I have 2 16×20 canvas pictures, my child is set in an all white backround. They look to have water marks on them but I tried cleaning with a damp soapy cloth and that didn’t clean them. I actually think its probably a dark cola that has made these water mark type things on them.

take the picture to a professional or a local art gallery. they will either clean it for you or let you know how to clean it with out destroying the picture. (i have no idea of the cost)

If I draw portraits of celebrities from pictures in magazines, cd covers, etc would this be illegal to sell the drawings via ebay or somewhere?

i don’t know for sure- but i would think if you drew portraits from pictures that weren’t copyrighted (not posed or taken by a professional photographer) then you would be ok. however, copying the artwork from a cd cover or other copyrighted materials could get you into some trouble.

i’ll keep reading up and see what i can find out.

i want to make a jonas ceiling, but my mom said i cant because she said because of the heating on the ceiling the back of my posters will get mold on them…(theres no mold on my ceilings though…) so will posters on my ceiling really make mold?

no, mold comes from moisture(water) built up….not true whatsoever!

When your gallerist, or you, decide to make an exposition, it is a series of works, or just all kinds of works from your life?

How do you fill the space? Do they give you the entire gallery? Do some not allow certain audio, or video works?

I think Rekulas Answer is great.

The first thing to do is research the Galleries you think might be interested in your work. Look to see what kind of presentations, exhibitions and type of work they focus on. Get a gallery guide from each one with a list of current and upcoming exhibitions. Most galleries plan these many months or years ahead of time.

If you are interested in just having a gallery show some of your work, the same homework applies. The more research you do on the gallery and their wants and needs, the better off you will be to create a body of work and display type that will suit the situation and your form of art.

You should ask for the "gallery submission" guide, and see what they list as general requirements, and then if you feel you have a fit, make contact to see if there are any openings or if you can schedule an appointment with someone to discuss the possibility.
But before you even approach the gallery, you should have a solid working knowledge, and preferably first hand look at the gallery you are interested in approaching.

As for the body of work, most galleries like to see some continuity in the work, such as one or two series and definetly not a jumbled mix of different styles or from different periods of your life. (that is unless you are famous and they are doing a retrospective )
Galleries want to show your best work, and it should have a consistent theme or style and quality to it.

As to whether you take up the entire gallery or not, that is up to the space and needs of the gallery, and not usually for you to decide. This you will sort out in the conversation with the gallery director when you reach this point of being asked or accepted.

Good luck, and I hope this answers some of your questions.

Robin Swaby
Educational Director/School of Visual Arts
Art Marketing Expert
http://marketing-your-art.com

The symbols on my drum set are marked with finger prints and i want to take em off. Is this possible?

call CSI

I’ve got plain white walls in my apartment and I’m trying to find alternatives to painting them as I am not allowed to do anything to the walls that would be considered permanent such as painting, or putting up wallpaper. I’m not looking for decorating tips on how to liven up the space with furniture or accessories, I’m just hoping that there is some sort of alternative to paint that gives the impression of the walls being painted. Thanks!

Ummm..this is tough. You can’t paint, hang wall paper or liven anything up with accessories and furniture and want a new "paint" look to the walls. Hmmmmm….?

Try "big" monochrome art panels.

http://www.graziafortunaward.com/

I’m planning on doing a painting as a gift for someone, and when I’m done I’m planning on writing a message over top of the painting in white. I will most likely be using dark(er) colors, what should I use to write with? I want something that won’t show the watercolor underneath.

I can’t think of a pen to write over watercolor in white and not show anything through it but I do have a solution…

Masquepen, it is masking fluid in a pen form so you can write with it. What you will do is before you’ve painted anything write with the masquepen whatever you want to write on the paper, it will produce a blue (in some cases, they may have different colors) gel-like stuff so that you can paint over top of the masking fluid and not get any paint underneath. When you’re all done with the painting you just rub off the masking fluid, it’s really easy to get off just make sure you keep the painting away from heat (like sitting in a car for a while) cause it may be hard to get the masking fluid off.

You can buy this at any art supply store and if they don’t have any you can get it at www.cheapjoes.com just type in masquepen where it says search.

I suggest you draw everything you need to draw for your painting first then maybe draw lines to make sure your letters are straight if that’s important to your composition, and write what you need to write. Then paint and when you’re don’t peal off the masking fluid and it will be white where the masking fluid was.

You may want to do a little mini panting just to see how it looks before you do the big one! The pen is very easy to use but you’ll want to practise a bit to make sure you get it to where it will look like your actual handwriting and gain control, etc. Oh and make sure that the masking fluid is completely dry before you paint over it, it shouldn’t take long but its very important. And I wouldn’t reccomend drying it with a hair dryer because it might have the same effect to that heat as the heat from being in a car for too long.

Hope this has helped!! Good luck!! Take a picture and put it on here when you’re done I’d love to see.

I am an artist and it’s just occurred to me that maybe I should be taking extra care whilst using oil paints? I know you’re not supposed to like, paint a wall or anything using oil paints when you are pregnant, due to the fumes, but are there precautions I should be taking whilst painting a canvas? I don’t paint in a well ventilated area, just in my living room. Is it too extreme to use a face mask? I only paint for about an hour at a time, and don’t feel any effect from the fumes.

oil painting will be fine it wont hurt the baby.. but if your the type of person that worries alot you could be in a well ventilated area or even paint outside. but it wont hurt you

I need to use my Nikon D70s digital slr to photograph oil paintings and other works of art. I do not know much about lighting so I need some assistance and direction in finding the right type of lights and bulbs that would be appropriate for taking quality digital images of paintings.

Thanks so much for your answers!

The set up used by most photographers that shoot "insurance" photos of paintings use powerful incandescent lamps set so they evenly cover the piece of art. For pieces less than 11×14 inches is photographed using a copy stand with the painting removed from the frame. A macro lens is used and exposures can be quite long depending upon the quantity of light. They use an external, incident light meter to assure even lighting is imperative.

When shooting larger pieces, 500 watt or better incandescent lamps on stands at 45 degrees to the left and right of the painting (again use a external light meter to confirm even lighting) and the camera mounted on a tripod with the back parallel to the painting to avoid any parallax issues.

That is it. It is no different than when using film. Just be sure that 1) there is NO other light falling on the paintings and 2) your white balance is set for the colour temperature of your light source. Shooting a MacBeth colour chart (http://www.xrite.com/product_overview.aspx?ID=944 ) using your lighting would be the best way to perfectly white balance for the shoot. Of course having a computer monitor that has been calibrated is also an important piece of this project.

Link:
http://www.xrite.com/product_overview.aspx?ID=788

How can I find out the value of oil paintings?

Thanks!

that is tough you have to start with the sizes and the names of the artists then find out who handles that wok then get in touch with them and start asking questions if all that is too much you need to go to an appraiser beware that they will charge you a % according to the worth of what they find out that will cost you but if you are going to sell them then you can use that money to pay yourself back from the appraisers fee good luck it take some doing on your own but the computer helps a lot if you can read the name also check the back for any info in pencil or pens there is some there at times