Happy holidays!
Don’t eat or drink too much.

Relax
Dion

The santa painting was stolen here.

Here’s some quotes by fellow Australian artist Leith O’Malley, from an interview here at Art and Art Ed.

“Remember there are not better artists, just better publicists!”
Leith O’Malley

“When I am creating art… I have a real sense of excitement and even enlightenment. Just me and the work. It’s still there when a painting is completed but never as strong as the point where you are still trying to fit all the pieces together be it compositional, aesthetically or the colour and tone decisions along the way.”
Leith O’Malley

“Dismiss nothing unless you are informed enough about it to have an opinion. It is a lot like music.. in that there are so many different genres, ways to enjoy, interpretations and possibilities to create yourself. Don’t have your blinkers on and be open to understanding and enjoying all forms of art as in music.”
Leith O’Malley

The Art Calendar magazine is accepting entries for their self portrait magazine cover competition. I’m not sure if artists outside of the United States can enter, but I entered it anyway. Entries are submitted online and it’s free to enter, so it was pretty easy.

Here’s my self portrait entry..

Here’s their blurb..
“Entrants will have the chance to win one of three great prizes. Our first place winner will receive a $500 gift certificate to Blick Art Materials and have their artwork featured on the cover of the March issue of the magazine! They will also be interviewed by one of the Art Calendar editors for a one-page profile, where we’ll feature a picture of the winner and their winning work. Our second place winner will receive a $150 gift certificate to Blick Art Materials and our third place winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Blick Art Materials. Both our second and third place finalists will have a half-page profile with an image of their work and a short biography about them inside the magazine.”

Find out more about the art competition on the Art Calendar website.

People are really good at making excuses and I’m no exception. I try not to accept my excuses though as they’re usually pathetic, just like all of your excuses for not getting off your butt and doing what you really should be doing now.

Here’s my pathetic excuses for not posting lately..

1. There’s not enough hours in the day
2. I have been overdosing on art
3. I need a break (those close to me would find this excuse funny)
4. My head has been in the clouds
5. The blog doesn’t make any money anyway (well duh, put ads on it!)
6. When I paint everyday I become sensitive to everything and everyone
7. Sometimes I have nothing to say and all the news bores me
8. I don’t feel like it
9. Just because
10. C.

Here’s a recent painting of Melbourne (click for larger image)..

I can’t honestly say how useful this application is as I don’t own an iPhone, but it sounds like a good idea. It’s a free application (I believe there is also a pro version for a small fee) available from iTunes which guides you to art museums, exhibitions and galleries around the world. If it does what it’s supposed to do it would be a must have for art travelers.

“Admittedly, we are still missing lots of info, but already have over 12,000 artists and 2600 galleries in our system – but we can only be as good as the people who provide us the info… Anyway, we developed this tool to make navigating the art world easy and hope that more and more people are going to make use of it.” hopnear

Find out more about the artnear iPhone application at the hopnear website here or look for it in the iTunes store.

Basquiat is my favorite movie about an artist.

It’s hard to make a good artist look interesting as they’re usually just working.

I’m susbcribed to a whole bunch of newsletters and am bombarded with all kinds of promotional emails, most of which I never open. But one that I always open is from Other Criteria. It is a collective of artists, pushing all kinds of limited editions, prints, and publications, but I really only look at what Damien Hirst is selling.

I find the man endlessly fascinating. How can a man that sells deckchairs and clocks still pull off auction sales like he does? I’m sure I’ll tire of him someday and hate him for what he’s doing to art, but that day hasn’t come yet. I still love him, even if I don’t care much for his art. I almost bought the Damien Hirst clock below, but I just bought a whole bunch of art supplies (why is cadmium so damn expensive?!), so my art budget has blown out this month.

Innocence Lost
Damien Hirst
2009
200 x 50 mm
Glass bottle with sauasge and alcohol

Innocence Lost, a glass baby’s bottle containing a pork sausage pickled in alcohol, makes foul, connotative paradoxes out of ideas of nourishment and nurture. Visually, the work is a reminder of Hirst’s formaldehyde pieces as well as the surreal performances of pantomime and Punch & Judy shows. It is at once humorous and disturbing.

The glass bottle is engraved with the edition number, Hirst logo and signature.
Price: £5,200.00

Large Spot Clock
Damien Hirst
2009
35 cm diameter
White powdered metal case and metal back
German Quartz movement

The clock uses Hirst’s popular spot paintings as its face, the front of which is printed with his signature and the Hirst/Hirst logo. The rear is printed with the Other Critera logo and the clock name.

Price: £475.00

The Other Criteria newsletter is really worth subscribing to, especially if you’re an artist that thinks art is precious or that art and commerce shouldn’t mix.

Just thought I would share a nice EP called Queen of Cities put out by Luna Roslyn. They’re using one of my paintings from Turkey for the cover. Hear the songs on their MySpace page here or support them by buying the album online here. It’s good for the ears while holding a brush!

Luna Roslyn is also on Facebook.

“If the Earth was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital” – Napoleon Bonaparte

Home is worth the long wait if you have a slow internet connection. The makers of the film have more videos on their YouTube page.

I stopped reading books and news on the environment a while ago as they’re just too depressing, but with this one they at least throw in a little hope towards the end. Even if you’re not interested in the environment and think the planet is doing just fine, it’s worth watching for the spectacular landscapes. We do live on an amazing piece of rock.

I wish someone would tell environmentalists and green groups that fear doesn’t work with everyone. You can hit me with a stick all day and I won’t move an inch but if you dangle a carrot in front of me I’ll get up and do something about it.

Art News Blog is FIVE years old. That must make me some kind of blogger or arts writer or something. I’m most comfortable with the “something” label though. Someone called me an art critic recently and I didn’t know how to react. He said it in a way that was supposed to be flattering but I was actually very offended.

If I was forced to label myself it would be Wanderer or Watcher of things. If I had to put something serious on my business card (which I don’t have.. even though ALL artists should have one) it would be Painter.

I’m really not a fan of labels and boxes though. We get too comfortable wearing them and before long we can’t live without them. It doesn’t matter if the label is one of power and influence or it’s one of lack and degradation, we cling to them like our life depends on them. A lot of opportunities are missed and interesting paths not taken because of labels and our fear of peeling them off.

Ok, I’m starting to rant and getting off topic. Happy Birthday Art News Blog!!

Thanks for reminding me Woo