“My paintings depict the chaos of the destruction of the California as well as the hypothetical aerial view of mass congestion. I find the Thomas Guide rather inspiring. I have a BA from The University of California, Santa Barbara, in Printmaking.

Use of oil paint and occasionally mixed media to create a conceptual, interpretive Scape. Layers and layers of paint.”

The post Featured Artist Steven June appeared first on Art and Design Inspiration.

Are you an artist struggling to find the right words to convey the deeper meaning behind your art? Look no further. In this comprehensive guide, we will empower you with the tools you need to master the art of self-expression through writing an effective artist statement.

Crafting an artist statement is an essential skill for any artist looking to exhibit their work, apply for grants, or simply engage with their audience on a deeper level. But it’s not just about putting words on paper; it’s about creating a powerful narrative that complements and enhances your artistic vision.

Throughout this guide, we will dive into the key elements of a compelling artist statement, including how to articulate your inspiration, convey your artistic process, and communicate your unique perspective.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out on your artistic journey, this guide will empower you to confidently express your artistic vision and captivate your audience with an artist statement that truly reflects who you are as an artist.

What is an artist statement?

An artist statement is a written description that provides insight into an artist’s work and creative process. It serves as a bridge between the artist and the audience, offering a glimpse into the inspiration, ideas, and concepts behind the artwork. Think of it as a personal introduction to your art that allows viewers to connect with your work on a deeper level.

An effective artist statement should be concise, clear, and authentic. It should capture the essence of your artistic vision and provide context for your work. Whether you’re a painter, sculptor, photographer, or any other type of artist, mastering the art of writing an artist statement is crucial for establishing your identity as an artist and connecting with your audience.

Why is an artist statement important?

An artist statement plays a vital role in the art world for several reasons.

Firstly, it provides a deeper understanding of your work, allowing viewers to engage with your art on a more meaningful level. It gives them a glimpse into your thought process, the emotions you aim to evoke, and the themes you explore in your artwork.

Secondly, an artist statement is often required when submitting your work for exhibitions, grants, or residencies. It helps curators, jurors, and potential buyers understand your artistic intentions and evaluate the relevance and quality of your work.

Lastly, an artist statement serves as a marketing tool. It can be used on your website, social media profiles, and promotional materials to communicate your unique artistic voice and attract potential buyers, collectors, and collaborators.

Components of an effective artist statement

Crafting an effective artist statement involves several key components that work together to create a compelling narrative. Let’s explore each of these components in more detail:

Understanding your artistic vision
Before you begin writing your artist statement, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of your artistic vision. What themes, ideas, or emotions do you explore in your work? What drives your creativity? Take some time to reflect on your art and identify the core elements that define your artistic voice.

Your artist statement should reflect this vision and provide insight into the motivations and inspirations behind your work. Whether you draw inspiration from nature, personal experiences, or social issues, your statement should convey your unique perspective and capture the essence of your artistic journey.

Identifying your target audience
Knowing your target audience is essential when crafting an artist statement. Who are you trying to reach with your art? Are you targeting art enthusiasts, collectors, or a specific demographic? Understanding your audience will help you tailor your statement to resonate with them and create a connection.

Consider the language, tone, and level of detail that will resonate with your target audience. If your art is more conceptual, you may need to explain your ideas in a more abstract and philosophical manner. On the other hand, if your art is more accessible, you can use a more straightforward and relatable language.

Crafting a compelling narrative
An artist statement is not just a collection of facts about your work; it’s a storytelling tool that engages and captivates your audience. Start by introducing yourself and your art in a concise and intriguing manner. Grab the reader’s attention and make them curious to learn more about your artistic journey.

Next, dive into the core concepts and themes of your work. Explain how your art explores these ideas and why they are important to you. Share personal anecdotes, experiences, or influences that have shaped your artistic vision. Use vivid language and imagery to paint a picture in the reader’s mind.

Incorporating keywords and SEO techniques in your artist statement
In today’s digital age, it’s essential to optimize your artist statement for search engines to ensure it reaches a wider audience. Identify relevant keywords and phrases that are commonly used in your art field and incorporate them naturally into your statement. This will improve your chances of appearing in search results when people are looking for artists or artwork similar to yours.

Showcasing your uniqueness and artistic voice

One of the primary goals of an artist statement is to showcase your uniqueness and artistic voice. What sets you apart from other artists? How do you approach your craft differently? Highlight the aspects of your work that make it distinct and memorable.

Share your artistic process, techniques, or materials that contribute to the creation of your artwork. Explain how you experiment, take risks, or challenge traditional norms in your artistic practice. This will help your audience understand your creative choices and appreciate the thought and effort that goes into your work.

Once you have drafted your artist statement, it’s important to edit and refine it to ensure clarity and coherence. Read through your statement several times, checking for grammar and spelling errors. Ensure that each sentence contributes to the overall flow and narrative of the statement.

Consider seeking feedback from trusted peers, mentors, or professionals in the art industry. They can provide valuable insights and suggestions for improvement. Remember, the goal is to create a concise and impactful statement that effectively communicates your artistic vision.

A well-crafted artist statement demonstrates attention to detail and professionalism, so take the time to polish your statement before sharing it with the world.

The post Mastering the Art of Self-Expression: A Guide to Crafting an Effective Artist Statement appeared first on Art and Design Inspiration.

“Wendy Martin is our selected guest in January for Art and Design Inspiration. We are inspired by her Illustrations and longevity in the competitive illustration market. She has great advice for those in the field and for the up and coming illustrators!”

I had my first illustration job for my mother when she wrote a book for her dog training classes. I think I was about 12 or 13 at the time. I have to admit the artwork wasn’t very skilled but to my mother’s credit she did pay me for my efforts. My first professional, paid illustration gig was as a hand-painted clothing artist. This job involved recreating duplicates of my artist boss’s art on baby onsies, socks, t-shirts and other cloth products. I got very good at replicating her style and ended up direction around 6 other artists as well. It was a tough, low paying job and I felt artistically stunted while there. After that I went to SVA for Graphic Design to finish my BFA degree. One of our class assignments was reviewed by a magazine and they selected my art for a cover. They also asked me to create another magazine cover. They paid well under market rate, but as a student, I was thrilled to have art on a national publication. That would have been around 1986.

Either way, I’ve been illustrating a long time. In fact, I don’t honestly remember a time when I wasn’t drawing.

I am still refining and developing my own style, but I think I finally located my own voice about 6 years ago. About that time I immersed myself in drawing and defining what kind of art made me feel truly happy. I think that is the trick to finding a personal style. If you are working in a style that always leaves you feeling dissatisfied, you haven’t found your niche yet. In recent years, I can still look at previous pieces and not want to rip them up like some illustrations I did back in previous decades. I had a lot of false starts as I tried to discover who I was. The most important thing is never giving up. If you put the work into it, the results will follow.

Illustration as a career is a brutal field. It’s like going into acting or becoming a musician. Only a very few can make a living at it these days. While even fewer become super stars. I know of artists who were well established and making a comfortable living in the 80s and 90s that are struggling to make ends meet now. A lot of place that used to buy illustration, like newspapers and magazines, no longer exist. Plus, with the world economy created by the internet, artists are competing with each other worldwide. An artist overseas can accept payment that would be way too low for someone based in the United States. If you want to be an illustrator, you have to love what you are doing, develop a really thick skin and spend all the time available to you drawing and honing your skills. This is not a profession for the feint of heart. Personally, I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing. I like to tell people I have the best job in the world – I color for a living! This is a career you have to really want to pursue with your entire being.

Creating art for me is like breathing. If I don’t do it, I die. If one is a professional artist, one can’t wait for inspiration to strike. You have to show up for work everyday and there are deadlines for projects, even for work I create purely for myself.

When working with a client, remember you are a professional, act like a professional. My motto is to treat people as I’d like to be treated, even if they don’t treat me as well as I like. Sometimes it’s hard to accept client comments when they have you completely trash something you spent your heart and soul creating, but if you are hired to solve their illustration needs, your job is to find the solution to their requirements that makes them happy, even if it isn’t your favorite vision. Not every job you work on will end up making it into your portfolio. Honestly, that’s okay. I come away with something from ever job I’ve worked on that I can use in future work. You just have to be open to learning new things all the time.

Wendy Martin Illustration

Email: W. Martin
Website: Wendy Martin Illustration

The post Featured Artist Wendy Martin appeared first on Art and Design Inspiration.

Bhavna Misra is a fine artist working out of her Fremont based art studio. She likes to surround herself with nature, beauty, and positivity that bring out the motivation to create harmonious, colorful compositions that aim to inspire the sense of calm, cheer, and compassion in the viewer. She observes life closely and interprets it into her drawings and paintings in her signature realistic infused with expressionistic full-palette style incorporating bold strokes and rich marks to set rhythm in her work. The colors as seen through the planar positioning, relative interplay, and curiosity of unseen are guided to delight and hold the interest to explore more.

Misra is a trained Physicist and Electrical Engineer who sees artmaking as a natural extension to her education and a process to explore beauty in everything and anything and inviting others to see it through her eyes.

Bhavna regularly participates in juried shows and displays work in group and solo exhibitions. She was mentioned in the special anniversary issue of Professional Artist Magazine. She was published in multiple newspapers including Mercury News/ Argus, Fremont Bulletin, Tricity Voice, Cupertino Courier, Milpitas Post, Ohlone Monitor, Spartan Daily and her work appeared in various magazines and business newsletters and in online publications including Arden, Ideal Home and Gardens, ArtAscent etc.

An award winning artist, Bhavna is a finalist for this year’s SF Muni Art contest.
She lives online at https://bhavnamisra.com/

The post Meet Featured Artist Bhavna Misra: Bold Strokes and Rich Marks Set Rhythm appeared first on Art and Design Inspiration.

We’re inspired not only by Dinah’s work as an Watercolor Artist (be sure to scroll on, her work is awesome!), but also by her commitment to engage and include her baby in exploring and enjoying art.

After all, why should creating art end for an artist after having a baby!?

Dinah went to work creating Torin’s Alphabet, 26 animal characters for each letter in alphabet. She embraced the unpredictable life of a newborn baby, cultivated her vision and went to work to make something that will last generations.

What we especially enjoying about Dinah’s story is seeing how she includes her son in art making and even let’s him get colorful with paint! All babies and children should play in paint!

Dinah’s Story

Just over a year ago I found out that I was expecting in January 2017. Expecting not only a child but expecting to lose my sense of identity as an Artist. The sudden inability to just lose myself for hours in my art ate at my core. My sister was an artist, then two kids happened…

At that time, my art consisted of intricate Commissions and Abstracts in Acrylic, Oil, or Illustrations. Each creation may take upwards of a month or two to complete. And I loved it. I loved my H-Frame Easel, my paint-stained rug, my collection of paint brushes and excess canvases.

Last July, I was invited to be a guest teacher at the International Music Camp at the Peace Gardens. There were four other Artists in various media who were invited for the Visual Arts Week. I was honored. I was the Painting instructor. Acrylic was no trouble. I could teach that in my sleep… But Watercolor? Hey. I had never liked nor enjoyed (but most likely never understood) Watercolor. And I had to teach it to a group of Middle Schoolers followed by Adults?

I signed myself up for an ONE DAY Watercolor lesson founded by BreckCreate in Colorado. The three-hour lesson focused a full hour on color theory and the direction of the sun… And then we painted aspens.

Two weeks later, I was in the middle of nowhere teaching what I had learned. I painted two watercolors during the week. One was a beautiful passion flower. The other was a Heron.

And then that “Baby Curveball” kept coming my way… I grew to love the idea of being a Mom. To be able to pass on a love and appreciation for art. To cultivate Creativity.

Cultivation of creativity and Motherhood became my new obsession! It wasn’t until after my son was born that I picked up the Heron and thought… Hey, this is pretty good! I bet this would look darling in his Nursery!

And thus began my attempt to paint 25 more animals, in profile, for Torin’s Alphabet, a nursery decor painting in watercolor, an amazing media characterized by fast dry-times, patience, layering of colors, and luck…

Here, you may see these fun and regal portraits that have proved very meaningful and able to be completed within the unpredictable life of a newborn baby!

Creativity is one of the most important skills anyone can possess, whether innate or trained.

Shown Are a Few Illustrations From Torin’s Alphabet

B Is For Baboon

C Is For Chameleon

D Is For Duck

E Is For Elephant

F Is For Fox

G Is For Giraffe

H Is For Heron

If you enjoyed this article, be sure and share the inspiration. Follow Dinah on Instagram to see more of her work.

The post Cultivating Creativity Through Motherhood – Meet Dinah Langsjoen appeared first on Art and Design Inspiration.