If you are a professional artist you will already know that you must use sturdy D-ring hangers on the back of our completed canvas. First measure the height of our canvas and install the D-ring one third of the way down the canvas. It is very important to use good quality D-rings as it would be very embarrassing to have a client tell you that your hardware broke and the painting came tumbing to the floor. There are larger d-rings for really heavy paintings, that requre two screws to install. This week I found out that you can buy them in bulk at Desseres art supplies store in Ottawa, ON. If you purchas 100 d-rings it will cost you around eight dollars, which is an excellent deal. Remember artists, proper hanging hardware is an important element of your finished product, make sure its done right.

Recently I purchased Amsterdam acrylic paint, which comes in tubes of 250ml and 500ml. I have been plesantly surprised about this line of paint products. First of all, I love the vibranbt colours and the perfect viscosity level, it comes out of the tube and onto the canvas in a good way. I like the packaging because it is impossible to lose the lid...it's attached. I would suggest giving this line of paint a try, I am enjoying using it.

I know that I have done a lot of talking about sticking with a theme or a particular art style, especially if you have beome known for it. So what do you do if like myself at the moment you really are not ejoying the art creation process. Time to shake things up and throw caution to the wind. I have recently had this situation, I am fairly well known for my mixed media collage cities on canvas, but I have no desire right now to paint any urban cities. Clearly the perfect time to go through the awkward stage of redefining my art. What you can expect is that your art collection will look at bit mismatched while you frantically try to rebuld your inventory in a new style of work. So if you can survive that fact, you can relish the excitment of the unkown. For myself, I am going simpler with my style with a new series called back to basics. This new series of works with a foucus on colour, shape and texture. SO far its going well.

The best way to combat a creative drought is to start an art journal. Go to your local art store and purchase a small mixed media journal that will take paint, marker, pastel, and glue well. The first thing to keep in mind is that there are no rules. In fact, I would suggest that you venture into art styles that are totally new for you. Cut stuff out of the paper, words, letters, pictures, any material that you can glue to the page. I would also encourage you to use pencil crayons, markers and pastel, even if you have never used that medium before. Keep it simple and intuitive in nature. Think of it like an art blog without the words, you can say something about the weather, your life, your mood, your opinions and elements of art. Don't rule out stamps or found items for your method of expression. Try to do three pages a week at least. Most importantly create without any judgement, its the best way to get those creative juices following. You might even end up with an idea that develops into a series of art. It is important to remember that your journal is private, and the artistic merit does not matter, nor does the end product. There are a number of good books out there that focus soley on art journals if you need more tips.

Books to consider:
Every day Matters, Danny Gregory
The art Journal Workshop,Traci Bunkers
Journal Junkies Workshop,Eric Scott

I recently purchased a new book titled Collage, Colour and Texture in Painting, by Mike Bernard and Robin Capon. One of the main starting points for a mixed media painting illustrated in this book is to begin with attaching paper and recycled paper materials to a blank canvas. I tried this technique out myself and I really like the end result. Basically, no matter what you paint on top, there is a level of interest and a unique look to the canvas. You can either just paint and scrape to reveal some of what is underneath or a wash of acrylic paint. Go ahead and try it yourself, the end result is always unique and original. Have a look at my new series called back to basics, where I used the techniques from the book.

When I first began as an artist I had a clear style, abstract expressionist. Abstract expressionist is when the artist creates, paints, draws or sculpts from feeling rather than a more confined source of inspiration. A painter might choose colours and pour than onto a canvas with or without a brush. This was the style that I loved to paint in when I first began to paint with acrylic paint. I was further inspired by the work of Lila Irving from Mississauga Ontario. Lila poured acrylic paint from tubs onto huge canvas, and let the colours mix naturally. I truly did enjoy the freedom and excitement of painting, and all of my art dripped with pure emotion. So what has changed for me? As I began to get more serious about selling my art I had more and more seasoned artists and curators commenting on my art. The biggest complaint that I got was that I had failed to create cohesive enough series of paintings, instead I tended to simply create art based on no structure, each painting could be vastly different from the next. What I am trying to day is that this tendency was pointed out as an artistic flaw, one of an inexperienced artist. i have since spend a number of years trying drastically to paint in series of works, at least eight or more paintings of the same theme at a time.

I am not sure at this point if this has made me a better painter, sure my shows looked cohesive and the paintings looked good as a group, but was my art really better than it was when I started. At this point I would argue no. Some of my best work was done with no thought at all as to what it would fit in with or weather it was similar enough to hang as a show. Perhaps some of the best art is developed with the least amount of over thinking, and little attention to the audience that will view it in the end. I feel that I am moving back to the expressionist art that inspired me the most, playing with colour, texture and shape with a childlike enthusiasm. I am not sure where i will end up, but the journey seems more important than the end product. I am inspired by artists who stick to their gut instincts, such as Brenda Gale Warner, an artist who runs galerie 240 in Ottawa, ON. She is an expressionist artist who really sticks to her internal instinct when it comes to her art. Each of her paintings are unique and really stand alone, they don't follow any strict rules at all. All of her art is unique and from the heart, mind and soul. Keep it up Brenda, you inspire me to break free from the rules of the art world.

The recession has hit all major industries and small businesses hard, so naturally the artists, galleries and theaters are feeling the crunch. I was surprised myself when three major galleries swiftly closed their doors in 2011 in Ottawa, Ontario. And I have no doubts that the remaining galleries are feeling the crunch. Artists by nature are resilient as the nature of selling art can be feast or famine at best. The trick is to survive as an artist thought these tough economic times. You might have to rely more on another source of income or lean on working together with other artists to get buy. Another interesting new trend is online galleries, I never thought that day would come, but it has. I found this interesting article about visit by President Obama and his wife to major arts related institutions to show their support. Tell me what you think?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1901465,00.html

I am happy to announce that all of my art inventory is now for sale online on ETSY . I am now selling reproduction prints of my artwork for $21.00. They are perfect for gifts so don't miss the opportunity to purchase them now

I am happy to share that an image of one of my 'Green Roofs' series paintings titled Arts District was used for the website and press material for the Bay Area Community Land Trust (San Francisco.) They use a community land trust model to convert existing properties as well as build new ones within a framework that fully benefits a full range of income diverse people. The non-profit organization promotes affordable, cooperative housing communities as is a green initiative using solar electricity and hot water. It its truly a think out of the box organization with an excellent mission. Here is a link to view the website with the details http://www.bayareaclt.org/
Of course I love the idea that my art is associated with group of people who are promoting better ways to live in the city and innovative buildings with green technology.

It was certainly a pleasant surprise to me to realize that I would no longer have to collect taxes on my art sales as of July 2010. Yes...that sounds crazy, how could a new tax law benefit artists? Simply put, small businesses that collect under $30,000 in revenue a year are exempt from having to collect the HST. The catch is that the very minute that you hit that $30,000 mark, you need to collect taxes on any sales above and beyond. In order to do this properly it is wise to keep track of your sales. The minute that your sales start to creep up to $30,000, march right over to the government offices and sign up to collect HST.
Here is a useful link http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/taxchange/transition.html

To my huge surprise the HST is actually a benifit to small busineses that collect under $30,000.00 in revenue. I have a lot less paperwork now that the HST came into effect, and I do not currenly have to charge tax at all to my customers. There have been huge changes to the tax system for small busineses and you want to keep up to date. A simple explination is that if you did not collect GST before the HST came into effect on July 2010, you will not collect tax at all. If you are a small business (small Supplier ) that collects less than 30,000 per year you are not required to collect HST. The catch is that if you are edging up to 30,000 you had better register for HST before you hit $ 30,000, because you start to collect HST the minute you go over $30,000 in revenue. That is why is so important to keep track of your sales while you make them and not just at the end of the fiscal year. I know that its tough to pull yourself out of the art studio to figure this stuff out, but trust me its worth it.

What is HST? The HST will merge the provincial sales tax with the goods and services tax into one single Harmonized Sales Tax of 13%.