Elena Kalis was born in Moscow (Russia) but has, for the past ten years, lived on a small island in the Bahamas with her husband and two children. She has an education in traditional art, but has recently been following her interest in photography.  Over the past year she has been doing some underwater projects with her children and their friends.  Some of Elena’s images have been used for books, magazines and CD covers, and have also appeared in print magazines and online publications.

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

My name is Elena Kalis. I was born in Moscow (Russia) and have lived for the past ten years on a small island in the Bahamas with my husband and two children. I have an education in art (traditional paintings and drawings) , but have recently been following my interest in photography. I have been doing some underwater projects with my children and friends for the past year.

How would you describe your work?

Alice in WaterLand.  That’s the name of my recent project and it’s describe my work as well.

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

Digital photography. I use Canon 5D with housing and 28 or 50mm lens. Post process in Photoshop.I shoot in pool and ocean.

Are you a full time artist?

I am full time mother and remaining time artist.

How did you get started?

I love ocean and I spend a lot of time in the water (with camera and without) so it was natural thing for me to do.

Any notable accomplishments?

I was doing underwater photography for little over a year now.It’s not that long but I have a lot of response from the people. Some of my work have been used for book, magazine and CD covers, and have appeared in print magazines and online publications. Underwater images are liquid, weightless and have dream-like quality. That’s probably why they are so appealing to many people.

Where can we find more info and keep up with your work?

My personal site: elenakalisphoto.com

Other public places: Facebook Flickr Carbonmade

What artists inspire you?

I recently discovered for myself work of photographer Connie Imboden and it’s changed how I look at the reflections now. However my inspiration is not necessarily coming from the work of other artists. It could be anything really, small things around me…

Pascal Tremblay is a graphic designer / illustrator from Montreal. He has been working freelance for the past 11 years doing work for a wide variety of clients.

Pascal’s work has always been an introspective and personal way for him to express himself. He describes his work as a way to “define my emotions and thoughts in a way that when I look at it, I will know exactly how I felt at the moment I created it, but without making it definite for others.” In other words, though he has strong emotion connection with his work, it’s up to the person viewing it to decide what it means to her or him.

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

I was born in Germany but I pretty much consider myself 100% Canadian since I have lived here all my life almost. My dad was in the army so we moved around a lot and Germany was one of those places. I currently live in Montreal with my fiancee, Elaine. We’ve lived together here for 3 yrs and prior to this we lived in Malaysia for 18 months.

How would you describe your work?

That’s a good question because I never really think about stuff like that. I just like to start creating a piece and see where it leads me. I don’t really have a plan in what I do, I just let my intuition guide me. I think that, as a whole, my work could be described as a series of vague and fleeting expressions of myself. I like to keep the interpretation to the viewer and not pigeon-hole it into what I think it should be saying and, while it’s not a specific goal of mine, I do hope everyone can see a little something different in each piece. Over time I’ve been more and more abstract in what each art piece represents and my use of type has gone in the same direction.. Whereas before I might have put plainly the words I was thinking about, now they’re represented by a specific color or square, or whatever… So in a way I guess my work is a bit like an emotional puzzle to me. I always put a lot of myself into it and if I don’t feel anything intense I really cannot produce the kind of artwork I enjoy the most. That is probably why I can go for months without doing anything, I don’t force it.

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

I like to use a technique I coined “create and adjust”. It’s basically a semi-fancy term for “I just do whatever comes to me and then I arrange it all as I go to make it work together”. I really wish I could describe my process better but it’s really just improvisation each time. I don’t have a plan on and the more specific my concept I start with the more difficult it will be for me. If I keep it all flowing and organic it works much better. When it comes to client work I work differently and I can build towards a specific goal with no problems.. however with my personal artwork, it has to come naturally and on the fly.

Are you a full time artist?

No, I do design mostly during the day but I also have other interests that are taking more of my time these days. I do feel the need to take a break from design recently. I’ve been doing this for almost 11 yrs and I need a break. I’d say art-making is the least time-consuming part of my work. Art doesn’t pay the bills unfortunately. It doesn’t pay anything actually and it’s not why I do it anyway.

How did you get started?

I started by dropping out of college and not knowing what to do with myself. Then I discovered Flash websites and it just gripped me. I had never had any interest whatsoever in art before this (although as a kid I would spend hours re-creating country flags with coloring pencils). I just stumbled into this dormant need to express myself, it was something completely new for me and I had finally found something I was passionate about. From there I kind of shifted from Flash to artwork and into print and web.

Any notable accomplishments?

Being able to make a good living off of freelance for 10 yrs is something I am proud of.. I still haven’t received my medal for it, which is very very disappointing.

Where can we find more info and keep up with your work?

Makeshift.ca is my personal portfolio, and while I don’t update it weekly or anything be assured there’s always something new in the works. Most of my work I don’t even post because the bill-paying stuff is rarely ever too exciting or mind blowing.

What artists inspire you?

David Carson is the reason why I am here today doing what I do. Without him I would have never gone the path I chose. I’ve yet to met him. I do have an autographed Raygun magazine which I keep very dearly. It’s pretty much the only design publication I own.

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.

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.

Practicing artists that build a brand for themselves stand out from the rest of the group. An artist’s brand is a unique way of marketing yourself as something different, exciting, and recognizable. No matter what your preferred medium is, the first step in building your brand is developing your own identifiable image making style. The goal is to make your work recognizable as your own, so when somebody sees it they think “Hey! I know who made that!” Everything that you can do to achieve this will help you!

1. Where to Start

Not sure how to make your images more uniquely YOU? Take a look at the art that is being made right now. How do you fit in? How is your art different? Keep a list of what you like and don’t like, and be sure to reference it often when making new work. If you create work incorporating similar themes, you will start to see your style showing through.

2. Make it Come from You

Incorporate your personality and sensibilities into your style. If you are a meticulous, detail oriented person, let that quality work for you! Make very detailed images! If you are boisterous and spirited, your work should reflect that. If you are not sure where to start, ask a friend to describe your personality traits, and work from there. Sometimes just a small change can really make your work stand out. Developing a unique style starts with with discovering your own personal style.

3. Practice Makes Perfect

Practice, and make as many images as you can to perfect your technique. Learn from your mistakes! Pay attention to what works and what doesn’t in your artwork. Make sure to keep a record of your successes so you can look to them for inspiration in the future. Trial and error is one of the best ways to discover your style. If you’re looking for a sign from the heavens to declare what your unique artistic style is, I am afraid you’ll probably be waiting a very long time. One of the best ways to discover your style is to continue refining it through trial and error; practice.

4. Invest in Classes

Enrolling in an art class can be very exciting! Even if you are an expert in your craft, enrolling in a class can give you alternate viewpoints on your work. Your classmates can offer opinions and critiques of your work to help you grow as an artist. Taking artistic classes are helpful because they can give you that perspective on your artwork that you don’t always see first hand. Having other people around you can really help shed light on your style.

5. Find your Niche

If your focus is on selling, pay attention to developing images that will fill a niche market. In other words, provide artwork for a group of people looking for your particular style. Discovering your niche is about the epitome of developing a unique style; they are closely related. To discover your niche, focus on what type of subject matter you find yourself drawn to. Your niche is a perfect place to help discover your unique style.

It’s Friday! And with Friday comes Friday Favorites. This week we want to make a shout out to Drawing Day 2009, which is tomorrow June 6th, and the celebration of the fabulous weather we have been having here in Seattle!

Drawing Day 2009

Illustrators of the world unite! Tomorrow is Drawing day 2009 so get out your pens and papers (or whatever your preferred medium is) and start drawing. The goal of Drawing Day is to have over one million people upload images that they create on June 6th. At Imagekind we have created a group just for this purpose. Art can be uploaded at any point over the weekend but should be created on June 6th, 2009. To find out more about Drawing Day click here.

Join the Drawing Day 2009 Group Now!

Bring in the Sunshine

Seattle is known as a cold and wet destination, but the last few weeks have been absolutely glorious. We even had a hot weather alert go out this week due to the irregularly hot temperatures. Schools are taking this in stride and there seems to be an abundance of school field trips to anywhere that involves the great outdoors. The office, on the other hand, has been a slightly different story – it is hot and sticky. To help refresh us a bit, I have chosen some great images from Imagekind member artists that celebrate the sunshine and the pleasures of these hot long days.

Have a great weekend!

Eileen

Welcome to our series of interviews with some of our favorite member artists on Imagekind. They may be best sellers or up-and-coming artists. We hope that you can learn from these members and find some great new artists to love!

Our first interview is with the wonderfully talented Eli Halpin. Eli has a large fan base and buyers network, and has been featured in Sunset Magazine. As one of our best-selling artists, Eli has been making art like crazy!

Growing up in Alaska has given me a unique perspective on animals, trees and people and their cozy relationships. Studying painting at University of Alaska, Pacific NW College of Art and the Portland Community College in Oregon gifted me with the basic skills to paint full time. Attending a state, then a private and then a community institution blessed me with a broad range of academic experiences. After spending 20 years in Alaska and 10 in Oregon I now live in the heart of Baltimore City, Maryland where the contrast to the Pacific West Coast is fascinatingly extreme. My favorite artists are Jim Henson, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Theodor Suess Geisel, Janet Hill and Gustav Klimt. All my paintings are made on recycled wood and recycled paint is used whenever possible – Eli Halpin

1 ) When did you first realize that you wanted to be an artist?
I don’t remember ever realizing I wanted to “be” anything, except when I was five I did hope I would become a waitress. This horrified my dad!

I have always enjoyed and was prolific at any type of creative project. When I was in high school, on the first day of school, I was put in an overcrowded math class. I knew I was going to fail. I was on the verge of tears because it had only been 5 minutes and I hated it so much already. I walked out and saw my counselor and told him I REALLY didn’t want to take that class! He said I wouldn’t get into college if I didn’t. I argued with him for a few minutes trying to squirm my way out of the situation. I asked him if I needed that class to go to art school and he got out this 3 inch thick college book and we read the fine print for a few art schools and you know what? No! I didn’t need that stupid class for art school. So I got to go to sculpture class that day!

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2 ) Are you a full time/professional artist? What does that mean to you?
I am a full time artist going on my 6th year without waiting tables!
Hooray! Before that I worked in restaurants and sold my paintings only part time. Being a full time painter gives me a sense of responsibility to the people who buy my work. I need to keep the paintings coming. I need to have new work often and this means getting myself into the studio as much as possible.

3 ) Do you work at home, or do you have a separate studio?
I have a separate studio about a mile from my house. I am afraid I will eventually track oil paint from the bottom of my shoes all over my floor if I painted at home! This summer however I bought my own house and I am considering building a studio in the upper level. Now that there is no landlord I have a more favorable situation for risking paint stains all over the place!

4 ) Where do you get the inspirations for your pieces? Do you work from life or from photos?
My inspiration comes from people, animals and trees. I grew up in Alaska where there was a lot of distance between people. I experienced different boundaries pre-established there than when I moved down to the more populated parts of the Pacific NW and when I traveled to other countries. Animals and trees also had a different focus when I was in larger cities. I work from life and photographs. I used to use models in school, and would have my sister and friends pose for me. I like to tear out ladies in bridal magazines because of their big dresses! If I am painting animals I usually paint from photographs I took myself. When I visit my grandparents farm in South Dakota I make sure to get up close photos of cows, horses, sheep, donkeys… anything I can get about 10 feet from. My grandfather shears sheep so I am lucky to be able to stand in barns with hundreds of them at once.

5 ) Do you participate in a lot of shows? Are you represented by any galleries?
I exhibit my paintings in about 5 shows a year these days. I used to book about 3 every month when I was first starting to be  “officially” full time just to make sure I could pay the rent. Now I have a lot of direct sales through my website so it isn’t necessary.
I am not represented by any galleries. I will do a show as a guest but I won’t sign a contract. I do, however, sell my paintings permanently at two stores in Oregon. Unfurl, an organic clothing boutique and Hunt & Gather, a fancy furniture store.

6 ) Who is your target audience? How do you get them to buy your work?
My target audience is people with a sense of humor and an attraction to bright colors. My paintings tend to be very thick, with drippy and messy paint . To me that is an upbeat and high energy thing to look at.
Like I said before, I used to do a lot of shows every year and from doing so I advertised the heck out of my paintings, leaving me with a history of buyers who tend to come back for more. People will often contact me saying their friend or relative has a piece and that’s how they found me. I have also been lucky enough to have a few magazines include me in their pages and that always helps a ton with traffic to my website.

7 ) Any marketing tips for your fellow artists?
Yes! Get a good website! I use Other Peoples Pixels and I highly recommend them. Get some good business cards that you can be proud of and always keep them on you. And have lots of exhibitions and leave stacks of beautiful business cards in your wake!

8 ) What is your online presence? (newsletter, website, MySpace, Imagekind, etc…)Yes, yes, yes and yes. I use all four. I have my website elihalpin.com, I keep my mailing list organized and send out newsletters regularly – its a really important component to my online presence. I have 600+ solid contacts of people who have asked to be on my mailing list or who have bought paintings. I use this contact to maintain and track who and where and how many hits I get on my site. On average I get 35 hits a day and after a newsletter I have a spike of about 700 for a few days.

I also use social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, and I have had lots of success with Imagekind. My myspace and facebook pages are not focused on my sales, just a little more advertising,  and for fun. I don’t use ads.
Online presence is useful for facilitating transactions, but doesn’t necessarily generate sales. The exception of course is print on demand services for reproductions such as Imagekind. My business revolves around creating original paintings and displaying them. Until recently I relied only on art shows and retailers for my business. For 12 years I have been building a foundation of art buyers from my shows and retailers. I launched my website about 3 years ago. My website lets me show my new work nationally and internationally.
Almost all of my online sales come from people who have seen examples of my work in person.

9 ) You use a lot of recycled materials in your paintings. What makes you want to paint on some of the surfaces you choose? How do you find them? Where do they come from?
I like painting on wood interior hollow core doors. They are light-weight and after sanding off the varnish and priming them the surface is great for painting. They are easy to slice into sections and stay crispy flat for a clean professional canvas-like look. They are also easy to ship because of their weight and durability. I buy the doors at rebuilding centers. Homes that are torn down will often donate salvageable stuff to rebuilding centers where I pick them up.

10 ) Who is your favorite artist (besides yourself!) on Imagekind?
Oh wow that’s not a fair question, aren’t there millions of amazing images?? My first artist I became a fan of was Sloane Tanen. I love the humor in those pieces!

Thanks for taking the time to tell us about yourself, Eli! It was a pleasure to interview you, and we wish you much success!

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From everyone at Imagekind we want to wish you a very happy holidays!

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy  Hanukkah, great Boxing Day, or any other holiday you might celebrate. Above all, enjoy family, friends and be safe; whatever treacherous weather you might find yourself in this season!

Please note: The Imagekind offices will be closed December 25 in observance of Christmas.