d r a g o n b o n e s    

Dear Friend,

I recently heard it said that Mother Teresa once  explained that despite a particular artist’s desire to help do the important work that Mother Teresa did, they (the artist) should go on helping to feed people in the way that only an artist can, for there are many kinds of famine in the world.

Every now and then I hope to highlight the independent artists out there that I personally think are well worth your investment. Check them out and I think you’ll find that you agree with me. These are the folks who are fighting the famine of the imagination. We should support that.

Thank you in advance,

~Matt

PS – I should point out that I’m not making any money from this – these are just good, independent artists who deserve your attention and patronage.

First up, we have the ever talented Amy Houser. If those you are shopping for appreciate steampunk, fantasy, children’s books, or cameo portraits – Amy should be your first stop. She does an amazing job of maintaining the whimsical without making her images ‘cheesy’ or childish.

Regional Information

First, I would like to thank the lovely folks of MAC (Media Arts Council) that I met last night for all the great information that they happily shared at their Media Icons photography exhibit. What a great bunch of folks, and they were very helpful when it came to some plans I am putting together for my next big project. (Which I’m not quite ready to reveal just yet.) I’m looking forward to attending more of their events. They really put on quite a show.

Next comes a little link love for some of the blogs that I’ve started following, but have failed to mention here. I found myself thinking that I should help spread the word about these sites, so here we go…

Unusual Vantage Point

First up is Project: Rooftop or P:R for short. Dean Trippe and company do a wonderful job of hosting competitions to re-imagine classic super heroes and their costumes.

This is the sort of project site that I find terribly interesting and inspirational. When I’m looking for something to kick start the creative juices, I swing by P:R and get a bunch of new ideas going in a very short span of time.

If you’re not familiar with them, you owe it to yourself to become so.

Freeware and Frugality

Next up we’ve got the Freeware Illustrator. The concept behind this blog is, imho, simply fantastic.

Starting from the most humble of beginnings (a PC gifted from a friend) the author / artist known on the blog as Lukeo25 is chonicling his journey as he seeks to use only free hardware and software to run their graphic design shop.

We’re all familiar with the concept of the starving artist, and while I’m not sure that art, as a business, has it any worse than any other business financially, this seems a great starting point for those artists who might just be starting out, are doing it ‘on the side’ or are just plain strapped for cash. Really? It’s a delight to read, and provides a lot of good information.

Deviantart

And lastly – for my Deviantart link of the day: the #Art-Studios group. I’m kinda a freak for pictures of other artists studio spaces. I’m not sure exactly why, but it’s something that brings me a lot of joy. Perhaps it’s got something to do with my art supplies fetish. Seeing so many supplies displayed (often) all over the place just brings me a chaotic moment of joy.

My sketchwork of the famous “I WANT YOU FOR U.S. ARMY” image by James Montgomery Flag.

It’s my hope that the holiday season finds you and yours in the best of health and spirits, and the new year is filled with adventure and joy.

So anyone who knows anything about my web browsing habits has heard me talk about the ConceptArt.org forums. It’s an amazing place chock full with some of the very best artists alive today. Thing is, that’s not really what makes it amazing to me. What really makes it rawk is the willingness of a large number of those artists to be helpful and give constructive critiques to… well… to guys like me. They do this free of charge (so long as you show genuine effort) and are doing an amazing job of building a community of artists who bolster one another.

It’s often a wonder to behold. Read the rest of this entry »