‘I vote for art’ blog
29 Oct 2009
Giveaway Time!
Posted 29 Oct 2009 :: Total comments - 7 :: PermalinkWhat 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!
17 Sep 2009
Thanks Madison!
Posted 17 Sep 2009 :: Total comments - 6 :: PermalinkWe’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.
21 Jun 2009
ivoteforart talks to Kareem Rizk
Posted 21 Jun 2009 :: Total comments - 122 :: PermalinkWe’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.
16 Apr 2009
An interview with Nathaniel Eckstrom
Posted 16 Apr 2009 :: Total comments - 251 :: PermalinkSomething 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.
15 Apr 2009
Hooray for Jing Wei
Posted 15 Apr 2009 :: Total comments - 19 :: PermalinkSo, 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.
06 Apr 2009
Pro Antigraphic
Posted 06 Apr 2009 :: Total comments - 8 :: PermalinkWe 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
03 Apr 2009
We’ve Gone Global
Posted 03 Apr 2009 :: Total comments - 36 :: PermalinkAustralia, (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.
22 Mar 2009
Twitter Twitter Little Star
Posted 22 Mar 2009 :: Total comments - 6 :: PermalinkAs 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!
19 Mar 2009
Welcome aboard Martin Harris!
Posted 19 Mar 2009 :: Total comments - 111 :: PermalinkDo 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.
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.
14 Mar 2009
Trish Grantham awwww yeah!
Posted 14 Mar 2009 :: Total comments - 7 :: PermalinkThis 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 ...
08 Mar 2009
18 Creative Websites to Bookmark
Posted 08 Mar 2009 :: Total comments - 6 :: PermalinkThis week at booooooom.com is a terrific post entitled, 17 creative websites to bookmark (unless you are dumb)!
Of course, booooooom.com is one of my favourite art and design blogs out there ... so that makes 18.
Now, off you go and spend your sunday checking some of these out!
26 Feb 2009
Bravo! BRAVO!
Posted 26 Feb 2009 :: Total comments - 89 :: PermalinkI first found Ivan Bravo’s work over at the awesome iPhone wallpaper website, Poolga.com, a website well worth you checking out, BTW. Now, knowing that Poolga is a whirlwind of great portable artwork, I just knew that Ivan Bravo was worth contacting. So I did. And he was interested. And after a long but pleasant game of e-mail ping pong, neither of us speaking the same native language, we worked things out. and his 3 classic illustration pieces are on the site. They’re called Zapatos andarines, Pescadito 1 and Saxo jazz.
I’ll tell you something - when I add new artwork to the site each week (well, almost each week), I feel a ping of sadness for the new pieces. They look so vulnerable, sitting there without any votes. So do me, and Ivan a favour, and give them a vote for us, would ya?
07 Feb 2009
New work for 2009
Posted 07 Feb 2009 :: Total comments - 8 :: PermalinkWe’ve kicked 2009 off with two great new artists on ivoteforart - Jorge Pinto and Si Clark
Jorge Pinto is a freelance illustrator and comic artist who lives in Mexico City. Jorge brings usArboles and Bonsai Kitten (above). And they’re both rocketing up the ivoteforart charts with a bullet.
Si Clark is an English artist and animator that we’ve had our eye on for some time. Si throws 3 great pics our way - A time to reflect, Finding peace in solitude and The fire in which we burn (below).
Our goal in 2009 is to bring you new artwork each week, so make you sign up to ivoteforart to recieve your email newsletter, and stay up to day with the new artwork on the site.
14 Jan 2009
RedOrbit Site of the Day!
Posted 14 Jan 2009 :: Total comments - 4 :: PermalinkWe’re chuffed to have been awarded ‘Site of the Day’ yesterday by Red Orbit:
http://www.redorbit.com/technology/sites_of_the_day/?site_id=3983
Thanks for the mention guys!
08 Jan 2009
Ph7labs for 2009
Posted 08 Jan 2009 :: Total comments - 4 :: PermalinkHello everyone, and welcome to a shining new year! Doom and Gloom in 2009? Nah, it’s gonna be great.
We’re kicking things off with a bang. Allow me to introduce Ph7labs, our brand newest artist and first for 2009.
Get mouseclicking on ph7labs’ ivoteforart page pronto to check his work out.
04 Dec 2008
Bonjour Labokoff!
Posted 04 Dec 2008 :: Total comments - 7 :: PermalinkJust added to the website tonight is Paris based designer, Labokoff.
Labokoff is our 40th artist to join the site. You may have seen her distinctive pieces on the interwebs before. Labokoff has established herself on the big sites like DaWanda and Etsy ... so we’re incredibly grateful to be selling 3 limited edition prints as of, well, now!
We first discovered Labokoff on one of the many high profile websites that she has been featured on. And from that day forth, we knew we’d love to have some Labokoff here in the ivoteforart pool room.
These teriffic little piece shown here, ‘Printemps‘, ‘Vague Bleue‘ and ‘Prarie‘, are all printed and signed personally by the artist. They’re a limited edition of 50 pieces, and would look great as a set too.
02 Dec 2008
Pecanpals are coming
Posted 02 Dec 2008 :: Total comments - 6 :: PermalinkHead over to Noferin’s blog, and you’ll notice that something very exciting is on the way.
Noferin have just announced that their amazing PecanPal wooden toys will be available this month. We can’t wait to see them. Limited to only 200 pieces, and price at $45 a pop, they will almost certainly fly off the shelves.
Click over to noferin.com for more info.
27 Nov 2008
Erin & Kelly
Posted 27 Nov 2008 :: Total comments - 6 :: PermalinkTonight is an ivoteforart.com first! We have signed up our first twin-sister illustration duo to the site!
Canadians Erin and Kelly Carty are the newest ivoteforartists! Erin and Kelly have been illustrating delicious sweetness inspired pieces together since 2001. And you can understand why we’re so thrilled to have them if you check out the 3 prints that they’re offering for sale.
Erin and Kelly are our 39th Artists to join the site. And we all know how lucky a number 39 is.
More Blogging Please!
Posted 27 Nov 2008 :: Total comments - 5 :: PermalinkWell, we’ve been around for a while now. 6 months actually. And you know what. The ivoteforart blog has been somewhat lame so far. So it’s about time we pulled up our socks.
Before I launched ivoteforart.com, I wrote a blog called art dabble. Primarily it was talking about the launch of this very website. But from time to time, I wrote about cool artists, up and coming exhibitions, thoughts about art, etc. It was a great learning post for me as I got this website started, and taught me a few things about the art world too.
So, from this forth, I promise to blog here more often. not just with new artists that have joined the site, but a whole lot more juicy goodness too. You’ll see.
Now might also be a good time to thank everyone who’s visited, submitted, voted for and bought anything from ivoteforart.com. It’s hardly mean a huge wealth creation device, but running this website has been a whole lot of fun. It’s a wonderful hobby if nothing else. So thanks for being part of it.
19 Nov 2008
More from Noferin
Posted 19 Nov 2008 :: Total comments - 6 :: PermalinkIt’s been a big year for Melbourne’s Nicho and Candy, aka Noferin. Exhibitions in big-name galleries like Capro Nason, Featured in High Fructose magazine ... and they’ve topped off 2008 by having a baby!
Thankfully they’ve still managed to find the time for more great prints. Unmistakenly noferin, both of this beauties are limited prints of 50.
The one on the left is called “In which summer scents fill the sky”“. And on the right is “In which friends recite their morning calls“. The are printed on Hahnemuehle Photo Rag paper 308gsm, and are signed and numbered. And you know what? They’re cheap! just $50 Aus (about $30 US).
Want to sell your art?
We don't just sell any old art for the site, and we will be quite picky about the work that we accept. But if you think you have something you'd like to sell, click below to submit it.
