers, Tell me a Story, 20" x 25" drawing
Dean Rogers, Tell me a Story, 20″ x 25″

This piece represents the culmination of a lifetime of work. The books in the background are the inspiration for an incredible amount of artwork, as well as the series I’ve been creating for the last 5 years.

This series, “Fantasy Meets Reality” is about fantasy creatures who have crossed over into our world. I wanted to create a scene involving a fairy, and I couldn’t think of a better modern fairy pastime than reading relatively recent fantasy novels.

She is using a cell phone like a computer, and she is asking her friends if they would like to go see the movie “Enchanted” which directly inspired me to create this series.

Denise Howard

Gift Certificate from Jerry’s Artarama

Denise Howard, Faiths End, 12x16in, colored pencil on paper
Denise Howard, Faiths End, 12x16in, colored pencil on paper

I create for many reasons, but perhaps the most important one, and the one behind “Faith’s End,” is that I want people to stop and think, and come away with more than “that’s a pretty picture”.

Visual art has a power where words sometimes fail. Rather than hit the viewer over the head with an obvious message, which they might reject outright, I want them to use their imagination a bit to figure out what’s going on in the picture, what it means to them, and how it makes them feel. If it resonates with them, so much the better. I’ve spent a lot of years developing my skills, so I’d be lazy if I only used them for easily forgotten “pretty pictures”.

Kerry Simmons

Award: $100 Gift Certificate from Ampersand

Kerry Simmons, Juli, gouache on panel, 12x16, why artists create show
Kerry Simmons, Juli, gouache on panel, 12×16

I find joy and satisfaction in the act of creating. I see every new sheet of paper, or canvas as an opportunity to create something new, bring something into existence that is both my point of view and inspired by the work of other artists and the world around me. When I am painting or drawing I am able to let go of my worries and fears and just be in the moment. I’ve noticed time even operates at a different pace. If I’m thoroughly engrossed in what I am creating, time just whips by. I think for me, being able to create art has been an enormous gift, joy and comfort. One could also say it’s simply a compulsion as I can’t imagine life without it!

Dorian Vallejo

Award: digital subscription to Create! Magazine

Dorian Vallejo, Sketchbook Drawing
Dorian Vallejo, Sketchbook Drawing

This drawing is from a small sketchbook which I used to work from life in the warmer months. Working this way puts me in direct contact with a poetry of life that informs all the work I do. This practice sensitizes me to the beauty nature offers us on a regular basis. Most importantly, it also informs me of how that beauty can be used as a metaphor for the Good.  

Ranjini Venkatachari

Award: digital subscription to Create! Magazine

Ranjini Venkatachari, When life gives you lemons, colored pencil drawing
Ranjini Venkatachari, When life gives you lemons, colored pencil drawing

When I discovered the art of Origami and how I can incorporate it in my Trompe-l’oeil still life, my work took a different trajectory. My usual collectors stopped buying my art because I didn’t make pretty still life’s using flowers or fruits anymore. I was discouraged, disappointed, I stopped drawing for a while too. But then I realized I stopped living as well. I was procrastinating, didn’t want to move out of my comfort zone I realized I stopped growing, that’s when I came across the concept of Dharma & Ikigai.

Dharma, is an ancient Sanskrit word that roughly translates to a soul’s purpose in life-the big reason why we are here, and it’s not just what we do, but how we do it, and why we do it.  Ikigai is a similar Japanese concept on giving a person purpose life and living. I decided to draw for myself and that completely changed the way I looked at my own work. For me, art is the only reason to get out of my bed each morning and look forward to the rest of my life. I guess that’s how it is for the most of us artists, it’s our primal instinct without which we cannot survive. So I create in order to live my life to the fullest with a purpose. 

Traci Wright Martin

Award: digital subscription to the Colored Pencil Magazine

Traci Wright Martin, Now what?Charcoal, pastel, gold leaf and collage on Stonehenge paper, 12x12” why artists create online show
Traci Wright Martin, Now what? Charcoal, pastel, gold leaf and collage on Stonehenge paper, 12×12”

In all my years as an artist, I have spent the most time in an evolving exploration of the portrait. I am fascinated by people and their complex individuality. I marvel at the ability to build strong community by way of the smallest thread of commonality. It is my hope that each and every viewer finds a little point of connection or sees themselves somewhere in my work.

With these ideas in mind, the overall narrative in each series I create weaves in and out of a conversation on perspective and representation. Combined with charcoal drawing as the anchor, I carefully select colorful pastels, patterned papers, and paint techniques to further the themes and create a recognizable, unique identity for my body of work.

Dr. Carla René

Award: digital subscription to Color Crush Course

Dr. Carla René, Jemi, colored pencil art
Dr. Carla René, Jemi, colored pencil art

Long before “realism” was a genre in art, I described my artist self as “an arm with a camera on the end of it”. As a child, I was fascinated that the artist could possess the skill that would mimic the accuracy of a photograph so no one could tell the difference.
Now as an adult, an astrophysicist, and mathematician, the laws of physics show this mysterious symbiotic relationship is possible, so I strive to prove this on a personal level through every piece I produce. I have also developed an original technique using only standard CPs that emulates watercolors, since my attempt to learn them was disastrous. As my confidence grows, I’m able to explore my love of physics by experimenting with chemically-diverse tools. I AM a woman in STEM, and proud. I want to encourage others to find the joy of science, tech, engineering & math as I did.

I’d like to thank all the sponsors of this art competition. Please follow the links to discover awesome products they offer for artists to be creative!

Sponsored by:

https://ampersandart.com/
https://www.createmagazine.com/
https://www.jerrysartarama.com
https://coloredpencilmag.com/

ART SHOP

fine artists-oil paintings for sale

One reason for art collecting nobody is talking about

Nobody is talking about the fact that most people don’t buy contemporary art. There are too few art collectors and plenty of artists around. Art fairs are very popular but less than 1% of all visitors buys art. Mid. range and small galleries barely break-even selling art for a 50% markup. It angers some artists because half the price goes to the gallery while the artist pays for supplies, frames, studio costs, contest fees, lofty membership dues, ads, shipping costs, education, college loans and so on. But the galleries are also stuck with big overhead costs and promotion expenses. So it’s very clear that only top galleries like the Gagosian & Pace make lots of money selling art, and very few artists are really successful.

Of course it depends how you define success but by going to major art fairs, reading books and visiting art galleries I see what I see. Nobody is talking about the fact that artists’ careers are catapulted through top curators, gallerists and shows in MOMA. Everyone else is out of the circle and must be very creative to find his/her niche. While it’s totally possible to find the niche and be successful in this space, the winner still takes it all. You can find “9 key insights on the auction market in 2021” to prove my point: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-9-key-insights-auction-market-2021/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=gallery-nurture&utm_campaign=b2b-2022-a4g&utm_sfc=7013b000001RN3VAAW&mkt_tok=NjA5LUZEWS0yMDcAAAGB8iubjIOlRABgCTQrtp2eNagCU-f2yrrUchtIECccP3JLjS3rFkLxV9uNj_VHYy2f_rgpg5z0r186WdxUrf7yjjS_Fp3e_32hoNKIQ3Sf_6mqVLg

https://veronicasart.com/product/realism-oil-painting-of-blue-vase-and-starfish/

I think it’s time to stop scrolling Instagram and start collecting art or perhaps scroll it to collect art. 🙂 Even if it’s a very small painting, you make a difference in artist’s life and give a reason for him/her to continue living on a path few people choose to take. Artists need to make money to make more art.

Artists create because it’s a big part of them. There is no life without art for a creative person. Artists can’t wait for a retirement to be artists! It’s like living without a heart. Can you live without your heart? 💚Art collecting should be about emotion, aesthetics and enjoyment looking at art, and not about speculation or investment. CURATE YOUR TASTE to feel inspired!

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Highlights from CONTEXT ART MIAMI 2021

Miami swells with art and artsy crowds during the first week of December every year ( with no fairs in 2020). There are several top art fairs happening in the city that bring the art lovers and professionals from all over the world. Art Fairs include the Art Basel, Scope, Miami red dot/ Spectrum, Context art Miami and some more! In addition, some hotels organize art events during this time too to draw people in. The fairs are spread out in the Miami Beach but the locations stay the same year after year.

coderch and malavia-sculpture-context art miami 2021
Coderch and Malavia, sculpture at the Miami art fair in 2021

Miami Art Context 2021

I visited Context Art Miami during the opening hours in early December thanks to my friend Florencia. It felt like a big celebration of the arts. There were so many visitors, artists, gallerists, curators, art collectors, museum professionals and yes, celebrities visiting the fair, it almost felt crazy to experience so much energy in one place. While not every art piece was great, I loved to look at variety of contemporary art, pushing the boundaries of what art could be. I enjoyed seeing boldness and innovation, creativity, the use of textures and materials, and 3D-art.

😃 As long as artists create on this planet, we won’t be consumed by the existing darkness on Earth.💕

This is a short video shot with my phone where I tried to capture realist art as well as some innovative pieces. Some of the artists shown are: Carole Feuerman (hyperrealist sculptures), Anthony James (light sculptures), Coderch & Malavia sculptures, David Uessem, Damien Hirst, Marco Grassi and so on.

As far as I know the rules of participation for the galleries have been relaxed somewhat, which used to include the following: The gallery must have a physical location. It must be in business for over 3 years. And it must pay a hefty fee. Depending on the size of the booth, the cost of gallery participation amounts to $20,000-50,000 (Context Miami. I’m pretty sure that Art Basel is even more expensive to participate in). This doesn’t include, airfare, hotel, meals and staff salary. So you can imagine that the art shown at Art Basel reflects this pricing and not every gallery sells out… Galleries are on the hunt for top collectors, institutions and celebrities buying art from them. While there were fewer visitors than in the previous year, sales were robust according to Artsy.

Spectrum Miami review

Finally I want to mention another popular art fair- SPECTRUM Miami located in Wynwood. I mainly want to record my opinion here, so if you plan to exhibit at this fair, it might not be what you think it is, or perhaps it’s a lot more than you thought of it in the first place. I’m going to compare it to Context Miami fair. So Spectrum is all about emerging artists taking charge of their careers and exhibiting there, not the galleries working on their behalf. The space and lighting isn’t top notch. The crowd coming to the show is very different. Young, excited to go out and celebrate. My question was if there were any art collectors there at all. My guess, there were few. Of course, the cost of renting a booth is much cheaper just as the price of an entry ticket in comparison to the Context. Finally the quality of art is very different from the Context, showing young artists with most being Florida-based…Perhaps there is a lot more to the Spectrum but these are valid points to consider either visiting or exhibiting in this art fair.

Check out visionary art for sale

Jesse Lane interview Hooked on Art podcast

Jesse Lane, realist colored pencil artist

My guest is super talented, realist colored pencil artist Jesse Lane. His large, realist colored pencil drawings demonstrate thorough understanding of colored pencil techniques, creativity and vision. He is the recipient of many prestigious awards including The Best of Show in 2020 by the Colored Pencil Society in America.

Jesse shares his thoughts on motivation, artistic challenges, emotions, creativity and much more! Personally, Jesse strikes me as a genuine human with positive, outgoing personality that helps him fulfill his destiny and share his art with the world.

Recorded in a video format first: https://youtu.be/1i0nFiS59bQ

Website: https://www.jesselaneart.com/

jesse lane art
Jesse Lane, Undercurrents, 26×39″ colored pencil

Veronica can be found at veronicasart.com

art podcast interview with Alayne Sahar

Alayne Sahar interview

My guest is an American watercolorist- Alayne Sahar. She creates watercolor paintings aiming to uplift other women. In her art, Sahar wants to celebrate our inner strength, belief in ourselves and our divine nature. In this interview Alayne shares her life-long journey of studies, day jobs, frustrations and wins becoming one of imaginative figurative artists working today.

First recorded as a video podcast available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UcawdwMw_To

Contact the artist:

Web: http://www.alaynesahar.art/ | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alaynesahar/

Support the podcast: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=XEALQ6AHQ22EN | Veronica Winters, M.F.A. https://VeronicasArt.com | https://www.instagram.com/veronicawintersart/

How to commission art as art collector: 8 things to know what artist needs to make a great, commissioned painting

If you’ve decided on a specific idea or want to commission a portrait painting you need to learn how to approach the artist you like. So what’s the right way of communicating your idea and understanding what the artist needs to produce a custom art piece? In this article I’d like to discuss what the artist needs from you in order to fulfill your commission.

Damien Hirst: genius or imposter? Solo show at villa Borghese in Rome

Damien Hirst show at villa Borghese in Rome

I revisited the Borghese gallery in Rome in September 2021 and saw the Damien’s solo exhibition titled “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable.” It’s a collection of sculptural works from a fictional shipwreck off the coast of East Africa. Walking around the gallery I couldn’t but notice a thoughtful placement of the artist’s pieces in the rooms. Most fit organically into the gallery space that goes overboard with art by design. The powerful Borghese family members were avid art collectors and patrons of the arts. That’s why their exuberant art collection boasts so many masterpieces by the 16th and 17th-century artists like Caravaggio, Bernini and Canova.

Borghese gallery, Damien Hirst, the Minotaur sculpture, Archaeology Now
Borghese gallery 2021, Damien Hirst, the Grecian Nude (left) and the Minotaur (right), black granite, sculpture.

Born in 1965, Damien Hirst is a British contemporary artist who explores the theme of life and death. Because he sees no separation between life and art, this theme becomes his art, which is an amalgam of painting, sculpture and installation. The theme of death is one of the central themes in the Western art world but every artist is able to take it into a different direction…

Damien Hirst Lion Women of Asit Mayor- bronze-2012-borghese gallery-winters blog
Damien Hirst Lion, Women of Asit Mayor, bronze, 2012 at villa Borghese 2021, pictures taken by Veronica Winters

First shown in Venice in 2017, “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” is a show with some merit. Sculptural works utilize traditional and precious materials, such as marble, alabaster, lapis lazuli, coral, crystals, malachite and bronze. Some sculptures breathed with beauty and classicism long forgotten by the contemporary art galleries. It was fun to spot contemporary art by Hirst standing right next to the antiques of the Borghese gallery permanent collection. Some sculptures did give a feeling of rescued objects from the ocean floor as colorful barnacles and sea creatures covered the surface of many sculptures. Some body limbs were missing or got obscured by the sea overgrowth.

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Damien Hirst, Unknown Pharaoh at villa Borghese. This is one of my favorite pieces seen at the gallery. There is a beautiful balance between materials, color and the form. This sculpture gives a feeling of a real piece saved from a shipwreck.

While most of it fit well within the space, the sculptures were strikingly different in the level of execution. It prompted a question who really made these artworks and how much of it was Hirst’s skill and vision. Some were very classical in nature, while others looked like the leftovers from modernism. Some sculptures were beautiful and engaging, while others looked strange and too primitive to be called ‘art’ especially in comparison to the art collection of the Borghese family.

borghese gallery-sculpture of hirst
Bronze sculpture of Hirst at the villa Borghese in 2021, This sculpture looks grotesque lacking ethereal beauty of classical art.

How original is Damien Hirst?

Hirst is the all-over-the-place artist, in my opinion. He produced a variety of art that would be frowned upon in any graduate school where consistency of theme, size, and approach is encouraged and basically required to graduate. And this is where the rules get broken… The artist rose to fame with a number of controversial art pieces. The notorious diamond scull, beautiful entomology paintings, sharks in formaldehyde, pill cabinets, dot paintings, neoclassical sculptures, installations and so much more – everything made by Hirst or it may be not.

I think it’s ok to evolve and transition into new art forms or body of works over the years as we-artists experience change and so art changes with us. However, Hirst seems to drift from one idea to the next that doesn’t have a clear connection to his previous work in either technique or vision. Usually we can see one work by the artist and recognize the “style” in subsequent works even if it’s quite different. Hirst puzzled me in this regard because his series of paintings or sculptures had no connection to each other.

Art by Damien Hirst

Art Workshop

The exhibit made me think of a Renaissance workshop. Workshops used to be the only way of learning and training young artists in the Renaissance Italy. That’s how da Vinci painted his first angel in the Verrocchio’s painting (The Baptism of Christ, 1475, Uffizi gallery, Florence). Vision and ideas were of the master artists who painted major figures and finished paintings. Master artists worked on image designs, composition, color and so on while art students mixed paints, helped with image transferal and some underpainting. Based on presented sculptures I saw at the villa Borghese, the Damien Hirst workshop functions quite differently. The apprentices seem to be the creators.

damien hirst_Pair of Slaves Bound for Execution-painted bronze sculpture-borghese g
Damien Hirst, Pair of Slaves Bound for Execution, painted bronze sculpture at the villa Borghese

His workshop may produce all the art with some apprentices (artists) being very skillful at their task. That explains great inconsistency and variety of produced art by Damien Hirst. Painted bronze sculpture “Pair of Slaves Bound for Execution” was the most exceptional, contemporary art piece I’ve seen in a long time, showing balance, grace, and the perfection of anatomy – central to classical art. “Unknown Pharaoh” is one of my favorite pieces. There is a beautiful balance between materials, color and form. This sculpture gives a feeling of a real piece saved from a shipwreck. While another sculpture with a giant foot, squirrel and ear looks immature. The standing bronze figure of Hirst appears grotesque to me as well.

Damien Hirst-Archaeology Now at the Galleria Borghese-installation view
Damien Hirst, Archaeology Now at the Galleria Borghese-installation view (giant foot with a squirrel)


Are workshop artists mere laborers or the creators on their own right? Based on the produced and shown art at the villa Borghese, Hirst created a factory of talented artists who do all the work but marketing. And in this case it looks like marketing is everything really. Remove the name from any of these works and they won’t be fetching top dollar for art.

Now, many famous contemporary artists keep workshops. We can explore the workshops of contemporary realist artist Kehinde Wiley or the glass blower Chihuly. You can find their art pieces in many permanent, museum art collections, private art collections, hotel lobbies and so on. The key difference is that these artists are true to their unique vision and every piece feels like a continuation of the artist’s previous work. Apprentices in their workshops are the helpers, not sole creators of art. That’s my opinion of course, you may not agree with.

Damien Hirst, sculpture of a shell displayed at the villa Borghese in 2021

There is no doubt that Damien Hirst is a very smart artist. He is also a great publicity guru. He created and marketed himself as a top luxury brand for the wealthy to invest in. There is a lot to either admire or learn from this living artist. What do you think of his art? Share.

Damien Hirst, Hydra and Kali, outdoor sculpture, Borghese gallery-veronica winters blog
Damien Hirst, Hydra and Kali, sculpture displayed outdoors at the Borghese gallery
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Damien Hirst, Neptune, 2011 at villa Borghese

Learn more: https://damienhirst.com/

This blog is created for educational purposes with the art credited to the sited artists. All pictures are taken by Veronica Winters. The article expresses personal opinion only.

Damien Hirst sculptures at villa Borghese
Damien Hirst sculptures at the villa Borghese in Rome in 2021

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Karen Hull artist interview podcast

Karen Hull: art interview with colored pencil artist & reiki master

My guest today is a colored pencil artist & reiki master Karen Hull. You might have seen her amazing art on Facebook before. I set down with the artist to have a conversation about her career discussing colored pencil art, inspiration, art marketing and much more. Karen shares not only her art tips but also talks about meaning behind her creative journey and how her desire to help people made her pivot to studying and working as a reiki master!

First appeared as a video podcast on Youtube: https://youtu.be/irK-fysrWMo

Karen Hull artist interview podcast
Karen Hull, colored pencil & scratchboard demonstration

Follow the artist:

https://www.karenhullart.com/

Portrait drawing class on Craftsy: https://www.craftsy.com/class/step-by-step-photorealistic-colored-pencil-portraits/#

Support the channel/donate: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=XEALQ6AHQ22EN

Veronica Winters, M.F.A. | https://VeronicasArt.com | https://www.instagram.com/veronicawintersart/

Amanda Greive interview

Amanda Greive: oil painter who speaks of equal rights

Amanda Greive is a figurative realist artist who paints women to bring attention to challenges many women face, splitting life between family and work. By looking at Amanda’s beautiful, realist oil paintings we can get a much deeper understanding of her subjects and motivation behind painting.

First appeared as a video podcast on YouTube in March 2021: https://youtu.be/x68uKGQn8Ns

Amanda Greive interview
Art by Amanda Greive

Contact the artist:

Web: https://amandagreive.com/

Contact the host:

Support the channel/donate: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=XEALQ6AHQ22EN

Veronica Winters, M.F.A. | https://VeronicasArt.com | https://www.instagram.com/veronicawintersart/

Eric Rhoads-art publisher interviewinpodcast with Veronica Winters

Eric Rhoads: interview with art publisher

Eric Rhoads is a pioneer in art publishing & art education industries producing Fine Art Connoisseur & PleinAir magazines, conventions, instructional videos, and retreats for artists who are eager to learn academic or classical oil painting techniques.
Mr. Rhoads is a powerhouse of ideas and ventures being an artist himself. In candid stories you’ll learn about art marketing, joys of realist painting, art collecting, art education, and how it all came together in a person who simply wanted to learn classical oil painting techniques himself!

First appeared as a video podcast interview on YouTube in February 2021: https://youtu.be/7vSyESpzFsw

Follow the artist:

Instagram @EricRhoads
Realism.Today, PleinAirMag
Facebook: EricRhoadsPublisher
Streamlinepublishing.com/everything
Marketing: Artmarketing.com
Book: Make More Money Selling Your Art
Magazines:
FineArtConnoisseur.com
PleinAirMagazine.com
Newsletters:
RealismToday.com
AmericanWatercolor.com
FineArtToday.com
PleinAirToday.com

Outdoorpainter.com & EricRhoads.com
Conferences: FigurativeArtConvention.com | PleinAirConvention.com
Trips and Retreats: FineArttrip.com | PaintRussia.com | PublishersInvitational.com | FallColorWeek.com

Virtual Conferences: WatercolorLive.com | RealismLive.com | PleinAirLive.com | Soarworkshops.com

Art Instruction Videos and Books: StreamlineArtVideo.com | Liliartvideo.com | CreativeCatalyst.com


My goal with this project is to expand on art appreciation & discover the healing potential of arts via art interviews with talented artists, collectors, curators and other art professionals who shape up the contemporary art culture. With this art podcast I hope to support real talent to eliminate trashy art from public spaces as well as to show how art can help us find emotional connection to ourselves to discover who we truly are. This art podcast captures personal and emotional stories about life, art, the business of art, art collecting, and everything else that comes with being an artist or loving the arts. This video podcast will feature talented contemporary artists and art enthusiasts alike. Watch, like and share! Let’s find new audiences for contemporary artists.

Support artist podcast/donate: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=XEALQ6AHQ22EN

Veronica Winters, M.F.A. https://VeronicasArt.com

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/veronicawintersart/

Art Miami & Context Art Miami 2018: realism painting and more

yigal ozeri at art miami
 Yigal Ozeri, New York-based artist paints women in hyperrealism style. 
cesar santos in art basel miami
Painting by Cesar Santos, Cuban-American artist

Art Miami & Context Art Miami 2018: realism painting & much more

Generating insane foot traffic, both Art Miami and Context Art Miami are two art fairs I visit during the Art Basel week in Miami. In December Miami overflows with tourists, curators, and art collectors, visiting over 20 art fairs in just one week! If you decide to take part in this event, you can buy tickets online and see all of the offerings beforehand. Context Art Miami (adjacent to Art Miami) features more contemporary realism art than its counterparts and thus interests me more than other art fairs. The art fairs represent both American artists and international ones alike, including galleries from China, Korea, and Europe.

One of the reasons I go to these art fairs is inspiration. What I find interesting is to look at innovation in art materials use, textures and design. Sometimes, I don’t really care about a particular artwork, but its innovative combination of materials or subjects feeds up my creativity. I also enjoy seeing the excitement and commotion around the arts, which is rare in Naples, Florida.

Salustiano at art miami 2018
Salustiano
elisa anfuso
Elisa Anfuso, Female Italian artist painting personal stories in realism style.

Another reason for many artists to see the shows is to network in the arts. I must say that most gallerists are very busy at the art fairs and hate to be approached by artists when they try to sell exhibited art. Art fair participation costs run in many thousands of dollars and gallery representatives are there to work. So if you’re an artist, be respectful of the gallerists. Yet, if you’re there to show your work, come in early before the opening when the crowds are not there yet and the gallery owners are more inclined to meet you in person. Parking would be much easier as well.

The art fairs show a lot of abstract art and painting but also include large-scale portrait photography and 3-D sculptures. Art crowds often gather around animated paintings or video paintings, lenticular photography and lenticular painting (see the video) or art that plays with perception, examples of which you can watch in my video. Also, depending on a person’s taste the roundup of art like you see here is vastly different in social media. Those who have a minimalist aesthetic post abstract/minimalist art, and figurative realism artists like me post representational art.

Go here to subscribe: http://eepurl.com/b-vEXP
art miami 2018, spoke art
Spoke Art gallery having a blast selling art at the fair in Miami. | This was the busiest gallery by far, selling limited edition prints like hot cakes!
art miami 2018_ron isaacs
Ron Isaacs, acrylic on birch plywood construction | Halfway between painting and sculpture, the artist creates 3-D wall art that explores a relationship between life, nature and memory. 
3-D sculpture @ Chase Contemporary played with my perception of reality big time.

Address: Art Miami + CONTEXT Pavilions, One Herald Plaza @ NE 14th Street, Downtown Miami, FL 33132

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10 beautiful art pieces at Lowe Art Museum in Miami

10 beautiful art pieces at Lowe Art Museum in Miami

Situated on campus of the University of Miami, Lowe Art Museum is a neat find. The art collection has a little-bit-of-everything and spans across centuries, cultures and art styles. It’s worth your visit, if you swing by the neighborhood of Coral Gables and have a little bit of free time on your hands. Here are top 10 contemporary art pieces on display at the art museum.

Hands & Earth is a group exhibition of Japanese ceramics running between June 20-September 23, 2018. A private collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz is set as a traveling show to many art museums across the country. This exhibition has some most unusual and beautiful pieces of contemporary Japanese artists as well as the 20th century ones. Glazes and surface treatments are the most peculiar in this art show.

1. Kondo Takahiro, Seismic wave

lowe art museum_miami univ_seismic wave by Kondo Takahiro
Lowe art museum, Copyright Kondo Takahiro, Japanese, b. 1958 “Seismic wave” 2016, porcelain and glass

2. Pascale Monnin, Resurrection Angel

lowe art museum sculpture by pascale monnin_s
Copyright Pascale Monnin, Haiti, b.1974 “Resurrection Angel” 2011, pottery with raku glaze, wire, pearls and jewels. Soulful and fragile, this sparkling sculpture rotates around itself, suspended in a corner of a glass gallery in the art museum.

3. Tobacco Box, Japan

lowe art museum_miami univ_tobacco box japan
Tobacco Box, Japan, Edo Period, 1615-1868, 19th century wood, lacquer, mother of pearl, pewter. This elegant, stylized tobacco box captures the very essence of Japanese art and culture, evoking thoughts on simplicity, nature and beauty.

4. Masoumi Garashi, Untitled

lowe art museum_miami univ_shirt glass by masoumi garashi
Copyright Masoumi Garashi, Japanese, b.1972, Untitled, glass. Evocative of Karen Lamonte’ glass sculptures of hollow gowns, this glass sculpture makes us contemplate feelings of presence and absence.

5. Circle of Pieter de Grebber, Unequal Lovers (The trapped thief)

lowe art museum_miami univ_unequal lovers
5. Circle of Pieter de Grebber (1600-53), Unequal Lovers (The trapped thief), 1650, oil on canvas. Humorous and theatrical, this painting depicts a satirical relationship between the lovers of different age and background that hints on exchange between youth and wealth.

6. Workshop of Andrea Del Sarto, Madonna and Child and the infant St. John

lowe art museum_miami univ_workshop of andrea del sarto_madonna and child infant st john
6. Workshop of Andrea Del Sarto (1486-1530), Italian, “Madonna and Child and the infant St. John”, 1529, oil on canvas. This is a beautiful oil painting of the Renaissance era, depicting the most popular subject – Madonna and Child.

7. El Greco, Christ carrying the cross

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El Greco (1541-1614), b. in Greece, Spanish, “Christ carrying the cross,” 1595, oil on canvas. Most El Greco art is in Spain, but you can find some of his works scattered throughout the American museums. His amateurish style of painting led to a very honest, emotional depiction of his subjects.

8. Laura Donefer, Royal Amulet Basket

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Laura Donefer, American, b.1955, “Royal Amulet Basket” 2011, glass

Laura Donefer is known for her vivid, organic, blown and flameworked glass – the “Amulet Baskets.” These baskets are bursts of color, joy and energy.

9. William Carlson, Pragnanz Series

lowe art museum_miami univ_william carlson_pragnanz series sculpture
William Carlson, American, b.1950, “Pragnanz Series” 1980s, cast glass and granite

You need to experience William Carlson’s sculptures in person because you can barely see the intricate play of textures between glass and granite in pictures. The artist stacks and balances abstract shapes with amazing precision.

10. Dale Chihuly, Mosaic Persian

lowe art museum_miami univ_dale chihuly_mosaic persian_detail
10. Dale Chihuly, American, “Mosaic Persian” 1998, detail, glass

Dale Chihuly is famous for his glass sculptures. Organic and colorful, the flowing shapes are reminiscent of the ocean’s floor.

Crappy Art Corner

lowe art museum_miami univ_abstract art

Artists: Martin Disler (1949-96), “Untitled”, 1989 (right); Chryssa (1933-2013) “Americanoom”, steel and neon (top left); Jean-Paul Propelle and others.

Lowe Art museum is located on the grounds of the University of Miami.

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contemporary art history, contemporary art history_learn what makes it great

Contemporary art: learn what makes it great

In the first video you got introduced to classical painting created before the 20th century. In this article let’s talk about some contemporary art to figure out why some “childish” paintings cost millions while relatively good art remains undervalued. Before I say anything about it, I’d like to note that I’m not an art critic, and I’m here not to judge artists, rather I’d like to explain what’s great about contemporary painting, so you’d consider my understanding of art to make your own decisions. I also encourage you to reach out to mentioned artists directly via their websites or Instagram. This video and writing are created as part of my mission to educate and inspire others to value art.

Video #2

Art & art marketing are two opposing forces

When everything is entertainment and the entertainment is everything, provoking the public to engage with contemporary art becomes a necessity. Artists compete with the media and each other and often try to engage with the audience, either shocking you with their art, or innovating the process somehow that generates publicity, sparks a conversation, and engages you. Performance art, installation art, shinny sculpture or moving video image attract us a lot more than a silent wall painting. Contemporary art museums try to catch up with the social media and modern times, making installations that encourage interaction, taking of selfies and other social media activities. Contemporary art paintings often don’t make any sense unless they are explained. As viewers we are often forced not to rely on our senses judging the painting’s visuals that’s inherited from concept painting or abstract expressionism. We have to search for meaning in shown art in artist statements or curatorial writing.

Jeff Koons  announced his art sculpture as a “gift” to Paris of the ‘Bouquet of Tulips’ that would cost a 3.5 million euros to install that would be funded by a fundraising. One of the wealthiest artists in the world, Koons donated his concept to the city that doesn’t cover the cost of construction.

Quality of art hardly matters these days, and many artists are sold based on their publicity stunts and marketing efforts. Therefore popularity and name recognition that we call ‘branding’ becomes vital to the artist’s career. (We can look at great art marketers – Jeff Koons, Marina Abramovic, or Damien Hirst).

While performance art can be powerful caring a message, it largely relies on a shock value to deliver that message. By following this link, you can see how low we as people can go, to take advantage of others. https://www.elitereaders.com/performance-artist-marina-abramovic-social-experiment/  Over the years I saw several installations by Abramovic, and they varied significantly in their message, shock value and impact.

Marina Abramovic’s 6-hour performance art showed a quick escalation of sexual harassment and violence among people by letting them do whatever they wanted to her body.

Not all artists travel this road and focus on cultivating their clientele based on their artistic vision and skill. If art is not political or socially charged, it’s much harder for an artist to get noticed based on vision, and this is the cornerstone for a lot of creatives out there. Does the artist change his mindset to work for the market attracting attention in new ways, or stays true to himself, creating art for the art’s sake?

Copyright Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog

Art buying tiers and social behavior

Art buying has its own tier system. The lowest tier – is the tier of consumerism. Because we see artistic creations all around us, it desensitizes us and makes good art look unattractive, cheap and unnecessary purchase. We don’t buy originals, rather get posters and merchandise that makes practical sense because we either can’t afford the original of the contemporary artists we like, or we don’t want to make a commitment buying original art. Regardless the intent, most people buy prints. However, there is not much value in giclee prints in the long run. However, print sales support the aspiring artist, giving him/her a chance to develop artistically and not give up doing art. Limited edition signed prints hold more value for the collectors as well as allow artists to cover some of their studio costs.

Some prints doe have value. These are hand-pooled lithographs, silkscreens and other prints made based on traditional methods in printmaking. Printmaking is the original art form where you can get a few multiples or additions.

The middle tier – is where the market agrees to pay the artist anywhere between $100 and 1K for original art. The upper middle tier is where most artists want to sell their art because it covers the cost of living. These art collectors who buy original art at this price point love art and have the means to appreciate and support the artist.

In the top tier purchases we see hedge fund managers and the ultra rich, who are mostly driven by financial investment rather than art appreciation. Today we see famous contemporary art selling at epic prices. Money becomes the absolute that determines the value of the artist and his work at the Sotheby’s and other art auction houses.

(A Jean-Michel Basquiat painting rocketed to $110.5 million. The previous record was $105.4 million paid for Andy Warhol’s “Silver Car Crash, Double Disaster” four years ago. Pablo Picasso, Garcon a la pipe, 1881-1973 went for 104.168 million, Edvard Munch, the Scream, 1895 sold for $119.922 million). Obviously, these are the sales where art is bought and sold as an investment only. Most buyers are Wall street hedge fund managers, Russian oligarchs, oil magnates and other billionaires that push the art prices up. To understand this motivation isn’t hard. To see why visually terrible art sells, you can watch a documentary on Netflix titled Blurred Lines: inside the art world. Exit through the Gift Shop that shows you how an unknown street artist made his first million by taking risks and employing smart marketing tactics.

Jean Michel-Basquiat, Untitled, 1982, Courtesy of Sotheby’s New York
Willem de Kooning, Woman III, 1950s | Abstract expressionism

So how do we decide what’s good or bad art? I’d like to encourage you to make your own judgement as opposed to relying on experts and art critics, if you’re not buying art for investment purposes only. You either love it or not. You decide what’s meaningful to you, what moves and engages you on a much deeper level that’s not associated with publicity stunts, big name investment or marketing gimmicks.

The Smithsonian museum, Reclining Dress Impression with Drapery by Karen Lamonte, glass. I took this picture in the museum blown away by the complexity of its form that’s made of glass. http://www.karenlamonte.com/Artist-Talks-Lectures

 

Art is a business

Capitalism is unforgiving. This system of art sales leads to art market manipulation and the sales of art that’s not art but is represented as such to the wealthy by powerful dealers and curators. This is one of the reasons why we see ugly paintings at contemporary art fairs and art museums today. Art is a business and a collusion of sorts.

Art galleries, curators and dealers have their own tiers. Many of them are vanity galleries that charge artists thousands of dollars for representation and those artists who can afford it become part of the fairs. Their art is not great or even good to be called art, but because they have a way of paying for their space, they receive representation from small curators and dealers who offset their costs, making a living this way.

Financially strong and established galleries take on new artists who have consistent art production and sales as well as develop good relationship with the gallery owners. Competition among artists for getting into a really good gallery that takes care of the artist’s sales and pays 50% of the retail price is fierce. Competition for a spot under the sun encourages jealousy and rivalry among many contemporary artists I know, but not all. Many artists remain humble and sweet to their kind and tend to help out when asked properly.

Art is a tough business for many small and medium size art galleries because of high overhead costs that often eat most of the profit. Many small galleries close, move or go out of business as people shop for art online more. And just like the retailers, they experience a loss of clientele. This trend gives independent artists an opportunity to sell their art directly to clients bypassing the middleman. Therefore, learning the art of business and online marketing for the artist is just as important as making art.

Andy Warhol silkscreen print found at the auction in Naples, FL

Art education today

There is purposeful deskilling of art in college education. As a result of deconstructivism, abstract expressionism and concept art movements, artists have been forced to create art out of limitation, writing confusing artist statements about their work. The devaluing of representational art led to numerous colleges and universities to keep professors raised on concept art. Therefore college art education is limited to knowledge of its instructors. It’s often enough to look at their art to understand what you’ll be learning in class. If your aim is to study classical painting techniques in such universities, you’ll see lots of resistance and little instruction in this area as the main goal of college art education in studio painting is to work on your concept in art as opposed to growing your skill, vision, and business mindset. A student who decides to learn classical oil painting techniques often faces confusing opinions that don’t lead to constructive criticism because there is no standard left in art to aspire to. There are no rules or apprenticeships available to follow the footsteps of the established master painter as it used to be for centuries before the modernism. If a student aims to study realism, he is often a loner who receives no business or artistic tools necessary to make it in the art world after graduation. While we can see a rise in the classical training ateliers today, the art world is still largely dominated by abstract and conceptual art that you find in the educational system at college level.

As an antidote to this established system we see a revival and surge of realism in painting and education now. Atelier schools, artists’ studios and some universities have been popping up all around the country in the past decade. Such spaces include the Grand Central Academy of Art in New York, Anthony Ryder’s school in Santa Fe (www.theryderstudio.com ), and Nelson Shanks’ school Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia. (www.studioincamminati.org), etc. Many realist artists teach their oil painting techniques both online and in studio.

I must say that not every abstract is bad, just like not every conceptual piece is boring, or realist painting is great. My point is that artists should have a choice in their college education as opposed to ‘fitting in’ in the environment that doesn’t allow for personal growth in the direction the artist aspires to go to.

Because art conforms to no previously established rules and standards in art education we find it very hard to determine and value art today. To read any modern or contemporary artwork we have to look at artist’s mission, background and upbringing besides the visual element itself, which we call ART. Branding is often more important than art.

contemporary art painting
Copyright Roos van der Vliet, Storytellers XII, acrylics on canvas |http://www.roosvandervliet.com/

This contemporary portrait painting by Roos van der Vliet from the Netherlands is a wonderful example of great personal vision coupled with amazing acrylic painting technique. By looking at her paintings of women we ask questions about identity and alienation that we often feel being in a crowd of people, yet standing alone.

Major art patrons a century ago:

  • The Frick collection
  • Andrew W. Mellon collection
  • The Phillips collection in the U.S.
  • The Tretykov gallery collection in Moscow, Russia and so on.

Art players and influencers today:

  • Charles Saatchi & Larry Gagosian as well as other top art dealers
  • contemporary art museum top curators
  • Art investment firms and houses such as Sotheby’s.
  • Loot at MEI/Moses Fine Art Index explains the appreciation of art as a financial investment.

In this article you can read about art influencers:

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-gatekeepers-tastemakers-decide-call-art?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10281912-Editorial-08-08-17&utm_term=ArtsyTopStoriesWeekly

 

Nicole_Finger_Gossamer_24x36_oil-hooked on art podcast
Nicole_Finger_Gossamer_24x36_oil-hooked on art podcast

 

5 Artistic Elements that make great art

Here I’d like to talk about 5 major artistic elements that contribute to creation of great art. A lot of people consider art being great based on just two factors – the realistically painted tiny details and the overall brightness of a picture (paint). I’d like to shatter this myth by explaining that both of these factors are not sufficient to make quality art. It’s very easy to create paintings with bright pigments coming out of the tube. What’s much harder to achieve is color mixing of muted colors that create harmony. The same goes for details. Details are just details, if a painting doesn’t have a story behind it, or composition is weak, or it simply looks too decorative, it’s not great art.

MARCO GRASSI HOFA gallery at art wynwood miami
MARCO GRASSI HOFA gallery at art wynwood miami, 2023

Looking at contemporary art we can either get carried away by the artist’s technical mastery or by the unprecedented innovation. It doesn’t mean that traditionally executed painting is not innovative, innovation is always there in a new way of seeing things. Most importantly, we find something in a painting that resonates deep within us and enhances our lives whether it’s abstract or realist art.

The most important  artistic elements that contribute to creation of great painting and 3-D art are personal vision, emotion, innovation, use of color and design as well as the technical ability to communicate the feeling.

A great example of contemporary art painting that combines vision, innovation and great skill is the art of Cesar Santos |https://www.santocesar.com/ | YouTube Santos is a contemporary Cuban-American artist who has painted a series of paintings titled Syncretism. This famous contemporary artist combines various, often opposing artistic tendencies in a pleasing balance. Cesar Santos’s realistic paintings integrate oil paint, charcoal and crayons, and portraits feature common people that become removed from their usual surroundings and placed in oil paintings with new space for them to live in. The artist’s amazing skill in classical painting helps him create powerful art that looks fresh and modern.

Copyright Cesar Santos, Magdalenes niece, oil on linen
Cesar Santos, James, 36×28″ oil and crayon

Ali Cavanaugh | www.alicavanaugh.com

Copyright Ali Cavanaugh, Astral 8×8″

Ali Cavanaugh paints her four children as watercolor portrait abstractions. Her original watercolor paintings have the feeling of spontaneity and freedom, yet the faces remain anatomically correct and alive. The artist paints on kaolin clay boards look like frescoes displayed without glass.

#1 Story & Emotion

Art is not created in vacuum. Artists absorb, filter through and reflect on personal experiences. They challenge our views, question values and bring beauty and emotional peace into our world. Story and feelings in the painting define the artist’s voice or style.

Sean Mahan | seanmahanart.com

Copyright Sean Mahan, Lost and Found, graphite/acrylic on wood

Sean Mahan is a figurative artist who paints a “sense of wonder about innate human sweetness.” The artist creates images of girls and boys busy with mundane tasks yet removed-from-this-world-expressions that produce a feeling of contradiction. Mahan paints in acrylic and graphite on wood to produce his contemporary art paintings.

Art as personal expression

We can look at art as personal expression. A lot of artists can’t articulate verbally why they paint because it comes from within and shows what we experience inside us. We paint emotions in visual symbols. If we are bitter, art shows that. If we are loving, art expresses it. A vast majority of art is created as means of personal expression today unlike the classical art.

Artist’s aesthetic plays a big part in a painting style. For classical artists beauty is the highest aim in any subject we paint idealizing the figure, which is the opposite to aesthetic of so many modern and contemporary artists. Ugliness finds its home in art just as beauty once did. (Look at Willem de Kooning’s paintings of women vs. William-Adolphe Bouguereau’ art).

This is one of the first artists I’ve discovered almost two decades ago. His unique artistic voice has captivated me ever since. The Canadian artist, Rob created amazing colored pencil drawings of illusion and magic realism art. I’m very saddened to write that Rob committed a suicide in late 2017.

Copyright: Rob Gonsalves, Star Dust

Rob Gonsalves | www.facebook.com/RobGonsalves.Official

contemporary art
Copyright Rob Gonsalves, The Arboreal Office

Christian Schloe | www.facebook.com/ChristianSchloeDigitalArt

surreal art
Copyright Christian Schloe
surreal art
Copyright Christian Schloe

This artist creates soulful digital artwork so sincere that it feels just as powerful as a real painting. His sense of color and design helps articulate powerful emotions of love, contemplation, curiosity and melancholy.

Art as ideology

A lot of art has been created to celebrate the country’s ideology and order. For instance, the Soviet Union art of the 50-s can be easily called propaganda art, but it also served a higher purpose lifting people’s morale to work for better good. The country took great care of its artists by giving them free studios, organized big exhibitions, commissioning and paying for work. The downside was the limitation on the subject of painting.

The Soviet art

I took these pictures back in 2015 during a large-scale exhibition happening near the Kremlin. An extensive review of the Soviet art created in the 50s-70s shows people at work building a new era of prosperity for the people.

We can also look at art that’s created as a rebellion against its government and social order. Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei often criticizes his government. The U.S. is also so divided politically that these feelings of division branch out to art. We can find paintings of both Hillary and Trump at art fairs, galleries and exhibitions.

Art can also become more sarcastic as we see in this painting of Trump and Putin by Tony Pro https://www.tonypro-fineart.com/dataviewer.asp

tony pro_trump painting
Copyright Tony Pro, Donald Trump, oil on linen, 16 x 12″
Tony Pro, Vladimir Putin
Martín Mancera, Putin, mixed media,78in galeria casa cuadrada art wynwood- veronica winters art blog
Martín Mancera, Putin, mixed media,78in galeria casa cuadrada art wynwood 2023

Art as social commentary

Some artists like to leave social commentary and to reflect our culture back at us. Famous modern art artist Andy Warhol commemorated consumption in his famous paintings. Contemporary artist Alex Gross paints images of people with the message of antisocial networking, media control and online self-absorption. He often incorporates worldwide brands, pop culture and cliché symbols into his paintings. www.alexgross.com

Alex Gross, Zeitgeist Oil on Canvas 37.5 x 60.5 2015

 

#2 Artistic vision and Technical Innovation

Artistic vision is the most important element in contemporary art and is the hardest to develop, producing consistent paintings and 3-D art.

The innovation takes different forms:

  1. Unique vision often leads to innovation in the depiction of a form.
  2. Unique vision pushes artists to explore the surfaces and materials to create contemporary art.
  3. Unique approach is present in the narrative figurative painting.
  4. Unique vision channels the artist in art installations designed to create personal experiences. Check out the infinity rooms by Japanese artist Kusama, feminist art by Judy Chicago, and numerous video installations or immersive experiences like by Studio Drift.

Kehinde Wiley | www.kehindewiley.com 

Exploring contemporary painting we must notice figurative paintings of African-American artist Kehinde Wiley. His paintings are steeped in European art history and portraiture. They also reveal his sense of color and design. The artist often presents ordinary-dressed African-American men and women as aristocracy  in his vibrant oil paintings, removing the figures from expected environment of the streets and placing them into a culture of high art. His most recent project is the unveiled official portrait of Mr. Obama for the Smithsonian.

contemporary art portrait painting

Obj. No. 2006.14 Photo No. s55076.CT.1
Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977), Willem van Heythuysen, 2006, Oil and enamel on canvas, 96”H x 72”W Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund. Photo: Katherine Wetzel © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

martin r. herbst, hidden treasures at art fair 2018

Carole Feuerman

Carole Feuerman, Survival of Serena, hyper-realism sculpture
Carole Feuerman, Survival of Serena, hyper-realism sculpture on view at Art Basel Miami 2017.

Carole Feuerman is a contemporary hyperrealist sculptor who creates indoor and outdoor sculptures that symbolize strength and balance. In her studio in New York, she makes casts from real people, then paints over them and adds Swarowski crystal beads, hair and eyelashes.

Another contemporary artist who creates 3-D art is Rogan Brown. His wall art pieces present us with intricate designs and delicate paper cuts reminiscent of natural organic growth we could observe under a microscope. There is a great sense of poetry in his paper sculptures that evoke feelings of death and rebirth. We want to get lost in these dreamlike multilayered forms.

Copyright Rogan Brown paper cuts | roganbrown.com
Copyright Rogan Brown paper cuts | roganbrown.com

 

# 3 Composition & movement

Strong contemporary art features great abstract design captured in shapes, colors, and diagonals, which create visual movement on canvas. As viewers we often don’t pay attention to painting’s design, captivated by other elements like details, color or facial expression, but the creative composition is a cornerstone to all great art. Movement lets us travel across canvas and leads us to the center of interest in contemporary art. Movement can be achieved in many ways that include placing often repetitive elements that create rhythm (Magritte, van Gogh) or atmospheric effects (Turner).

Contemporary Russian artist Serge Marshennikov is one of the best figurative artists working today. His sense of movement, color, and anatomic accuracy shines in paintings of semi-nude women. The models are intentionally placed at diagonals, letting viewers travel across the form to never leave the canvas. The artist’s understanding of color harmonies and color temperature in skin tones and the surroundings is truly amazing. While Serge lives and works in St.Petersburg, he is represented by several art galleries in the U.S.

Copyright Serge Marshennikov| Work-in-progress where we can see the unpainted areas and how real the female figure looks resting on a pillow.
Copyright Serge Marshennikov, Serenity, oil painting | This figurative painting is a masterful depiction of form, where legs, feet, body and arms are placed at diagonals to create movement.
Copyright Serge Marshennikov | Amazing details of fabric and lace are juxtaposed against the nude figure to create this sense of gentleness and fragility young women have. Airy and colorful in white, this fabric has soft strokes that define texture, supporting the figure.

 

#4 Color

Sophisticated color mixing may be hard to understand for a beginner in art. Here I’d like to explain the difference between professional painting and not so much so.

Color harmony plays enormous visual significance in contemporary art just like it did in the masterworks. Representational artists spend years to learn how to mix colors and to design their color harmonies. Usually it involves learning how to mix the subdued colors that support the leading hue. A lot of contemporary art paintings have garish hues coming out straight from a tube. They are too bright, flat and unnatural-looking to any serious contemporary artist who paints from nature in realist tradition. The difference between professional artist painter and an amateur one lies in his understanding of paint, edges and light. By carefully controlling these three elements professional artists are able to create beautiful contemporary art.

One of the famous contemporary artists who has mastered the color is Ed Minoff. His seascapes give us a chance to feel the power of nature in beautiful, subtle color harmonies. Such understanding of light and atmosphere comes from numerous studies and direct observation. Painting from life is a must for every aspiring artist who is serious about learning the traditional oil painting techniques. Edward Minoff works and teaches art in New York.

Edward Minoff | www.edwardminoff.com

perpetual by ed minoff

 

#5 Painting Methods

Painterly strokes vs. Classicism

When we look at oil paintings, some appear hyperrealistic created with very smooth brushstrokes and others look loose with definite brushstrokes. This range of paint handling depends on artist’s personality and training. Both painterly and classical contemporary art can be equally good, if it’s painted with professionalism and from the heart. A lot of people don’t like the unblended brushstrokes, especially beginner painters, but this very type of painting is hard to achieve. Such loose brushstrokes look effortless to us, but this manner of painting actually carries years of experience learning to apply paint freely in just the right color and tone. Looking back at the art history Sargent and Zorn come to mind, employing loose, masterful brushstrokes to achieve freshness and realism in their paintings.

John Singer_Sargent_Lady_Agnew Scottish National Gallery
John Singer Sargent, Lady_Agnew

Classical painting technique shows no visible strokes. Van Eyck and David are great examples in art history. A complete blending of strokes comes with deliberate application of paint and brushing over it with a soft, clean brush after that. Also, painting with smooth brushstrokes often involves the glazing technique. These are multiple layers of paint applied very thinly to create an effect of light and luminosity. This oil painting technique involves lots of planning to foresee the end result painting in glazes (Vermeer, van Eyck).

Jacques-Louis_David death of marat
Jacques-Louis_David death of Marat

Jane Jones

www.janejonesartist.com

Contemporary still life painter Jane Jones works in realist tradition, painting flowers in luminous glazes. These flowers glow with light painted on panels. Careful compositions show remarkable mastery in achieving visual balance. The chiaroscuro effect of light and dark captivates the viewer instantly. If you’d like to learn about the artist’s oil painting technique, check out Jane’s art book, DVDs and more!.

Copyright Jane Jones, Survivors, 68×43″ oil painting

Painterly application of paint is a strong skill that’s often taken for granted. Being able to mix and apply paint in a single correct stroke involves lots of practice. We can explore painterly contemporary figurative art by Jeremy Mann. His personality is channeled through his aggressive and energetic strokes depicting streets and interiors, while the gentle hues in figurative painting capture his softer side. In his art, we can observe a thorough understanding of color impact and how it reverberates across the entire canvas.

Nadezda_Jeremy Mann contemporary art
Copyright Jeremy Mann, Nadezda, oil painting
jeremy mann abandoned dream, contemporary figurative painting
Copyright Jeremy Mann, Abandoned dream, oil painting

Contemporary painting often involves a mix of painting techniques that we can see in this artwork by Katherine Stone | www.katestoneart.com . Thin glazes create an effect of transparency and depth in the hair and background, while a more painterly strokes make textures in a doll and a girl’s face.

Copyright Kate Stone, A Certain Slant of Light, oil painting

Stylized art

An abbreviation of traditional methods and personal exploration leads to stylized art. When we look back at modern art, Gustav Klimpt and Mucha take prominent place in the world of art history. Their combination of materials is innovative for sure, but more importantly these artists’ work is based on a thorough understanding of human form. Their stylization doesn’t come from limitation (which is so common in contemporary painting), rather from their desire to find a unique voice in art that’s based on solid understanding of anatomy, color and composition. Therefore, their art is simply inspiring.

mucha, art neuveau
Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), The precious stones: topaz, ruby, amethyst, emerald

One of the examples in contemporary art painting stylization includes painting by Marco Grassi.

Copyright Marco Grassi

Sarah Joncas | sarahjoncas.ca

A Canadian artist, Sarah Joncas stylizes her figures and patterns to create art in paint. Inspired by animation processes and techniques, her art carries this simplification of shapes, color and tones, supported by exquisitely balanced compositions. Beautiful female figures and portraits are often juxtaposed against city views, nature or flowers to set the mood.

Copyright Sarah Joncas, fever Break,18×24″, oil and acrylic on panel

 

Abstract art vs. Realism

Traditional Realism involves a faithful depiction of light on a form studied from direct observation and Nature. But whenever we step away from it, other art forms take place.

Abstract art is about strong design and color management. We can learn to appreciate contemporary painting by learning to see textures/impasto techniques that create visual movement on canvas. Famous modern abstract artists include Jackson Pollock who pushed the boundaries of concept painting in vigorous strokes and textures. His abstract expressionism art shows understanding of color and design. Splattered paint on large canvases creates rhythm and energy.

Jackson Pollock, Blue Poles

Contemporary abstract painting by Joanne Miller Rafferty is beautiful, mature, and experimental in its nature. Abstract landscapes are spontaneous yet refined juxtapositions of color, gold leaf, and shimmery texture. They are lifescapes with the artist’s distinctive way of observation. Her acrylic paintings are collage pieces that begin at the horizon line and end at the personal experiences of viewers gazing at Joanne’s art. The artist has experimented with the use of leafing, gold leaf, and silver, copper, and variegated varieties. Using a mixture of acrylic color combinations on top of leafing creates new effects that Joanne has discovered in her creative processes. Her painting techniques are included in the Art Lessons book

Copyright Joanne Miller Rafferty, Timeless #2, 60×40

 Realism and Hyperrealism

christian alexander albarracin-paper sculpture-blink group gallery-art wynwood
christian alexander albarracin-paper sculpture-blink group gallery-art wynwood

I hope that this roundup of famous contemporary artists and their art gives you some ideas and direction how you can explore and grow your appreciation of contemporary art by paying attention to your emotions, story, composition, color and design in art. Contemporary art serves the humanity as a record of our history. It also creates a lasting memory of feelings and events, and allows us to communicate raw emotion.

Check out visionary art for sale

Great art websites to browse figurative art, sculpture and more:

ARC salon, the Met, National Gallery of Art, the Hermitage. Let me know if you have more resources/websites in mind.

Action step: Next time you look at contemporary art, ask yourself what three unique qualities you see in art. Is it a story, design, color, or simply a strong feeling that moves you? Analyze what draws you in and why.

Complete video series:

Video #1 Part 1 – Learn what makes a painting great

Video #1 Part 2 – Learn what makes a painting great 2: composition, color, emotion

Video #2 Contemporary Art – you’re here!

Video #3 How to take care of your art collection – coming soon!

Video #4 How to frame art 

Video # 5 Why you don’t need an interior designer to buy and display art in your home – coming soon!

contemporary art

King Woman: contemporary art show review

King Woman

King Woman is a contemporary art show held at the Pen+Brush nonprofit art gallery in New York in October, 2017. The title reflects epic impact you receive visiting the exhibit. Occupying two floors, the exhibition features a number of large artworks in contemporary painting, photography and sculpture. This art show is a rare gem, sparkling in an overall landscape of mediocre contemporary art. Both abstract and realistic, art is united in a single vision where a woman is King. The curator of the show is Mashonda Tifrere.

She said, “My goal for this show is to highlight work by women who question history and deny limitations, persevering in their art despite social mores and norms. These artists have also found a way to acknowledge their gender but at the same time move beyond it by owning it in an unabashed way – showing that women can be more than Goddess or Queen, that they are capable of being ‘King,’ at the pinnacle of power and strength and skill.”

Art transcends the gender roles, and while it shouldn’t be about the division between the sexes, it’s important to see women have equal say, being presented in art exhibitions. While we don’t see male artists showing in groups where their art challenges stereotypes and disparity they often face, women seem to unite in their message channeled through their art. Being vulnerable is beautiful. Women artists often feel unimportant and invisible however, their art becomes powerful once the forces are united in the show like this one.

Carole A. Feuerman

Carole Feuerman_King Woman show

Carole Feuerman is a pioneer hyperrealist artist who actually began the the hyper-realism movement in the 1970s. She portrays women in steel, bronze and resin so lifelike, you can’t help but reach out and touch the sculptures. Tiny eyelashes, hair and droplets of dew make her figures appear incredibly real.  Large and small, her figurative sculptures can occupy a small space in a room or in the entire garden. The sculptures are often integrated into their environment, like you can see in Venice. https://veronicasart.com/venice-biennial-2017-a-crappy-show-with-rave-reviews/

On the artist’s website Feuerman explains her work.

“She creates visual manifestations of the stories she wants to tell of strength, survival, balance, and the struggle to achieve.”

Carole Feuerman_King Woman show_s

Chrysalis, 2017, resin, 33 x 36 x 18″

Ingrid Baars

Artemis, 2017, C-print face mounted on dibond, edition of 7, 45″x 59″

This incredibly powerful photograph is inspired by African culture, fashion and women. Romantic at heart, the photo manipulation is the image of  striking beauty and ethereal contemplation.

Yvonne Michiels

Royal Flowers, 2017, Fuji Crystal on dibond with perspex

Based in the Netherlands, the artist creates incredibly moving digital collages of women with floral crowns.  At first sight her portraits of women express confidence and beauty. Women’s faces look so magnificent, you stare at the image speechless, yet we can feel some hidden vulnerability behind the perfect looks.

Roos Van Der Vliet

White float frame | King Woman show_| Art by van Roos
Roos Van Der Vliet, Storytellers XX & XV, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 37 x 29″ White float frame | King Woman show

These intimate portraits of women feel incredibly sincere. Dutch artist paints women realistically to express her inner desire to replicate reality as close as she can. Her paintings give a sense of a woman who is hiding yet she wants to be seen. Painting process is always a path to understanding oneself. Here we see the artist making discoveries about her own vulnerability.

Reisha Perlmutter

Iris, 2017, oil on canvas, 40 x 60″

Reisha paints women floating in colorful water. Abstracted patterns of body and water channel their healing powers where women are allowed to dwell freely in their ever changing environment.

Victoria Selbach

king woman show_Vic Selbach

Kali Ma, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 50″

This painting surprises with its size that creates instant sense of power and control found in a figure. She looks like a goddess or warrior who is ready to concur the world.

The list of artists in King Woman includes:

Rebecca Allan; Azi Amiri; Ingrid Baars; Hunter Clarke; Donna Festa; Carole Feuerman; Lola Flash; Meredith Marsone; Yvonne Michiels; Stephanie Hirsch; Kharis Kennedy; Kit King; Lacey McKinney; Jane Olin; Reisha Perlmutter; Renee Phillips; Trixie Pitts; A.V. Rockwell; Victoria Selbach; Lynn Spoor; Swoon; Tiara; Roos Van Der Vliet; Elizabeth Waggett; Lynnie Z

Where:

King Woman is the contemporary art show that runs between October 12th-December 9th, 2017 at Pen+Brush nonprofit art gallery in New York (29 East 22nd street). To read more about the show: http://www.penandbrush.org/articles/press-release/upcoming-exhibition-king-woman 

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Venice biennial 2017:  a crappy show with rave reviews

If you regret that you haven’t seen the show yet, don’t. Venice Biennale 2017 is monumental in concept and degraded on visuals, heavy on installations, and weak on any form of beautiful painting, huge on scale and tiny on emotion. Chief curator of the Pompidou center in Paris, Christine Macel  arranged the exhibition in a number of pavilions -realms which flow together with concept art titled “Viva arte Viva!”

While paid entrance to the biennale invites you to visit vast spaces of the Arsenale and the Giardini, a number of other pavilions are scattered throughout Venice in medieval palazzos and gardens. Art in those palaces looked better than the one in the official biennale. Each pavilion usually represents a single country with its native artists exhibiting their talent to the multilingual public.

Karla Black abstract sculptures
Venice biennial 2017: the Arsenale. 9 chapters or realms, 86 countries, 120 artists – one feeling of confusion. The show opens up with large-scale installations situated between a long stretch of bare, tall brick halls of the Arsenale. Arsenale is the medieval Venetian warehouse for arms and boats.

This is one of the top art international shows that obliterates visual beauty in favor of concept. Boring to the eyes and craftsy at best, the viewer has to read lengthy statements in provided brochures to “get” the idea behind the pieces. I love Venice for its beautiful architecture, history and art, yet the biennial rejects even a slightest idea of having representational art on its grounds. The exception is the Venetian pavilion itself that defies the curator’s voice with sparkling jewelry, chandeliers, gowns and sophisticated glass that highlights traditional artist labor and skill.

A woman’s head is picking out from a hole in the floor with piles of clothes arranged in a circle.
The Romanian Pavilion

Like in the naked king fairy-tale, fooling of people takes place in the exhibition stating what they see is ART.  Rooms after rooms visitors encounter piles of materials, fabric, metals or abstract sculptures, that often have profound meaning expressed through riveting writing. However these endless primitive installations and videos leave the spectators  confused on what ART means.

Art exists to call our attention to something, to make a statement, or to leave a record of times lived. Curated as apolitical and without a clear message, the biennial misses to deliver on any of these points.

The German Pavilion
More rooms

Visual arts are called visual for a reason. Because the artist’s call to attention and its impact is visual, conceptual art rarely leaves considerable emotional impact. Even when the concept is strong, it’s weakened by the absence of the visual perception we all share. Therefore, such installations should get a specific classification not to be promoted as art. Today’s notion abolishes any standard for an artist to aspire to, and for people to understand or appreciate. Why did we keep high standard in music or dance and completely abolished the one in art? It’s not the absence of artists willing to travel years in education to achieve something worthwhile of people’s attention, it’s about few art critics and curators, influential art shakers who pick and choose, add and subtract – curate according to their tastes, business practice and economic whims.

The pavilion of Shamans

Art installations that catch attention

On the upside, the exhibition is gender-even, nationality-diverse, with the majority of the unknown artists representing both influential and obscure countries. There are a few art installations at the main complex of the biennale that caught my eye.

The Zimbabwe Pavilion
Zimbabwe pavilion
The Russian pavilion
Russian Pavilion: Change of Decorum. Growing aggression, terror, irrational life of people, control and manipulation of masses are the themes of the art installation with drones, people, soldiers and androids living in the “transparent world.”
The Chile Pavilion
Artist Bernardo Oyarzun explores the theme of the current representation of the Mapuche community, a group of indigenous inhabitants of southcentral Chile and southwestern Argentina. Dark room features an installation of over 1,000 Mapuche kollong masks, traditionally used in ceremonies. Note that 40 Mapuche artisans produced these handmade masks commissioned by the artist who installed them in the pavilion.
The Argentinean Pavilion
Claudia Fontes, The Horse Problem
“Making art is not a luxury. It’s a way of surviving that humans as a species have developed: we are, so far as we know, the only group of living beings capable of calling the attention of others to the meaning of life. That’s something to celebrate.” – Claudia Fontes
Other rooms
The Mongolian Pavilion
The Venetian Pavilion
This is a visual Venice guide about the city and its history. To shop on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QSvpFr

Art seen off of the biennial in Venice in 2017

A nice surprise is a solo show by Carole A. Feuerman situated in a peaceful corner of a green garden at the Giardino Della Marinaressa, by the Venice Biennale (open and free to the public). The artist makes hyper-realistic, life-size sculptures of women in painted bronze and steel, resin and oil that look so life-like, you just want to reach out and touch the sculptures!

Kendall Island, lacquer on bronze, life-size sculpture

Project by Lorenzo Quinn on the Grand Canal in Venice. His monumental sculpture of white hands raises awareness about the climate change and the rising sea levels.

Street art in Italy

I must mention the performance that I saw on the streets of Turin. A young man pounded the keys of an old typewriter with rare obsession. Here is one of his finished pieces.

The artwork made using an old type writer.

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How long did it take you to paint that?

This is my studio where I live. 🙂

“How long did it take you to paint that?

Every artist is asked this question. Viewers have no idea what it takes, and artists don’t know where to begin answering this question, because it involves…Well, it involves an entire explanation how long it takes to become good. Artwork creation doesn’t always look like a lot of work, yet a single painting incorporates years of unseen work. People ask this question because they want to have a conversation with the artist and they don’t know what else they can ask to have it.

In general, people try to calculate or connect the objectivity of high pricing with the time artist spends painting a particular artwork. On the surface it looks expensive or overpriced, and a prospect buyer wants to understand where the number comes from. Artists, however, think of a lifetime of effort, hard work, bills, tuition and many other business costs they accrue working in their studios. Therefore, weeks, months and years can’t be quantified into a certain number of hours spent on one painting.

In the beginning of the career many artists have to wrestle with the financial burden and make significant sacrifices learning the craft. The costs often include expensive college education. Besides having the obvious tuition and living costs, artists don’t become artists in four to six years after college graduation. The artist career often starts with zero job prospects or security, and builds up to something meaningful over a very long period of time of hard work, dedication and social climbing. For many artists it means a continued struggle, a reconciliation of the need to paint with making money to pay the bills. However, if the artist is good at art marketing and relationships building, the struggles most artists face may be reversed into significant opportunities quickly.

It takes A LONG time to learn how to paint realistically. There are no cute formulas or shortcuts. No one learns it overnight no matter how much talent the artist has! It’s a skill that takes significant effort and focus. Until very recently, there were no realist schools available to get the comprehensive education from, which magnified the problem and effort to achieve a certain skill level. Of course, there are exceptions and we can find super talented, self-taught artists, but such instances are rare. Those who have no time to do their art every day don’t become artists. Fear of instability takes their need to paint away from them.

There is a notion that artists just hang out at art festivals, fairs, or their shows enjoying the limelight and attention. Well, maybe for a little bit but… exhibiting at festivals involves a lot of effort, persistence, and investment. On average, a popular festival’s booth fees run around $450-$700/per show, and the artist is responsible for other costs (application fees, hotel, gas, transportation, and the cost of a professional booth itself that runs around $2,500 on average). Many artists hit the road for months, traveling from one state to the next, working over 8 hours a day. Work at the art festivals includes not only the artist’s time present at the booth all day, but also the time and effort to set up and to break down (usually early in the morning and late in the evening,) time to carry, pack, unpack and pack again a number of heavy, framed paintings.

Professional artists also have other costs that include:

  • Custom framing. Artists invest into their frames because it gives them professional presentation that is often required, by the way, to display their work in juried shows.
  • Time to market artwork. E-mails, presentations, social media, research, writing, contacting galleries and editors takes consistent and relentless effort.
  • Artists hire models to paint the figure from life.
  • Art supplies. Artists spend hundreds of dollars on art supplies every year as they keep practicing for years. This is a continuous expense, like going to a grocery store each week. When the time is right, the artist transitions to professional, durable, lightfast materials that cost a lot more that cheaply manufactured canvases and paints. Professional art supplies let artists create long lasting, museum-quality pieces, unlike the junk that would fall apart or fade within years. Often times if the artist doesn’t share this information with the buyer, no one can tell visually if the supplies are archival or not.
  • Other office expenses that include professional photo equipment, storage files, a scanner and a printer, camera and video equipment, etc..
  • Some artists chose to advertise online or in magazines.
  • As a surprise to many, the artist’s retail price includes a 50% mark up, sometimes 60-65% that galleries take selling artist’s work. That means that the artist gets only half of his/her money after making a sale.
  • The final cost to the artist is not the financial, but the emotional one. In the U.S. artists don’t have much respect unless they are famous. This leads to stereotypes and generalizations. Often called “lazy artists,” “starving artists,” “stupid artists,” or “flaky artists.” We have become the 2nd class citizens because we often allow it to happen, and because art has become the all encompassing word that incorporates everything into it. Art is everywhere today.

We don’t even pay attention to it, but art is everywhere today: in magazines, book covers, album covers, calendars, and even on plates. As the society has moved from scarce product production to consumerism, artists get pushed to the sidelines. A lot of work gets devalued by the Chinese manufacturing, cheaply made goods, mass-produced items, and unlicensed reproductions. This trend reinforces the people’s desire to buy a cheap print or new piece of technology rather than a small original artwork. As a result many folks don’t appreciate art, because they simply don’t identify with it, don’t find the emotional connection, and don’t really need it. TV, wall posters, and other goods and entertainment have replaced the enjoyment of looking at a single original painting.

In other words, ART has lost or changed its original meaning, evolving into other facets of artful creations that redefined the uniqueness and value of art. Bogus art may receive lots of publicity due to smart marketing campaigns that confuse people. Those souls who love the arts just get lost trying to understand what’s really valuable and what is not. It’s rare to see someone admitting that he or she doesn’t get art or lacks education to have an opinion. And that’s why art appreciation should be taught in schools as a relevant subject along with math and the sciences.

Art creates unique experiences. Art takes care of our emotional life. Often described as healing, art reflects on our inner life. No matter the art style or medium, Art makes us human to experience joy and beauty. Art can be a protest and a wing of change. When we look at history of human civilization, we often study it through art.

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