La vie sous-marin

Effective and intriguing composition. I like it

Many thanks Christian, I find the subject intriguing too. I have experimented with a number of ways of painting it and this one is a a mixture of acrylics and acrylic inks. You can get some fantastic effects with the latter, but I had not mastered the technique and they disappeared for technical reasons.

I love it, love the colours and the texture really shines through, very appealing, you should be very proud of this piece.

Elizabeth, Thank you so much for your comment it is very encouraging and I'm glad someone else likes it too. I made a smaller version of this which is virtually identical (not the other one on this site) in acrylics. The one you have commented on is acrylic and acrylic inks. I have been trying to sell both of them since without success. Thanks again for your comment.

ArtKat what price do you have on it ? not that it makes any difference. I would buy it, I love it so much, but I should not.. I have collected many artists myself over the years, and I have a large collection for sale as it is. If I were you, I would email a pic to the retail boutique Art Dealers, that have a physical retail presence. I live in Australia, I bought a load of art from Tusk Gallery in South Yarra Vic they were close by, and promoted new and emerging artists. Have a look around your local area and find dealers. Artitsts I have collected include Claire Layman, Tessa Dodds, Polly Courtin to name a few. Do you have a web page or facebook page where people can view more of your Art ? Do a gooogle search to see the works of the artists I collected, although I collected the most between 2000 to 2008 and their works do change in style etc. http://tuskgallery.com/ I am simply giving you an example of what I am familiar with. I moved from Melbourne in 2011 and came back to the country.My art collection is for sale due to unfortunate family circumstances, and I am considering moving back to Melbourne in a year or so. I have converted my garage into an Art Studio, and opened it to the public for Saturdays only for about 8 weeks, I sold 2 pieces the first week, had a steady small stream of viewers, but no sales since. We have over 3000 local artists in the area to compete with. I have stopped painting at the moment, until I review the next step. I have a huge collection of my own work, completed over the past 30 years, but feel some of it is past its use by date, ie the horses and animals. You are welcome to message me here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elizabeth-A-Kilpatrick/509959472396010?ref=hl

Hi Elizabeth, Just a quick reply at the moment to thank you for your interest and all the information you have given me, which I will research over the weekend, including your own website. Don't know South Yarra, but have visited Sydney (wonderful) and have driven up to Brisbane and the Gold Coast. I entered the large version of my 'Sea life' with a price of 600 GBP to our Royal Academy Summer Exhibition - I thought it was exactly the kind of quirky thing they would go for, but they didn't.. The smaller one, I have priced at 120 GBP. Don't know whether you have ever visited our Summer Exhibition, but,, in my opinion, there is a staggering mix of the great,(in the minority) the awful and the outrageously priced - but it is great fun. Will be in touch soon. Best wishes .

Your work reminded me of Frank Hodgkinson, an Australian artist, now deceased. I cannot find copies or references of the particular exhibition, and art work I was looking for, but he had done a series on the Great Barrier Reef, using brilliant blue water backgrounds similar to yours, and colourful fish. I had seen the old invitation recently, have a feeling it was the Gould Gallery in Toorak in the mid 90's. There are a couple of remotely similar works here, but nothing as brilliant as the one I saw. No I have not ventured outside OZ, am not much of a traveller. check out the blues here for his works https://www.google.com.au/search?q=frank+hodgkinson+artist+australia&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=eL-6UenVJ8mtiQebnoDYDQ&ved=0CDAQsAQ4Cg&biw=1031&bih=648#facrc=_&imgrc=9cSTkgXLa-0JcM%3A%3BV_r9xOxJ7P-riM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wagnerartgallery.com.au%252Fgfx%252Fhodgkinson_frank-abiggerbunglebungle.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wagnerartgallery.com.au%252F290706-240806-FrankHodgkinson.php%3B900%3B657 http://www.etchinghouse.com.au/pages/artist_details.php?artist_id=20

Hi Elizabeth, I couldn't connect via your Facebook account and I have to send this message in two parts.. Thanks again for all the information you have given me, which I have enjoyed researching. • I loved Frank Hodgkinson’s work he was obviously a real artist, prolific and with a great range. • Tessa Dodds - I admire her beautiful figurative work as I do Polly Courtin’s work, her ‘ Nude Charcoal drawing on paper’ being my favourite. • Claire Layman - I think she creates some absolutely stunning artwork. You are obviously a real connoisseur of art. • I like all of your contemporary artwork collection, in particular, and my favourites include: The creek at Leneva, Autumn Leaves, ‘Commissioned work, acrylic and resin on canvas board’, Spring, summer, autumn. acrylic and resin on canvas board. The latter is my overall favourite and I would love to have it on my wall. It is exactly the kind of work that I aspire to - a masterful employment of simplicity and artistry to great effect. I am not familiar with the use of resin and will have to research it. Part two to follow.

Part two: I am still struggling to find my own style. I first painted about 15 years ago and did a few works without tuition, then I gave it up because I was too busy with work. I took it up again about 3 or 4 years ago and go to a local adult education college for two hours every week. Although I feel I have learned quite a lot about technique and art in general, I am frustrated that I can’t paint more ‘finely’ and when I look back at the few I did all those years ago it seems that I had much more control and finesse. I think I will have to accept that I will never be a good figurative painter (I think my best recent piece has been a portrait of Marylin Monroe), so I think I am inclining towards abstract works, such as some of yours. I would be grateful for your opinion on the direction I might take, if you have the time to look through some more of my works. I have established a relationship with a local gallery, but can only exhibit in a ‘local artists’ show once a year - the rest of the year is devoted to well-known and international artists. I have not had much luck with other local galleries, but have sold a bit on-line and at my college. I don’t have my own website but have most of my work on the following site, which can be a bit tricky to navigate. If you would like to have a look, please see the following: Go to www.painters-online.co.uk Click on ‘Gallery’ on the LHS At the bottom of the page, enter ‘artkatsurrey’ into the Search by User's Name: field Click on the first thumbnail image and it opens up to show seven different thumbnail images, each of which contains an album of images relating to the theme indicated. I think there are around 50 works shown in all. Best wishes, Norman

Norman ? this is still the outright fav of mine, I have been thru and made comments on some of your work, but I am only providing a personal view, I am like you, trying to eak out a living as an artist. There are some sites world wide where they promote your work for sale, they will organise the Giclee prints, and all framing on your behalf, no outlay required from you,****look here http://fineartamerica.com/printondemand.html You need to find web sites that promote your WORK FOR SALE, that promotes your work to the buying public, that has a large internet exposure I believe painters online is not that site, it is more of a 'learning vehicle' for those wanting to learn art.have a look at this site http://www.artsconnect.com.au/about.htm look here too, I believe this is a newer site, starting off, he is an art critique, has a special deal to feature your work, charges a one off fee of $50 to critique your work in the deal, otherwise its all free http://www.thisisart.com.au/ ***you need a website to show your work, finding your stuff on this site is like a rabbit warren,its not user friendly you need a facebook site, then add a separate page to promote your work, so you can lead viewers to see your work, and in an easy to use format and albums I appreciate your kind comments, BTW how did you see my work if you could not access my FB page ? you could see my art work on my personal FB even if you are not a friend, as I have allowed it to be available to the public ? I would like to know if there are problems accessing my FB page dedicated to the art , so please send the links that caused the problems Also you must be prepared to spend some time setting up a free website like FB, then searching the net for sites to promote you as an artist, I also think you have to use your name if you want recognition, then later do a google to see how many times your name shows up. There are sites out there searching for new artists, we just have to find them cheers