Josh Heilaman is  a self taught visual and sound artist. He was born and raised in Oklahoma, now lives in Texas. Most of his work is in acrylic painting and musical form. He is also very fond of drawing, sculpting and video. Though he generally focuses on character based work, he also dabbles with landscapes and abstract pieces as well. Josh’s work has been featured in numerous publications and shows all over America.

To view more of my Josh Heilman’s art work, check his personal website: www.friskeemedia.com/joshheilaman

To hear some of his music, check out this site.

Where were you born, where do you live, any other background info?

I was born in Oklahoma City, OK. Most of my life has been here in Oklahoma, I moved to Texas for a few years as well. After traveling across the U.S. looking for a good place to live, I have found myself in Oklahoma again. I’ve grown to appreciate many things about my hometown that I overlooked for a while. Now that I am “back home”, I have decided to continue my involvement with the arts and focus on personal and community development.

How would you describe your work?

Over the years, I have watched my work evolve. I started creating at a very early age, mainly pencil drawings of characters and landscapes. By the time I became a teenager, my interests shifted to painting, sculpting and digital mediums. I’ve spent considerable time with most common mediums since then. Somehow, my work has evolved beyond anything I thought it would but still remains as simplistic as the early days of drawing “make-believe” characters. The focal point of my creations has always been based in story telling and character development. I enjoy bringing the believable to the make-believe in all of my work.

What processes and techniques do you use to create your work?

When creating, I typically don’t have any sort of plan in the beginning stages. Most of the time, I begin by making textures and abstract color schemes. These textures will “tell me” what to paint or draw. The process is similar to cloud watching or participating in an ink blot test. Sometimes it takes some time to pull something tangible out of abstraction, but other times it happens very quickly. For those reasons, I typically will work on 10 to 20 pieces at a time. My favorite approach is to squeeze out a big blob of one color and work it into all the pieces in varying degrees. In the end, the result is a very rich and prismatic collection of paintings. The main mentality, that I embrace while creating, is that every color exists in everything all of the time; and I should emulate that in my artwork.

What is your style for creating?

I’ve never paid close attention to style with my work. I find that it’s best to just go with what occurs naturally. Perhaps, that is my style.

Are you a full time artist?

Yes, I am a full time artist. Most of my income stems from commission work, gallery shows and graphic design jobs.

There’s something about good black and white photography that always seems to amaze me. Maybe it’s the simplicity found from stripping out the color. Or the contrasts between dark and light that forces detail to the forefront. Whatever it is, there is something magical about black and white photography. Like seeing the world in a completely different way: simple.

Check out some of my favorite black and white photos on Imagekind below.

Poster art has the power to inspire. These aren’t your typical dorm room accouterments but posters in the fine art variety. Very inspiring.

Poster artwork goes beyond your dorm room walls. With the bold use of colors, poster artists tell stories visually. Whether it’s a glimpse into the unrealistic, a place to visit, or an idea to consider. Many poster artists use a technique called typography, which is the technique of using, arranging, and modifying the types, or fonts. This can range anywhere from the height, style or even space between letters. Though it is a common characteristic of poster art, not all poster artists utilize typography.

Check out below to see 25 Amazing Typography and Poster Artists on Imagekind.

So, you want to sell more art, but you’re not sure how or where to begin?

One of the most important aspects of selling your artwork online, is having an audience. Imagekind is doing this. We are creating an audience of art lovers to buy, sell and create art.

However, cultivating your own audience is extremely beneficial.

And, it’s not even as hard as you might think. In fact, one of the best ways to create an audience, is to find people who already love your style of work. For example, member artist James Provost has been getting some nice recognition lately in the interior design community with his Imagekind prints. Why? It’s because he has a style of art that already matches an audience: mid-century furniture design and decorating.

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Now, here’s the tip: find online audiences who already love your style and ask them if they are willing to help promote your artwork.

Have a niche? That’s often the best place to start.

Blogs are perfect for this. And getting this kind of recognition is not always as hard as you might think. But, before you start trying to submit your art to blogs, it might be helpful to read these dos and don’ts first.

Need more help? What about this:

Love dog art? Well, I know for sure there are more than just a few dog blogs out there…

Nate

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Spring has officially arrived. And with spring comes the inspiration for change and newness. Now’s the time to freshen up your interior design. It’s not too hard to have a completely new look and feel with just a few framed art pieces. Artwork has the ability to liven up a space to make your home or office feel like a completely new place!

Below are 5 of the top decorating trends for this spring. Find framed artwork that features natural subjects, colorful and patterned prints, along with images that inspire you to refresh and renew, but most importantly, make you feel comfortable.

Nature

Nature and the outdoors are still very popular decorating trends for spring 2009. With the continued emphasis on being green and going organic, you’re sure to see an emphasis on trends surrounding nature. With artwork, this means bringing the outdoors in. Find artwork that focuses on nature: trees, flowers, rural and natural landscapes. All of these make nature and the outdoors the shining star.

Color

Spring brings more daylight and brighter colors. This means color is back and one of the top trends for interior decorating. Designs are sure to feature high levels of color. Bold uses of the primary and other bright colors are sure to make your interior design really stand out. Shop artwork by color; reds, greens, yellows, blues. Look for colors to brighten up your home or office decor.

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Patterns

Patterns and symmetry can bring balance to distressful situations. That’s why patterns are making a huge impact on the 2009 interior design trends. With bad news seemingly all around, more and more people are looking for familiarity. And, though it will not cure everything, familiarity can help quell the feelings of anxiety. Find artwork on Imagekind that features pleasant patterns and comforting symmetry.

RE-

2009 is shaping up to truly be the year of RE; refresh, redesign, renew. A hot trend that caught fire throughout 2008, the ideas of RE are staying strong in 2009. Refresh your interior design by starting with the walls. Find framed artwork that opens a new world of possibilities and brings both the freshness and newness of Spring indoors. Rearrange the furniture and accent the room with art that’s sure to refresh your space.

Comfort

With more and more people staying home in an effort to weather the econmic climate, they need an interior decor that’s comftorable. Look for ways to showcase your personality with your art. Framed pictures of family, friends, pets and past vacations are all fantastic ways to make your interior both comftorable and personal. Being surrounded by the things you care about most, really helps to remind us of what is most important in life. Frame your own favorite photos at Imagekind.com/create. Or, print them on canvas!

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We are extremely excited to start offering a very unique service for pets around the world: the ability to sell their artwork on Imagekind!

It’s truly a revolutionary service. In our weekly team meeting a few weeks ago, we were discussing how we can continue to make Imagekind the best community to buy, sell and create art. That’s when the inspiration hit us. And frankly, we couldn’t figure out why we hadn’t thought of it earlier!

The influx of human-like pet behavior over the past few years astonishes us all. Just look at that crazy dog who rides a skateboard turned advertising celebrity. Even Martha Stewart’s dogs have their own blog!

Pets have chosen artwork as their means of expression for years, but have gone largely unrecognized as providing a viable artistic service. This was due, in large part, to their inability to earn representation by any major gallery or museum.

Enter Imagekind

At Imagekind, artists of all stripes can to sell their art at their price. We give artists control over their work and realize that pets who create art are no different!

Take for example Sr. Bonito Pajaro who, prior to Imagekind, found it impossible to gain recognition through the visual arts:

Although Sr. Pajaro is most well known for his artistic expressions through the medium of interpretative dance, he has been dabbling in the visual arts lately as a means to broaden his creative range and encounter the world in which he lives in a vibrant new way. His subject matter is often highly political in nature, and deals with themes of social injustice, racial inequality, and seed foraging. He is very active in the ASPC (American Society for the Prevention of Cats), and has donated many hours of his time, as well as original pieces of artwork to that cause. Please enjoy viewing Sr. Pajaro’s work here at Imagekind, and he hopes you will consider purchasing some for your home.

Now, whether it’s the cats that paint, birds that display their business in artful ways, the elephant who paints his self portrait, or dogs with cameras on their collars, they can all sell their artwork on Imagekind.

Pets hold a special place in all of our hearts, and knowing that they have not been able to sell their creative expressions is devastating to us at Imagekind. That’s why we’ve established the special Pet Sales Program to offer exclusive Pet Accounts!

Pets can now setup their own account on Imagekind and start selling their works of art! Have questions about the Pet Sales Program on Imagekind?

Read the full FAQ’s here.

Also, make sure to visit some of the featured pets selling their artwork on Imagekind:

scooter.imagekind.com
fredtheshrimp.imagekind.com
SrBonitoPajaro.imagekind.com
fenway.imagekind.com
crook.imagekind.com
saturday.imagekind.com

Have photos or video of your pets creating art? Let’s see them!

The last Thursday in November is when we in the US stop and remember all that we have to be thankful for. It is a time to reflect as we spend time with family and friends.

So, we’d like to take this time and say a huge thank you to all of our customers, artists and partners. Without you, we would not be where we are today. Thank you for your continued support as we strive to be the best community to buy, sell and create art.

As our way of saying thanks, we are offering all of our artists and shoppers 25% off custom frames now through December 1.

From everyone at Imagekind,

Thank You & Happy Thanksgiving!

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Art: The Feast by John Kraft

“Draw with vectors! Set yourselves free!”

Vectips posted a sweet interview with one of my favorite illustration artists on Imagekind, Chris Leavens.

If you are at all interested in illustration, vector, or just plain crazy art, you should definitely check out Chris’ work.

Keep reading to see some excerpts from the interview where Chris shares some tips using vectors and insight into how he views his own work.

If I could offer one piece of advice to folks looking to work as illustrators or designers, it’s to focus your attention on cultivating your sensibilities, your angle. Too many people spend too much time trying to hone technical skills. Those come with time and experimentation. If you’re inquisitive, you’ll want to see how far you can push the tools you’re using. Your art, your style, they’re driven by your sensibilities, not your technical knowledge.

I like watching people at art shows looking at my work. Most people get these big smiles on their faces and that’s exactly the reaction I’m looking for. Occasionally some snooty types pass by and sneer, which makes me even happier. One thing that can be somewhat annoying is the ever-present assumption that I use or need to use all varieties of illicit substances to create my artwork. Honest to God, I never touch the stuff. I rarely even drink and I never drink when I’m creating my work. I just have a crazy imagination that would probably make me into a crazy person if I didn’t have some sort of creative outlet.

To see more of Chris’ amazing vector artwork, take a look at his Imagekind gallery where all of his prints are for sale.

To find out more about Chris, visit his personal site and blog over at Unloosen.

Nate