WHoArtNow News

Frazier Boyd: New Exhibitions & new Range

2008-12-01T13:16:00.003Z

As a bit of a pre-launch to my new range with WHoArtNow (it is coming soon, just fine tuning everything) I thought I'd tell you about some of my work, being exhibited in the public domain.

I've got a some exhibitions cracking off at the in London next weekend, 4th, 5th and 6th December. The Venue is the Shoreditch Town Hall, the exhibition is by the East End Arts crew, and called One Ton Show. The work will be based around the theme of 'London Lyrics'.

I've Also got a Solo Exhibition up at Alley in Nottingham. It's a quality, intimate venue, & I've got some framed prints, in the gold Stately frames, and a selection of BOYD originals too, all produced on canvas. The concept behind the artwork is to try and replicate and re-create what I've been doing on the streets lately and putting it on canvas, so it's all about working into loads of multiple layers of texture, and scratching back into them to create a rough, worn and weathered style..

If you fancy popped down, Alley is a great little Vegan Cafe Bar in Nottingham. Check it out, as the Exhibition is drawing to a close now, been up since October.. So if you want to check it, get down to Cannon Court, LongRow West, Nottingham/// 01159551013 for more info.

Peace out, and I'll be in touch soon, with a new range of exclusive framed prints and canvas art.

How To Sell Your Art (pt2)

2008-11-24T14:36:00.005Z

On-line E-Tailers

Being an on-line E-tailer specialising in canvas art, we are regularly contacted by artists and designers interested in selling their art and images. Some are interested in selling one off pictures,whilst others are interested in selling the image rights of their art for re-production purposes. Depending on a deal you can make with an on-line E-tailer, this second option is often the most lucrative.

When approaching a company, act professional. Either email or call them to enquire weather they accept outside artwork. If you intend on emailing them, introduce yourself including a short bio about you and your art. Most say you should add in any training you have in art, but personally I don't look for training, some of the best artists I've met have none or little, there just naturally gifted or hard working! Always include a link to your on-line portfolio or website so the company can see your artwork, if they respond you can at least hope for some compliments or constructive criticism. Under no circumstances must you mention money in the original contact and if your art may be offensive in any way (e.g. nudes or political motivated art) mention this in the email before the link to your site. Some companies won't sell certain so as to not offend potential customers.

So what kind of deal might you expect to get? It all depends on the company involved, and the profit margins on the products and images. Some will offer to buy images out right for a fixed fee (e.g. £20 or $40) and they are then free to sell your image as many times as they can. You will of course not get paid until the first image has sold. The other option is percentage or fixed rate per canvas sold. For example, if you get a deal where you get £10 ($20) for the image up front, then a small amount per image sold you stand to make a lot more money. Some companies will offer a bonus payment or increased percentage if your art sells a set number of images. For example, sell 10 and get another £10 ($20). This is only an example and should not be taken as gospel, if a company decides to sell your artwork they'll come up with the payment and you'll need to agree with it. Don't set your sites too high as a beginner, if the company is selling canvas prints for £100 ($200) don't expect to be taking a massive percentage of this, they have a lot of overheads and there doing as much as they can to sell your work.

Selling on-line through an E-tailer has its advantages. Help improve your chances of selling your images by marketing your images on the E-tailers site. Through your own site, forums, communities, social book marking sites and even emails you can increase traffic and hopefully sales of your images. This will mean you receive more money, and so does the company selling your artwork. This then might result in an increase in the cut you receive from each sale. Work hard at marketing your artwork and you'll see more money coming in.The E-tailer should also be marketing their whole site and with new artists comes new ways for them to market their site. With both parties marketing the images you should both see a nice return.

Like real world galleries, have a look through the sites you intend on approaching before you approach them to see if they sell similar styles to your own or have a wide range of art without your 'niche' currently available.

Driving on-line traffic to your Art

Marketing websites is big business at the moment but its not as hard as you may think. Its all about getting the maximum possible viewers for the smallest outlay. After setting up an on-line portfolio you want to start doing some SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to promote yourself. This will give Google (the largest search engine on the Internet) a better chance to see you, and see how relevant your images is to specific searches. The more relevant it thinks you are, the higher you will be placed in the search results.

The best places to start are social bookmarking

sites (Digg, Mixx and Stumble Upon all have an Image Upload) and you can always Stumble on your own site. Getting on these sites has a 2 fold effect, firstly it can help get some traffic to your site and secondly it helps you get some of the crucial back-links to your URL. Another great tip for anyone with images Is to make sure they are correctly tagged up (Alt tags - height and width description tag) This helps Google know what the

image is and helps you get a higher placing on Google images which is a potential gold mine.

If you have a unique style of process to your artwork, write some articles on it. The best thing about art is its much easier to create a fully interactive web 2.0 web site. This again helps with your SEO as Google is open to giving higher ranks in its search engine to sites which give a user interaction. Make some videos of you painting in your style and upload them to You-Tube. Add images, lots and lots (of correctly Alt tagged) images. Search around for some open source interactive flash add-on's so you can let your views get into your site, hopefully come back and most importantly, buy your work!

Video Games Range Launched - More Retro Art

2008-11-17T10:32:00.013Z

We've got another new canvas art range for you, fresh from the predominately right sided brains of our resident Artists. This time it's all about classic video games & the amazing CGI invention, the pixel. The range will develop as usual with new Art and designs being added "as and when", but to kick it all off, we've focused on some of the more iconic pixilated hero's that have graced the screens of our arcade machines, TVs and monitors. If you remember the original Atari games consoles, the old skool Namco Arcade machines & the first wave of Nintendo machines to come out of Japan in the late 80's, then this range could be for you. The range has got 80's nostalgia written all over it, after all, these were the icons for a generation. The first wave of kids that would find enjoyment in sitting in front of a screen of hours, playing away contentedly, decades before the Internet was invented and we are now all at it!

The range of canvas designs is not strictly 80's by any stretch, it is moving into the early 1990's with Art like the heavily pixilated"Tetris" design. A Bold spectrum of block colours stretched over a extra long canvas, ideal for injecting a bit of colour into a contemporary room, the length would be well suited to sitting above a sofa in any living space.

In terms of classic video games, the range wouldn't be complete without the original and the best: PacMan himeself. People always seem to forget that it wasn't just Pac-Man, the other pixilated monsters that he did battle with were just as iconic. Which is why we have not just focused on him, and designed ranges on them all - check the "Pac-Man Family " for example. Simplistic, stripped down, and minimal, it seems to make a bigger statement than most designs. Less is more after all. If you are feeling a bit more adventurous, the "Pac-Man Quad" is another option, especially if you like the idea of spreading the art across a few canvases. My personal favourite of the Pac-Man range is this original design which has been produced for us called "Pinky Pac-Man" It's even more minimal, but the simple pink / blue colours just seem to do it for me..

Namco Arcade is a bit of pixataied block colour again, based on a graphic actually taken off an old Namco Arcade machine, Circa 1988. It's been re-drawn and re-designed, and produced on this square box canvas.

To round it off and take us into the 1990's, the range wouldn't be complete without the the Nintendo creation, Mario. This was one of the most successful video game characters ever made, with games still been made today. We have honoured his creation with a serious of carefully sculpted block pixilated designs which do his little pixilated figure justice. There are a few of these designs, we are feeling the Mario Quad, if you are bold enough to split him over a series of four canvases, this could be the one you've been looking for.

So, that's it for now, as I promosied, more designs will follow, probably in 2009 now. If you can't wait until then, and you have to tell us that you need an iconic video game characture on canvas, just let us know, and we'll try and make your wish come true. We're not Jimmy Saville & we are not Father Christmas, but we can knock up a design or two - now that's something that you can believe in(!) You can subscribe to this news blog to stay on top of the art that we are putting out, as usual, get in touch if you need any bespoke work doing.

New Interior Design 09 Art Range

2008-11-12T23:27:00.013Z

"Timeless" 2009 Interior Design Canvas Art Range

Following the success of the bespoke range of art for the 2008 range Invidia, we have decided to do more range designs tailor made for our Interior Trends predictions.

Timeless is essentially a move on from the hugely successful Invidia 08. You always see it - in fashion and interiors, wherever there are seasons with very successfully trends, you can guarantee that next season will sport a 'move on' from last years top dog. Where Invidia was defined by it's Opulence and OTT nature, the Black on Black with hints of gold and metallics has been replaced by a more subtle Black on white with subtle highlight colours. Over the top Gold stately frames & mirrors have moved on to more discerning chromes, silvers & metallics. Timeless focuses on Baroque style motifs, which are similar to the simple Invidia Vintage Wallpaper designs, but can now be much more complex and focus on detail. The black and white makes a simple, bold statement, and is possibly more commercial in nature than its black on black predecessor.

Black and White is fantastic to work with, there are so many options open to you. I wouldn't say that you can't get it wrong, but Monochrome is somewhat easier to work with in the interior context. Colour-wise, it's not just black and whites here, you want to be looking at some very deep shades of blues or purples for subtle infused colour. Darker shades of grey, like dark slate greys also work well. In terms of accessories and highlights, you should be looking at some metallics. Chrome light switches, even candle stick holders ( Invidia 08 Style) and plug sockets act to highlight the subdued tones of black and whites. Remember, unlike Invidia, you are looking at silvers, not Golds.

To quote us as verbatim, "Timeless is the ultimate contrast both visually & metaphorically. A bold, brash & often bizarre clash of Baroque elegance & contemporary whites and blacks, Timeless is the ultimate bold statement. The intense combination of heavily contrasting colour works well in big rooms with high roofs & plenty of light -preferably natural sunlight to set off the natural wood flooring. "

"Timeless" will give you the chance to mix the weird and wonderful Kitsch & clash it with the ultra modern. (Think 20's Vintage wallpapers with Plasma screens) And why the hell not after all? The more modern and technologically advanced we get, the more eclectic I like to go. After all, you can't have everything modern in a room, or your living area will start to look like the control room on the Starship Enterprise. Mix and match is the way forward, be bold and daring, trust your instincts. You could get down the local car boot, get on the Internet on auction sites, or even better - go along to a local auction house where you will be presented the opportunity to walk away with some real, classic vintage accessories for your abode.

Then, you can mix and match some carefully selected and bespoke, canvas art. On the art route, you could opt for bold art to work with the contrasting background, or even art that actually is the background... Think sections of wallpaper, enlarged and printed on canvas.. The sky is the limit here.

That's about it, if you want more, you can check the full articles on Timeless '09 or have a nosey at our new Timeless bespoke art range. As usual, hit us up if you are interested in any bespoke work, and feel free to subscribe here for loads more news from WHoArtNow.

Fresh New Abstract & Digital Modern Art.

2008-11-05T22:41:00.012Z

A new selection of Abstract Art is up on the site, and there is plenty of it too. This is the culmination of six months or so of designs that we have decided to launch all at once. The new art we are putting out is pushing forward our interpretations of this new wave of art which is emerging in this increasingly digital age that we now live in. Plasma Screens, Cordless speakers, a miniature computer in your pocket. It's all getting a bit futuristic in the world these days, so we are trying to following suit with our art.

Quadrigeminal Yarn is based on vintage Japanese textiles, it is a digital, almost neon depiction of an ancient piece of hand woven artwork. Predominantly cerise in colour, I love the Aqua blue corner with hints of subtle oranges and yellows, it makes for an interesting abstract creation.

There are some interesting canvas configurations too, Novel Nonagon is only the second ever Nine piece canvas art which sits along with the original Warhol influenced flowers we did in 2006. It is as described, a bit of a "bizarre abstract selection of shapes with deep, moody colours." The colours are deep and somber, almost like Playdoe.... I like the tiny hints of green, and the navy contrasting with the pink backgrounds.

On the topic of new configurations, you've got to check the Incandescent canvas set, it's the first layout we've ever done, and I must say I am already a fan. The small one measures a total of 36"x36" and is made up of 1 @ 24" x 24", 1 @ 10"x10", 2 @ 24"x 10". A cheeky little digital rendition of an Art Version of "Bright Like Neon Lights", it will brighten up any abode, looking for that whole digital look that is becoming increasingly popular.

There is also the brand new Cascading sets -"Cascading Zest" Limes, citrus, zesty colours make up the digital design, which is another first for WHoArtNow. Watch this space people, more to come down the line.

Other art highlights for me are "indistinct & illuminated", on a similar setup to the popular Glooming Hue canvases - one tall thin along a rectangular canvas. It is rich, bold, dripping with opulence. It has a gold, yellow tones, with a hint of green - all on a black backdrop - powerful stuff indeed. The "Ribbon" sets are interesting too - Check the 3 part Trichotomic Ribbon set, if vibrant streams of colours are your thing, these series of designs might be worth a look. There is a nice blue version called Aqua Ribbons too.

So that is about it for the now, I won't go into too much detail, but if you are interested, there a 40 or 50 new designs on the site, so don't be shy - check them out. More art to follow soon as usual, just watch this space..

New Manga Art Range

2008-10-31T13:35:00.013Z

We are proud to present a brand new Manga Art Range that we have launched, all canvas art & prints are exclusive to WHoArtNow.

Manga, in case you didn't know, are hugely iconic cartoons & comics (They are known as komikku コミック), in Japanese and conforming to the defining & unique style that developed in Japan at the end of the 20th century. If you look back far enough, you can find Manga that date from just after World War II, but have a long & complex history in earlier Japanese Art.

Manga, literally translated, means "whimsical pictures". The word came into usage in the late 18th century with the publication of works like the Santō Kyōden's picturebook "Shiji no yukikai" (1798) & the hugely celebrated Hokusai manga. There a a various different theories about the origination of Manga comics, one of which is that when the US occupied Japan (1945–1952), Manga Art was influenced by U.S. cultural aspect, including U.S. comics brought to Japan by the US Army and by images & themes taken from U.S. television, cartoons & culture, like Disney for example.

The other other school of thought is that Manga is a direct continuity of Japanese cultural & traditions, which has been developing for thousands of years.

Which ever way of thinking is right, and who knows, it might be both, we at WHoArtNow don't really mind. It is great art and we love it - we love all things Japanese and Kitsch in fact. Manga is huge in Japan, enjoyed by people of all ages. It has a certain iconic status in the West too, the USA in particular. Manga are typically printed in black-and-white, although some full-color Manga exist. Our take on Manga Art has a bit of a twist on Modern Art, where we have re-drawn and re-created some sections of our favourite comic strips. Colours are bold, vibrant, and even garish in places. It's that whole Japanese, Full-on colour palette. Think Fluorescent Japanese washing power boxes on acid, and you're about half way there. There's no messing about with subtle colours or black and whites, it's Fluorescent Yellows, cerise pinks, on Black backgrounds like the Cerise design, and if you like it even brighter, check the Fluro Hentai design.

Having said that, there is a more subtly coloured piece of art we slipped in, and it's one of my favourites too. Komikkutu mixes two deep green tones to form the background with a chocolate brown / latte foreground. This wouldn't look out of place in most walls, it's subtly is the key here to a half way commercial piece of art.

As you may have noticed, a few of the designs are a little rude.! This is a certain type of Manga, aimed at adults, & called seijin ("adult," 成人) manga. These designs were able to come into fruition with a relaxation of censorship in Japan after the 90s, where a wide variety of explicitly drawn sexual themes appeared in manga, intended for male readership. And we at WHoArtNow decided to take advantage of this lack of censorship and design some ourselvess! jū hachi kin is just one of these designs. In Japan, sexually explicit material is often called "jū hachi kin" (18禁; prohibited for sale to persons under 18). So please do not try to make a purchase if you are under 18!

So that it for now, more bits of Manga art will be added as and when. As usual what this space by subscribing to this News blog if you want to keep informed on what Art we are putting out, and don't forget to check the new Manga Art range!

How To Sell Your Art (pt1)

2008-10-21T15:05:00.009+01:00

Introduction

For many years the only way to successfully sell your artwork was in art galleries, however with the rise in the Internet there are now numerous ways to sell your art. Deciding which of these techniques should be the first thing you do. You can of course do both, however your more likely to see faster sales on-line as many art galleries book their shows a year in advance and its hard to get an show if your unknown. There are many different ways to sell your artwork on-line. There are many sites set up for you to sell your artwork, you could set your own site up or you could sell your canvas on one of the auction sites.

Before you start this process, ask yourself the type of person you want to buy your artwork. Are you after an art connoisseur (usually a lot of money for a 1 off piece of art) or are you more interested in selling to the average person (less money, but you might sell a lot of the same image and make more money) ? If you want to sell the one off art to the connoisseur, look to a real world art gallery for that. If your more interested in selling as many copies of your art to the average person, look to get on-line.

You need to realise however, that selling on-line is not as easy as putting your art up and leaving it that and it will take some time to get your first sale. If you don't mind working hard at it, the rewards will be worth it.

A vital piece of information that you should live by is watermark your work. This will limit the chances of someone stealing your artwork, publishing it on another site and claiming the credit for themselves. Worse still, some will steal your art to make money off it themselves. DeviantART allows you add a Creative Commons License which adds a DeviantART watermark with your DeviantART URL. This is a simple yet effective way to watermark, yet why not make your own? image.

Art Galleries

Go to your nearest city or town and you'll see the amount of art galleries there are about. Art Galleries are the holy grail to an artist. Being able to watch people admire your work and give you instant feedback is amazing. Sadly only a small number of artists these days manage to exhibit in an Art Gallery.

So how do you go about getting exhibited in a gallery? Start with some research, find local galleries that work with your style and topic. It doesn't matter how amazing your art is, if your trying to sell stencil canvas art to a gallery that specialises in sculptures, your going to get a no straight away.

Its a good idea to go into the gallery before contacting them.Have a general chat with a member of staff about some of the art, get a feel for the gallery and staff. You need to be able to trust the gallery, and get on with them. If you get an appointment, be well prepared and dress smart. Always take a sample of your

work. If you produce large Canvas Prints, make some digital re-productions, as long as they are good quality and high resolution copies kept neat and tidy in a portfolio. Aim for a minimum of A2.

If you get an exhibition and some or all of your artwork sells, the gallery will take their commission. This varies from gallery to gallery, but I've organised and visited galleries and exhibitions in galleries taking as little as 20% going all the way up to 60%. this might seem like a lot, but small inner city galleries have huge overheads and can often only fit small numbers of images on the walls. Remember, there a business, not a charity so they are trying to make money.

The rest of this little 'How To' will follow, in three more parts so watch this space or feel free to subscribe - you can now even have email subscribtion to our News.

New Search Feature

2008-10-14T17:41:00.008+01:00

We've just released a new and improved search feature for the site. Using Google's world class search engine technology, you can now search for our art through a variety of avenues.

You can search for canvas art by colour, for size, shape or style. It doesn't have to be art either, you could search for articles & text based goodness, like our news, tips and frequently asked questions.

So you can now start getting smart on your quest for your perfect piece of art. If you searched for art by colour & style for example you could come up with some interesting results. Try combining, for example "chocolate flor al" for an interesting result. You could be very specific, say with "New York Skyline". In fact, all of google's advanced search operators exist, as if you were using their search engine. If you still can't find what you are looking for, then you could request a print from us.

Give the searching a bash if you like, feel free to give us some feedback too if you like. It's only early days, so much improvements will be greatly appreciated.

As usual, feel free to hit us up if want to chat to us about anything, or give us a bell. You can even subscribe to these posts too... Have a good day!

Interior Design Trends Launched on WHoArtNow.co.uk

2008-09-25T15:16:00.005+01:00

We've been writing Interior Trends now for some time now & judging from the number of emails we get from people all over the world asking about our trends, they seem to be creating a bit of a stir. So following the success of the 2008 trends we wrote last year, we wrote the 2009 interior forecasts earlier this year & we have now decided to publish them on WHoArtNow.co.uk . After all, it would be rude not to share them with the world!

We aim to write around four trends a year, and keep it simple. Interior design trends are no way near as complex, future thinking and fickle as fashion design trends, so simplicity is almost paramount. To our surprise, we actually found that there is very little written on interior design. As fashion design is very seasonal, and current styles advocate this generation of "throw away" fashion, interior design is quite the opposite - it aims to stand the test of time. After all, you don't really want to be re-decorating your walls every year or season do you?

The initial concept of writing trends stemmed from our designers trying to design art for next years trends. Finding little or no information other than Dulux, C4 and a handful few other sites, we decided to write our own. The trends are based on what few sources we do have, and written to tie in any of our designs that might suit. As well as fitting existing designs into future trends, the big advantage for us is that we are able to create new artwork and designs to fit into these trends, as we did for the massive 2008 "Invidia" trend, that has to be found in almost every inner city bar and restaurant in one form or another that had a re-fit in the year or so. Following on from this, we will be launching a new trend in to tie in with one of the big trends of 2009 - "Interior Sweetness" Trend - think Japanese Florals, Art from the Asian & Orient, silk textile inspired prints... If you can't wait for the new range, get stuck into our Floral Art section for a pretty comprehensive selection of Japaneses Floral Prints. We've been producing Japanese florals for years now, it's great when the interior design trends finally catch up with the art that we really believe in that we have been pushing for years.

So watch this space, trends for 2010 will be following, around the start of 2009. Feel free to subscribe to our News pages for up to date News and Info from WHoArtNow. Interior designers: Feel free to contact us for bespoke artwork. We work very closely with interior designers and design firms & Taylor design to fit projects.. Contact us for more.

Hanging Your Canvas

2008-08-25T21:52:00.010+01:00

You've found the perfect piece of canvas art, it has turned up and now of course you want to hang it up and show it off. So what are the options for hanging your Canvas Art? There are many different ways and techniques to hang it, and it is ultimately down to you how you do it. In this short article we will explore the different methods open to you.

1. Wire method. You need to Attach two small screws horizontally on the back of the canvas frame. The wire needs to sit on the top half of the frame. The wire also needs to have some tension in (use long nose pliers to achieve this) so that the screws can hold the weight of the canvas. Then you need to slide the canvas down on at least one screw sticking out from the wall. This is a great way to hang a canvas, especially if there is one screw on the wall or there is no space to add more screws

2. Mirror Plates. These are small brass plates which you can get very cheaply from most hardware stores & there are 2 main methods of using them. The first hides the mirror plates on the inside of the frame. You then screw two screws into the wall the same distance apart as the mirror plates & hook the plates to the screws you have on the wall. The second method to use mirror plates is on the outside of the canvas. If Fix the mirror plates to opposing sides of the canvas and screw them into wall, you have one of the most secure way of fixing your canvas to the wall. This is also the generic way that museums use for displaying art.

The last method is Command Strips. This is something we have been exploring for providing on our website as an accessory. We've been testing the ingenuitive Command Strip from 3M for a while s now and have to admit to being very impressed. It is perfect for people who rent as you don't need to screw into the wall, and the glue strip peels off leaving no marks at all! Admittedly they are the most expensive way of hanging a canvas, but at £5.99 for 6 with the value pack, you can't really go wrong. We have been testing them all over our studio & would recommend the value pack (see photo, left) You will get enough to hang a couple of canvases, and even have a few left over to hang your coats!

We have just written this as an article to sit in with the help section on our site. You can read the full article if you like..

If you like, feel free to subscribe to our News Blog, for all news related to art, design, canvases and all sorts of other interesting news.

Website Updates [August 2008]

2008-08-04T22:50:00.009+01:00

We've got a load more updates for you on the WHoArtNow website front, as of August 2008. If you hadn't already noticed, we've updated the left side navigation bar, so there are a few more features, and given it a bit of a spring clean. You've now got three more sections: Murals, Ranges and the News Blog, to sit along side the categories for our canvas art.

Murals is exactly what is says it is, and hand painted Murals to be precise. This is what we have been offering since we set up the section a couple of months ago, following the addition of a couple of Old Skool veteran painters to the WHoArtNow team: Nick and Steve. It's not just murals either, it is in essence, anything hand painted. Everything from theatrical backdrops, to chalk boards, to war re-enactment backgrounds, to hand-painted canvases to hand painted canvases, these guys can do it all, and with 30 years of experience under their belt, it is a job that you can guarantee will be done to a high standard. No job too small, no budget to high(!) there is very little that we actually won't do, so if you are seriously looking for some hand painted artwork, get in touch and we'll get a custom quote for you.

Ranges is another new addition to the WHoArtNow family, and we are loving it too! Along similar lines of the category sections that we have on the left side of the site, Ranges is essentially a themed section, where you can browse for art by our art which is been cherry picked by us. We have focused on some of the emerging trends, and styles that are apparent at this moment in time. From Interior Trends ranges like Invidia 08, to Cityscape's, and Graffiti canvases, ranges have been put together to give you a bit more scope into discovering some hidden away gems that you might not have found. We are going to focus more and more on ranges in the future, and try and bring you some new favours before they become too commercial and mainstream. On the colours front, we already have Sepia and Monochrome, well you can expect a whole host more to come, every colour in the rainbow. For Interior Designer, expect to see some ranges to tie into forthcoming interior trends predictions. Ranges will become an invaluable tool for designers & home lovers alike, so watch this space for more.//

So that's about it. News Pages is pretty self explanatory, as it is what you are reading now! We will keep y'all informed of our movements and updates, many more to come on the website and art front. Don't forget to subscribe if you are interested, feel free to drop us a line if you are interested in anything that we do or would like some more info.

Smashed Sculpture Halts Exhibition

2008-07-31T12:11:00.003+01:00

The peace and quiet of the London Royal Academy was smashed at the weekend when a visitor to the exhibition lost her balance knocking a 9ft ceramic sculpture to the floor smashing it into hundreds of pieces.

The sculpture entitled 'Christina' by Costa Rican Artist Tatiana Echeverri Fernande which was valued at over £6000 was totally destroyed at the Summer '08 exhibition curated by famous (if slightly controversial) British artist Tracy Emin.

The Royal Academy confirmed the incident and said they were awaiting discussions with their insurance company before deciding the best coarse of action.

Tracy Emin was not available for comment as she prepares an exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The artist Tatiana Echeverri Fernande did not wish to comment on what had happened to her sculpture.

Website Updates

2008-07-28T21:35:00.005+01:00

WHoArtNow Website Updates [July 2008]

We have made a few tweaks to the site, as part of the start to the WHoArtNow V2 site. As well as giving a bit of a face-lift to the top navigation sections, we have now created a brand new "Help and Utilities" section and started added some content to this section & the "About Us" section. The main aim is to give you guys a bit more information about what we offer, and to answer some of the common questions that you might have.

Over the years we have had a fair few questions that we have answered, and now we have now decided to publish them to the world. "What's the best way to hang a canvas?", "How do I clean my canvas?" to "How big is that in cm's" These popular questions are all answered, along with some other tips, like choosing a canvas for a gift, and how to pick a canvas. The later is quite a good, meaty read, broken down into different sections like Style and Subject, Colour, Size and Shape etc. We've also brought a few sections more into the limelight: FAQ's, Terms and conditions and so on. Not because we want to dissuade you from picking up the phone and having a chat with us, as we positively encourage that, but purely and simply because we are a transparent company, and we want you all to see everything that there is to see.

So check it out, feel free to let us know what you think of it too. As well as some tasty treats of art the banners to tease you, (oh yeah, click through the banners to see the actual art) there is actually some really engaging content, which we plan to stay on top of and update regularly. So things are looking good for the future of WHoArtNow, stay in touch and keep on top of our news with by subscribing to it.

New Stencil and Street Art on Canvas

2008-07-18T17:45:00.009+01:00

Artwork Update: [July 2008]

We are well into July now, and deep in the middle of this fluctuating seasonal summer of 2008, & we have a cheeky art update that might brighten up your day! We have just finished furnishing the site with load of brand new street inspired designs and prints which we are very happy with. Featuring a mixed of street art, from abstract macro cross sections of graffiti, to some hand produced pieces that have been put together in-house by some of our outstanding new artists.

The abstract selection of macro photographs, are all based on paying homage to the fantastic lines and shapes that make the art of graffiti something impressive to behold. We've really tried to capture the vibrancy & impact of what you get on the streets and translate it to something that can hang on your wall, without it looking too offensive.

The aptly named "Pollock Graff" is almost Jackson Pollock if he had taken to the streets with his brush and a few spray cans.. It is a real piece of graffiti, overlayed and built up over time to produce a really tidy piece of abstract modern art.

The "My name is..." is a good example of this urban linear art, taking just a small section of the colourful graffiti, and presenting it as an abstract piece of art. This kind of art will not suit every home, and is a bit more of a daring purchase. I wouldn't be looking at mixing with cream walls and leather sofas, these graffiti prints are going to sit well in an eclectic environment. We are not just talking urban flats & loft conversions, but any abode that dares to be different. This kind of modern art, call it urban, abstract, contemporary, it is all becoming very popular, certainly for us, as it is becoming fueled by a new generation of people that want something different & unique & are not happy with nipping to Ikea for a piece of generic, of the shelf art.

Moving on to the hand produced stencil art and what can I say? This selection is absolutely fantastic, the quality has exceeded our expectations. Originally produced for an exhibition at the D&G offices in London (which is still on), the artists in question here are Pegs, and Vic Mason.

Stand out designs here are "Panda Style" by Pegs, a very green piece of art. It has been produced from various layers of stencils, which have had his trademark surface scratching technique applied. Another stand out print from him is "Gee-raff" as simple, yet effective simple one colour stencil design over pastel tones which forms a subtle, light background.

The "Mexican Boston" by Vic Mason has a hand painted background, with sprayed and rolled top end, and represents a beautiful little Boston terrier dog. The fusion of browns, mustard's and burnt oranges will sit well on most walls, and the abstract nature of the print makes it pleasing on the eye. Reggie Jaxx pays homage to the Bull Terrier, king of dogs. This print has delicate pastel tones on top a linear floral pattern, and a combination of sprayed and rolled paint over the top.

If you want to see some more of these new pieces, we have been prototyping & showcasing a selection of them for the last couple of months at an exhibiton in London. The venue is: The D&G offices, which is The Media Village, based just North of Oxford Street. [131-151 Gt Titchfield Street, W1W 5BB.]

So that is it for now, stay tuned, we will have more updates. As usual, you can check all our canvas art from WHoArtNow, as well as subscribing to this feed for regular updates to our world of art!

New Floral Canvas Art

2008-07-11T17:16:00.003+01:00

Artwork Updates: [July 2008]

We have a brand spanking new selection of floral designs, and photographic prints which are now live and up on the site.

There is a beautiful selection of commission produced art, which are all brushed / painted on canvas, and produced as prints, followed by a number of subtle photographs of Flowers, some quite abstract in their composition.

"Coffee Rush" & "Pastel Pods" have been created for an obvious reason in mind. The browns, light tones and latte hints, mixed with other light pastel tones and bold mustard yellows are going to sit well in houses with those brown sofas, and earthy colours on the walls. "Concrete Devotion" is another of the brush painted prints, and is maybe a little more daring. Fitting in well with red accessories in a room, this is going to make a subtle statement.

The other prints all fall into the broad category of Macro Photography, all subtle close ups of flowers or leaves. "Vivid Marigolds" is very striking, the raspberry and peachy tones are going to brighten up any room, whereas "Feather Detail" is for the more minimal wall. A subtle, delicate piece of natural photography in black and white, which picks out the leafy veins on a feather.

Keep watching this space more art updates to come, in the form of new Street / Stencil Art coming up next.. Then we've got the long awaited BOYD section following. Plenty of great new art, all good!

Inflatable Street Sculpture

2008-07-10T15:05:00.004+01:00

Its hard to be unique and creative these days, yet American artist Joshua Allen Harris has managed to be so unique he's been making world wide news with his breath taking garbage bag balloon art.

The idea started by creating small dogs out of used white plastic bags. The bags were then tired to subway grates in New York so that when a subway train goes by, air rises through the vents and the dog stands up.

Taking things to a new level, Harris has now moved onto bigger and better animals, now using the larger 'black bag'. Harris has managed to create giraffes, bulls and even the Loch Ness Monster!

I love this type of street art, yet i find myself preferring to call it 'Street Sculpture'.

2009 Interior Trends: Oriental Sweetness

2008-07-08T12:34:00.010+01:00

WhoArtNow: Interior Trends 2009

Oriental Sweetness:

After Woolmark has launched its new interior colour trends for 2009/10 at the start of the New Year, it looks like Japanese Inspired themes are going to be prevalent. It is still early days as far as interior predictions for 2009, but we are going to look into one of the trends that is looking hot for next year, Oriental Sweetness & produce a dedicated range of canvas art prints to compliment it.

It's all about the East: Asian & Oriental influences are key here. Look to vintage floral Japanese textiles for inspiration, simple and minimal shapes with striking colours.

The colour palettes for the 09 season features strong tones of red, purple and burgundy, contrasted with brighter shades or neutral tones in unlikely combinations. The base for all the colour palettes can be made up from Neutrals, white, brown and bark.

Japanese, Oriental florals are inherently simple in their form, one of the aspects that I love is the minimal block colour approach, it is like pop art, but pioneered hundreds of years early. If you look at Japanese & indeed a lot Asian art, it closely resembles what graphic design has now become in a CAD based world. Blocks of colour that would have been intricately painted with a watercolour brush is only now becoming a popular graphic design technique, thanks to Adobe Illustrator.

Simple, vector based shapes are the key focal point to a design, little or no tone is apparent or necessary.

To quote us from the inital 2009 trends forecast we did, "The use of floral images and light colours simplify things and help keep its grace. Look no further than our floral canvas art section, where Japanese & oriental florals have featured prominently for the last 4 years." And we mean it, we've been all over Japanese florals for years now, what better a time for it to come through than now, when we have tonnes of original artwork!

We are well and truly on the ball with this trend, already loving a Japanese inspired floral design makes it easy for us, as the passion for what we do is there.. So, we've currently designed a selection of brand new floral canvas art, you can see some of them featured on this news blog. The rest can be found on our floral art pages, check them out, feel free to hit us up if you need custom art producing.