Happy Inktober!

It started out innocently enough about two or three years ago through social media, INKTOBER has now taken over the art world. It is a contest to submit one ink drawing a day on social media for the next 30 days of October. Just type in #inktober on twitter to get the latest ink drawings and I have to say, some of the entries are exceptional. As an artist, how can you not find inspiration from such fine works.

When I said Inktober has taken over the art world, just look around. Blogs, videos and Instagram pages are all promoting inktober in one way or another. The real kicker was I received and email from Dick Blicks, a national art supply chain, promoting inktober specials and featuring demos on inking.all month long.

On a personal note, I started inking with a dip pen last inktober and I have not put the pen down. Its been so much fun. I first used the dip pen in high school many years ago but abandon the whole ink scene once I got to college. The cool thing about inking with the dip pen is the technology has not changed at all. There seems to be some new colored inks that are available but the old trusty nibs are still the same. Happy Inktober!

Drawing In the Digital Age.

I thought came to mind that I would like to share.

I have been drawing on the computer for about eight years now and in that short time the technology has evolved so rapidly that there doesn’t seems to be a leveling off. Now I am not going to say something negative about computerized art because I like it. I am getting the results that I envisioned when I came up with and idea and the process time is becoming quicker by the day.

Here is where I tap the breaks.

As the technology advances, I am working and studying the basic principles of drawing, mostly pen and ink and watercolor, for two reasons; One is that fact that I enjoy the feel of the pen on paper and the process of building tones with lines. The other reason, which is most important, is that without a focus on the roots of drawing the computer will just simply take control and I will be just along for the ride.

I have seen it in the work of some artists who jumped on board with the emergence of the Wacom tablet. Their drawing is now, no longer crisp and edgy. Its like dining out all the time instead of preparing the meals yourself. Your body becomes rounded and your thinking process becomes cloudy.

The artists that have a good foundation in drawing will survive and thrive in the digital age however, those artists are becoming harder to find.

The dangers of learning about art on Youtube.

OK, full disclosure. When I was a young guy growing up there was no internet to expose me to lessons on how to draw and paint. In fact, I go back before Bob Ross taught America how to paint trees. I survived on books written by professionals and of course, my school lessons.

Today, anyone that can draw a straight line, can post a video online about how to draw and paint. Its incredible. These fine folks are not thinking about your development as a young artists, they are only out there to sell their work,disguised as an art lesson.

Now I don’t want to sound like an art critic, but 99% of what you see on sites like youtube is just bad art. It sounds like the artist knows what they are talking about but the overall work is amateurish at best. A lot of what is filmed is in fast motion which teaches you nothing but allows the video to fit a certain time constraint.

I would like to know when making art became a spectator sport. Be selective in what you view on the internet and remember to train more often on your own. .

Artists and Social Media.

Look. I get the importance of social media in today's society. In business, its an inexpensive way to get your product or service out in front of the buying public. It shows everyone that you are relevant and that you have a pulse.

Social Media is been around so long that it almost expected that if someone were to go into business, that a social presence must be established on the world wide web. Then there is the artists who spend more time on the web than actually working on their art. 

It is a good possibility that an artist can become over exposed thru social media and by neglecting their actual work, have nothing to show for it. What was that old saying "let your art do the speaking?"  It looks like that has all fallen apart as artists are finding it more important to get their face out there whenever possible. Artists today seem to be more interested in growing a following, than actually growing as an artist.

(Don't forget to check out my Facebook page!)  Just kidding.

Twitter for Artists

I love twitter and check in often. It allows me to follow not only breaking news but writers, architects, politicians, etc. I don't really follow artists although I personally will post comments, ideas or retweet articles I find interesting. The reason I don't follow them is they tend to abuse the twitter post by hawking their work or a book. I like to see there new work and the projects they are up to but the hard sell I can do without. 

One artist came out and wrote that all drawings on her website were half off from now until midnight. I quickly "unfollowed"

Another artist keeps plugging his book on amazon, which was published over six years ago. Here's a clue......why not write another book and stop wasting your time!