MY ART SCOUT

Here is a photo of the second part of the collaboration of Shea and I. The execution has begone! The concept is to take Shea's Sunset painting and paint a skeleton on plexiglass that will be mounted on top of her painting and hopefully give the effect of a heart shining through the bones. Wish me luck.

Kzme.fm/ArtclecticPDX

This is Shea, she is one of the talented artists at Art from the Heart. Shea painted this gorgeous painting title Sunset when she first started coming to Art from the Heart a year ago.

I have the pleasure of being her partner for the Creative Imagination Collaboration.


Shea is a sweet creative lady who loves to paint, loves the color pink, cats and her family. When I told her my idea to paint a skeleton rib cage over the sun so it looked like it is shining through she said "Cool, Bridget, that's really cool". I am very excited to watch the processes unfold and share it with all of you.

Below is a photo I took of the planning process. I am working up the courage to get started.

I am getting ready for a sit down with my good friends at KMZE and I came across these little old jems. So grab a coffee and a seat and give a listen.

I went to a really great seminar about copyright laws the other day taught by Peter Vaughan Shaver who specializes in art and music law at Mercy Corp NW. Mercy Corp offers 2-3 seminars a month on different topics plus you can sign up to have a sit down with a legal, bookkeeping or business professional. Check them out they are a wonderful resource to artists and small business owners . 

As artists you have all probably wondered about copyrights at one point or another and I would like to share a few things that I learned that might be of interest.

1.) What does copyright mean exactly? Copyright does not cover the ideas, only the individual expression of ideas. Copyright insures that no one can reproduce, modify, distribute or sell your work and that you have the total control of it's integrity. As artists it may fall on you to educate your clients/the public about what this means. Just because they bought that painting doesn't mean they own the copyrights. They are not allowed to copy or modify the painting. You just sold that one image to them. You still have the rights to sell that painting in other forms if you so choose. As the artist you do have the authority to sell the painting and the rights to someone or a business if you choose. Just think long and hard and maybe call Peter before you do. Just imagine as you are selling the right to your work, what if this image is used all over the world and made this company rich? How much should I sell it for?

2.)REGISTER YOU ART!!! especially if you are selling your design/art to a another company or have any concerns about someone misusing your art. It only cost 35$ per unit of art. Some artists will register a whole years worth of art at once so they only have to pay 35$ a year. Here is the link to register your work www.copyright.gov All you have to do is fill out the application and upload images of your work. Worse case scenario, you come upon some nasty copyright issues first thing you should do is get a copyright, it may not be too late. 

3.) KNOW THE LAW Oregon is one of the only states that has a consignment law. Check out this website http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/359.200 this is the official law. Check out this link if you do not speak legal jargon http://www.artcop.com/handouts/Consignments06.pdf  It will inform you of your rights as an artist. Consider a consignment agreement written up between you and the place that is showing your work.  Things happen and an agreement can help ease the rough roads that can come up and it also shows the person you are working with how professional you are.

So those are the major points and the facts I found interesting. Let me know if you would like to discuss this topic further or email Paul if you need some legal help pv@pdxsa.com

Art from the Heart is one of my favorite art organizations in Portland. They use the arts to promote an awareness of the cultural contributions from people of all disabilities. Creative Imagination Collaboration is a community project that is giving a handful of professional working artist in Portland a chance to learn from the artists at Art from the Heart by collaborating on a piece of work. Below there are 9 images that show the process That David and Shannon went through for there beautiful abstract sea-scape. There will be 12 finished paintings that will be available for auction on Sept 19th 6-8pm at Art from the Heart 3505 NE Broadway. Please join us.

David Marquoit is a veteran of Art from the Heart, and one of our most prolific artists. David absolutely loves to paint and is often found at his painting station, passionately absorbed in his work from the time he arrives in the morning until the time he leaves. Besides painting, he is also avidly involved in music group, ceramics, collage, drawing and weaving. David is a man who truly loves being engaged in the creative process. What he most likes about Art from the Heart, he says, is “talking to people” and “selling artwork.” David also enjoys going for walks, and enjoys watching TV, spending time with family, being involved in Special Olympics, and going to Mt. Scott dances in his spare time. 

Shannon Passon is a Portland native who returned to Oregon in recent years, after living in New Mexico and Georgia. Her work is Influenced by a feeling of place. Shannon experiments with a variety of media and innovative tools for a mark making. She finds the potential for transforming the process limitless

Mark your calendar for the Creative Imagination Collaboration: an auction of collaborative artwork created by the talented task force of artists from Art from the Heart and Art Scout. Sept 19th 6-8 pm at Art from the Heart, 3505 NE Broadway St Portland, OR 97232 

Art from the Heart is an art center and gallery for adults with developmental disabilities.  They strive to foster each artist’s creative growth, build positive relationships within our community, and promote an awareness of the cultural contributions from people of all abilities.  

Hello Illustrators! Here is a great opportunity for you. 

the client is looking for an illustrator that can do very comic bookish block/cell shading type stuff. they want to get a couple of characters illustrated and then turn it over to a fan-art sort of thing. the hope is to find an illustrator that can partner with this organization long-term...they have all sorts of ideas for future kid-targeted stories and learning materials that will be character based. they need somebody right away because they want to launch the first serialized novel online at the end of the month. they will provide an excerpt from the story and would like to do this on a commission basis. 

Let me know if you are interested

I have been working with Anna Magruder for over 3 years and not only is she an amazing artist that I have seen grow leaps and bounds in these few years, but she is one of the kindest people I have meet here in Portland. She is unpretentious and totally as approachable as her whimsical paintings. 

Anna was a graphic designer for 15 years before she took the daring plunge in 2009 into the life of a full-time painter, and her sense of adventure has paid off.  Since then she has had countless shows around Portland, has a successful Etsy Shop, her work has appeared on Portlandia, she has been interviewed for OPB's Art Beat, and she has giving back to the community by donating art to several charities. She has also volunteered her time to Siren Nation a community that supports local female artists, musicians, film-makers and visionaries.   

Here is the winning Portlandia moment.

"One Saturday morning, while vacationing at a friend’s house in the Vancouver area last summer, we decided to visit a farmer’s market. We strolled toward a vendor with a 10' pirate flag in front of their stand. Intrigued, we approached the vendor to see what the pirate flag was all about. A husband and wife, donned in pirate gear (yes, eye patches as well), in their middle to upper 50's were selling various baked goods, one of which was their "famous", organic, "brussell sprout" apple pie. 

They greeted us with smiles, pirate accents and immediately thrusted a plate of "brussels sprout" apple pie samples towards us. "Free samples!" was written, in sharpie, directly onto the non-bleached, recycled paper plate. They explained how there were no apples in the apple pie, mind you, but brussels sprouts that served as a healthier, more sustainable substitute. The man must have given me 5 trifold brochures with literature ranging from the healing powers of brussels sprouts to the evils of Monsanto. 

I was reluctant to take a sample at first but the lady said to me, "If you close your eyes, it tastes just like apple pie". Of course it did not, but I choked it down with a smile and said, "Mmm.. you're right!" Now I felt obligated to buy something, so I purchased a brussels sprout quiche from them instead. After I made the purchase, the man said, "Let me show you something. Everything that we sell comes directly from our farm - eggs included. I want you to meet the little lady who helped make your quiche!" He brought out a very weary looking caged hen who was dressed in a hen-sized Hawaiian shirt and a hen-sized straw hat rubber banded to her little hen head. "Meet Lady! Lady has been laying for us for 12 years! She laid every single egg in that quiche you purchased!" Bumfuzzled, I smiled, thanked the old couple and we departed. My friend said, “Welcome to Vancouver!”"

Only one more day to enter your most Portlandia moment for the chance to win this one of a kind "Bad Art " painting. all comments left on twitter, facebook and on this website will be considered. Good Luck!

I just had a great meeting with Joey Klei over at Eastbank Commerce Center and they are looking for up and coming artists to show in their lobbies and hallways. If interested email your images or a link to your website to joey@beamdevelopment.com it is a fun space with great people.

This painting of a cat who is about to eat a goldfish while wearing an eye patch and a sweater(?) was one of the many "bad art" paintings made for the Bad Art Good Walls sketch in Season 2 of Portlandia, by local Art Scout artists. This painting can be yours! All you have to do is write about the most Portlandia thing you have ever witnessed in the comment section of this post and I will contact the one I think is the best 

It is sad for me to be moving my blog after 4776 hits, 82 posts the first dated July 2008. It reminds me of how Art Scout got started and how much fun I have had over the years.  With a new website it was time to move the blog but please feel free to enjoy the achieves at http://myartscout.blogspot.com