Tag: collage

Collage is alive and well as an art form

If you don’t think of collage as a serious or living art form, think again. Collage is alive and well as an art form in some of the largest publications out there. I often see it used to illustrate stories in the Atlantic:

But the New York Times uses it a fair bit, too:

Those are just a small sample of the type of collages I see there. Keep an eye out for great collage work and you’ll see some too. It might even inspire you to try making some of your own.

(Top illustration by Vivian Dehning, bottom by Shoshana Schultz)

Art direction! Art inspiration! And other art links

 

Austin Kleon explains how you can find energy in the gap pictured above. I like the idea of using the gap for your benefit.

I’ve been interested in drawing with ink lately, so here’s some good links on how to ink a drawing and how to make pen and ink drawings here. Two good videos on drawing with ink are here:  Draw with ink and Also draw with ink.

This may be  one of the best guides I have ever come across regarding thumbnail sketching from an instructor at RISD.

I’m a big fan of the artist who draws the Metropolitan Diary drawings, so I enjoyed this piece on what the Metropolitan Diary taught its illustrator about New York.

Here’s a clip I saved of  Peter Falk from Wings of Desire when he talks about the and the happiness with the simple things in life, like drawing. Speaking of Falk, here’s a story on his own art work, here.

I’ve always been inspired by Jim Jarmusch’s Collages and wished I did more. So I was happy when I found this piece on collage art ideas. Really good stuff.

I have always found these Scribbled Portraits of Brooding Figures by Adam Riches inspiring. It reminds me of some of the great drawings my brother Ed used to do.

More links: If you want to take up drawing cartoons; if you want to learn how to Draw a Self-Portrait; if you need more advice on how to draw, How to Draw in Six Steps;  here’s a quick beginner’s guide to drawing.

Finally, here’s some good things to consider:

What do Kent Monkman and Christopher Pratt have in common? (or what I find interesting in art, November 2021)

Well besides being Canadian artists, they are both featured in this post! 🙂

In addition to those great artists, here are other things I’ve found interesting in art recently.

Artists: Here’s a strong story: Julie Green Artist Who Memorialized Inmate’s Last Suppers Dies at 60 . I was really struck by this piece about her. She did important art and it’s well worth reading about her and her work. More on that here: Dish by Dish Art of Last Meals.

This was an amazing story: Art Enthusiast Spots Long-Lost Sculpture by Black Folk Artist in Missouri Front Yard. I liked this story:  The Gilded Age painter devoted to scenes of every-day life around him. Also this one was good:  A TikTok Subway Artist Finds His Way to the Lower East Side

This made me sad: Bernini Bust of a Woman He Abused Exhibited Alongside Photographs of Survivors . I have always been a fan of Bernini. That he was brutally cruel to Costanza Buonarelli (the woman who was the victim) is not something I can ever reconcile with how much I love his work.

This is a good little piece on a work by  KENT MONKMAN: “DANDY”. And here is a great study of how Christopher Pratt created one of my favorite works: “Pedestrian Tunnel”.

How-to: I’ve been doing some drawing and watercolor these days. I’ve moved on from being a frustrated artists to actually making some basic art. This is a good tool for that: Free Interactive 3D Model for Drawing Figures Dynamic Poses and More Online Drawing Mannequin.

Relatedly, I found these useful. Here’s some good tips so you can get Better at Drawing. This helped: Learn how to draw a face in 8 easy steps: Beginners. So did this:  Draw a Self-Portrait. As did this: Human Anatomy Fundamentals: Basic Body Proportions .

I’ve been interested in multimedia, so I was into this: Using Acrylics in Collage, and this: How to Adhere Paper to Canvas, and also this: The Best Paint To Use For A Beautiful Collage Painting.

Music:  most of my art interest is visual, but I also like these music links:  Guitar Trainer by Acoustro, and The Complete Beginner Saxophone Course, 
and this 5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Bach.

Finally: this looks like a good book: Your Art Will Save Your Life

(Image is a link to the piece on Pratt.)

For people who love art and need inspiration to make it. (What I find interesting in art, October 2021)


I am a gently frustrated artist. I collect links and study them and try to use them to get me to make art, not always successfully.

Here are 29 art related links that I have found lately to be interesting and helpful to me. I hope they do the same for you:

  1. I liked this:  A Closer Look at Frank Gehry’s House.
  2. This is beautiful: Mysterious and Deserted City at Night.
  3. This was cool I thought:  Candid Murals by Street Artist Escif Cleverly Respond to Political Issues and Current Events.
  4. The wooden sculpture of  Richard Scherr are amazing and worth a look.
  5. This was a really good piece on Norman Rockwell.
  6. Also great:  the eyeless girls.
  7. Thank you David Bowie for this: on making art.
  8. Does art make a difference? Here’s a good essay on it: Why Art Fails to Make a Difference on Its Own: More Thoughts on Hans Haackes Urgently Relevant Survey at the New Museum .
  9. The endless debate:  Is art dead? Nope.
  10. Agree with this: Why collage making is great.
  11. Yes to this:  Make bad art. It’s a good thing.
  12. A good reminder:  Why make art.
  13. In case you need it:  More art making encouragement.
  14. Good stuff here:  Advice for young artists.
  15. In case you need more encouragement:  Make art even if you don’t like your output.
  16. Art making during the pandemic. Not surprising, some artists have been productive while others struggled.
  17. What Makes An Artist? David Hockney explains as only he can.
  18. One of my favorite artists:  Gerhart Richter.
  19. This piece thinks Titian is controversial. I dunno. I think this argument is anachronistic.
  20. A Collector of Antiques Asks: Can Something Be Racist and Also Be Beautiful? Of course. Also somewhat anachronistic as an argument but less so, I think.
  21. Want to watercolor? Read this:  Watercolors Made Simple.
  22. A cool way to make art:  The Lyrical and Funny Art of Erasing Words From Books.
  23. MoMA’s Online Courses Let You Study Modern & Contemporary Art and Earn a Certificate. Worth considering.
  24. Got Poetry? Memorize it!
  25. Cartoonist Lynda Barry Teaches You How to Make a Visual Daily Diary . Lynda Barry is an inspirational teacher of art.
  26. Great advice:  Keep calm and make ugly art.
  27. The goodness of Sickert. An artist you should get to know.
  28. Awesome:  Behold the Newly-Discovered Sketch by Vincent van Gogh Sketch.
  29. I am a fan of  Tom Gauld. Here’s a tweet that shows how to make a NewYorker cover. At least if you are Tom Gauld.

(Photo by dusan jovic on Unsplash )