ART NEWS

Radio 'Goo Goo'

Some details in on the airtime of the interview I did some weeks ago for local BBC Radio York, a bit short notice I know but here are the details finally!

If you miss the show it should be making an appearance on my profile page on the BBC website, not 100% sure if that's on the main Radio page as well as my profile page, will post details once the audio is available.

[18th Nov 06] [back] [top]

Name Change

Of the web site, well not quite. I've registered a new domain name - NYArt (North Yorhkshire Art, or 'New Young Art' or anything you care to think of that starts with 'N' and 'Y' and ends in 'Art') to make it easy for everyone to remember. So from now on you can type http://www.nyart.co.uk and be forwarded to here. At some point in the future I'll update the hosting and get a better 'news' system into place so you can leave comments directly on the site, subscribe to an RSS feed and maybe one or two other things.

To the news. I got some mail this week that highlighted something that's not been touched on yet; art scammers using 'legit' companies as 'fronts'.

Technically they're not using them as a proper 'front' in the sense that they're a member of said organisations and proffering that as their company. Rather what they do is just give links to legitimate companies in the mail they send out so it appears kosher to the casual eye.

The mail that was forwarded on to me by the artist that got it as part of the scam she had recently was a case in point. It was from the fraudsters supposed shipping company going under the name of 'Westward Freight Ltd', which on quick investigation, appears to be a legitimate business. Aside from the fact that the shipping Co. was associated with the usual art scam attempt, what gave it away was the use of a .yahoo.co.uk e-mail address - freightltd@yahoo.co.uk, they should really have been using an address more along the lines of sales@westwardfreightltd.com instead, certainly regarding a company that appears to be as big as WWF seems to be.

So the moral of this tale is to watch out for little telltale signs like that in mail you get back from these people.

Other news, no update on the BBC Radio York show yet. Should be in the next week or two.

[3rd Nov 06] [back] [top]

Radio 'Ga Ga'

BBC Radio York are doing a series of programs about the arts in their broadcast area and luckily I was asked to be their inaugural interviewee, so to speak! I'll post showtime details once I've got them but right now I know the show goes out on Monday 16th Oct (next week) but I don't know the time.

The questions weren't what I was expecting, but in a good way, so it should make for an interesting few minutes of art chat.

The one thing that wasn't covered was the realities of being an artist. At face value it's an occupation like any other; it's done partly to pay the bills and keep food on the table. But as is common these days that's not enough, from a finacial point of view, so many artists choose to suppliment their incomes with additional work, usually that means teaching art; if art is what you know then why not find something that requires the use of that knowledge.

Others take a tangent and work is found in other 'creative' fields. For myself that's web design and technical support, both of which are 'creative'; web site design in an 'obvious' way; technical support less so but still requiring many of the traits used in the creative process.

At this 'local art' end of the scale (a Slone Street represented artist at the other), it's just part of the course, something that's more often than not 'required', it doesn't however mean that one is no longer an artist, one just has to diversify to meet the needs of todays living.

Oh there was something I wanted to mention in relation to the interview, for all of those that don't have a web site it's a good idea to get yourself set up with one. Why? This site you're reading right now was part of the reason I was choosen for the aforementioned interview; as Forest often said ".. yeh nev'r know wha' yeh gonna' geyt".

[10th Oct 06] [back] [top]

La Ronde

La Ronde

I was asked to do a 'painting' for a poster that was to be for Ant Theatres latest production, La Ronde, at the Brokley Jack theatre in London but the design was pulled at the last minute in favour of something more 'photographic'.

Because it was needed so quickly I had to do a digital painting; I would have prefered to have done a real painting simply because the brushstrokes 'matter'; paintings are much more than just a subject being represented, the brushmarks and the way the paint is used is just as telling about what's going on within the confines of the picture frame as the 'picture' itself (in this case a woman with a drape).

It's easier to control the colour of a real painting as well, you get used to or familiar with your 'palette' so you know what kind of colours go together to get the effect you're after. Quite involved this painting lark, it's not all absynth and smokey cafes!.

[9th Oct 06] [back] [top]

Model for Hire

No not me, a Leeds based artists life model got in touch with me about 'Life' and 'Portrait' modelling services, both of which I don't personally do at the moment, but knowing that a fair few of you do here are her details (with her permission I should add); if you're an artist in the Yorkshire area then you can make enquiries at the following address;

More details to follow when available.

Other news; another couple of names to add to the growing list of 'active' art scammers! Thanks to the artists that sent these through.

This chap purports to originally be from South Africa, Cape Town (the home of possibly the most Internet savvy art lovers in the world perhaps!?), and followed the usual format of contact; liked a painting, wanted to know the price etc. The artist that sent these details through has an agent and even repeated requests for the buyer to contact them failed to get through to the chap!.

Another couple of names sent through, no details on these ones except the following;

As per usual, keep an eye out for people you see appearing on the list and let your fellow artists know about them, esp. if they Internet 'luddites'!.

Oh almost forgot, spam e-mails.

This has been going on for a long time but I thought I'd comment on it after a friend mentioned it to me on MSN; apparently he gets quite a bit of mail that purports to be 'from' me (info@kenbeyer.ndo.co.uk). It's not, unless I actually send the mail myself otherwise it's spam that's 'spoofing' my address - I've no idea how that happens other than to think that once you name gets on an e-mail spammers list that's it.

How do I know it's spam? Well apparently I send spam to myself; From info@kenbeyer.ndo.co.uk To info@kenbeyer.ndo.co.uk. As I also do tech support I know more than just a little bit about fixing, repairing and the general upkeep of computers and associated security; I can say without hesitation my computers and network aren't acting as spam 'zombies' (compromised remote computers that spammers have control over) sending this stuff out to you.

So no, any mail you receive from 'me' that's not about art is not in fact from the real flesh and blood 'me' - speaking of which, I've added another photo to the 'me' page.

[4th Oct 06] [back] [top]

'My' write to reply

I've been wanting to do this for you guys for a long time and finally I've sorted it out, you can now comment on Art related issues that are raised on the site so I went ahead and created a MySpace page which I'll be using to hopefully keep the Art news more frequently up to date than I can do with this web site; I'd like to do that here but circumstance conspire to prevent that for the moment.

However MySpace will do the job nicely especially becasue it allows you to 'subscribe' to the news as well as make comments. So visit and get the RSS feed and be kept up to date.

[31st Aug 06] [back] [top]

Prints, posters and all things arty

I've had a few requests for this so if you've been visiting the site for a while thinking that some of the paintings you see here would make great posters to hang on your walls, then your thoughts have been answered because I've opened up a Cafe Press shop from which you can now buy framed and unframed prints and posters of the work on show for yourself or as gifts.

Currently the colourful Coneysthorpe Bank Wood painting is available to buy as an unframed poster in large, small and mini size, or you can buy the large poster framed. Visit "The Artist Studio" store for further details and to purchase your prints.

Don't worry if you don't see a print you'd like to buy as I'm in the process of adding more items to the shop, so if you want buy a poster of a painting from the site but don't see it, just drop me a line and I'll try and get it added ASAP.

[19th Aug 06] [back] [top]

Interesting update

Messrs. Robert James has another address;

His other address is the one in the previous news item. By the way, this information was sent through anonymously - which the contact for does by default, it puts my address in the e-mail header - so if you want me to reply to you you'll need to add your own address to the form before submitting.

A slight deviation from normal, the artist was provided with a number of locations in his area that (apparently) accepted 'Money Gram' (brand name?) transfers to the address above. As they appear to be legitimate businesses one wouldn't expect them to be involved with the scam itself (although saying that, Wal Mart does raise an eyebrow!). They are as follows;

There's also a new name and e-mail address associated with the above;

As is common with these events the artist was requested to forward payment to the shipper the moment he got the check, don't what ever you do, do that. Put the check in the bank by all means and notify them you suspect it's fraudulent; be prepared to pay a small transfer or administrative fee. Delay any response back to the so called purchaser other than "I don't send cash out until the cash in has cleared", and watch the money 'vanish' a few days later. When that happens question the bank about it and see what they say.

Last but not least a new name to watch out for;

The tip off for this one was the use of the same Netherlands telephone number that been mentioned in previous news updates; 3160043292.

[29th July 06] [back] [top]

Urgent Call to Arms!

A couple of things for this update;

First : If you've been at the receiving end of an Art e-mail scam then drop me a line ASAP. It doesn't matter how 'deep' you were hooked into the scam, so simply getting an e-mail sent to you is enough.

The reason for the request? It might now be possible to do something (politically, legally) about all this spam we get - but first we need to gauge how extensive the problem is. So send in any stories or information you can ASAP; it doesn't matter which country you're in by the way because the only way we can really do something about this is if you send in what info you have so it can all be collected together.

Second : It's been unusually quiet on the Art scam front - do scammers go on holiday? If so where to?! - it would be nice to think that our combined efforts of posting information about these spammers to the Internet is having an effect, but taking off the rose tinted glasses for a moment to look around, it's unlikely!

Third : New names and details I forgotten to add that go back a few weeks/months;

Fourth : I've been thinking about adding some content to the site that is specifically to do with the 'craft' of being an artist, 'hints and tips' if you will. It's still early days yet as there are a lot of topics that could be covered.

As always watch this space for more info.

[17th July 06] [back] [top]

All Quiet on the Western Front, updates

I was holding off for posting any news recently (pretty much a month to the day!) waiting on some details to come through from a couple of artists that had been caught slap bang in the middle of a scam. They sent through some initial details - to follow - asking for advice, which they got - by the way, if you find yourself in a pickle get in touch via the site and provide some details about the predicament you're in; I've been told by the artists that have got in touch that having someone else to run things like this past has helped a great deal.

Back to the news... One artist got as far through the fraud process as to have received a cheque, which was deposited and 'cleared' by the bank. He later told me that the money simply "vanished", it's not clear yet what that means, but suffice to say he ended up having to pay the bank a 'fee' of some sort; an added kick in the proverbial 'nuts' for artists (pardon my 'French').

Needless to say that if you find yourself in the middle of such a scan after having recived some money, inform your bank ASAP and delay any communication with the originator, or at the very least inform them that "payment is still being processed and may take several weeks"; you've got to delay them as long as possible so the bank - if they kick into action - can trace the origins of the money.

In both instances they received the standard art fraud e-mail letter of introduction, with variations here and there pertaining to the sender and art work supposedly being bought. So as usual, keep your eyes pealed for these e-mails.

New names and details

Incidently, I wonder when these guys will run out of @myway e-mail addresses that have the word 'ship' in them;

[26th May 06] [back] [top]

BBC NYArts feature-ette

I got a little featurette on the BBC North's web site , it's actually part of their 'Artists Quarter' where some of the North Yorkshire regions professional artists are on display. There's actually some interesting work to look at from other artists in the quarter so it's certainly worth a visit for a look.

[26th Apr 06] [back] [top]

A picture speaks a thousands words

But how much is it worth in cold, hard, cash?

We're not especially talking Van Gogh or Monet here, rather your local contemporary *living* artist. Someone whose work you can see in the local art gallery you've just wandered in to by accident on a bank holiday weekend. The person that painted a 'picture' that's made you say "ooo, that's nice, I quite like that". How much would you pay for that experience to be hanging on your wall?

Pricing works of art is probably the most difficult aspect of being an artist, the irony being, after all, they are basically 'products' right? Well that's where things start to get tricky.

The problem is, 'Art', doesn't have the same quantifiable manufacturing process comparison as a 'product' (unless that process was part of the 'art'); it doesn't take 'X' hours to produce a single 'unit'; or 'X' seconds or minutes - if looked at specifically from a purely mechanical manufacturing point of view; the very nature of the beast means that fundamentally the time varies from piece to piece instantly removing it from the 'manufacturing' comparison - some take an hour or two, other's take months, even years in the case of big pieces or work that's in a constant state of 'flux' (for want of a better word).

How do you price, or rather, what 'value' should be assigned to this picture that made you go "Ooo"? They're not unit number 1,567,223 of 100,000,000 items dropped into a cardboard box at the end of a production line, but instead each is more often than not, a completely unique object; there is no other like it, literally. Is knowing this 'worth' something? Does 'uniqueness' have a greater monetary value than 'sameness', a print for instance, that can be picked up from the 'cheap and cheerful' bookshop?. Do people value having a unique object on their walls or decorating their homes more than having something that everyone else has (and thus the 'peace of mind' afforded by knowing others have what you have and by proxy, that you have 'taste').

How much does 'fashion' or 'reputation' effect the price of that same painting you saw in that local gallery? The interesting thing about this is that it's actually an 'abstract', it has nothing to do, necessarily, with the 'quality' or 'craftsmanship' of the art work; you don't pay more for better quality workmanship (necessarily), it's simply a factor of 'saleability', of 'branding'; the same thing that's applicable to a BMW; another 'tag' to tell you that what you're buying is 'worth' something to others. What you're actually getting for that money is in fact incidental and secondary to what you're being told about it, in effect you're buying the objects 'street cred', not the object itself.

Do you have the self conviction, confidence and awareness of what you like to buy that painting that made you go "Ooo" for a couple of hundred knowing that your friends, colleagues or associates may laugh at you doing so? It's not an 'investment' - don't be fooled or tricked into thinking this by what the gallery salesman tells you - it's value won't necessarily increase over time, at least not whilst you're alive - unless you happen to buy a painting from the next David Hockney, Van Gogh or Monet. The funny thing is, for an artist, pricing isn't our problem, we know how much the work we produce is worth (in realistic, everyday terms), the question is do you? Can you ask yourself "I think this bit of art is worth me paying '£X' for it", if you can then the artist has priced the artwork right.

[17th Apr 06] [back] [top]

'Michael Mills' scam

Another new name and e-mail address, we've even got a telephone number for this guy - Michael Mills using michaelmill0001@yahoo.com e-mail address, maybe someone should give the guy a call and have a chat - +31620043292 - that is of course if the number works!. The shipping company e-mail shippingcompany@myway.com has cropped up before as well although, as was the case here, there is no actual company name - 'Artifacts Shipping' for example (myway.com looks it's a legitimate search engine portal, similar to yahoo in fact).

He used a standard e-mail using the same formula that has been seen before; interest is shown in a few artworks, payment will be sent via 'Western Union money transfer' in Euros and greatly in excess of the price quoted by the artist - in this instance, art quoted at €1700, payment transfer to have been €4000, the difference between the two of €2300 to be paid to the buyers 'own' shipping company.

See the news item on Brandon Loach below to see what could have happened if this had gone all the way through.

Good day, and thanks for the mail.

Am o.k with the price of the ([removed]). Am still interesting in purchasing it. Dont worry about the shipping,i have my shipping agent that will carry out the shipping and other neccessary arrangements.

I am sending you the check of 4,000 euros,so you have to get your own 1700 euros. for the ([removed], and send the remaining excess funds on the check to the shipping company, through western union money transfer for the pickup of the ([removed]),from your place.

Here is the information that i need from you ,where the payment will be
made out to. Your Full name that will be written on the check


Full Name........
Full Address..........
City.........
Zip Code..........
State..........
Country.............
Phone Number.........


Get back to me as soon as possible with theseinformation today. I will
await ! this information from you.

Thanks and God bless..and here is my number +31620043292 you can give me call anytime also here is the shipping company email who is going to come for the pick up you can email them any time. shipingcompany@myway.com and also am from Netherlands.

Best Regards, Michael.

[27th Mar 06] [back] [top]

'Mary Simmons' scam

A new name and e-mail address was send through to be added to the art scam hot list ; Mary Simmons with the following e-mail - mary_simmons01@yahoo.com.

The gist of this one was a prospective Art lover buying some photographs (from the artist who sent the scam details through) which they wanted to hang in their "new apartment" in Johannesburg, South Africa, going on to say they were in the process of "travelling" from London.

"I will be happy to have these selected artworks hanged in our new home. What are their prices exclusive of shipping cost? We are travelling from our London home to our new apartment in Joannesburg, South Africa."

The interesting thing with this particular art scam was that the initial message was worded almost word for word like some previous correspondence I've received from a number of sources stating pretty much the same thing; 'travelling from London to SA'.

[23rd Mar 06] [back] [top]

A 'Local' art scam

A message came through today from a fellow artist with another e-mail to add to the growing 'art scam' list (should that read as art scum?); one James Lynn, e-mail address of rev_james01@yahoo.com. E-mail as follows (the usual generic request);

Hello sales,
I will like to order for some important and urgent items from your store but before i proceed i will like you to advise me if you do ship internationally and get me the cost for the Air frieght to Africa. Kindly get back to me with if you do serve to my needs so that i can send you the list of the items i want to order for and you can send me the price so that i can forward you my credit card details i.e( VISA/MASTER CARD) to charge for the fast means of payment. Kindly get back to me with your website so that i can send the list of your product.

Along with the above info was an important little 'tale' that all artists should really be aware of. Although it's generally much easier to spot an international art scam, the opposite is often true for 'local' art scams, scams run from your own back door step (figuratively speaking), from your own town our county (basically anywhere within easy reach by various forms of land based transport).

The artist said that he nearly lost some work last year when he submitted some prints to a gallery he had received an invitation to exhibit with. He physically went there himself to drop off the work (primarily because he was 'sceptical' of the event) and found there was indeed a 'real' gallery being set up.

It turns out that the exhibition had been set up by some art scammers that had hired the gallery space from the owners (which is a common practice), sold as much of the work as they could on eBay and then disappeared with the cash. Fortunately our artist friend got his prints back; many of the exhibiting artists that didn't had submitted originals.

The moral of the story? "If in doubt, check it out" (repeat as Mantra until the words become part of your soul).

If an art 'event' you get an invitation to participate in is happening locally to you, pop down and check it out, ask who they are, how artists get paid, what methods they use; and then check those details out. This is doubly so if the invitation is from a local gallery or studio/display space you've never heard of, ask your fellow artist friend if they've heard of the place; artists generally are a tight community so what one knows you can pretty much guarantee several other do as well.

[2nd Mar 06] [back] [top]

Chinese brushes and water-colour painting

A good friend of mine, who also happens to be an artist, steered me towards these and I've never looked back; Chinese paint brushes.

There's one big advantage in using Chinese brushes for water-colour painting that traditional brushes don't seem to have; you can load Chinese brushes up with coloured water allowing you to paint much more nebulous marks on your paper. Traditional brushes only seem to hold so much water because of the way the hairs of the paint brush are tightly packed together to create a brush head similar to a dart point. Chinese paint brushes on the other hand have a much thicker body which just seems to soak much more water in to it.

Obviously whether using Chinese brushes for painting water-colour pictures suits you or not depends on the type of painting you actually do; they are much more suited to a looser style of painting, although, having said that, you can buy them in different sizes to cater to how 'fine' you need to paint. Personally I find the larger the better, but then my painting tends to be pretty 'nebulous'.

The interesting thing about using Chinese brushes for water-colour painting is how they are held when being used - and you don't realise the difference until you try this - unlike traditional brushes which we (Westerners) hold like a pen or pencil, Chinese brushes tend to be 'propped up' in the hand rather than grasped or held by it. There is a difference.

This allows for a much more relaxed range of movement that's not possible holding brushes the 'Western' way; it's pretty much physically impossible - we tend to 'grasp' at a brush which creates a lot of stiffness and tension in the hand and wrist (which can result in RSI).

To compensate for this, I use a technique when painting oils (much to my artist friends amusement) that means when I'm painting I looked like I'm sword fighting the canvas - I tend to hold the brush at the very end of the handle so it sits on top of my fingers - resting in on the upper side of my index finger (the bit you can touch with your thumb) - being supported by my thumb, I don't grasp the brush. This means I get a lot of distance between me and the canvas and in doing so allows me the freedom of movement I need when painting.

If you've never tried any of the above, go grab a Chinese brush from your local Art shop and give it a go, you might surprise yourself. Also try different ways of holding the brushes you do have and see if you can find a relaxed poise that creates less tension in your hand and wrist area; depending on your painting style, you should be aiming for a relaxed full range of movement of the wrist.

[19th Feb 06] [back] [top]

Mary Baure art scam

The funny thing about the following art scam e-mail was that it was sent to an artist that doesn't do the kind of art work commented on in the e-mail. 'Mary Baure' said she was looking at some 'fibre' ("firbe") art work when she came across the artists site; trouble is the artist doesn't do 'fibre' art!

That's another clue in figuring out whether an e-mail is an attempted scam; are they asking about the right kind of work relative to what you do as an artist.

hello i,m mary baure

Hope this message finds you well,I came across some lovely and creative firbe artworks on your site while searching for good artworks and I will like to buy some of this creative artworks out of your stock.

I will be happy to have these selected artworks hanged in our new home. What are their prices? We are travelling from our USA home to our new apartment in Joannesburg, South Africa.

Regarding payment,I will be happy to pay you with a certified money order An urgent reply we be appreciated. Thanks.

Regards, Mary.

I'm just getting clarification on an e-mail address which should be added a bit later - rolanddotun1999@yahoo.com. Another one for the 'hotlist'.

Ok, part two of the communication follows. As per usual, they have their own 'shipping company'. The mail is copy/pasted 'as is' so no appolgies for grammer or spelling;

hello

thanks for your mail sorry for my late reply .. i would like to know some of your cheapest at works ..i have already bugjet up to 1000$ for the art work so pleas let me know the art designs from 1000$-450$ ....

SHIPPING ; i have a shipper who works with a shipping company so he would make arrangments and they would come and pick up the art work in your house so pleas dont borther about the shiping

i would instruct my shipper to mail you the money

as soon as you get the money you can cash it then deduct the money for the art work from the money and send the remaining back to my shipper and he would make arrngmenty and come to pick up the art work at your residence ..

pls i hope you understand me ...

this is my shippers contatc mail yemioro1999@yahoo.com

ensure to send me the info;

name ,
address
, city
country
,phone number.
and let me know the prices range so i can know my bugjet

waiting for you

[7th Feb 06] [back] [top]

Daylight simulation lighting and painting

As an artist you're more than likely going to be doing some painting or creative work indoors. If you have a well lit studio space with lots of natural sunlight coming through large or numerous windows then you're pretty much 'OK' when it comes to light.

However, trying to work at night or in relatively 'dark' area means you're going to need to be using artificial light sources, the trouble is there's a really big problem with this; colour fidelity

If you're at all serious about your art and creative work then you need to be using 'daylight simulation' bulbs - either plain 'daylight' or if you need a bit of therapy at the same time, 'full spectrum' lighting.

Daylight simulation lighting is a greatly underestimated but essential 'tool' for artists and painters for the simple reason that they allow you to see clearly the colour palette you use whilst you work; the ordinary incandescent lights used for general household lighting is comparatively yellow which does effect your colour choice and palette which means that when you subsequently view work in natural daylight (during the daylight hours) it'll have a yellow tint to it that may make the painting look rather 'flat'.

The 'artists' minimum recommendation is that you at least get a daylight bulb - normal bulbs coated in a special blue covering that alters the light emitted so it resembles 'white' (day) light. Or the more expensive alternatives are fluorescent daylight simulation bulbs or, as was mentioned above, fluorescent full spectrum bulbs. The main difference between these latter two is that full spectrum bulbs also emit 'safe' levels of Ultra Violet (UV) light which is useful (ne. helpful) in regards to light therapy - SAD sufferers.

Your local art supply shop will stock the cheaper blue coated bulbs but not the more expensive florescent, those you may find in a good hardware store or you can order them online from GBBulbs here.

[2nd Feb 06] [back] [top]

Fantasy Art

I remember when I was going for my interviews for University (a good number of years ago now) that in one particular instance I got into a 'heated' debate with one of the panel who happened to be the History of Art tutor for that establishment. It got so heated in fact (but not in any aggressive or overtly argumentative way I must add) that one of the other tutors had to break up the discussion. Needless to say I got refused from that University!.

The History of Art tutor had picked up on the fact that I had a couple of essays on the subject of 'Fantasy Art as a legitimate art form' so he proceeded to question me on it.

My 'argument', which I don't think he understood, was that Fantasy Art was valid for the same reasons that Religious Art was valid, it was a medium of iconic images, images that had overtly 'spiritual' connotations - which could be argued were wholly of a 'Pagan' meaning and origin - that had nothing to do with a grounded reality, Religious Art is point out was 'fantasy'.

He obviously wouldn't have me debasing 'highbrow art' like that and kept saying that this was nonsense so I kept asking him why, he couldn't answer except to say that it was because you only see them on book cover illustrations. Well that's not really the 'art' is it? That's just a 'print' in exactly the same way as one can get a print of The Sistine Chapel; the actual painting the artist painted is itself the Artwork not the print, pretty much in the same way the Sistine Chapel painting itself is the 'art' and not the print of it.

What does all this mean? Well the phrase that "good Art speaks to you regardless of what it is" is a falsehood. The reason? Because some people simply close their minds and eyes to 'alternative' types of expression and thusly other types of 'good art'. Their loss I guess *shrugs*.

Fantasy Art examples
Warning : some of the following links contain nudity

If I can find where I've slung the essays on fantasy art I'll try and dig them out. No doubt the opinions and views stated in them will have changed over the years, but it should be interesting to read them 15+ years after the fact!.

[back] [top]

Scrap metal sculptures

This is worse than uneducated thieves cutting paintings out of picture frames not understanding they're severely devaluing the object they hope to resell to someone.

Now comes the news of a new type of threat to art; art thieves are targeting outdoor sculpture installations not for the money they can get on a closed art market by selling the stolen artwork to the private art market demand, but instead for the pittance they can get in comparison for the value of the sculptural pieces as scrap metal, notably for the heavy metal phosphor bronze they're often made from.

There have been a number of thefts in recent months, apparently mostly in the South and in or around London, including a Henry Moore that had an artistic value of several million pounds, as scrap a couple of thousand.

The message that needs to be sent out to everyone... if you own, run, or know someone with outdoor art installations in place they (you) need to beef up security around them NOW.

This is what you get from an education system that devalues art to such an extent that people see nothing more in it than the scrap from which it is made.

[back] [top]

New details on Henk Goulven

A small update on the Henk Goulven art scam. It appears 'he' is from the Netherlands; an e-mail I was sent through from another artist had him (Henk G) make mention that he was from that location.

Also from another artist, as is typical with these scammers he proposed sending a check through in excess of the amount payable; the artist took their cut and then was to forward the remainder through to his 'shipping' company. The irony of this was the costs involved; the shipping costs were x3 more than the cost of the painting itself! That's just really bad business sense spending that much cash to get a product!

Anyway additional Henk Goulven details to watch out for below.

By the way, don't take these attempt to scam you personally, to them it's just a numbers game and you happen to be one of those numbers; send out enough 'requests' and they're bound to get a couple of returns which make it worth their while.

Royal Art Assets

Just came across this interesting web site whilst doing a search on Rolf Harris' portrait of Queen Elizebeth II. It actually contains some very intereting work that's worth looking at; the current featured exhibition is about 'fans' (the kind you waft to keep cool) and has a number of examples from the 1700s that are in remarkably good condition.

Rolfs portrait of the Queen looks like something Monet would have done and thankfully it's not a photorealistic representation of her and it odes make the sitter look and feel more like a person rather than a formally posed statue. It's worth taking a look at the painting as this is Rolf the 'artist' not Rolf the 'entertainer'.

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Art scam, trying it on.. again

Another name to look out for it seems;

----- Original Message -----
From: Henk Goulven
To:
Sent:
Subject: "Coastline in Summer Sunlight

Good Day,
Am interesting in buying your work ( "Coastline in Summer Sunlight ,) in which i saw on the internet.
I want you to tell me the last price so that i can make arrangements on how the payment will get to you as soon as possible.
Hope to read from you.
Henk Goulven.

Another attempt of someone trying it on with yet another fraudulant art scam? I'm getting tired of thses idiots, so I replied (below) indirectly letting him know I knew what he was trying to do. I haven't heard from him since.

Dear Henk,

That painting is £2500 framed (oil mounted). Price excludes delivery.

In order for me to give you the total amount payable I'd need your location and/or address details so I can included the exact costs, including insured couriered delivery to your doorstep.

Please note that pickup (if you have your own pickup courier service) or insured couriered delivery will not be made until funds have been checked and fully cleared by the bank.This may take upwards of 3 to 4 weeks but is necessary to prevent fraudulant transactions from occuring. Once clearance has been given notification will be sent to you, which will require confirmation, after which delivery or pickup can be organised.

Cancellation of the transaction before it's completed will incure a non returnable, nonrefundable 25% recovery fee of the total cost.

Regards

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Yorkshire-isms

Does where you come from, where you were born 'mean' anything in the Arts? Is being a 'Yorkshire Artist' differnt to being a 'British Artist'?

I've never quite figured this one out myself as I tend not to think so 'locally'. It's a pigeonhole really, just to make conversation easier between people and doesn't express any meaning beyond that 'local' "I am 'British'", or "I'm a 'Yorkshireman'". It just means you were born there, live there, or happen to speak the mother tounge; "ee by 'eck".

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An Artists Required Reading

If you want to understand how and why I paint the way I do, rather than me trying to explain it in clumbsy terms even I don't understand you need to read this book;

It's not an overstatement to say many regard this as the Artists 'bible' on the use of colour. Top recommendation for anyone interested in the inner workings of colour and it's use.

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A Painters Palette

Pretty much all the paintings I do, whether Oil, acrylic or water colour are done with a limited colour palette of about 8 colours; it's supprising how much you can do with so little.

*Alizarin Crimson is a common colour artists tend to use as a 'violet red' but it has the disadvantage of not being a particularly long lasting colour, Permanent Rose is a better replacement in many ways, least of which is that it ages much better.

The preferred 'white' used to be 'lead white' but it's very, very difficult to get hold of now because it's made from lead oxide and as such highly toxic (so you don't want to be eating sandwiches whilst painting!). The next best thing for a 'white' white is Zinc White which has a sort of silver-grey tone to it. Titanium White is also a good white to use.

Notice there's no 'black'.

Take care with your ancillary products as well, buying the best pigments won't help if you then use bad 'mediums'. Make sure you get a good quality artists turpentine and gel medium for Oil painting (try not to thin paint by using things like white or surgical spirit (alcohol). Don't buy the type of 'turps' that's coloured (usually purple) and/or used to clean household paint brushes, it's simply not good enough for use in painting; the turps you need it actually slightly viscous compared to brush cleaner.

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'Artist' Quality Materials

I'm often asked if the quality of the materials I use as an artist make any difference to the paintings that eventually make it onto a gallery or discerning art collectors wall. The short and quick answer to that is "Yes".

That's a qualitative 'yes', a 'yes' based on years of experiments, tests and usage. It's not a "Oh he would say that because he's a professional and can afford it" 'yes'.

Oil Paint, pigment and colour density

There are two tangible reasons for spending as much as you can on the oil, water or acrylic paints you use;

They might sound like pompous high-minded reasons for using professional quality paint mediums but once you've used them you can't go back, or if you do, you usually end up unsatisfied with the results; cheap paint can be quite hard to work with.

Colour purity

The 'purity' of pigment used is very important, cheaper mediums often have a cheap synthetically produced chemical base rather than having wholly or in-part a mineral or organic substrate. The tubes of paint are often stuffed full of 'fillers' to 'pad' out the quantity in the tube. This makes the colour in the paint quite 'thin'.

Durability and Longevity

Aside from professional quality paints 'ageing' much better than cheaper paint, a good reason for using the more expensive quality is that the tubes of paint last much longer themselves; the density and strength of higher grade products means you don't use as much of it as you would do when trying to get the same 'effect' from cheaper paints.

There are many other reasons for choosing professional quality paint but they may seem to subjective so I won't mention them. I will say this however, with Oil and Acrylic paints you can get away with using cheaper paint to a certain degree, one medium in which you cannot skimp on your pigments is water colour. Of all the mediums water colour is the hardest to work with and the least tolerant of cheap pigments. Dirty colours will result from dirty paint in this medium faster than you can rinse you sable haired brushes.

Canvas, paper and supports

If you 'care' about the work you produce and don't want it rotting or falling to bit in less than 5 years then the qualitative reasons applied to paint also apply to the 'support' onto which you paint. Aside from preparing them correctly for which ever medium you're using and the overall effect you're trying to achieve using poor quality support material will cost you dearly.

You need good quality acid neutral canvas, board and paper; often referred to as 'archival quality' products because they're used in the restoration trade and by museums to restore, clean and fix works of art. And for good reason; cheap paper has a high acid content and one of the side effects of that is the discoloration of whatever is painted on top of it; it basically bleaches it, especially when in contact with Sunlight over an extended period of time.

Material and paint medium recommendations

Pretty much any paint labelled as 'professional' will be reasonably robust to use. It may sound like an odd qualitative test but if you hold two tubes of paint, one in either hand, the pro' quality will weigh substantially more than the cheaper. Buy a small tube of paint from each manufacturer you can find and test the colours out yourself, over time you'll develop a 'palette' of colours that suit your painting style.

Personal favourites list

Final thoughts on painting

You can BS all you want about the 'meaning' behind a painting letting everyone know you think your some great intellectual thinker and a playa' of people, but what does it say about you as an artist if you're not bothered by the quality of the work you produce, using cheap materials has more than just a detrimental effect on the work you produce.

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Digital Painting

digital image
Got a request to do a 'tempestuous' image to be used in the publicity material for Ant Theatre's upcoming, role-reversed, production of Shakespeare's the Tempest. You can see how the image turned out on their site. Tickets are still available so booking details from their site.

About the picture

The painting was done using Corel Photopaint, a photo editing and paint brush application using an A5 tablet. They wanted something 'loose' and 'painterly' rather than the classic digital image, they wanted to see the marks made by the brushes. It's about 3000x2000 pixels in size at 300dpi to allow decent quality posters (which you can buy from the Ant Theatre site). The colour held quite well in the prints, good enough to frame.

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A fresh 'Nigerian' Art scam

I have to say the artist in the middle of this latest fracas had one hell of a lot of guts to take this as far as he did, it's not recommended for the faint of heart.!.

Some new names

The story
The artist originally was contacted by a Messrs Beson Flex (location not mentioned) in a similar manor to that mentioned below; a painting was mentioned and price discussed. Payment was sent to the artist by cashier's check drawn from a bank in Cochran, Georgia (USA) under the name of Shirley Holt (there was a spelling mistake on the cheque underneath the area designated for writing the amount, "and" was misspelt). The amount was actually in excess of the amount requested or discussed and was later found to be counterfeit (the spelling mistake might have helped on that one).

This is where it gets a bit odd. Now that the painting had been bought, the artist was requested to transfer some money and pickup details to a shipping company in Nigeria, the contact for which was Mr Barry A Wright, the company, Seawales Shipping Company, uses a webmail account with linuxmail.org.

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Brandon Loach, again

Well, the chap is certainly doing the rounds. This time an artist from Chicago sent in some comments about being contacted through her agent by 'Brandon Loach', same sort of initial contact mail and same response to her requests for 'qualification'.

..I consider any unsolicited e-mail from an unknown a scam unless the agent can prove otherwise..

She never heard back from the guy either. Based on the couple of replies that have been sent my way I think it can safely be said; Brandon Loach and any other nom-de-plume that he uses is indeed a fraud.

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Web site shuffle

The web site has had a bit of a reshuffle and tidy up so if you find you've got some 'dead' bookmarks, pop back to the home page and navigate to the new location of the page you want.

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Art scams and fraud, cont.

An interesting update has just arrived on this whole 'Brandon Loach' Art Fraud issue mentioned in a pervious news item.

It turns out this person or group is somewhat 'international' in their dealings with artists as I just received word from an artist in Australia that had been the subject of 'Messrs. Loachs' attentions.

The artist was approached in a similar fashion to that mentioned in the previous news item below, by someone claiming to be from a company by the name of 'Loach Arts'. Naturally they thought to check this out online and came across the comments below which may have saved them from a nasty ending, luckily no personal details were passed over (bank or credit card details).

The Australian artist also mention they had been in communication with a 'woman' from the Ukraine under similar circumstances so it's worth keeping your eyes pealed for information on that one.

If you have any run-ins with people like this please send the details so they can be posted here to warn other artists and people about these reprobates and the potential pitfalls of these fraudulent activities.

I think it's safe to say now that 'he' ('Brandon Loach' & 'Loach Arts') are in fact fraudsters engaged in nefarious activities of trying to defraud artists out of their hard earned income.

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Art scams and fraud

Having a 'public' profile is a double edged sword esp. when it comes to online fraud and scams, artists are not immune to being on the wrong end of the stick.

I got an e-mail the other day, nothing particularly unusual in that, but this one made my internal alarm bells ring. Now I do get a lot of enquiries about my work and they come in all manner of shapes and forms and from all over the world (I'm a global artist don't you know..!) But something about this one didn't quite sit right...

Good day to you.

I will like to know if this product ( "Yellow & Blue" Still Life ) of yours is still for sale and to know the least price.

However, i will make my payment with a cheque, so i will like you to provide me your contact details in the manner below.

FULL NAME................
ADDRESS..................
ZIP CODE.................
PHONE NUMBER.............
COUNTRY..................

I will be looking forward to your reply as soon as possible.

Brandon Loach

My 'standard' reply was to say that the price varied depending on the geographical location of the buyer; obviously this effects the costs of insured delivery, the painting was £'X' pounds but I would need his physical location to give him the total of £'Y'. So I asked where he was based (just his area location and not *his* full address). The reply...

Ken, thanks for your prompt response, i must let you know that my shipper will come for the pick up as i purchase thousands of artworks worldwide.

As soon as the payment is confirmed my shipper will come for the pick up and i must let you know that i am from the UK, so i will like you to send your contact details for the cheque as soon as possible.

Brandon

Still not wanting to give out my personal details and after reading these words in particular "... I purchase thousands or artworks world-wide" I asked for a little bit of information about his company "before divulging my contact details". Not heard anything since.

Now you may think this was a genuine request, but a couple of things don't add up,

Now I may have lost a sale here but my guess is it goes a little like this...

or...

The moral of all this..? If you get enquiries that don't feel right, trust that feeling and if anyone gives you any cheques you'd better damn well make sure it clears and the funds are good before you send anything out to them. Chicken and the egg I know, but you've got more to loose.

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Old oil painting 'new' online

Royal Academy Summer Show entrant

Freshly scanned, archived and html-ified for the gallery. This oil painting was submitted to the Royal Academy of Arts summer exhibition a few years ago. To see a larger version click here or the gallery link above.

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Talk to the artist 'live'

If you ever wanted to 'talk to the artist' about what they do or painting in general, well now is your chance. Click the link below to begin using an online flash based client. Click here to begin (you may be prompted to install macromedias 'flash' player before using the chat program).

(note : due to time differences 'live' usually means between 2pm and 10pm daily UK GMT. The artist cannot be held responsible for topics covered, events that transpire or files transmitted whilst in conversation. A log file is kept of any and all chat. Please behave in a responsible manner).

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Venting some steam?

I was talking to a good friend of mine the other day, who also happens to be a professional artist and painter (no web site link though, sorry), and inevitably our conversation turned to the question of "why do we do what we do?".

The answer to that, as a professional artist in these fair and lush British Isles, is complicated. "Nonsense" I hear you cry back in astonishment, "What could be easier than sitting on your arse all day painting pictures?". The reply to that is just one word; "Products". Professional artists don't really paint pictures, they make products and as such are subject to the same market forces as a packet of cornflakes. Surprised?

It's quite a shock to the system to have ones 'art' reduced to such a common denominator as that because taken at face value, it reduces ones art to a meaningless tangle of, well, nothing really, art doesn't seem to have any intrinsic value, except maybe the costs associated with production; materials, time, etc. It's a 'soulless' analogy that's at great odds with what being an artist is all about, after all, art (in whatever capacity) is about giving meaning and 'soul' to something rather than taking it away, a visual and non-verbal description of the subject matter being studied.

In many respects the problem facing artists and creatives is that they aren't primarily driven by market forces, 'products' aren't created to fill a gap on the shelves of the local supermarket; obviously an artist can find a niche based on the style and look of their work, but that usually entails people finding you rather than you finding them (as a designed product is inherently given birth to do).

It would be easier in some respects to be a hobbyist where the primary motivation isn't to earn a living from art - selling or exhibiting is an 'extra bonus' if you will - you'd be doing it just for the shear hell of it, maybe with the subconscious intention of "getting better at it" which is an admirable goal if ever there was one.

One could then be content to smile at people when they say; "You paint pictures? Oh that's nice. My [insert age here] does that, s/he did a very nice finger painting today, we've stuck it to the fridge door". If someone said that to you as a professional in any other capacity it would be considered to be down right rude. "Oh you're a mechanic. My [insert age here] does that, s/he has a plastic hammer we let them hit are car with to to fix it". "Oh you do quantum physics, you play with numbers?. My [insert age here] can add two and two together, s/he's very clever you know" - I'm sure there are actual instances of mechanics and quantum physicists having had this happen to them.

To drag us back on topic by the scruff of the neck, this is what artists are competing against, not other artists or other products, but peoples generally low view and opinion of the arts, of it being something to pass off to the kids or the dysfunctional to keep them occupied and quiet. In the day to day running of things art doesn't matter except to fill the idle moments and pass the hours. The problem with this particular misconception is that it carries itself forward into the wider scope of 'art' in general; a professional artists work is looked at from the same point of view as a parent looking at a child's finger painting.

Compared to our European cousins it's strange to find there is such a low opinion of the arts in the British Isles when we're saturated by it in everyday life, from the adverts we're bombarded with to the precise radial angle of the curb stone you're standing on as you wait to cross the road. It's all designed and has all involved some form of 'art' at some point, most of which will have been designed with a specific purpose or with a particular market demograph in mind, but all of it comes from the same root and desire to express an idea or thought to someone.

Do professional artists need to switch mode from creator to producer and simply 'manufacture' produce? Do they need to market their wares in the same way Kelloggs do a packet of cornflakes? Do they have to remove the meaning from their work to cater for the larger community that's not interested in thinking too much or looking too hard? Does the general public at large need 'educating' as to the value of art? Would doing so make them appreciate it any more than they already do? Would they then support their local art community instead of treating them like "good for nothing unemployable wasters"? Or do artists continue to ignore all of the above and carry on as they've always done, being content with the niche market that art is and moaning about the state of the Arts in modern Britain today?.

You decide.

If you've got any comments about this article or want to contact the artist to discuss work available then click here.

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Bircham Gallery

Went and had a look at the website for Bircham Art Gallery after they sent me a note about the place. It's been a while since I seen anything interesting and that certainly can be said of the work on display here.

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'Drawing' inspiration for Fractures

Interesting cross discipline arty factoide - The Ant Theatre company's upcoming production, 'Fractures', was written after the author saw a old drawing I had done of a hayloft..!

If you're in or around London this Sept.& Oct. why not book a date and see the show. For more info on performance dates and ticket detail visit the Ant Theatre website.

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Link from the Ant Theatre company

The Ant Theatre company - a London based professional touring theatre group - took interest in the work shown here and have linked to the online studio gallery from their 'showcase' page. For more info on what they do and performance dates visit their web site, http://www.anttheatre.com.

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Fresh start and new look

Welcome to the new look online studio gallery where can view a sample of fine art landscape, seascape and still life paintings by British artist Ken Beyer. A brand new gallery shop has been added to the site where you can now buy direct various art related items. At the moment art postcards of various paintings shown in the gallery are available with more to come in the near future including more landscape, seascapes and still lifes (you can't get these from anywhere else).

Quite a few 'never seen before' paintings are on the way, mainly still lifes, but a couple of landscapes and seascapes are in there, they will make an exciting addition to the gallery.

You can also now contact the artist direct by using the contact form to leave comments, ask questions or make enquiries about obtaining or exhibiting the work on display on the site.

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Art Scam E-Mail Sample

Examples of 'Art Scam' e-mails received by artists. Look for common terms, phrases and spelling.

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