Art Dabble

GO ... ivoteforart.com is live!

2008-05-30T21:48:00.002+10:00

Yes, that's right ... ivoteforart.com is finally live. Actually it has been for a little over a week now. But I've been very very busy, which is why it has taken a while to write about this.

I'd love it if you visited ivoteforart.com to check out the little project that I've been talking so much about. Here's the spiel:

So far there are over 70 different pieces for sale, including amazing open and limited edition art prints and original pieces (although mostly prints).
The site isn’t called i vote for art for nothing. If you see an artwork that you like, click on that little thumb and give it a vote. The artwork that receives the most votes gets promoted to the front page for the millions of our visitors (well, perhaps hundreds) to see.

So far we've had so much fun with the launch, and have been so happy with all the blog posts and coverage that we've been getting ... It's been a very exciting week, that's for sure.

There's also a blog over on ivoteforart.com - and I guess from this point on I'll be talking about the artists and the site over there.

But what happens to Art Dabble, now that ivoteforart is live? Well, to be honest I'm not sure yet. The artdabble experience has been a lot of fun too, but I guess it makes sense to concentrate all the blogging over at my new blog. I'd better have a think about that.

On your marks ... get set ...

2008-05-18T21:52:00.003+10:00

I vote for art, the art website that I've been busy working on, is finally about to go live. Within the next few days even ...

I'll let you know when.

More new artists

2008-05-15T22:39:00.004+10:00

Here are just some of the new artists that will also be appearing on ivoteforart.com when it launches ... which is only about one week away!

One of the first original pieces that will be on sale is this one, Pan drives a Volvo, by Australian artist Magic Jelly.

It's an Ink & Pencil drawing & Collage, with vintage paper strips in the background. I can only hope to have more of these to sell as time goes on.

Over on the other side of the world, Barcelona-based designer and Illustratator, .Cesc. is selling 3 tre-cool pieces on the site, including this on on the right, Invaders. .Cesc does a combination of 2D and 3D digital images. Which rock my socks.

Texan-based Jason Limon is also going to be selling some prints, including 9 Voltz, pictured on the left.

The prints are all of Jason's original canvas paintings. I just love Jason's subjects. He paints batteries, bottle tops and all sorts of interesting things.

Also in the US is Ukranian born artist Tanya Pshenychny, who illustrates using watercolours. No room for traitors, pictured right, demonstrates her amazing style of work.

Next up is TOOCO. To be honest I'm not quite sure how to go about describing the work of this Argentinian artist. But we love her abstract stuff, and reckon you will too. On the left here is Before we sleep.

Now for something completely different. I'm excited to have Manchesters' Andy Council on i vote for art, with some amazing work. His creations are incredibly intricate creatures or roosters, dinosaurs and outher amazing creatures - like Cwmbranasaurus on the right. How cool?

I started this post with an Australian artist, so it makes sense to end with one too. Nathaniel Eckstrom is a Sydney based artist that I blogged about late last year. So naturally I'm delighted to have some of his pieces on the site, including this last picture, A glimpse of something new.

As you can see, there's a whole stack of artists that are going to be of the site when it launches ... all from different pockets of the world.

Make sure you check out my flickr page to have a look at all the pieces that will be on sale.

Exhibitions this weekend

2008-05-10T10:09:00.005+10:00

I'm getting out this weekend and seeing a couple of exhibition in Melbourne. Both of which I think are going to be great.

Tonight is the opening of "Haven't we met before", at Kick Gallery in Northcote, featuring a whole whole swag of great artists:

Andrea Innocent
Brooke Bobridge
Catherine Campbell
Coralie Kane
Eveline Tatunadjaja.
Sean Morris

And tomorrow I'll be heading over to South Melbourne to see "The Drawing Machine" at the Green-wood gallery. I missed the opening night last week, but am very keen to see this one.

This is another group exhibition, curated by ghostpatrol and miso.

The Bright Side of Stolen Artwork

2008-05-01T00:00:00.000+10:00

If I stumbled across this book in a shop, I'd almost definitely buy it. I reckon you might too. Cover to cover, it is full of a whole host of amazing artists and illustrators. Including a few artists that will be taking part in ivoteforart.com.

But if you do stumble accross it. Don't buy it. It's a fake.

It's been one of the big news stories in my next of the interweb woods in the past few weeks. All of the content in the book has been taken, stolen that is, from Darren Di Lieto's awesome illustration portal, Little Chimp Society. This includes images, interviews ... everything.

A publisher in Hong Kong ripped everything from the site, and re-packaged it into this book, which they are selling for $100. You can read more about it over at Darren's blog, Apefluff.

Understandably, Darren isn't happy. He's tried to contact the producers in Hong Kong, without much success so far. And it's looking pretty doubtful that he will get anywhere with this.

But is their a bright side? I think so. This has been a newsworthy story, picked up by artists and bloggers all over the place, which, in turn has probably generated some good publicity for Darren, and spread the word about some of the great artists that he's featured. Here's what I said on his blog:

Darren,

I’m a bit late to comment on all of this, but it’s such a shame that you had to experience this.

Having said that, you’d have to agree that the whole story has created quite a storm on the web. So, to look on the bright side, I’m hoping that you’ve picked up some new regulars over at Little Chimp, and gained some good publicity in the past few weeks.

In the process, the artists that you’re so passionate about have probably picked a whole lot of new fans as well. Surely this isn’t a bad thing?

It’s terrible that they did this without your knowledge or permission - but they did it because the content on LCS is so good. A back-handed compliment for you no doubt, but I hope there has been some positives that have come out of this experience for you.

Now I'm not saying it's a good thing that this happened, and I completely understand how dissappointed he must be.

But this sort of thing is happening a lot these days. It's like music piracy. You can try and stop it, but that hasn't exactly gotten anyone anywhere. Or you can accept that piracy like this isn't going away, and be happy that your music (or in this case, artwork) is potentially getting greater far greater exposure, to a wider audience.

What do you think readers?

Wilmer Murillo

2008-04-28T20:05:00.003+10:00

The site will belaunching with 3 great pieces from Wilmer Murillo.

Just 20 years old, Wilmer is a freelance Illustrator from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

His colourful, quirky and textured pieces are a welcome addition to 'I vote for art'. "Vino Paz en el Diario", pictured here, is one of the 3.

You can see more of Wilmer's work on his Virb page, flickr page, and his blog.

What will 'I Vote for Art' look like?

2008-04-24T20:21:00.003+10:00

I think that it's about time I showed some screen mock-ups of ivoteforart.com, to give you an idea of what it's going to look like.

This first one here is the home page. Because you will be able to vote for artwork on the site (who would have guessed?), the home page displays the top voted pieces.

As well as the top voted art, the homepage will display the most recently added artworks.

Below each picture is some brief info about each artwork: the artist, the title, and the price of each piece.

Also, in the bottom right hand corner of each image is a small 'thumb'. That's where you do the voting. You can vote for as many pieces as you like, but only once. That thumb turns into a tick once you've voted for something.

The right hand side-bar is where you can login or signup, display your favourite art that's on the site, and read the latest news about ivoteforart.com

You can click on each piece and you'll be taken through to individual art pages - with more details about each piece, as shown here on the right.

On these pages, you can buy the artwork, add a comment or review about it, and of course you can add you vote here too.

So, as you can see - it's starting to take shape. I must say that the whole process has taken me a lot longer than I expected ... but it's very close now to being ready to launch.

The 'Sell' area on the top navigation bar, and panel towards the bottom of each page, is where artists can submit their work to be considered for the site. But "I vote for art' isn't going to be a free-for-all like etsy is. We'll only be adding work that we consider to be of a high standard.

I hope you like the look of it ... but either way would be very interested in hearing your feedback about it. This is only version 1, and I'm sure that plenty of things will change in the months (and hopefully years) to come.

Christopher Nielsen

2008-04-10T23:48:00.003+10:00

OK, you're probably wondering ... why has this guy from Melbourne started creating an online art site, but there aren't any Australian artists?

Well, that's not exactly true - I have quite a few Australian artists signed up and ready to to be part of ivoteforart.com. Starting with Christopher Nielsen, a freelance Illustrator based out of Sydney.

I guess you'd describe his work as abstract ... In fact I'm not sure how you'd descibribe it beyond that. But he has a unique, rough style that really appeals to me.

You can read Chris' interview over at We are the Image Makers, or just head on over to his site to see more of his work.

One of the exciting things about launching this site is that i can choose artists from anywhere in the world to take part. Having said that, I'm always on the lookout for more local produce.

Stay tuned for more Australian artists!

Prints

2008-04-06T13:20:00.002+10:00

Just wanted to show you all a small selection of the prints that I've had done so far. The four flat ones are from Kokomoo, Jim Bradshaw, Kendrick Marr and Ryan Snook. The rolled up one is a larger piece, Skeletal Heart, by Mel Kadel.

I'm really thrilled with how they've turned out.

In the last week I've also picked up some artists that will be selling some original pieces. Most of the artwork that will initially be for sale are prints, so it's nice to have some one-off pieces as well.

Shane Vorhaben

2008-03-30T09:52:00.002+11:00

Shane Vorhaben is part of the new breed of artists that knows just how powerful the internet art community can be to promote your work and get your name out there.

I first came across Shane's work over at flickr, where he is very active, with almost 1,000 contacts.

His work has an interesting 'Doodling' style that reminds me in a way of Keith Haring's work. And it just seems to get better and better.

Shane will be selling 3 pieces on 'I vote for art', including The resurrection of Bob, pictured here.

Great Gocco prints by Inkdesigner

2008-03-16T14:13:00.003+11:00

I am delighted to have Inkdesigner's work on 'I vote for art'.

Inkdesigner, aka Wing Ngan is a Hong Kong born designer who now runs his own design firm, Ink Design, in Boston.

Inkdesigner will be initially selling 3 limited edition Gocco prints at a very affordable price. I can't wait to see these prints in person.

"What's a Gocco print?", do I hear anyone ask?

Gocco printing is "print gocco" is a clean, easy, and fully self-contained compact print system that exposes and prints all in one unit. It uses flash bulbs similar to those found in old cameras, where an original image is thermally imprinted on a master screen. Colourful prints are made by pressing the ink-applied master screen against a sheet of paper placed on a sponge pad.

Sadly, the Japanese company that make the Goccos have announced that they will no longer be making Gocco printers ... such a shame.

Anyway, it's great to have some Gocco Prints from Inkesigner. You can check out more of his work at his flickr page.

May Contain Traces of Nuts

2008-03-13T22:29:00.002+11:00

So much for me saying that I'd visit an exhibition a week, I haven't been to see one in a couple of months.

But I'm thinking about going to this tomorrow night ...

May Contain Traces of Nuts features new art by:

ben frost - www.benfrostisdead.com
trent whitehead - www.nudesoup.com
beastman - www.esnce.com
jae copp - www.soopkichn.com
ainslie fletcher - www.ainsliefletcher.com
sam smith - www.blackbookno1.com
adrian knott - www.myspace.com/adrianknottdesign

It's on at paper shadow gallery @ miss libertines -34 franklin street, melbourne

Anyone keen to join me?

Jim Bradshaw

2008-03-10T20:36:00.002+11:00

I'm really excited to have Jim Bradshaw, a US based pop surrealist on the site.

Jim's work is interesting and fun, and you can tell he's the type of artist that doesn't take himelf too seriously ... the bio information he sent me explains it all.

Jim was raised in New Jersey and now lives in the
rural south part of the state. He digs everything to
do with art, design and creativity. There is this
overwhelming passion that drives all his works. He
also loves cheeseburgers and you should see the
passion he puts into eating one or three of those bad
boys. Anyway, back on topic. Humorous illustration and pop surrealism is what he is drawn to. Some topics you'll find showing up in his recent work are dreams, the tyranny of time, life & death, the innocence of childhood versus the mixed up adult world we are all exist in, good versus evil, and just plain fun, whacked out, made up worlds that swirl around in Jim's brain.

Little Life and Death Parade, featured here, is one of four pieces that Jim will be selling on 'I vote for art'. But you can check out more of his work at his website or his blog.

The Desktop Wallpaper Project

2008-03-06T21:25:00.004+11:00

Today's coolest online art project is undoubtedly "The Desktop Wallpaper Project" over at Bobby S' Kitsune Noir.

The idea is pretty simple :

Bobby contacted all of his favorite artists and designers to see if they'd create desktop backgrounds for him to give away to the readers of his blog. “I really liked this idea because it's not only cool to have desktop wallpaper by your favorite artists, but it's also free and accessible to anyone with a computer,” says Bobby.

Bobby has kicked things off with three wallpapers by three artists :: Tim Biskup, Mcbess, and IMAKETHINGS, and will be releasing one new desktop wallpaper every Wednesday morning.

(via Juxtapoz)

All the way from Argentina

2008-03-04T20:19:00.002+11:00

Buenos Aires, it seems, is on fire.

In my travels for great art and illustration, I'm constantly finding great artists from Argentina, especially Buenos Aires. It makes me want to go there really badly. What is it about this city that is churning out such amazing artist talent?

My first two Argentinian artists are Seniorita Polyester and himnoefeda!

Seniorita Polyester has two very unique styles of work. Her collages - like this one4a & 5a - are nothing short of brilliant. But her illustration work is also to die for, with that perfect blend of cute and evil.

himnofeda! is the master of character illustration, and pieces like this one, Niño Cuete

Collectively, these guys are working together on a project called eat your carrots - which I can't wait to hear more about.

I first found these guys on flickr ... You can follow Seniorita Polyester and himnofeda!, and fall in love with their work like I have.

You can check out the other pieces that they will be selling over at the 'I vote for art' flickr page.

Pricing

2008-03-03T21:41:00.003+11:00

I'm finalising some pricing decisions on artwork tonight, and would be interested in your thoughts. I've always tried to get other's opinions as I get closer to launching the website, so I'd be interested in hearing yours.

As I said in an earlier post, I'd like to find a balance, where artists can be fairly paid for their work, and buyers don't have to be high end collectors to find something for their walls.

Probably the majority of work that will initially be on sale will be open-edition prints. So I'll be taking my cue from some of the other print sites out there for setting the prices. And then for limited edition, I'll charge a little more. And of course, for the one off original work, you'd expect the prices to be a little higher again.

I'm constantly surprised by how little etsy artists charge for their work. Take Tanya Pshenychny, an etsy artist who I found tonight. Tanya's work is beautiful, and yet she is only charging US $15-$20 for her prints. This seem to be typical of many etsy artists, who, in my opinion don't charge nearly enough for their work.

I'm not saying this because I want to charge an arm and a leg for the work I sell on ivoteforart.com. It's just that these artists are pouring hours of love into their work, and I think it's only fair that they get something back.

I'll be working closely with the artists so that we price the prints at amounts that we're all happy with. But I'm thinking that the majority of the work will sell from anywhere between US $40 and $200, as a guide. And most of the work will be under $100 I think. This will depend on a lot of factors ... and this could change along the way. So don't hold me on this!

But this sort of price range seems to make sense to me. Some of the artwork will be cheap enough for a gift, where others will be more suited to buyers who want something more substantial to brighten up their lives.

What do you think?

Mel Kadel

2008-03-01T07:48:00.003+11:00

Mel Kadel is a US based artist, living in a log cabin in the hills of Los Angeles.

I'm delighted to have some of Mel's work for the gallery - her work has a very unique style, and uses old paper which becomes part of the pieces.

Mel will initially be selling two prints on I vote for art, including Secret Geyser, pictured here.

You can read more about Mel from an interview over at Fecal Face. And be sure to check out her beautiful website.

Garfield minus Garfield

2008-02-29T00:00:00.003+11:00

Ok, so it's a little off topic ... but I'm really enjoying Garfield minus Garfield:

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolor disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against lonliness and methamphetamine addiction in a quiet American suburb.

Some more about 'I vote for art'

2008-02-28T22:38:00.004+11:00

You want to know a bit more about ivoteforart.com? Here are 10 things:

I vote for art will be an online art gallery and store.
You'll be able to buy some terrific artwork, including original art and prints.
It will be launching in March, or perhaps April in 2008.
Visitors to the site will be able to 'vote' for their favourite artwork.
It will be high quality, adorable yet affordable art.
Over 20 artists will be involved when the site launches.
Will be involving great artists from all around our great little planet.
You can preview some of the artists on my flickr page and here on the blog.
Or you can find I vote for art over at Myspace too.
Has been keeping me very busy for the last 6 months.

Lawrence Yang

2008-02-26T21:02:00.005+11:00

Lawrence Yang's paintings are influenced by traditional Chinese painting and pop surrealism, and are mostly concerned with creating order out of chaos - - or vice versa.

I found Lawrence over at Artswhore, a crackin' little blog and great source of new artists, back in January this year.

I've just picked up a print of this picture here,
titled Growth, from my printer tonight. It looks wonderful.

ivoteforart.com won't be the only place you'll be able to buy Lawrence's work. You can also pick up a book showcasing Lawrence's work at Lulu.com. Or if you're a fan of Growth like I am, you can visit the superb Gelaskins to add a skin to your ipod, laptop or iphone. Very very cool.

Or if you're just browsing, be sure to visit his site - http://www.suckatlife.com/

Death to polaroid

2008-02-23T01:09:00.004+11:00

NO!!!!!

IT CAN'T BE TRUE.

THEY'RE NOT MAKING ANYMORE POLAROID FILM!!!

(Gorgeous polaroid image : Credit to Grant Hamilton)

Update :: Ironic Sans has a nice little idea to keep the dream alive.

Introducing ... (drum roll please)

2008-02-23T00:00:00.006+11:00

This weekend, Artdabble is 6 months old. Back on the 25th of August 2007, I had a plan to get into an art business of some sort. I wasn't really sure what. And I chose to use this blog as a way of exploring what that business might be.

So, after 6 months of this blog, I think it's time I told you some more about what I'm up to. In the last few weeks, I've been introducing the artists, but I haven't actually given any details about what it will be called, and how it will work.

It's about time. So, I'd like to introduce to you : 'I vote for art', a new online art gallery that I'll be launching in the next month or so.

You won't see much at ivoteforart.com just yet. But in March or April, I'll be launching the site. If you're interested, I'll be writing about it here.

I've been working heavily behind the scenes in creating this little business. I've used the blog to share some ideas about whether it should be online or offline, and at the high or affordable end of the market. And to talk about the exhibitions I've visited.

In the process, I've found some fantastic art sites and blogs, and met some new friends. I've visited some galleries, both online and off. And I've discovered some amazing artists. I have definitely learnt a lot about art, and my own taste in art, since I started this blog. And I've learnt so much from my readers.

The comments, both positive and negative, have taught me so much, and pointed me in the direction that I'm heading in. Thanks to you all for reading, and sharing your thoughts.

In the next couple of months, I'll be telling you more about 'I vote for art'. So stay tuned.

Kendrick Mar

2008-02-18T21:41:00.003+11:00

I first came across Kendrick Mar's work via the Creep Machine, an alternative art blog that I'm continually blabbing on about here are art dabble. You can read the interview here.

Kendrick lives and works in New York - and I'm constantly amazed to be attracting artists like Kendrick who are from parts of the world other than my own.

He describes his work as "metaphorical self-portraits that deal with childhood emotions and memory". I describe them as brilliant. Pain Receptors, pictured here, is one of the pieces that will be available.

If you're anywhere else, head over to his website to see more of his art.

Ryan Snook

2008-02-10T11:44:00.000+11:00

Next up comes Ryan Snook, a Toronto-based illustrator. I first found his work via Illustration Mundo, a site that has so many great artists and illustrators. I've fallen in love with his quirky style.

To start with, Ryan will be exhibiting 3 pieces of his work, including this one, entitled "Fitness Fairytales".

From his official bio:

He studied illustration at Sheridan College before beginning his freelance career in 2003. Since that time, he has worked with clients from around the world doing everything from editorial illustration to character design. Some of his clients include Time, Hasbro, Forbes, Reader's Digest, The Wall Street Journal and more. His illustrations have also received awards from American Illustration and The Advertising & Design Club of Canada. In between assignments, he focuses on various personal projects like comics and children's picture books.

I was thrilled when said he would be keen to get involved, and sure his work will sell well. You can see more work at his website.

My very first artist - Kokomoo

2008-02-03T20:59:00.000+11:00

Back in December I mentioned that I was going through the process of contacting artists for my gallery.

Now we're in February, I'm proud to say that I have 29 artists who are interested in being part of my project - And I thought it was about time that I let you know who they are.

So, my very first artist who wanted to be involved was Yan Wei, aka Kokomoo, from China. I first found her art through her myspace page, and have been in love with her work ever since.

Kokomoo is based in Beijing, and she will be starting with 4-5 black and white illustrations on the site. Including this one, entitled "Happy Meal".

She has recently been featured on Start Drawing, an incredible blog that showcases artists from Asia.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks to see more artists.

Printing and paper

2008-01-20T22:06:00.000+11:00

I'm becoming a real sucker for quality printing and paper as I'm getting in to all this.

Check out this letterpress print. Looks fantastic.

(via 64colors)

Linkety Links :: 21 Art blog links you shouldn't miss

2008-01-18T21:12:00.000+11:00

I've just added a whole stack of Blogs to my blogroll, in appreciation of the cool sites that i subscribe to, find artists, and generally waste a lot of time on these days. They'll also give you a good idea about the sort of art / artists that I'm lookin for.

In the order of the alphabet:

Art News Blog
A rts Whore
Creep Machine - (actually already linked to this one ... but it's probably my favourite)
Curious Artist
Days of Danger
Design fckr
Feed your wall
Illustration Mundo
Illustrativo
Illustrophile
k9pincushion
Lines and Colors
Little Chimp Society
Lost at E Minor
OMG Posters
Paintalicious
Robot Walrus
Start Drawing
Varshava
We Heart Prints

Hope you enjoy them. And let me know if you have some other favourites that aren't listed here.

Finding Paper

2008-01-17T21:36:00.000+11:00

I've had a great afternoon, finishing off a day's work with a visit to Image Science, who will be doing the prints for my gallery.

I'd heard good things from several people about these guys, and so organised a meeting to get things started. I've also been spending some time recently on their website, which is a very comprehensive resource to learn about Art printing and reproduction.

Jeremy talked me through the different type paper that they use, including Hahnemuehle Photo Rag 308, which I've heard good things about. He also recommended Crane Portfolio Rag paper for larger prints, as it flattens better after being unrolled.

There's also the option of printing onto canvas. Although I think to start with, I'll probably just be sticking to the photo rag paper.

As far as printers go, they use high quality Epson pigment ink printers, which ensure a long lasting, high quality print. The samples that he showed me were fantastic. But good image capture and colour management are a big part of the outcome, too.

Not sure if any of my readers have had any experience Image Science before. What did you think? I haven't had any prints done by them yet. But I have a really good feeling about these guys.

2008-01-13T17:43:00.001+11:00

A great art blog find today ... my love for you is a stampede of horses.

Is that not the best name for a blog you've ever heard? It's also worth your while to check out.

A little update

2008-01-10T23:04:00.000+11:00

Just wanted to give you all a bit of an update on how my online art gallery (Thanks, Liss) is going:

First, the boring stuff - During the week I received my ABN number and Certificate of Business registration, which means that I have now got an official business set up. I can't really explain why I'm so excited about this, but I guess it just makes the whole project seem a little more tangible.

Artists - As of tonight I have 12 artists that have signed up, and want to sell their work on my site. All of them are amazing, and I'm really pleased to have each one of them on board.

I have artists from here, the US, China, the UK, Sweden, the Phillipines and New Zealand. The truly amazing thing about the internet is that you can find so much talent in every pocket of the world. Of course, I'd like to get more local talent signed up as well though.

This has been the result of a lot of hard work over the last month. I think I'd like to have about 30 artists lined up before I launch the site though, so still plenty o' work to do.

The Website - I've been working with a local web designer and developer, and I could be more pleased with how that's all working out. We had meeting last night (via Skype, I'm such an internet nerd) to talk about how it's all going. It's really starting to take shape.

The idea? - Well, perhaps it's about time I told my readers what the site is, how it will work etc. but another part of me wants to keep it a secret.

Anyway, 2008 has gotten off to a great start for me - and I'm looking forward to telling you more about the site as I get closer to launching it.

The Decapitator

2008-01-05T14:00:00.000+11:00

Via PSFK: An interesting street artist / culture-jammer in East London know as The Decapitator is making his/her mark.

Known as “The East London Decapitator,” an unknown artist has been lurking through the streets of London and cutting off the heads of characters seen in mainstream advertisements. With partially exposed spines and blood splatter, each piece displays a considerable amount of detail.

For those of us not in London, here's The Decapitator's flickr photos to see some more incredible pieces, like the one pictured here.

It's interesting that street-art has evolved so much in recent years. The quality of the work shines (compare this to the old-fashioned tagging and graffiti), and street-artists are challenging what is and isn't vandalism. This surely isn't.

I also think this is a really good example of one of the many new ways artists have to promote their art and themselves. By capturing the work on flickr, it makes it easier for art bloggers and journalists to spread the word about their art.

Tiny Showcase

2008-01-05T09:35:00.000+11:00

I've found yet another fantastic place to buy good, affordable art on the web. Tiny Showcase.

The idea behind Tiny Showcase is fairly simple - to 'Offer up a tiny limited-run print each week for art enthusiasts to "take home...for around the same price as a CD, book or record..."'

Each week Tiny Showcase release a limited edition print that has become so popular they've been known to not only sell out, but sell out within the hour.

This week's print, "Send Joan of Ark Over", by Rachel Sumpter, is this week's cool print.

You can read more about Tiny Showcase here.

20x200 is a similar type of project, where each week they release one photo and one print, and sell a limited edition of 200 of each for $20.

Happy Holidays

2007-12-28T09:52:00.000+11:00

Just a quick note to say Happy Christmas and New Year to everyone who has been reading my blog in 2007.

I really appreciate the comments, feedback, and just the fact that you've been reading.

Things are moving pretty quickly so I'll have lots more blogging to do in 2008. Hope to see you back here.

Thank you all so much! Cheers, Ben

Jacky Winter Group

2007-12-20T22:45:00.000+11:00

In the last few months I've managed to clock up quite a few gallery visits here in Melbourne. But I'd have to say that the Jacky Winter group exhibition/party tonight was probably my favourite.

The Jacky Winter group, if you haven't heard of them, is a fine collection of Australian illustrators that was put together by Jeremy Wortsman. And the collection of artists was astounding. I'd came across the Jack Winter website before, and I have been looking forward to this exhibition since I first heard about it.

We got to see some excellent work by Timothy Molloy, Lilly Piri, Cailan Burns and Pandarosa, among many, many more. And I was tickled to be able to meet some artists that will hopefully be part of my little online art project.

If you missed the show tonight, there is another opening tomorrow (Fri 21st) ... more details here. I strongly recommended that you take a peek.

Left Hand Side

2007-12-17T21:16:00.000+11:00

I have just found a great site called Left Hand Side, a website devoted to left handed artsists.

The LEFTHANDSIDE collection was created by MARCELA RESTREPO (Colombia) in November of 2003 intending to bring together talented left-handed artists and designers that are actually spread arround the world.

This site is our lefty place for showing our pride of being left-handed people in a
right-handed world.

(Link Via Little Chimp Society)

On-line Gallery? Or on-line store?

2007-12-15T20:12:00.000+11:00

I'm sitting down tonight, writing the copy, the actual words, that will appear on the website.

My designer is 95% finished what e has to do, and the web developer is making the whole thing work. My job is to think about what should be written and how.

So to start with, I need to ask - Is my online 'gallery' actually a gallery at all, or is it just an online store that sells art?

My old friend Wikipedia tells me that:

An art gallery or art museum is a space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art. Paintings are the most commonly displayed medium; however, sculpture, photographs, illustrations, installation art and objects from the applied arts may also be shown.

So, technically, my website will be a space that exhibits art - meaning I can call it a gallery.

But do you think an art gallery can actually be on the internet? There are hundreds of websites calling themselves an online art gallery? But is there really such a thing?

So what should I do? Call it a shop or a gallery?

On the lookout for artists

2007-12-10T23:14:00.000+11:00

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was on the lookout for artists to be a part of my art website. I thought it might be a good time to share just a few of the artists that I've been contacting.

From the north shores of Canada comes Yuka Yumaguchi, aka plastique monkey, has been a flickr contact of mine for some time now, and I just adore her work. 'All I can see', pictured left, is terrific.

Yan wei, aka kokomoo is a myspace friend from China that I found back in October ... definitely worth a look.

Scott Bartlett was an illustrator whose work I found while playing on Threadless.com a little while back. Scott is from Melbourne, and also has a fairly impressive portfolio over at deviant art.

Steve Bartlett (no relation to Scott, i don't think) came into my periphery two weeks ago when he was featured in Juxtapoz's "reader art" section. I'm sure you'll agree that his work is amazing ... K & S rescure pictured to your right.

No sign ups just yet - but I've only really started to contact artists in the last day or so. But hopefully I'll have some positive responses soon.

If you might be interested in becoming involved, please contact me either via the blog's comments or at roweben[at]yahoo[dot]com[dot]au. Thanks.

Rubiks Cube Art

2007-12-04T23:37:00.000+11:00

I'm quite besotted by the latest Space Invader exhibition at the Jonathon Levine Gallery in New York.

Instead of using just tiles, Space Invader is now branching out to use Rubik's cubes to create his latests pieces.

Wonderful pieces for children of the 80's like myself.

Where do you find artsists?

2007-11-29T20:30:00.000+11:00

Everywhere, that's where.

Starting up an online gallery (which I've kind of hinted at) means that the first place to look is, well, online.

Here are just a few places I've been going to discover a mountain of great new artists:

Flickr - not just the home for photography, it's full of amazing artists that are using it to promote their work. In particular I'm finding great artists through flickr groups.

Myspace - Two months ago I'd hardly ever been on myspace. Now, I'm in love with it. Even though people are flocking to Facebook by the thousands, Myspace is still the place for up and coming artists to put together a portfolio of their work.

Blogs and Online Mags- Of course, I'm finding heaps of inspiration though the blogs I've been reading. Creepmachine, Lost at E Minor, Little Chimp, and Juxtapoz are just few of the many feeds I'm hooked on.

Deviant Art - I mentioned this site before, but didn't realise just how huge it is. Plenty of great artists with their work on show here.

The next step (other than to build a website) is to get enough artists involved in the project. That's gonna be the hard part.

Art Magazines

2007-11-26T20:05:00.000+11:00

Just wanted to the word out about a few good art magazines that I've picked up recently, at least since I started this blog.

Juxtapoz - Juxtapoz mag is somewhat synonymous with the pop-surrealism style of art (at least according to Wikipedia), and created by painter Robert Williams

One thing that's nice about this mag is that subscribers get their own cover. One reason I might be subscribing any moment now.

Juxtapoz can be found at Magnation, and probably plenty of other places too.

Next up is Hi Fructose. This is a reasonably new mag, as volume 6 has just been released.

Founded by two artists, Annie Owens and Attaboy, I've picked up a few editions of this. It's the magazine that opened my eyes up to a whole host of great artists and galleries.

They've also recently ran an exhibition, Bitters and Sweets at the

Outre sells this one.

And finally, there's Giant Robot. Just celebrating their 50th issue, Giant Robot was launched with no budget in 1994 by Eric Nakamura and Martin Wong, and has grown ever since.

Labelled the magazine for 'Asian and Asian-American pop culture and beyond', Giant Robot is another great way to discover great artists and other general, radom stuff.

Now I'm sure there's plenty more art magazines worth reading - these are just the one's that I've bought so far (excluding the art almanac). Anyone else have some suggestions?

Canvas is everywhere

2007-11-22T21:33:00.000+11:00

Something that people will either love or hate about art in the 21st centurt is that it can be anywhere, on anything.

I've just stumbled upon popcling, a website where you can purchase art from several established artists (including Jeremyville and Sauerkids) ... although not on traditional media.

Instead you can buy their work on skateboard decks, wall decalls, t-shirts and the like. It's a cool site.

And when you look around, nowadays anything can be a 'canvas' for art. Even mobile phone wallpapers, or the lid of a laptop, as shown here.

Art purists may pronounce this as the death of art, where everything artistic is nothing but capitalist product. But I see it differently.

A lot of today's artists are getting there work out in a variety of ways.

And people consume art differently these days, methinks. Just as people have much greater choice about the way they consume media, they have choices about when, and on what, they consume art.

Love it or hate it, I think that's the way things are moving. Perhaps it's younger people driving this trend. But art no longer belongs to an exclusive few. It's all part of the greater democratization of art,

Art produced in the 1900's and in centuries before was (speaking very generally) produced for walls in galleries. Still true today - But not always the way things work anymore.

(Photo Credit - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jundulate)

Long time no blog

2007-11-21T11:11:00.000+11:00

Sorry that things have been so quite on this blog in the past few weeks.

I just got married, and have been away on my honeymoon. So life's been rather hectic in the last month.

But I'm back now and keen to get back into the blogging, and working again.

Not Quite Art :: ABC 10 O'clock Tuesday

2007-10-23T22:09:00.000+10:00

So it's Tuesday night, 10:32. I've just watched Not Quite Art, a great new show about art on the ABC.

This week they're talking about Melbourne's amazing laneway and abandoned building art culture, 'uncollectable' artists, computer games, and many types of art that you won't find in most galleries.

It's the best half hour of Telly I've watched in ages. Unpretentious yet intelligent critique of art. I could learn a lot from this show.

Not quite sure if not quite art will be this good every week. But I'll be back on the couch this time next week.

(Thanks Mark for the tip)

Great Australian Artist #6

2007-10-17T21:43:00.001+10:00

Jim Thalassoudis gets my vote today as a great local artist. Jim does a lot of work on skies at sunset, a subject that he does an amazing job of.

I recently saw one of his works at the brilliant Exquisite Palette exhibition at St. Lukes.

Be sure to check out Jim's Small Paintings Project, an ongoing project where Jim is going to sell small original paintings via the website, at very affordable prices. If you head over now, you might even get your hands on the first piece on sale (pictured here).

Saatchi on crack?

2007-10-14T21:59:00.001+10:00

The Saatchi Gallery has launched the latest exciting online art gallery that is taking the world by storm ... except that it isn't.

Mega art collector and Advertising doyen, Charles Saatchi, has launched the newest social networking space for artists all over the world. I couldn't be more critical.

Obviously Saatchi's decision to go online is huge news for the art world, and I can see why the online gallery is attracting lots of traffic. In fact, as I write this, there were over 55 million hits to the website in the last 24 hours*.

But I think the Saatchi online gallery is a huge disappointment. It looks as though it was built in 1997, which is bizarre since it's 2007 as I write this.

Arists are doing quite well for themselves, using a host of web 2.0 sites like myspace, etsy, deviant art, and redbubble. Sites which all tap into the real power of the internet and web 2.0 - creating a community of artists online. The Saatchi Online Gallery doesn't come close.

There is little need for a website with such poor functionality, even if it is the lovechild of such an influential art entrepreneur. The only search functionality is by artist name. Compare this to Etsy, where you can search for art by category, colour, location and the recommendations of others. If you want to see how an online art gallery should be done, Etsy is the place to go. I wonder if Charles Saatchi has even heard of it? In fact, I wonder if he's spent much time online at all. It's the worst website I've seen in a long time.

I think the Saatchi Gallery online is a case of much too little, a bit too late. Sure, it will attract a tonne of traffic in the next month or so. There'll be plenty of PR and buzz in the fine art world, pointing more than a few artists and collectors to the site.

But Saatchi has clearly done little to understand the internet, and the new ways that artists and collecters promote and buy artwork. It doesn't stand a chance.

* By the way, 'Hits' is an archaic web statistic, which was the leading online traffic indicator in 1997. It essentially means nothing in 2007.

Artist on crack?

2007-10-14T11:54:00.000+10:00

One of the big pieces of news in the art world this week has been the new 'Crack' installation at the Tate Modern in London. Doris Salcedo's "Shibboleth 2007" is a 500ft long and 3ft deep crack in the floor.

I for one think that this is a really impressive piece of sculpture. What I'm not so sure about is the way the artist describes the work.

Colombian sculptor Salcedo, says that the piece "symbolises racial division", and "represents the gap between white Europeans and the rest of the world's population".

Has the artist really done this work in the name of racial divide? Or because it's just a very cool installation? I suspect the latter, so why go on about the former?

A piece of art can be interpreted in many ways, by both the artist and the viewer. That's fine. But I just think Salcedo should let the art speak for itself. What do you think?

Illusration and Children's Art

2007-10-08T23:38:00.000+10:00

One thing I've affirmed for myself since I started to write this blog, I'm a sucker for illustration.

I could read blogs like Drawn, Illustration Mundo and Art Jumble all day long. I really could. And with a lot of the latest lowbrow / pop surrealist art movement being illustration based, it seems as though I'm not the only one.

So stepping away from my current online gallery ideas for a second, what do my loyal readers think of an art gallery for children, where the artwork is primarily illustration work? I'm there'd be plenty of grown-ups that would be keen to visit, too.

To my knowledge (and I could be wrong), there isn't any art galleries in Melbourne that are focused towards kids. Aside from the current Pixar exhibition at ACMI, that is. Could this be an untapped niche for a gallery? Or am I wrong - has this idea been done before?

(Photo Credit: Philippe Jalbert)

Ken Keirns

2007-10-06T19:37:00.001+10:00

I've been a little light on the posts this week. I started a new job so have been busy busy.

Ken Keirns is an artist whose work I've been digging this week. Especially his series of work framed in old Fisher Price TVs. Cool.

Make the gallery building a piece of art

2007-10-01T13:14:00.000+10:00

That's what "Per Square Metre" on Johnston st, Collingwood have done.

Well worth checking out the inside, too.

Ideas for a gallery

2007-09-30T22:59:00.000+10:00

Earlier in the week I said I'd be sharing some thoughts about where my head is at : What sort of gallery do I think I'd like to start?

If you've been reading my blog (god bless ya cotton socks!), there's probably no real surprises forthcoming. Here's what I'm thinking:

Initially online - I have decided that I'll be starting this as an online venture. Why? A few reasons:

I just don't have the cash to set up a gallery. The reality is, I need to go back to work to save some money before I'll be able to even consider setting up a shop.
I'm starting a new job this week, and I think an online gallery could be better managed in my spare time - At least while it's up and running.
I am an online junkie, with a background in online marketing. so I think I'd have a better chance of making an online gallery work in the near term.

Having said that, I think it would be really difficult to maintain a gallery that is just on the internet. So my goal is to expand this into a bricks and mortar gallery at some stage. When is dependent on how well the online project goes, and how I go about rustling up some money to afford the rent.

Open to all (almost) - I like the idea of opening a gallery that anyone can submit art to. So my gallery won't just be limited to particular artists.

I also like the idea of an online community of voters, like jpg magazine, where the people determine what goes on display.

That said, I will probably only stock art that appeals to me and is within a particular style, so I see myself filtering through submissions.

Original art, limited edition and open ended prints - I don't think there's any reason why I could sell original or reproduced work. So at this stage, I'll keep this open-ended.

Local or International - Ahh, this is a tough one. Initially I was thinking that I'd concentrate on Australian-only (or even Melbourne-only) artists. But I've changed my mind since I've began. Why?

I think sourcing artists to get involved could be tricky, so I think it might be better, at least initially, to widen the net.
I've seen so much great art from all over the world. It seems such a shame to exclude any of it.

On the wall art - I won't rule anything out completely, but I'm thinking that I'll be concentrating on paintings, prints and photography - the type of art that you hang on a wall - rather than anything sculpture or video based.

Art for all - As you've probably guessed, I'm thinking of an art shop more than an art gallery. And I'm thinking that it would be down the affordable end of the art market. It probably won't be the sort of gallery for the high end collector initially.

And of course, any of this could change along the way. But this is where I'm leaning right now.

Albert St, Richmond

2007-09-30T16:54:00.000+10:00

After several recommendations, I headed over to Richmond today to Albert St, home to 6 separate commercial galleries. I'm glad I did. It was an absolute delight to be able to visit 6 galleries in the one session, and I can see why people talk highly about Albert St.

Each gallery is well worth a look. Here's a quick summary of what was on when I visited.

First stop was at the John Buckley Gallery, currently holding an exhibition of works by Mark Galea. Mark's work consisted of paintings and sculptures. I preferred his sculptures the best - His vividly coloured box-shapred pieces were more interesting to me. The paintings will be popular but to me they were nothing more than inoffensive corporate foyer art.

Next up was the Karen Woodbury Gallery, which was undoubtedly my favourite exhibition that I saw on Albert St. I loved Michael Doolan's exhibition of silver and coloured moulds of cartoon shapes, like this one here (for now and for ever, almost 2 metres high).

There was similarities with this exhibition and the designer toy movement. It's interesting that this exhibition would definitely be considered fine art, whereas vinyl toys is probably considered a lot more lowbrow.

The 3rd gallery I visited was the Sophie Gannon Gallery, which featured an exhibition by Judith Wright . I really enjoyed these large-format piece s. They were done with acrylic and wax on Japanese paper, creating very interesting textures.

I then visited the Alison Kelly Gallery. This gallery specialises in contemporary indigenous art like the current exhibition by Nyirrpi. I'm not really into indigenous art, so just a quick browse here.

The Anita Traverso gallery was next. Although there wasn't a specific exhibition on here it was refreshing to see a room full of great artworks by different artists.

And finally, I headed upstairs to the Jenny Port Gallery, which was another favourite for me. Through a Scanner Darkly was the highlight, Chantal Faust's exhibition of portraits taken with a scanner rather than a camera. Anything on the surface of the scanner appears very vivid, while everything else is much more hazy. A beautiful effect.

All in all, Albert St is a great way to spend a few hours an see a lot of great art. They're running an open day on the 13th October from 11am which might be worth checking out. I have a flyer for it which lists the website address at http://www.albertstreetgalleries.com.au, although it doesn't seem to be working at the moment.

Galerie Montmarte

2007-09-28T18:23:00.000+10:00

I wasn't even looking for art galleries today. But I found a new favourite.

Galerie Montmarte is just off Brunswick St, behind the Labour in Vain. Specialising in original vintage French advertising posters, this gallery has something for the investor and passer by.

When I was in France last year, I was always taking photos of these vintage posters and images. So I guess it was no surprise to me that I enjoyed the gallery.

But there's something very un-pretentious about Galerie Montmarte. Was it the fact that the owner was far more friendly than most gallery owners appear to be? Or is because we can relate to these vintage pop-culture images more than some other art?

Either way, this is an example of a gallery focusing on a specific niche and doing a great job of it. I imagine that the store would have some loyal investors who buy a lot of work in this style. You could tell that Steve, the owner, had a true passion for this type of art. He loved his job, his gallery and that really showed.

I think the story behind this genre of art is easily digestible, meaning that most people could appreciate the price of this work. Having said that, one of the great things about it is the price range. You can buy huge pieces (up to 2 metres high) for up to three or four thousand, or you can walk away (like we did) with a cool little souvenir for $30.

I've visited about 10 galleries in the last couple of days, and I'll be talking about them all shortly. But my experience with Montmarte was so positive, I just couldn't wait to write about it first.

One man's trash

2007-09-27T23:19:00.000+10:00

Check out the silhouettes behind these trash sculptures. Amazing.

Tim Nobel and Sue Webster take piles of trash and make art into them... but sometimes the art isn't apparent until you see it in a different light.

(via Notcot)

Brunswick St Gallery

2007-09-27T22:47:00.001+10:00

Today's gallery visit, among others, was to Brunswick St Gallery.

I'd heard quite a bit about this rental space gallery, so I've been meaning to go for a while now. In fact, today was my third attempt. It had been closed on the 2 previous occasions. Opening only from 12-4, I'd missed opening hours twice. It makes me wonder ... if a gallery has to pay the rent on their space, why wouldn't they be open for more than 4 hours a day.

As soon as you walk in you notice art from wall to wall. Aside from the seperate galleries, there is plenty of space (3 floors in fact) where individual work is displayed. As I've mentioned before, I enjoy seeing a wall full of paintings, as opposed to the sparse walls that some many galleries are renowned for. I also like being in a gallery where there are other people there too. Walking into an empty gallery space can feel lonely.

Now, the debate rages on about whether rental spaces are a good thing. To recap, a rental space is a gallery where the artists pays for space in the gallery to display their works. As a result, the quality of work in rental space galleries can be questionable.

Having said that, the work in Brunswick St gallery today was OK. In OK, I mean that every piece of work probably would be appealing to somebody. My opinion was that 80% of the art was rubbish, 15% OK and 5% good. But tastes differ, and I could imagine would like a lot of this stuff.

Tastes aside, bsg seem to have a pretty good business model set up. As an artist, there are a number of different options you can sign up for. You can be part of a group exhibition such as printmaking, or you can take out a whole gallery space for your own exhibition.

As part of the rental price, the gallery supports your exhibitions by hosting opening nights, printing flyers and organising advertising. It's also a gallery in a high traffic area, so I could see this gallery being a fairly good option for a new artist to get some exposure. But it was disappointing to see that only some of the artwork was labelled with artist names, prices and information about each work.

All-in-all, it looks like Brunswick St Gallery is a successful example of a rental space gallery. I don't think that this is the sort of gallery that I want to be a part of. But I do think anyone has the right to make art, and put on an exhibition if they choose to. So no, I don't really have a problem with this type of gallery.

Originals vs Prints

2007-09-27T11:12:00.000+10:00

[Update :: Dan's right, I haven't quite used the word 'print' correctly in this post. See his comment below for a better clarification. Thanks]

I'm wondering what people think about original vs prints when it comes to art?

Yesterday I was in at the Printmaker Gallery on Brunswick st, which has some nice prints. I especially like Jam Fancy's work that is for sale in here ... her work is always cute with a sprinkle of evil.

I also visited the Dianne Tanzer gallery yesterday, on Gertrude St. Ash Keating's exhibition was on. His work was available for sale via limited edition prints (pricey), or free in a take-away newspaper format.

Both experiences got me thinking about the original vs print debate. So I thought I'd jot down a few pros and cons of original and printed works. Feel free to suggest any others in the comments.

Original Artwork

- The artist is directly involved in creating the image. You therefore have a closer connection to the artist
- There is more of a story behind each work, as each piece is considered within the artists entire portfolio.
- Obviously an original is more of an investment.

Prints

- Gives art more of an entry-level, making it accessible to more people.
- A way for a artists to earn some additional dollars to pay the bills.
- Allows the non-art-investor to buy affordable work from well known artists.
- I'm sure prints would be considered evil by some, cheapening the art world to a money making experience.

Of course, Prints can be further broken down into to groups - Open ended prints vs limited edition prints. Not sure if there's much difference, although with a limited edition print there feels like there is some amount of exclusivity / collectivity.

Personally speaking, I don't have a problem with artists who do prints. All the art that I own is reproduced. But I'm sure there are others that aren't so comfortable.

Does artist involvement have anything to do with it? My Aunty, Sandra Brett, is an artist that does a lot of linocut artwork. She does all the prints herself, so is still involved in the printing creation.

At the other end of the spectrum, I have two Yoshitomo Nara pieces on my wall that are open-ended giclee prints. I'm sure that Yoshitomo himself wasn't there when these were printed, but does that make them any less special?

We live in a much more digital, reproducible society now than we did even 10 years ago. My guess is that most people (Genuine art investors excluded) would be less fussed about whether an artwork was original/printed and more concerned about having access to art that they can afford for themselves.

Your thoughts very welcome, as always.

Great Australian Artist #5

2007-09-24T09:52:00.001+10:00

I haven't profiled an Australian artist for a while, so here goes.

I found Ben Frost's website, benfrostisdead.com this morning and am liking his work a lot.

Ben's work consist of pop culture and advertising image collages, to create some really interesting pieces. A lot of his work is on display and for sale on his website.

This pic here is a snippet from his piece entitled, "dorothy! these aren't yellow bricks - they're incontinence pads!". Nice.

Thanks

2007-09-24T09:35:00.000+10:00

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who has been reading the blog, and giving me some terrific feedback along the way.

I've been writing this blog for a month now, and I'm really glad that I started it back in August. I've learnt so much from your opinions, thoughts and comments. I knew that a blog would be a great way to connect with people from all over the art world. I've had artists, crtics, gallery owners and just art appreciators here, and it's been fantastic to see things from your perspective.

So thanks. I owe you one.

More galleries

2007-09-23T12:00:00.000+10:00

I've managed to squeeze in quite a few gallery visits in the last week or so. Here's a quick round-up of what I've been to.

Villian is the first place I visited during the week. Villian is another shop style gallery, similar to 696 in a way. They have some art but also supplement their range with clothing, magazines and books. It's a great store, and their current Munny exhibition of customised toys is well worth a look.

I wanted to check out a few rental spaces this, so I went to the Red Gallery in North Fitzroy, which was running an exhibition for students at Ballarat University. Nothing there really grabbed me, but it's a good exhibition space they have there. I guess some student exhibitions are potentially going to be a little hit and miss.

69 Smith Street was a gallery that Mark recommended I take a look at, as it's an artist run gallery that's also rental space. Mark's opinion was that galleries like this struggle to keep on putting on good exhibition, and will put anything on just to keep their calendar filled. Although their current exhibition, Shift, wasn't too bad.

While in Smith St I checked out the exquisite palette at St Luke's, the art supplies store. This a a great little exhibition of art painted onto wooden palettes. There's some fantastic pieces here, and exhibitions like these, focussing on a simple idea, are always going to have a strong appeal with the masses. From what i hear, the opening of this was a huge success - there seems to be a lot of red dots on the art list, too.

In the city I visited the Westspace gallery, which was running 3 small exhibitions. also checked out the Paper Shadow gallery on Franklin St in the city, to see the Doze Green exhibition. This is a new gallery, which I liked.

The clandestine alleyway entry of galleries like Paper Shadow has a strong appeal to me. I get a real enjoyment out of the discovery of a place like this. I guess I'm like this with a lot of things. Shops, restaurants, even music that is off the beaten track is appealing to me.

The great thing about Melbourne is that there is so much art to see even when you're not in an actual gallery. I've been there before, but i went back and took a look at the citylights project, which I just love. But even just the back streets in the city has some very cool art. I could wander around for hours.

I've been writing this blog for almost a month now, and in that time have seen a fair smattering of galleries. Plenty more to see, but I'm starting to get a feel for what I'd like to do myself. In the next week I'll be sharing a few ideas with you, and would love your feedback. Stay tuned.

JPG Magazine

2007-09-21T12:36:00.000+10:00

Another online art project that I'm really digging is JPG magazine.

JPG is an online user-submitted mag full of articles and photos. All written, taken and submitted by anyone who wants to. The JPG community then votes on the best images and stories, and they get included in the next edition.

With digital photography and sites like Flickr being so popular these days, you can easily forget about the beauty of a nice, un-photshopped image that you can hold in your hand.

The great thing about JPG mag is that it isn't just an online publication. JPG brings their idea to real life by printing a new issue every two months.

Issue 12 is out this week. You might want to take a look.

Here's what they say about themselves:

JPG is not just another photo sharing site - it's a community that's come together to create a photography magazine.

Here at JPG, we're all about "imagemaking without attitude." That means we want JPG to be a positive experience for everyone. This isn't about photo snobbery or pixel wanking. It's just about the joy of photography.

Each issue contains 3 photographic themes ... in the next edition they are:

Passport - Travel photography off the beaten track.
Gravity Powered - Capturing the action of extreme sports.
Tools of the Trade - What gets the job done?

... and a whole heap of other themes that you can submit a photo to for future editions.

Like Threadless, having the 'community-vote' feature is a good one, and a handy filter to weed out the not-so-flash user submitted work.

Question :: Representation

2007-09-20T01:08:00.000+10:00

I have a question for all of my kind readers - It's about galleries representing artists.

If an artist is represented by a gallery, does that mean that they must be represented solely by that gallery? Or are artists pretty much free to choose who represents them at any given time?

Links, Links, Links

2007-09-18T22:03:00.000+10:00

In my travels this week I have found some more great online galleries. Without further ado ...

First is Clickforart, a nifty site that I discovered tonight. Clickforart is bringing good art to the masses. you can choose art by the artist, theme, style and size. You can then get it framed and sent to you. Their tagline, "real art for real people at real prices" has a nice ring to it.

And who can forget the awesomeness of the Thumbstack Press, the down-to-earth online store where you can buy some great AND cheap prints (plus a few originals).

Thumbstack seem to have an ever growing stack of cool artists.

Finally we have the AMF Gallery. Perhaps not the prettiest site of the group. But with artists like Daniel Lim on board they are doing OK. The art fits within everyones' favourite new art genres, Lowbrow, Pop Surrealism and Street Art. AMF has original artwork - not just prints - unlike Thumbstack or Clickforart.

BTW if you are an artist who is thinking about setting up your portfolio online, and would like a few suggestions, the excellent Creep Machine blog has a terrific post about the best ways to show your art on the web.

I'm such a nerd - I love the internet!

What type of art galleries are there?

2007-09-15T11:05:00.000+10:00

Mark over at Culture Critic @ Melbourne kind enough to meet with me yesterday, and we chatted about the different types of art galleries that you'll find in Melbourne. I learnt a lot.

He has a great post about this today, and describes the different levels of commissions that are charged at each type.

These are the different types of 'Bricks and Mortar' galleries:

Bars and Cafes - There are a lot of bars and cafes that have artwork on their walls. Generally they only change a small commission (around 10%), and are often a way for newer artists to get their work out there. Mark mentions the Kalidescope Café as an example, and the FAD Gallery in the city is another.

Rental Spaces - Where artists can rent a gallery space for a set period. These include galleries like the Brunswick St Gallery or the Red Gallery. There is some debate about the quality of the work in rental spaces though, as anyone has the potential to display their art.

Artist run initiatives - Artist-run initiatives can also be similar to a rental gallery, like 69 Smith st. But not all of them are - West Space, for example, gets its funding from the government. They have aapplication based exhibitions so are much more selective about what gets exhibited. Via-N have a full list of the artist run galleries in Melbourne.

Commercial Galleries –Where the gallery will actually 'represent' the artist. A commercial gallery buys art on consignment from the artist, and will be more pro-active in promoting the artists' work. Commissions will be higher, from 40% anywhere up to 60%, Mark tells me.

Funded Galleries - Often government funded galleries, from the big ones like NGV - that also make their money from entrance fees - to more alternative spaces like Platform.

Studio Galleries - Where an artist sets up an exhibition space at their studio, so that they can sell their work directly.

Art 'Shops' - Less of a gallery, but more of a shop that sells art, magazines, T-shirts, etc. However they will also run exhibitions. Examples include Outre, Villian and 696. This can also include markets, such as the Rose St. Artist market.

I still need to go out and look at some more galleries, but I think I'd like to start something that has more of a casual shop feel about it. As I've said before, I'm also keen on the online side of things too - so perhaps a gallery that is both online and off.

[weAREtheIMAGEmakers]

2007-09-13T15:51:00.000+10:00

[weAREtheIMAGEmakers], the local online art mag is my number one find for today.

It's a cool little not-for-profit way for emerging artists and creatives to showcase their work.

Looks as though they publish a new one each month or thereabouts. I've just killed about an hour on their site, and found a whole host of artists from Australia that I didn't know of before ... including Kill Pixie, Akina, Team Kitten, Christoper Nielsen ...

... I could go on. Or you could see for yourself.

Tolarno Gallery

2007-09-13T09:10:00.000+10:00

Yesterday I broadened my gallery viewing to Tolarno, on Flinders lane.

Jason recommended that I go and look at Tolarno as an example of "a serious commerical gallery which is going to get critical reviews serious, art collectors and stable established artists".

Most of the galleries I've visited so far have been those that I knew of, or had been meaning to go to. Visiting Tolarno was widening my net into the area of 'the serious art gallery'. Serious it was.

I wandered up to the 4th floor, wandered through the alarmed glass doors, and there I was. All by myself.

Artist Andrew Browne was on exhibition. His large format paintings of tree branches, taken from flash photographs, were spectacular ... I guess at $30,000 a pop they'd want to be.

I take a quick look around, realising that I am out of my depth here. Wandering back, tail between my legs through those alarmed doors, I realise that Tolarno's is not the end of the art spectrum that I belong.

It's not that I don't appreciate the art. I do. I really enjoyed going there. It's just that I simply don't know know enough about high-end commercial art galleries to think that I could just open one up.

I also believe in art that is accessible to everyone. I think that art - good art - should be available to all of us. People should be able to identify something they like, be in a position to buy it, and display it proudly on their walls.

So if I am going to get into this art business, I'm not going to be competing directly with the likes of Tolarno. But thanks for the tip, Jason.

Selling art online

2007-09-11T11:19:00.000+10:00

Two weeks into this blog, and still very keen to start an art business of some sort, I am leaning towards the idea of opening up an online gallery. At least initially.

Why? For a few reasons:

Cost - This is the big one. Although it won't be cheap to set-up a website, you avoid the cost of hiring a gallery space.
Competition - As Mark pointed out, there are already 200 'bricks and mortar' galleries in Melbourne. Is there really a need for any more?
Flexibility - An online gallery would give me a little more freedom to work on it when I could. Which might give me the chance to do some part-time work somewhere else, to keep some money coming in while I'm setting up.
Experience - I have an online marketing background, and think I could use these skills to set up an online gallery. On the other hand, I haven't worked in a normal gallery before.
Reach - there is the opportunity to attract artists and art lovers all over the world ... which is less likely than with a shop-front gallery here in Melbourne.

But of course, I do have some reservations about this. For starters, let's look at the competition - There's already some brilliant online galleries and communities set up - I'd sure need to launch something remarkable for it to work.

And the million dollar question :: Who buys art online?

Is there a big enough market of people buying art online for this to be a viable idea? I suspect that more and more people will start to.

So to help me answer this question, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What experiences have you had with buying and selling art online?
Am I wasting my time thinking about opening an online art site?

Coffee with your art?

2007-09-10T18:43:00.000+10:00

I popped into Magnation on the weekend, arguably the best store in our city. Magnation is a magazine shop, selling every mag title imaginable. It's great.

There is no pressure to buy magazines when you're in the store. No pressure at all. So you'll often see people settled in for the afternoon, sitting with a stack of magazines to flick through. They also have free wifi, so it's a destination point for nerds like me when they're in the city.

They also serve good coffee, and I suspect it's the coffee that pays their bills. My understanding is that magazines are sold on consignment - meaning they can be returned if not sold at the end of the month. So if they don't sell any magazines, no harm done.
I'm wondering if you could open a gallery that works in this way. Yes, you cover the walls with great artwork that's for sale. But if no one buys any of it, you still have a comfortable place for people to hang out and buy coffee, and you pay your bills that way. Does the art have to be the primary source of revenue?

Now I'm sure some of the high-end art aficionados may consider this too pedestrian. But I'm realising that the ideal gallery that I'd open propably wouldn't be directed toward this group anyway.

You come across plenty of regular cafes that happen to sell art. Do you come across many galleries that happen to sell coffee? Does anyone know of any good examples of this type of gallery?

Photo credit :: Reinar

Until Never

2007-09-09T18:20:00.000+10:00

This weekend I also checked out Until-Never, an awesome gallery just off Hosier Lane in the city (Melbourne, that is).

I looove this gallery. Hidden away off an alley off an alley, and then up two flights of stairs, Until Never doesn't get the passer-by passing by. Which is a big part of the appeal, of course. You have to know about it.

It's got a great atmosphere too - simply a clean space, friendly people, good music and a nice buzz about it for a Friday afternoon. That's the type of feeling I'd be trying to replicate.

Right now, the exhibition 'Hung by the sticky bits' is on, which is a crackin' collection of illustrators, including Sauerkids, Mark Verhaagen, and Beck Wheeler amongst many more.

Run by the guys that do the citylights project, I'm told that the gallery usually holds contemporary and street art stuff ... so I'll be back here for sure.

Artholes

2007-09-07T23:53:00.000+10:00

This week I've been to a couple of galleries to continue my learning more about galleries.

I started off on Brunswick St at the Artholes Gallery.

I should start by saying that Artholes is a great space, and indeed there were some fine work on display. But to be honest, my experience with the gallery wasn't 100% positive.

Why? Because I didn't feel comfortable in it. For a few reasons:

There isn't any real sign to suggest that it is open to the public.
It was hard to tell if it was actually open (I went there at around 4 on Friday arvo). When I walked in, I didn't receive any welcome from the guy who was working there.
It wasn't apparent if the artwork was for sale or not.
There wasn't any information, either on the walls or on a leaflet, to describe any of the art on display.
There was no welcoming vibe at all. No lighting, no music, and I felt as if I was an intrusion for being there.

Now I can understand that some art galleries are more surreptitious than your regular retail store. But when you have a shop or gallery that makes it's money from the visitors, surely it makes sense to make them feel slightly welcome. Is that too much to ask?

I learnt from their site that they take a 40% on sales, with no upfront fee to artists that are exhibiting their work. 40% was higher than I expected, but I'm new to this game. Is a 40% commission rate average?

The art sold in Artholes' windows is on sale via silent auction. You can email or sms your bids through to buy the art on display. But I've just learnt this via their website - their wasn't anything to indicate this when you're actually in the gallery. Which is a shame.

From my perspective, this isn't the way a gallery should be run. If I were to open a gallery, I'd put a bigger emphasis on friendliness and customer service. I suspect that most people aren't completely comfortable when they are buying new art. Why make it more difficult for them than it needs to be?

Am I being too harsh here?

BlueFlip Art

2007-09-07T12:35:00.000+10:00

BlueFlip Art is another online gallery that I really like the look of.

Their gallery has a unique twist - They sell low-cost prints of some amazing artwork, and donate 10% of proceeds to the artist's chosen charity. Nice idea.

The 'low price, high volume' model is in play here. They sell art that is very affordable. But to succeed, I guess that means they have to sell lots of it. I'd be interested to know if this is a full time gig for someone.

The artwork is of a really high standard though. I'm particularly enamored by Richard Wilkinsons' stuff, like 'Red Balloon', pictured here.

BlueFlip is open to anyone, and you can submit your own art here. However, they don't just accept anyone's art. In their words:

... We'll warn you right up front that we're pretty finicky about what we do decide to sell. Take a peek at the prints available right now on the site. If you think your work is of a similar caliber, then by all means send us an email with a link to your work or as an attachment. If it blows our socks off then we'll contact you back and get the ball rolling!

It's a clean looking website, with great artists. BlueFlip have what it takes to make a great online gallery.

Great Australian Artist #4

2007-09-07T10:06:00.000+10:00

Niki Fisher's Design by Peppi is my new latest local art find.

Her illustrations are just superb.

This piece here is my favourite, but there's plenty of good work on her site.

Check it out.

The Storque has arrived

2007-09-06T17:08:00.000+10:00

Etsy's new online zine, The Storque, has arrived!

I haven't spoken about Etsy, the awesome online art gallery, but I am bound to profess my love for it in a post anytime soon.

The Wurst Gallery

2007-09-05T17:49:00.000+10:00

Just wanted to point you to The Wurst Gallery, a very cool online gallery that I found a while ago.

Wurst are remarkable for their unique exhibitions, like 'Vintage Vandals' in 2005, where

Each artist was asked to find a framed piece of artwork at their local thrift store and manipulate it into a piece of their own.

The results? Some great pieces, like this one from Driscoll Reid (Aka: Hørne)

(You can tell I have a thing for Low-Brow art, can't you?)

I have my doubts about whether or not an art gallery can exist purely online. But I guess it comes down to the art. If an online gallery can keep coming up with interesting exhibitions and artworks, it has just as much chance of surviving as an offline one, right?

Culture Critic @ Melbourne

2007-09-05T17:26:00.000+10:00

I've added Culture Critic @ Melbourne, Mark Holsworths' blog to my blogroll.

Mark writes a great blog, reviewing galleries and art here in Melbourne. He clearly has his finger on the pulse of the Melbourne art scene. I've been reading his blog for a week or so now, and definitely will continue to do so.

I'm having a lot of fun writing this blog. I've only been writing it for a week and a half, but already feel as though I've learnt so much.

Hoorah for Melbourne. Hoorah for Art. Hoorah for Blogging!

Location Location

2007-09-04T22:47:00.000+10:00

Today I've been thinking about the location of my gallery.

Now I'm a 'North of the River' guy, so my gut feel is either in the city, or inner north. I haven't looked at prices yet (that is, how much it costs to rent a shop), so that's probably a next step.

My guess is that renting a place in the city would be hideously expensive, so it probably rules that out. But I would ideally like to have it somewhere that both locals and tourists could stumble upon it. Ideas include:

Gertrude St, Fitzroy - Just a cool street to be on, probably rather pricey
Brunswick St, Fitzroy - Not quite what it used to be, but still attracts a lot of foot traffic
Smith St / Johnston St, Collingwood - Maybe more affordable
High St, Northcote - a little further out of town ... but it's my new hood

Perhaps I shouldn't rule out other areas just yet. But I've always liked this part of town, and think I'm far more suited to running an art gallery here than say, Armadale.

Then again, I guess an art project doesn't necessarily need to be held in the one physical space. Perhaps it could be a roving gallery, with a stand at the Rose St Artist market one day, and somewhere else the next. Or it could be an outdoor gallery like the City-lights project.

I also like the idea of an underground, guerilla style gallery that 'pops up' in different places, not unlike the mobmov guerilla drive-in movement.

I guess it will probably come down to cost, and where I can afford to set something up. But I'm always interested to hear what everyone else thinks.

Linden Postcard Show

2007-09-04T16:36:00.001+10:00

The Linden Postcard Show is another great idea for an exhibition that has become somewhat of an institution in Melbourne.

Each year the Linden Gallery run their postcard competition. Anybody is able to enter a postcard sized artwork (up to 3 per person) into the competition. Judges then pick the winning postcards, and the winner receives $5,000.

With some big sponsers behind the competition, it receives a lot of good coverage, and lots of entries each year - About 2,500 entries were received into this years' show.

It's another example of democratic art, where anyone can enter. For my gallery / store (if that's what my business becomes), I'm leaning towards the sort of art that anyone can submit.

The almanac

2007-09-04T13:07:00.001+10:00

"The first thing you should do", I've been told on several occasions, "is to get a copy of the almanac". So I did. "It's the bible", I've been told.

I picked up the August edition of the ArtAlmanac last week. And it is definitely a great starting point to get familiar with the Melbourne art scene, no doubt.

But essentially it's a book full of advertising. And at $495 for a full page, that cost adds up for a small gallery over 12 months. I wonder if it's worth it.

Perhaps the art collector uses the almanac to shortlist their next investment. And I'm sure every gallery feels as though they have to be in it each month, because "you just have to be in it!". But do you?

I'm curious - Is advertising in the the ArtAlmanac a manatory? Does anyone actually read it? Could you spend your gallery marketing budget in a better way? What do you think?

Threadless for Art?

2007-09-04T11:23:00.000+10:00

No doubt you've all heard of Threadless, the Chigaco based T-Shirt website.

Threadless works like this: Anyone can submit a design for a T-shirt. Users can then score the T-shirt designs, and the most popular T-shirts are then printed and sold. Each week the team at Threadless print about 10 new T-Shirts, which are quickly snapped up by devoted fans of the site ... which include me. I have a quite a few of their T-shirts, including my favourite, "The Communist Party".

Their business model is simply a great idea. The community creates the T-shirts, the community votes for what T-shirts get sold.

There doesn't seem to be anyone doing this in the art world, but I think it could work really well. Artists could submit their pieces, and the artwork that gets the highest rating gets sold in the gallery.

This has been one of the ideas floating around in my head for a while - to start an art gallery that is "the Threadless for Art". Does anyone else think that this is an idea that could work?

Great Australian Artist #3

2007-09-03T19:30:00.000+10:00

Nathaniel Eckstrom gets the guernsey for my next great homegrown artist.

This picture, entitled "None of them you knew" is my personal favourite.

You can check out more of his work at his website, myspace page or etsy store.

I really want to keep using my blog to showcase great local artists - if you know of any artists that are worthy of mention, please let me know.

I heart we heart prints

2007-09-03T11:01:00.000+10:00

We Heart Prints is a great site that I keep going back to.

It's a simple blog with links to great prints from different galleries. Like this one - Rose Zephyr by Kris Lewis

Definitely worth a visit if you haven't see it already.

One more for the week

2007-09-01T21:59:00.000+10:00

I also decided to pop into 696 Gallery on Sydney road on Friday. For some reason I have just kept hearing about 696 this week, so I thought I'd take a look for myself.

696 is part gallery, part shop. As you can see by the image, they stock everything from artwork to T-shirts to badges to toys and more. It's a smallish space but they make the most of it by packing everything in.

It's a cool store. A couple of thoughts that I had as I was visiting:

The location: Sydney road is great, but does the location pull enough people in? Does a gallery need to be in a good location to pull in the feet traffic, or will people travel?
Product range: Are they trying to sell too many different things in the one store?
Layout: Some might argue that there is too many pieces on the walls ... but I actually like viewing art like this. In a 'formal' gallery you aren't as free to just browse ... It's as though you need to stop and reflect on each piece exhibited. 696 feels much more down to earth.
Support for local artists: Quite clearly they are supporting local artists, and from some of the Melbourne blogs that I've been reading this week, 696 has already generated some local fans since their opening earlier this year.

Their myspace page re-affrims some of these thoughts:

We are a low commission based, free rental space, shop/indoor-outdoor gallery. Keen on supporting local artists, national talent and just cool shit in general. A Non-arrogant approachable space with an eclectic goal. Artists always wanted.

They also have a smallish room out back for smallish exhibitions - right now they are running 'A Pretty Discomfort' : by Narida Yeatman-Morgan.

To study or not to study?

2007-08-31T19:28:00.000+10:00

I had a great chat with Jake from Kick Gallery this afternoon, picking his brains about the gallery, his background, and what it takes to start up an art gallery.

Jake gave me some great advice, and suggested that I look into the Arts Management course at Melbourne Uni, or at least a short course to learn more about what it takes to run a gallery.

I'm wondering what everyone else thinks about this? To be honest, I hadn't really thought about doing a course - I've been thinking that spending a lot of time at galleries, exhibitions and online would give me a pretty good feel for what's required. I also thought that my marketing background, combined with a love for all things arts related might just be enough.

Jake warned against 'flying blind' in the art world, which has made me feel a little hesitant. On the other hand, maybe jumping in head first is the best way to go.

So tell me, should I think about going back to school? I'd love to hear what you think?

Great Australian Artist #2

2007-08-31T19:03:00.000+10:00

I'm with modamuse : Melbourne duo Candy and Nicho's creation noferin is fantastic. I'm a real sucker for character art like this.

A shame I missed there exhibition at imp above, which has finished just this week. Luckily enough, you can see the exhibition online here.

Are you looking for more places to exhibit your stuff in Melbourne, noferrin?

This week's exhibitions

2007-08-31T13:21:00.000+10:00

This week I said that I'd be going to the experimenta playground and Mudfest as my first art outings.

I did see one portion of Mudfest - the 'Separately Together' exhibition down at the wonderful Platform gallery. But after seeing that I decided that my time would be better spent at smaller galleries rather than at experimenta.

After all, my plans at this stage are to open up a small art gallery or art-related business... I guess I'm thinking of 'On the wall' type art rather than multimedia and installations. So I decided to visit a couple of smaller galleries to see how they run.

I've started in Northcote at the Kick Gallery, an independent gallery that are running an exhibition presenting some works by Tim Vagg. A few observations:

- There were around 25 pieces, ranging from about $600 to $2,500.
- Kick is a reasonable sized gallery, so the walls around the art were rather sparse.
- No labels of the art on the wall, other than a number, which was then referenced in the exhibition catalog (and presumeably marked with a red sticker if a piece was sold)

It's a nice gallery that focuses on contemporary art, in a good location (High Street). I had a brief chat with Jake Hoerner who runs the gallery, telling him about my plans to start a gallery or something similar. But more on that later.

While in Northcote I also popped into the Arts Project, which is a not-for-profit gallery, also on High Street. At this stage though, I'm thinking that a for-profit, independent style gallery like Kick is what I'm looking to do.

Using Ebay to Sell Art

2007-08-30T22:47:00.000+10:00

I've used ebay a whole heap of times. But never to buy art.

I've attempted to find good art on ebay. But Ive found that when you initially search for art on ebay, you always end up with a huge pile of crap. And no real way to filter through it to find the good stuff. That's just one of the reasons why Etsy is so good.

Tonight, however, I have a new understanding of how artists can use ebay. I have found Justin Clayton's excellent Daily Paintings blog, where he paints a new painting everyday, and uses ebay to sell each piece via auctions.

On the surface it looks as though he does quite well from this; his most recent sales have ranged between US $100-$250.

But the key here is the blog is the main selling tool, not ebay itself. I'm guessing that Justin's buyers find him first through his blog (or his other website). ebay is just the selling mechanism to sell his work. Not the other way around.

It's the first example I know of a succesful seller that users ebay. But I'd love to hear of any others.

The 'Austin Art Garage' model

2007-08-30T14:19:00.000+10:00

The Austin Art Garage is an online gallery based out of Austin that I found this week.

They are all about promoting local, not so famous artists, as described on their site:

Why purchase manufactured prints from a big box retailer when you can own a handmade, original work of art from a local (perhaps financially struggling) artist? Original artwork can bring joy for a lifetime, so why not be selective and find something one-of-a-kind while supporting an artist's career in your community?

Austin Art Garage directly connects you to the innovative and artistic culture that represents Austin Texas.

This may be your rare opportunity to acquire beautiful and original art early in an Austin artist's career while it's still affordable. Basically, we are not looking for famous artists; we're in favor of the underdog and dedicated to helping them succeed.

This is the type of model that interests me. I'm sure that there would be enough artists in Melbourne and Victoria to fill a gallery. Focussing on the non-famous artist would be a way to keep the overall price of art down ... but more importantly the gallery could help springboard the career of an artist.

Do you think that this could work here in Melbourne? Would you (or someone you know) be interested in exhibiting one or two pieces in a gallery like this?

daydream lily

2007-08-30T12:10:00.000+10:00

I've just added a blogroll to the side of this blog.

First cab off the rank is daydream lily, a great little Melbourne based blog about indie art, craft and design - Make sure you check it out.

And the Melbourne craft scene seems to be alive and well - I've already stumbles across lots of great indie craft blogs ... so maybe a opening a craft store or gallery is as good (or better) idea than an art gallery.

Affordable Art?

2007-08-30T11:57:00.000+10:00

What price bracket makes art affordable? And if I were to open up an art gallery, what price range should the art be in?

A lot of galleries that I've walked into all have artwork that is way out of my budget. And having been to a couple of 'Affordable Art' fairs in my time, I've always walked away feeling as though I couldn't afford any of it.

I think the gallery I open up would be aimed more at the everyday fold who can appreciate a nice painting, but aren't prepared to pay $5,000 for it.

On the other hand, a lot of art that you see on sites like Etsy and Made It seem, well, too affordable. You can buy some quality art for less than $30. In these cases, I think the artists are doing themselves harm by selling things so cheaply.

I'd like to find a balance. Where artists can be fairly paid for their work, and buyers don't have to be part of the 'art investment elite' to be a customer of mine.

I guess I'm thinking a price range would usually be $100 - $500 for most pieces, nothing under $50 and and nothing over $1,000 (Australian Dollars, that is).

Does that seem like a reasonable price range?

Art tours in Melbourne

2007-08-29T18:42:00.001+10:00

I've just found out about a couple of art walking tours around Melbourne.

Bernadette Alibrando's Walk to Art tours. Bernadette takes people on a walking tour of the city to find art off the beaten track.

And Hidden Secrets do something similar (although a bit cheaper, by the looks).

Has anyone been on one of these walks before? What did you think?

They sound like a great way to find some of the hidden gems in the city, so it's gone on my todo list. But as far as my art business goes, perhaps I shouldn't restrict my thinking to just 'opening a gallery'. I'm sure there are all sorts of businesses around that are art-related, while not specifically an art space.

Outre Gallery

2007-08-27T13:39:00.000+10:00

My favourite art store / gallery in Melbourne is Outre Gallery on Elizabeth St. They also have a gallery in Sydney. Head down there if you haven't already.

They specialise in low-brow, pop surrealism and retro art, featuring a few of my favourite artists of all time ... Yoshitomo Nara, Mark Ryden, Kozyndan, Tim Biskup and many more. Not so much in the way of local artists, though.

The store has a really unpretentious and friendly vibe about it, unlike many other galleries that you walk into. It seems to be run by people who enjoy their jobs and the art around them.

It's a very accessible gallery too, You can pick up framed prints for around the $100 mark, going upwards from there. Sometimes galleries can leave you feeling broke and hopeless when the lowest prices are around $4,000. I think a good model for a gallery is one where the everyday folk like you and me can afford to pick something up.

I think my gallery (if that's what it becomes) would probably have art at the lower price level, as Outre does. I'm probably thinking that I'd stock more work from Melbourne based artists though. Do you think that could work?

Great Australian Artist #1

2007-08-26T23:25:00.000+10:00

I'll also be using this blog to point out some great Melbourne artists that I come across.

First cab off the rank is Ben Thomas - check out his work over at City Shrinker. Ben takes shots of Melbourne and by using a special technique (I think it's called tilt-shifting) makes everything look like it's a model. Here's his latest:

If I do open up a gallery, Ben will be the first artist I'll try to get involved.

Are you an artist from Melbourne with some work to show off? Let me know via comments. Thanks.

An exhibition a week (at least)

2007-08-26T18:17:00.000+10:00

As part of this 'new art business' thing, I'm going to make sure that I go to at least one art gallery , exhibition or event per week. Maybe more. but at least one.

I thought I'd either kick things off this week with the Expreimenta Playground down at the arts centre, or Melbourne Uni's Mudfest. Anyone want to come with me?

I am unemployed right now, so might have time to squeeze them both in this week.

I'll write some thoughts here after I've been. stay tuned.

Why a blog?

2007-08-26T14:19:00.000+10:00

Why write a blog to start this process?

Well, as I've mentioned, I am somewhat of a web junkie, and spend a fair bit of time online, reading and commenting on other people's blogs. I've also written a marketing blog for the past 2 years, and have really enjoyed the connections that you get from it.

There's plenty of artists big and small that write blogs too. So I thought that starting this blog would be a way of reaching out to people online. Audrey Kawasaki, Kozyndan and Innocentgirl are just a few artists blogs that I read from time to time.

Recently I've been reading Carsonified, a blog written by a guy called Ryan Carson. Ryan writes a blog about his web training and application business - but takes the reader on a journey of his life as a small business owner. Prior to Carsonified, Ryan wrote over at BareNakedApp, which was a blog specifically about a new product that his team were developing.

I guess that's what I'd like to achieve here - a place where I can record my thoughts, write about the development of my new art business, and hopefully hear back from a few artists and others along the way.

What do I know about art?

2007-08-26T13:34:00.000+10:00

Not a lot really.

I studied art until year 11 at school, and loved it. But it was never 'the sensible thing' to study. So I stopped. I then went off and studied marketing at uni, and have worked in it ever since.

Until now. I threw my marketing job in and have decided that it's time to do what I realy want to do.

I consider myself creative, and I love going to galleries and exhibitions. I don't do it as much as I should though. I do a some casual photography (on flickr and redbubble) and the odd bit of art here and there.

So I'm not an expert when it comes to art. So I'm entering the art world quite naively - I have a lot to learn.

What is this blog all about?

2007-08-26T12:58:00.000+10:00

Basically, It's a diary for me to jot down some thoughts about starting a new business.

Here at day 2, I think it will be a mix of blog posts about art galleries, interesting exhibitions, and generally my learnings about art.

There will be some stuff about starting a business too, I guess. I read a lot online about entrepreneurship, and with a marketing background there's sure to be some posting about the joys pitfalls of starting a new business.

And it will be Melbourne focussed. I'm based in Melbourne, so my business will most likely be set up here in Melbourne too. I'm keen to submerge myself into the art scene here, so I'll be posting about art, artists and exhibitions around Melbourne.

Also I am a self-confessed internet geek, so I'm also keen to explore the possibility of an online element to the business. Do people buy art online? How do artists promote themselves online? I'd love to hear your thoughts

I'm not looking for 1000's of readers to this blog. But if you do find yourself here, I'm happy to have you. In fact, I'd love to get some reader feedback along the way about my art/business idea (whatever it may turn out to be). If it is a gallery that I decide to set up, I'll be looking for artists to be involved. If that's you, make sure you let me know who you are.

Hello World!

2007-08-25T21:04:00.000+10:00

"Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.

You may never reach the summit; for that you will be forgiven.

But if you don’t make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow line, years later you will find yourself lying on your deathbed, and all you will feel is emptiness."

Hugh Macleod, "How To Be Creative" - A ChangeThis Manifesto, 2005

And with this quote begins this blog.

Hi there. Ben here. I'm starting this blog as a bit of a diary. Nothing soppy or overly personal. Don't worry.

Instead this blog is going to be a little project about starting my own business, which I guess is the 'Mount Everest' that I want to climb.

I've been talking about this for years now ... but have recently had the "It's now or never" moment. So a few weeks ago I quit my job (rather spontaneously), escaped the cubicle and decided to get started.

I'm calling this blog "Artdabble". I've always liked dabbling in art, and I really want to get inlvolved in the area of art. Not that I'm a terrific artist, mind you,

So I'm thinking that I'd like to start an art gallery, or at least something art related. That's about as far as I've got so far. Today is 25th August, 2007. I'm giving myself 6 months to work out exactly what this business is going to be - and I'll be using this blog as a diary of my thoughts. I'll also try and use it to have a conversation. With artists, gallery owners, entrepreneurs, and anyone else who's prepared to listen.

So welcome to the blog. I hope you can stick around to see where this is heading.