Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Visual Arts…As Old As Civilization

For as long as man has been alive, he has observed the aesthetics and beauty of life. It seems that it is innate in us to create and change and this has been demonstrated throughout the ages. Even the cave man recreated his vision and told a story via stonewalls.

All art is a communication! The artist is creating his/her vision via any artistic outlet such as drawing, painting, sculptures, photography, graphic design or filmmaking etc.

It’s any art we see! The natural landscape is a powerful tool artists have used throughout time. We seem to want to recreate what we are looking at and at the same time change it to put our own nuances and character into it.

Art is not limited to drawing, painting, sculptures etc. There are the living visual arts such as the painstaking shaping of the Bonsai tree or creating the next beautiful hybrid rose. We started with the incredibly gorgeous vintage rose and now we literally have hundreds of different kinds of roses in various sizes, colors and fragrance.

Dancing, figure skating, gymnastics, ballet, and even acting are also considered visual art forms.

You are basically taking something that has been done before, or a piece of life, and are making it new by changing or adding your own character to the piece. That’s all imagination is!

Just in the 20th century alone we have created new forms of art such as art nouveau, pop art, ethnic art to name a few. The subject of art is so vast that there is literally no ceiling to creativity and that is what makes this subject so incredibly interesting.

For as long as man exists, we will find a way to create new and interesting things to look at. It is after all in our nature to do so!

Visit An Art Gallery

If you are looking for a way to spend a quiet afternoon doing something new, think about making a visit to a local art gallery. I think you will be glad you did for a lot of reasons.

An art gallery is a great place to spend time and to learn. Think about all of the new things you can discover by taking the time to see new exhibits at a local art gallery. You can learn new forms of art or see new examples of the oldest and most well known forms of art. Maybe you can visit an art gallery at a time when the artist will be there to answer questions about their work. There is no better time to feed your curious mind than by talking with an artist.

Have you been aspiring to learn a new artistic skill? If so, get yourself to an art gallery as often as you can. Be inspired by the work of those who have done the things you are hoping to do. Take notes, ask questions, see if you can sign up for a class by one of the local artists. There is no better way to become an artist yourself.

If supporting local business and economy is important to you, then visiting a local art gallery should be on your list of ways to show support. Let the local artists know that you care about and appreciate the work they do. Remind them that your community would not be the same without their efforts. If you are looking to decorate a spot in your home you can even consider purchasing a piece or two of art from the local art gallery. There is no better way to support the local business than to buy from it.

Visiting an art gallery is a great way to get you, your family and your friends out of the rut of doing the same activities for recreation. Next time you have a free afternoon or evening consider passing up the movie theatre or the bookstore and choosing an art gallery instead. There are so many new things to be learned and appreciated. Expand your mind and your interests to include good art. You will never regret developing yourself and your family into people who can recognize and appreciate important elements that reflect your culture.

If you are a parent, begin instilling in your children the value of visiting a local art gallery. Help them to learn why art is important to our culture and encourage them to increase the things they care about to include more than just games and movies. Adding a little cultural experience like visiting an art gallery will be good for you and for them.

The artist whose work fills the art gallery you love will be the most appreciate person that you decided to visit. So look up an art gallery and plan to make a visit the next
chance you get.

Video Takes Over the Web

Today, the web has become one of the most common platforms for personal socializing and marketing products and services throughout the world. With more bandwidth, now available for almost the price of peanuts, it has become very easy to put up content in the form of audio, video and images as compared to plain text. As the web began to take off and technology improved, people were able to use and utilize more interactive forms of media via the web.

Because of this, one of the most effective advertising and communicative media- web videos, have taken the place of TV commercials, life experiences and short movies!
Websites like Youtube.com and the likes, have capitalized on this phenomenon and have rooted themselves firmly in to the world of videos, which are taking over the web.

With various playback technologies now supported by the web, it has now become easier than every to incorporate videos on any website, hosted on any platform. The cost of putting up videos on the web is all dependent on the purpose and goal of the web videos.

Many large and small brands alike, have realized the potential of websites like youtube.com, and are releasing videos on the web, for their marketing campaigns. Individuals too, utilize and release web videos over the web. Some videos released over the web, are about sharing life experiences, some are about personal interviews, some for dating and so on.

Videos have taken over the web like a storm and their popularity is ever growing and ever increasing. So much so that, today major search engines like Google and Yahoo are working on web video search algorithms. The popularity of videos over the internet has soared to new heights especially with the advent of web video blogs, particularly since the sole purpose of web blogs, in general, is to facilitate the sharing of information, be it personal or commercial, with one’s self and others.

Web videos have another, ulterior advantage as compared to other web media like images, sounds and animation; that being the power to grab attention of all individuals efficiently, since the average attention span of an average Joe or Jane is extremely short and plenty of other options are available. Since, web videos are efficient and more to the point, many prefer to watch rather than read or listen. Web videos also offer extremely high entertainment value, engaging potential readers and customers alike, and the same time they are competent in portraying what one may want others to know, be it life experiences or marketing bottom-lines.

Thus web videos are not only the best and most efficient marketing tools on the web today, but also the best way to communicate and stay in touch with family and friends, express one’s feelings or give personal interviews. The ease of use, entertainment value and attention grabbing ability of web videos coupled up with the fact that they are easy to make/record, upload and share, is video has taken over the web.

Video Poker: Why Do People Like It

Yesterday, I was having a pint at my local bar when I noticed a small guy in a dark suit. Sitting to the far-right corner of the bar and away from all of us, this short man was crouched over a glowing video poker screen. Huh?

It was just a few months back that casinos all over the world and especially in Las Vegas were removing poker, baccarat and blackjack tables and adding more and more slot machines instead. But then something peculiar took place. Casino owners and employees noticed that one corner of the machines was more crowded than the rest. A short examination revealed that the games allocated to the slot section was none other than video poker. So why are so many interested players preferring video poker?

Here, I will try and answer some of the more practical reasons why this has happened and will happen even more and more:

1) The Odds: While slot machines offer odds that are pretty difficult to win on (and by that I mean the real big bucks), video poker machines are much easier when it comes to accumulating a large sum because it is somewhat based (even though loosely) on poker. This makes each player think that it is based on his skill more than just on luck.

2) More Choice: By this I am not referring to the pick of different slot machines, but rather to the fact that you have the choice of selecting the row to play with it whereas in slots, you have no real control after you press the button or pull the lever. It is not a secret that the principle of both these two games is to try and hit the money jackpot whether it is by getting the appropriate numbers or symbols aligned or whether it is by getting a royal poker flush. To do this in video poker, you have to pick from a number of five-hand cards.

3) Sitting Out: When playing at a slot machine, you have to play each and every time. If you want to stop, you have to clear the machine so that someone else can get a try. But this is not the case when playing video poker. This game allows you to simply sit out a round or two and then continue whenever you feel like.

4) Higher Money Ratio: Because of the chance that you can sit out any round where your cards are not any good. You have a bigger chance making an overall profit out of the time you spent playing at the casino whether it is an online casino or a land one or even whether it is just a small machine in the local diner or bar or regional gas station.

5) It is also said in many video poker circles and plenty of other articles around the web that the statistics of hitting higher paying options while playing video poker are higher in comparison to playing video slot machines.

Conclusion:
Not withstanding all of the above reasons, the fact that poker is very popular and slot machines too only leads me to assume that a game combining the two will be greatly appreciated by any player of either of the two games but more so by those who enjoy the drone of the machine.

Varnishing An Oil Painting

Varnish is more than simply a layer to protect your oil painting from ultraviolet light, pollution in the atmosphere and abrasion. It will also bring out the brilliance in colors, making them sparkle. Varnish is made from Damar resin dissolved in a mixture of turpentine and other organic solvents. Keep in mind that oil paint dries from the outside in; when it dries, it forms a surface skin first. During the drying process small pores form in this surface skin. The surface of the paint may feel dry, but under the skin, the paint is still wet, no matter how thin the coating is. It takes at least 6 months drying time for the dried oil paint film to become dry enough that it won't be re-dissolved by mild solvents such as turpentine. When a varnish is applied to a reproduction art oil-on-canvas painting before the 6 month drying time, the varnish fills the pores of the oil paint film, The solvent content of the varnish can easily re-dissolve the incompletely dried oil paint at the bottom of the canvas and cause all kinds of problems - such as wrinkling of the oil paint film, cracking, and yellowing of the color.

• Clean the painting so it's free from dust and dirt. Lay the oil painting flat, then dampen the surface a bit of cotton wool with clean water.

• Dry the oil painting with another bit of cotton wool. With your fingers, gently remove any cotton fibers that have been caught in the oil paint.

• Leave your painting to dry for several hours.

• Choose from high gloss, satin or matte finishes. Varnishes may be brushed or sprayed on. Use a flat bristle brush to apply the varnish. If you don't want your oil-on-canvas painting to be too shiny, use a matt varnish rather than a gloss one.

• With the painting flat, work from the top to the bottom, applying the varnish in parallel strokes from one edge of the oil painting to the other. Always work in the same direction. Try to have the same amount of varnish on the brush for each stroke so you put equal amounts of varnish on all parts of the oil painting. Always varnish the whole of the oil-on-canvas painting in one go.

• When the first coat of varnish is dry, apply a second coat at right angles to the first. This will give you a good, even finish.

• Leave the painting flat for at least 10 minutes after you've finished varnishing to stop the varnish running down the oil painting. Then prop it up against a wall to dry, face inwards.

• To test whether the varnish is dry or not, touch the edge of the oil painting to see if it's still tacky. It should dry within a day or two, depending on the weather.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Useful Tips for Selling Art Online

There are many things that are the same as selling offline. But many are different. Unlike the offline world, a potential buyer does not get to see your work in person. They do not see you in person. But that doesn’t mean that selling art online is harder. In some ways it is easier. This is a very broad subject to cover in one sitting. But if you remember to use the following tips you are guaranteed a leg up.

Be completely honest about the work that you are presenting for online sales. An art purchase is a very emotional buy. It is almost at the same level as buying a house or a car. Of course the potential buyer has to feel an emotional attachment to the piece if they are going to purchase it- this is not the place to create that. If a buyer is emotionally attached enough to the piece to buy it and then receives something that was not exactly as expected- your buyer will be unhappy and probably ask for their money back. If not I guarantee they will not be buying any additional art pieces from you. You can’t risk this because someone who collects art is just that- a collector. Future purchases are highly probable. Make sure they know exactly what to expect. Be honest about condition, provenance, and artist background.

Be completely descriptive about your art for sale. Make sure that you have stated all of the important information about the piece. Give the art buyer as much information as possible about the piece. This will reduce the amount of questions and help qualify the potential buyer. These small but important facts will do a lot of the selling for you. Make sure to include price, medium, size, type of paper/ canvas, framed/ unframed, subject matter, and date. Don’t forget to include; your motivation for choosing this subject matter, what it means to you, challenges when working on your art, and why you have chosen to express these ideas in this manner. This is where you create an emotional attachment. An art buyer becomes attached as they begin to feel they understand the piece and the artist behind it.

Make sure that you are able to accept credit cards for the purchase. If a potential art buyer has to take the time log off their computer, pick up the phone, write a check, and then reach for an envelope you reduce your chances of finalizing the sale. Although they may still want the piece it is not hard for consumers to procrastinate as other things in their life need to be tended to also. The sale is lost. It is in your best interest to make the sale as easy as possible. The only job the art buyer should complete is deciding which piece they cannot live with out. Believe me that is hard enough. Once they have decided on the purchase they must be allowed to pay for it immediately. If you do not know how to do this you can easily accept credit cards through http://paypal.com it is free to sign up.

Don’t forget to include all documentation that goes with the purchased piece. Art documents have value and they also increase the value of the piece. On some level the buyer will view them as valuable as the piece itself. These papers will be passed on with the piece and guarded the same as their insurance policies and bank statements. If possible be sure to include an artist statement, artist bio, press releases, promotional materials for you as an artist (post cards or brochures), history of the piece, and an appraisal statement for starters. Provide these to your customers in a folder so that they can easily be kept together and nicely displayed. Be sure to include contact information perhaps in the form of several business cards.

Retain the contact information of the buyer so that you may contact them again in the future. If the buyer liked you once, there are strong chances that they will buy from you again.

Video Poker: How to Play the Game

If you are looking for a fun and challenging alternative to playing slot machines, video poker is the game for you. Instead of simply pulling the machine handle and hoping that you will be lucky enough to meet a row of identical icons, in video poker your moves would rule whether you win or lose. Moreover, the house edge in video poker is much lower than at slots.

Playing video poker is similar to playing draw poker on a slot machine. It enables you to enjoy the action of poker without having to face other players who may be more experienced and skilled than you are. In addition, in video poker, there are no dealers, no rakes, no bluffing, no cheating; it is all about you and your poker skills.

How to Play Video Poker:
There are several variations to video poker. Some of the video poker variations are played with standard 52 card decks while others are played with additional wild cards. All the variations are based on the traditional card game of poker. Therefore, a basic knowledge of poker hand ranking is necessary.

You start by choosing the coin value you wish to play and then pick the number of coins that you want to bet. Afterwards, you click on deal and five cards will appear on your screen. You can discard some or all of the cards and replace them with new ones. After pressing hold on the cards you wish to keep, you push the deal button and the machine replaces your discarded cards with new ones.

The outcome of the second draw determines whether you win or lose. Each video poker machine displays its payout table, which details the number of coins the machine pays for each five card poker hand. The payout table differs from one video poker variation to the other and so is the minimum hand that qualifies for a payout.

Video poker odds are the same as in regular card poker. A 52 card deck produces more than 2.5 million hand combination. Each video poker machine is set by a random number generator, which simulates the probabilities of drawing any of the poker hand combinations. While in regular card poker, the casino ensure its profits by collecting a rake, in video poker the casino ensure its profits by setting each machine pay table differently.

Video Poker Tips:
1) Learn the basics of draw poker before you start playing video poker at online casinos or at a casino nearby.
2) Know the machine payout of the table you have decided to play at by selecting the machine that offers the highest return.
3) Adjust your strategy to the specific video poker variation you intend to play.
4) Use a mathematical strategy to play the game correctly.
5) Do not keep cards that cannot be used to form a winning hand.
6) Hold on to any pair instead of keeping a high card.
7) Keep any pair rather than draw into a straight or a flush.
8) Practice playing online video poker in a play money mode.