Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with art and artwork

Where in SF proper can I go to find nice art to put up on my walls?

un petit cadeau — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:33:37 -0800

The walls of my apartment are seeming a little bare as of late, and I'm wondering where in the city I could go to pick up some nice art or prints to put up on them... The walls of my apartment are seeming a little bare as of late, and I'm wondering where in the city I could go to pick up some nice art or prints to put up on them. Pre-framed or not, but with the option to -- it doesn't matter, as long as it's not too expensive. Used is fine too, and I'd love to hear about those options!

Yelp isn't too helpful here, since you can't really figure out just what services these shops offer, if framing's all they do or not. One place I've been to in the past and is almost 100% what I have in mind is Reprint Mint in Berkeley but I'm not feeling like schlepping it all the way out there and back again for a while.

Do your worst, green!

Art that is both beautiful and strange.

xenization — Thu, 31 May 2012 08:04:28 -0800

Help me find more unconventional artwork that'll make me say, "Wow." I've developed an appreciation lately for artists working in unusual media or using unorthodox techniques, creating pieces that are undeniably impressive. Examples include the book art of Su Blackwell and Brian Dettmer, the 3D sidewalk illusions of Julian Beever and Kurt Wenner (among others), Liu Bolin's invisible man displays, George Vlosic III's Etch A Sketch creations, and the sand art of Ilana Yahav. This thread is a good springboard, albeit a few years old.

Do you know of any others?

Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

Help me find a great printer for printing colored pencil drawings

parakeetdog — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:44:42 -0800

Which printer is best for printing colored pencil artwork? My dad creates very detailed colored pencil drawings. He would like to print matte images that are at least 16 inches wide and wants to use up to 140 weight fine art paper.

He also would like to add detail to the images after they have printed, so ideally, the ink used would allow him to use the colored pencils over it.

I'm clueless as to what to buy. The budget is up to $1,000 but would prefer to spend less so we can also buy a decent scanner.

I've been researching printers and feel even more confused than when I started my research.

I'm completely new to this type of technology, so even basic advice would be helpful. If no products within my price range exist, I'm open to alternatives.

Dino-sized dino pics

mumblingmynah — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:11:09 -0800

Where can I find large, high-resolution dinosaur illustrations in the style of Zdeněk Burian or Charles Knight? It doesn't have to be by those specific artists, as long as it shares a similar look. Images of other big prehistoric animals are good too, not just dinosaurs. The goal is to print these out in fairly largish size (for personal use, non-commercial). These are some good ones but I would like to get better quality if I can.

Available either online or as part of some sort of Dover clip-art CD-ROM collection would suit me fine. I don't mind paying as long as it's not exorbitant. Thanks in advance!

Inspiration images for map-based artwork

lollusc — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:14:29 -0800

Can you suggest some inspiration pictures for artwork involving old maps? I recently picked up about 10 huge old maps our geography dept at university was throwing out. They are totally useless to me or anyone I know as maps because they are things like detailed maps of mines in very specific parts of australia, or hiking maps for places no one I know what ever go, or maps covering very tiny uninhabited parts of Antarctica. The details are not very interesting, and just framing them seems kind of pointless.

But they are pretty, on a sort of "stand back and squint your eyes" large scale.

So I'd like to turn some of them into art of some sort. I don't want to wallpaper a room or a wall. I will use some for wrapping paper or similar, but I'd also like to make stuff I'd put on my wall, and/or decoupage a table top.

But when I google for inspiration, most of what I find looks really not that great. I like the idea of painting a simple image using a map as a canvas, but I'm not finding very many examples of this, and what I do find, I don't really like, or have been painted quite amateurishly. I am hoping someone here has links to interesting or good-looking examples of this sort of thing.

As for the decoupage, if anyone has any tips or suggestions for that, please let me know!

Point me to some great artist collectives!

msk1985 — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 22:09:29 -0800

What are some good artist collectives that don't charge to submit? After having my own website for nearly two years, I've finally started to bring in some revenue through prints sales these past few months. I want to continue get my pieces out there, and I'm finding the best way is to submit pieces to collectives, such as Gawker Artists.

So now the question, fellow MeFites, is what are some other artist collectives (online or physical) that don't require payment to submit?

Help me identify this painting!

doomtop — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:29:30 -0800

Help me identify this painting! I am not sure when it was made or where it came from. Not sure if it is an original or a reproduction.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doomtop/5267085546/

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I realize it may be extremely difficult to identify what this specific piece is, but if you have thoughts about when it was made or who the artist might be, I'd love to know what you think.

I will be happy to provide any further details that I can, just let me know.

Yeah, I'm big in the art game.

JakeWalker — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:48:04 -0800

Where do I resell a piece of art I once bought? I bought a piece of art by the artist Cornelia Parker (it's called Meteorite Lands On St. Paul's Cathedral, and it's described on the British Council's website, here. I purchased it in England from a gallery called Multiple Store in 2001. Mine is #20 of 20, I'm sure there are none left for sale from the Multiple Store, though they do have a later series for sale here, for 1,500 GBP.

It's an interesting piece: a glass frame case with an A-Z map turned to the location of St. Paul's Cathedral (and the Tate Modern, though it wasn't there when the map was made in 1998), but where the Cathedral is supposed to be, she has dropped a reheated meteorite onto the map, so it's burned through 20 or 30 pages or so. Thus, even of the edition of 20, each one is unique.

I would love to sell this piece, but I have no idea how to go about doing that. I can't imagine that eBay is the best way, not only because I don't know if it's the right audience, but also because I have no way of valuing the thing.

I'm in the New York/New Jersey area now. Are there auction houses who handle this sort of thing? Or resale galleries? Would they take me seriously? I'm not a serious collector, I'd only have this one piece for them to sell.

Is there anywhere I can go to figure out how much this piece might be worth? Does anyone have any experience trying to sell a piece of art like this?

Any and all help appreciated.

I should note -- I have contacted the Multiple Store to see if they had any ideas, but they never got back to me. I haven't been persistent with them, though.

"How can we live and die and never know the difference?"

Afroblanco — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:24:40 -0800

Clyfford Still is my favorite artist ever. Unfortunately, I am having a very difficult time finding prints of his work, except for the same 2-3 that always show up on sites like art.com. I've been looking for years. Any suggestions? I'm not above reproductions, or even prints made from high-res scans (if I could even find them!) I'm pretty much open to anything except for "breaking into an art museum and stealing a painting."

Bonus points if you know where I can find LARGE prints -- or as close to full-size as possible.

looking for ABCs--but not for kids

bookmammal — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:50:28 -0800

Please help me find a wonderful alphabet poster or print! I'm looking for a poster or print (framed or unframed) that shows an ancient alphabet--or any alphabet that uses characters that are different from the standard English ABCs. NOT looking for different fonts of our standard ABCs--I'm looking for completely different characters. Also NOT looking for a typical whimsical children's alphabet poster --this is for a wall in my home library. I remember seeing one years ago that I loved that showed ancient Egyptian characters--by the time I saved enough money to purchase it, it was no longer available. Any ideas out there? Googling hasn't helped me. Thanks, and Happy New Year to all!

Where can I find pictures of empty walls with footprint of frames that have been removed?

pakoothefakoo — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:20:13 -0800

Where can I find pictures of empty walls with footprints of picture/art frames that have been removed? Awhile ago, I read an article which I vaguely remember being about the crash of the art market, and there were accompanying photos of rooms with empty walls with art removed leaving footprint of long gone frames.

Does this ring any bell? Where can I find them, or similar pictures?

Also any ideas how can I reproduce the effect?

Help me matt my meat boy!

arnicae — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:42:26 -0800

How to matt/frame a large piece of paper with a small graphic on it (Mark Ryden's Meat Boy) on a budget? My boyfriend loves Mark Ryden's picture of a little boy coyly clutching a raw steak in a field...and I finally found a copy of it for him! Unfortunately, the image is about 3" square on a white page that is approximately 12" by 10".

I've been having difficulty figuring out how to most attractively frame it without cutting it down, or if I should just cut it down (It is torn out of a book, but still a pretty rare copy- it took me a year to track one down on ebay.)

Any suggestions on what I should matt it with? I'm on a budget. Thanks!

On the trail of some undiscovered artistic joy

zaebiz — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:30:09 -0800

Having read a little about Vincent Van Gogh's life, I have a feeling there must be hundreds of technically proficient painters around with an interesting (and joyful) view on the world who will never be discovered because their personal story is not compelling enough. Where might I start looking for them and their work?

Need Info for Savannah, GA

Juicylicious — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 07:58:55 -0800

Savannah, GA Questions - Art, Poetry, and Framing 1. Where can I take my husband to watch slam poetry in Savannah?
2. Where can I get a medium size stretched canvas acrylic painting framed?
3. Are there any artist co-op galleries or art shows similar to Art-a-whirl (Minneapolis) where a person on a budget can purchase artwork and where an artist doesn't have to give a cut to a gallery owner?

Setting up a multi-city art exhibition

lhall — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:50:35 -0800

Quickfire art exhibition in multiple cities - how do I even begin? I am playing a game which has introduced a fictional pandemic, and I want to ask players to create artwork, photos, sculptures, etc. dealing with the disease... but I want to take it a step further and actually set up an offline, real-world exhibition of the stuff they produce. Problem is, I have no experience in that sphere beyond attending a couple of exhibitions at galleries. So how should I go about making this a reality?

I have no budget so I know I'll have to rely on the kindness of gallery space owners. Are there any resources or messageboards where I could post to see if anyone's interested? (Specifically I'd like to display things in San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas or Austin, and NYC, because I have friends there who can help me coordinate stuff...but any cities are fine.)

What's a reasonable timeline from request -> artwork sending/arriving -> show? (I have about six weeks but I would like to do this in about a month, if that isn't totally crazy. I am considering having different art in each city, with the showing on the same night, to keep things within the timeframe.)

What steps am I woefully ignorant of/totally leaving out?

Thanks in advance for tips and advice!

iTunes cover art for 45s?

entropicamericana — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:40:11 -0800

A while back, I came across a site that would generate artwork suitable for use in iTunes for those odd old singles you have on MP3. The artwork resembled an old 45 RPM record and I think could be customized with the track and artist name. Ring any bells? I can't find it in my bookmarks.

Legal possibilities for copying art's style for advertising?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:20:48 -0800

In Alberta, does my business have the right to use/copy the "style" of a piece of artwork that we already paid to use when commissioning new artwork from a different artist? My retail shop's front awning features a large, prominent mural-type image. When it was originally installed, a local artist was paid to produce the image but my shop doesn't own the image - we've used it a very small number of times for stationery and advertising purposes, but each time we want to use the image in a new form we have to pay a licensing fee.

The original artist is talented but he's personally difficult for us to work with, and we can't even come close to affording his services for all the web & print work we have in mind for an upcoming campaign. I've approached other artists who are able to work within our budget, but I'm concerned about the legality of asking for artwork that deliberately and closely mimics the style of the existing store-front artwork.

I have no intention of completely snubbing the original artist on this matter, but his confrontational and profit-hungry nature mean I have to be sure of my footing before he catches wind of this.

For reference: The original image is a mural with the theme of "people enjoying food" - it has a few stylized painted people standing around with foods and foody images scattered artfully throughout the background and foreground. I'm not interested in copying the existing image, but I would like artwork that features painted people and food of a distinctly similar style so as to provide a continuity in the shop's image. The original artist is not well-known (to my knowledge) and the style isn't ground-breaking-ly unique or anything, so I doubt he could claim we were trading on his name or trademark, but since we don't own the original image, I'm afraid it could be inappropriate for some other reason.

Any advice, experience or (inexpensive) legal resources you could offer would be terrific. If it does come down to "Call a lawyer and pay him to research this", then I can arrange that.

Is there a name for this style of art?

johnofjack — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:16:29 -0800

Is there a name for Satoshi Kitamura's art style in Creepy Crawly Song Book? Recently I found the Creepy Crawly Song Book at the library and really like the artwork (cover, page inside) : simple, deliberately crude with distorted angles, thick lines, and bold colors.

It reminds me a bit of Eric Carle's work (especially The Very Hungry Caterpillar), except Carle is less interested in strong black lines and much more interested in blending colors.

Is there a formal name for this style of artwork? I find people online calling it folksy, naive, bold, etc. but I'd like to know if there's actually a recognized movement it would be put into (with, naturally, similar artists to look into).

I am looking to frame some of my digital artworks but I don't know anything about the procedure, nor any tips for selling my artwork via the net really, any info is greatly appreciated!

bostonhill — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:36:14 -0800

I am looking to frame some of my digital artworks but I don't know anything about the procedure, nor any tips for selling my artwork via the net really, any info is greatly appreciated! Hello all,

I am looking to frame some of my digital artworks but I don't know anything about the procedure, nor any tips for selling my artwork via the net really, any info is greatly appreciated!

For years, I've created digital artwork that I've used for posters, promo material for bands/indie filmmakers and etc. Few of them have suggested that since I have a lot of artwork in a digital work, I should print them out, frame them and sell it via the web.

Almost all of my work is in digital graphic format 300DPI, mainly 8.5 x 11 prints. I'd like to hear some tips on what to do next. How much do frames for that size cost? I've tried to look it up in my area in Boston but none of them have the prices listed. Does anyone have any experience with this? How expensive is art framing and what are the best ways for a young artist out of college to go about doing this so I don't end up living in a box.

Much thanks!

Costs and quality of art reproduction?

vizsla — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:50:05 -0800

What's the next best thing to having an original Van Gogh? What's the third best thing etc? Are there reproductions that look almost identical in every respect? Or to put the question another way, what's the best I could get for under $2000 if I wanted a Starry Night (or any other priceless painting) hanging on my wall?

Does Korea even have hawks?

niteHawk — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 06:35:09 -0800

Korean Artwork - are there any good online or print repositories of animal artwork from Korea? I've been thinking about what my next ink should be, and was looking for something unique (I don't really believe in Flash art). Since I am half korean, and have been feeling my lack of connection to that half (born here, can't read the Language, etc...) I thought that something in the style might be interesting.
The problem is that I'm really looking for birds of prey... hawks especially, and google is no help - I get a lot of "War-Hawk" stories :-S

I'd be willing to look at books or online if anyone has any help.

Thanks

Name that album cover: Smiling family of four at the dinner table...

bwilms — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 16:13:29 -0800

CD Art Filter: I was asked by a friend to identify the artist and album based on a descirption of the CD art. Can you help? The description is as follows: "A smiling family of four are sitting around a kitchen table. They are staring at a black obelisk object in the center of the table. There is window in the background and through the window you can see a boat marina."

Any thoughts? I immediately thought of KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved, but it doesn't really match the smiling, obelisk, or boat marina criteria.

Does anyone else have any ideas?

Where I can get framed in Toronto?

orange swan — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 08:20:52 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good framing shop in Toronto? I bought three etchings while on a trip to Tobermory this past weekend. I've read the various past threads on frames and framing, and have decided that I would like to either find a shop that can frame really cheaply, or alternatively a shop that sells the components so I can assemble it myself. I don't want to make my own frames or cut my own glass, but I'd be open to cutting my own mats and mounting and such. In either case I'll need a good selection of supplies, reasonable pricing, and some help from knowledgeable staff.

I've seen this thread on shops in Mississauga, but there's just one Toronto store recommended in it. There are some Michaels' Arts and Craft stores in Mississauga, but it would be a loooong trip out there on the bus.

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

jeremias — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 07:07:12 -0800

Metamoving. If you're of a slightly artistic bent and have boxes of books, photos, artwork, etc. many of which don't seem to have as much relevance as they did ten years ago, how do you decide what to keep and what to throw away?

Original Art in NYC or toronto

capndesign — Tue, 17 Feb 2004 07:56:14 -0800

Where would I go about finding cheap original artwork for sale in New York City or Toronto? (More inside...) My friend is a Torontonian coming to New York for a week, and he has been looking for a while for original artwork for his new apartment. He is searching for something more modern, but will give anything a chance (posters, prints, photographs, paint, or anything). However, as a student, he has a very limited budget - he is looking to spend at the very most $250 US for anything, and would prefer to spend less. Obviously, this isn't that much for a 'name piece', or any piece for that matter, but he's just looking for something nice, be it by a student or a no-name artist or anything. He knows some good general areas to look (Williamsburg-NY, Queen St W-Toronto), but is looking for specific people, stores, galleries, websites, or anywhere he could browse and find something.