(Create your free gallery today!)
Archives
testing forum post funcitolity
Welcome to TheStarvingArtist.com where talented artists sell art online for free. If you are an art enthusiast, you are in luck. With thousands of artworks in every genre, medium, and price point, TheStarvingArtist.com is the place to buy art online from artists based all over the world.
Our mission is to expand the art market by giving artists the platform to sell their artwork directly to art lovers. Our site is TOTALLY free- there are no listing fees, specialty rates, or membership dues! In addition to having zero sign up costs, TheStarvingArtist.com will work hard to sell your art by promoting and advertising your artwork through a wide range of media outlets, helping you build your reputation as an artist and increase the value of your artwork. For the buyer, we guarantee a safe, reliable, and pleasant purchasing experience. We offer US-based customer service and will always get back to you within 24 hours.
On TheStarvingArtist.com you'll find all different kinds of artwork. In line with our mission to expand the art market, we've created an open gallery format; we don't "censor" your work; we don't "control" the content of your work. You'll find beautiful pieces in all different mediums including paintings, drawings, printwork, sculpture, collage, and a variety of unconventional mulitmedia. We represent the true breadth and vision of today's artists. Our gallery ranges from the traditional to the exotic and all price points are represented. At TheStarvingArtist.com, you are guaranteed to find art that not only suits your unique taste, but your budget as well.
At TheStarvingArtist.com, creating your own viritual gallery is a seamless two-steps process. There's no waiting for confirmation or approval. All you have to do is register (you can use Facebook!), and upload your art. TheStarvingArtist.com is all about expanding the art market and helping you to buy and sell your art online in the most effecient and successful way. So, welcome again to TheStarvingArtist.com, an open community of artists and art lovers looking to fill the world with beautiful art.
Art Online: How the Internet Has Changed the Art World
It never ceases to amaze me how the internet has transformed virtually every industry. Art is no exception. Today, we accept buying and selling art online as something that comes quite naturally. Only a decade ago, many of us were afraid to trust our credit cards to the lurking predators waiting to steal our identities online.
There is a natural progression in every industry, even when centuries old, to gravitate towards newly accepted forms of media. For the starving artist, the story is more about a chance at exposure than gaining more exposure. Rather than wait to be discovered, artists now take their own destiny into their hands, with tools that allow them to market themselves.
But, the story of how the internet changed the art world has a definite monetary value to the starving artist. Artists who do display their works in brick and mortar galleries do so with the hope of selling work, but not with any guarantee. Depending on the situation, this entails the cost of travel, food and lodging, plus the physical labor of transporting art work. When that art work is within the gallery walls, it is protected in cases of damage by the gallery's insurance policy. But, a heavy piece damaged in transit is the artist's burden.
No doubt physical galleries will always carry the prestige they have in the past, but for practical purposes, the internet provides artists with a means to display their works free of charge and to viewers worldwide. Art enthusiasts can enjoy buying art online with security and a great variety to choose from without limitation.
Who knows where the internet will take the art world tomorrow. One thing we know for sure is that it is bound to open up more doors for artists worldwide.
Calling All Artists!
To celebrate our awesome new site features & lowest commision rates - we decided to throw a little contest-party!
All you have to do is upload new artwork to your virtual gallery on TheStarvingArtist.com and get your work ‘liked’ on our site. The artist with the most 'likes' will win a $100 gift card to Amazon.com!
We recommend linking your artwork through your Facebook page and encouraging your friends to vote for you. We will also help promote your work by featuring new art daily on our own Facebook wall. Don’t wait too long to get started because this exciting contest ends March 1st!
Today's Art- the struggle to remember the human touch
As I sit here writing this blog post in Starbucks. I'm struck by how much of art permeates our daily lives. The coffee cup I'm holding (well not exactly) was designed artfully with it's Seattle-esque mermaid logo. The photography on the wall was well-selected to match the urban landscape...even a couple chalkboard drawings over the counter give the in-house sense of winter even though it is an unbelievable 50 degrees today in NYC. There is SO much art everwhere- in every aspect of our lives, but too frequently the hands that formed, took, painted, drew those images, the face that was inspired to execute them is lost. TheStarvingArtist.com is all about reconnecting humans to humans. Artists to Art-lovers. Inspiration to Inspiration. Visit our site to: Reconnect with Humanity. To Be Inspired. To Challenge Your WorldView. To Beat the Winter Blues. To Be Touched ..........art. for. all.
Scientists have recently discovered paintings in a cave in Spain that are presumed to have been painted by Neanderthals. These are the first paintings ever thought of as being created by Neanderthals. To put that in perspective, the Neanderthal paintings are 43,000 years old, much older than the 30,000 year old paintings found in Chauvet, France (that's the cave featured in the documentary Cave of Dreams). Neanderthals had previously been been presumed incapable of art. This discovery has been called an "academic bombshell" because it challenges science's assumptions about what Neanderthals were like and what they were capable of. Though further testing is needed to confirm these findings- this story illuminates some very interesting questions about the nature of art- -- What does it mean to be 'capable' of creating art? Are we all capable of creating art? Is the creation of art a most basic human experience?
Not a photo-bug? That’s okay!
We’ve consulted a slew of our click-happy friends to put together this guide for ensuring the best quality photos of your artwork.
- Use Legs. We highly recommend you purchase a tripod for photographing your artwork. A tripod ensures that your camera is steady which guarantees you the highest quality picture.
- Use A Tripod. Seriously, we cannot stress this enough so we put it in twice.
- Avoid Digital Noise. Set the ISO on your camera to the lowest setting. By default, most cameras set the ISO to Auto which lets the camera fluctuate depending on the amount of available light. Lower ISO produces a higher quality photograph because it produces pictures with less digital noise. For the photo-heads reading this, this is equivalent to ASA film speed where ASA 25 or 100 speed film is higher quality than ASA 400 speed film because higher ASA films have more grain. Digital noise is equivalent to grain. For the non-photo-nerds, just remember: The less ISO = the higher quality picture.
- Pixel-ate. Set your camera to capture the most pixels it’s capable of. This won't be an option if you shoot in TIF or RAW setting because those settings will always give you the most pixels available. BUT, (there’s always a but!) if you shoot JPEG, you'll need to check your pixilation. Additionally, you’ll want to check your compression (how the camera compresses your photo after you take it). In short, always choose the setting that gives you the highest quality photo with the least amount of compression. If you don't have enough room on your memory card, purchase a larger capacity card. Memory is cheap (well the digital kind is!) and you shouldn't let it dictate the quality of the images you produce.
- Zoom-Out. Never use the digital zoom. All consumer digital cameras have an extended digital zoom range. If you can't get close enough with the built in optical zoom, move your tripod. The digital zoom interpolates in camera and is not as good as cropping (and enlarging) in an editing program like Photoshop or Elements. You should try and keep the optical zoom in the mid-range when photographing your art because there will be less distortion caused by lens aberrations.
- Fill the Frame (well in this one life situation anyway). Fill the frame as much as possible with your art so you end up using more of the available pixels. This will give you potentially a higher quality image. If your work is horizontal, position the camera horizontally. If your work is vertical, position the camera vertically (duh!). Use the most amount of image area you can in the long pixel dimensions. Bonus TheStarvingArtist.com Tip: If you're using a 6 or more megapixel camera, leave some room around your work so it can be cropped in a visually pleasing way.
- You Are Not a Paparazzo. Do not use flash. As tempting as it is, trust us, shooting artwork with the built in flash is ugly because it creates hot spot reflections on your work. Better to shoot without the flash and use window light to illuminate the art or shoot outdoors under a white canopy/bed-sheet/curtain for even illumination.
- The Great White Balance. Warning! You are now treading in expert territory. If at all possible, set your white balance to match your light source. This will insure that the whites in your work, or background, show up as white in your digital files, which will let all the other colors fall into line. To complicate your brain more, most cameras allow you to set a custom white balance so mixed lighting can be used accurately. Auto white balance should only be used in situations where matching colors from image to image isn't necessary. You can now apprentice for Annie Leibovitz!
- Color Clues. Most digital cameras create files in the sRGB color space. This is good. More advanced digital cameras also may give you the option of the Adobe 1998 RGB color space. Either is OK for capture as long as you convert your digital file to the sRGB color space before creating your JPEG image.
- A JPEG is not a JPEG. The image quality of a JPEG that a digital camera captures is almost indistinguishable from a TIF. You can shoot JPEG and end up with excellent digital images. That's why you should always shoot at the highest quality with the least amount of compression. Yes, we are repeating ourselves (good for you for noticing!) but it's important to realize that the JPEG you wind up with after editing, if done correctly, will be a compressed JPEG and have little relation to the JPEG originally captured in the camera.
- SUPER IMPORTANT TIP! This is one of the most important facts on this page. When you first open your images in an editing program like Photoshop or Elements, go to File>Save As and specify either a TIF or a PSD, which is a Photoshop file. Those are uncompressed image formats. A JPEG is a compressed image format which loses something with each modification. NEVER work on an original JPEG out of camera. It's your negative and you need to archive it. Working on a JPEG causes the image to degrade and if you save over the original, you've lost it forever. Always work on an image in an uncompressed format so any changes you make improve the image, not degrade it. If you have any questions, this is where you can e-mail or pick up the phone and talk to us, the super Starving Artist team…we’ll save you from doing any irreparable damage to your digital images.
- Process Make Perfect. Every photograph, either captured on film or digitally, can be improved in post processing (don’t believe us? Look at any ad campaign featuring mannequin-perfect models). This is really the reason there are programs like Photoshop. It's not to just resize our images, but also to improve how they appear to others. After all, you want your image to accurately reflect how your art looks.
- See the Light. For artists who want to do their own photography, daylight florescent bulbs are an easy light source to work with but the lighting still needs to be diffused or softened. We tested the Cloud Dome, Lowel Ego and the EZCube (seriously, we did.) and found them all adequate depending on the size and type of items you need to photograph.
- Big Ticket Pieces. For items too large to photograph with the above lighting items, we suggest setting up a 10x10 white canopy/bed-sheet/curtain outside on an overcast or cloudy day. Connect three of the white walls and lay the fourth wall on the ground to reflect or bounce the light back up to give you more even exposure over the artwork. Consider using one of the suggested backgrounds clipped to the back wall. If you have highly reflective work, you can hang black fabric on the open side just in front of where you set up the tripod and cut a hole for the camera lens.
Not a photo-bug? That’s okay!
We’ve consulted a slew of our click-happy friends to put together this guide for ensuring the best quality photos of your artwork.
- Use Legs. We highly recommend you purchase a tripod for photographing your artwork. A tripod ensures that your camera is steady which guarantees you the highest quality picture.
- Use A Tripod. Seriously, we cannot stress this enough so we put it in twice.
- Avoid Digital Noise. Set the ISO on your camera to the lowest setting. By default, most cameras set the ISO to Auto which lets the camera fluctuate depending on the amount of available light. Lower ISO produces a higher quality photograph because it produces pictures with less digital noise. For the photo-heads reading this, this is equivalent to ASA film speed where ASA 25 or 100 speed film is higher quality than ASA 400 speed film because higher ASA films have more grain. Digital noise is equivalent to grain. For the non-photo-nerds, just remember: The less ISO = the higher quality picture.
- Pixel-ate. Set your camera to capture the most pixels it’s capable of. This won't be an option if you shoot in TIF or RAW setting because those settings will always give you the most pixels available. BUT, (there’s always a but!) if you shoot JPEG, you'll need to check your pixilation. Additionally, you’ll want to check your compression (how the camera compresses your photo after you take it). In short, always choose the setting that gives you the highest quality photo with the least amount of compression. If you don't have enough room on your memory card, purchase a larger capacity card. Memory is cheap (well the digital kind is!) and you shouldn't let it dictate the quality of the images you produce.
- Zoom-Out. Never use the digital zoom. All consumer digital cameras have an extended digital zoom range. If you can't get close enough with the built in optical zoom, move your tripod. The digital zoom interpolates in camera and is not as good as cropping (and enlarging) in an editing program like Photoshop or Elements. You should try and keep the optical zoom in the mid-range when photographing your art because there will be less distortion caused by lens aberrations.
- Fill the Frame (well in this one life situation anyway). Fill the frame as much as possible with your art so you end up using more of the available pixels. This will give you potentially a higher quality image. If your work is horizontal, position the camera horizontally. If your work is vertical, position the camera vertically (duh!). Use the most amount of image area you can in the long pixel dimensions. Bonus TheStarvingArtist.com Tip: If you're using a 6 or more megapixel camera, leave some room around your work so it can be cropped in a visually pleasing way.
- You Are Not a Paparazzo. Do not use flash. As tempting as it is, trust us, shooting artwork with the built in flash is ugly because it creates hot spot reflections on your work. Better to shoot without the flash and use window light to illuminate the art or shoot outdoors under a white canopy/bed-sheet/curtain for even illumination.
- The Great White Balance. Warning! You are now treading in expert territory. If at all possible, set your white balance to match your light source. This will insure that the whites in your work, or background, show up as white in your digital files, which will let all the other colors fall into line. To complicate your brain more, most cameras allow you to set a custom white balance so mixed lighting can be used accurately. Auto white balance should only be used in situations where matching colors from image to image isn't necessary. You can now apprentice for Annie Leibovitz!
- Color Clues. Most digital cameras create files in the sRGB color space. This is good. More advanced digital cameras also may give you the option of the Adobe 1998 RGB color space. Either is OK for capture as long as you convert your digital file to the sRGB color space before creating your JPEG image.
- A JPEG is not a JPEG. The image quality of a JPEG that a digital camera captures is almost indistinguishable from a TIF. You can shoot JPEG and end up with excellent digital images. That's why you should always shoot at the highest quality with the least amount of compression. Yes, we are repeating ourselves (good for you for noticing!) but it's important to realize that the JPEG you wind up with after editing, if done correctly, will be a compressed JPEG and have little relation to the JPEG originally captured in the camera.
- SUPER IMPORTANT TIP! This is one of the most important facts on this page. When you first open your images in an editing program like Photoshop or Elements, go to File>Save As and specify either a TIF or a PSD, which is a Photoshop file. Those are uncompressed image formats. A JPEG is a compressed image format which loses something with each modification. NEVER work on an original JPEG out of camera. It's your negative and you need to archive it. Working on a JPEG causes the image to degrade and if you save over the original, you've lost it forever. Always work on an image in an uncompressed format so any changes you make improve the image, not degrade it. If you have any questions, this is where you can e-mail or pick up the phone and talk to us, the super Starving Artist team…we’ll save you from doing any irreparable damage to your digital images.
- Process Make Perfect. Every photograph, either captured on film or digitally, can be improved in post processing (don’t believe us? Look at any ad campaign featuring mannequin-perfect models). This is really the reason there are programs like Photoshop. It's not to just resize our images, but also to improve how they appear to others. After all, you want your image to accurately reflect how your art looks.
- See the Light. For artists who want to do their own photography, daylight florescent bulbs are an easy light source to work with but the lighting still needs to be diffused or softened. We tested the Cloud Dome, Lowel Ego and the EZCube (seriously, we did.) and found them all adequate depending on the size and type of items you need to photograph.
- Big Ticket Pieces. For items too large to photograph with the above lighting items, we suggest setting up a 10x10 white canopy/bed-sheet/curtain outside on an overcast or cloudy day. Connect three of the white walls and lay the fourth wall on the ground to reflect or bounce the light back up to give you more even exposure over the artwork. Consider using one of the suggested backgrounds clipped to the back wall. If you have highly reflective work, you can hang black fabric on the open side just in front of where you set up the tripod and cut a hole for the camera lens.