Currently viewing the tag: "art"
With Thanksgiving coming up next week, it’s the time of year to be taking a moment to reflect and think about what we have to be thankful for in our lives. For many of us, it’s a wide-ranging list – from family, to friends, to hobbies, to chocolate! Everyone has a slightly different list, with varying priorities and concerns, and of course these change from year to year and month to month depending on what’s going on in our lives at any given time.
But there’s something all the readers of this blog share, and that’s a love for art. There is a particular value in the part of our lives that touches our artistic, creative side, and it’s worthwhile taking a little time to think about what this aspect of [...]
As we settle into 2011, we at Agora Gallery are proud to look back at the success of Gallery II, a relatively new venture begun just over a year ago. The idea originated from our appreciation of how central and busy the New York art scene is, and the realization that galleries and artists from outside the city, and even from outside the country, might want to rent gallery space to present their work in the center of this international art hub.
We have been delighted with the reception of the shows which have appeared in Gallery II over the past year and a quarter. From the first exhibition there, featuring the stunning work of Ruth Gilmore Langs, to the phenomenally successful LEGO sculptures of [...]
We’re entering a period of seasonal themes and festivities – with Halloween in the background, Thanksgiving this week, and Christmas and other winter holidays coming up soon after that. Naturally, these events affect artists just as they impact on everyone else, as you’ll appreciate if you have memories of costume-hunting for yourself or your child, arguing over the best way to cook a turkey, or desperately looking for that one last important present in time to get it under the tree.
Yet holidays are also business opportunities – not only for the stores who start decking themselves out in red and green as early as possible, but for artists as well. Not that I’m suggesting that work intrude into the days themselves, but the season of giving means that people are looking for [...]
Now that the summer is drawing to a close, many of us are starting to get that ‘post-vacation’ feel. The trees will soon be changing color, newspapers are turning to serious rather than silly stories, and public places are emptying out now that school has started again. Whether or not you actually take a break during the summer, it’s a season that does tend to be a bit more relaxed as things move a little more slowly and people enjoy the sunshine and spend time with their kids. All good things come to an end, though, and most of us are starting to get back to ordinary work structures. But what if you’re having trouble with that?
Well, the first thing to be aware of [...]
Many visitors to Agora Gallery will remember Nellie. She’s one of our friendly gallery assistants, and our Exhibition Coordinator. Art is an important part of her life and interests, and that doesn’t stop at her professional role. For some time now, Nellie has been volunteering at Art-Start, a wonderful local organization we’ve mentioned on this blog before. This post is what she has to say about her experience.
Guest post by Nellie Scott
Mentoring is one of the best gifts you can give to a child. When given a new set of tools, their young minds expand with a flood of inspiration and purpose. It’s as if you poured water onto a piece of paper, and before your eyes, it suddenly grew into the tree it used to be. It’s been said [...]
We’re all familiar with the cliche of the ‘starving artist’ and although it’s generally an exaggeration, it’s true that the life of an artist is well known to be one with relatively little financial certainty. Unless you’re a commercial artist, working for a company, you’re not likely to have a regular salary coming through your work. For this reason, many artists have other jobs as well as their artistic career, sometimes in related fields such as design or restoration.
Of course, this is not to say that it is impossible to make enough money as a full-time artist. There are many talented artists who manage to do just that. Yet it takes time to build up the kind of awareness of your work, exposure in wider markets, and circle of buyers you [...]
Artists sometimes complain that they find it difficult to work in the summer, and that the sunny season can be even more of a ‘dry spot’ for them, creatively speaking, than it is for the garden physically. There are lucky individuals who thrive in the heat, love summer and are never happier than when the sun is beating down on them and their canvas and paints, but if you’re not one of them, don’t worry. You are not alone – and there are ways to deal with the summer blues!
There are a few problems that many artists have with working in summer, but the most obvious is the heat. Of course, an easy solution for some is to turn to air conditioning, but this doesn’t work for everyone – for one [...]
It’s often said that a rainy day is a museum day, and it’s certainly true that wet weather, or a particularly hot day, might well encourage art-lovers to see that exhibition they had been meaning to visit, or while away a spare hour or two in a favorite gallery where they can combine pleasure with an escape from the elements.
But there is a deeper and more direct role that weather plays in art, the creation of it, and even our experience of it. That is, simply, that it is reflected in many works of art as a vital element of the atmosphere and setting of the scene.
Do you sometimes have trouble working out where to go next with your work? It’s not unusual to have no definite plan for what you’re going to be creating in a week, a month, a year’s time – many artists work best when they are inspired by something in particular, and find too much planning ahead cramps their style and takes away necessary spontaneity. Yet developing your creativity for the future can be vital in making sure the ideas are there when you need them.
We’ve talked about ‘artist’s block‘ on this blog before, but this is a slightly different issue. The problem there is being stuck and out of ideas at a specific time, and finding it hard to break past that barrier. Now, we’re talking about a lifestyle approach, [...]
We’ve spoken before on this blog about the importance of promotion, and how an artist must remember that no one can appreciate their work unless they’re already aware of it. We’ve talked about different ways to reach your audience, including gallery representation, leasing your work, local community, and social media.
But one of the important elements in getting the word out about your work is by taking part in an interview. This might be for a local or national newspaper, or for a radio show, whether large or small, or even for television. It might be for a video that will afterwards find its way online – such as the videos of Agora Gallery’s receptions, which can be found on the
