Tag: artwork

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Tips for beginning artists No.1

These are 5 Tips For Beginning Artist. If you are an aspiring artist, or you know an aspiring artist that may benefit from this, feel free to share and enjoy.

Every Monday, I dedicate some of my daily efforts to giving back information that would have been valuable to me when starting my artist career. This is a very basic list of things that were extremely helpful in my perception and practice of art.

Rafi Was Here Studios
Rafi Was Here Studios

You want to grow up and be an artists? Here’s five tips that helped me become an artist.

Draw… A lot. Carry a sketchbook with you, and draw whenever you get a chance. The more you draw, the better you become at translating a mental image to paper.

Great art takes hard work… It takes a lot of work, so don’t allow yourself to get discouraged if something is not looking the way you want it to… Just keep trying, you only fail at it, if you give up.

Use a reference image. Take pictures of what you want to create, and reference them in your sketches. I usually have myself, or Klee model for what I am looking for. Take notice of lighting and shadows in your photo. For some of us, it helps to bring the fuzzy image in the mind to life.

Get used to rejection. You are going to get rejected. You are also going to have people say that either your work, or you suck. You’ll have thousands more praise you, but if you can’t handle the few that will reject your work, it may keep you from moving forward.

See if there is any genuine feedback and learn from it, but if not, just delete it. The biggest tool an artist has in his, or her arsenal is confidence, and confidence is something you can develop.

Be unique and be successful. So, copying what’s popular in art may bring success, but it’s only short term and really not worth it. Doing things your own way may take longer to gain success, but man is it worth it. Trust me, if you are creating what is popular, chances are you are doing something just for the money… That’s not going to help you grow, and you’ll stagnate as an artist.

Either way, choose what you love and stick with it, because what’s popular won’t last, but your uniqueness will.

Let me know what you guys think, or if you have anything to add.

Thank you guys! You are awesome!

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Art Creations In Your Inbox – No. 1

Happy Sunday! This week has been an interesting one for us, full of website crashes, eye injuries, and a near-wet experience at the market. All that being said, the results are awesome. Our website is now a bazillion times better than it was, I took time to relax and gather my thoughts on what to create next, and we had more time to work on things in the studio. Plus, I decided that every Sunday I would post “Art Creations In Your Inbox” and show you what we’ve been working on.

The Patronus Charm By Rafi Perez

“Needless to say, I am a nerd. I love all things fantasy and sci-fi, so after Klee and I had a Harry Potter marathon, this piece is what came of it. It is called “The Patronus Charm” and is based on the concept that J.K Rowling had for the dementors and getting rid of them. Dementors are metaphors for depression, and the Patronus charm is what repells them by focusing on happy powerful thoughts. Yep, told you… nerd. Oh, and yeah… It glows in the dark. My plan is to create different patronus animals in the future, or by request.” -Rafi

Vertical Bar Pendants By Klee Angelie

605ce56e-d951-4fd6-abc2-d76ee880484d-1“These are my new favorite thing to make and wear, featuring rustic hammered texture on one side and stamping on the other. They are reversible and personal.” -Klee

My Guardian Power By Rafi Perez

“The beautiful Klee Angelie modeled for this piece. It represents my belief in guardian angels. Yep, when I was a kid, I felt like there was something that protected me, but instead of fluffy, fat little angels, I felt it was a bad ass.” -Rafi

Swan Lake By Klee Angelie

img_1387“This moonstone was especially cool to work with, because it has a black tourmaline inclusion on the backside that looks just like a swan.” -Klee

Autumn Sky By Rafi Perez

img_8378“There is something magical about Autumn. The changing colors of leaves, The brisk cool air, and the feeling that anything is possible, is why I love the Fall so much. This piece captures that for me.” -Rafi

Pyrite Ring By Klee Angelie

img_1064 “I’ve been experimenting with a style of raw and elegant looking ‘Claw Prong’ settings and I absolutely love how this Pyrite and Sterling ring turned out.” -Klee

Have an awesome week! You guys are great!

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The Pendulum By Rafi Perez

Recently, I sold a piece I created called “The Pendulum” to an amazing woman that I consider a dear friend. She told me, that the moment she laid eyes on it, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

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This piece seemed to speak to her, the way it spoke to me when I created it.

It’s a portrait of Mother Earth and Father Time, in their relationship with the world and each other. His imagery is cloaked in the vastness of the universe, representing time and space. She is wrapped in the growth and beauty of the earth. She also dominates the scene, relaxed and supported by time as she basks in her sunshine.

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This scene symbolizes our perception. That moment when time stands still, and nature surrounds us. We become part of that nature, and time lowers his head and relinquishes the illusion of control over our lives.

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The piece is meant to introduce you to the decision we make every moment, of every day. You have a choice, to focus on time, or focus on the beauty that surrounds you. Focusing on the moment, is focusing on nature, causing time to slow down and fully experiencing the moment of right now.

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Focusing on time or the lack there of, causes time to dominate, and the natural world gets lost in your thoughts.That’s when you loose your grip on right now.

The interesting thing is that time will always take a backseat to nature… If we just stop, listen, look, and choose.

-Rafi

 

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Where do I sell My Art?

The start of my art career seems like such a distant memory. I’ve taken so many turns and had so many life changing events, that I’m not sure I would recognize the old fear filled version of myself that took that first step.

You Can Do Anything You Set Your Mind To | Get Creative!

The other day I was asked a seemingly simple question that I almost overlooked.

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It wasn’t until I remembered the beginning of my art career and the confusion that came with attempting to become a full-time artist.

I then decided to video my answer. You can watch the video by click this link  https://youtu.be/aJZa0eK_uS8

I started my art career in an unlikely place and figured it out as I went… I wish I could say it was an easy ride, but it wasn’t. I also, wouldn’t change a thing.

If you are an artist, and you are trying to figure out where to get started, I hope this video helps you out at least a little.

-Rafi

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My Saturday Night Art Party

I was asked yesterday if I was going to an event that we were invited to, called “Art Party is Dead.”

My answer was “no, I already have plans.”

Now, I’m sure “Art Party Is Dead” was a blast for everyone that went. I’m also sure that among the body painted performers and neon lighting, people were wondering where Klee and I were.img_8278

For the record, we are hermits, don’t drink all that much, and are socially awkward… But that doesn’t usually stop us from uncomfortably socializing and pretending to be normal.

Like I said before, we had plans…

We were having our own awesome art party with some very special guests to our studio.

There was music, art, imagination, wonder, good friends, pretty girls, good lookin’ dudes, and even some body paint… Lots of body paint… But probably not the kind of body paint you are thinking.

If you ever want to watch something great, give a paintbrush and some paint to a 1 year old and let them take over… It’s amazing, and scary all at the same time.

Also, watching a child paint seems to bring magic back into the world… Just sayin.

So if you are ever wondering what an awesome time looks like for an artists like me… It looks like this:

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So, thank you for the invite, and I do apologize for not going (maybe next time), but as you can see… Awesomeness was to be had in my art studio.

Also, thank you to my special guests… Hope you enjoyed the visit 🙂

-Rafi

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Some Like It Hot

Hola awesome!

Have you ever found yourself in an oven, desperately seeking a way out? If you do, then  you’re probably meatloaf… or an artist painting a mural in Pensacola Florida in the summer.

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It is coming along beautifully, and I’m really proud of the evolution that it has taken. I can’t wait to show you guys the finished product… Soon. It looks like my adventures in painting the Pensacola mural may be coming to an end fairly soon, as I am now putting the finishing touches on it. Of course, it’s me, which means finishing touches may take a couple week.

If there is anything I have learned from this experience, it is that your mindset is everything. It has been overwhelming, amazing, problematic, fantastic, and enlightening. Because of the weather and politics involved it could have been easy to let my mind downward spiral, and it did for a few moments. Luckily, I’m too stubbornly positive.

The other thing I’ve learned is to never schedule a mural in the middle of a deadly Summer heat wave… Yay me! That’s it for now, I’m going to get back to my movie… Fiddler on the roof… LOVE THIS MOVIE!

I’ll update you soon! Thank you for being so awesome!

-Rafi

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Be Nimble Series and Superstitions

The Be Nimble series is all about superstition. I wanted to create something that had a familiar concept to everyone who saw it, but still held a little mystery. I’m sure you know “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jumped over the candlestick.” But do you know why Jack jumps over the candlestick?

 

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Back in the day, people would take turns jumping over a candlestick at a wedding ceremonies. Who ever blew out the candle could expect a year of bad luck… So basically, if you had been “celebrating” for a while, chances were that your drunk butt would get burned.

In my painting Jack is dramatically jumping over the candlestick to mock some of the weird superstitions we have in every day life. I know I have quite a few. Things like, knocking on wood or saying bread and avoiding the path of a black cat is just a couple of my superstitious quirks.

What weird superstitions do you have?

 

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Plastic Egg Carton Addiction

Spring is in the air, and I feel myself wanting to change things around, and get rid of superfluous art garbage that I’ve collected. Klee and I are not pack-rats with our personal belongings, in fact we are pretty minimal. The art studio is a different story…

I have all kinds of things taking up room in the studio that I may never use. I’ve been collecting plastic egg cartons for almost half a year, thinking that I may use them. I became so dedicated to collecting them, that my friends started saving their plastic egg cartons for me. I’m sure they thought I would use them for an amazing art project or something, but honestly I think I just have a problem. Even now, I’m looking at a pile of them and wondering  if I should keep them.

spartan

 

The thing is, the studio is a chaotic, harmonious and creative balance of awesomeness. If I don’t purge unnecessary items from its environment, It can easily become cluttered and overbearing. I’ve always believed that a cluttered environment equals a cluttered mind, and in the studio’s case, a killer of creativity. Unfortunately, as an artist there is a plethora of art projects that you can work on with just about any item, thus the collection of junk.

Here are two questions I ask myself when spring cleaning my art studio, hopefully this helps you if you have the same problem.

Have I used it in a year? If it is something I haven’t used in a full year, then chances are I’m not going to use it. If it’s something I’m on the fence about, I will pack it in a box with other items and write an expiration date of one year on it.  Next year, if I haven’t gone in the box for anything then it’s time to get rid of it.

Will I use this next week? This question applies to things like plastic egg cartons or other knickknacks that just take up room because you are planning on using them someday. If you are actively using them, then you can determine if they will work in a project. If you are not actively working with the stuff, it is just taking up room, both in your environment and your brain. So either get rid of it, or plan to use it next week.

 

Have fun cleaning out your space and remember, it’s just stuff… You can always buy more plastic egg cartons if you really need to.

Do you have any weird things that you find yourself collecting? Or am I the only one?

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This Art Will Make You Smile – Compassion Project

On March 5th Klee and I attended an event called “Curated Compassion” in which several artist showcased art installations that would interact with the viewer. We set up a piece that would allow for several people to be involved in the creation of a beautiful work. We had over 30 people put their hands in the clay (or magnets) and helped create this amazing work of art. Thank you to everyone involved in making this project beautiful… Enjoy.