Sell Your Art!

CALL TO ARTISTS!
At last - a way to sell your Artwork through more than just galleries! I'm receiving inquiries weekly from individuals and companies wanting to buy artwork and hire Artists… And don’t know where to find them, or haven’t the time to forage around on the internet.

They are asking me for referrals to Artists who can:

• Work Events
• Fulfill Commissions
• Restore Artwork
• Create Murals
• Do Caricatures
• Sculptures
• Glass Art
• Fine Art Paintings
• Create Unusual New Art Products… and the list goes on!

These opportunities to connect Artists to people who want to buy art and can’t find it has lead me to create a networking referral program to “Bring Business to Artists… and Artists to Business”.

In this network I now have a growing audience of people who want to see Art that is for sale.
Businesses that include:

• Multiple High-End Commercial Interior Designers
• Multiple High-End Residential Interior Designers
• Multiple High-End Architects
• Multiple High-End Home Buyers
• Multiple High-End Publishers
• Quality Printers offering Packages for Artists
• Multiple Corporations… you get the idea.

Some of these businesses provide full spectrum marketing in both the traditional method and on the web. In this network are companies who provide national exposure, open doors to large target audiences, and have the capability to put your Art in front of many multiples of high-end buyers… and the network is growing.

I’ve already put together a large group of Artists and businesses who’ve connected, bought and sold artwork and services, and want more!

Got Questions? Please read through the Sell Your Art FAQ's

If you’d like to be a part of this Referral Network, you’ll need to fill out an application. I you need help filling out the application, please give me a call at 949-551-1987 and I’ll be happy to help. There is a one-time $30 assessment fee because I need to know who you are, what your specialty is and how to contact you, so I know where to send your work and who to send to you.

Your information will be kept private. It will not be sold or used for spamming in any way. You’ll only receive emails when there is a new opportunity or when someone specifically wishes your work.

Questions?

ArtTIPS has a NEW HOME!

A New and Improved ArtTIPS
Yes, you read it right. We've outgrown this site! The ArtTIPS by Froshay blog has moved to a new, bigger and better location. And because it's bigger we've been able to combine the ArtTIPS blog with the Art Mentor blog so you'll now get twice as much blog for your click!

More Fun, More Information
We can now offer you even more goodies too.... like extra pages. Check out "Free Stuff" (links to all sorts of helpful Artist sites that we get asked for all the time). And Art Tools such as Art Book Reviews and Cool Art Supplies that we, our readers and students recommend, plus there's more to come - 'cause we're still growing!

So head on over to www.TheArtMentor.com and read this weeks new post. All new posts will be added to our new site from this point forward, so if you've added this site in your RSS or requested email notification for weekly updates - please re-submit these requests on www.TheArtMentor.com. All notifications are automated (and unfortunately we can't do the forwarding at our end, but we can promise that you won't receive double notifications).

Preview:

How to Loosen a Stuck Paint Cap

Paint Cap Stuck on Tight?
There are several ways of loosening the cap from a tube of paint, whether it’s oil, watercolor or acrylic. I’m sure you’ve already had the experience of trying to twist the cap only to have the tube twist and split instead..... (continued at www.TheArtMentor.com)

see you on the new blog!

Drawing Pencils

They Never Were Lead!
The first pencils were created some time before 1665. They were made from sticks cut from a high quality natural graphite deposit, which was then wrapped in either string or sheepskin. At the time it was thought to be lead. Later, the graphite (a form of carbon), was inserted into wooden sticks that had been hollowed-out by hand.

Today, the "lead" of a pencil is usually made from blend of powdered graphite, clay and water that is shaped into thin rods, dried, kiln-fired and then wrapped in a wood casing.

Grading
The hardness or softness of the graphite core depends upon how much clay is added into the mix.

Harder pencils - indicated by the H code, produce fainter marks and the higher the number, the lighter the lines. In other words, if H2 produces a light grey mark, H4 will be even lighter and H6 will be lighter still.

Pressing harder with these pencils will only crease your paper rather than make darker lines.

Softer pencils are indicated by a B coding and the graphite becomes softer as the number increases. The higher the number, the darker the lines will be (and the more easily they can be smudged).

Remember it this way..... H (for Hardness) ...... B (for Blackness)

School Pencils
Those good ol' yellow pencils you purchase for back to school as a kid? They are usually smack in the middle and may be considered an H or HB, although I've owned some that marked more like a 2H.

I prefer the softer range myself because I have a light touch. I usually begin a drawing with a 2B and then move into the 4B and 6B when I'm ready to darken up my line work and create shading.

Woodless Pencils
Woodless pencils are solid graphite coated with thick varnish. They are very versatile, also come in various degrees of softness, are ideal for laying in large areas quickly and can be sharpened with a normal pencil sharpener.

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A New and Improved ArtTIPS
Yes, you read it right. We've outgrown this site! The ArtTIPS by Froshay blog has moved to a new, bigger and better location. And because it's bigger we've been able to combine the ArtTIPS blog with the Art Mentor blog so you'll now get twice as much blog for your click!

How to Clean Dried Paint out of Brushes

One of my students showed up at class this morning and announced..... "I've made an Expensive Mistake!"
She'd taken her brushes home the week prior and had forgotten to clean the oil paint out of them. The paint had dried and the bristles were hard and twisted.

Well, her face lit up when I told her I could fix that for her. Then it fell when I told her that the brushes would have to soak for about 24 hours..... she had no clean brushes to use for class.

What's a Ferrule?
Fortunately for her, the paint was not deeply embedded in the ferrule. (The ferrule is the metal portion of the brush that attaches the hair to the handle). So I suggested we try something else.

I pulled out an old tube of Lanolin Hand Cleaner (the type that garage mechanics use to clean the grime from their hands after working on cars), and squeezed a small amount in the palm of my hand.

I worked the brush back and forth through the cleaner - and voila! - the paint came free.

Now twenty-odd years ago when I began painting, I use to use this to do a final cleaning of all my brushes before putting them away. It was especially useful when I'd gotten paint deep down into that ferrule.

Now days, they sell tubes of Lanolin Hand Cleaner in the art supply stores..... and it smells better too!

Added Bonus
A long time ago - in an age far, far away - I once managed to get a whole pile of paint all over the front of a top I was wearing - orange top, green oil paint.

A newbie to painting, I had no idea what to do. I picked up my lanolin hand cleaner and rubbed it into the shirt, which made an even bigger mess. I tossed the shirt into a corner by my washing machine and left it for about a week.

The next time I did laundry, I tossed the orange shirt in with some old rags. Know what? ALL THE PAINT CAME OUT! I was totally amazed!

I've even managed to get small amounts of dried paint out of clothing by rubbing the cleaner into the area and leaving it for a day before washing.

A Word of Caution
Lanolin hand cleaners have a solvent in them, so you'll need to be careful in handling them. Use them in a well ventilated area, keep them away from flames, keep away from children, avoid eye contact, don't take internally, etc. Always read and follow the directions on all of your art products before use.

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A New and Improved ArtTIPS
Yes, you read it right. We've outgrown this site! The ArtTIPS by Froshay blog has moved to a new, bigger and better location. And because it's bigger we've been able to combine the ArtTIPS blog with the Art Mentor blog so you'll now get twice as much blog for your click!

Got Black?

Black's NOT Black
Remember that white vase from the last post White is Everything but White? Let’s resurrect that vase, cast some shadows on it and study those shadows. Go back outside and take the vase into the shade. Better yet, take it only half way into the shade.

Notice what happens to the white now? It's gray - not black, but it's a gray made of color.

Given a set of paints and a brush, a novice will automatically think, "black" for shadows. An Artist however, sees what I can only describe as the idea of “opalescence”.

The Impressionist Painter Renoir was quoted as saying “No shadow is black. It always has a color. Nature knows only colors … white and black are not colors.”

Chromatic Black
Black tends to dirty colors rather than simply darken them and so, many artists use a mix of rich, deep color that appears to be black. This type of black is referred to as chromatic black and can be mixed in several ways.

My beloved watercolor instructor, Kathy Sutherland taught me this years ago and I love the method. I always mix up a puddle she referred to as “soup” prior to starting a watercolor painting.

Soup Mix
The mix involves a red and a blue mixed with an earth color. I use Ultramarine Blue and Permanent Alizarin Crimson.

Next, depending on the tone of my shadows, I’ll add either Van Dyke Brown, Burnt Sienna, or Burnt Umber. (Some artists prefer Prussian Blue over Ultramarine, but I’ve found Prussian Blue to be too staining for watercolors).

I can adjust the shade to more reddish by pulling in more Alizarin, more bluish by pulling in more Ultramarine or more brownish by pulling in the earth color.

Mixing a small amount of this ‘soup’ into my colors will darken them without killing the color, as a regular black will do.

Thinning this mixture with water will give you that beautiful opalescent look I spoke of earlier.

This concept works for oils as well. Mix it with any color to tone your oils.

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A New and Improved ArtTIPS
Yes, you read it right. We've outgrown this site! The ArtTIPS by Froshay blog has moved to a new, bigger and better location. And because it's bigger we've been able to combine the ArtTIPS blog with the Art Mentor blog so you'll now get twice as much blog for your click!

White is Everything BUT White

Why White, Isn't
White is affected by the light in which it is bathed and by the colors of objects that surround it. A white object reflects the colors within its environment. In fact, all colors reflect the other colors in their environment, and all colors change according to the lighting - and so should your paintings.

Confused?
Consider a white vase. Drench it in warm artificial light from a lamp. It will appear yellow or unnaturally warm. The white may even pick up shades of pink and orange along with the slight yellowness.

Now take the white vase (or any white object of your choice) outside on a clear blue day. The white now appears bluish or cool in comparison to the indoor white.

Next take your white object into full shade and study the changes of lighting.

Finally set it in half shade, half sun and watch what happens. Pay attention to the different values within the shadow areas.

Hold it next to a red flowering bush. Look closely. The white will reflect the green from the bush and the red from the flowers.

Tint That White
Tinting your white, whether it’s the paint from the tube or the white of your paper, will give your whites life and vibrancy. Save the pure white for your highlights and those highlights will pop.

Study white objects and notice the value changes. Place color next to the white and watch how the white reflects the color (you might also notice how the color reflects the white).

It's all these subtle integrations of color within color, within color within color, that painters add into their work to create that alive look. It takes a lot of looking to start seeing all of the other colors within a base color. The more you do this, the more you will see.

An Exercise in Seeing
Want to really SEE what I’m talking about? Grab a pencil and paper and find a rose - a real one (you don't have to pick it). An artificial flower won't work - honest. Choose a colorful blossom that is pink or peach or variegated, to make it easier this first time (dark reds or whites are more difficult).

Spend 10 minutes studying the color of this rose. Write down every color you see.

Now after about 5 seconds you'll have listed the basic colors and feel like you are done.

Keep looking! You'll begin to see subtle color differences. Make up names for them. You might see: soft peach, rosy peach, orangey peach, golden peach, pinkish peach, pale pinkish peach, pale pinkish-yellowish peach, greenish peach (yup, I said greenish peach).... you get the idea.

Aim for a listing of 100 different colors. The point isn't to uniquely "name" each color. The point is to "SEE" the differences in the colors. Make note of all those subtle, subtle changes.

When you can see it, you can paint it. When you can paint it, your paintings will glow.

Now obviously, these images that I have on my blog can't possibly show you the amazing variations of color. You can look at photos and images on the web - but you still won't see all the colors until you sit down with the actual object (rose, vase, lemon, whatever....) and STUDY it with the eyes of an Artist.

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A New and Improved ArtTIPS
Yes, you read it right. We've outgrown this site! The ArtTIPS by Froshay blog has moved to a new, bigger and better location. And because it's bigger we've been able to combine the ArtTIPS blog with the Art Mentor blog so you'll now get twice as much blog for your click!

Get Soft Blending in Oils

An Easy Way
to Get That Soft Look
About a gazillion years ago, I was involved in the hobby of tole (or decorative) painting, not just with acrylics, but with oils. One of the tools that we used to get a soft blending of colors was called a Mop Brush.

Somewhere along the years, through several moves, raising kids and traveling to workshops, I misplaced the 2 beloved brushes that I had used in those early painting days.

Years of practice have given me wonderful skills to easily accomplish this blending with just about any brush I have handy and so I never replaced the brushes. In fact, I hadn't even realize they were missing until the day that I wanted to give a student the same advantage that I had when I began painting.

I searched my studio - no brushes. I searched again after class and for several weeks after - no brushes.

I then searched my local art supply stores for new mop brushes. I found several brands, but they were always too bushy, too bulky and splayed for precise blending. They also lost hair, which is a sign of a bad brush. No one wants to be continually picking hair out of their paintings!

In a Pinch
This old makeup brush came from a compact and worked fairly well - in large areas, (if you do this, make sure that the brush is clean and free from old makeup first, so that you don't contaminate your painting).

Because of this brush, I checked out local makeup counters for brushes - but they were more expensive! I guess we consumers are willing to spend more on beautifying our bodies than we are on our spirit.

Those Fantastic Mop Brushes!
Anyway, after all that, I began searching online.... it took some digging but I found some that are perfect! I found them on several sites, but the best prices were on.... you guessed it, RexArt. The brushes are the Loew-Cornell #270 series, and are available in sizes 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4" and 1 inch. I bought the whole set and have shared them with my students.

New students keep asking me where to get them, because they love how easy they are to work with - good quality - great price. I figured you'd like to know how to get them too (plus, now I can save time and send my new students here for the information). *smile*

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A New and Improved ArtTIPS
Yes, you read it right. We've outgrown this site! The ArtTIPS by Froshay blog has moved to a new, bigger and better location. And because it's bigger we've been able to combine the ArtTIPS blog with the Art Mentor blog so you'll now get twice as much blog for your click!