What is your name or the name you go by for your art? My name is Stephanie Thompson, and I trade as Stephanie Thompson Art. Where do you live? I’m based in Surrey, UK, but have lived in several places, both north and south in the UK. We have a fantastic landscape which influences my…
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Blog post #148 Sticks and stones. Having recovered from the exhibition I ran at Denbies Wine Estate recently, I thought you might like to hear my feedback on how it went. First, though I have to tell you about the three people whose comments should have been kept to themselves but in the end said…
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Understanding the risks when signing up to follow a blog.
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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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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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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17th Feb 2019 I am asked a lot why I am taking a BA in art. I am up to my neck in producing work for exhibitions etc., I am on the board of a local art group and I teach art to others, so why am I adding extra pressure to my life in…
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Following on from last weeks ‘do something which frightens you’ blog post, I am going to be taking part in a really big grownup art exhibition with the Contemporary Art Fair at Sandown Park in March. I have taken part in lots of small shows both here and in the USA, but this is my…
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Why you should do something which terrifies you. If you write the above sentence into google, you will find a number of articles on this theme and most of them are worth a quick read if you are considering doing something which frightens you too. There are some that advocate doing this daily, but in…
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About Making Money! You don’t always have to do something just to make money. Please let me explain. Last weekend I joined a wonderful group of men and ladies, showing my art alongside their beautiful wood creations. The East Surrey Woodturners. Why? Well a few years ago, I visited this group as I have always…
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This is fundamentally a piece about growing a thick skin. Why because when you have someone say to you, as I did about my work in an exhibition only last weekend, ‘I love your work, but my husband will hate it’. What do you say and how to you let it affect you? We all…
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Learning from Lewis Nobel Last month (September ‘18) I was so lucky to be able to join the lovely Lewis Nobel for a three-day class in Ashbourne, Derbyshire along with my friend Colette. In fact, it was Colette’s idea to go and I will admit I was concerned about being on a course for three…
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Fairly easily, you would think. And yes, once you have understood about balance and the mathematics of balance it is fairly easy. Well a piece like this one here is fairly easy. This mobile is one of seven mobiles I made as part of my final project for my BA Sculpture course. Throughout the sculpture course,…
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It seems that the work I produce, on a daily basis, in my concertina sketch book has gained a following. How exciting. With that said, I thought it might be a good area to cover in some of my blogs, with this being the first one. When you go to art school/college/uni, whatever you want to…
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As yet I have not had any of my designs accepted and I might not have any of them accepted, but I said I would share the story, so here goes. I have been involved in painting fibreglass objects to raise money for charities of a few years now. So far, I have decorated two…
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