Julia Trops Artist Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-29

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Aug 292010

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Julia Trops Artist Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-22

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Aug 222010

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Our Life Models Are More Than Still Life

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Aug 072010
Ink on board sold

ink on board, sold

The difference between my models and others was made clear to me today. A new potential model asked me if I was going to tell him how to pose, when to turn, how long he should stay in one pose. I said no that the model was responsible for all of this.

My models are independent thinking human beings who retain control over their person. They choose whether to be draped, semi or undraped. They are given very loose direction for the performance during the sessions.

The majority of artists in Livessence continue, in their drawing or painting, to remember and respect the models humanity. I am of the opinion that an observer would be able to tell the difference between an artist rendering of a human still life and the capturing of the human existence.

I believe that these days, there are more artists who fall in the latter category rather than the former. I think it has to do with the awareness of the artist himself for others and this sensitivity is what gives that additional consciousness to their work.

Posted by juliatrops at 8:58 pm Tagged with: , , , , ,

Cross cultures – cross purposes?

Artworks No Responses »
May 082010

Not really sure how to start this one out except to say Aloha from sunny Hawaii. I’m in Hawaii with my family and we are enjoying the sun and the wind. Getting lots of vitamin D that’s for sure.

Chris and I were here 15 years ago when we were still in the military. We came on a five day training flip. At that time I don’t remember it being so … Americanized. The area we are staying in is Waikiki and our first day we just took it easy, we went to costco for our week’s meals then walked around the beach area. Vendors, many vendors , selling the waikiki experience, the hawaiian attitude of colour and flowers and grace. Some were not so graceful as they tried to lure the fish in from the sea of tourists as they walked by.

Yesterday we went to the Bishop museum. Chock full of the authentic Hawaiian culture, the building was almost empty. Gorgeously carved wooden statues and meticulously interpreted artifacts were displayed in three sided glass cases encased in wood themselves. From astronomy to traditional calendars to politics and warfare to the eventual takeover by missionaries and absorption into the western culture. I am not a church hater but I do believe they have a lot to answer for. Genocide of a different form has occurred here and elsewhere in the world. I could feel the anguish of an almost lost culture by the Daughters of Hawaii Supported and encouraged by Bernice Bishop, a Hawaiian Princess who turned down ruling, the Daughters have created a haven for the Hawaiians to come and remember their heritage.

Immediately after the Bishop museum we went to what was billed as a traditional luau at Paradise Cove, near Ko Olina. We were here at this exact luau 15 years ago and wanted our children to see it too. The only difference was that we visited the Bishop Museum this time, we didn’t last time. I am so very glad we did. The contrast between tradtional and modern could not have been more stark. The luau was very enjoyable as an outing but most of my enjoyment came from watching fat attendees waddle from one event to another, called by the pu’u, the conch shell. Repetious long calls on the shell talked over by a pretty hawaiiaan girl on a microphone saying “follow the call of the pu’u, the conch shell to your next event” over and over and over and over until the sea of cattle moved from one place to another. Spear throwing, hula dancing, old canoes on the tiny bay, three to a canoe changing out after one trip which took approximately 30 seconds. Not to mention it took five to ten minutes to get these three people in the boat and seated.

I came back to the hotel room last night with a lot of dismay at the status of the current Hawaiian situation. The Hawaiian culture is not even touched on the barest of surfaces by many of these tourists and I believe it is a sad state when people don’t know any different. This world today is a shallow place and I wonder at it.

I am almost welcoming the catastrophe expected in 2012 to wash away and clear out the guck in our consciousness. I suspect people will look to tradition to start the rebuild process and maybe this time they’ll be smart enough to tell the church to keep their noses out of it. Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Posted by julia at 11:36 am Tagged with: , , , , ,

The Question of Prints – To do or not to do….

Artworks, marketing 1 Response »
Apr 262010

I received a question today on whether to do prints of work, or not. My answer is this:

“I can tell you unabashedly that I am not a fan of prints, and quite bluntly, I believe that artists who do prints bring down the value of their work. Do I have substantiation for that? Not at all – It is my perception that artists who do prints “sell out” for the $$ rather than the intrinsic value of what art is.

Now some people do not agree and that is okay, but I will not do prints of my work – with the exception of photography, because the nature of photography is that there really is no original except what is on the camera or the digital card. Digital art, there is really no original except what is on the screen. For each of these, I do limited edition, ie 100 or less – usually 50, which makes it a true limited edition – not the Robert Bateman 25,000 limited edition, do you see?

But what about making your artwork affordable? Affordable – hmmm – that’s a kettle of fish. You’ve got on one hand, the people who really can not afford a work (but may be able to do a payment plan), or the others who don’t want to spend $$ on original art because they don’t see or understand the value. If you want to step in to the print market, consider doing work that is specifically FOR prints – leave your “serious” work untouched.

I believe that part of my role as an artist is to help people understand the value of original work – yes, you pay for it, but there is a reason it is costly. I believe that if you do prints, then haven’t you bought in to the idea that original art is not worth it?

Anyway – what I DO do, is small 4×5 or 5×7 advertising cards, postcards that have my name on them or that I use for advertising the studio or shows – I do nothing larger than that. These are postcards that some people do frame, or they give away as gifts. The cost on these is about 2$ or 3$ retail.

If you were to do prints, you need to justify it within yourself, without regard to what other people think. Do what is right for you, just as I do what is right for me. If someone asks then I am happy (lol!) to say what I think. But I can tell you that when people ask me if I do prints, and I say no, there is a huge sigh of relief – as well, you need to know that some galleries will not take you if you do prints. But again, you need to figure that one out for yourself.

There is no real right or wrong answer – it depends on what your end goal is, what your vision is for your work. Stay true to yourself, and do what you need to do, and no one can say anything that really matters.

Posted by juliatrops at 11:42 am Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
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