As many of you already know, I set up a group last year called the Exhibition Collective. This group consists of over 60 artists throughout the UK who are either working as professional artists or working towards being professional artists. The idea behind the group is that we find suitable venues in which to hold…
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This month’s featured artist is an old friend of mine whose artistry is performed through his love of photography. When I first knew him, his interest lay in photographing aircraft and rock concerts. As you will see, life has changed his interests and the things he prefers to photograph today. 1.What’s your background? I was…
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Being part of an art community will help you achieve more than trying out on your own.
Screen-printing at home the easy way to get great home printing results There are many ways to produce great effects with screen printing and I will discuss a couple of them here, but I want to focus on a method which, once you have assembled the equipment, is very easy to do at home. This…
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This week’s blog is about Keith Coomber, who I met through the Dorking Group of Artists. Keith is a lovely man, generous of spirit and always happy to help others, which is probably why he was such a great police officer. Keith is also a member of the small support group I run and as…
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Celebrating your wins both in art and life. Why is it we tend to let the negative overrule or dominate over the positive? Generally, we are quick to take on negative comments and dwell on them whilst almost ignoring the compliments we receive. I have been very guilty of that at the end of this…
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54th blog How to start making artwork after a break . Last week I wrote about the importance of stepping away from your work to produce better results. This is just as true in real life as it is in painting. A break in concentration allows you to re-evaluate what you are doing and produce…
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By stepping away from the painting. This week I wanted to talk about the need to remove oneself in order to see things in a different light. When I lived in the USA, I had a horrible but brilliant oil painting teacher. She never liked me and, frankly, I wasn’t impressed with her, but I…
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This months featured artist is Roy E Fleming NDD (National Diploma in Design), FCSD (Royal Chartered Designer) FRSA (Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts) For this month’s featured artist, I want to introduce you to a wonderful man who I have known all my life and who has had a huge influence over the…
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What to (and what not to do) when making acrylic pouring paintings and getting cells. Although there is a wealth of information on the internet and also many YouTube videos on this technique, I am still regularly asked how to produce the “cells” with which people are so enamoured. I thought I would offer…
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Continuing on from last week’s blog on how to get your artwork ready for an exhibition, this week I am looking at how to hang a group exhibition. These days if we want to know something, we generally ‘Google’ it. I did just that when embarking on this blog but I could not find anything…
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If you are planning on taking part in art exhibitions of any kind, these basic tips will help you present your work in a way which could increase your chances of selling. It is all about presenting work in a professional way.
This months featured artist is my wonderful friend Denise Slattery. Through her amazing knowledge I have learnt so much about colour. She has shared her scenic artist knowledge with me enabling me to better decorate the fibre glass shapes I have been doing for charity over the pass five years. I am truely grateful for…
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My work. This week I thought I would share my process for making the ‘bubble’ pieces which so many people have said that they enjoy and have purchased from me. I am currently preparing a number of pieces for a client who knows what colours she wants but hasn’t commissioned work from me before and…
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If you are one of my weekly blog followers, you will know that I feature an artist on the first Sunday of every month. To date these artists have been people I know or have met on the exhibition circuit, but this week I want to share something a bit closer to home and far…
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Record keeping A number of my artist friends are due to file their tax returns to HMRC by the end of this month. I am sitting here with a big smug smile on my face because I did mine and filed them back in July. However, this post isn’t about me feeling smug-,…
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1.What’s your background? My parents were both amazing artists and I didn’t feel equipped to compete when I was younger, so I became an accountant instead. Time spent in the USA gave me the distance to explore the possibility that I could make art worth having. I took classes there with professional artists who were…
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Investing in your art education. For those of you who follow my blog, it should be clear that I am aiming these posts at people who are trying to get their art and maybe their art business to the next level. I know a number of really talented artists, some formally trained and others self-…
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10 Ways to Cope with Artist’s Block It happens to all creatives at some point in time. We just hit a brick wall, we don’t know what to do next. Don’t make the even bigger mistake of letting it get to you. Just take a look at the following suggestions to get yourself out of…
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Following on from last weeks blog post about change. This week I am looking at loss and letting go of your unsold artwork. Just moments after I had posted last week’s blog into the scheduling system, I heard that a former neighbour had died and I was invited to attend the funeral. Our neighbour was…
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Change – how to cope with it and embrace it. It is that time of year when it is all change. Here in England, the children are going back to school, my wonderful flower boxes are beginning to look disheveled and the leaves on the trees are just beginning to turn. Summer is coming to…
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This months featured artist is Louise Collins. Louise is another of the artists I know based in Surrey, England and shares her art journey and her beautiful artwork. Please tell me a little about yourself. I have lived in and around Banstead, Surrey all of my life. My earliest and most inspirational teacher was Mrs Smale…
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I don’t teach in a school and I don’t teach regular classes either, but I do teach groups of people, young and old to use mono-printmaking as a fun and easy way to produce art work. This week I have been running a mono-printmaking class as part of the St. Catherine’s Hospice, elevating their…
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Last week I visited the Dulwich Picture Gallery in South London to see the ‘Modernist British Printmaking’ Exhibition, which showcases pioneers of British lino-cut printmaking in a fine display of prints, drawings and posters created in the 1930’s. By Claude Flight First, let me tell you about the venue. Dulwich Picture Gallery…
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Design. Why design is so important in your artwork? I have had the luxury of being on an amazing painting course which started in May and which deals predominantly with design in our artwork. The course has reinforced all the things I have ever been taught about producing good art but is delivered in such…
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This months featured artist is Frances Jordan. Frances is based in Surrey, England and provided me with this enlightening interview about her life as an artist. Please tell me a little about yourself. Since I was a little girl I have always drawn and painted and I so much wanted to go to art college,…
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An Artist Statement and Bio, what are they, why do you need one and how to go about writing them. An artist’s statement is a short, written piece about your artwork, your art practice and an opportunity to briefly discuss the thought process behind making your work. If you are struggling to write one for…
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In last week’s blog, I talked about coming up with the designs for the hearts. This week I want to show you how I went about turning these designs into the finished products. These hearts have been made by the very talented Aden Hynes of the Sculpture Studios in Basildon, Essex. He made the moulds…
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Painting the hearts for St Catherine’s Hospice charity event. Well, the 4th of July might have been a big day for all Americans, but it is also a big day for St Catherine’s Hospice, small shops and business, and me. The 4th of July is National Independent Retailers’ day. Small retailers and businesses are the…
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Putting your work up for sale the first time is a scary business. You are putting your soul on show for other people to comment on. You need to applaud yourself for your bravery. That said, please don’t expect to sell. Of course, it is disappointing when you don’t but selling on your first…
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This month it is my great pleasure to introduce you to Thomas Stimpson MBE. Thomas has been honoured by the Queen for services to the nation as a member of the armed forces. During his time, he saw active service and as a result of this he has had a long challenging recovery journey…
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Planning ahead! A friend came to visit me this week and was telling me of her frustrations. She is new to art and through lack of planning had caused herself real angst. This friend, who is a textile artist, had sewn a beautiful work but having finished it found it was the wrong size for…
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I covered paint quality in a previous blog ( https://alisongsaunders.art/blog/) but I just wanted to touch on it again here. My advice is always to use the best quality paint, brushes and sub-straight you can afford. I liken it to making a chocolate cake. If you use cheap margarine, the cheapest battery-hen eggs, cheap…
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A very knowledgeable and talented master watercolourist friend of mine reminded me this past weekend of the mistakes I have made in the past when signing my work: more about her in another blog. This reminder led me to writing this week’s blog. Let me explains. I am currently taking part in the Surrey Artists…
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What’s your background? I have been an artist per se since I was a little girl and have dabbled in lots of different types of creative crafts and art for many, many years, but I finally settled into the type of art I felt was my life calling about 20 years ago. I met David…
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This week’s blog is mainly aimed at those of you who will be exhibiting in some form of Open Studio event in the next few months. Hopefully those of you who love to attend will gain a better understanding of what we put ourselves through to make these exhibitions worth visiting. So, as I prepare…
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How to buy art…. …or how to commission a piece of art. Now don’t go running for the hills, it really isn’t that scary. So why would you consider commissioning a piece of art and more importantly, is it going to break the bank? Well let’s get the money bit out of the way before…
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I get asked all the time, who is your favourite artist, who influences your work. I have always said that I don’t have favourites in anything. And I don’t. I don’t have a favourite colour, pen, paint brush, flower, food, drink, tree, friend, child even, you get the picture and I have always chosen not…
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Please introduce yourself. Shirley Ann: I’m Shirley Ann – my other name is Aphrodite – I believe that I am Aphrodite’s envoy to the world at the present time – but we’ll get to that later, and I live in Southern California with my husband and my son Cupid! And what is your background? Shirley…
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https://alisongsaunders.art/blog/ To the uninitiated ‘mark making’ sounds a bit pretentious, but I am not sure what else you could call it without making it sound childish and lacking in skill. The art of making marks to represent the world around us and how we respond to that world, has been going on for thousands of…
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I start preparing my blog posts on Tuesdays. That way there is time to get my thoughts onto paper, share them with my long-suffering husband who proof reads them, re-read and make more changes and then set them up, usually on Friday evening, to be published for you to read on Sunday evening. This week…
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If you visit my website and sign up for my newsletter, you will automatically receive my free Guide to Buying Art. You can get yours too by clicking here. https://alisongsaunders.art/about/ As a result of this guide, I have had a couple of conversations with people about framing artwork they have bought unframed, so thought I…
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It doesn’t really matter where you are on your art journey but being a part of some kind of art group is really valuable. But why? You know that saying ‘no man is an island’? Well, that really applies when making art. If you only have yourself as a reference, then you won’t grow.…
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The following interview was with Michele a member of the amazing Torpedo Factory Arts Center which is situated in Alexandria VA USA. This old munitions plant was founded into an arts center in 1974 and houses the USA’s largest collection of working artists under one roof with 82 artists in their open studios. They attracts…
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My followers will know that I have committed to writing a weekly blog post. Break that down and it is 52 subjects I need to find to write about each year. Sounds simple enough, until you try it! Oh, I could write just for the sake of it, but you don’t want that, you need…
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Just about every artist’s guide book you will ever read, about learning to paint will tell you that you should always use the best paints, brushes and substrates you can afford to use. Starting with paint you will be advised to avoid student paints, at all costs, where possible. The reason behind this is straightforward, particularly…
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This is a question I am asked a lot but in many different guises. For instance: – “What influences your art?” “How do you pick a theme?” “Do you paint other things?” Or the question can be phrased: – “I can never decide what to paint what do you suggest?” Or my favourite: – “Oh…
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This is the first in my series of interviews with artists and artisans who I have met, found to be interesting people and have agreed to be interviewed by me. Please allow me to introduce you to Beáta Bősze. Beáta and I met on-line through group working towards improving our on-line presence in the art…
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Now I know that there are hundreds of thousands of artists out there, many far more talented and better known than me, but even more unknown, just getting started, taking up art for the first time etc. etc. artists who might find my thoughts useful. I don’t present myself as the font of all knowledge…
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