/blog/index/ en ben@ivoteforart.com Copyright 2009 2009-10-29T05:45:15+10:00 http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/giveaway_time/ http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/giveaway_time/#When:05:45:15Z We’re giving all you Twitterers the chance the win a free print!What the heck - we feel like doing a little giveaway! To enter the draw to win a free print of your choosing from the site, just do the following: 1) Follow @ivoteforart on Twitter 2) Retweet the following message: Wanna win a free art print from ivoteforart.com? Just follow @ivoteforart (if you don’t already) and retweet this message. That’s it! We’ll randomly select a winner, and announce it here on the blog (and on Twitter of course). This contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Entries close this Sunday, 1st November. Good Luck! 2009-10-29T05:45:15+10:00 http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/thanks_madison/ http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/thanks_madison/#When:05:48:54Z Guess who got featured in this month’s Madison Magazine?We’re lucky enough to get lots of online coverage from all sorts of online sources. But it isn’t quite as often that the old school, off-line media folk pay attention to our site. So we were most grateful to be featured in this month’s Madison magazine. Stacey tells me that Madison’s a rather popular women’s lifestyle magazine here in Australia (although she’s more of a Frankie girl herself). Either way, we’re over the moon about the coverage ... and the swag of new members that have joined the site since. Welcome aboard new people! Those two pictures featured belong to Trish Grantham and Julia Kuo, by the way. 2009-09-17T05:48:54+10:00 http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/hooray_for_jing_wei/ http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/hooray_for_jing_wei/#When:06:02:56Z 4 great new pieces on ivoteforart - all thanks to Jing WeiSo, we’re sitting here in the new ivoteforart office (ok, to be honest, it’s the spare room of our house). And excited, of course, because we have just added Jing Wei to the site. Jing specialises in Woodcuts, or specifically reduction cuts. Take a quick look at the thumbnail images of her pieces, and you see some cheerfully surreal images. What you don’t see though is the superb detail of the print ... It’s a shame a website can’t give you that. But below is a little here’s a little close up of one of the pieces, to give you an idea of the texture. Detail from Roperite I first saw Jing’s work on the Juxtapoz website back in December. I knew what I had to do. Contact her immediately. Ask her to sell some pieces on ivoteforart. Beg and plead if necessary. Because here is an artist that is definitely going places. A few months later, we’re really excited to have her work here. We have 4 pieces for sale for the moment. 2 for $45 and 2 for $65. Make sure you have a look at them here.   2009-04-15T06:02:56+10:00 http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/pro_antigraphic/ http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/pro_antigraphic/#When:03:14:14Z Brighton’s Antigraphic, aka Pat Edgeley is this week’s new artist.  We love Flickr. We can spend hours looking at the collective creativity of our planet, uncovering a cornucopia of designers, artists and illustrators. And it was here where we first found Antigraphic. Antigraphic is Brighton based Patrick Edgeley. He brings 4 new pieces to our site - each a unique demosntration of Pat’s style and talent. Here they are below: Quite nice, huh? You can go ahead and peruse them further here 2009-04-06T03:14:14+10:00 http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/ivoteforart_talks_to_kareem_rizk/ http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/ivoteforart_talks_to_kareem_rizk/#When:04:35:18Z Kareem Rizk is back on ivoteforart! Check out our interview with him here.We’re super excited this week to have some new pieces up on the site by none other than Kareem Rizk. We also managed to squeeze in an interview with Kareem, asking him about his career, how he got started, and how he promotes himself, among other things Hi Kareem. How are you? What’s news? Hi. I’m doing well. I’m currently working on some new canvas pieces. I was invited recently to be part of an annual group show at Retrospect Galleries in Byron Bay. This year the show is titled ‘Revolution of Art’. It drew a big crowd last year as it runs in conjunction with the Splendour on the Grass music festival. The gallery shows work by many established and emerging artists, both local and international. Luminaries such as Ben Frost, Anthony Lister, Jeremyville and Kill Pixie are represented there. I’m looking forward to seeing who’s involved this year. The show runs from July 24th - August 13th. As well as making new work I also just released a catalogue of new prints over at inPRNT. Also an Australian t-shirt company called White With One have just released their new range of tees which features my piece ‘Tinsel Town Trash‘ in 3 different colours. The new range is currently hitting stores in Brisbane, Sydney, Byron Bay and Melbourne. A couple of the t-shirts will be on display at the ‘Revolution of Art’ group show. I’ve also got some collaborations currently in progress with a couple of very cool collage artists from America - Robert Mars and Brandon McLean. I’m also working on some new stuff with Brazilian artist Eduardo Recife (Misprinted Type). Hopefully we’ll soon be able to finally release our first collaborative print. We’re currently discussing the possibility of working on another brand new collaboration as well. Readers will be able to stay up to date with all my other goings via my blog: www.kareemr.blogspot.com Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get into this whole ‘art’ thing? What got you started? I first started making collages seriously in April 2006. I remember this month fairly vividly. I had just quit my job at The Herald Sun newspaper. I found that the work I was doing there wasn’t stimulating enough creatively. I also found that my interest in fine art was starting to take more of a focus over design. I knew at the time that it was a risky move to make. I was on a very good salary as a junior designer. I drove a Lexus and I had a stack of money in the bank. But I gave it all up. I just wasn’t happy spending 45 hours a week doing something that I didn’t enjoy. This was the time when I made the decision that I wanted to be an artist. This is when I created some of the very first collages that I then used for promotion a couple of months later when I released my website. Before 2006 I had only ever made a handful of collages. I only ever dabbled in it either as a hobby or for university assignments. I started promoting my work in June 2006. At that stage no one had ever heard of me. But I knew I wanted to be an artist. I also knew I would have to make major sacrifices and I continue still to make sacrifices. But I made the decision and I have stuck with it ever since. I figured I may as well be doing something that I enjoy - something that I have a passion for. Our soul is only in this body for one life time. I figured I may as well leave something behind that I might be remembered for. Either that or try my damnedest to make it happen. It sounds like a cliché, but anything worth while doing in this world doesn’t come easy. I learnt this from a young age. Something I learnt from a tough upbringing is that if you want something in life, then you should go and get it. But just as importantly this struggle has taught me to have a tremendous amount of patience. From what we’ve seen, most of your work is collage pieces? What is it that’s drawn you to collage? The Graphic Design course that I did at Monash University supported a very tactile and hands-on approach to design and illustration. As my skills started to develop during the course I found that in my work there was often a fine line between design and fine art. But I didn’t find this peculiar in any way. Instead I felt an immediate connection to a more fine art based approach to design and illustration. To me it made sense that a creative person in any discipline should be flexible and would only benefit from having many techniques from many disciplines at their disposal. During the course I also started developing an affinity with nostalgia and eclecticism. The medium that drew this nostalgic source out of me most often was collage. It seemed like the most obvious progression for me to move into collage as the medium itself is very tactile and eclectic. Adding the elements of vintage imagery, distressed typography and a grittiness or dirtiness to the work only heightened my appreciation and affinity with collage and the potential that I saw in this medium. You started out in Graphic Design, and have worked heavily in that field. Do you call yourself a designer, or an artist? What do you think the difference is these days? I call myself an artist. Especially as I haven’t practised professional graphic design for at least 2 years. My focus has been on establishing a career as an artist. I think often there is quite a big difference between a designer and an artist. The main one being the techniques and processes that are employed under both titles. But it is interesting when fine art techniques and mediums are introduced to design and its application. Only then does the line between the two titles tend to become blurred. Particularly in my own process of image making. A lot of my work will be put together using strong design principles, but most of the mediums I use come from the fine art category, particularly in my handmade work. What does a typical day in your life consist of? Where and when do you find yourself at your most creative. I generally can’t start the day until I’ve had my cup of inspiration (a big mug of black tea, a dash of full cream milk, no sugar and warm buttered toast with Vegemite). This year I’ve been producing a lot of new gallery work - larger canvas pieces in particular. A good part of my days most recently has been spent preparing canvases, painting, searching for and collecting images, thinking up ideas for new pieces and of course collage. When I’m not making new work for an exhibition or gallery (or answering interview questions ) I could be doing any number of creative things on any given day. Recent projects have included some freelance illustration and commissioned artwork. You’re definitely an artist who has a strong presence online? How important has the internet been for your career as an artist? The internet has been quite an integral part of making my work visible, especially in the beginning stages and also on an international level. I probably wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I have so far without an online presence. It’s no surprise that the US and Europe makes up a large part and possibly the majority of my audience. Without the internet acting as a platform for international exposure it would definitely take a much longer time for people to become aware of my work. In your opinion, is it as important to break into the gallery / exhibition scene as it used to be? Not necessarily. I think it depends on the individual artist and their audience. Some artists have done very well from only promoting and selling their work online. This technique of becoming a recognised artist I think is growing - simply because of the enormity of the internet and the demographic that accesses it. I think the internet affords great opportunities for artists who may not necessarily appeal initially to the gallery scene. But often, once an artist finds and develops their audience online it is usually not long before galleries start paying attention or noticing the artist’s name. For some artists it may not necessarily be very important to be in the gallery scene, but by having work available offline it certainly enables your audience to grow and I think it dramatically improves an artist’s visibility. How do you promote yourself, both online and offline? As of late the most regular online promotion of my work has been done through The Little Chimp Society, my personal blog and my personal website. I also have an art/design blog list and email contact list that is constantly growing. I generally use this for more major news and updates. Recently the guys at Design is Kinky posted a news feature on my updated website which has consistently doubled the amount of traffic to my site in a matter of days. These kinds of spotlights are always very handy. I’ve also tried running a couple of advertising campaigns on a couple of high traffic blogs such as Design Sponge. But to have any kind of sustained presence on these sites is pretty expensive. So I tend to stick to the art & design portals and my own websites to stay on top of updates and keep my audience informed. I do very little offline promotion simply because I have been very fortunate that my internet promotion has been consistently converted into opportunities for offline exposure and work. I am very fortunate also that I have been contacted on a fairly regular basis by local and international galleries, magazines, clients and retailers for exhibitions,  opportunities for work and exposure. Who are some other artists that you admire? Alive or dead? Kurt Schwitters Richard Hamilton Rene Magritte Eduardo Recife Mario Wagner Robert Mars Charles Wilkin Tez Humphries Impressive list! Ok, one more question. Let’s finish with something a little less serious. What was your favourite TV show as a kid? And why? I used to watch a lot of TV as a kid. I probably couldn’t name just one, so I’ll name four! The Goodies. Monkey Magic. Knight Rider. Hey, hey it’s Saturday! Each one of them was quite unique in their appeal. But I think they were favourites because they were all a bit over the top in terms of humour, storyline and concept. Thanks very much to for Kareem taking the time to chat with us. Make sure you check out his tremendous 3 pieces available for sale here. And you can find out more about Kareem via his website. 2009-06-21T04:35:18+10:00 http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/an_interview_with_nathaniel_eckstrom/ http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/an_interview_with_nathaniel_eckstrom/#When:03:12:18Z Check out our first artist interview with Nathaniel Eckstrom.Something we’ve been talking about for a while now is to do some interviews with our artists. So that you, the dear ivoteforart visitor, can find out more about the amazing team of artists that we have here. First cab off the rank is Sydneysider, Nathaniel Eckstrom. Nathaniel has been with us on ivoteforart since the very beginning. Nathaniel is a prominent part of the Australian illustration scene, and having picked up the Desktop Magazine’s Create Award for Illustration last year, you’re bound to hear more about him wherever it is you are. We spoke to Nathaniel during the week about his illustration, his influences, and a whole lot more: Photo copyright Britta Campion Hi Nathaniel. How’s it going? Great, I’m heading up north to a farm for the weekend. So I’m planning on doing very little. Piece and quiet and some drawing. Sounds nice. Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you started illustrating? When did you decide that you were going to be an artist? Art was the only subject I felt comfortable with in High School. In fact, I topped the year once which seemed promising. I went on to study Graphic Design for two years and loved the illustration classes. I always had this idea in my head that I wanted to be a freelance illustrator. Just after finishing College I called a big Illustration agency and made an appointment. Young and naive I walked in with my book of not very much thinking all I have to do is show my stuff and they’ll take me on. After a brief meeting with one of their illustrators I was quickly cut back down. He gave me some encouraging words and said to come back and keep showing my stuff. I always laugh thinking about that. I hadn’t realised just how many years of hard work, promoting etc is involved in Illustration. I love it now and it’s a rewarding profession full of highs and lows. What is your first art-making memory as a kid? A colaborative pirate book the class made in Grade 2. I still have it after winning it for a reason i can’t remember. 2008 was a pretty big year for you, especially since you were the winner of the Desktop Create Awards for Illustration - How has that helped your career? Desktop Magazine have been very kind to me. I’ve had a few great jobs since winning the award. It helped introduce my work to a wider audience plus I have a extremely sturdy bookend now. That thing weighs a ton! Has this allowed illustrating to be a full time career for you? I’m slowly getting there! I know that feeling! We’re obviously interested in the online art world. Has the internet been a good thing for your career? How has it changed your role as an artist? It’s definitely given me a huge amount of exposure. To my knowledge all of my clients have found me this way. So yes, it’s been a great advantage. Everything is at your fingertips and it allows artists to take more control over their careers. The only downside is trying not to spend too much time on it. The days when you actively had to seek out material from the library or other sources is long gone. Are you working on anything exciting at the moment? New work? Upcoming exhibitions? Right now I’m working on a full page editorial piece. And I’m very excitied about an upcoming colouring book. I finished a range of teaboxes for ‘Home & Human Fashion’ that should be released this month. I also have plans for another exhibition, but that could take a while. Tell about your creative process. What inspires you to create new pieces? Do you have particular habits to your creativity? A lot of my inspiration is derived from some of my musical heroes. Some of my favourite musicians are extremely creative people. I’m a massive fan of Mike Patton and Perry Farrell’s projects. I usually listen to music while I’m drawing or painting. I’m not sure it’s possible to capture the same emotions in art as in music. But when you have the visual element together with music, it magnifies the whole experience. If I’m not working on a commission I work on whatever ideas I’m thinking at the time. Sometimes they come from a piece in my sketchbook or random thoughts that need to be expressed in drawing somehow. I like to do a bit of research first. I try and come up with word and picture association related to my subject. And then it’s a matter of combining the ideas I think work best. How do you feel about the state of the Australian art / illustration scene at the moment? There’s a lot of amazing talent in Australia. And more and more establishing themselves Internationally. And with sites such as ‘I vote for art’ it helps artists get thier work out there. Ding ding! Thanks for the little ivoteforart plug there! Now, onto more serious topics - If you were on death row, what would your last meal be? I’d hate to be faced with that decision but definitely my favourite dish - chilli crab pasta! Ooh, Nice. Ok - one more question ... Who are some other artists, living or dead, there that you admire? I love Robert Dickerson’s faces. And Gary Shead is also amazing. James Jean, Jeff Soto, Tara Mcpherson, Istvan Banyai and Yuko Shimizu are amongst a long list of favourites. Thanks very much to for Nathaniel for talking to us.. You can, of course, check out his tremendous 3 pieces available for sale here. And you can find out more about Nathaniel via his website.   2009-04-16T03:12:18+10:00 http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/weve_gone_global/ http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/weve_gone_global/#When:06:43:15Z All artwork on ivoteforart.com is now in $US. Kinda make’s sense, doesn’t it?Australia, (wikipedia tells me), makes up just 0.32% of the Worlds’ population. I guess it’s fair to assume that no-one in their right mind would have a clue how much an Australian dollar, or $AUD is actually worth. So, with our Akubra’s between our Hill’s Hoist, ivoteforart has decided to sell Artwork in $US Dollars. It’s not that we don’t love the little Aussie Dollar. It’s colourful, It can survive the tsunami of the washing machine. It’s just that no-one is used to trading in the ol’ $AUD. So it would be crazy of us not to sell our wares in $US. Everyone knows it. Everyone understands it. That simple. So, good friends, from this day forth, everything for sale here will be available at the same, crazily affordable prices ... just in $US, not AUD. 2009-04-03T06:43:15+10:00 http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/twitter_twitter_little_star/ http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/twitter_twitter_little_star/#When:04:41:32Z As we were sitting at out kitchen table this morning, eating our breakfast, we were thrilled to open up the Sunday Age magazine and see this article about Yiying Lu and her famous FailWhale If you’re in Australia and you have a copy of The Age(Vic) or The Sun-Herald (NSW), have a read for yourself! Congratulations Yiying! 2009-03-22T04:41:32+10:00 http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/welcome_aboard_martin_harris/ http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/welcome_aboard_martin_harris/#When:13:49:29Z Martin Harris is a self taught Melbournian artist with the sort of talent you can spot a mile away.Do a Google search on Martin Harris, and you’ll find many things. Academic and Professor of Linguistics. Mormon high priest. Backstroke swimmer. The first Danish train surfing fatality ... But the Martin Harris you’ll find at ivoteforart.com is something different again. He’s a self taught Melbournian artist with the sort of talent you can spot a mile away. Those in the art world will have heard of pop-surrealism, a well used term to describe to current art movement, with artists like Mark Ryden, Audery Kawasaki, Tim Biskip and everyone else in-between fitting within it’s boundaries. I’d put Martin Harris into this broad category. Toytown Oil Refinery, 2007 Martin’s style of work is exactly what I love about the current art movement. It’s exactly the sort of art that I was thinking about when I dreamed up ivoteforart. And I feel kind of tingly to have his work here, to be honest. I first found Martin’s work through Outre Gallery, a trult amazing gallery here in Australia, but recently he showed some new artworks at the Kaiju Monster Invasion Show at Art Basel, Miami Beach. As usual, you can check out Martin’s page, and pick one some pieces like the one above for a very very very affordable price. 2009-03-19T13:49:29+10:00 http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/trish_grantham_awwww_yeah1/ http://www.ivoteforart.com/browse/artwork/trish_grantham_awwww_yeah1/#When:12:33:31Z We are super super proud to have Portland’s Trish Grantham here at ivoteforart!This week we have an artist that needs no introduction. Trish Grantham is a Portland, Oregon based artist, with a crafty, dreamy yet rich style of work that we’ve been fond of for some time now. So imagine our delight when Trish agreed to add 4 great pieces to the ivoteforart stable. Trish has been featured on some terrific websites like Design Sponge, Poppytalk, Design Milk and Roadside Scholar - which, of course, is all very impressive. But what’s far more impressive is the artwork itself. So without further ado, here are the 4 pieces that are available ... I love all the artists that we add to ivoteforart.com. But Trish’s work is among the best we’ve added to the site, IMHO. Each piece is priced at $55 AUS, which is horribly afordable (About $36 US, 28 Euro or 26 Quid). And you’ve got to admit, they’re pretty cool ... 2009-03-14T12:33:31+10:00