If you have a television, radio or read the newspaper, you will have heard of the big controversial subject that has spread like wildfire across the world! Some churches are looking to even bring lawsuits against this book's author because of its allegations.

Of course, it is Dan Brown's best selling novel, "The Da Vinci Code", Written in 2002 and the popularity has been growing ever since.

But what about the REAL man behind the code? Leonardo Da Vinci the man.

Leonardo was born into a family of country notaries and was himself appointed as the notary to the Signoria of Florence before he began his quest of painting. He was born illegitimate to his mother Catrina while with Ser Piero .Afterwards she married Acccabriga di Piero del Vaccha of Vinci, thus his last name. His father married four times and had eleven children by his third and fourth wives. It is sometimes suggested that Leonardo may have had these numbers in mind when he was painting in his famous "Last Supper" the figures of eleven Apostles and one outcast?

While Leonardo was studying under the tutelage of Andrea del Verrocchio, a great Florentine sculptor and artist, he met other craftsman, and youthful painters, among them was Michelangelo Botticeli. At that time Michelangelo was a jovial habitu? of the Poetical Supper Club, and who had not yet given any premonitions of becoming the poet, mystic, and visionary of later times.

Leonardo's talent outscored all of the other students under Verrocchio, that while his mentor was painting the "Baptism of Christ", he allowed Leonardo to paint in one of the attendant angels holding some vestments. When it was finished, it was clearly revealed the angel whom Leonardo painted was so much better than the portion executed by his master.

The stories behind the paintings of "Mona Lisa" and the incredible path of the "Last Supper" painting took just to bring it to the public are seldom heard but very intriguing.

There is so much more about Leonardo's personal life detailed from his discovered notebooks; his speculations, his interests, his thoughts on morals, and his sense of humor. Yes, clearly his sense of humor is expressed in his fables and jests.

Even what he had written in his will: "… requesting sixty poor men to carry sixty tapers at his funeral" and more.

Truly the name of Leonard Da Vinci stood for much more than a mere painter, he was an inventor, a sculptor, a genius.

I recently had an email from a concerned woman. Her husband, a self taught artist, had tried several ways of marketing his artwork, all to no avail. He took part in several art-shows and even has a personal art website, all with little success. The woman ended off by asking me if I knew of a list of art buyers. I replied and told her that such a list probably doesn’t exist (except for the government and some museums and galleries), and even if it did, it wouldn’t be very beneficial. Art buyers have diverse tastes, and have their own sets of likes and dislikes. It may be very difficult selling pottery to someone who prefers abstract painting.

What an artist needs is to find people with an interest in their personal style. It’s usually best not to seek out these people. That may be like searching for a needle in a haystack, unless you produce art that is quite popular. Let your customers come to you.Make yourself available to them! I have used some strategies for making myself available to people.

Have an art show at a local gallery, or coffee shop. Be sure and invite all your friends and family, and most importantly all your previous buyers. Maintaining a good relationship with them is essential. Inform the local news media, such as newspapers, radio, and television stations. At the showing, be open to questions, comments, and critiques. You may even want to have a short talk on the works. Focus on building relationships with people who show an interest in your artwork, and many will turn into buyers.

Build an online presence. There are many ways you can do this. You can start by getting a good domain name and building your own art website to display your artworks, but to get online faster it can be much easier to start a profile on social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook. I recommend doing this first and starting the web page later. That way, you can build your relationships with people and later on when you are ready to start on your site, get help from them. Send an invite to all your friends in these and other groups, and in no time at all you will be building a fan base.

Take part in art forums. Go to Google and type in art forums. Find one with a large membership, and sign up. After you have read the terms of use, you are ready to start posting. Before you do, be sure and include your website address in your signature file. Most online forums will alow this. Then go to one of the main categories, usually the general tab and introduce yourself. Ask for help with something or just ask for opinions on your work. You'll be surprised at the amount of responses you will get.

As you may have already realized, I have only touched the tip of the iceberg on things you can do to market your art. Just remember, if youmake yourself available, your audience will find you.

Art in Latin means "skill" or "craft" and it is generally accepted to be "the product or process of the effective application of a body of knowledge, most often using a set of skills, which from concept to creation adheres to the "creative impulse" of the maker." As centuries of art study reveal, art has taken many forms and has touched upon many disciplines. From the creation of a painting to the design of a video game, art is now a much more generic term used to describe many of today's human creations.

Whether or not you consider yourself to be an artist or have an artistic nature as people often claim, it is interesting to discover that your skills and abilities can help you develop products or processes that could be characterized as a type ofart form . Have you ever taken a picture, created a film, painted an image, performed in front of an audience -your mirror does not count- or even found a new way to use that old pair of jeans you have kept inside your closet? If the answer to these or similar questions is yes, then you are "officially" informed that you canconsider yourself as a creator or better even, an artist! Even if this statement is not one hundred percent true, you got the idea.

Due to the technological innovations used today, new art forms have been developed and thus new ways for artistic expression. The birthday card you decided to create from scratch for your friend, the picture frame you decided to "transform" so as to make it a bit more contemporary, the song you recorded while playing at your garage with the band, are all different types of art forms and should make you proud of yourself and your abilities. Moving from the "classic" forms of art, like painting, drawing, sculpture, music, literature, printmaking, and architecture, to the more "modern" types of art forms, like film, photography, digital art, installation art, performance art, land art, fashion, computer art, comics, and video games, the human ingenuity and creativity found new ways of expression. People are today thrilled to discover the gratification of being able to complete the art project of their choice while using a variety of available tools.

Since within each art form a wide range of genres exist, like for example painting includes still life, portrait, or landscape, a work of art can be anything, from a representational painting to the abstract wallpaper of your PC screen. Whether theart form you like belongs to the category of fine arts or applied arts, the big issue here is that you are a creator, a designer, a painter, a sculptor, a craftsman, an artisan in general. If your art will make you rich one day is a matter of talent and luck, but during your project's creation and upon its completion, you will experience a life changing realization; you will feel capable of accomplishing almost anything. After all that amazing thing is your own creation!

Have you ever been to an art museum and looked at an abstract painting? Did you find yourself asking what was this artist thinking when he created this abstract painting? What on earth is an abstract painting? Maybe you are just wondering where the art of abstract painting came from. If you find yourself asking these questions then perhaps it is time you learn about the beauty of an abstract paining.

The art of abstract painting began a very long time ago. Artists began this art several hundred years ago. In fact, you have probably seen some of the more famous abstract paintings before. You may recall a famous abstract painting created by Van Gogh. Picasso also had an abstract painting or two as well. Modigliani is also known for his abstract painting work. Because of these artists, and many others, the art of abstract painting has gained popularity in the modern world.

Now what exactly is an abstract painting? An abstract painting is defined in many ways. First off, an abstract painting does not depict reality like traditional paintings. In the beginning, most art was depicting a photographic or realistic expression of someone or something. But an abstract painting does not do this. The definition of an abstract painting is that an abstract painting does not depict objects in the natural world. Rather, an abstract painting uses colors and shapes in a non-representing and nonobjective manner. It can be of anyone, anything, or just nothing at all.

You can easily see this when you look at an abstract painting. An abstract painting has bold, bright, and vivid colors. An abstract painting also has many biometric shapes that are used with the bold colors to make the artwork stand out. It is both strange and beautiful to look at an abstract painting.

In the 1940's a movement called "Abstract Expressionism" was started. This movement was started to show the freedom of an artist's expression and to push the art of abstract painting. It was started in New York in a school that also called it "Action Painting." This school was one of the first American schools that declared its independence from the European style of artwork. They liked to think of their art as a form of spiritual and intellectual art. This then further pushed the art of abstract painting.

Now that you know the history of the art of abstract painting you may come to understand it better. It is important to appreciate all forms of art, including the odd art of an abstract painting. You may find yourself wanting to get a piece of this artwork for yourself. It is truly an interesting thing to look at.

Author: Deb Haugen

The other day I started experimenting with alternative art materials. There are so many ways to create really original art. With a blank white piece a paper in front of me there are no limits.

I immediately went to the refrigerator. I used broccoli scrubbed into the paper, then carrots, and beet juice. This led me to the spice cabinet where cous-cous seasoning put out a powerful, and rich ochre color. Cinnamon was lovely and soft and worked well for some shadowing effects. This was a fascinating experiment in the intensity and amounts of natural dye in food and spice samples!

I then took my color search outside. To my surprise the bright red geraniums that are outside my front door, when squished and scrubbed into the paper I was working with turn an amazing dark purple. Bouganvilla blossoms also a red variety turn a very lovely… rasberry. I use some yummy tree bark to scrub along side the bold colors to soften the transition of colors. It works, as does a wierd green seed, for some very defined green lines of direction. Kentucky blue grass scrubbed into paper leaves a soft chlorophyll smudge to play with.

So, try something new with art. Go outside, collect flowers, twigs, bark, seeds, grasses, soil, anything and everything. You will be surprised at the colors you get , the amounts of color contained in items, and it will be a step back into time. I was always intriqued by the very first airbrush paintings on the cave walls at Lascaux south western France, where pigments were blown thru a reed, and scrubbed on with mats of moss. These images were made of maganese and iron oxide and are over 17,000 years old.

There are so many options when considering painting with nature, you just have to give different elements a try.

Fast food"                       18×24

Broccoli, carrots, cinnamon, tree bark, cous-cous seasoning, red geraniums, purple bouganvilla, curry powder, and a wierd green seed, on watercolor paper.

Art should not be comfortable, it should be something of the unknown, a challenge. Artists need to reach, to explore, to inspire, and investigate….. opening new frontiers in thought.

Go out and touch something new today.
(ArticlesBase ID #1103996)

Source: articlesbase.com

As anime grows continually more popular as a form of animation, the most dedicated fans of anime who call themselves Otaku could not be happier! Anime has exploded in popularity over the last few decades as its grown from a small cultural art form to a international sensation. With genres and types of animation to please almost any audience, anime has expanded to feature thousands of titles and lure fans from all over the world. Routinely with thousands in attendance, modern day anime features annual events with cosplay, contests and merchandise. Drawing fans from all corners of the world with its original and mesmerizing form of animation, anime continues to be a popular force not only in animation but as a cultural art form.

As anime grows constantly more popular as a form of animation, the most devoted fans of anime who call themselves Otaku could not be happier! In the past few decades anime has gone from being a tiny cultural art form to a worldwide sensation. Satiating almost any audience and drawing fans from all over the world, anime now has thousands of titles and has even evolved into genres within itself. Modern day J-Pop now offers monthly events and conferences that routinely have thousands in attendance and feature cosplay, activities, merchandise and much more. Drawing fans from all corners of the world with its unique and mesmerizing form of animation, anime continues to be a powerful force not only in animation but as a cultural art form.

Author: Bryon Zirker

Oil paint dries very slowly, Unlike acrylic paints which dry very quickly. Acrylic paint was initially created as an underpainting medium for oil painting.

It is perfectly stable to put a base of acrylic and then place oil paint over it. Linseed oil added to oil paint will extend color, increase flow and increase workability. Oil paint with added medium is called long, oil paint used directly from the tube is called short or stiff.

You place you oil paints on a wooden board called a palette the very best palettes are made of pear wood.

It is very important to understand your paints and know which colors are:

Transparent (see through) Semi Opaque (slightly see through) and opaque (not see through) getting started put as much oil paint on your brush for two strokes three maximum always end your brush stroke on the canvas.

Make sure that you use linseed oil only when you are painting with the wet on wet method or process.

Do not confuse yourself with all of the many other mediums. Wait to discover those when you are more experienced. If you can actually afford the professional paints, definitely go ahead and buy them. You will notice immediately that they are completely different from the student paints.

Always buy the best brushes that you can afford. The Da Vinci brand brushes are the best professional brushes. Buy long handle bushes. The technique is to hold near the end of the handle. When developing talent one point to consider is the ability to take risks. Just play around with your paint however first understand it, only paint at an easel and make sure to stand back from your painting all the time. Never put your expensive brushes in turps when you are working in a session. Go ahead and wipe them clean with paper towels or cloth wash out your brushes in turps or a similar solvent at the end of a session and then be sure to clean immediately with soapy water.

Preparing the canvas the foundation of you piece

It is quite essential that you put on the first underpainting or wash on your canvas. This takes away the glare of the white (which will reflect back at you, quite annoying) and the more layers of paint you get onto your canvas the better and the more professional looking your painting, the more luminous the paint ant the more the painting will sing out with color and texture.

Traditionally an earth color of a burnt umber or raw umber, raw sienna or an ochre was painted on as a good first underpainting. Sometimes it can be pretty exciting to paint on a bright red or dark blue as your first underpainting especially when you are in the habit of putting on three or four layers and seeing the underpainting come through your painting. Use a big wash brush to apply the first underpainting it you use acrylic as your underpaint it will dry quickly and get you started quicker.

How to apply oil paint in two methods

1. Wet on wet or All Prima (in one step)

2. Stage Painting or Glazing Fat over lean

Wet on wet is applied by using the paint stiff, which is directly from the tube Or thinned to the consistency of salad dressing with linseed oil the essential part of painting wet on wet is making your brushes and painting knives do the work for you.

You definitely want to have full control of your brushes and experiment with different brushes to see the marks and texture streaks that they make.

Never work with turps unless you are working with the glazing method.

Never ever stand your brushes in any turps working in your painting session.

Turps will burn the bristles and inevitably there will be some left in the brush when you start to use color.

This will make it difficult to keep control of the flow or thickness of paint. The glazing technique is a process of building up your painting in a series of layers of the thinned paint.

I found this specific method for the glazing technique with oil paint it is called fat over lean

A Lean 1st layer thinned with solvent

A Lean 2nd layer thinned with less solvent

A Lean 3rd layer thinned with less solvent

A Fat 4th layer straight from tube

A Fat 5th layer thinned with little linseed oil

A Fat 6th layer thinned with more linseed oil

It is very essential that you this process exactly follow or the layers of paint will dry at different levels and possibly crack the paint. Granted, it is a slow method and you absolutely need some patience however the results are spectacular tonal values which are essential in painting. This glazing method gives you full control of creating tones in acrylic paint. Here there is no mystery about paint.

Remember that paint is just pigment with a binder. In the case of oil paint, it is just a pigment with a drying oil usually linseed oil is used for this. The very best professional oil paints you will find are Michael Harding and Old Holland. Windsor and Newton and some other makes are good as well just make sure they are called professional paints and not the lesser quality student paints.

One last thing, Oil Paint dries very slowly, have patience and enjoy the journey. Paint on.

Source: articlesbase.com

I have a friend who is actively involved in the world of arts both in the educational and business aspect - offline. However, when it comes to online tools, there is hardly information of him and not so many internet-savvy individuals and art bloggers in the area know about my friend. What could be worse than that? It may not be seen as a big deal by people who doesn't know internet marketing strategies to be as effective as daylight, but for me, it is such a huge miss for his art career. Art may be much convincing when seen up-close and personal, but if you have plans to promote it, do not leave behind the power of technology and the internet.

Cai Yuan and JJ Xi performance 1999-2005
Edited by Katie Hill

Published by Carrots Press London 2005
in a limited edition of 500 copies
ISBN 0955107407

Pages 128
Binding Soft back
Illustration 135 colour, 19 b&w illustrations
Dimensions 260mm x 210mm

This book is a very richly illustrated full-colour catalogue of JJ Xi and Cai Yuan's performance work from 1999 to 2005, with an essay by Dr Katie Hill and an interview by the curator Sally Lai.

The photographs are strong images of the work which have never been presented as a body of work before. it features performance such as Cai Yuan and JJ Xi Jumping on Tracey Emin's Bed at Tate Gallery 1999, Monkey King causes havoc in the Heavenly Place at British Museum 2003, and artists recent solo exhibition at Manchester Happy and Glorious as well as the more controversial performances in the Tate and other London public-space and locations. Yuan Cai and JJ Xi make strong use of irony in their performance and photographic work, drawing on seemingly banal subject -matter such as soya sauce and Monkey King to make witty and absurd commentaries through ironic action and posturing.

Table of Contents

-MADNESS, DUPLICITY AND REALITY By KATIE HILL
-IN THE NAME OF ART, SALLY LAI interviews JJ XI AND CAI YUAN

-HAPPY AND GLORIOUS
-ALIVE, ALIVE-O!
-TWO ARTISTS ARREST HOU HANRU
-MONKEY KING CAUSES HAVOC IN THE HEAVENLY PALACE
-PARADOX
-BURNING FIELDS
-PENIS SPIRIT
-TOURING LONDON
-OPEN FIRE
-TWO ARTISTS SWIM ACROSS THE THAMES
-RUNNING NAKED ACROSS WESTMINSTER BRIDGE WITH TONY BEAR
-SOYA SAUCE AND KETCHUP FIGHT
-TWO ARTISTS CRAWL THROUGH CENTRAL LONDON
-TWO ARTISTS PISS ON DUCHAMP’S URINAL
-TWO ARTISTS JUMP ON TRACEY EMIN’S BED

-PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS
-BIOGRAPHY