This guest blog post is from our friends over at t-shirtfarmer.com, who have had a look through Artybuzz and have chosen some of their favourite t shirt designs. Check out what they think below…

Thanks so much to artybuzz.com for asking the t-shirt farmer to contribute some opinions on the seven luckiest t-shirts available at artybuzz.com.  The t-shirt farmer scours the Web for the best t-shirt designs avaiable and we have found a few gems here at artybuzz.com.

1.   If you look at the original blog posting that t-shirt farmer made around this t-shirt, you will see that this yellow t-shirt design looks dope on a dark grey/black t-shirt.  Plus, old dead trees are cool and we like to wear them.  Based on that dark t-shirt configuration, the t-shirt farmer rates this t-shirt design as no. 1 for Artybuzz.com.  It has the right mix of nature and oddness to fit right among the best t-shirts the t-shirtfarmer.com has featured.

•    Sunset Tree Clearing
•    by Stephen Harris
•    http://www.artybuzz.com/find-art/sunset-tree-clearing/761

2.  Nipping at the heels of Sunset Tree is the t-shirt farmer’s pick for #2.  T-shirt designs with vintage themes like this vector based reel to reel audio tape recorder design usually will win some instant points and we can’t deny, this would look great on a black t-shirt – the t-shirt farmer’s favorite canvas.
•    Reel to Reel
•    by Justin Minns
•    http://www.artybuzz.com/find-art/reel-to-reel/5153

3.   Who doesn’t like gun imagery and trees?  Meshing these two concepts (murder machines and nature) makes for a powerful statement about violence and a playful yet smart t-shirt design that a t-shirt farmer would be happy to wear.

•    The Growth of Violence
•    by Richard Wilde, founder of Artybuzz.com
•    http://www.artybuzz.com/find-art/the-growth-of-violence/3261

4.   Sometimes life stinks and you want to punch some faces but you are just not ferocious enough to be believable.  The t-shirt farmer believes this is what this t-shirt is all about.  If this design were white and on a black or grey t-shirt, we would be down.
•    Chimeara B&W
•    by Paul Duffy
•    http://www.artybuzz.com/find-art/chimeara-bw/4452

5.  We can dig this man vs. dragon theme, translated into a diver vs. shark t-shirt design.  If we aren’t worshipping crazy, intricate illustrations as t-shirt designs, we are equally giving love to designs like this one that are fun and seemingly effortless. This is a great design featuring a guy who is pretty much screwed if his t-shirt mate decides to have a snack. He looks a little surprised too.
•    Diver vs Shark
•    by Richard Wilde, founder of Artybuzz.com
•    http://www.artybuzz.com/find-art/diver-vs-shark/2023

6.   This is a clean, simple t-shirt design.  It would look awesome on a black or dark grey t-shirt.  The t-shirt farmer doesn’t like to beat things to death and we like how this crow design isn’t beating the words goth-kid, vamp and emo-kid into our heads.  The design does what it’s supposed to do – look good on a t-shirt.  It’s only rated as a no. 6 because it’s a t-shirt design that can still be easily abused by comic book kids and those who play magic the gathering.

•    The Crow (grey sky)
•    by Patrick Lyons
•    http://www.artybuzz.com/find-art/the-crow-grey-sky/6075

7. Nice use of vector art.  This design is rated no. 7 because while it is an interesting design, the t-shirt farmer thinks you should only buy it for your girlfriend, to embarrass drunken buds or give to your bachelor uncle.
•    Raining Rainbows
•    by iamsla
•    http://www.artybuzz.com/find-art/raining-rainbows/689

Thanks again to artybuzz for inviting us over!

If you have a group created on Artybuzz and you want to share it with other members to boost it’s popularity or number of members and artwork, you can comment on this post giving a short description of your group as well as a link to it for others to join.

Share away everyone…

We thought we’d show off five great new t shirts that have recently been put up for sale on Artybuzz. Check them out below and click the image if you’d like to buy….

Someone said to me yesterday “I can paint 10 of these a week and charge £250 a painting” to which I replied “but how many can you sell?”… unfortunately the answer was not 10, so what’s the point?

There’s no point in knocking out image after image if it can’t be sold, it’s a waste of time, resources and effort… unless your just doing it for fun of course.

If you want to sell your work though, then it might be best to find a balance between what you can produce and what you can sell, otherwise you will end up surrounded by unsold work which can be thoroughly depressing. So split your time between creating, selling and promoting to achieve the perfect balance… and if you are producing more than you can sell then it may be worth putting more time into making your works better, thus, producing less but better pieces that can sell better and for more money.

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

What would you prefer to see? Three pieces of art that really blew you away or twenty average looking and decent works of art? I think most would love to see the three pieces that were amazing as opposed to the average ones.

There may be a lesson here when it comes to creating your artworks. Why not try investing more time into making one piece as spectacular as possible instead of finishing it and moving onto your next creation? There is a common trend that when somebody sees something that really has the way factor they can’t help but tell people about it. Nobody ever rants about something bog standard and average, so think about how you can create more impressive works of art even if it means the you produce less.

In the long run, doing this is likely to give you a much better reputation and people are likely to talk about you much more…. which is always good!

What do you think? Is less really more….

Are you a little tweeter? If so, why not share your twitter accounts below for all to see, you may get some new followers and make a few more friends on Artybuzz too…

Two new contests have begun on Artybuzz, a new t shirt design contest and a general art contest that anyone can enter.

All rules, prizes and how to enter can be seen on this page – http://www.artybuzz.com/contests-zone.php

Thanks!

We’d like to ask a couple of favours that can hopefully make a few peoples lives a bit better in the process…

Pass on Artybuzz…

If you’ve joined and like Artybuzz, then if you could tell a friend who might be interested then that would be fantastic. You will also be eligible for our referral scheme if they join, which is good for everyone.

Pass on our Ebook…

We’ve heard some good things about the Artybuzz art marketing ebook from the people who have read it. So if you have read and like it, please email it on to a friend if you think that it may help them out.

Passing things on helps ideas spread, and when more people get involved in projects like Artybuzz it becomes better for everyone. So hopefully you like Artybuzz, or our ebook enough to pass it on to a friend or two, which hopefully will make their lives a little bit better.

Thanks!

Are you a blogger? If so, you can share your blog with everyone on Artybuzz by commenting on the post below…

Share away!