Art Libs

Signature: Patterns in Gond Art

2010-09-24T00:00:00.001-04:00

This is our last day for Tara Books week and the last book I will be talking about is the beautiful Signature: Patterns in Gond Art, which is just stunning. There are way too many artists to list that were involved with this book, but it was edited and put together by Gita Wolf, Bhajju Shyam and Jonathan Yamakami... a few names we have seen quite a bit over the past week!

This book was the very first book I looked through from Tara Books. On first glance through the book, I thought the intricate patterns were actually needlework art and couldn't believe it when I figured out that they were paintings and drawings. Incredible is the only word to describe it. Through this book, I learned so much about Gond tribal art, such as each artist featured in this book has created their own unique and distinctive design that have particular meanings. The designs are so distinctive that you once you are familiar with an artists' work, you can tell their art apart from others just based on the design. That's why this book is called Signature, since the main focus of the book is the intricate designs in each of the images. And that is essentially what each of the designs are to the artist - a signature.

This book is put together so well and beautifully. I love that the entire image is minimal and the main focus of the book is the design in the art. Sort of similar to pointillism, and yet so much more unique than just dots on a page.

To accompany each image and design, the artist of each image has included what the design or image means to them and how they came up with it. Most of the images seem inspired by sentimental and simple things in their lives as well as other forms of art or crafts like weaving, which could possibly be why I mistook some of the art for some sort of needlepoint at first.

Some of the artists who are featured in the book have been around for a while and are a bit more well-known such as Durga Bai, whose work we saw with The Churki-Burki Book of Rhyme and others, to lesser known emerging teenage artists making their way into the art world.

For any art collector or anyone who is just interested in the world or art in general, this is a definite must-have. It's another new release from Tara Books and you will be kicking yourself if you miss out on it. Hop on over to the site and check it out. I would like to thank Tara Books SO much for introducing me to their amazing artists and works. Make sure you visit the site because they don't just sell books, but stationery, art prints and cards as well. The cards are all handmade and the stationery journals called Flukebooks, are a completely unique art experience of their own. Seriously, each journal is completely unique and there is not another one like it anywhere in the world... and they are all VERY reasonably priced, so please... support a completely worthy art cause and visit them right now. Tara Books... you are amazing.

I Like Cats

2010-09-23T00:00:00.004-04:00

Tara Books week is almost over (oh no!), but do not fret! Today and tomorrow's features are on a couple of incredible and amazing books, not any more or less incredible than the previous book features, but pretty incredible nonetheless! There are a whole buttload of artists involved with today's book I Love Cats, which I absolutely adored, being a huge cat lover. This title is also a new release from the fabulous Tara Books, so be sure to check it out once you've read about how much I loved this book (plus the book comes with a silkscreen print!)

Just to cover the fabulous artists that are featured in this book, there is; Swarna Chitrakar, Bhajju Shyam, Durga Bai, Putli Ganju, Chelia Hamir, Balu Ladkya Domada, Radhashyam Raut, Mayank Shyam, Ramesh Hengadi, Man Singh Vyam, Kalaba Shyam, Eknath Gangavana, Anand Shyam, Moyna and Joydeb Chitrakar, Roshani Vyam, and Avinash Veeraraghavan. Also, a bunch of the artists are listed as unknown, so as much as I wish I could list everyone involved, some of the beautiful illustrations remain mystery artists. If you've been following this weeks features, you may recognize some of the artists names from a couple of the other books.

Anyways, this book is basically a collective of amazing cat art with words that could be associated with how the cats look in the images, which you can see in the sample pieces at the end of this review. The drawings vary from simple cats with teeny tiny intricate designs in them to thick lined abstract cats. Each artist brings their own interpretation of cats to the page... silly, serious, fierce, ferocious, fun, beautiful... all words that I could use to describe some of the cats found in this book. All of the cats are different too, not just your average housecat... there's all sorts of fierce wild puddytats drawn in this book too.

The art in this book has been put together so well and the book overall has been designed fantastically to bring you a great piece of art and literature. I know that this book has a special place in my heart already and I consider it one of the most amazing pieces of art that I own in my home. This book is a great addition to any collection, whether you want it for a kids book, a personal fun book, or a really nice coffee table book for people to look through when they visit.

Bravo to the brilliant artists in this book for making me smile with their beautifully drawn cats.

The Churki-Burki Book of Rhyme

2010-09-22T00:00:00.002-04:00

Carrying on with the Tara Books week, we have the next book on my list The Churki-Burki Book of Rhyme written by Gita Wolf and drawn by Durga Bai.

This is a new release by Tara Books and I was very honoured to receive a copy of this book. This book has a fun story for readers of all ages, but personally for me, as much as I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed the art even more. The story follows Churki and Burki, two sisters who love to rhyme as they explore, play and help others in their village. The story is a really fun concept that is based on the artist, Durga Bai's childhood in her village of Patangahr (click on Durga Bai's name to learn a little bit more about her!).

The extraordinary thing about this book is, again, the stunning artwork shown in it. What starts off as simple drawings, turn into masterpieces with the beautiful designs in each of the images. Very much like pointillism, but instead of just simple dots of colour, the images are filled in with their very own signature design and then are covered by a solid colour. There's no shading or any shadowing or any technical bits that much of western art seems consumed with, but rather just beautiful and straight to the point drawings to convey a wonderful story.

Even without the words, you would be able to tell a story of your own interpretation and I think that's what makes this book (and all of the Gond tribal art I've encountered so far) so remarkable, unique and generally stunning.

Fingerprint

2010-09-21T00:00:00.002-04:00

Today, as I mentioned yesterday, we continue our Tara Books themed week. The book I'm talking about today is Andrea Anastasio's Fingerprint. Basically, this book came into existence through the creators experience when visiting the United States and getting fingerprinted by airport immigration authorities.

The book is a small hardcover book completely made up of fingerprints. There are no words to accompany the visual story, but rather leaves it open to interpretation through the beautiful screen printed fingerprints on each page. The book starts with small increments of fingerprints and works its way up to numerous mushed together fingerprints. Some pages are neat and tidy, while other pages are chaotic and abstract, however, the whole time maintaining the fact that each little bit of paint on the page in unmistakably a fingerprint.

When I first saw this book, I didn't really know what to make of it, but what begins as at first glance, a seemingly childish project, becomes more complex and intricate the more you look at it and study it. I wish I had more to write about this book because it's a truly interesting and unique concept, but there's only so much that one can write about fingerprints. I do however, highly recommend you check it out for yourself.

Here are some images from the book itself:

Flight of the Mermaid

2010-09-20T00:00:00.003-04:00

Well this week I have a really special treat for you. This whole week is a really awesome themed week full of some truly spectacular art coming from South India. This fabulous publishing company called Tara Books has introduced me to their line of products. Just to give you a little bit of information about the company, here's a snippit from their About Us page on their web site:

"Tara Books is an independent publisher of picture books for adults and children based in Chennai, South India. Now in our fifteenth year, we remain a collective of dedicated writers, designers and artists who strive for a union of fine form with rich content. We continue to work with a growing tribe of adventurous people from around the world. Fiercely independent, we publish a select list that straddles diverse genres, offering our readers unusual and rare voices in art and literature."

I wasn't completely sure what to expect when I was first told about the books, but once I opened the first one up and looked through it, I was completely blown away by the amazing work in the books. So basically this week, I'm going to enlighten you about some books you should seriously be aware of. This company is amazing and helps bring the artwork of South India to us through these brilliant books and you absolutely need to see them for yourself. Without further ado, I bring you my first Tara Books review of Flight of the Mermaid.

To start with, I am a huge fan of this classic fairy tale, not to mention the Disney movie which makes me oh so happy as well! We've all heard the story and many different variations, and yet this telling of the little mermaid is uniquely different and beautiful. It follows the same general plot of the original story with some changes, but what truly makes this book unique is not necessarily the telling of the story, so much as the beautiful illustrations that accompany it.

The book itself is a lovely hardcover book that comes with a removable fish made from the material the book cover is made from so you can glimpse the first page illustration of the mermaid herself. Each and every little thing drawn in the book is made up of smaller and stunningly intricate designs. Every colour in each drawing perfectly complements the illustration and help make the art pop out of the page. The illustrations at first glance might seem simple and child-like, but upon further inspection, again, the intricate designs in each item make the artwork so precious. It truly baffles me to think about how long the artist, Bhajju Shyam, worked to make these drawings so beautiful.

It really makes you realize that there is still so much art out there being made without the aid of computers in this nearly completely digital age. So much work has gone into this book that it's hard not to fall in love with it immediately. As a sidenote for children reading this book, it is an absolutely stunning book but for parents, don't forget that the original stories of the little mermaid are a lot darker than the fluffy (and amazing...) Disney version. With that being said though, the story is completely appropriate for readers of all ages in my humble opinion. With that being said, I will leave you with some images of the book from the Tara Books web site.

Fan Expo 2010 - Adam Gorham

2010-09-07T00:00:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone! About a week late, but the last weekend of August was Canada's very own equivalent to Comic Con - Fan Expo 2010. A clusterf*ck of the nerdiest, artsiest, most awesome people around. Way over it's capacity, the show was left with a line up of people around Toronto's streets Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We walked around the show taking photos of this and that and talking to awesome artists to showcase to you! We've already done a feature on this guy - the talented Mr Adam Gorham, but upon his comic book release of Teuton, we thought that we would re-feature him and his latest piece of awesome to hit the streets.

The first image featured is the cover of Teuton and the second and third are a couple of pages of the comic minus the story. It is seriously awesome and I highly recommend it. Here are some photos from the show with Adam and his comic and such!

Meet the real life inspiration for the guy getting stabbed in this panel. Meet Adam Gorham on the left and the stabbed in the armpit guy Mr Doug Broadley! Like Hellraiser's Doug Bradley (who was also at FanExpo), but cooler and less famous. Awwwesome! Below is Adam sketching away for a friend of ours... this kid never stops drawing... DC - you had better claim this kid as your own soon!

Adam with his BIGSEXYCOMICS.com shirt on and his lovely lady Teshley (although I shouldn't be giving out the real name of a superhero like Ms Marvel). She showed up all dressed up to help support the launch of Teuton and if you were lucky enough to be at FanExpo on Friday, you would've met Ms Marvel and their lovely little baby Rosalind dressed up as Wonder Woman! This is one awesome, kick-ass family!

If you're interested in buying his FANTASTIC comic, you can contact him through his deviantART page or on his facebook, where he can give you all the information you need!

hoyhoykung

2010-09-03T00:00:00.001-04:00

I had some severe difficulties narrowing down which pieces to use. Seriously. This art is amazing. I might be in love with all of it. Waaah!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The easieist part is Sifi-character design, I love doing colorful things. The hardest thing is to remove color out of my painting TT__TT

Which is your favourite piece and why?
It's Anemonefish, a cute little fish machine. I really love it!

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Ha ha ha!!! None!! Because I can't translate it. (I use Thai as my first language, and for english answering I asked my sis for translate them for me.)

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Peppermint-Pinwheel

2010-09-02T00:00:00.002-04:00

Amazing digital art (again, another backlogged artist... SORRY!!! :( ), Peppermint-Pinwheel from deviantART. I feel kind of silly calling people by their usernames, but I was too silly to ask a nice easy question like what's your real name on my questionnaire, so tee hee. Oh well! You're here for the art anyways, right? :)

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Personally, I would have to say that the easiest part(s) of the process is the laying down of the colour concept in the beginning. For me, the hardest part is finishing the image off.. I never seem to know when to stop ^_^;

Which is your favourite piece and why?
My favourite piece would have to be Snowfall, as it was the image that helped me with my first (relatively) major break into the art scene. However, it is also the image I hate the most as I haven't been able to surpass its success with any of my new images.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
I love deviantART because it was the medium through which i was able to discover most of my favourite artists. Also, I find the community here to be quite warm and helpful.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Haha, I can't really think of answer tp that question right now, but i know I've recieved some pretty strange comments in the past. Mostly from my little sister

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Matt Brown

2010-09-01T00:00:00.002-04:00

I re-discovered this artist when going through my backed-up features and his work is incredible. Matt Brown is an amazing digital artist that completely deserves your love and adoration. Check out his work and become a fan noooooow!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The hardest thing for me is trying to find that voice or style or idea that's fresh and new.

I don't know whether or not I succeed, but it's where a lot of my effort goes in the first few stages of a piece. All artists are constantly being compared to each other, which puts pressure on you to keep coming up with something original.

There's nothing more deflating than thinking you might have something new and interesting to say, only to discover that another artist has already beaten you to it! It's like going to a party and finding you're wearing the exact same outfit as someone else.

The easiest thing is when you've finished your pre-lim work and move onto the final piece. By that point, the whole process really takes hold of your senses and everything feels great.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
My favourite piece is gerneally my most recent one. I guess that's because it's still new, and it reflects my most current ideas. But there's always things about each piece I'd like to improve upon, which means the further back I look in my portfolio, the more faults I see.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
I like being inspired by art that's totally different than mine, and DA is perfect for that. Just floating around in the currents and happening upon hidden gems... It's wonderful.

It's also always nice to get a sense of which of your pieces are best received, and why.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Just today I had someone email me claiming that they were my long lost sister. Turns out they were a fan of my work and had heard about me giving art to my brothers and sisters as gifts. It was a crazy, but lovely way to make a compliment!

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Nariscuss

2010-08-31T00:00:00.002-04:00

Today, we have the photograpy of deviantART's Nariscuss!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The easiest and hardest part of the artistic process can always depends on the person. I find the easiest part also varies from situation. Finding the subject has become something of a trait to me and i very often see things to photograph that no one else could spot alone. The hard part is making what i see some alive in my photos. So that anyone can get that same feeling i get when i take a picture, just by looking at it.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
Thats a tricky question, but i have one that i love the most is Grass fire. The reason behind it is because the image itself dipicts a sense small things making a big differance, using the referance of a fire. I had always wanted to take photos of butterflies and birds. I think the reason for this has alot to do with their similarities. Their both very free flying, and always find ways to suprise and elude me. I had always promised myself and set the goal of taking a decent picture of a butterfly and when i suceeded i felt i had acomplished more then just the resulting photo.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
I've always been abit of a web surfer. So i often find quite stero-typical things online. DeviantArt, however i loved because of it's massive variation of talented artists that made me feel so inspired to be just as good as them. I loved the lack of restriction and how i felt i had travled without actually going anywhere. Seeing beautiful pictures of stunning scenes made my more enticed to travel. I wanted to share my work with the rest of the community so i could get a broad and large scale opinion that would help me to become a better photographer. The people i have spoken to over deviantArt have made me more confident, friendly and been so supportive. I've made so many friends and met so many lovely people who i can share a common ground with.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I've not really had many strange comments. I'd really have to look back in order to find any, but i often find people making a point out of something quite literally obvious. People also like to assume alot about a photograph and i'm quite commonly asked what camera i use.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Cetrobo

2010-08-30T00:00:00.002-04:00

Fan Expo Toronto has come and gone, but I have some special highlights from some awesome artists for you to check out soontimes! Keep checking back for loads of awesome.. like today's artist: Cetrobo from deviantART!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
the easiest is to find ideas, and the hardiest is to make the selection of all the picture and select the good one.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
I love each piece I do cos it has his own story that remind me the context and circumstances of the day of shooting

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
for me, deviant art is the most active community of the web.
it's a real motivation for me to post my pictures on the site.
It gives me opportunity to get constructive critics about my work.
eventually If I hadn't known deviant art, I wouldn't have been a photograph

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
the strangest comment I've received came from the strangest phot I've ever taken,
you can see the picture here

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

German Nobile

2010-08-27T00:00:00.002-04:00

German Nobile is kind of amazing. His art is awesome and I am fairly certain you will like it too. His Spider Woman vs Venom showdown is AWESOME and so is everything else he does. Check him out!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
It depends on each piece. But for me.. is easy (more fun than easy) the “render” part.
And the Hardest probably if includes a lot of perspective. =)

Which is your favourite piece and why?
Always the new one. But Only for a few hours.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
It's like the phone service in the beginning . More people use it! More usefull to everyone.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
One guy point an issue so big that makes me shame.
In middle of a storm in the sea I put some candles and the fire is very quiet!!

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Cryptcrawler

2010-08-26T00:00:00.002-04:00

If you haven't noticed, I've been playing catch-up again with a bunch of artists who should have been featured FOREVER ago on the blog. Cryptcrawler is one of those artists. AMAZING art that HAS to be seen. Check it out. It's completely all kinds of awesome.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
>> You know this is more difficult to answer than I thought it would be!
I find that it changes for each piece. Each work has its own personality and way it wants to be dealt with; sometimes a composition will come very fluidly, but other times i'll have to fight to get a conversation started.
I don't have a set workflow like a lot of other guys and gals, I usually make it up as I go along - its almost embarrassing, hee hee. I have to keep it intuitive and fun; ive found that trying to approach this with a rigid formula not only makes things harder but also strips the life from an idea.
It's tough to say whats "easier" or "harder" because so much of my work is based off of captalising off of happy mistakes. I always sit down with an open mind and ive been doing it long enough to know that when I get stuck or frustrated it's because im not seeing whats there, im seeing what I want to see and trying to make it click. So many times i've gotten so frustrated that I go ahead and destroy the thing im trying to make work and then suddenly the entire thing opens up and something happens that I never planned on but snaps the whole thing into place.

You can really have some amazing experiences when your willing to get yourself out of the way and to see frustration as an opportunity to learn.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
>> Another tough question!
I think i'd have to say "Containment Breach: Sub-Level 5". At the time I really wanted to do a horror/sci-fi piece and incorporate a mad-science theme and that 1st person camcorder idea. I tried so many different compositions for months but never got what I wanted, so I worked on other things for a while. Then I came back with a fresh head and things snapped into place. I feel like I tapped into the "80's horror movie vibe" that I wanted to capture initially.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
>> The pure enthusiasm for art itself.
DA not only has incredibly talented artists at every turn but is also populated by so many passionate, supportive and responsive art-lovers; I adore the community and have met some people though it that ive connected deeply with. It's a special place.
It's where i've gotten my start, so it'll always be the 1st place I post new work.

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
>>Ohhh god! Hah! So many!
I gotta say im really blessed to have the people that I do who come by to comment!
Some extremely funny guys and gals come by. I've had everything from people telling me they hated me because they liked something so much, to someone saying they wanted to snuggle up with one of my monsters!
But I'd have to say that one of the most memorable ones was this guy who came by and left a few comments on "Containment Breach: Sub-Level 5" in all caps, saying something about the frightned scientists in the foreground to the effect of " THATS WHAT YOU GET FOR NOT DOING YOUR JOB..SOMEONE IS GONNA GET THIER HEAD POPPED LIKE A CHERRY!"
It was just so ridiculous and over the top, my wife thought it utterly hysterical as well.

I gotta say I really feel privileged to have support that I do, I always get so excited and nervous before I post something new because I really want to please those who are interested in my work.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

SkoLzki

2010-08-25T00:00:00.002-04:00

Today we have the amazing illustrations of SkoLzki on Art Libs today! Very interesting and amazing work to be seen, so read on:

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
It is very difficult to me to allocate favourite and routine parts of work) If the idea, the concept to me is pleasant - to do work easily (difficultly happens to come off on a dream or dinner XD). If is not present - that is painful process from the very beginning.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Inspiration.. It undertakes in very different places) Music, cinema, own semantic constructions and even another's pictures) I do not chase inspiration, it absolutely suddenly fall upon me.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
I think community online help artists to exchange experience, to study each other. It seems to me that their existence is very useful.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
The most remembered. It was about two years ago) One girl has told to me that I incorrectly do sketches because she does not understand that I have drawn)) I then very long laughed) it seems To me, the main thing that sketches were clear to the author)

What advice can you offer to other artists?
The main thing for the artist seems to me - never to stop on reached, to continue to study, be improved. And always positively to concern constructive criticism)That is my principle on an artway.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Lucia Constantin

2010-08-24T00:00:00.002-04:00

The lovely Lucia Constantin and her photography... taaaa daaaa!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
For me, the hardest part of the artistic process occurs when I cannot find inspiration to create, when I feel drained of ideas or somehow empty. I'm afraid there's no such thing as the easiest part :}

Where and how do you find inspiration?
It's very hard for me to name only one piece because every piece represents a part of me but, because I have to answer, I'll say that one of my favourite pieces is "Purgatory". Why? Well, because I believe that I've managed to reflect through this piece the emotions I'm feeling and the actual state of my soul.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
The thing that draws me to the DeviantArt community is the fact that I have the freedom to express myself, to post whatever art I'm creating and of course, the wonderful opportunity to meet with other artists.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

13thSky

2010-08-23T00:00:00.002-04:00

Today we have deviantART's 13thSky with us on Art Libs: check it out!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
I find the easiest part to be drawing my ideas out, the hardest would be knowing when I am finished and coming up with the idea I want to work with just because there are so many ways I can represent that one idea.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
I don't particularly have a favorite piece because I believe I could have done better on all of them when I look back. The one I worked hardest on was S K Y L I N E +REMIX+ so I am most proud of that even though that was about a year ago. I think my preservation was better back then too.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
Ummm…well this dA pretty much is the only large art community I really know of. I also happen to find a lot of inspiring artists I hope to beat at some point or some acknowledgement of a competitor or something of that nature, preferably soon just because I believe that in the more earlier years of your life it is more impressive rather than just some random point of your life. Its really great motivation.

4)What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I don't really recall any weird comments. Except for my friends who feel comfortable joking around on their comments.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Jonathan Jacobsen

2010-08-20T00:00:00.003-04:00

If you love art and photography, prepare yourself for Jonathan Jacobsen. His photos are absolutely gorgeous and I can't get enough of them (I especially love the first photo used in this feature!!).

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
I think the easiest part, is to have a finger to click the shooter, and to use the camera. The rest is relative, very relative. Sometimes it's very easy to take a photo because everything looks like is going with you. The same happens with post-processing, sometimes you get very easy the results you want.
And sometimes not! Like for example, my lastest series "Fault" is a about a beautiful rock falling down. In my mind it was so easy, just take two pictures and then join them.
But when i came back home, I spent like 3 hours trying to get what i wanted!!
So, i think the "easiness" or "hardsness" depends of the picture.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
Everytime someone ask me this, I get like.... "it's like asking your father which son is your favourite one!" hahah. It's really hard, because every picture is a beautiful moment I lived. But okay, you're asking me for one! soo.. [link]

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
Well, it was my key to start doing and loving more photography. Comments and favs are something that really temptated my at first (I must admit!) but now i just use deviantart to show my evolution to the world, the "ego" part is already past stuff :)

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Past year, I submitted a picture of my 5 years old niece dancing with no shirt, so you could see her chest. The picture was so beautiful because you could see freedom and innocence. But some people are crazy when they see something like Sally Mann's picture (Of course mine was below her pictures! She's amazing) and a girl started calling me Pedophile and posting my picture in her deviantart's journal accusing me I was a pervert. Then she did a war against me in flickr adding tags like "pedophilia, child abuse, naked kid, pederast" and a whole list of disgusting words. I was like "What the hell!" because I didn't understand her adding those words, because instead going against pedophilia she was making a ladder to pedophiles to find pictures of children because the tags she added. I got really scared of people over the internet, never could imagine some person could do that when the rest of my family, and friends found the innocence in this picture (It's more, my niece's parents loved the image). So I deleted it from the internet.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Amy D Christian

2010-08-19T00:00:00.003-04:00

So AGAIN, I'm apologizing for not posting much this week. UGH! Seriously, work is consuming my life, but I am trying my very best to bring you the very best art out there! I have a couple of things lined up for you all in the next few weeks, including some reviews of some world art and world art books as well as some Fan Expo coverage from the Great Northern... Toronto, Ontario, Canada! So definitely check up on that, I'm planning on doing some interviews with artists via video, so that will be something new and exciting to watch out for! Anyways, today we have Amy D Christian with us on the blog sharing her art!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The hardest is creating the concept.. choosing the layout. the easiest is the producing.. once you've worked it all out then it should come together on its own.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
My fav piece of my own work has to be 'lost together' because it came from a silly idea.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
A:i think its the diversity of art shown here. all styles, techniques are welcome, nothing is taboo.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
'AHHHH!!!! Thats awesome! He's such a hottie!' Comes to mind.. it was a fan art painting of Spock I'd done.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Natalya Willis Knudson

2010-08-12T00:00:00.003-04:00

Check out the fashion inspired Natalya W on Art Libs today! Amazing art and interesting person... reaaaaaaaaad our interview!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
I would say the hardest part is undiluting the many concepts that may flood ones mind and achieve the truest translation, on paper on canvas etc, of a particular feeling or emotion. The easiest part? I suppose the more one creates, the more fluid ones ability becomes to the point where it is second nature...but this must be earned by LOTS of determination and practice.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
I derive inspiration from...so many thing!... From cats ( I have three) to haute couture...from the romance of the baroque to the cool simplicity of Contemporary art. pioneering illustrators such as Aubrey Beardsley and Kay Neilsen are definite inspirations too..

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
Online communities are an excellent way of exposing ones work to the world. You receive impartial critiques and encouragement as well. This helps to build ones style and image as an artist.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
The weirdest thing was when my 5yr old sister told me a portrait I painted looked like Satan. That was definitely weird...and you could imagine, not what I was going for.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
There will be times when you have absolutely no motivation so just focus on one moment at a time. One's ability and style is constantly evolving so never become arrogant and think you have nothing new to learn; you will just stunt yourself. Most importantly, create because you love what you create. Do not try to create according to what you think other people like. If you do that, you will loose yourself. Do it because it fulfills you.

Please make sure to check out her web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Daria Hlazatova

2010-08-11T00:00:00.003-04:00

The funky and fun Daria Hlazatova visits Art Libs today and answers our questions and shares her art!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Well, the easiest part is drawing and the hardest is NOT drawing.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
There are certainly things that influenced me as an illustrator in the first place which are books and theatre. I owe a lot to Carroll, Wilde, Tolkien, Pinter, Gaiman and Wodehouse. Actually inspiration is all around us. But of course there are certain things for certain people. It's like the medicine you take to battle creative block, tiredness or lack of ideas. My best medicine would be travelling. Seeing and experiencing something new is a sure thing to be inspired. Otherwise, it's my imagination. It's an easy thing for me to get carried away with it and then drawing/illustrating comes like a flow.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as
deviantART, to aspiring artists?
I have recently discovered bluecanvas community and I think it's a great place to stay motivated and understand modern art. Being (although virtually) around such talented people who can critisize or encourage is a great thing for any artist. I also enjoy all the contests such communities have to offer - everything there is done to share rather than to show off, which is excellent, another way for self-improvement.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever
received on a piece of art?
There was quite a bunch! The funniest being the one when my grandmother mistook a lady for a dog in my greeting card. I guess the lady's hat was rather extravagant ;)

What advice can you offer to other artists?
The same that I try not to forget myself: work! Working hard will get you anywhere you want (well.. depending on what you do). Working hard brings luck, i'm sure of that. I really love Fellini's quote, "You exist in what you do." This is so true for the artists. Unless you are truly devoted to what you do, unless you work hard and don't pay attention when others discourage you, you'll succeed.

Please make sure to check out her web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Kevin Titzer

2010-08-10T00:00:00.003-04:00

Kevin Titzer is joining us on the site today with some really cool sculpture work! He has a really interesting style and he has some really awesome and insightful things to tell all you aspiring artists out there! Check it out:

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Speaking for myself, I'd say there's not much that's easy about the artistic / creative process. It's work and challenging, but it's so worth it when everything comes together. It's a great satisfaction knowing you just made something out of nothing. Although, it's easy to forget that feeling when your trying to figure out how to finish the damn thing.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
This is a incomplete list in no particular order:

-Letterpress printing
-The Art coming out of South America right now
-1960's & 70's era stand up comedy
-Shanty town architecture
-Taxidermy
-City Museum in St. Louis
-La Machine : street performers from France
-Tony Schwartz : collector of sound
-Journalistic photography

and last but not least,

-Swimming Cities Of Switchback Sea

This project by Swoon and crew leaves me inspired, smiling, and happy to be a human being.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
For better or worse, I think they have a very big significance nowadays. Being a studio artist is inherently a solitary profession. Sites like Flickr, Facebook, or deviantART at least put you in touch with other creative people. If your like me living in the Midwest, you don't have a lot of artistic activity going on around you. So it's good to see and hear what other people are doing in other places. I think online communities are also great for sharing, but not really set up for for developing your work. If a aspiring art is looking for constructive criticism online, it's not really the right venue. I think people in the online art communities are very polite. For the most part, if they have a negative opinion, they tend not to post a comment.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Well, this isn't exactly about a specific piece of art, but this happened when I was moving to a new studio a few years ago. I was making my last run to the new space. I had the back of my truck loaded down with the old wood and found materials I use in my work. There was also finished and half done art in the mix. So I was standing there strapping everything down. Then this guy comes walking down the alley. As he passed by, he looked over at me and asked "Ya going to the dump?". I stood there for a second and just started laughing.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
1. Packing
When packing your work to ship to a gallery, if you can't sit on the box without damaging your art, you need to repack.

2. Know Your Percentages
Gallery-50%
Income Tax - 10 to 15%
Potential Buyer Discount - 10%
Shipping - 2 to 5%
Your Pocket - roughly 20% to 38%

The next time some asks you why art costs so much, you can tell them where the money goes.

3. Immerse Yourself In Subjects Unrelated To The Arts
Art about art is boring.

Please make sure to check out his web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Caleigh Illerbrun

2010-08-09T00:00:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone! So AGAIN, apologies for being away and busy and unable to update the blog. I'm trying to find the time to do it, but my life has just become hectic... no worries though; I have no intention of ending the blog, so just keep checking back and if I haven't posted anything in a while... drop me a line and tell me to smarten up! Today, the amazingly talented Caleigh Illerbrun is gracing us with her art! Amazing? Definitely! Enjoy what she has to say and check out more of her work on her web site!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
For me the hardest part is knowing when something is crap and accepting that fact and moving on to something else. Sometimes I will just keep working on something, trying to solve it, but really there is no hope and my time would be better spent starting something new. The easiest part is getting started. I work full time (non-art related), so all week I am thinking of ideas and when it comes to the weekend I almost have too much I want to accomplish.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
I'm not really sure. I think generally I paint/draw what I want for myself. For instance, I really wanted a bunch of owl paintings to go on my shelf, so I painted them. The only problem with this is it's hard to let go and sell paintings when I've done them for myself. I'm also inspired by other's art. There is this one painting that I found on the internet years ago. I have no idea who painted it or what it is called, but it has inspired many of my own paintings which you would never have guessed as they are completely different.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
DA is a funny one for me. I think its a great site, obviously, as I use it. But if you don't have the time to spend hours on it networking, its hard to have you're art seen by others. I imagine if I was connected with others with similar interests and styles, it would be really useful for feedback, but I haven't collected many friends on there yet.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Okay I will quote my cousin (via Facebook) "Jeeeezzze! I'm in love with pretty much every single one of these paintings! I'd bet you could seduce Matthew McConaughey with them... not that you'd necessarily ever want to do that... I just find they have a distinct surfer feel. For the record, I'd totally try to seduce M.M. with your paintings."

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Look at art! Look at art all the time. I think the best way to get better at what you do is to look at what others are doing, amateur or professional, you can always learn something from someone else.

Please make sure to check out her web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Gris Grimly

2010-07-23T00:00:00.003-04:00

Today our very very special guest is Gris Grimly. Also someone you should know about. He's worked with the likes of authors like Neil Gaiman to create amazing works such as The Dangerous Alphabet:

Fancy schmancy, right? Well check out some more of his work and you should all check out the previously mentioned book, The Dangerous Alphabet

Please make sure to check out his web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Loic Zimmerman

2010-07-22T00:00:00.004-04:00

We have the brilliant Loiz Zimmerman on Art Libs today... if you aren't familiar with his art... you should be. It's amazing. I've been really awful with features lately, so I'm gonna post up a bunch of his photos instead of just a couple... Enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Getting started is not always easy and finishing is often tricky.
90% of the process is about being in conflict with myself and wondering why the image suck.
The last 10 are a mix of joy and excitement. Proportions may change.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
In details, annedotes, misunderstanding. You think you see something but it's not. And then it's up to you to bring to life what you thought you saw .

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
I guess it helps not to feel alone. It's a way to get the feedback you need to evolve and become better at what you do. In the meantime it can become a massive waste of time and you have to be careful on how much time you spend on those. I think you should always ask people with experience when it comes to opinions. it may hurts, but it will help you way much more than WAHHHs and HOOOsss.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
(online printing service) : "we like your works but they look like overscaled jpegs and we cannot have them in our catalogue".

What advice can you offer to other artists?
It's not an easy life. It requires dedication. A lot of it.

Please make sure to check out his web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Elina Kasesalu

2010-07-21T00:00:00.002-04:00

Still trying to get back into the swing of things with posting pretty regularly. But we're on a roll this week! Today we have Elina Kasesalu's beautiful art on the site. Read what she has to say and check out some of her work!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
As far as I´m working the way I like it´s quite easy. But when someone
else or even several people are between process, it can be very hard
for me. Because everyone has their own opinions and taste, so it´s
complicated to put all different advises into one piece. Also when I´m
working with some project too long, I can even start to hate it.
Freedom makes the artistic process easy. I like creativity of the
process - I never know how the result will look like.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
It can happen everywhere. Ideas don´t ask time or place - they come
when they want. Music or looking other artists work inspires me a lot.
Sometimes directional thinking helps me come up with ideas.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as
deviantART, to aspiring artists?
To show you works worldwide. To be noticed. To get some feedback. To
get some inspiration from other artists. When I`m looking some great
masterpiece it makes me feel to try to do something same great.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever
received on a piece of art?
Well, don´t remember :) Have to check deviantART for examples.
Now, when I am looking those comments, I find lots of them quite
funny, especially when I don´t see pictures beside them:
"Nice socks and nice feet", "Girl your mad", "Too cool for school!",
"Give me a clue. Where you playing an ABBA?" "Holy mother of god! what
the hell was that?. i love it!", "Very disturbing!"

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Try different things-styles to express yourself. I don´t know - is
sticking on one style good or bad feature? At least for me it doesn´t
suit.

Please make sure to check out her web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Krista Huot

2010-07-20T00:00:00.003-04:00

Krista Huot is an amazing painter and all round artist. She was thrilled with the idea of being featured on the site and sent us a couple images over we could use to feature her work. Check it out!

Please make sure to check out her web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Joi Carey

2010-07-19T00:00:00.004-04:00

Again, I am so sorry for my absence. I hope there are still people out there that come to visit the blog. It's not inactive, I've just been ridiculously overwhelmed with life! First of all, we have the lovely Joi Carey on the blog today to show us her brilliant photography. And secondly, I just thought I would let everyone know that in the near future we will be having some help from additional authors. Look forward to reading some articles and features from fresh faces. Without further delay, I give you the art of Joi Carey!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
I think for myself, extreme self criticism is a big issue. When you constantly expect to deliver a certain level of work it hinders how much you are willing to experiment if it pushes you outside of your "perfect" box. It also dilutes the amount of visible work I put out there as I don't find much of my work "acceptable". I tend to paint when I get tense as I know I am terrible at it, but find it a stress reliever as I know it will be an ugly mess that I won't care about.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
I am inspired by the things and people around me.
I keep files of photographs that I love, but I rarely dip into it unless it is for a fashion or commercial set that I am looking for lighting ideas. My tastes do lean to the unusual. If I had the means i would constantly shoot less usual models . I love scars, little people, extreme body modifications, circus people, amputees etc..I find much more beauty in the atypical.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
Online communities are great motivators to keep you creating. You see a constant flow of work which can inspire you to keep going when you are feeling a bit "stuck". Also it is good to have fresh eyes there to judge your work. Often on art social sites I will put up work I am not crazy about, just to see how it is judged by the public.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I think the oddest comments on my work are often from people who have problems distinguishing art from pornography.
I have received comments that are sexual in nature about the models as well as comments from religious people who tend to want to save my soul, though I still haven't figured out what is so sacrilegious about the unclothed human figure.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Try not to compare yourself to other artists. Just stay true to your own vision and work hard to develop your technique.
Each year look back at your work and see if you have improved. If you aren't happy with where you have gone that past year, take a step back and see what you can do during the next year to improve. Just take baby steps..your work will improve.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

In Need of Some Assistance...

2010-06-28T11:05:00.002-04:00

Basically, I've started a new job in the real world and it has become rather time consuming. I've worked really hard to build up Art Libs and definitely don't want to lose it, so I'm looking for some help.

I need someone to help me with features and posting. I would like someone who can find artists, get their permission for a feature and ask them some questions. Ideally I think I would like two or three people to help out and also bring new ideas to the table to help develop the blog some more.

If you're interested in getting a bit more information about what I'm looking for and if you would fit in here, please email me, Steph, at artlibs@gmail.com.

Hope to hear from you!

LUN2004

2010-06-21T00:00:00.003-04:00

Today we have the brilliant artist LUN2004 of deviantART. Check out his work!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
There is no easy part for being an artist :), the hardest part for me is to practice a lot and a lot.

Which is your favorite piece and why?
My favourite piece is Autism since it records my sadness.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there ... that draws you to the deviantART community?
dA is really a good place for all art lovers. So sharing the arts just like sharing between friends :)

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Um, the funniest comment of my works is that someone said he/she seem become the main character of my work. They fall themselves into my works

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

LadyBozi

2010-06-18T00:00:00.002-04:00

LadyBozi is gracing us with her art today... check it out:

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
I think easiest part of the process is coming up with the idea and having the image form into your head. The hardest has got to be to bring that exact picture that you see in your mind and put it on paper.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
I think it has to be "Ilori: Wash Away the Curse". I did it a couple of years ago, still learning how to digitally color and I'm still proud of the way the whole thing came out even though I had little experience coloring on the computer.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
I think what draws me the most the fact that you have all these different artists with different styles sharing their work and appreciating others work. It feels like a community of people who you can relate to.

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Someone said I could draw a Potato in Cape, which still puzzles me.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

4th of May

2010-06-17T00:00:00.002-04:00

We have the peachy 4th of May on Art Libs today! Trying our best to post art up as frequently as possible... still working on the fabulous Neverending Story Project... check that out as well! Enjoy 4th of May for the time being though!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Hum …I think that the easiest part is the clothes and hair design, I love fashion!
The hardest part? Maybe it’s to find the motivation to take my pencil. A drawing asks a lot of time and patience …and I’m not patient!

Which is your favourite piece and why?
Alice in wonderland who is smoking with the caterpillar! I say this because it’s my last drawing and I haven’t got an objective opinion on its.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
I used to show my drawings on some French forums but there were not a lot of reactions …
I just wanted someone to tell me “Your drawing is not good because of this” or “I like this part of your drawing” and DA seems to be perfect for this.
Now, I perfectly know that people on DA help me to improve myself …I’m not egocentric ,not at all you know ,but I love the comments ,they give me the courage to take the time to draw something quite pretty!

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Hum, my comments are quite normal …
Oh but yeah, sometimes people give a huge interpretation of my drawings …but I don’t think my drawings have real significance…

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Shane Hillman

2010-06-16T00:00:00.002-04:00

Taaaa da! We have the lovely Shane Hillman on Art Libs today! He has some seriously brilliant work! Check it out!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The easiest part of the creative process is inking for me. I really have no problem falling into the groove of inking (even if it cramps my hand to hell!). The hardest part would be getting a base composition and characters down. I usually do this with red/blue pencil, but it takes up the most of my energy and brain power.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
It's hard to choose favorites of my own work. I really try to make each piece I work on better than the last, so I really can't choose a favorite piece except the past one I have just worked on.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
deviantART is a really good open source for inspiration and creative ideas. I can't count how many pieces I have seen here that drive me to work harder and become better. It's a true mecca for some of the best artists nowadays. Although, there is some pretty bad stuff out there D:

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Hard to say, I think all the gracious comments I have received have been pretty uplifting and inspiring!

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Eric Kulo

2010-06-15T00:00:00.002-04:00

Again, we're back from mini-hiatus! If you missed yesterdays post, we've been putting up a new project called the Neverending Story Project! Today we have Eric Kulo's beautiful photography up for you to check out! Hope you love it!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Art is struggle. Really. You always have to think so hard about yourself, about the piece you're working on and about how or if it will accepted by others. However, I do not tend to think too much about it as I believe that art should simply be an expression of your feelings. So if you're feeling that your art is more of an aggravating struggle than it should, then apply that feeling into it and you'll get something real, something true. What I usually struggle with is motivation to actually go out there and photograph, but once I'm out there photographing, inspiration usually comes to me.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
You know, I'm going to be boring. I don't have a favorite piece. It's just too hard to pick a favorite photo as I've put so much of myself most of them. Sure, there are photos I don't really like in my gallery, but there are almost too many that I do actually like. However, some photos do stand out. "Patty and Lilly", "Say What?" and then there's personal pieces, like this photo of my dog; "Havin' a Good Time" which means more to me than any other photograph ever will. Simply because that is my dog, my german shephard who has stood by my side through so many difficult situations. The dog that wakes me up 07:30 every morning, wagging her tail and giving my a big morning kiss.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
I recently discussed this in a journal of mine and it's really all about the easy-to-use site, the incredible amount of features and that your gallery looks very nice and clean. Sure there's FlickR and PBase, but none of them offers such an easy way to show you work - in my opinion that is. The DeviantART community is so diverse. There's the people who hate nude photographs, and then there's the people who love nude photographs. There's the people who absolutely love manga and anime, and then there's the people who can't stand it. You can find anyone on DeviantART - and you will find someone, without having browse around for ages, clicking through the endless profiles and artworks.

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Heh, wow. That's a difficult one. First of all, most of my comments are kind and simple ones, like "beautiful!" and so forth. People don't put too much effort into it, but I remember this time when a dear dA friend of mine named PassiveIre wrote a comment on my profile page asking "What's your favorite thing to try to capture through your lenses when your crawling around outside?". It's not a funny, strange or weird comment really. It's just a comment and question I really appreciated. It came out of nowhere and my reaction was like "Woah, where did that came from?" and I was glad that she asked and paid interest in my life and work. That means a lot to me, when people do care about the person behind the photos and how he/she works - and that's also how you learn.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Sandra Charlet

2010-06-14T00:00:00.003-04:00

WOW! It has been forever since I posted anything up! Sorry everyone... been super busy with the launching of the Neverending Story Project (if you saw the post below!). Anyways! Sorry for the mini hiatus and I hope you all are still looking for some awesome art to check up on... Today is Sandra Charlet! Enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
For me, the easiest part is to color the drawings,i like really the colors and to choose colours for my drawings is never very difficult. The most difficult, it is to have the patient to finish my drawing, to pass of the draft in the sketch, in the line art and in the colors,that takes much time before a version final worked.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
Actually, my favorite pieces is Cendre because I like her expression and her star in eyes, I find that there is something particular in this drawing, I like this. And Silver Gothic for her clothes style, combination of colors and her face.

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I received a comment which said that the eyes of my character in SD scared him (or her...) it was long ago, but I found it strange.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Neverending Story Project

2010-05-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

Well hello there my friends! Since this is a site for artists and art appreciators everywhere, I wanted to take the time to tell you all about a new project I have going on that I would absolutely LOVE for you all to get involved in.

Myself and a friend of mine named Amy have started the Neverending Story Project, or as you can see above in the banner... the NeS Project. The project is a writing project designed to show you the fun of story telling. Basically in a nutshell this is the project: three page short stories with each page written by a different author and all of it done through the mail. Once a story has been completed, we post them online with the authors and you can discuss the work.

Once the project gets going, we will have lots of incentives including things like the Story of the Month and for illustrators out there, we would absolutely LOVE to open this up to you. What do I mean? Well we would like for you to read over the stories and take a shot at bringing the stories to life! If your art is chosen, we will add your art to the displayed stories and credit you alongside the authors. Awesome, right? We think so!

We need more followers, so if you check out this blog and read what I have to say... check out the Neverending Story Project as well! If you like what you see, follow us and participate! You do NOT need to be a professional writer... it's all for fun! You can do any genre of story... and when you get someone else's story page... don't be afraid to change up the style and give it your very own flare!

Questions? Ask away here or visit the site, comment, or email us! I really hope to see you all over at the site and hopefully here from you via snail mail!

Zambi

2010-05-14T00:00:00.002-04:00

Today we have zambi from deviantART on Art Libs! Still working on some backlog and such, and if you are interested in being featured, just send me a message and I'll let you know what the scoop is for now! Also, I've been mentioning to everyone who reads this, I'm encouraging anyone who enjoys the art featured to ask questions to the artists or send them comments by posting them below! I'm trying to let all the artists know to check the comments. I can't guarantee that they will respond, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't leave your questions and such... you never know! Anyways, enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The easiest would be coloring and the hardest would be getting whats in my head onto paper. Most of the time it only comes out 50% But on rare occasions I like the outcome better!

Which is your favourite piece and why?
At the moment this one: It just feels very professional to me and I enjoy the colors.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there that draws you to the deviantART community?
I love seeing pretty art that inspires me. So I like to share so maybe people can be inspired by my work. I also like that you can find other people that have the same interests as you. And they're artists too.

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Off the top of my head I guess someone randomly telling me about their personal life. It had nothing to do with the image and I didn't ask haha. I don't know what image that comment is made on tho.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Willustration

2010-05-13T00:00:00.001-04:00

Today we have willustration from deviantART on Art Libs! Still working on some backlog and such, and if you are interested in being featured, just send me a message and I'll let you know what the scoop is for now! Also, I've been mentioning to everyone who reads this, I'm encouraging anyone who enjoys the art featured to ask questions to the artists or send them comments by posting them below! I'm trying to let all the artists know to check the comments. I can't guarantee that they will respond, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't leave your questions and such... you never know! Anyways, enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
To me, I think the hardest part is to get started... I always get the 'too lazy to start a new artwork' feeling (usually after finishing one)...but once I started, I couldn't stop...

I have no idea what is the easiest part of my artistic progress... probably it's the 'finding inspiration' part :)

Which is your favourite piece and why?
I'll have to say it's "beauty"...why? i love drawing fur...and this piece is my very first sttempt to draw fur so detailedly...i know it's not perfect yet, but during the progress of drawing it i learned so much about drawing fur techniques, and i kept improving fur drawing ever since :)

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there that draws you to the deviantART community?
Because I don't know any other art community :)
I guess it's because deviantART is user friendly...

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Peanut-Olive

2010-05-12T00:00:00.002-04:00

Today we have Peanut-Olive from deviantART on Art Libs! Still working on some backlog and such, and if you are interested in being featured, just send me a message and I'll let you know what the scoop is for now! Also, I've been mentioning to everyone who reads this, I'm encouraging anyone who enjoys the art featured to ask questions to the artists or send them comments by posting them below! I'm trying to let all the artists know to check the comments. I can't guarantee that they will respond, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't leave your questions and such... you never know! Anyways, enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
There isn't any hard parts for me its all fun :D

Which is your favorite piece and why?
I would have to say peaceful because I love the ocean

What is it about the deviant Art community that makes you share your art there that draws you to the deviantART community?
For me i would have to say all the feed back you get on your work and etc.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

O-aa

2010-05-11T00:00:00.002-04:00

Today we have Oana from deviantART on Art Libs! Still working on some backlog and such, and if you are interested in being featured, just send me a message and I'll let you know what the scoop is for now! Also, I've been mentioning to everyone who reads this, I'm encouraging anyone who enjoys the art featured to ask questions to the artists or send them comments by posting them below! I'm trying to let all the artists know to check the comments. I can't guarantee that they will respond, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't leave your questions and such... you never know! Anyways, enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The easiest part about the artistic process is that anything that I can see with my eyes can become the subject of my photographies. On the other hand, is hard to actually make anything look good as a photography.

Which is your favorite piece and why?
This one is my favourite piece because I love the way children relax and play, they are so peaceful compared to adults.

What is it about the deviant Art community that makes you share your art there that draws you to the deviantART community?
I love the fact that everyone is so active on dA. I share my art on dA because I am always interested to find out other persons' opinion about my pieces and I love giving feedback to others and looking for great artists to admire their work.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

FaMz

2010-05-10T00:00:00.003-04:00

If you missed the past weeks posts, I'm trying to encourage all you readers out there to ask the artist questions, I can't guarantee that they will respond, but if you leave a comment or question below, I will make sure that when I contact them, they will know about it and have a chance to respond! I hope this helps all you artists out there find answers to questions you would like to know about and such! Please enjoy!

We're still doing some backlog right now, and these are some people who only gave us questions, so no art libs for now! Today, we have FaMz or Faheema from deviantART on the site, check it out and enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Hm...that's a tough and broad question, the easiest part, lol, I'm not sure there's an easy part for me, actually, the easiest part most of the times is the execution depending on what's being done (if it's easy to produce like photography). The hardest part is the preparation, the conceptual development, the whole process of planning for the final outcome is probably the difficult part, the ideas need to be conceptualized, you should at least plan and be aware that what you do will lead to what you want in the outcome or the whole thing fails and all time is wasted.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
At the moment, this is my favourite piece because I believe it's the first personal project I ever spent so much time planning and working on. I didn't get annoyed with it, well only at times; the background was giving me lots of trouble. It's my favourite because it says a lot about who I am and things that I like, even the colours are almost pastel like which I didn't think suit me but somehow, subconsciously it came out looking the way it did. It's also a new style I've also recently begun to start developing and I hope to continue working on.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there that draws you to the deviantART community?
For one, it's to gain feedback, and to share with others what I've been learning from just being on the site. I've improved tremendously just spending time browsing the galleries on dA, so what I put up is a lot of what I've been inspired be.
What draws me to the community is the never ending way that I'm constantly dropping my jaw and saying wow at the creativity I see. Makes me feel like my work is nothing but then it makes me think, if someone else can achieve it, so can I. It's just amazing, how could anyone not want to be surrounded with eye candy and the lovely personalities that go with the art? Plus I've made some lovely friends so I love to log in to communicate with them.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

TikiLlanes

2010-05-07T00:00:00.003-04:00

If you missed this weeks posts, I'm trying to encourage all you readers out there to ask the artist questions, I can't guarantee that they will respond, but if you leave a comment or question below, I will make sure that when I contact them, they will know about it and have a chance to respond! I hope this helps all you artists out there find answers to questions you would like to know about and such! Please enjoy!

We're still doing some backlog right now, and these are some people who only gave us questions, so no art libs for now! Today, we have Tiki Llanes Lopez or TikiLlanes from deviantART on the site, check it out and enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
I think for me the easiest part is to imagine and make concepts, also to make spontaneous photos of people in the streets... and the hardest is to Make them real, to act, and some part of the Post-Production, but is not that hard, because when you love to do something, nothing is difficult.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
Sorry, but i don't have just one favorite.. I have a LOT!!!!

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
DeviantART is an amazing virtual space to know other artist works and of course to be criticized is great because that way you can learn to improve your self and do better things... and of course i feel great to know my works inspire other people.

What is the strangest, weirdest or funniest comment you have received?
There are a lot, but in one piece in particular make the first comment so funny I couldn't stop laughing... one of my friends put: HADOKEN!!

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Teokat

2010-05-06T00:00:00.002-04:00

FrozenStarRo

2010-05-05T00:00:00.002-04:00

If you missed this weeks posts, I'm trying to encourage all you readers out there to ask the artist questions, I can't guarantee that they will respond, but if you leave a comment or question below, I will make sure that when I contact them, they will know about it and have a chance to respond! I hope this helps all you artists out there find answers to questions you would like to know about and such! Please enjoy!

We're still doing some backlog right now, and these are some people who only gave us questions, so no art libs for now! Today, we have Andreea Cernestean or FrozenStarRo from deviantART on the site, check it out and enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The easiest part would be cropping out and matching lights for me. I guess it all comes with practice though. The hardest part is finding the right stocks for a manip. It's easier when I start with a stock that inspires me rather than just an idea I have in mind.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
Infinity, I just love how it came out and it means all that much that it was so appreciated that it got a DD (on the wallpaper set of it though).

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there that draws you to the deviantART community?
dA kinda went downhill for me. It seemed like a great place at first but it actually faded along the way. I stick to it mostly cause it's my main art showcase gallery.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Someone made a comment about the legs of one of the models I used. I wasn't sure if I should be laughing or be sickened by it. Oh and I was called a "dude" in several comments so that should fit into that category as well.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Clap-san

2010-05-04T00:00:00.004-04:00

Ferahgo-the-Assassin

2010-05-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

If you missed this weeks posts, I'm trying to encourage all you readers out there to ask the artist questions, I can't guarantee that they will respond, but if you leave a comment or question below, I will make sure that when I contact them, they will know about it and have a chance to respond! I hope this helps all you artists out there find answers to questions you would like to know about and such! Please enjoy!

We're still doing some backlog right now, and these are some people who only gave us questions, so no art libs for now! Today, we have Emily Willoughby or Ferahgo-the-Assassin from deviantART on the site, check it out and enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Easiest is probably coming up with the initial sketch. Once I have the idea in my mind, sketching it out is usually the most fun part. The hardest part for me is the really obsessively detailed parts of the coloring. This is also the part that takes the longest.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
Probably this. Because I spent the longest on it and put the most effort into it.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there that draws you to the deviantART community?
It's the most popular art site around and it's best for publicity I guess.

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Probably the creationists trying to argue with me on my paleo pieces.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Drigzabrot

2010-04-30T00:00:00.002-04:00

If you missed this weeks posts, I'm trying to encourage all you readers out there to ask the artist questions, I can't guarantee that they will respond, but if you leave a comment or question below, I will make sure that when I contact them, they will know about it and have a chance to respond! I hope this helps all you artists out there find answers to questions you would like to know about and such! Please enjoy!

We're still doing some backlog right now, and these are some people who only gave us questions, so no art libs for now! Today, we have Drigz Abrot or drigzabrot from deviantART on the site, check it out and enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
- I find that making the art is easier than thinking of a concept. It can take me a few days to a week to find that right art but when I've got something I try to nail it as fast and as good as I can. The energy of the artwork is important to my process.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
- "Boombot" is and will always be my favorite piece. It's the
artwork that defined the direction I want to go to.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there that draws you to the deviantART community?
- dA is a good source for inspiration. At the same time, being an inspiration to others is another good feeling.

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
- Maybe I'm still too new to Deviant to have any weird or strange comments. But I do find "Dude, I'm stoned!" funny.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Fish-94941

2010-04-29T00:00:00.002-04:00

Amatorka

2010-04-28T00:00:00.002-04:00

If you missed this weeks posts, I'm trying to encourage all you readers out there to ask the artist questions, I can't guarantee that they will respond, but if you leave a comment or question below, I will make sure that when I contact them, they will know about it and have a chance to respond! I hope this helps all you artists out there find answers to questions you would like to know about and such! Please enjoy!

We're still doing some backlog right now, and these are some people who only gave us questions, so no art libs for now! Today, we have Amatorka from deviantART on the site, check it out and enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
To me the hardest part is an idea. Trying to imagine something really new and amazing for other people, and still thinking how make it better and better. I always want to make perfect photos, but sometimes something goes wrong. I don’t know why, but next time I try make another idea better than before, and it’s really difficult. Creativity is the most important thing in photography.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
My the most popular and my favourite is a piece called ‘Love Was Trying To Kill Me’. It’s very simply photo but full of emotions, with strong sense. It reminds that love is not always the beautiful thing in the world, sometimes it makes us depressed and try to kill.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
There are really talented and amazing artists on Deviantart. I know that they understand what I mean when I posted my works. People from my environment usually think that my imagination is too courageous and strange, they don’t understand art. Deviantart is a great place for creative people. And of course Deviantart is full of inspirations!

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
After I’ve posted one of my self portraits, some boy said that he would be my husband. And he was saying this in every next comment. But the most disliked by me comments are about that I’ve stolen an idea from artist who I’ve never seen.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Moonywolf

2010-04-27T00:00:00.004-04:00

If you missed yesterdays post, I'm trying to encourage all you readers out there to ask the artist questions, I can't guarantee that they will respond, but if you leave a comment or question below, I will make sure that when I contact them, they will know about it and have a chance to respond! I hope this helps all you artists out there find answers to questions you would like to know about and such! Please enjoy!

We're still doing some backlog right now, and these are some people who only gave us questions, so no art libs for now! Today, we have MoonyKhoa Le from deviantART on the site, check it out and enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
--The easiest part, I would way: sketching. It's very comfortable, free-and-easy, no rules, no protocol, just put it down whatever in you mind.
---The hardest part: lining. always take like... forever to finish

Which is your favourite piece and why?
---SO far, "lonesome weasel". It's a personal thing. This piece attaches to some certain emotional issues of mine.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there… that draws you to the deviantART community?
----Many great artists, many kind people, nice support and chances to communicate with friends all over the world.

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
---Couldn't remember. But I love to hear people's impressions when they look at my artwork. For example, in "Safe zone", "donkey rider" and "beautiful lonely people", lots of people give me incredibly interesting stories and concepts that I wouldn't even think of in the first place.

Please make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Fiyeropip

2010-04-26T00:00:00.005-04:00

For the next little while, I will be posting up some more backlog. I'm going back to single entries for now, but I have some people who sent in responses without any Art Libs, so we're gonna just leave it like that and see how it goes! I'm also trying to encourage all you readers out there to ask the artist questions, I can't guarantee that they will respond, but if you leave a comment or question below, I will make sure that when I contact them, they know about it and have a chance to respond! I hope this helps all you artists out there find answers to questions you would like to know about and such! Please enjoy!

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Uhm... I usually don't have technical problems, like perspective, and stuff like that (but I tend to draw bigger heads). I think the conceptualization of every piece is the easiest part, the harderst part is to get time to work on it hahaha. I attend school, I'm a full time uncle of 6 nieces and nephews, I cook, I do some chores, and I still have to find time to draw hahaha.

Which is your favourite piece and why?
Mine gotta be the male cheerleader, That's because I'm a male cheerleader, and I stand for what it takes. Sure... it's hard to be one (mostly when all other males are yelling you stupid things at games). This piece is fun, vibrant and full on energy, the colors are neat and You just get in the mood to do a basket toss hahaha.

What is it about the deviantART community that makes you share your art there that draws you to the deviantART community?
Uhm... basically the opportunity to share the work, there are some real cool artists in Deviant, so you can learn from them, like how to use light, how to use the brushes, perspective, just stuff like that. And why not? be an inspiration to someone out there too hahaha. Oh yeah and the friends you can do here, the community projects and stuff like that.

What is the weirdest/strangest/funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Uhm... still no fun comments, or something like that, just something rude about some of my deviations. Like: dude this is wrong!!! (have you seen it's mature content) well however I'm still waiting for that fun comment that would make my day.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Self Portrait Contest Winners

2010-04-21T11:00:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! This was a great experience for me, interacting with all of you to bring you this fun and amazing contest! I've learned so much... for instance... making people log in to vote! Ah! Well regardless of that, we've deliberated and come up with the winners of the contest! Once the winners have been posted, we will go back to properly running Art Libs and putting up regular features and such. Sorry for all those who come by to check on the features!

Basically, you can find all the prizing and such on deviantART here, but I will just post the winners images here!

1st Place: Donguri7 on deviantART

2nd Place: DonCaballero on deviantART

3rd Place: BGAgraphix on deviantART

People's Choice Award: bleedingtiara on deviantART

I also want to do a quick honourable mentions to one particular artist who stood out to me in the final decisions for the contest winners. deruku's 'Me, and a Cupcake' piece was an excellent addition to the contest, when I was checking around the galleries of the entrants to the contest, she had a process listed on her blog about how she got to the final piece, including photos until she ended up there. I know I wasn't able to award a prize to her, but this is what art is all about, learning and evolving, and I wanted to make sure you checked out some more of her art too and watched out for her in the future!

Self-Portrait Contest Entries

2010-04-14T18:00:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone! First of all...

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY ART LIBS!

Yay! Now onto other things... for the past month and half or so, we have been running a contest and asking people to submit self-portraits (either ACTUAL portraits or abstract interpretations!). The contest ended on Saturday the 10th and I am finally getting around to posting up the entries (sorry... hectic week and I've fallen slightly behind with LIFE!). Now we have a few fantastic judges that will help us out, but I would like to sort of have a people's choice award of sorts, so PLEASE... vote for whichever piece you like best (up to THREE votes, but no more than that please!)! All of the entries are just numbered, so when you vote, place the number of the pieces you like best! OH! And to actually submit your vote, just leave a comment below! So without further delay... here are your entries!

Oh! And if you're new to Art Libs, follow us and come back to check out some of our awesome features!

UPDATE: I kind of assumed that most people would sign in to vote for the contest, but clearly I was wrong about that. Well I now know for future reference that I should make it mandatory to sign in to vote. Second of all, I did mention, albeit not very distinctly, that the votes posted here are solely for bragging rights, this is a people's choice award of sorts. The actual prize winners will be decided by the chosen judges. Sorry for the confusion.

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You Guessed It... Backlog!

2010-04-12T00:00:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure how long I'm going to be doing backlog for, but I really want to feature these deserving artists who I just didn't get around to featuring yet. Here's a few more for you to check out!

Soraya aka whenSmyledoesnttalk on deviantART

Claudia aka phatpuppy on deviantART

Please make sure to check out their deviantART pages! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Ba-Ba-Ba-Baaacklog!

2010-04-09T00:00:00.006-04:00

As you can see... more backlog features. Again and again and again... I am so sorry to everyone who had to wait this long to see their art appear on the site. Sorry that the questions and mad libs didn't make it if you did them, but I'm trying to play catch up! Anyways... enjoy these features for today! And remember... our one year anniversary is almost here! Hoorah!

Muura Karoliina Parkkinen or muura on deviantART

A. Fennell or lyosha on deviantART

Please make sure to check out their deviantART pages! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Feature Malfunction - Mooooore Backlogs!

2010-04-08T00:00:00.005-04:00

Again... more backlog. I apologize to everyone who got caught up in the backlog, but I'm trying my best to get everyone's art out there, so I hope you will forgive me.

Andrew Dickman aka AndrewDickman on deviantART

Dalia Shine aka nurse-stimpy on deviantART

Please make sure to check out their deviantART pages! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

More Backlogged Features

2010-04-07T00:00:00.004-04:00

Today we have some more backlogged features! There are some amazing artists here, so make no mistake... just because they don't have any questions or art libs doesn't make them any less awesome. Check them out!

Miss Kika aka Blush-Art on dA

Admira Wijaya aka garang76 on dA

Florian Nicolle aka neo-innov on dA

Please make sure to check out their deviantART pages! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Backlogged Features

2010-04-06T00:00:00.005-04:00

Over the past little while, I have unfortunately gotten a bit behind with some of the features that were supposed to go up on the site. Some of that was due to my own error and then some of it was due to lack of response on the questionnaires. Basically I give priority to anyone who is to be featured who answers all of the components. I have decided to showcase some of the talent that was not showcased due to one of those reasons or another.

Basically I'm just going to list the artists and their web sites or deviantART pages, and as always... clicking on an image will bring you to the artists page or image. Check it out!

Anna aka Popo-Licious on dA

Jazzy Lemon aka jazzylemonade on dA

Please make sure to check out their deviantART pages! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Discussion Time!! - How Do You Stay Motivated?

2010-04-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

This week, our discussion is on how do you stay motivated? Whether it's art, or getting yourself up to go to work... whatever... What motivates you and inspires you on a day to day basis?

Discussion Time!! - What IS Art?

2010-03-30T00:00:00.003-04:00

As you may have noticed (or not), I've been kind of behind with the blog for the past couple of days. If you also recall, I was asking all of you lovely readers for your advice last week! I had some fabulous suggestions and I'm working on making them a reality. We are coming up on Art Libs' one year anniversary and I would really love to take this blog up a notch! I want YOU involvement! Over the next couple of days, I'm hoping to unveil a new layout, and a lot of new material for you to read... not JUST features (although, I promise you I will never lose sight of this absolute fact: the artists and the art will ALWAYS come first!).

With that being said, one of the things I want to start is a discussion post. At least once a week I want to have a post where all of you input what you think! Where you can feel free to post WHATEVER you want (save a few ground rules which include; be respectful to other artists and readers posting THEIR thoughts. Absolutely NO harassment of anyone who posts something you may disagree with... healthy debates welcome... bullying is not.).

The first topic I want to cover is a very simple question that I KNOW we have all thought about at one time or another: What IS art to you? What defines an artist and their work. Is it restricted to something on canvas or film? Do you think abstract is true art?

Please comment and leave your thoughts! I'm going to leave this post up for a couple of days while I tweak a couple of things with the site. Anyone who I have asked to be on the site: do not fret! I promise I will still put up your work, just bear with me while I work out where Art Libs is going! Post, comment, discuss and be merry!

Mathias Kollros

2010-03-26T00:00:00.004-04:00

Mathias Kollros is known for his work with moles. Mathias first started drawing when he was only 27 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the lazy pressure of being a child prodigy loudly got to him and he had a nude breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own nipple! Mathias found sweaty inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his rabbit hole for all the cellar doors to see! Mathias eventually got married to Jesus and they remain together heavenly in their Death Star with their 1.5 children. Mathias would like to thank Napoleon, Kafka and Jimi Hendrix for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
For me it`s quite easy to get a painting started. In the beginning of the process there are no right or wrong decisions, just a basic idea you can play with. The hardest part is to decide when a painting is finished cause I can spend ages noodling in details and am still not satisfied. I`m trying to work more economically regarding the cost-benefit ratio and still get a good picture in the end.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
My inspiration comes to me while I sleep as I`m a very spiritual, responsive to creative energy-stuff person and so these dreamlike...ok, that`s just sarcasm^^
I get my inspiration like most I guess from media (films, books, comics, internet...), from other artists work (contemporary artists as from the so called old masters) or even from real life sometimes

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
The main point is definitively to get your work seen. You may show it for personal or commercial purposes but in the end it`s about getting recognized. Having a fan base on the internet is surely a plus to help an Art director discover your work.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I can`t remember a single weird comment but for the picture "Fly me to the Moon" I got some quite strange reactions. The painting shows a little alien, threatened by the mighty boot of an American astronaut and behind this guy the alien mama. People really felt offended because I painted the American guy as brutal conquerer, even the whole scene was obviously done in a funny and ironic context. Well, decide for yourself^^

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Keep dedicated, try to practice as much as you can and study other artists work are the main tips I always come up with. Be confident in your work but also try to be objective when rating your own abilities, otherwise you won`t improve.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Jose Alves da Silva

2010-03-25T00:00:00.002-04:00

Jose Alves da Silva is known for his work with noodles. Jose first started drawing when he was only 14 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the greasy pressure of being a child prodigy quickly got to him and he had a clumsy breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own nipple! Jose found beautiful inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his kitchen for all the rabbits to see! Jose eventually got married to Oprah and they remain together slowly in their church with their 2 children. Jose would like to thank Gandhi, Snow White and Picasso for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
I would say that the hardest part is to come up with an idea worth of turning it into an image. An image should always be special or tell something to the viewer, otherwise it is just one more image. In my case, I can take as much as 2 months working on a piece, it would be a great waste of time if I didn't try to make something worth that time investment. A great idea can have impact even if the technique is not super. The story behind the image is the X factor that most people forget.

For me, the easiest part of the process is working on characters. I love doing it so much that I forget everything else while I am doing it. There are technical difficulties, but the pleasure largely surpasses the difficulties.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
It is not very clear to me where my ideas come from.
I don't go to specific places looking for ideas but it is true that everyday I appreciate the art from many people. I am always visiting the main internet art forums and everyday I find pieces that amaze me. One of the sites that always manages to surprise me is CGHub. The average quality of the artists that post there is so high that it turns each visit into a humbling experience.
I have also noticed that by seeing good art regularly our standards keep rising and our mental library keeps growing. This will eventually turn us into better artists as we become a lot more demanding regarding our art.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
I have to say that each Art Forum has its own characteristics. Some are better for art promotion (like CGSociety or CGHub)and other are more friendly, like DeviantArt.
DeviantArt has a huge community that includes all skill levels and age groups. It is a great place to learn to lose the fear of getting your work exposed, which can be a problem when you start painting. The community is very friendly, so it is a great place to boost your confidence levels. Also, it is easy to get feedback which is very helpful. We look at an image for far too long while we work on it and sometimes a pair of fresh eyes can point you the obvious. Personally, I feel that DeviantArt is my cosy forum, where I feel at home and among friends.
As you get more serious about art you should consider also posting on other Forums like CGHub or CGSociety, but get prepared for being ignored or for some harsh comments. It is all part of the life lasting evolution as an artist.
It has never been easier to get feedback, so listen to everyone, think about their comments and apply what makes sense to you.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
For some strange reason I draw rabbits more often than other artists. People have told me that they are really anxious to see what I will come up with at Easter. :P
One of the strangest situations happened in DeviantArt with my piece "Mouse Love". In this image we can see two mice tails coming out of an open locker and forming an heart shape, suggesting that the mice are making love inside the locker. One guy kept asking questions about what the mice were doing inside the locker. I have replied with some witty answers, smilies and jokes but the guy didn't seem to understand what was happening. After some replies I decided to click on the guy's icon to see his DeviantArt page to understand why he was so weird. I found out that the guy was 10 years old... This is part of DeviantArt's magic :)

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Being an artist is not something you choose, is something that you NEED to be. I feel asphyxiated if I don't create anything for too long. If you feel that way... you are an artist, so keep practicing, never stop drawing, look at the work from the best artists, try to express your individuality in each piece. Technique is something that you can acquire, the passion has got to come from within.

Never stop pursuing your dream, the worst thing that can happen is to reach the end of your life, look back and find that you have never tried to be what you always wanted to be.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Ryan Ruffatti

2010-03-24T00:00:00.003-04:00

Ryan Ruffatti is known for his work with cans. Ryan first started drawing when he was only 21 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the quick pressure of being a child prodigy softly got to him and he had a stinky breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own elbow! Ryan found slick inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his office for all the caps to see! Ryan eventually got married to Paul Simon and they remain together seductively in the Sears Tower with their 12 children. Ryan would like to thank Lincoln, Malcolm Reynolds and Jim Davis for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The shoot itself tends to be the easiest part the photo for me. no matter how complicated and difficult the idea is, that's where the fun is for me. Editing photos after the fact tends to drag for me. I'm really excited to do the first two, but anymore then that it starts to become work.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Lots of different places. Some times it's comic books and paintings. Other times it's because I have some random prop or costume laying around that I want to use. Then there are the ideas that seemingly come from nowhere and somehow my mind cobbled them together to form a somewhat coherent thought.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
They are great ways of people to discover artists that they may have never seen before. Also paves the way for people to be able to live and make money as artists that would have been completely unknown otherwise.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I tend to use very simplistic methods of doing effects. And I get a fair number of people who do not believe my answers when they ask how I did something. Also comments I get from people who think I'm the model is also fun.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Have fun. If you enjoy doing it and are having fun, then nothing else matters.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Updates and Input

2010-03-23T00:00:00.001-04:00

Basically I’m taking up this feature space for the day to try and brainstorm some new ideas for Art Libs! I really want all you followers to comment and get a chance to join in on the features, so I’m trying to think of a way to make Art Libs a little more interactive! Contests are obviously a good way to do that, but I would really like to also make the features more interactive. The only way I can really think of is open up a Q&A for you so you can ask the featured artists some questions and comment on their work and chitchat if you feel like it!

I’m hoping that you can give me some feedback on what you think. What would make YOU want to post and interact with the site?

Anyways, so I guess with that being said, I’m going to give you a quick update! We’re approaching the final stretch of the Self Portrait contest I am hosting on deviantART, if you are interested, head over here and check it out! Also, we’re almost at that time of the year… yes that is correct, it’s our ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Waaaaaaah! Crazy, right?! I never thought we would make it this far, so look out for activities and features galore etc on April 14, 2010!

Gilles Roman

2010-03-22T00:00:00.002-04:00

Gilles Roman is known for his work with rats. Gilles first started drawing when he was only 10 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the shiny pressure of being a child prodigy soon got to him and he had a tall breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own hand! Gilles found flat inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his kitchen for all the cacti to see! Gilles eventually got married to Barrack Obama and they remain together inside in the Empire State Building with their 54 children. Gilles would like to thank Marco Polo, Spiderman and Leonardo Da Vinci for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Nothing is really hard or easy in painting, it's just a question of work and time. I think some things are more laborious than others. From the moment you have the idea in mind the hardest is done! After it is just a question of time and perseverance and it comes naturally (for me at least !).
When they are finished, promoting my pictures is a very difficult thing, I think THIS is the hardest part of the artistic process.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
I find my inspiration everywhere! Whether through internet art websites or in every day life. I think observing the world around us is the best way to progress.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
The emergence of online communities has allowed many artists to emerge and become quite famous. Websites like deviantART are a great opportunities to show your art to the world. It's a perfect way to take contact with artists from all over the world and to share your artistic universe.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
The funniest comment I've received maybe was a comment on my speed paint "What ?" on deviantART. It said: "LOL!! I clicked on this and exclaimed, 'WHAT!?' I find it hilarious that's what you called this." I'm very happy that some people think my paintings titles are hilarious. I receive a lot of positive comments on my different works and I really thanks everybody for that, it's always a real pleasure to read.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
I think that digital art is not that different from traditional art. If you are used to drawing, you will not be disappointed with painting softwars. Photoshop or graphic tablets are just some kinds of tools for the artist to use. The only real way to progress is to work and work again. Watch tutorials, they can be very helpful sometimes.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Tom Ashmore

2010-03-19T00:00:00.002-04:00

Tom Ashmore is known for his work with ducks. Tom first started drawing when he was only 11 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the extreme pressure of being a child prodigy sadly got to him and he had a hedonistic breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own dangleberry! Tom found extraordinary inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his toilet for all the teddy bears to see! Tom eventually got married to God and they remain together sexually in their bondage place with their imaginary children. Tom would like to thank Louis Daguerre, pants man and the Cinematic Orchestra for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Easiest? Clicking "upload".
Hardest? Predicting the future. Sometimes I feel like I'm on a runaway train. I don't strategise in any way - my work just comes from whatever I'm inspired by or feel strongly about at the time and it's always changing. I'm a documentary photographer today and tomorrow I'll be in the woods taking abstract photographs of the evening light through some trees. And out of that, there is a pressure to commit to a particular style or genre, or, in other words, to conform to cultural norms. I resist it, and that makes me happy and keeps me inspired - and if that means being less successful, so be it. I'm not in it for the money.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
I don't, it finds me. And sometimes I have to wait a long time but it always shows its head eventually. What I love though is the continuous chain of inspiration that we're all a part of. That a persons work has been inspired by someone, which in turn inspires me to create something that inspires someone else. That is such a positive and beautiful thing about art and its influence on people's lives. There are many warped perceptions of what beauty is in this world but that's as good an example as any I can think of.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
It's an unbelievably useful tool if you use it correctly and with the right intentions. I used to spend hours scouring the most popular deviations, analyzing and critiquing what it was about them that made them pleasing to look at. I'd then apply it to my own work, with sometimes good and sometimes bad results. You should always seek a critical analysis of your work and open yourself to criticism, and deviantart is fantastic for that. Because there are practically no repercussions, people can say what they like. I think as long as it's done constructively then its a fantastic new opportunity of the modern artistic environment.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Out of 256 deviations it difficult to remember but there is one puzzling comment I received recently on this image that I still haven't got my head around. It's a picture of a guy eating a KFC meal on a bench in the high street. Some has written, "Your doing it wrong." I have no idea what they meant and I suppose I could have asked but I guess I'm just not really that bothered. It won't keep me awake at night

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Do what makes you happy - screw everything else.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page and his web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

MattVTwelve

2010-03-18T00:00:00.002-04:00

Matt is known for his work with drinks. Matt first started drawing when he was only 12 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the ridiculous pressure of being a child prodigy gently got to him and he had a bad breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own neck! Matt found empty inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his living room for all the ice to see! Matt eventually got married to Bill Gates and they remain together slowly in the Tour Eiffel with their 89 children. Matt would like to thank Caesar, Megan Fox and Raffaello Sanzio for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The most difficult part of an artistic process is certainly the beginning.
Creating artwork is never simple, you should try to make a work that please the "public", but at the same time it must reflect yourself, your way of being, of seeing life. A relatively simple, it is the choice of the title of an artwork. I'm used to assign a title to my own creation only after I've finished. The first impression that jump into my head looking at : here is, that's the title!

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Inspiration is something really unexpected! The most logical thing to do is to browse the work of others, watching carefully the technique, and the manner of representation. I often stand for hours looking for an idea that might serve me for an artwork, but without results. Other times, I start a job with clear ideas and the conviction of what I'm doing. So I think that the inspiration is only a kind of "soul's mirror", and is directly influenced by mood.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
Online communities are very important in my view, allow artists to meet and get views from people with completely different outlook on life. Tips and comments are key to the stimulation of an artist.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
"Ive had sex with all of them.............Multiple times" [.Cit]

What advice can you offer to other artists?
The only advice I can give you: follow your passions and your interests. Work must be judged not by how many views it receives, but from what the author has enjoyed doing it.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Titus Lunter

2010-03-17T00:00:00.004-04:00

Titus Lunter is known for his work with potato chips. Titus first started drawing when he was only 22 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the morbidly obese pressure of being a child prodigy quietly got to him and he had a quick breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own shoulder! Titus found agile inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his room with a moose for all the pillows to see! Titus eventually got married to Boba Fett and they remain together personably in the Yukon Hotel with their 42 children. Titus would like to thank Virgil, Peter Griffin and JMW Turner for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
One of the easiest parts is deciding that you want to paint, all the rest is the hard part. Heh, but seriously, one of the hardest parts is tweaking. Most paintings gain their strength from the small details, small color deviations. One of the easier aspects are the final touches, after a while you get the hang of adding details such as highlights. It's by no means a trick that you apply but this is the area where experience counts the most. Everything in between, the larger chunks of paint is just grunt work.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Inspiration comes from a lot of angles. I look at dozens of pictures every day looking for something special I can use. Bits of lighting or details. I also have a whole arsenal of different books all around me. From art history to modern arts to game art. On top of that I browse forums for interesting photographs of animals and landscapes. Even so inspiration is no guarantee. I have days on end where I cant paint due to lack of inspiration and all of a sudden I paint days on end. All I can say is keep your mind open!

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
Online communities give a great opportunity to see what is going on. Part of being a good artist is to know what is happening all around you. You can take away from it what you want and that's a good thing. It's a shame however that sometimes good art gets lost in the noise of so many other people out there, so its hard to find a good place to get constructive criticism. All in all I think the internet will advance art in a way we haven't seen before in history; and with the quest for originality in art I can only imagine great things happening. The socializing aspect of online communities is great as well, you get to meet a whole lot of interesting people as long as you are kind. I think we all know networking is extremely important and with this it has become a lot easier. I can seriously recommend people to just go out there and talk to your favorite artist!

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Haha, that's a pretty fun question. I can't say I've had a huge amount of people commenting on my work but there are quite a few funny remarks that have been made. The strange use of language that is the spawn of internet tickles my funny bone. It's that kind of straight forward opinion which is nicest to read. I know people want to be polite, and you always should be, but don't be afraid to leave a weird comment. It takes a certain type of crazy to last long in this biz! I don't remember a specific comment tho, so I'll leave it at this. If you got one please leave one behind!

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Advice.. yikes.. that's always a difficult one. There are so many areas that artists want advice for that it's hard to give some without writing 20 pages. However, what I've found is that most people seek advice in how to become "good". There is no straightforward answer to this but one of the things that has been taught to me is: Observation. Observation, observation, observation. I cant stress that enough. Look at what you think is good and figure out WHY it is good. Try to recreate it, there is no shame in copying someones work for the sake of learning. Be sure you are your own worst critic, not by saying your own work is not good but rather be honest to yourself and seek mistakes. Because if you find your own mistakes you can correct them and improve, which is the ultimate goal. So don't get demotivated if you see people out there who you feel are better. Everyone is learning all the time! If you have the motivation and passion to become the best at what you do nothing can stop you from doing so.

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Laura242

2010-03-16T00:00:00.002-04:00

Laura is known for her work with cookies. Laura first started drawing when she was only 4 years old, making her a child prodigy. However, the green pressure of being a child prodigy very much got to her and she had a delightful breakdown, resulting in her cutting off her own left little finger! Laura found random inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in her bathroom for all the pillows to see! Laura eventually got married to the Pope and they remain together permanently in their football stadium with their 11 children. Laura would like to thank Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Spongebob and Andy Warhol for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The hardest part is to think of an idea for a concept and how to set it up. Shooting and post-processing is easier. For macro it is the other way round, finding something to shoot is easy, but getting a nice composition and the correct focus is sometimes quite difficult.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Inspiration can be everything, a picture or a situation I have seen or something I have read, heard or talked about with someone.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
I think it is the possibility to share the own pictures with many people from different backgrounds, getting feedback, see other people's pictures and take part in projects or contests.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I have a picture of a heart-shaped cactus and someone commented that he loved cacti and that he had a phallic-shaped. Then he wrote a bit about what he thought on german porn film-business because that was everything he knew about Germany. It was actually quite funny, but had absolutely nothing to do with the picture and made me think about hidden messages in my pictures that I did not know of.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
To find inspirations and to constantly work on the techniques in order to improve themselves.

Please make sure to visit her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Jason Pultz

2010-03-15T00:00:00.004-04:00

Jason Pultz is known for his work with cheeseburgers. Jason first started drawing when he was only 43 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the glistening pressure of being a child prodigy extremely got to him and he had a yellow breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own elbow! Jason found sticky inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his dungeon for all the kitties to see! Jason eventually got married to Spiderman and they remain together perfectly well in the Eiffel Tower with their 22 children. Jason would like to thank Abraham Lincoln, Hitler and Picasso for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The easiest part of the artistic process : I always found if you don't put pressure on yourself - that's the easiest way. For me it's when I'm just sketching for fun. I don't have to think about how it's going to look in the end or worry about it being perfect or cleaned up enough. I just start drawing and fill up the page. It's not for work so there's no client to worry about. No deadline either! And if I hate it what I've drawn - just tear it out and forget about it.

Hardest part: Sitting down and getting to it. Looking at that blank page and not having ideas. Not being happy with what I've drawn mostly cause I'm out of practice. (Need to draw everyday!) And making art for cash/a living is always a bit stressful. If you've taken your hobby you love and put those pressures on it sometimes it gets less fun.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
Online communities are good and bad. It's super easy for artists to make online portfolios and get your work seen. But, it's so easy to get caught up with looking at all the stuff out there that is inevitably better than yours. My advice is to not focus on other artist's work. Maybe get inspired - but get off the internet and get drawing!

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I make art mostly to get funny comments. I always want people to laugh and have a good time with my work. In my old apartment I had a lot of my paintings up on the wall. I was selling a 4-track tape recorder on craigslist. When the older man came to my place to pick it up he had a good look around at all the paintings and said " Your place looks like your website." haha

What advice can you offer to other artists?
My advice is to work hard, draw a little bit every day ( or play your instrument etc whatever your "art" is ) and believe in yourself and your work. You will get better with practice and with time. Find your own style and have fun!

Please make sure to check out his web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Dario Coelho

2010-03-12T00:00:00.003-05:00

Dario Coelho is known for his work with dogs. Dario first started drawing when he was only 48 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the liquid pressure of being a child prodigy hardly got to him and he had a grainy breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own hand! Dario found soft inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his bunker for all the firemen to see! Dario eventually got married to Timothy Leary and they remain together sometimes in their chief’s hut with their 50 children. Dario would like to thank Hernán Cortés, Flash Gordon and Joaquin Sorolla for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
I'm not sure if artistic process is the right term for something I do with certain limitations, such as briefing, references, the concept I have to translate into an image. Simply: The commissions I get from my clients. At least not from a contemporary art point of view. But to answer your question, from a concept artist's point of view...

I think the hardest part is to preserve the balance between the studying time, the observation, which helps you to build up your visual library, and the commission work, where you have to combine the briefing with your ideas, add references and things from your library and most important make the message readable. Currently it is very hard for me to feel free when it comes to designing things. I have to get rid of technical limitations, craftsmanship rules, worries, etc. And all these things were the biggest focus during my studying time, so it's a tricky thing to forget them and really start out doodling, only concentrating on the message. As soon as it's set I can move on to make the concept fancier, adding realism and style. This is when the "easy" part of my process starts. What was hard for me to archive the last years feels so much easier now, and it makes sense to grab the next thing to improve my work. I'm not saying I'm done with doing studies and learning techniques (not at all!), but it's good to always keep a balance between all the important parts of doing good concept art/illustration.

So the easiest and hardest parts always change, depending on what you're currently working on.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Inspiration can come from so different things. I find inspiration in art of course, though I found the most helpful inspiration to be the world we're living in. Being inspired by other artist's work often means admiring the style, the way of finding solutions for certain parts of the painting, the visual manuscript. This can lead to copying them or even giving style a bigger importance than what you are actually trying to show the viewer. When it comes to observe reality, I often ask myself why I spent hours and hours searching through google for good references and inspiration, when I sometimes find the perfect image walking on the streets with my dog. I think the key is to keep your eyes open, have an interest in simply everything. Everything can be design and inspiration.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
Seriously, they changed my life. If there haven't been online communities, I wouldn't have even know what to do with my interest in drawing things. I studied graphic design, studied fine art, searched for an institution which could help me to improve my skills. And none of them could add something really changing in my further development. The online communities were my source of information about what I had to learn. But not only for this, but also making contacts, finding a way into the industry. So pretty much everything I am right now, I am because of online communities. Still, I had to learn what I know, it was me who archived those things, but at least I had some kind of guidance and most important a goal.

But there is also a downside. I find online communities can also be dangerous for the originality in your work. People seem to copy from each other, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just leads to a certain popular style which can be unhealthy dominant when it comes to aspiring artist. I often see people online who have all the technical abilities, but a lack of own visual design language. But don't get me wrong! I'm guilty too! I think it's part of the process a young, aspiring artist has to live through. I just hope for myself, that I'll be able to find my own, personal way.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I don't think it's necessarily funny, but definitely strange and weird. In my first semester, studying fine art in Vienna, I painted a series of paintings, dealing with the situation of indigenous people in Brazil. Some of them were quite brutal, as the one I presented to my teacher. It showed a guy in front of his quite grim village, exhausted and sad, wearing a t-shirt with the message "Jesus loves you" on it. My teacher freaked out and called me a racist, because she felt like my painting suggested indigenous people in Brazil are dumb. Being almost 5 years in her class, it was the last time I spoke to her.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Oh, I hate giving advices, as they almost every time prove to be wrong. Saying that, I think the best advice I can give right now is to never feel too comfortable with what you're able to do right now. Always search for challenges, ways of improving and not repeating. And soon you will notice it was the right decision. As soon as an artist stops to be his greatest critic, he stops improving. Ok, that's a bit cheesy, but it's just the truth.

Please make sure to check out his web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Audrey Kawasaki

2010-03-11T00:00:00.006-05:00

If you aren't already familiar with the beautiful art of Audrey Kawasaki, get familiar. This woman is not only brilliant with paint, but her canvas is brilliant as well. Audrey paints her beautiful pieces on wood. Incredible, right? Audrey is amazingly busy but she made sure to have some fun with us and answer mad libs for us! She didn't unfortunately answer our questions, but since she didn't, I decided to add in some extra art pieces for you to check out. The first piece featured is amazing and is actually the skin for my iPod courtesy of GelaSkins (absolutely brilliant company if you haven't already checked it out!).

Audrey Kawasaki is known for her work with panties. Audrey first started drawing when she was only 3 years old, making her a child prodigy. However, the fiery pressure of being a child prodigy clumsily got to her and she had a patient breakdown, resulting in her cutting off her own fingertips! Audrey found moist inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in her boiler room for all the seamstresses to see! Audrey eventually got married to Rapunzel and they remain together tenderly in their aviary with their 35 children. Audrey would like to thank Marie Antoinette, Sylvia Plath and John Sergeant for their constant support and inspiration.

Please make sure to visit her web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Edric Yoeliawan

2010-03-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

Edric Yoeliawan is known for his work with magicians. Edric first started drawing when he was only 10 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the intrinsic pressure of being a child prodigy naturally got to him and he had a ingenious breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own eyes! Edric found nimble inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his grand hall for all the disciples to see! Edric eventually got married to Jesus and they remain together mightily in their shopping mall with their 580000000 children. Edric would like to thank Abraham Lincoln, Walt Disney and Alphonse Mucha for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
For me currently, it’s nailing down the exact design details of the pictures. Like, what is the decoration in the character’s shirt? How many buttons should be on the shirt? What is behind the character? Is it a building, if it is then is it a gothic building?

I find that after I nailed down all this little details of the image, everything else comes in faster. Though I do believe these things are not necessary for the main focus, it’s just my habit to be “slightly” obsessed with tiny details.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
In many places of course! Sometimes it’s the art I come across on the internet, sometimes I found it in photographs within fashion magazine, and sometimes the greatest ideas just come when I was doing non art related stuffs like strolling or eating.

Finding them is a bit trickier. For my personal works, I allow them to come freely, totally decided by my whims mood and preferences, and of course by “happy accidents” too.

But for commercial works, I usually try to start with an idea in mind, “do I want this card to look colorful, illustrated, or simple corporate elegance?” Sometimes I really don’t have a clue. Either way, I will start scouting for images that I like, whether it’s from the internet or books, and saving them for references. Sooner or later, whether it is after 5 or 55 images, I will have the inspiration I need.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
Lots of them. First it provides a spot where the accumulation of information can be accessible to almost anyone anywhere. This in turn simplifies issues like finding art advices from the people who have done it to accessing free tutorials to improve our skills, to blurring the cultural boundaries in art and so much more. Whereas in the past, it is extremely hard for undeveloped areas eg Africa, to have a chance at all to participate and know what is going on in the art world, some of them who have talent but no money would have been stuck doing aboriginal art all the way.

Next of course is the interaction and company of fellow like minded artist. Well art can sometimes be a lonely affair, considering that most of the work are done by one artist and each good work and not including in between practices does take a considerable time. Interaction provides nutrition for the soul, even for artists’. Knowing that there are other people who shares your burden makes life much easier, and knowing that there are many who loves your passion, makes life more meaningful and fun.

One real example from above was the Renaissance era. A group of great artists gathered at one spot once upon a time, and look where it got them. I am sure those artists would love to kill just to have a chance to live in our era.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I did a design which has a part of it purposely rendered with minimal details, many people understood it, but somebody online commented that the art wasn’t finished…..

What advice can you offer to other artists?
It’s hard to give advice, since personally I believe everyone has a different path to success. Good advices are already everywhere out there, it’s all in the motivational books, it’s true and it’s been repeated again and again. But if I must say a specific advice for artists, then it will be, “Widen your horizon, be very passionate in your art, but while art is part of your life, ultimately your life is not about art, be interested in learning other things, be interested in people and be interested in making a difference in life, when your life is fruitful and well balanced you will be a successful artist, and person.”

Please make sure to check out his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Shreya Shetty

2010-03-09T00:00:00.003-05:00

Shreya Shetty is known for her work with marmosets. Shreya first started drawing when she was only 1024 years old, making her a child prodigy. However, the dubious pressure of being a child prodigy stealthily got to her and she had a pretty breakdown, resulting in her cutting off her own eyeball! Shreya found angry inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in her kitchen for all the pillows to see! Shreya eventually got married to Darth Vader and they remain together absentmindedly in the Tower of Silence with their 42 children. Shreya would like to thank Elizabeth Bathory, Homer Simpson and Bouguereau for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
I think the easiest part would be doodling the initial concept and looking for references. The hardest is composition, storytelling and trying to get the final image to do justice to the original idea (and not losing interest/getting lazy along the way).

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Mostly from movies, stuff by Tim Burton, del Toro and Miyazaki stir up my imagination quite a bit. Also I lurk a lot online, in galleries and forums and that can be pretty inspirational.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
I think one of the most important things is the whole variety of styles that you get exposed to with communities that have worldwide memberships. It makes you more open minded about art and subject matter and that always helps in your artistic growth. Also sometimes when you are the best in your own little circle, its easy to get complacent but when you look around and see these fantastic artists who are probably half your age in different parts of the world who are so dedicated and doing so well, it's sort of a good kick in the behind to not be lazy and work harder.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I usually get the " she looks like you!!" comment for the portraits I do. I once drew a monster and one of the first comments I got from a friend was that it looked like me. It was just so funny because it was such a standard comment by then, I was sort of expecting it.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Practice, practice, practice!

Please make sure to check out her blog and her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Jeannie Paske

2010-03-08T00:00:00.003-05:00

Jeannie Paske is known for her work with rutabagas. Jeannie first started drawing when she was only 9 years old, making her a child prodigy. However, the peculiar pressure of being a child prodigy obviously got to her and she had a pensive breakdown, resulting in her cutting off her own hand! Jeannie found lonely inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in her study for all the clouds to see! Jeannie eventually got married to Peter Pan and they remain together quietly in the Space Station with their 3 children. Jeannie would like to thank Martin Luther King Jr., Kermit the Frog and Hironimos Bosch for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The easiest would be coming up with concepts and the most difficult would be deciding when a piece is actually finished.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Everywhere! I usually have sketch books lying around so that when an idea strikes I can jot it down. I am particularly inspired my the sky and am influenced by too much cartoon watching and over-analyzation of my surroundings.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
The exposure these communities can bring to an artist.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
My mom once described one of my creations as a hairy Mister Potato Head. I thought that was pretty funny.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Do what you love to do and be honest and kind to others.

Please make sure to check out her blog! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Jenyffer Maria

2010-03-05T00:00:00.004-05:00

Jenyffer Maria is known for her work with kitty printed band-aids. Jen first started drawing when she was only 28 years old, making her a child prodigy. However, the buttonish pressure of being a child prodigy accidentally got to her and she had a cherried breakdown, resulting in her cutting off her own funny bone! Jen found polypainted inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in her love room for all the lollipops to see! Jen eventually got married to Minky and they remain together inquisitively in their Twinkle Factory with their 8 children. Jen would like to thank Albert Einstein, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
As long as I have all my materials I need to make I'm content. It's when that ink pen starts running low on its juice. I will use up to it's last drop because I rather be at home while I'm in my zone than at the store buying more pens. It has happened before though and it's rough, ha. I'm also really disorganized and careless with what I do, for example the drawings that are currently scattered (some even ruined) all over my floor and that I try to step over in the middle of the night when I need to use the bathroom. I'm working that that!

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Absolutely everywhere. Mostly though from people and music. I'm mostly inspired by people with intricate or exaggerated features. Features not necessarily found appealing to society, I find to be perfection. It's boring to doodle the "beautiful" or the "average", show me your big noses and sunken eyes, your disproportionate breasts and huge thighs! And music, I love all of it. I'm not just saying that, I truly do appreciate all music. There are so many lyrics, melodies out there to fit any mood I many be in and that all goes with my process. I've currently had Marina & the Diamonds on repeat, I highly recommend it. My muse at the moment is the GAGA of all ladies! Lady Gaga has to be the force that is most in touch with what I want to do and am doing right now. But yeah inspiration to me really comes from all over the place whether it be from the mexican telenovela I've invested myself emotionally with or a simple trip to the grocery store. Being alive, basically -- breathing.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
The internet is truly the tool to use these days if you want to share with the world your art. It has been for me, anyway. I've been blessed with one of the most inspiring and beautiful art communities I have ever been a part of for the past two years now, HitRECord.org. A place that appreciates the act of hitting that red RECording button and collaborating with one another (anybody!) on an international basis. That's what art is, a huge cluster fuck of collaborative inspiration. We recently screened at the Sundance Film Festival and one of the pieces we presented was "Morgan M. Morgansen's Date With Destiny", never in my wildest thoughts/dreams did I think I'd ever have illustrations in a a short film being screened in front of an audience. HitRECord's given me a sense of direction and such incredible amounts of motivation and confidence. Something that was hard to come by as I scrubbed toilets and made beds for a living once. I'm making art, doing what I love on a global level with people from all over the world, if that isn't awesome I don't know what is.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
I usually take those comments as compliments so nothing really sticks out. It's exciting to hear interpretations of certain pieces that I've done with an actual idea in mind but that no one will ever get from looking at it but me. Listening to the stories that evolve from others just by looking at a piece, whether it be negative or positive, is the best. I'm crude and foul myself as a person so for something to weird me out, it's tough.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Have fun. That's really it, just have fun doing what you do. If it's no longer fun, take a break. Be selfish, not in a greedy or rude manner but in the terms of setting time for yourself. Explore the world, get lost in a new city, talk to strangers, go to the movies by yourself. Also, do not be afraid to "do what's been done already" because c'mon, who the fuck cares and what hasn't? Remix the hell out of the old and the new, with others in mind make it your own! Real art has no boundaries, it's the ultimate form of expression. As long as you make it your own and you're having fun! Have a blast! ♥

Please make sure to check out her web site and her work on hitRECord! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Ben Templesmith

2010-03-04T00:00:00.003-05:00

Ben Templesmith is known for his work with cats. Ben first started drawing when he was only 10 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the fast pressure of being a child prodigy knackered got to him and he had a slow breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own anal gland! Ben found convulsing inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his living room for all the cannibals to see! Ben eventually got married to Mohammed and they remain together rapidly in their public restroom with their 2 children. Ben would like to thank George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Tim Burton for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Coming up with ideas. Following through with them.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
History, real life, movies & odd conversation.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
No idea, I'm not an aspiring artist. No one is, except those who can't draw. To aspire to be an artist means you're not already one. I think you're either an artist or you're not! You can however, aspire to be a *better* one.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
That I am a hack, derivative of no less than 5 other artists who yes, may be influences. I think if I can somehow meld aspects of all their work into one...I must be doing something right? This guy was hilarious.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Don't give up. Be your own worst critic. 99% of the greats had knock backs and carried on, but 100% of failures gave up their dreams or never bothered to try because they thought it too hard.

Please make sure to check out his web site and his deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Viktor Mazhlekov

2010-03-03T00:00:00.005-05:00

Viktor Mazhlakov is known for his work with snowmen. Viktor first started drawing when he was only 43 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the insane pressure of being a child prodigy gleefully got to him and he had a remarkable breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own nose! Viktor found honoured inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his bathroom for all the cats to see! Viktor eventually got married to Kate Moss and they remain together hungrily in Versailles with their 965 children. Viktor would like to thank Frodo Baggins, Matisse and Vince Vaughn for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Тhere is no easy nor difficult part, painting for me is a process that just happens.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration everywhere and at any time, just try to observe things around me.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
The communities are something great, they give much greater scope for expression of the artists than the traditional modes of expression. I´m glad that I live in such a time!

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
А woman told me recently of one my painting that is really scary!?! ;)

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Тo trust their instincts and to think positive

Please make sure to check out his web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Camilla d'Errico

2010-03-02T00:00:00.002-05:00

Camilla d’Errico is known for her work with beds. Camilla first started drawing when she was only 3 years old, making her a child prodigy. However, the sexy pressure of being a child prodigy unfortunately got to her and she had a delicious breakdown, resulting in her cutting off her own elbow! Camilla found hideous inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in her kitchen for all the hammers to see! Camilla eventually got married to Bruce Lee and they remain together boldly in their stadium with their 5 children. Camilla would like to thank George Washington, Bullwinkle and Picasso for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The easiest thing...hmmm for me it's conceiving the idea which can also be the hardest part. It's a seesaw really, one day the ideas flow effortlessly and the next it's a dry riverbed. Somehow though it balances itself out.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Inspiration isn't something that's easily defined, it's like asking "where's the end of the rainbow". I don't really know myself, but I do know what can stimulate me, photography, nature, literature, emotions I'm always seeking to create a visual riddle. The animals, the setting, the headgear, it all means something and when you see it you have to see it in pieces put together. Sometimes though, I create for the sheer joy of it and the meaning changes and steps outside the riddle.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
Online communities are great for artists, new or pro. I love going on deviant art to simply meander into artists profiles. It's like looking at the greatest online artbook, and there is an energy there that is infectious! It's also a great place for people to see your art and connect with other people and artists.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
Someone once commented on my helmetgirls and began to describe what he saw. He saw them as scientists, as astronauts, as explorers...that's the short version, he was so excited he went on and on, it was a unique experience.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Hmm, well two pieces of advice, one finish your art! I think it's one of the hardest things for artists starting out, so get strict with yourself and you'll really grow. Two, show your work to others, and be open to critiques. It feels a lot like being stared at naked and hearing the verdict, but it will also help you improve.
Lastly I will give you the advice that John Buscemma gave me. "Ask yourself why you are doing this (drawing comics), is it for money and fame, or is it your passion? If it's money and fame try being an actor because you won't find that here. But if you do it for the love of it you'll live a great life, and you'll survive all the hardships through your passion." He said "Trust me, if you love what you do, it's worth it." So I'll pass that on to the next generation and hope it reaches someone else.

Please make sure to check out her web site, her blog and make sure to check out her deviantART page! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Vince Fraser

2010-03-01T00:00:00.004-05:00

Vince Fraser is known for his work with watches. Vince first started drawing when he was only 831 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the delightful pressure of being a child prodigy spryly got to him and he had a radioactive breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own foot! Vince found blinding inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his boudoir for all the kittens to see! Vince eventually got married to Lily Allen and they remain together brightly in the Louvre with their 12,000 children. Vince would like to thank Ricky Gervais, Douglas Adams and Vincent Van Gogh for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Definitely the beginning part which is also the most important part of the process when you need to sit down and put pen to paper and come up with a good concept. The hardest part is gathering all those thoughts and ideas you have floating around in your head and trying to make sense of them –known as the conceptualizing stage! For me it can become a little chaotic at times when I have too many ideas and so little time to visualize them. The easiest part is actually executing the final design. Again this can actually become the hardest depending on the project ,because the client may like the overall design but want you to make final tweaks which can be an absolute nightmare sometimes. I’ve have a few clients over the years where the tweaking part of the project takes longer than the initial concept and execution stages.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Artists need inspiration to produce inspired artwork and sometimes it can come from the most unlikeliest of places. For me it's everywhere, once you know where to find it. Personally ,I like to get out and take a stroll around the city observing everything around me from looking at what people are wearing, looking at billboards, or even looking at colour palettes in a shop window. It can be from books, blogs, magazines, movies, art, traveling, dreams, or even twitter? Sometimes I will find myself flipping through a magazine or browsing some website, and all of a sudden it’s like someone flipped the switch for my creativity. And they didn’t just flip the switch to on, they turned it to the highest setting I’ve got. Do you know what I mean? LOL what a buzz!.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
Deviant Art is definitely one of the nicest online communities I have come across. It has such an array of members ranging from young to old, with many different levels of artistic talent from amateur 3d artists just starting out through to top level photography professionals that use tens of thousands of pounds worth of camera and lighting equipment. Everyone is open minded, and nobody really acts superior to anyone else. If you’re one of the professionals, you treat everyone else as they’re on their way to your level, but in no way, inferior and unable to ever be on par with you. It provides usable constructive criticism with a friendly atmosphere with a huge array of categories and styles and an endless selection to surf through, with a very friendly user interface.

You can always collaborate with other artists ,learn something new and apply those skills with your own ideas to new artwork in future projects.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
The colors will match the curtains in my living room nicely. (The conversation is art, not home decorating.)

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Continuously pushing the envelope to keep your style fresh and evolving. Try keeping a sketchbook. It's so easy to forget a thought that could have led you onto a great idea, this is why you need to write things down, and sketch out your concepts whenever possible. Keeping a small sketchbook & pen with you at all times is great for gathering inspiration around you. Throwing an idea down, even if something’s rough, it’s so much easier to visualize and explore. Plus you don’t forget it? It is amazing how one original thought can lead to several others, and how from one simple sketch through subsequent changes can become very detailed very quickly.

Please make sure to check out his web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Jack Teagle

2010-02-26T00:00:00.002-05:00

Jack Teagle is known for his work with badgers. Jack first started drawing when he was only 8 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the miserable pressure of being a child prodigy badly got to him and he had a sweaty breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own coccyx! Jack found agitated inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his pantry for all the toasters to see! Jack eventually got married to Nelson Mandela and they remain together deliberately in the Guggenheim with their 22,000 children. Jack would like to thank Socrates, Andy Kaufman and Cy Twombly for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
The hardest probably the initial planning. Colour is very important to me in my work, so I have to get it exactly right in my work. Once I'm past the planning stage, I can get through work very quickly.

Easiest is coming up with ideas in the first place, I just have them coming thick and fast constantly, so I started to keep a journal just for ideas so when I have some spare time or a job, I can look back and use what I've put down in my book to help out.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
I find my inspiration everywhere, it can be from what people say, something I've seen or read, or other artist's work. I love old action figures, comics and trashy pop culture. The faded vintage colours of these items influence my work a lot. I'm quite a sarcastic person, and I always try to work that into my work. Dry, or bland humour is very important to me. I love giving a feeling of awkwardness or unease to my work, I think that's because growing up I was such an awkward person!

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
I think it's great, the internet has really opened up work no one would otherwise see to this generation. It's like having a constant gallery exhibition on open to the entire world. I don't think much of my work would have been seen without the exsistence of the internet. I'm quite partial to Flickr at the moment which has opened up my work to a different audience. Altogether I think the networks and communities are a great source of inspiration and offer a great platform to a lot of creatives.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Be yourself. Try to block out any trend, anyhting that's fashionable, and just be yourself. You will produce your best work when stop trying to work like someone else, and just focus on being yourself.

Please make sure to check out his web site and his blog! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Chris Gall

2010-02-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

Chris Gall is known for his work with toads. Chris first started drawing when he was only 37 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the dirty pressure of being a child prodigy quickly got to him and he had a homely breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own uvula! Chris found feisty inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his bathroom for all the fungus to see! Chris eventually got married to Billy Jack and they remain together quietly in Falling Water with their 2 children. Chris would like to thank Winston Churchill, Angelina Jolie and Gustav Klimt for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Easiest—sharpening pencils
Hardest—concepting, composition, making sure your work keeps evolving, earning a living, looking for new markets for your work.

Where and how do you find inspiration?
Inspiration largely comes from what interests me. In school I never liked figure drawing. I wanted to create visual narratives, so abstraction totally bored me. I tend not to make artwork from things like bowls of fruit.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as deviantART, to aspiring artists?
I suppose if you are very new to the industry, then they may provide good information and networking. I don’t participate in any online communities, so my experience is limited.

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
My artwork I created for the New York Subway system gathered lots of interesting comments. It features a giant metal fish that looks a lot like a subway car filled with eccentric people. One person saw the bird-strike airplane going down in the Hudson. Another saw the Last Supper. Go figure.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
First and foremost, find a way to make money with your art. Otherwise, it’s just a hobby.

Please make sure to check out his web site! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!

Daniel Landerman

2010-02-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Daniel Landerman is known for his work with jeans. Daniel first started drawing when he was only 6 years old, making him a child prodigy. However, the elephantine pressure of being a child prodigy literally got to him and he had a stellar breakdown, resulting in him cutting off his own throat! Daniel found red inspiration from the lost limb and decided to frame it and hang it in his studio for all the pencils to see! Daniel eventually got married to Dakota “Rawhide” Tayler and they remain together quickly in the Taj Mahal with their 3 children. Daniel would like to thank Thomas Edison, Joss Whedon and John Singer Sargent for their constant support and inspiration.

What are the easiest and the hardest parts of the artistic process?
Easy? If there are easy parts well, nobody told me ;P The easiest part of the process is the moment when I can sit back and admire my handy work. Also the research. That is always a fun-filled adventure on which I get to learn all kinds of things I didn't know before. I love teaching myself and the research phase gives me the opportunity to do that, often with a paycheck involved. Getting paid to learn? Easy and fun.

The hardest part is that middle portion. You know, the stuff between the research and the admiration of my handy work? Yeah, that whole drawing and painting part. Mind you, just because I say it's the hardest, does not mean it isn't the most fun. I love a good challenge, even when it frustrates me I love knowing that I can surmount any obstacle given enough time... or not time, as is often the case since I work a lot in the advertising world. But anyone that says the drawing/painting phase is easy isn't pushing themselves to get better with every piece. An image may be comprised of thousands of marks, and each one has to be placed deliberately, properly and within context of every other mark. That's a hell of a task. *deep breath. Bring it on.

Where and how do your find inspiration?
Everywhere. Seriously. Of course it depends on what I'm doing but I pull a lot from fashion, from books I've read, people I see, stories I hear. I'm a huge fan of people-watching. I walk around old town Pasadena with my headphones on and study everyone around me. People fascinate me and probably inspire me more than anything else. That's why most of my work tends to be character oriented.

What do you feel is the significance of online communities, such as CGHub and ConceptArt.org, to aspiring artists?
The significance is that aspiring artists now have direct access to some amazing contemporary artwork, as well as the chance to ask direct questions of professionals they might look up to. There is an amazing, instantaneous learning process that can occur via online communities such as CGHub, ConceptArt.org etc. The part that saddens me is need for instantaneous fulfillment which drives young artists to jump headlong into digital art before learning the fundamentals of analogue such as oil painting, watercolor, charcoal and so on. However, I would never dispute the benefits of these communities. Just look at the amazing works being created by these kids, some of them only 16 or 17 years old. It's pretty amazing to see... and it keeps me on my toes!

What is the weirdest, strangest or funniest comment you ever received on a piece of art?
The strangest comment was when a professional challenged me to an art duel after I critiqued one of their paintings. It was a valid critique. The perspective was way off and that was that. They got upset and challenged me. I figured a fellow professional would know the difference between a crit and a challenge. I didn't accept the "duel". It was silly.

What advice can you offer to other artists?
Stay strong. Art is NOT for the feint of heart. We put our souls into this stuff and then throw it out into the world to be trampled on, loved, admired, discarded or disdained. It's not easy, but it IS rewarding.

Don't let a few people's opinions sway you.

Be resolute and set goals for yourself and line 'em up and shoot 'em down.

Don't push anything away because you never know where inspiration will come from.

Lastly, make a concerted effort to learn from everything you do. Art relates to life relates to cooking relates to storytelling relates to relationships etc. See the bigger picture for what the interconnected web that it is.

Please make sure to check out On the D/L! And as always, please respect the art and the artist. Art Libs has gained permission from the artists to feature their work on our site. If you would like to use any of the art for ANY reason, you MUST obtain your own permission. Please do not steal or reproduce any art. Respect the art!