Creative Cauldron - SoFoBoMo and Environmental Art Tweet

It occurred to me that it might be a good/enjoyable/worthwhile/useful idea to do a regular post on my influences and showcase other artists or stuff that has made me stop and go 'wow'. Useful for me to have a reference. Fun to do. Enlightening for my followers.

And so to begin. The Found Creatures were influenced by both the constraints of intended travel, and these artists who all use natural found objects. I love their work. All these pieces are both beautiful and, to me, have that something extra. Soul. Spirit. Spark. I'm not sure how to define it.

Anyhoo, as pictures tell so much more than words, instead of me rabbiting on about different artists and their techniques, here are examples of works that have inspired me and stretched my mind:

Andy Goldsworthy

Heather Jansch

Edwina Bridgeman

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All About The Artist's Certificate of Authenticity Tweet

A Certificate of Authenticity is a bit like an artwork's birth certificate, passport and quality guarantee all rolled into one.

A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) provides a lot of concrete detail about a piece, but by existing for a particular piece, it says even more. An artwork that has a COA is one that is made by a professional practicing artist, not an amateur. It is a piece that potentially has collectible value. The Certificate adds a tangible credibility to the work. It can help the work hold its value.

The COA is held to be an indirect promise of quality. Art pieces that have a COA have usually been made by an artist who cares about their work, it's longevity and their collectors. The piece is likely to have been created from the best materials available, be designed to last and been created by an expert. Back to the concrete details, the Certificate will provide all the information on the medium(s) of the piece needed for conservation that might otherwise be lost forever.

Certificates protect the artist and the buyer by helping to prove that an artwork is original. Cheap copies sold without an artist's knowledge or consent are unfortunately common. Without a COA attached to the original this situation makes it next to impossible for the buyer to be confident of the value of the piece or for the artist to maintain their credibility and their livelihood.

As an art collector you really must only buy contemporary pieces that are backed by a Certificate of Authenticity. This helps ensure that what you have bought at a premium is genuine and not counterfeit. As an artist, do yourself a favour, be professional, and supply a detailed and complete COA for your buyers investment security and your own career protection. They are very popular right now amongst contemporary artists, but there are a few pertinent points to bear in mind.


What Is a Certificate of Authenticity?
Essentially, a COA is a document, created by the artist or someone who is an expert on the artist, which accompanies an artwork and contains all the information a collector could need to verify if the piece of art is genuine. Certificates of Authenticity are common for art and software. With art, they provide some guarantee of genuineness if they are complete and authored by an expert on the artist. Most often the COA is a paper document, but there has been a recent move toward digital certificates. Both are acceptable providing they are complete.


How to get a COA
A certificate of authenticity should be provided at the time of sale. For all sales of all original art. In fact, it should BE the sales receipt, not a separate document. High end art dealers view sales receipts signed by reputable gallerists or the artist themselves as reliable proof of genuineness. They view with great skepticism the sort of 'added on' made-up certificate with a decorative border supplied with an artpiece. That is because anyone can produce this sort of 'document'.

So when you receive the artwork, you should also receive it's completed COA as part of the sale invoice. Do not be fobbed off with promises for the certificate to be posted later. Always check that the original art you are buying comes with a complete and valid COA . It is OK to ask to see a sample of the certificate before purchasing. No certificate? How do you have any peace of mind that what you are buying and paying a premium for, is genuine? Return the artwork and get a refund if the seller you are dealing with is not forthcoming with a valid COA at the time of sale. At the very least you should receive an invoice or receipt for your purchase, the more detailed, the better.


What an authentic Certificate of Authenticity should include

• It should be authored by the artist, or their publisher or dealer or agent and if the COA is authored by someone other than the artist, it should state who and what their relationship to the artist is and their full contact details.
• Name of the artist and preferably their location and contact details (and web address).
• Title of the artwork.
• Date of completion. There are various dates that can be included, depending on the medium involved. For paintings, the date of completion. For prints there is the date of completion of the original, the date of this print edition and the date of signing the print. These all help art historians and collectors to understand the timeline of the artist’s work.
• Medium. The materials used to create the artwork. For prints of an original artwork in another medium, both the medium of the original and the medium of the print should be listed. The exact materials used in creating the piece helps the collector to verify they have the authentic artwork, and greatly helps conservation decisions. This can include the paint or ink type, the printing device, the canvas or paper type, source and weight and any pertinent or known archival properties. Professional artists prefer to use professional grade materials and take pride providing a piece made for longevity.
• Description or preferably an image of the artwork.
• Artwork dimensions. This helps the buyer to check whether the art piece has been altered since it's completion. It also makes it easy for them to order a correctly sized frame.
• Signature of the artist.
• Copyright statement. The copyright holder should definitely be identified and possibly also the applicable law and any reproduction rights. It is possible that the work will be under a public license or only have some rights reserved. In this case, copying of the work may be permissible.
• Extras which can be included are additional information on the techniques used to create the image, further information about the subject matter of the artwork, artist’s comments on the piece and for photos, details such as where the shot was taken, the GPS benchmark, date, time of day and camera used.

For prints, there are quite a number of extra details that should be included:

• The number of this particular print within the edition and the edition size. ie 4/10 (print 4 of 10 prints)
• Whether the edition is an open edition (more prints can be produced at any time) or limited.
• The number of prints and proofs in the edition that are signed/numbered, signed only, and unsigned/unnumbered.
• Whether the edition is a restrike or posthumous edition.
• Whether the edition is part of a series of editions. eg artist proof, press proof, transfer, etc.
• The status of the plate or master. Is it destroyed or on file? If the master has been destroyed then the edition is truly limited.
• Name and location (and web address) of the Master printer / publisher.
• Signature of the printmaker

Certificates for art by really famous artists should include a few extra details on top of those mentioned already. ALL limited edition prints by well-known artists are documented in books called catalogues raisonne. If a catalogue raisonne exists for an artist, the corresponding catalogue number or entry for the work art in question MUST be noted on the certificate of authenticity. You can also expect to find the names of previous owners, names of dealers or galleries that have sold the art, and sometimes information about auctions where the art was sold and the reference books that list the artwork.


Caveats to beware of
Valid certificates of authenticity state that the artpiece is absolutely and unquestionably by the artist who has signed it. If the certificate has any conditional statements such as "in our considered opinion..." or "we believe that..." these should ring your alarm bells. These statements are warning you that the art may not be genuine.

A statement that a work of art is genuine is NOT valid unless made by the artist or a respected authority on the artist. That person's qualifications and contact details should be stated on the certificate and be easily verifiable. When the contact information on a COA is out of date, check with a current authority on the artist to find out if this old certificate is valid. They will know if the COA author was a legitimate authority.

A certificate with illegible or incomplete contact information for the certificate author is never acceptable. A certificate with only an unidentifiable signature is not valid.

It is worth noting that there is no currently official body or legal binding for COAs. Anyone can write one. That's why inspecting the Certificate of Authenticity before a purchase is so important. It allows the potential buyer to check the credentials of the certificate's author and the details of the document. Not all COAs are created equal, so if any of the information on the certificate doesn't add up, it's your risk.

Remember, ideally the COA should BE the sales receipt, not a separate document. High end art dealers view sales receipts signed by reputable gallerists or the artist themselves as reliable proof of genuineness. They view with great skepticism the sort of 'added on' made-up certificate with a decorative border supplied with an artpiece. That is because anyone can produce this sort of 'document'.



Hey, a bunch of Useful Links

http://www.artbusiness.com/certaut.html

http://www.wm-arts.com/Information1/certificate_of_authencity.htm

http://www.communities.hp.com/online/blogs/graphicarts/archive/2009/05/31/add-real-value-to-your-fine-art-prints.aspx

http://www.worldprintmakers.com/english/certauth.htm

Certificate samples

http://commissionworks4pets.com/SampleCertificate.htm

http://www.ligiclee.com/services/certificateofauthenticity.htm

http://inga-art.co.uk/coa

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Toying With Locations on the iPhone Tweet

So while having fun being creative and making the Found Creatures from found pieces of nature, I was having fun behind the scenes with my iPhone, CameraBag and Pano, recording and toying with the locations.

These are some of the landscapes, from Ballarat to the Flinders Ranges, that the Creatures were found within.

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A Diary of Becoming - The Beginning - August 09 Roundup Tweet

I've flirted with this whole idea for a while now.

It seems as good a time as any to get going - (Good news: you're already in the right place, and the time looks good too. Thanks @chrisguillebeau).

This year has been interesting so far. My Dad died. I moved house twice (not bad, just disruptive). The 'global financial crisis' bit my 3D medical animation business hard. I have had no energy for anything other than sleep for months on end. So what. So this looked like an ideal time to reassess what I really want to do. Not sarcasm by the way. And yes, I could have kept the 3d biz going with a change in tactics, but deep down, I didn't want to. It's been fun, but the magic has faded now. Time for a change.


Time to try do something I've always wanted

And then I read this blog by illustrator Holli Conger about how she changed her direction http://www.livingthecreativedream.com/becoming.html

And all the months of following, researching and idea gathering 'just fell into place'. Love it when that happens, don't you?

And so I am becoming. This is step one.

And why blog about it? Holly wrote it perfectly, so I'll just repeat:

"1. To encourage others and let them know successful promotion can be done and how one person was able to do it.

2. To keep myself accountable and to follow through with my dream. Keeping a personal deadline had always been hard for me. I always put it off and let something else take precedent. With this commitment of documenting my process, I know I can keep myself accountable not only to myself, but to all the people who will follow this series."


My goal in all this? To make a living as a professional practising fine artist

So each month I'll be blogging on my progress. I'll go over what I've done, what's worked well, what's made not the slightest bit of difference, what I intend to do over the coming month and what I would like help with.

To give some background, I have been inspired by Natasha Wescoat (@natasha), Soniei (@soniei) and Val's Art Diary (@valsartdiary), artists who all use the internet to connect with their followers and collectors and sell the work they create. Each has their own personal artistic and communication style. Each has their own mix of promotional elements that works for them. None of them are sitting back on their backsides waiting to be discovered. Or relying on the 'efforts' of a gallery or agent to sell their work and make a name for them . They are getting in, going direct, making connections, being visible and personable and running a successful small online business. That happens to sell their original art. That's what I want to do, and that's the way I want to do it.

Non-arty inspirations in this journey so far have been Havi Brooks (@havi) who gives hope to all the true individuals out there and is enthusiastic about 'finding your right people'; Chris Guillebeau (@chrisguillebeau) who lives and expounds on 'the unconventional life'; Barbara Winter (@joblessmuse) of 'Making a Living Without a Job' - nuff said, and Ed Dale (@Ed_Dale) internet marketing genius who teaches all in the wonderful and free 30 Day Challenge.


Now to find my own mix, my own voice and my own right people.

So for September, here are my aims:

• The website and this blog are not currently finished. I mean, there are missing pages. This must be rectified as a priority.
• I feel like I would like to contact each of the people mentioned above who have been such an inspiring and positive influence and say thanks.
• To get my daily creating habit kickstarted, and to do some learning too, it's time to finish working my way through the exercises in 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain'.
• Finish the 'Modern Cavepaintings' series that is oh-so-close to completion and put it up for sale on Etsy.
• Apply to the Iphoneography blog to be a featured artist for the SoFoBoMo 'Found Creatures'.
• Sit down (or maybe stand on my head) and DO some paint colour charts. These will be useful.
• A nice sunlight filled and coffee fueled strategic planning session that involves offline promotion as well as online. And an Action! plan.
• Oh, and DO that CD cover commission...

Your bit

What I would like but need help with:
If you're not familiar with Havi's Itty Bitty personal ads, do yourself a favour and familiarise thyself over here: http://www.fluentself.com/blog/stuff/an-itty-bitty-personal-ad/

Now that we are back on the same page (you DID read that post didn't you?), I am putting it out there for some help, or in this case, FEEDBACK.

Here’s what I want:
I am really really happy with my 'Found Creatures' series. I have some ideas of how to take these further, but what I really really want is YOUR ideas and feedback.
Do you like them? Do you have a favourite? If it was for sale, what format would appeal to you (greeting card, photo print, canvas print, eco shopping bag, your own idea)? What in your opinion would enhance the Found Creatures (animal quotes, environmental/recycling quotes, something else entirely)?

Ways this could come to me:
Comments here
Emails to me (look left)
Twitter to @wherefishsing
Blog posts about this
Links sent to me
Whatever else you can cook up!

What I would rather not have:
Destructive criticism. 'It's my blog and I'll delete if I want to'.

My commitment:
To thank people who make the effort to put forward their ideas.
To act on one idea and put the 'Found Creatures' out there for more people to enjoy, if people like them.


Now let's see how much luck I can create for myself :)

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