You know the drill… you’re at a cocktail party or a gallery opening with a date and you really want to impress her. You’re both gazing at a painting and she pops the question: “How does this art make you feel?” Now you have two options: either you make something up (which is not a bad idea) or you can actually say something meaningful. below is a short lesson on Balance in Composition that will help you sound sophisticated no matter what “Art Talk” obstacle come your way…

Copy and paste the HTML to embed this infograph: There are no hard and fast rules when framing a painting. However, the spotlight is the artwork and the frame should be the perfect complement for the art and the décor in style and color. DO NOT USE A FRAME THAT COMPETES WITH THE ART IN COLOR OR TEXTURE If you have other paintings hanging, DON’T TRY and match the frame. It’s actually cool to have them different and contrast each other. Make sure the frame matches the style of the painting, and not detract from it. Make sure the frame looks appropriate with the decor of the room it will be hanging in? FRAME BASED ON YOUR STYLE Portraits and landscapes look best with more traditional looking frames. Abstract, edgy, or modern art looks best with plain geometric frames. Not all paintings need to be framed. Gallery wrap…

The oil painting you have just hung on the wall may still be susceptible to damage. Never choose where to hang an oil painting based solely on where you think it will look best. Ignoring necessary environmental factors could damage your original oil painting more than you expect. Event though oil painting is a highly durable media it is still best to take into account temperature, air moisture, and lighting when thinking about the best place to hang your art. The following are a few tips to help you find that perfect spot for your art away from harm: Think about when you attend a showing at an art gallery. The space is usually cool as higher temperatures lead to the deterioration of the painting. Watch out for elevated humidity. Do not hang your painting near heating vents. Areas with high moisture – such as the bathroom –…

Artist Become (ArtistBe.com), the online community for creating, selling and buying artwork online where artists can create a profile and upload an unlimited quantity of artwork named Gallatin, Tennessee artist Micheal Hughes, its June 2013 Artist of the Month. After a long stint as a caricaturist at a Opryland, Hughes is now a full time artist and shows his works online and in Gallatin Furniture, in Gallatin, TN, and has been asked to show at Agora Gallery in New York City and the Tennessee Art League Gallery. A self taught artist, who leans towards oil and enamel on canvas , Hughes has defined his unique style that shows in each work over his 20 years as an artist. Although he’s grown to love painting the human and animal face and body, he keeps leaning back to modern abstract and elegant scenery. Hughes describes his work as versatile –…

overstockArt.com announced today the top 5 must have oil paintings for Father’s Day 2013 to help dads create their perfect man cave. “When a dad is elegant and tasteful, his man-cave should probably fit the part.” said David Sasson, CEO of overstockArt.com. “We love sharing our unique insights and customer favorites with the art world to help art lovers know what’s cool and trending for their space, and what would make the perfect gift for the elegant dad this Father’s Day.” The Father’s Day Top 5 list was accumulated based on traffic to the overstockArt.com website of dads in the US only, measured in the past 12 months. According to the analytics gathered, the works of art listed above were most sought after among dads in the US. The Top Five oil paintings for Father’s Day include: “Bullfight” by Edouard Manet – Bullfight is an impressionist painting by…

Egon Schiele lived twenty-eight years and had a talented as well as controversial career from 1890-1918. Gustav Klimt enjoyed giving back to young painters what he had learned in his career and was a mentor of Egon Schiele. Klimit’s Art Nouveau style certainly inspired the young artist, whose symbolism also flirted strongly with images of death. As a child, Egon Schiele was obsessed with drawing trains, often to the point where his father destroyed his sketchbooks so he would focus on more proper career ideals. A Czech from southern Bohemia, Schiele had a sister Gerti (whom he had a questionable relationship with) and was considered a shy and troubled child.  Schiele showed a complete lack of interest in academia and his father’s career path; his father worked as a station master and eventually passed when Schiele was fifteen.  At this time, his uncle, also in the railway profession,…

Frida Kahlo art journals reveal handwritten entries, letters, and colored-ink entries also full of doodles, sketches and paintings. Over her lifetime, the artist contributed over 200 paintings to Surrealism, self-portraits, portraits of  family and friends, and still life works primarily. Kahlo proved to be very resilient as a person; though suffering from polio at age six and other accidents and illnesses, as a child she participated in sports and loved to ride her bicycle. Of her siblings, she was her father’s favorite, considered the most like himself. Her father taught her how to retouch and color prints and a family friend gave her drawing lessons. She described herself as a child that “went about the world in colors.” This resiliency is a part of her legacy as a person and artist. The art journal she kept during the last decade of her life which was “… preoccupied with death, in…