Friends,

One of our profound pleasures watching the art world is that we get to see the growing process of exciting, new, young artists. One of these people happens to be on our site and she is prolific to say the least. I can see the maturity of her work just over the last few months.

Her name is Katey and she is a high school student. Her talent is obvious and her depth of vision in her subjects is intriguing. She uses paints, charcoal, and pencil in her art. She creates bears, plants, shoes, and other subjects. We have viewed her work on the site and are pleased that she has chosen to join us.

People like Katey are the reason that my wife and I have decided to start this site. We love to help young and aspiring artists by giving them additional exposure to the art buying public. All artists have a depth of character and their art is a window into their innermost thoughts and emotions. Those emotions come out of Katey’s work. Please check her out and either agree or disagree with me through this blog.

I am looking to find artists to review and recruit for our site. My main goal is to allow artists a forum to display their work to the art-loving world. Please contact me at larry@findartbuyart.com and give me the contact information for the artists.

Thank you,
Robin and Larry
robin@findartbuyart.com
larry@findartbuyart.com
www.findartbuyart.com

Friends,

The photos I am posting today are of various artists that I met on my recent travels. I was especially impressed with their work and passion. In subsequent postings, I will talk about each in more detail.

The art world has gotten a bit more difficult recently with the economy being more of a challenge. With fuel costs going up, it is becoming more costly to travel to these shows. Consequently, artists have to be a bit more judicious in the shows they choose to attend. The public is a bit tighter with their money and will spend considerably more time mulling a purchase and look for more reasons not to buy. This may also have the added effect of a sort of reverse buyer’s remorse. That is they decide after they get home that the piece that they were looking at would indeed complement whatever space they imagined it in or they just regret not buying because they later realize how much they liked the particular work.

With artist’s streams of revenue drying up, they need to find a better alternative to the more costly, less lucrative shows. That is where we fervently hope to help by providing this source of art fans to view and perhaps buy work. One of the major frustrations that we feel is that artists, especially older ones, do not inherently trust the internet. They think that it does not make sense that we are giving them a free portal to display their wares. The questions that we receive are always, “What are you getting out of it?”

For my wife and me, this web site fills two needs. One we are ardent and passionate supporters of the arts. We marvel at the well of creative inspirations that are evident in the passionate people that we meet in our pursuit of creative expression. Funding is virtually non-existent for artists unless one is fortunate to find an angel to finance works. Most artists are more attuned to the creative side of their personality and less capable as business people. They are more focused to the creativity. It is what makes them who they are. As a consequence, they are subject to be taken advantage of by people and organizations that would over-charge for the right to display and sell their work their using the organization’s medium. We find it appalling that this occurs, yet some artists gladly pay up to 50% for minimal support. I am passionately devoted to seeing people not being taken advantage. That is why we are supplying the portal and are going to allow artists to sell through our site with a shopping cart feature. The 15% that we will charge is what we need to pay expense related to maintaining the structure and software.

Secondly, if the site does well and get consistent good traffic we may be able to charge advertising fees to art related enterprises. We also have as part of the business plan the intention of funding and supporting art programs through donations. The area we live, Philadelphia, has many art institutions and programs that help young artists develop their talents and provide an avenue for their creative expression. It is through the eyes of these visionary and talented people that my wife and I live vicariously. Nothing warms us as much as being able to help a young person.

This site fills our emotional needs in that we feel that it is our purpose to allow others to stand on our shoulders to achieve. We get satisfaction from the success and fulfillment of others. Please join us on FABA and if you know of any artists or art shows in the country please e-mail us with that information. We are fortunate enough to be able to travel frequently and we love to make visiting shows and artists part of our itinerary.
Sincerely,
Larry
Larry@findartbuyart.com
Robin
robin@findartbuyart.com

To all of my art loving friends,

Last weekend my wife and I had the opportunity to view the works of Coralette Damme. It was very enjoyable to finally be able to talk to her up close and personal. My wife and I enjoyed speaking with her very much. We also had the occasion to view the work of her Etsy friends of Central Florida. In addition to her work on Etsy she has posted another sample of her work on Find Art Buy Art.

Please read some of her bio below:

The Crafty Hag is a St. Petersburg Florida artist who creates stained glass art in a non-traditional style. Incorporating found objects and painted elements make the Hag's creations all one of a kind. However, The Crafty Hag is not just about glass. She also makes fun goofy stuff like giant magnets with silly photos, cool folk art inspired paintings, hand printed postcards, and tons of other stuff! The Crafty Hag can be found at various events posted on her website www.craftyhag.com just go to the events page! Or if you are not in the local FL area you can shop on line at www.craftyhag.etsy.com Drop the crafty hag an email through either website and let her know what you think about her work. OR, you can be the Crafty Hag's friend on MySpace www.myspace.com/craftyhag Don't be shy!

Her work can also be found on www.findartbuyart.com. Her direct link to her page is http://craftyhag.findartbuyart.com/. I am an incredible fan of her work and she is prolific and open. Please check her out and give me your opinion.

As usual, if you know of a creative person who needs to have their work displayed to the public, please give me their contact information so that I may review their work here. I am always looking to help artists create a buzz and interest around their creative expressions.

Larry
larry@findartbuyart.com
www.findartbuyart.com

I have had the opportunity to travel to many interesting places here in the US in pursuit of recruiting people to our site. Recently I had the pleasure of traveling to Florida to see a couple of great events. One was the Winter Haven Art Festival. I met several fantastic artists who travel the country in the hopes of selling their work. My wife and I love speaking with these people and hearing about their influences and work.

Most express a little frustration over economic times that make selling their work a bit more difficult. I sympathize with them and understand the financial realities of the day. I am in the process of updating www.FindArtBuyArt.com to allow artists to sell their product on-line. My wife and I want to give the artists a better forum to expose their work to the art buying public while at the same time allowing them to spending less time traveling to the less productive art events. Please look for us to have a new look and feel to FABA coming in the near future.

I am looking to find artists to review and recruit for our site. My main goal is to allow artists a forum to display their work to the art-loving world. Please contact me at larry@findartbuyart.com and give me the contact information for the artists.

Thank you,
Larry Mitchell
larry@findartbuyart.comwww.findartbuyart.com

I took this photo while walking through the Philadelphia Museum of Art. If it looks familiar, it should. It is probably the most famous painting of George Washington that there is. It is also the model, I believe, for the dollar bill. If I am incorrect, I am sure someone will correct me. By the way, admittance to the art museum is by donation on Sundays. They will accept whatever you can afford. I usually end up giving more than regular admittance price simply because I believe that the art museum is one of the greatest values in the city of Philadelphia. I tend to get lost in the dynamic history in front of my eyes and I, being and amateur history buff, love to transport myself back to the time of the work that I am viewing and imagine myself in that period. I guess that’s what fascinates me most about art and history. I love to try to think about how the people felt and what their thoughts were at the time of creating that art or that particular era in history. Please view my photo and give me your impression.

Larry

larry@findartbuyart.com
www.findartbuyart.com

I was on the fence regarding photography being art as a pure art form. I, however, have committed to the fact that a well planned or a spontaneous photographic shot can be artistic in a variety of ways. One can be the setup such as a pose by a creative and authentic subject. The post production processes can create another effect. The work of Lee Miller at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a great example of photographic art. There is an artist on www.findartbuyart.com that meets the artistic requirement.

My subject this week is Rand. He has created a compelling variety of photographic techniques that intrigue and fascinate. Check his work on www.findartbuyart.com. His avocation is as a roadie for various shows in and about the city of Philadelphia. In this capacity, he occasionally takes photos that cause the viewer to sit up and take notice. Check his work and give me your opinion.

Also, look for some changes to Find Art Buy Art in the coming months. Several artists have made some suggestions for improvements and modifications. We have listened and are working on some features that will make the site more fun and interactive. It may also make the artists some more money. (We certainly hope so)

Larry
larry@findartbuyart.com
www.findartbuyart.com

This posting regards one of my wife's favorite artists. Actually, it is me, and I try to experiment with different setting on my digital camera to create effects that intrigue the mind. After many attempts at getting the moon to pose in the spot I wanted, I was able to take a photo that I thought worthy of posting. Please view my blog at http://lamitchell.findartbuyart.com/. If you click on the photo, you will see a bower dimly lit in the foreground with the moon cooperating in the background. I did not want to use a flash in fears of dimming the moon's effect. This is the result. I would certainly appreciate your feedback and input. I am no professional by any means but I like this one.

Thanks
Larry
larry@findartbuyart.com