Art that Sells - weeks 4 and 5

Hi Everybody

I hope that this posting finds you all well. It has been great to have the time to create so many blog posts. The summer holidays are racing by.

As promised, here are the two final assignments of the Lilla Rogers Make Art That Sells e-course. 

In week 4, we were asked to produce a piece of wall art. It  had to have very specific colours and the starter activity was to gather collections that demonstrated those colour combinations. This was a fun activity.

Over the course of that week, I produced my canvas using these colours. This was a definite challenge for me. I have to admit using these colours together was not a natural thing for me, though I did warm to them in the end. I also used stamping techniques on the canvas to create texture. This was also a first for me but I was pleased with the end results.

The only thing that I would change about this painting is the text. I don't usually use text on an image, as I like people to look at my paintings and make up their own minds about its subject matter. On review, I am going to remove the text and I will post the results at a later date. It was really interesting to look into the wall art market, and to think about the type and styles of work that people will buy to place in frames and hang.

As a side line to the painting, I created three collages. Originally they were going to be part of the painting and although I didn't use them in the end, I do like them and may make some more for another project. With art, nothing is ever wasted!

In week 5, the last week of the course, we were asked to create a 'lush' design that could be used on a range of gifts. The starter activity was to create images of our personal collections. I think I have mentioned before on this blog that I have a big passion for fossils, minerals and natural forms, so I produced drawings and photographs from my collection.

At this stage, I wasn't quite sure how to interpret a 'lush' design but I then came up with the idea of inserting my fossil drawings into images of bottles I have also collected and this created a busy, colourful design. To do this, I had to use Photoshop and Illustrator, the effect is certainly very different than my normal use of drawing and paint.

Here's a section of my final design. 

It was great to do something different and fascinating to read the enormous amount of information provided by Lilla. 

In respect of the course I found it very challenging, as several of the assignments were outside of my normal area of expertise, but I enjoyed being stretched out of my comfort zone. I am now able to view art in a much larger picture seeing it applied to the variety of goods for which Lilla Rogers is an agent. If any of you want to make art to sell, I cannot recommend this course enough. Each area of the market place is thoroughly covered by examples, interviews and contacts. Mind-blowing information from which I have gained so much. Thanks to Lilla and Beth for this amazing course.

I hope that you have found this interesting. I will post again soon with the latest developments from the Man Cave.

Andy