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Arts RSS FeedsTony Judt: An Interview - Courage is always missing in politicians. It is like saying basketball players aren?t normally short. It isn?t a useful attribute. To be morally courageous is to say something different, which reduces your chances of winning an election. Courage is in a funny way more common in an old-fashioned sort of enlightened dictatorship than it is in a democracy. However, there is another factor. My generation has been catastrophic. I was born in 1948 so I...Feed Source: www.lrb.co.uk Thomas Jones: Ian McEwan - The elements of farce in Solar have the unintended side-effect of pointing up how farcical many of the events in McEwan?s previous, more serious novels are: the drunk ex-husband in The Innocent falling asleep in his ex-wife?s wardrobe while waiting for her to come home with her new fiancé; the young man in Atonement sending the drastically wrong draft of a letter to the young woman he?s just realised he?s in love with. In The Cement Garden or The... Tariq Ali: In Yemen - The net result of the West?s worries about the AQAP effect is that the US will send $63 million in aid to Yemen this year. A fifth has already been earmarked for weaponry, much of the rest will go to the president and his cronies, and some into the pockets of the military high command. What?s left will be fought over by the bosses of different regions. (The sum doesn?t include the Pentagon?s remittance for counter terrorism, which last year amoun... Joshua Kurlantzick: Thailand Falls Apart - In 2008, Thailand had more than 14 million visitors ? neighbouring Cambodia had two million ? and tourism was the country?s biggest source of foreign exchange. Sleepy islands like Koh Samui and Koh Chang are fishing for tourists where once they fished for sea bass; even the smallest Thai towns seem to have boutique hotels offering wi-fi and fancy coffee. Now, however, the number of tourists visiting Thailand is beginning to level out and even to ... Letters - The letters page from London Review of Books Volume 32 issue 6... Table of contents - Table of contents from London Review of Books Volume 32 issue 6... St. Patrick's Day Activities - Drawing and Crafts - Happy St. Patrick's Day! Just in case you missed it earlier in the month, here's our fun Leprechaun Cartoon to draw for Saint Pat's. He's much easier than he looks.
More St Patrick's Day Activities:
Shamrock Charm
Green Beer candle
Photoshop Elf Ears
Color-In Prin... 'Art School is Making Me Hate Art'. - Do you read Postsecret? (Parental advisory: adult content.) As an artist and writer, interested in what drives people, and the common ground that we all share, I read Postsecret regularly. Many of the themes are about sexuality, relationships, religion and work. I don't recommend it for younger readers, as some of the the posts are quite troubling, about abuse and trauma. But there's often a postcard about art and creativity. Once, there was one ... Promoting Your Art in a Tough Economy - With the economy still struggling and budgets tight, the market for art of any kind is very tough. So you need to find the 'angles' to get buyers to choose your work over some cheap stock art or a mass-produced poster. There's an upside to the downturn: people are looking to build community, looking locally and making greener, more ethical choices, as well as economizing. Here's five ideas to consider when promoting your work:
As a work-from-ho... Sketching Faces - Freehand sketching is a useful skill for any artist, and one that forms the backbone of many artist's technique. Sketching allows you to observe and expressively draw your subject, with a focus on structure and form rather than obsessing about small detail.
This week I'm really chuffed to share a new tutorial on Sketching Faces, created for Drawing/Sketching readers by cartoonist Ed Hall. Ed is a brilliant cartoonist whose work has featured in m... Detail in Charcoal - We often think of charcoal as a medium for quick sketches or large figure drawings. But you can use it for detailed work too. Studies like this animal skull by Alberoni show the depth that can be achieved. Charcoal pencils are ideal for doing the detail in drawings like this, or you can use a stick, 'sharpened' on a piece of sandpaper or rough cardboard. Charcoal can be difficult to erase, so be careful to preserve highlights. Beginners sometimes... Going Freelance - Look Before You Leap - If you're going to go freelance, it's important to do your homework and have some idea of what you're in for. 'Seize the day' is a nice mantra for personal development gurus but 'fools rush in' to bankruptcy, especially in the current financial climate! By making a realistic assessment of your marketable skills, formulating a business plan, and preparing ahead for the ups and downs of freelance life, you stand a much better chance of success. The... Checking Your Composition - I was just thinking about how important composition is to the success of a drawing. Remember that the figure, object or scene that you are drawing isn't floating in space, or in the middle of your infinite field of view once you draw it - it's relating to the four sides of the page. Does it make sense, the way you've placed it on the paper?
Converting your image to grayscale on the computer, or scaling it up or down, or even playing with colors -... Blogs Worth Reading: Paintings, Prints and Stuff - I'm a printmaker, so the mention of 'prints' is sure to catch my attention. Add some beautiful paintings of British coastline, lush mixed-media pieces, and of course, sketchbook pages, and you've got my attention for a good hour or two. The work here is really good. It's easy for landscape to be a bit insipid and lazy, especially when abstracted, but Vivien Blackburn doesn't fall into that trap - her textures are authentic and robust, her composi... Human Anatomy References - If you can't get to a life class - or need a break from the intensity of drawing a full figure - there are a few ways to improve your figure drawing away from the Life Drawing studio. One is to do studies of small details, using a mirror. Work on hands, feet, head, ears, nose. Focus on simplified but accurate structures, observing proportion, and describing essential details with economical mark-making.
Anatomy study is always worthwhile. Use an... Learn to Draw a Wolf - Wolves are popular subjects. There's something magical about them, and they hold a special place in the mythology and legends of many peoples. Of course, werewolves have been popularized recently by the Twilight books and movies, particularly the recent New Moon; a couple of readers have sent in drawings of Jacob Black, but unfortunately due to copyright restrictions, I can't share them with you. So last year I asked artist Michael Hames to creat... Copyright © 2010, LadyWebSoftware. All Rights Reserved. |