Art Blog - Mary Lawler

Soulistry, Artistry Of The Soul Published Dr. June Maffin has marked the trail for all of us seeking a deeper, creative and more meaningful life. Amazon has released, artid member June Maffin's guide to the within. Entitled Soulistry, Artistry of the Soul. June has thoughtfully structured the book in such a way that the outcome of each person's journey will be different depending on one's answers. The questions are both road map and compass to an often overlooked destination -- the elusive "within." "Making changes in your life is difficult and requires work, so much so that many people are not willing to make the effort."… Continue reading… 3 comments

I was fully prepared to dislike this show when I first heard about its conception over a year ago and I was not disappointed. Stereotypical, pretentious and formulaic, packed with tension filled pauses while we wait to see who gets eliminated, is so predictable. You mean to tell me that Sarah Jessica Parker couldn't come up with a "reality show" concept that broke the format, not even a little? The contestants were carefully chosen to represent what TV feels is an accurate cross section of our culture. One senior, one black, one nervous, one over confident, one rebel, one starving, one with attitude and of course, one with boobs. I actually heard several artists roll over in their graves.… Continue reading… 8 comments

Two weeks ago I had to say goodbye to my dearest companion, Shadow. My model, my studio mate, my friend for 15 years was being called home. I miss him terribly, especially when he would walk acrosssssssssss my keyboard when I was trying to work, or drink the paint water, or bat my tools off the table just to watch them hit the floor. Shadow wasn't much for lap sitting unless it was really really cold, but he was always nearby, ready to jump out of a deep sleep to follow me into the kitchen. I could set my watch by his habits, I knew when it was 10:30, he would come and pester me to be fed before I went to bed. We dubbed him One Eyed Jack because he seemed to have one eye a little open all the time or one eye would peek around the corner or from behind the drapes. He was always watching… Continue reading… 2 comments

Snow Farm, the New England Craft Program, will be the setting for my week long workshop on Paper and Thread. May 2-8, 2010, Everyone loves beautiful paper. We buy, hoard and admire paper, keeping it in stacks for the sheer enjoyment of the beautiful designs and surfaces. Just as fabric scraps can be turned into a work of art, so can paper scraps. Learn to alter and embellish paper surfaces, then focus on design to create amazing and unique compositions. Sewing can be done by hand or machine. Even those with no experience can do this with ease.… Continue reading… 4 comments

Independent Coffee Network News The Good News: Seven more coffee shops have been added to the network feed. The coffee shops are located in Pasadena, Burbank, Alhambra, Monterey Park, Redondo Beach, San Dimas, Hollywood and Ventura (2) and the network is growing rapidly. ICN has also struck a deal with Aardvark Records, check it out: "Aardvark Records and World Wide Arts' Independent Coffee Network have announced a licensing deal . which sees the British record label supplying the US-based music video entertainment provider with its promotional music videos. The video licensing deal will see popular videos broadcast in independent American coffee houses from coast to coast."… Continue reading… 2 comments

Photographing Your Artwork and Resizing Images It's a challenge to give artists step-by-step instructions for photographing, downloading and sizing their artwork, because everyone is working with different combinations of Mac, PC, Camera model, mega pixels and photo editing software.… Continue reading… 9 comments

I have been grabbing a few hours now and then to practice my oil painting. Ta Da! I'm Watching You is finished. The subject is my cat, Shadow who often pretends to be sleeping but still has one eye open. He used to have one white whisker that looked pretty funny but now he has a few on each side, making his portrait more balanced. The painting is 3 _ 4 so I had to cut and fit my own frame… Continue reading… 1 comment

I thought everyone should get a little good news. Sandy DiCristofaro received a commission last week from someone who saw her work on her ArtId site. A few days later, I got a calligraphy job from someone who found my ArtId site in a Google search for calligraphers. Leaving links, blogging, and social media really does pay off… Continue reading… 2 comments

I have been reading a lot lately about what artists need to do, should do, must do, but right now I'm more interested in what artists want to do; the skills or accomplishments you want to attempt or master before you" kick the bucket". If you ask someone about their bucket list and they tell you that they have done everything they ever wanted and they are perfectly content, they are either James Bond or very boring. If you don't have a bucket list, now is a good time to start, think, there must be something.… Continue reading… 7 comments

Here at ArtId we have made a commitment to accept advertising, from eco friendly art suppliers, only. Companies that are making a difference in their everyday business practices deserve our support. When members log in there is a link to Rex Art Supplies one of our environmentally responsible partners. So what is Rex Art all about? Katrina Morris, Director of Internet Marketing, states, "Here at Rex Art we do our best to be green. Our offices and warehouse are painted with low VOC paint, we use non-toxic cleaning products and we recycle shipping boxes and packing material. We've installed efficient lighting fixtures throughout our facility and programmed our thermostats so that we use less energy… Continue reading… 3 comments

If there is any one thing that can bring your creativity to a halt, it's a negative attitude. If you think everything is bad, then it will be. The news media has the power of negative thinking and will only report the worst. It's catchy, all that doom and gloom and it's easy to get stuck in their quicksand. … Continue reading… 2 comments

Are you tired of being asked to donate a piece of your art to a fundraiser? I know it's a tax deduction, I know it's good exposure. Well, I'm so over exposed now, it's almost illegal and it has done absolutely nothing for my sales or notoriety.… Continue reading… 4 comments

You may have noticed that there isn't any advertising on ArtId. Since it's beginnings in 2000, ArtId has never accepted advertising. We felt very strongly that the site should keep a clean look and not get cluttered with ads. Your membership fees have been our only source of revenue.… Continue reading… 5 comments

The value of art lies in its ability to generate income. An entire industry is built on that accepted truth, dividing art and artists into strata of profitability and determining success and failure. By that definition, my art is worthless and I am a failure. If money were arts only measure of value I would stop today, I would throw away my tools and supplies and watch a movie. While my art may be of no value to anyone else, the simple act of creating it is priceless. I produce what I call art, because I have to, it's like breathing or sleeping. If I don't participate in the act of creation I suffer from creative deprivation. I am uneasy, off balance, something is wrong; I have to find a tool and a surface on which to make marks.… Continue reading… 10 comments

Somebody better call the Geneva Convention, there is a painting being tortured. Obviously overworked, but what a blast! Joyce's book has been christened, with paint, but not so badly I can't still read it. The second is a painting in progress of my cat on the windowsill. I'm making observations as I go because I have never worked with oils before. I'm not really frustrated because I'm having so much fun and I can always paint over them… Continue reading… 5 comments

This piece, A Long Way To Go and Curve Of The Earth are part of a series that is my attempt to break away from so many right angles. All my work is very squared up and orderly, not consciously, I'm just really comfortable with the format. Maybe it's a by-product of graphic design. As you can see I really broke the format with these tentative curves. "Hold on Mary, don't go crazy all at once." It may not be earth shattering but is is a start at working with movement through space… Continue reading… 5 comments

Are you an artist trapped in between? I have nothing against galleries; I owned one. They serve a portion of the population that is looking to invest in and collect art. Clients rely on a good relationship with a gallery, for advice, recommendations and information. It's kind of like the stock market of the art world. What's hot, what's not, what's new, what is a long shot, what is a good investment? They use words like "important", "ground breaking" and "explosive". High End, is that near the north end? The percentage of working artists today who are adequately represented by a gallery is very small. I have nothing against Art and Craft Shows; I've exhibited in them. They serve another purpose for another portion of the population. They range from high end to low end… Continue reading… 2 comments

2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the invention of tracing paper by Canson. A bit of trivia you might not ponder on a daily basis but it is interesting non-the less. Used since its invention, by artists, architects, engineers and draftsman. Tracing paper and tracing vellum has become a staple in every design, architectural and fine art studio. Canson developed tracing paper in 1809. No one is sure exactly how the concept came about or how much trial and error was involved in the development. One medieval recipe involved marble dust, fish glue and garlic. So glad we improved on that! To this day Canson's technique for making tracing paper is kept secret. All that is divulged is that the transparency is achieved in the pulping stage of the process.… Continue reading… 4 comments

...and you House Beautiful, Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living and all you other home decorating and lifestyle magazines. I dare you to do a feature or series on buying art for the home on the Internet. Readers are ready for some new ideas. They are sick of you featuring what is the newest cool thing at Target. Design tips like wrapping fabric around a stretcher frame ala Merimekko has been done and done and done. So has finding some object in the junkyard, spray painting it and hanging it on the wall as art. Readers regularly buy everyday home goods from the Internet, why not art? Because you don't tell them to.… Continue reading… 12 comments

In the spirit of this loving season, we decided to make a little video for Eugene to let him know how much we appreciate all his work. Eugene is our programmer, he's the guy that makes all the features and functions of ArtId work. He's the one who understands all the code that's gibberish to us. Eugene lives outside Moscow, Russia and English is not his first language. Despite time differences and language issues we are able to make ArtId happen. That's how cool the internet is, our programmer is in Russia! We don't even know if they celebrate Valentines Day in Russia, he might think we are all crazy, but at the least he'll know we appreciate his work… Continue reading… 4 comments