Can you introduce yourself and tell us what you do?

My name is Joël Ava Makinson an arts organiser and artist based in Liverpool. I work a lot with different art organisations around the city in a freelance capacity and when I’m not working for them I am developing my own work and putting ­on and/or showing in exhibitions.

What inspires your own art?

It all depends where I’m working and what I’m creating the work for. The space I’m showing my work in often had a big impact on what I create, especially if I’m doing an installation piece.

I have been interested in the concept of space and the different identities spaces have since I was at university. I like studying how we interact with different spaces and how this can be documented and challenged.

For example for one of my projects I took the bedroom and bathroom doors off my house to see how this effected how people who lived there interacted with the space.

I also change the dimensions and proportions of different objects that represent space and explore how this affects the idea of space.

I know you are an independent arts organiser, do you feel the number of exhibitions etc has suffered during the recession?

I don’t think the number of exhibitions has suffered but I think it has been difficult for the organisations to get certain artists they might like to show or produce and exhibition/festival as big as they have before.

I think many organisations have suffered funding cuts which really affects what they put on, the scale of what they show and how it’s marketed.  This can mean that the visitor numbers drop which effects funding further. This is just one side of the affects but it’s a bit of a viscous circle really.

How important is seeing art live and seeing the real thing?

I think it depends on what the art is. If it’s an installation or performance piece then I think it’s important to see it to really experience the piece.

I feel that sometimes even with 2D work it is better to experience it in person to really appreciate the scale, colours and textures of the piece.

However if the work is documented well then I feel this is useful when you are unable to see the piece in person.

How important do you feel a web presence is these days?

I think these days it’s very important if not essential to have a web presence.

I think the first place people look for information these days is on the internet and even when you are networking people are more likely to ask for a web address or an email than a phone number.

I believe the internet is a fantastic way to get your art work advertised and sold, and I am going to use it to my advantage right now and put details below of an exhibition I have running at the moment.

ART IS LIKE AN ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

BY JOEL AVA MAKINSON

ARUMA Cafe, Bar

62 Mount Pleasant

Liverpool

A photography exhibition by local artist Joël Ava Makinson, described as scenic landscapes with a twist. All work taken on a residency in Loweswater, The Lake District.

ARUMA is a new exhibition space that wants to provide a platform for emerging artists and art groups. Giving artists a chance to show and sell their work.

Preview Night: 12/05/10 7pm – 9pm

Light Night: 14/05/10 6pm – 2am

Exhibition: 13/05/10 – continues until further notice

Opening Times:
Mon – Thurs: 11:00 – 23:30

Fri – Sat: 11:00 – 02:00

Sun :11:00 – 23:30

joelava@hotmail.co.uk

http://joelava.daportfolio.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=101328716577253

Check out some of the great work from our featured member today, Stephanie Pyren…

Today we are featuring the work of the illustrator Paul Abbot, check out his work and interview below…

What inspires your work?

In short.. my children, it was with the birth of my first son that I wanted to create something they could look at, until then it was all video games stuff as, I’m sure you will understand is mostly inapropriate to show children, ironic really as its some of the most childish, immature imagery out there! The actual content is inspired by memories and imagination, recently my work features heavily my 2 boys in post apocolyptic situations! I love the way children will still have fun and find ways to play in situations adults would bitch and moan about (again this is from reality – our living situation since the housing market crsh has been far from ideal!)

How long have you been illustrating?

Ive been doing art all my life, I did fine art at university, freelanced for a bit afterwards, gained recognition as a portrait painter after coming runner up in the national portrait awards and since then working as a professional artist in the games industry doing concept and 3D work. My recent personal iluustrations though have only been around for as long as my kids, so 3 years

Do you have any future goals?

yes, i want to illustrate childrens books and tv shows and use the royalties to fund my retirement!

Why did you join Artybuzz and what do you want to get out of it?

Recognition, a better internet presence, followers to my blog and connections, you never know who may be writing a kids book and want illustrations. oh also to sell some work!

What inspires your work?
I have been inspired in my creative endeavors by the diversity of life and especially the uniqueness of the human face in conjunction with mask type imagery. I am also very intrigued with the affect that the unconscious/intuition plays in the role of creativity. Truly I am inspired by the magic of creativity and the mixing of media and processes that are used in varying degrees when I make art. I also find great inspiration by looking at  other artist works such as painters, sculptors, as well as other photographers. Music is truly one of my main inspirations.

What got you into creating your art?
Since I was around ten or so years old I always thought I would like to be an artist and soon after picked my first camera. I went off the artistic track for a short stint in my late teens due to lots of partying but was put back on track after my undergrad studies in science by my father. I was not particularly enamored with the scientific life style and  my father mentioned to me to consider going back to my original passion making art and offered to send me to a fantastic art school which was not far from where I was living at the time in Detroit. The COLLEGE FOR CREATIVE STUDIES… After the first week I knew that I was on track with my life’s endeavour. I have never looked back.

Do you have any works you are especially proud of?
Actually I feel pretty good about most of my works’ whatever the chosen medium. I really have been producing art for my entire adult life along with being a commercial photographer, ceramicist, and mixed media artist; Each photograph,mixed media image or sculpture that I sign my name to makes me proud. Finishing one piece and then continuing onto the next is part of the creative process and I am proud to just be a part of that genre so to speak. Making art and sharing my knowledge of creative process as a teacher makes me feel good about what I am doing every day..

David also has a website which can be found at http://www.davidhoptman.com

Today we are featuring the work of Pauline Marshall…

What inspires my work?

lots of different things inspire me. I am inspired by nature, by reading, listening to music, talking to people and sharing ideas.

work of which I am particularly proud of

See attachment, A picture that I painted of the Arthurian legend of a young Merlin taking the baby Arthur from Tintagel.  I am rather keen on the sky and the setting of Merlin’s cave.

What do you want to achieve in the future

To just carry on painting pictures.  I would like to be able to rely on my website to show and sell my work rather than having to carry them around.

Why did you joint Artybuzz

I joined Artybuzz to be able to keep in touch with the Art world and to help boost my internet profile.

Today we are featuring the artist Paul Loudon, who gave some really interesting answers to our interview questions below…

What inspires your work?

I tend to like quite kitsch things, like old Kung-Fu movie posters that have been hand-painted or the covers of a progressive rock albums (any of the ”Yes” album covers by Roger Dean would be a prime example) I also like old Railway posters with dramatic angles providing a big sense of awe and at the same time innocence. Comic books are another a big one for me, the John Romita Sr. era of Spider-Man is a big influence; but in terms of comic books in general, the ability to draw proportionally accurate characters frame after frame is something that I really admire because there’s no shortcut to aquire it, it just takes tons of practise. Anything which displays that kind of skill automatically gets my attention, I am drawn to it. Even old video game covers have been known to blow me away, check out Doom by the late Don Ivan Punchatz or even Doom 2 by fantasy artist Gerlad Brom. The side-panel art of old arcade machines (like Gauntlet) can make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Another thing is Children’s books, one of my favourite books as a child was “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak and I still have a copy today. I am also massively into cartoons and this is another influence that I have carried with me all my life. Saturday morning cartoons such as He-Man, Thundercats, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Spider-Man (the 1960’s one) and Ulysses to name but a few. Another massive influence on me is what they call the “golden age” of cartoons, specifically the works of Tex Avery …(those of you who have never seen any of his works, I strongly recommend you go on YouTube to check it out).

Some other names in the world of art and illustration that have influenced me are Heath Robinson, Arthur Rackham, Jack Kirby, Boris Vallejo (for which I make no apologies!)

You mentioned to me personally once that you had a dream and created a certain piece of artwork, what happened? Does this happen often?

Yes I mentioned that my “Evidently Alien Town” picture came to me in a dream, unfortunately this was a rare one-off when I had alot of time on my hands and was able to pull it off despite the vividity of the image. Though if I was to get back into that mindset of illustrating my own dreams, who knows what might happen in future?! However, I do work part-time as a gallery attendant and one of my other images “Planet Mushwumps” came to me whilst I was in the middle of a very day-dreamy shift at the gallery so that one might count. Unfortunately as I am a freelance illustrator the vast majority of the things I create are for clients only and just dreaming them up isn’t an option! Despite this I do still consider some of my own artworks sch as “Evidently Alien Town” to demonstrate the best of my ability.

Are there any works you are particularly proud of?

The image He-Man Vs Lion-O was the first time I blended both digital colouring and pencil shading, it was an experiment really and when it all came together I was blown away. It is a technique that I have come to time and time again despite the fact that I have become a pretty mean painter (if I do say so myself). Apart from that, the image makes me laugh, I’m not sure if people who weren’t into these cartoons in the 80’s get it, but actually that’s part of what makes me proud, it’s a very generation-specific thing.

Today we are featuring Suzanne LeGrand, a digital artist on Artybuzz…

What inspires your work?
Being an avid reader I get inspired a lot by books.
One of my biggest hobbies is studying the history of religions, occult and myths and I do get frequently inspired by my findings.

How long have you been creating your artwork?

My mom has embarrassing photos of me in diapers with a paint brush when I was 3. I think I had more paint on me than the canvas in those days.
I really started to develop a sense of style back in high school though when I would draw strips in place of notes for history class.

Do you have any tips for others?
If you love to do something don’t ever give up because of what other people say. Keep at it even if it’s a little each day; eventually it will pay off.

What do you want to get out of Artybuzz?
As always I’m looking for new venues and ways to promote myself and my work, but I’m secretly hoping to find a bit more low-key art community I can grow with.

Today we are featuring Thamer Hannona, check out her interview and work below…

What inspires your work?

My environment, fellow artists and designers, great films, and my never-ending & limitless imagination. I’m inspired by almost anything from artistic and creative to pretty shapes and dynamic brush strokes.

How do you create your work?

I typically start with analog pencil sketches to pen and markers, then maybe photoshop for digital media.  I also enjoying acrylic and oil painting on canvas and plywood.  My design work usually ends up in a 3d model in Alias to Clay models.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The ability to create ideas and communicate them through imagery.  Connecting with people through my work, gaining the respect of other fellow artists and designers.

Any long term goals?

At the moment, no definite long term goals, I like to keep my options open.  I’m always trying various things from getting exposed to the internet to designing apparel to whatever inspires me.

Why did you join Artybuzz?

I found Artybuzz  on Twitter and I thought It was a great place to reach other creative souls and showcase a few of my work.

Today we are featuring the fabulous painter that we have on Artybuzz, Cherie Dirksen, we spoke to her and took a closer look at her work below…

How long have you been painting?

I have been painting all my life but only took it up professionally about 6 years ago.

What inspires your work?

I am inspired by almost everything in the natural world.  From sunsets to flowers to people.  I only like to portray joy in my work and the love I have for nature, so I don’t usually paint when I am feeling down or if I do, I usually have to paint over what I have done the next day…lol.

What mediums do you use?

I paint mainly in acrylic because I am a ‘quick’ painter and like the fast drying time of acrylic.  However, I also like to use mixed media, chalk and oil pastel and sometimes, watercolour.

How long does a painting of yours take to create?

Like I have mentioned in the previous question, I am usually quite quick with my paintings.  Some take me a couple of hours and the bigger ones usually take me anything between 2-5 days.

Today we’re featuring Sacha Sukasam, a great artist with a very unique style…

What inspires your work?
A lot of things inspire my work. I don’t think that inspiration is something you look for it’s more of something that looks for you. But mostly the one thing that inspire me the most is music because I think that it brings out the inner artist in you.

What do you want to achieve with your art?
I guess making the world a better place. I’m really interested in this path, and I’m definately not an artist for money. There are artists like Banksy who try to point out political and social issues through his art because it’s different, he’s definately someone I look up to and hopefully one day become. People don’t listen to the news anymore and I think that the best way to get into people’s mind is through art. And that’s what I want to achieve with my art, I want to make the world listen to what I have to say.

What drives you to create?
Creativity is something that comes in everyday’s life, nothing really drives me to create. It’s more like an urge to create something once you have been inspired.