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- AN ABSTRACT PATH
- IF- by Rudyard Kipling
- THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
- BEN BANKS ART AT SALON D’ART VALBONNE-SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS
- 34th CANNES INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW 2011
- WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A WORKING ARTIST?- THE SIX MONTH FOLLOWUP-PART 1
- NICE MATIN NEWS GIVES US SOME LOVE!!
- LULLABY FOR THE EAST COAST
- GO BIG OR GO HOME!
- ROCK OUT YOUR iPAD WITH A LIMITED EDITION iPAD SKIN FROM BEN BANKS ART
- IS BUYING ART ONLINE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOU?
- EMBRACE THE MYSTERY!
- “TAOS”-INSPIRED BY THE AMERICAN WEST
- ABSTRACT ARTIST A PRODIGY AT 4 YEARS OF AGE?
- “CATASTROPHE AND THE CURE”-PART OF THE EROSION SERIES
- “BUTTERFLIES” SERIES TAKES WINGS!
- SALON MAISON & PROJET
- THE BENEFITS OF OWNING ART
- FESTIVAL de CANNES MAY 11-22 2011
- THE KING OF KITSCH?
- BROKEN AND BATTERED-HELPING JAPAN TO STAND UP AGAIN
- THE REBIRTH OF ART
- THE DEATH OF THE BANAL-PART II
- THE REAL ‘INSIDE JOB’-THE ART WORLD’S NEXT FINANCIAL MELTDOWN?
- EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP- WHO’S FOOLING WHOM?
- THANK YOU JACKSON POLLOCK!
- WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A WORKING ARTIST IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE?
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Tag Archives: modern art
BEN BANKS ART AT SALON D’ART VALBONNE-SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS
Ben Banks Art will be exhibiting at the Salon d’Art Createurs D’Aujourd’hui 2011 in Valbonne during the dates of September 1 thru 4.
This will be a great opportunity to buy beautiful pieces for your home and/or office in a relaxed atmosphere.
Don’t miss it. See you there!
Posted in The Business of Art Also tagged abstract art, abstract expressionism, antibes, antiquities Valbonne, art in grasse, Ben Banks Art, Cannes, Cannes Yacht Show, emerging artist in France, exciting new painters in France, Fragonard Musee, french riviera, modern art in cannes, modern art on sale, Monaco Yacht Show, new contemporary art, new contemporary artists in France, Nice, Riviera Radio, Salon d'Art Createurs D'Aujourd'hui, Sophia Antipolis, st. tropez, Valbonne, Valbonne Village, yachting industry, yachts in Antibes, yachts on the Riviera Leave a comment
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A WORKING ARTIST?- THE SIX MONTH FOLLOWUP-PART 1
In February, my post entitled “WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A WORKING ARTIST” marked the beginning of my attempt to write about my experiences as an artist here in France.
I don’t know if there are any artists reading the blog but I wanted to take a moment and reflect on the past six months and add new thoughts to the topic.
These have been trying times for all. Financially and politically, we have witnessed extreme fluctuations worldwide. And I have myself at times questioned my path. It has been a long journey for me and there were times when I was so close to the end, I couldn’t see beyond my immediate future. So close it seemed, that I was floating by my teeth.
But the random acts of kindness have materialized at the times I needed it most. With my partner putting a huge amount of effort into seeing me succeed and getting the word out with my work and thinking in a clear concise way, it has helped me immensely. She has found my buyers for me and has always been by my side to participate and champion me to others. Other friends of hers brought people towards us who eventually bought my art. Or they spoke about me, us and the paintings. They have come out to support me and her at our little showings and have been generous in their willingness to help spread the word and to get more exposure for me as an artist.
Everything that has come to us has come through meeting people personally and establish a rapport with them. Allowing them to see you as a person and not just a face. Sharing my passion for what I do with them and seeing them react to the paintings in a positive way. Seeing how happy they are when they buy one and put it in their home or office. All these things come from being available and open to people.
I don’t know of many artists who sell directly from their website without first meeting their clients. If someone does buy, it is usually after having seen the painting in person at their atelier and having met the artist personally. Also, I’ve noted that people need to get a sense of who you are as a person as your work always reflects ones energy. They want to bring positive energy into their home, not negative.
But art is a personal thing and I guess I need to understand that it takes time to accumulate exposure and an awareness to your product. I have at times been frustrated because of what I thought to be too slow of a process of getting some exposure. I have repeatedly reached out to various print media only to be ignored. I don’t know what their agenda comprises of for exposing artists here. It seems at times that for a country like France that is known for their inclusion of culture and arts in everyday life, here in the south the focus is only on tourism revenue. It can break you down and make you feel like no one cares. But you keep on keeping on. Like the monologue in Rocky Balboa, “it’s not about how hard you can hit, but how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Because if your willing to go thru all the battling you gotta get through to get to where you wanna get, who’s got the right to stop you? If you know what your worth, then bloody get what your worth!”
If you are an artist going thru the same thing, what has been your experience so far? Who have been the angels that have helped you out? How have you been resourcefull with limited resoures? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Posted in The Business of Art Also tagged abstract art, abstract expressionism, american artists abroad, antibes, art in grasse, Cannes, conceptual art, emerging abstract artists, emerging American artist, emerging artist, emerging artist in France, Fragonard Musee, modern art in cannes, modern art paintings, new contemporary art, new contemporary artists in France, perfume, rocky balboa, sly stallone, The Business of Art Leave a comment
LULLABY FOR THE EAST COAST
Large format paintings can be one of the crown jewels in your home. When you have a painting that takes up much of the space on the wall, it can actually free you from the responsibility of having to furnish and coordinate furniture with smaller accent pieces.
It allows the focus of the room to be on the painting and can even make it somewhat of a neutral viewing area in between two or three larger rooms which may be connected and used regularly. Sometimes, having it on the wall near the interior entrance of the house can make it a welcome addition to the social scene when entertaining friends and also have a powerful impact on potential clients.
I present my second large scale painting entitled “Lullaby for the East Coast”. It measures 2 meters by 2 meters and is signed at the bottom right corner.
Posted in The Business of Art Also tagged abstract art, abstract expressionism, antibes, art for villas, art in grasse, Ben Banks Art, Cannes, emerging artist in France, exciting new painters in France, french artists, french riviera, large format abstract paintings, modern art in cannes, modern art on sale, modern art paintings, new contemporary art, new contemporary artists in France, Nice, st. tropez Leave a comment
GO BIG OR GO HOME!
This is an expression in the states that people like to say. There is no room for subtlety with some people. But it can mean also, ‘bring your best game’.
It’s been a long road for me since I started painting and even when I had started I wanted to do bigger paintings. The convenience of ordering big canvas’s and having them shipped to my house or even making my own chassis has been almost not existent here. I chose the format I currently work with because it was really the biggest size I could get here in the south of France. Also, I wanted to allow people to have a large painting without having to add another addition to their house!
But I had worked some larger sizes a couple years ago and wanted to return to that. So today I present my first large scale work here in France. It measures 195cm x130 cm and will be the first in a new series for next year. If you like big paintings, then this could be the one for you!
Francais
Ceci est une expression dans les Etats que les gens aiment à dire. Il n’ya pas deplace pour la subtilité avec certaines personnes. Mais cela peut signifier aussi,«apportez votre meilleur jeu».Ça a été une longue route pour moi depuis que j’ai commencé à peindre et même quand j’avais commencé, je voulais faire plus de peintures. L’avantage de commander grosse toile et les avoir livré à ma maison ou même faire mon propre châssis a été presque inexistante ici. J’ai choisi le format que je travaille actuellement avec, car il était vraiment la plus grande taille j’ai pu obtenir ici dans le sud de la France. Aussi, je voulais permettre aux gens d’avoir un grand tableausans avoir à ajouter une autre addition à leur maison!Mais j’avais travaillé quelques grandes tailles il ya quelques années et je voulaisrevenir. Donc aujourd’hui je présente mon premier grand travail ici en France. Il mesure 195cm x130 cm et sera le premier d’une nouvelle série pour l’année prochaine. Si vous aimez grandes peintures, alors ce pourrait être l’un pour vous!
Espagnol
Esta es una expresión en los estados que la gente le gusta decir. No hay lugarpara la sutileza con algunas personas. Pero puede significar también, ”traer sumejor juego.
Ha sido un largo camino para mí desde que comencé a pintar y aún cuando había empezado lo que quería hacer grandes obras. La conveniencia de ordenar engrandes lienzos y que los envíen a mi casa, o incluso hacer mi propio chasis ha sido casi no existe aquí. Yo elegí el formato que actualmente trabajar porque en realidad era el tamaño más grande que podía llegar hasta aquí en el sur de Francia. Además, yo quería permitir que la gente tiene una gran pintura sin tener que añadir otro, además de su casa!
Pero yo había trabajado unos tamaños más grandes un par de años y quería volvera eso. Así que hoy les presento mi primer trabajo a gran escala aquí en Francia.Mide 195 cm x130 cm y será el primero de una nueva serie para el próximo año. Si te gusta pinturas, entonces esto podría ser el uno para usted!
Posted in Misc. Thoughts and Opinions, The Business of Art Also tagged abstract art, abstract expressionism, Ben Banks Art, Cannes, conceptual art, emerging artist in France, exciting new painters in France, french artists, french riviera, french riviera real estate, Frieze week, home decor, home decoration, large format abstract painting, large scale abstract paintings, modern art in cannes, modern art on sale, new contemporary art, new contemporary artists in France, remodeling your home, villas in France Leave a comment
ROCK OUT YOUR iPAD WITH A LIMITED EDITION iPAD SKIN FROM BEN BANKS ART
iPads are the phenomenon of this new decade. It is absolutely amazing how far we have come in the field of personal computers. And it will be even more amazing to see what the future holds.
In the mean time I’ve decided to release certain images of my art to be made into iPad skins for you iPad users. They will be limited to 1,000 pieces worldwide for each image that will be chosen.
Stay tuned for the selection and add the RSS feed from this site to your Google reader or whichever browser reader you use.
Posted in The Business of Art Also tagged abstract art, abstract expressionism, antibes, Apple, Apple iPad, art in grasse, Ben Banks Art, Cannes, emerging artist in France, exciting new painters in France, french artists, french figurative art, iPad, iPad GelSkin, Mac iPad, modern art in cannes, modern art paintings, new contemporary art, new contemporary artists in France Leave a comment