Enter To Win $100 Gift Card In The AbetDisc.com Design Contest!

Enter To Win $100 Gift Card In The AbetDisc.com Design Contest!
by Aeron Nersoya

Calling all recording artists! Want to add the accolade of "Best CD Cover Designer" in addition to all your other titles? Enter the AbetDisc.com design contest today for the chance to win a $100 gift card good towards future CD or DVD duplication design, CD or DVD mass recording, or any services offered by AbetDisc.com.

Before customers can listen to your CD, they have to be tempted to pick it up and buy it. Only the best, most attractive, creative and artistic covers are going to get people to notice your disc. You owe it to yourself, after recording your heart out, to now highlight your disc with eye-grabbing packaging. That is why AbetDisc.com is going to reward you in their best artwork contest for CD or DVD cover design.

You'll have to think creatively to win the abet design contest- but that's ok if you're up to the challenge! It is all to the benefit of boosting your CD's success. The folks at Abet Disc are musicians, too, and they understand the importance of creating an eye-catching CD cover design. Just check out their design that won the 2009 American Packaging Design Award for eco-friendly packaging design- a simple yet nifty envelope that invites customers to buy it just to see what's inside!

So after you've made the disc, put your talents to work on the designing a cover suitable to win this artwork contest. What will be your inspiration? A "popping" holographic image of your logo? A provocative image or set of images highlighting your main song title and lyrics? An enigmatic symbol-only cover with no words? Or will you try for cover packaging with creative cutouts or simply a haunting black and white photo? Whatever works best to market your CD, use it to your advantage! Remember that a picture speaks a thousand words, so don't waste the chance to capitalize on designing a cover that shouts for attention.

Entering the Abet design contest is easy and it's free! You receive one entry with each CD or DVD duplication design, replication and printing order by simply checking off the box saying that you want to submit your artwork when placing an order. At the end each month, Abet Disc will choose a winner out of all the submissions. Win the $100 gift card and use it to purchase more CD duplication designs of your winning cover so everybody can see it! Show the world that you are the all-around accomplished artist! Good luck!

Visit "http://www.abetdisc.com" www.abetdisc.com for more details on the abet design contest.

Canvas oil paintings invite art enthusiasts to enter new worlds

Canvas oil paintings invite art enthusiasts to enter new worlds
by Alice Brooks

Canvas oil paintings can be found and acquired for much cheaper rates at online galleries as opposed to mortar and brick art galleries that offer paintings for sale. The same type of art work and the same quality of art work that you can find at a high profile art gallery can be obtained at an online art gallery. However, you will find great savings and convenience by shopping online for canvas oil paintings.

There is no denying the increasing popularity and need for art in the world. You can not enter a hotel, eatery or even the home of a person without seeing some form of art. In fact, the majority of homes in the world features more than 20 pieces of art. These pieces of art could range from whatnots and posters to reproductions or original canvas oil paintings.

The art in most homes is either bought at a local department store or acquired at a flea market or sometimes passed down from one generation to another. However, in recent years the sheer number of online galleries has began to increase as art lovers have begun to realize how affordable artwork can be purchased online. What's more, they have access to a wide variety of paintings for sale from all over the world. With the internet, no more are art lovers restricted to looking for canvas oil paintings at their local art galleries.

In fact, you can save hundreds to thousands of dollars each every year by making all your art purchases online. Online art dealers are able to offer customers much more affordable rates than in person art galleries are able to do. This is because art galleries have to pay the bills for their gallery and have to pass that cost on to their customers.

At online art dealers you can find the same quality canvas oil paintings that you would find at a typical art dealer in person. However, you can shop from the ease and convenience of your home and can save yourself a substantial amount of money on each and every purchase that you make.

One of the most popular types of artwork that is sold at online galleries is canvas oil paintings. Canvas oil paintings are in fact one of the highest sold types of artwork each and every year in the world of art.

Everyone is familiar with canvas oil paintings. There are numerous high profile and historic canvas oil paintings that people will immediately recognize even if they are not an "art snob". One such canvas oil painting is the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. This painting is so famous that it has appeared in hundreds of movies and has been mentioned in thousands of books throughout history.

When it comes to paintings for sale, canvas oil paintings are by and far one of the most popular and sought after types of artwork in the world. An estimated 3 out of every 5 homes in the world features some type of oil painting. Whether these are original oil paintings or prints of popular and historic canvas oil paintings.

Modern art on canvas you can pass on to the next generation.

Modern art on canvas you can pass on to the next generation.
by Alice Brooks

Buying canvas paintings these days is seen as a rarity since more and more people are opting for the cheaper replicas of original paintings that are printed out on tarpaulin sheets and framed. These cheap knockoffs of original artwork do not last a lifetime and fade when constantly exposed to the elements like dust, sunlight, and air. Modern art on canvas should be considered something of an investment and a keepsake that you can pass down through the generations as something from this era. Like the paintings of the masters were passed down to this generation, so should these modern art pieces be passed on to the next generations to come.

Decorating your home with cheap knock-offs of certain paintings that you like or posters of paintings that you feel will make your home look good is fine if only for a little while. These things do not last and will soon fade away, and you will find yourself buying another poster or printout of another copy of real canvas paintings to replace the faded ones you have.

Why not consider buying the real thing instead and have something you can give to your children when they move to their own homes or when they grow up? There are a lot of modern art on canvas that are well painted and will be welcome additions to any home.

Buying paintings for your home is a sound investment since oil paintings rarely fade with exposure and time. If they do fade, they can be easily restored by experts who know how to handle oil paintings. Modern art on canvas can be your choice for canvas paintings that you can hand down to your next of kin, although there are other paintings styles you can choose from.

Modern art is a good depiction of our times and the prevalent artistic style that artists of this generation use. The different kinds of modern art you can choose from include pop art, modern abstract pieces, unique silhouette and figure paintings, realistic-looking still life, and modern landscapes and seascapes. The many types of modern art on canvas you can choose for your home may confuse you as to which kind you will choose to buy.

Since these are all lovely canvas paintings that will look good in any room of your home or even in your office, you can opt for any of the above-mentioned modern art paintings. You might even consider buying one of those multi canvas paintings that look so good on the wall of any home or office. These multi canvas paintings can also be seen in various styles like abstract, flower paintings, pop art paintings, and even in landscape paintings. When choosing modern art on canvas to pass on to the next generation, you will need to think that you are passing on something valuable and well worth receiving should you be the recipient yourself. You can also choose to buy more than one art piece if you have a liking for art and if you are looking to create a collection that you can keep until the time when you will be passing it on to your children and your children's children.

How To Sell Your Art In A Recession - Part Four
by Keith Gilchrist


You are standing before your artwork with a collector. This is the golden moment in selling art. Make your art easy to buy. Start by making yourself easy to buy from. Be yourself. Trust yourself. Talk to collectors using simple, everyday, honest language. Tell them what you believe. Throw in a little humor. Don't hide anything. People will believe that you are worthy of their trust because you are.

To shape productive conversations, start by listening...really pay attention. Listen carefully for his or her key interests and concerns. Offer information and advice freely. You can ask questions and make suggestions without sales pressure. Answer questions clearly, briefly and to the point. Tell stories about how collectors bought their first pieces from you. Talk (a little) about a recent piece you sold.

Lay out in your own mind all the steps to reviewing and purchasing a piece so your answers come naturally. How much does the work cost? What makes it worth that much? Why will family and friends approve of the choice? How can it be paid for? How it will be shipped and installed? How will you guarantee it? When you sense that someone is interested in your art, simply respond and work towards helping them decide.

You will hear objections. Learn to be comfortable working with them. An open, honest response works best to sell art. When you sense a collector is close to, or has made, a decision, feel comfortable in helping them close. Do what is natural for you. Gentle suggestions make it easy.

It is your job to establish the value of your artwork and make a collector comfortable with the price. You can make a good start by documenting and sharing your portfolio, artist's statement, resumes, biography, photographs or slides. You can provide stories about each piece. Whenever you're not sure how much your art is worth, look at the marketplace for clues. Check out what other artists are getting for art similar to yours and price comparably.

Be sensible. You can't give away your art and make a living. Know what a typical piece costs to produce. Add 30% to cover overhead. This is the lowest price you can allow. Below that you're not running a business, maybe a charity. Above this minimal price, consider your inspiration, creativity and skill. Be very honest with yourself here. If you are selling through a gallery, you'll need to accommodate their markup. You'll also have to maintain that price in selling art to collectors privately.

After you both are in agreement about the deal, shake hands and be still. Let him or her say the next words. A surprising number of people would really love to buy art, but need a little gentle encouragement. The moment they feel comfortable and confident with you and your work, they'll buy.

Looking and Appreciating Art

Looking and Appreciating Art
by Kieran Shep

Note that I am not claiming that there is one correct check-list method of looking at art. I am merely suggesting ways to appreciate and experience art when visiting galleries, museums, and other art exhibitions and displays since this can sometimes be a daunting task.

Most won't admit it, but they don't know what to look for so I am here to offer some advice to avoid the two second glance at a visual piece, or the desperate attempt to find clarity in the exhibition label, or the excited face posing for a photograph next to an art piece they admire. There are ways however to fulfill the primary purposes of viewing a work of art- for the pleasure of the eyes, the appreciation and enlightenment a work of art can offer.

I will start with Lucien Freud's feelings when he visited the National Gallery of Art in London

"I use the gallery as if it were a doctor. I come for ideas and help -- to look at situations within paintings, rather than whole paintings. Often these situations have to do with arms and legs, so the medical analogy is actually right. Do you know the old story about the strip-cartoon writer who goes on holiday?

He leaves his hero chained up at the bottom of the sea with an enormous shark advancing from the left and a huge octopus approaching. And the man who takes over the job can't figure out how to get the hero out of danger, and after several sleepless nights, he finally sends a telegram to the writer, asking him what to do. And the telegram comes back: 'With one tremendous bound the hero is free.' Well, when I come here I'm looking for ways to get myself out of troubles that are self-made."

Second- Scanning an artspace is perfectly normal, there is no way that anyone can view every piece for several minutes nor are they interested in everything exhibited. Scan the place to see what you are most attracted to and go to that artwork.

Third- Try to understand what it is that attracted you to this piece (although beauty attracts many people and many artworks are beautiful, all art isn't beautiful so this might not be your primary reason for liking a particular piece.)

Fourth- Look up close and take steps back (circle around it if it's an installation or sculpture that allows for engagement at more than one special perspective.) Try to understand why a certain medium was used, how it feels like physically and how that relates to the visual product. If a painting look at the brush strokes, the edges between foreground, object and background, the color transitions, where does light come from, and how do you react emotionally to the way the piece presents itself.

If a sculpture or installation walk around it, think about the material, how it was made, how it interacts with the space it's in, what do the shapes look like, what effect does it have on you the viewer.

Fifth- After personal interaction with the piece on an emotional and raw level where only you interact according to your primary feelings, it can be helpful to contextualize. This means looking at the exhibition label, does its title reflect, change, or support the way you initially reacted to this art piece?

The curators of this exhibit put a lot of care and time in creating the labels or wall panel supporting the artwork through words so it can be helpful to read what their thoughts are as well as your own. Sometimes contextualizing and knowing how the art fits in historically can understand why it was special for its time, why people thought it was so original, and you may learn a bit of art history and ideas also occurring at the time this artwork was produced.

If you really like the artwork, it can help to keep a personal analog of artists or artworks you enjoy for future reference or expansion. For instance, you may want to see upcoming exhibits from this artist to know more about their art, or read up on articles to understand more about the process and what attracted you to their art in the first place. Resources like http://www.mutualart.com are fantastic for this type of artistic personal expansion. This can be useful for students (pretty much anyone who loves art), collectors, teachers, or dealers in the arts.

Lastly, once you've fully enjoyed a work of art move on to the next one that attracts your interest and you will be surprised to find you may be attracted to it for completely different reasons than the last one. It's a journey of self-discovery and visual pleasure so enjoyment is key. It's more important to appreciate a new pieces because it will be more memorable than to give 2 seconds to every artwork in a museum simply because you feel the need to step foot on every floor.

Is Interior design a Reflection of Mind?

Is Interior design a Reflection of Mind?
by Abhyudaya


Interior design is a job related with anything found inside a space - walls, doors, windows, finishes, light, textures, furnishings and furniture. Interior designers used these elements to develop a safe and functional pleasing space for the user of building. Therefore, they are also called as architects.

An interior designer works upon many disciplines like environmental psychology, product design, architecture and traditional decoration (cosmetics and aesthetics). They design every type of building includes: hotels, schools, corporate spaces, hospitals, shopping malls, private residences, theaters, restaurants and airport terminals.

Now, Let us discuss how Interior Design relates to our Mind?

Human is a composite of body, mind and spirit. The proper coordination of all these three creates the world around us. Whatever we want in our life, the things are first created in our mind and then our mind sends signals to our brain and finally the brain sends signals to all the parts of our body to take action. Then the imagination of our mind gets converted in reality.

Our mind decides what we imagine. Means if I want to decorate my drawing room, all from the type of furniture I choose will depend upon my broader attitude towards life.

I will not say that only high budget designs are best as in my personal life, I have noticed many interior designers have spent their entire lives on studying low cost design projects and also won awards for their brilliant work.

I do not agree with the point that an interior designer is an artist because an artist performs his acts to satisfy his own desire which could be any performing art. Even, an interior designer is neither an engineer nor a technician as when an engineer builds a design he is not concern for making it beautiful. His first goal is to make it functional. So, he puts his full efforts and energy in making the design functional.

Therefore, an interior designer is one who satisfies both the functional and aesthetical part of the design. But to satisfy each and every user's aesthetic hunger, it is quite difficult.

Acrylic Painting Tips & Techniques For Beginners

Acrylic Painting Tips & Techniques For Beginners
by Ralph Serpe


Acrylic paint, when compared with other mediums like oil paint, is a fairly new addition to the world of painting. It has only been around since the 1950's . It has been continually under development and refinement since that time. Just because acrylic paint has not been around as long as oils, does not make these paints less important or enjoyable.

Some of the wonderful benefits of using acrylic paints are their versatility, permanence and ease of use. These paints can be applied thickly as an impasto or in thin washes similar to watercolor. Acrylic paint does not yellow or harden with age like oils.

Another reason artists love to work with acrylics is their fast drying time. Since acrylic paint dries so quickly, colors can be applied and layered quicker than oil paints. But with this fast drying time comes a few disadvantages:

1) The paint will not remain workable for very long, so you have to work fast.

2) Brushes can be ruined if you do not clean them right away.

3) If you plan to paint outdoors, then acrylic paint is probably not the best medium to use, especially on a hot sunny day. When you lay out your colors on a palette or other surface, they will begin to dry quickly forming skins on the surface, making them quite difficult to work with.

ACRYLIC PAINTING TECHNIQUES

Watercolor Effects

Many artists like to use acrylics in a fluid state, similar to watercolor. There is a notable difference though. With acrylics, washes can be layered on top of one another without fear of disturbing the colors underneath. You must wait for one layer to dry completely before applying another of course. Once each layer dries it becomes insoluble in water. One disadvantage to using acrylics as a watercolor medium is the difficulty in modifying the color. Once acrylic paint begins to dry it becomes very difficult to modify and washes can sometime dry with unwanted hard edges. You can avoid this problem in one of two ways. You can either dampen the paper before the paint is applied or you can use an additional brush dampened with water. Use one brush to apply the paint and immediately soften the edge with the other brush that has been dampened with the water.

Pouring & Dripping Technique

This technique was made popular by the master painter Jackson Pollock in the late 1940's and early 1950's. You use a very fluid acrylic paint for this technique. You can pour it directly on the canvas or dip a brush into the paint and let it drip down onto the canvas. You can create some very interesting effects with this technique. Check out Jackson Pollocks work to see this technique in action.

Sgraffito Technique

Sgraffito is a scratching technique. It got its name from the Italian word graffiare which literally means to scratch. Just as the name implies it involves scratching into the surface of the wet paint which reveals either the ground or layer of dry color underneath. There are a number of different tools that can be used for this technique. Tools like screwdrivers or the sharpened end of an old paintbrush handle can work.

Using a Squeegee

A regular squeegee that you can buy at any hardware or auto store has the ability to create some interesting effects. First squeeze out some paint blobs directly along one edge of your support. You can layout whatever colors you wish. Then with one fluid motion drag the paint across the surface with your squeegee smearing and mixing the paint as you go.

ACRYLIC PAINTING TIPS

Variety

One of the things that makes a painting interesting is variety. Use a variety of different brushstrokes, techniques and values in your paintings. Change the direction of your brushstrokes or mix different techniques in the same painting.

Don't Copy

Don't copy other artists. Allow other artists to influence you and paint your own impression of what you see from your heart and soul. This is how your inner creativity shines on the canvas. It is what set painters like Vincent van Gogh and Salvador Dali apart from the rest. They each injected their own style and heart into their work.

Observe Your Surroundings

Spend time observing and studying your subjects and surroundings. Landscape artists spend a great deal of time outdoors studying nature. Figure and portrait artists spend a great deal of time studying the human anatomy. If you aren't spending enough time observing the subjects that you wish to paint, then you won't have the necessary knowledge to paint them.

Art Supplies

Are you using quality acrylic painting supplies? In the beginning when you are experimenting, it is ok to use cheaper supplies, but as you become more experienced, you may want to consider investing in better quality. When it comes to fine art supplies, you usually get what you pay for. If you buy cheap brushes, they will more than likely begin to fall apart. The ferrule of the brush can loosen and the hairs can fall out. If you use cheap paint, you will get cheap looking results. The colors will not have the same brilliance or the right consistency.

Don't Be Afraid to Use your Paint

Lets face it, good paint does not come cheap, so in an effort to conserve our paint, some artists will use as little paint as possible. This is a reasonable concern, but the truth however, is that your paintings will be more interesting if you lay down the brush stroke, leave it alone, and then reload your brush. Don't try and scrub the paint into the canvas, otherwise you are just staining, and not painting.

Don't Over Think

Don't overly criticize or judge your own work while you are painting. This will discourage and frustrate you. Just relax and let go. Trust yourself and your abilities.