Ellen Scobie | Verosimile

I'm very pleased ... well, okay, really excited, totally stoked, so pumped -- where was I reading that your slang will give away your age ; ) - who said chuffed? ... anyways, about the new landscapes I'm working on! I've gone back to a process I was using in about 2004 when I first got interested in making the photomontages. I combine a textured surface with bits of photographs and coloured patches to create the composition. I'm getting some really great, painterly texture. It doesn't surprise me that the further I actually get from working with paint the more I want to capture the texture of the paintbrush strokes! Here are some in-progress images.

Trees on Fallow Fields

Detail with photo overlay of silhouetted tree branches against textured background

Detail of sky

Click here to learn more about purchasing and framing options: Trees on Fallow Fields

*****

Care to comment? Please visit my Facebook page.

Ellen Scobie is a visual artist melding the traditional art forms of painting, photography and printmaking. See more of her art at www.verosimile.com .

I love the fall ... the cooler mornings, crisper air and the sense of anticipation that comes with getting back into the swing of things. No matter how busy my summer might have been, it's always the "holidays" in my mind. These two art prints celebrate the colour and texture of fall through the juxtaposition of dried leaves with a weathered painted wall.

Red Leaf Triptych

View my Imagekind fine art prints online gallery for these and other nature-inspired artworks.

*****

Care to comment? Please visit my Facebook Fan Page

Ellen Scobie is a visual artist melding the traditional art forms of painting, photography and printmaking. View her art at www.verosimile.com

Have you ever gone into a paint store thinking you'd get "white paint" and be confronted with sixty choices of white? What should be a simple decision turns out to be a bit overwhelming. You can be confronted with the same situation when choosing art. With so many styles, methods and prices of art on the market, where to begin?

Robert Rauschenberg, White Painting, 1951. House paint on canvas, 72 x 72 in, four panels.

Here are my top ten tips for choosing art:

1. Buy what you like. You've heard it before, take it to heart. Don't worry if your best friend says it looks like gravy slopped down the front of a shirt. You're the one that's looking at it and you should enjoy it.

2. Allow the art to move you. Does it bring a smile to your face? Cause you to pause? Perplex you? Remind you of somewhere, something, someone? Try to let yourself feel the art without analyzing too much why you like it.

3. Art is not a savings bond. Buying art as a financial investment is not a sure thing. Even those buyers who purchase old master artworks whose prices are in the stratosphere see much fluctuation in values. If you develop an eye for good contemporary art there are definitely many opportunities to purchase art from emerging artists whose prices may rise in the future. If this happens, and there is a resale market for the art, consider it a lucky offshoot to owning art that you like. Consider the ROI on a piece of art to be the enjoyment you get from it everyday.

4. It doesn't have to match your sofa. If you buy what you like, you'll have it for a long time. Your art will last longer than your sofa or wall color.

5. Cultivate a curator's instinct. If the variety of art available makes it hard for you to know where to start or how to proceed, be the curator of your own collection by creating some criteria. Are you interested only in contemporary art or would you like pieces from different time periods or styles? Perhaps you'd like to focus just on landscapes or abstracts? Do you collect limited edition prints, ceramic sculptures, interesting stuff you find in alleyways? I'm serious! Now you're becoming the artist. There are endless ways to approach this. Pick something out that you like and go from there.

6. Buy directly from the artist. There are lots of great options to buy affordable art directly from the artist at summer art fairs, art school end of year shows, community art events and online at artist's websites. You'll probably also get a chance to talk to the artist directly and learn more about the work you're interested in.

7. Spend a lot of time looking. Educate yourself by observing art in all its forms. Art is all around us. From your local art museum to the graffiti'd wall on the corner, human artistic endeavour is everywhere. Don't let preconceived notions of what is good art cloud your taste!

8. Buy what you can afford. The reputation and popularity of an artist, the quality of the materials used in creating the art, and the scarcity of the image will all factor into the price. Ultimately what you pay for art is what you're willing to spend. Buy what you can afford.

9. Prints are good value for money. Original prints are excellent choices for the budget. They will almost certainly cost you less than paintings as the artist can sell multiple copies of a print at a lower price but earn the same amount as selling one painting. They are also a great way for an artist to allow many people to enjoy one image.

10. Enjoy the process! Your collection will evolve as you learn more about what you like. Artists communicate through their art. How you interpret what they communicate will inform you about yourself. Enjoy the process!

*****

Care to comment? Please visit my Facebook page.

Ellen Scobie is a visual artist melding the traditional art forms of photography, painting and printmaking. View her art at www.verosimile.com

Artists frequently get questions on "what is their art about". It is only natural that people look at the art with the intention of making some sort of sense out of it, to create meaning from the colour, form and texture in front of them. I'm speaking about abstract art, where representational form is not present. Here sometimes a title can be helpful and I try to give titles to my work to provide a stepping off point for viewers to enter the work and create meaning for themselves on their own terms. Tonight I found the website of Swedish artist Eva Ryn Johannissen. I think she has articulated very well her believe that viewing her art should be experienced on an emotional level, something that I also encourage people to try.

Always Never 4, Oil on canvas, 46 x 37 cm, 2009 by Eva Ryn Johannissen

"According to one definition an abstract artist is someone whose art 'departs in varying degrees from representational accuracy'. My own paintings are not normally abstracted from a physical motive at all. Instead they are mental constructs resulting from an interplay between my experience of contemporary life and the painting process itself.

To me as an abstract artist, all the formal aspects of painting, brush marks, colours, tones, layers of paint, surface texture, become means of addressing my experience of contemporary life. Painting means participating in a happening; it involves trying to surprise and surpass myself while being open to the unexpected.

Memories and previous experiences become fused with ever new questions that arise during the process. When looking at non-figurative abstract art, the viewer needs to lay aside all preconceived ideas of what a painting should be. Instead of trying to determine what the artwork represents he needs to simply let himself be stirred by the movement of ideas in his unconscious mind even as he thinks he is merely looking at colours, abstract shapes, texture." (Eva Ryn Johannissen)

*****

Care to comment? Please visit my Facebook Page

Ellen Scobie is a visual artist melding the traditional art forms of photography, painting and printmaking. See her art at www.verosimile.com

Back in December of 2008, I donated two prints to the "Night of 1,000 Drawings" benefit held by Artists Space in New York City. I've just learned today that over 900 people attended the five-hour event purchasing $25,000 worth of art! The proceeds of the sale directly fund Artist Space's exhibitions and programs. Nearly 700 artists contributed more than 1,000 individual artworks. Many thanks to the two individuals who purchased my prints (seen below) and supported this fantastic event!

On Wednesday it Rained (excerpt) It was an uncommonly wet and miserable April afternoon in the old part of the city. A soft rain began to fall creating a drizzly curtain of reflective light. The blurry wetness slowed the city's pace and served as a reminder of the beautiful redemption of not always being able to see clearly.

Waterside Reverie The image is composed of elements from a West Coast beach - shells, rocks and shoreline plants. There is a texture to the colour washes in the print which capture the essence of life on the beach - even a seemingly open stretch of sand teems with shellfish, seaweeds and microscopic life. The mesmerizing sound of the ocean waves play with sunlit reflections and hazy water-washed horizons.

*****

Care to comment? Please visit my Facebook page.

Ellen Scobie is a visual artist melding the traditional art forms of printmaking, painting and photography. See her art at www.verosimile.com