Etsy Featured Artist: Olivyea

I am often stumbling across inspiration when clicking through the internet and have decided to share some of these discoveries with my faithful readers.

Etsy is a wonderful place to find inspirational pieces by some truly amazing artists and artisans. While 'taking a stroll' amongst Etsy's wares I came across the shop Olivyea (artist name Danielle Olivyea Christian ) Her works are definitely inspired by the impressionists with a few pieces moving more into pointillism.

This is the piece that first caught my eye. I absolutely LOVE her use of color and the way that she's captured the light here is beautiful.

 

She's also not afraid be more abstract and allow the light to take center stage

 

Here is a piece that definitely appears to be more inspired by the pointillists, but her love of light and color are still clearly visible even as she plays around with her brushstrokes.

Not very many of the paintings in her shop have people in them. Of the pieces that do, I personally like this one the best. I love her use of aerial perspective. I've stated that she's never afraid to allow things to get more abstract and that's true of the background in this piece as well.

 

 

If you love color and light, then painting a sunset seems like a pretty natural subject to be drawn to. I'm again drawn to her lovely use of color to capture this.

 

 

I would love to hear what you think about Danielle's work so please feel free to share! :)

Did you enjoy this blog post? Would you like me to continue posting features on various artists and artisans?

 

To see more of Danielle's work, check out her shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Olivyea?ref=pr_shop_more When you do, be sure to click on her profile page as well. Her bio is as inspiring as her work!

 

You can read more on impressionism by going to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism

You can read more on pointillism by going to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointillism

 

Creating Concept Sketches for a Client

In working on these mermaids, I've discovered something rather funny about the way that I work. I tend to just draw my ideas out in my sketchbook and THEN resize them in the computer to fit the proportions of the painting. I'll then add or rework things to make it fit within those proportions. Do you do this? Or do you draw out your proportions first and then create within those parameters?

I have chosen my three concept sketches for my client and have added color to them using some new watercolor pencils that I had purchased awhile back and some prismacolor pencils. I find it's a bit easier using these mediums for such a small piece. (the sketches are only 4" x 5" in order to stay proportional to my 16" x 20" final painting)

 I have sent these on to my client and am now waiting to see which one she chooses. It's always a bit nerve wracking when you send your ideas out for someone else's approval. Will she like them? Or will I be starting over from scratch? I guess that I'll just have to wait and see. Over the years I have at least learned that you need to make sure to only give your client the ideas that you are excited to create. In the past, I would have one that I really wanted to create and would put it in with two that I didn't like as much. In the end, I'd be stuck doing a piece that I wasn't terribly excited about. You can't expect your client to have the same tastes as yourself. In order to make the experience enjoyable for both of you, you must make sure that you are only offering to do paintings that you would be happy working on . The end result will be so much better if it's a piece that you are excited about.

Making Art Usable

Some artists are what I would consider 'purists'. They only want their artwork in it's original state. They turn their noses up when customers ask them if they offer their artwork in prints or card form and scoff and take insult when customers ask if they've considered turning their art into textiles. To an extent, I can understand the mentality of these artists. I see that they fear diminishing the value of their work by transforming it into cheaper versions of itself. However, I also see this as stubborn foolishness. When a customer is asking you if you offer prints, they aren't meaning insult. They love your artwork, but can't afford one of your originals. I don't know about you, but I WANT people who love my art to be able to have some of it.

If this isn't enough of a reason, then there are always the financial benefits to consider. When you are a purist, you will only earn whatever that piece of artwork is sold for and you only earn money from your art IF that piece is sold. However, if you aren't a purist, then you will earn whatever that piece sells for as well as earnings from the sale of prints, shirts, etc. You don't have to wait for your original piece to sell in order to begin earning money on the artwork that you have created. There is a limitless income to be earned as long as you keep that image in production. Considering that museums these days offer prints, cards, glasses cases, umbrellas, etc with the works of some of the greatest artists in the history of mankind on them, how can any artist in this day and age consider their artwork ' too good' for the same type of consumer products?

There are many websites that allow artists to make their artwork accessible to clients in a variety of forms. One of my personal favorites is www.society6.com They keep the integrity of the artwork while allowing the artist to transform their artwork into prints, cards, t-shirts, iphone covers, etc.

' Fairy Kisses'  ipad Skin

'Little Mermaid' iphone cover

Most recently, society6 has begun to create throw pillows. I am very excited with this idea. I understand that in this economy, people WANT artwork, but they would prefer to have it in a usable form rather than purchasing something that will just hang on their walls.

When creating these pillows, you have to provide Society6 with a high resolution image that is at least 3500 x 3500 pixels square. I have created some pillows using my latest Four Seasons series.

                                                                      
                                                                        'Autumn'

                                                                           'Summer'

' Winter'

                                                                             'Spring'

Aren't these fun? I can just imagine rearranging these on your couch or bed and playing with which season goes where...

What are your thoughts on making your artwork accessible in a variety of forms? Are you more of a purist? Or do you embrace this new way of selling artwork? If you are a purist I would LOVE to hear your reasons for being so. I truly want to better understand this type of mindset. I have spoken to several purists at a variety of art shows, but they weren't able to voice their reasons very well.

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful week!!

Renting Art- Yea or Nay?

Back in October I read an article in the New York Times entitled "Gallerists to the People" by William Grimes. ( just goes to show you how busy I have been that I'm only NOW getting to writing this blog post on it)

This article described the latest arts venture by Alex Tryon and Scott Carleton,  whimsically entitled "Artsicle" . They are revolutionizing the art world by allowing art lovers to rent and/or purchase artwork. That's right. You can RENT artwork now. Starting at a mere $25 a month you can rent a painting and keep it for as long as you would like. If you choose to keep it, you can purchase the piece.
While the thought of having my artwork shipped all over the place gives me the sweats ( I've seen some massively abused packages in my day) this idea really excites and interests me. Galleries are often quite stuffy and escalate the cost of the artwork well beyond what the artist would typically ask for.
I myself am not a huge fan of entering most art galleries as I prefer going to art fairs where one can see the art in a less intimidating way and can even speak with the artist.

Having an online gallery is nice because you view the art at your leisure. There is even a curator that you can chat with on their website. Renting the art is an appealing idea because it allows you to experience the piece and live with it without having to actually commit to it. Art is expensive, plain and simple. It's difficult for the average person to buy original art. It's why I try to make prints available for my most of my pieces. While $25 a month might not be doable for everyone, it's definitely cheaper than purchasing an original piece of artwork outright. If you get a bonus, or come across some extra money, you can purchase the piece if you love it so much. The artist gets 50% of the rental price and 70% of the sale price, which is huge considering that most galleries generally take between 40% and even 60% of the sales. This seems like a win win for everyone involved. The artist has the possibility of earning even more money on their work as it could be rented multiple times by multiple collectors before it is actually sold. The artist can also feel a certain amount of satisfaction that their work is going to someone who has had time to truly fall in love with their piece before buying it. No impulse buys here.

I personally hope that this idea takes off with others. I believe that Artsicle, as a New York based business, is generally supporting New York based artists, so I would love to see more nationally or internationally based websites pop up with this concept. I think that it would be exciting if  art collecting went  in this direction as it makes art much more inclusive and accessible rather than exclusive and elitist.

What are some of your thoughts or feelings on this? Do you view this as a positive direction for art? Would you consider renting your artwork or renting the artwork of others? What negatives do you forsee with this?