Commissioned to spark imagination. The bright, shimmering colors illuminate any space. Standing big and bold, this painting stands out at 40″ x 30″. This piece features painting textures only available on original, hand-painted pieces.

Customized with a black, eco-care wood frame to add a art gallery style touch.

This piece is an original, hand painted city scape reflections on a 24 in x 36 in canvas. The photos make it look a bit darker than it really is. Beautiful in any setting, home or office. Painted using high quality acrylic paints.

Interested in purchasing this piece? View this painting on Esty.

This piece is an original, hand painted beauty. Add a splash of art work and color to any room. Painting is 3′ x 2′, using high quality acrylic paints.

Interested in purchasing this piece? View this painting on Esty.

The Color Artz airbrush kit contained a can of compressed air, three color pouches and the special airbrush. Compared to typical airbrush systems, this kit doesn’t require a full sized air compressor. Out of the box, the kit is ready to go within a few minutes. And once you’re done, clean up is as simple as turning the knob on the paint pouch, popping it out of the system and putting it away, not nearly the amount of effort a typical airbrush takes.

After a few trial runs on newsprint, I was ready to start on my first tee-shirt. My first challenge was a dragon with flame details.  To start, I found an image online and printed it onto a manila envelope.  I chose an envelope so the stencil would hold up against multiple uses, but I could easily feed it into my printer.  I then used an Exacto blade to cut out the design.

To make the flames along the bottom and sleeves, I used a tool that looks like a paint splatter.  I placed the tool close to the bottom and sprayed one of the tips.  I then rotated to a different sized tip and moved it next to where I last sprayed.  I sprayed the tip again and just kept going until the bottom and sleeves were covered.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d have to give this a 9.  It’s extremely convenient to not have a full sized pump attached and it didn’t need to be cleaned as often as a regular air brush.  I could not give it a 10 because while there was some area for adjustment, this product is not well suited for fine lines.  So unless you use a stencil, things come out a little fuzzy.  There also were a few problems with drips that weren’t very nice.

Other than that I think this is a great product!  I think it’ll be very nice for families to use at home as opposed to a very expensive professional airbrush.  I also think the prices are a little high but for the most part fair.  I thought it was way too much at first but considering how much you can actually get out of those little packs of paint I reconsidered.  I might not buy this product but I’m not really a painter, although I won’t let the one I have out of my sight!

When assembling a body of work for publication, there are many things to keep in mind.  Number one on that list should be the viewer.  Gear your book towards an audience; employer, peers, or a gallery audience.  Your book may be the first or only way someone could view your artwork, so make a good impression.

Make sure that you have high quality photographs that are suitable for print.  Avoid using low quality digital cameras to prevent pixilation during the printing process.  The book you make says a lot about your artwork as well as your work ethic.  Be sure that other artists, employers, and general art lovers only see your work in the best light possible.

Assemble similar works together.  While it could be a good idea to have everything you’ve made all put in one place, this is better suited for a general portfolio.  Creating a book shows you know how to bring things together in a thoughtful manner.  This can be similar themes, mediums, or even colors.  You want something that will link all of your works together.

An artists’ statement is a great way to link together your work.  It allows you to express what you make, how you do it, and why you create it.  Remember to keep it simple, you want the language you use to be understood by anyone.  Avoid “flowery” or poetic words.  Often the viewer will only glance at an artist statement, so any words that are too big and you’ve lost them.  Don’t make it too long, short and sweet keeps them hooked in and yet there is room for interpretation.

Think of your book as the suit you’d wear to an interview.  Iron out any problems or pixilation, make sure it’s a reasonable size, and wear it proudly.

From Planning to Printing

Once you’ve assembled your ideas into a basic layout, begin to actually transfer your ideas into a program from which you can print.  One of the most basic platforms for creating a book is PowerPoint.  If you can create a PowerPoint, you can create a book.  Based on your book’s theme or specific needs, you can tailor your PowerPoint backgrounds, fonts, and color schemes to match.  Think of each slide in a presentation as a page in your book.  You can create a title page that becomes your cover, all the way to your end slide which will become your back cover.  The only thing you would do differently in order to create a book is save the presentation as a PDF.  This treats the slides of your presentation as compressed pictures rather than multiple layers.

You can also create individual pages of your book in InDesign.  You can upload photos, make alterations, and use text in creative ways.  InDesign offers more options for layouts that PowerPoint can’t truly match.

During either process, each page should be treated as a single layer of photo and text.  These pages can then be uploaded to various publishing websites for printing.  Among the most popular for printing are Blurb.com and Lulu.com.  These sites offer wide range of covers, bindings and sizes.  In addition to the choices you have on the actual construction of your book, these sites offer deals on multiple printings.

When selecting a binding and cover for your book, think about who will be looking through it and when.  Using hard covers and standard spine binding looks very professional, but might be a little stiff to open the first couple of times.  It can also get a little expensive if you’ll be printing multiple copies.  Will it be worth it to your audience?  In some cases printing with a more simple binding will cut costs but still look like something a viewer would find in a store.  Spiral bound is affordable for multiple copies but still looks professional.  When I created my book of artwork, I had planned on taking it to interviews.  As such, I chose spiral bound because when opened, it could sit flat on the desk of whoever was giving the interview.  Keep things like this in mind.  Perhaps if you were making a children’s book of artwork, you’d pick a more durable hard cover that can be held open with one hand.

You’re selling yourself and your artwork; make sure you both look the best you can.  Being thoughtful of even how your book is held, will put you in high regards with your viewer.  Your dedication to your work and eye for details can sell you almost as quickly as your artwork.  If you work as hard as you can, the book should look easy.

]]> http://www.9thfloorstudio.com/blog/creating-a-portfolio-showcasing-your-artwork/feed/ 1 http://www.9thfloorstudio.com/stoneware/stoneware-dimpled-tea-pot/ http://www.9thfloorstudio.com/stoneware/stoneware-dimpled-tea-pot/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:59:35 +0000 Greg http://www.jamesbake.com/Hosted/9thFloorStudio/?p=33 This adorable pot plays with the inside and outside.  With a mere snip and a flip, the plain round shape is turned into something that can make anyone smile.