artist
PORTFOLIO MAGAZINE
Special Abstract Edition Interview with Artist Joshua Serafin
ISSUE NO. 3
ArtistPortfolioMagazine.com
artist
PORTFOLIO
Issue 3 - Summer 2011 ArtistPortfolioMagazine.com
MAGAZINE
CONTENTS Virginia Lee - Toronto, Canada “Sandline” Acrylic on Canvas 36” x 48” Website
4 Abstract Winners
A Bit About Our Cover Art Congratulations to Virginia Lee for taking 1st Place in our Abstracts III Art Contest. Her painting “Sandline” was chosen by our Juror Joshua Sarafin as the top abstract piece out of a group of some really amazing art.
8 Honorable Mentions
Virginia Lee Born and raised in Hong Kong, Virginia was trained in the traditional Chinese painting techniques. She moved to Toronto in the early eighties as a teenager, studied at the Ontario College of Art and got her B.A. from York University. Her self-taught painting style is in constant evolution. She likes to depict our ever changing world from various points of view, in a multilayered re-creation of the obvious and the hidden, to the subtle and fantastic of now and then. She draws from her surroundings for inspiration, but you have to look beyond the canvas to share her vision.
Copyright©2011 ArtistPortfolioMagazine.com All contents and images cannot be reproduced without written permission from artists. Artists in Artist Portfolio Magazine and MyArtContest.com retain rights to all images.
18 Josh Serafin
21 Abstract Art
2
artist
Issue 3 - Summer 2011 ArtistPortfolioMagazine.com
PORTFOLIO MAGAZINE
ABOUT US Artist Portfolio Magazine is a free digital online magazine that contains the art of both emerging and established artists from around the world. The artwork featured in this issue comes directly from the winners of our Abstracts III Art Contest. Artist Portfolio Magazine and MyArtContest.com would like to thank every artist who entered, especially those featured in these pages. Without the wonderful works from these artists, we would not have Artist Portfolio Magazine. We are grateful for their contributions. Did you know MyArtContest.com donates to local art organizations and over the years we have donated thousands of dollars? When you enter an art contest on MyArtContest.com you are not only getting your art seen and possibly even published in Artist Portfolio Magazine, but you helping raise much needed money for local art organizations. If you are interested in buying any of the artwork is in this issue, please contact the artists directly. We do not sell art, but we do promote artists through Artist Portfolio Magazine and MyArtContest.com. We hope you enjoy this unique collection of artists and artwork. To view current art contests or to enter one of our current art contests to get your art into Artist Portfolio Magazine, please visit www.MyArtContest.com ArtistPortfolioMagazine.com
3
ABSTRACT III ART CONTEST - 1st place
VIRGINIALEE
Sandline, Acrylic on Canvas, 36” x 48”
4
Virginia Lee Toronto, Canada Website
ABSTRACT III ART CONTEST - 2nd place
HALINADOMANSKI Halina Domanski Yuba City, CA Website
5
Water Mill, Collage on Canvas, 10” x 30” x 1.5”
FERIDEBINICIOGLU
ABSTRACT III ART CONTEST - 3rd place Feride Binicioğlu Yalova, Turkey E-Mail
Kaos1
6
ben walker
Tree 5 of 2011, acrylic on canvas, 47� x 53�
raven studios 207 n broadway, ste e santa ana, ca 92701 714.651.2919 7 theravenstudios.com
benwalker.com
ABSTRACT III ART CONTEST honorable mentions
Kaylin Brice - “Retro Life” - kaylin.brice@spartans.ut.edu
Guillaume Le Courtois - Black Serie n9 - Website
8
Freya Gervasi “Lily” Freyasculpt@aol.com
Freya Gervasi “Lyric” Freyasculpt@aol.com
9
Dianna Fritzler “Origins of Grace” Website
Ivana Dolejs “All is in One/Page 1” Radovan.D@email.cz
10
Dana Crossan “You Know and You Know” Website
Kenneth Johnson “Uncertainty Principle” Website
11
Lola Montejo “Confidencia” lola_montejo@msn
Virna Mulino “Longing” Website
12
Thomas Webb “Black Sun” Website
Stacey Creech “Seagrape Abstract #1” Website
13
Risa Recio “Tulip II” Website
Risa Recio - “Wingding I” - Website
14
Terry Lopez - “Dawn” - Website Clark Medley - “Bio Organic” - inkwelltattoos71@gmail.com
15
Stepanka Volejnikova “Untitled # 1” stepvc@hotmail.com
Daniel Edward “Clematis” Website
16
Ron Stasko “Liquid Color 3072 The Iron Worker” Website
Mark Ross - “Scribble” - Website
17
An Interview with Joshua Serafin by Ben Walker APM: Josh, thanks for taking the time to judge our Abstract III Art Contest over on MyArtContest.com. How was your experience? Was it hard to pick a winner? Josh: It was a wonderful experience and I was surprised at the variation of abstract styles, mediums and techniques. I must say it felt good to be on the judging side for once. After my first glance through all the works of art I thought to myself “how can I pick a winner”? But, as I analyzed them a few times it seemed to get easier on what I thought was the more complex, compelling pieces.
APM: Why did you become an artist? Josh: I became an artist due to the passion and drive I felt toward wanting to create. Seeing an idea become a visual reality once, was enough for me to be hooked. Also my enjoyment of merely viewing the various mediums and artists styles was consistently intriguing. Was there a clear moment when you knew that this was what you were meant to do or was it a gradual thing? I had been painting and taking photos in the mid 90ʼs pretty intensely. I was painting and shooting whatever made me feel good, which was for the most part was anything the beach had top offer. I didn't really have a style and wasnʼt really trying to paint for one. I was just enjoying the mediums and had a natural drive to want to do it. Then in 1998, my mind exploded with the notion of taking a picture of the sunset from Jan. 1., 1999 to Jan, 1 2000. The idea was a “no brainer” title of Sunset Resolution. I was going to shoot a pic of every sunset, every day for the entire year. Then I was going to sell posters of these pics compiled in chronological order. Perseverance does pay off, and I ended up making it come true and selling a thousand posters the first year. Since then Iʼve sold aprox. 5000 and just got an order today. This was definitely a break through as an artist. From here I came up with my surf gesture style and begun my art career.
APM: Surfing and Art? Is there a correlation between the two for you? Josh: Like art, surfing (or anything the beach has to offer for that matter) is a creative form that takes on a unique style. Like art, being in the water or at the beach is a spiritual and cleansing time. They also physically and mentally heal as well as strengthen the body and mind. Art is forever changing just like the coast. I love the beach and that is why I paint it.
18
APM: What are your tools of the trade and what is your favorite medium to work with? Josh: Pallet knifes, brushes, rags and a plethora of other odd objects Iʼve accumulated over the last decade. I really enjoy oils and have used them most of my career thus far. I also like to use various oil based mediums and have concocted several different mediums that I canʼt share yet. APM: Can you fill us in on your painting process / ritual? For example, I love to listen music from certain bands; do you listen to anything while you paint? Josh: Often Iʼll begin my studio sessions drinking a cup of coffee and just walking through my studio investigating (so to speak) my in - progress pieces. I think itʼs the coffee aroma that gets the juices flowing. Ideas seem to pour on top of ideas and sometimes Iʼll forget to even turn on the tunes. Before I know it Iʼm engulfed into several pieces and or ideas. Then I realize its time to turn the music on. One great cd to crank up and express yourself is a local HB talent, Trevor Green. APM: Out of all your art youʼve created and the hundreds of original pieces that youʼve sold: is there one sale or work of art that you would consider your best piece? Josh: Iʼm thinking of the question as I type and hopefully a piece comes to mind………………Nothing yet? I have sold a good number of originals that I really like. Ah, finally one does come to mind. Its titled Mind Games, and no I didnʼt steel it from Lennon, Paul, or whom ever. It literally played mind games with me that I almost put a hole through the canvas with a pallet knife. It was an abstract piece that I started for fun and became an obsession of slashing lines over lines. Color wasnʼt much of a role until towards the end. It was the line. Thick and thin, fast and slow, crazy or subtle. Itʼs like I couldnʼt find a happy medium with the piece so I kept working it and working it until the canvas wore thin. I realized it was going to tear so I had to make some decisions and compose some balance. I felt like I went to the gym after put the knives down and walked back to view it. To this day it hangs in our house and is one of my wifeʼs favʼs. I still look at it and want to put a hole in it.
19
APM: What are your goals as an artist and are you satisfied with where your art career has taken you? Josh: Iʼm satisfied with the fact that I have made a living as an Expressionist/ Abstract oil painter now for eight years. Raising a family and bought a house. My sales as a full-time artist combines at year end for a decent living. However, yes thereʼs always that however. Iʼm not satisfied about where I can be. I want to be selling in top-notch Galleries world wide on top of doing a few outdoor art shows and my annual solo HB Exhibit. So that said, I am working towards that as of today. As a full-time artist, its tough to collect a 20 piece body of work to have set aside for representation in a Gallery. Due to the fact that every time I paint a piece I sell it at an outdoor art show. Its not a bad thing, it only makes you work harder.
APM: One last question, what are you creating at the moment and do you have any shows coming up this year that you would like to share with our readers? Josh: Iʼm finishing up 20 plus pieces for my solo show on Aug. 6 at the Waterfront Hilton, HB. Iʼm working on my signature surf style as well as my latest oil/glass pieces. The Exhibition will be my ninth solo show in nine years. Hope to see you and thanks for taking the time to read the interview. Serafin. You can catch Josh on August 14, 2011, at Carlsbad Art in the Village: Carlsbad Art in the Village For more of Josh’s art and for suture shows please visit ArtBySerafin.com
20
Chris Paige - ‘No Title 1” cmpaige85@yahoo.com
Davyd Whaley - “Jiva the Goddess” Website
Scott Price - “Tsunami” Website
Kolyvas Spyros - “Untitled” Website
21
Eva Anarion - “Cosmic” Website Debbie Weber - “ Cracks in a Dream” Website
Deno Angelopoulos - “Stapled Complex” Website
Shana Calano - “Lo” Website
22
Alex Mendik - “Untitled SEVEN” Website
Alex Mendik - “ONE” Website
23
Ilya Levinzon - “The Life of Shapes” levinzon.ilya3372@gmail.com
Mali Vargas - “Chromatone Awakening” Website
Samantha Norwood - “Calming Ebbs” norwoods2@vcu.edu
Sun-Young Jin - “We Are Thirsty” Website
24
Susan Levin - “Wheatfield” Website
Susan Levin - “Pockets of Light” Website
25
Thomas Ramey - “The Gathering” Website
Ralph White - “Climbing the Wall” Website
Jon Freeman - “Sunlight Zone” Website
26
Belle Tuckerman - “Quan Yin” Website
Gary Walker - “ Scenes from a Dream” 1guido@cox.net
Eric Leppanen - “Full Circle” Website
27
Gary Walker - “180 Degrees” 1guido@cox.net
Lee Balan - “Strange Encounter” - Website Billy Rose - “Habitat” - Website
28
Casimir Ten Broek - “Puzzle Master” Website
Lisa Kohn - “Fall Aspens” Website
Claudia Newman - “Dirty Thoughts” Website
Yeston Bilecki - Procrastination Rebelling” blahcap@yahoo.com
29
Type to enter text
jacob
Iphone Baby 45” x 45” Acrylic on Canvas
30
brest
The Painter 45” x 45” Acrylic on Canvas
Jacob Brest Los Angeles, CA 562.447.6191 http://jacobbrest.com 31
Susan Levin - “Blowing in the Wind” Website
Guillaume Le Courtois - “The Broken Wing of the Phenix” Website
David Abse - “Abstract Townscape Diptych” - Website
32
Scott Price - “ Ghost Girl” Website
Paul Fu - “Dementation No. 3” Website
Richard Kanter - “Field of Streams” Website Michael Callaghan - “Untitled Pink” Website
33
Sabine Blodorn - “Intergalactic Treasure Hunt Alert” - spart334@yahoo.com.au
Frank Perrick - “Jesus and His Peeps” fperric1@yahoo.com
David Bellavia - “The Sphere” bellaviad@aol.com
34
Amanda Kloesz - “Cruise Ship” akloesz29@yahoo.com
Chad Kipfer - “Samnskunk” Website
Jason Astorquia - “Carta” Website
35
David Reyes - “Vinito” Website
Nena Tahil - “Midnight Sun” Website Kathy Thompson - “Couples in Love” Website Veera Zukova - “Emotiuon Forest” - Website
36
Monika Mori - “When the Grass is Growing Up” Website
Susan Jenkins - “Under the Microscope” sjenkin1@rochester.rr.com
Renee Mercer - “Elysium” - Website
Yuen-King NG - “City Landscape” - ngyuenking@gmail.com
37
Brie Taylor - De-Composition” taylorbrie@ymail.com
Anne Labovitz - “Spring” Website
Takayuki Shimada - “Revisiting the Headlamps” Website
Rodney James - “Color Abstract I 2009” Website
38
Tony Iadicicco - “Waiting Water” Website
Renee Lunceford - “Sunset” Website
Dena Nord - “Gumball” Website
39
Natashia Martin - “Conversation” - Website Natashia Martin - “Numbers” - Website
40
Stephanie Zentara - “Mystical Galaxy” Website
Raquel Nikfarjam - “Melancholia” Website
Fraser Radford Kicking and Screaming” radford.fraser@gmail.com Stephanie Paige - “Spring Dance” - Website
41
Patricia Saldana - “Paperscape-Beach 2” ps1130@msn.com
Junxian Poon - “Bridge” junxianpoon@hotmail.com
Teresa Young - “Awash in the Seas of Geheanna” Website
Lori McCown - “Microbe II” Website
42
Karole Turner Campbell - “Blueshphere” Website
Shea Hester-Haddad - “Orange, from Series Redefinition” Website
Adam Considine - “BitTorrent 2, Marinuis Vanderlubbe as Icarus” Website Deborah Jean Burdin - “Wandering Wayward” Website
43
Anton Nisht - “Green Mystery” Website
Mary Wahr - “The Moth Wing” marydoesart@hotmail.com
Bhaval Shah Bell - “Map of the World, Fuller Projection #9” Website
Laura Kiro - Sunset Tree Squad” Website
44
Minjin Lee http://minjinah.com +1 646 573 5399 mjleeinnyc@gmail.com
45
David McCrae - “Unpacking Portrait #8” Website
Durand Seay - “Illumis Dista” Website
Anne Parker - “Flow” Website
Padmaja Madhu - “The Sedona Magic” Website
46
Mark Beale - “Burning Off ” Website
Josh Cecil - “Neat Flower in Bloom” Website
Valerie Scott - ”Shapes II” Website Shane Hill - “Deep Encounters” foresthill77@yahoo.com
47
Tania Doucet - “Exquisite Pestilence” Website Tania Doucet - “Unveiled” Website
Mark Tripoli - “White” Website
48
Jen King - “Feathers” swmnjen3@hotmail.com
Jessica Ward - “Hearted Lamb” - Website
Mickey Bond - “Joyous Elements: Red-Gold 1” - Website
49
Ingrid M. Reeve
A Poem in the Wind, 2011, Oil on Wood Panel, 9" x 12"
IngridReeve.com Mission Viejo, CA ingridreeve@gmail.com 50
Patricia Saldana - Paperscape-Desert Sand 2” ps1130@msn.com
Carlos Inocente Gonzalez - “Idea” Website
Carol Barker - “Below the Grid” cfdbaker@msn.com
Tamara White - “Car Lot” Website
51
Simone Hester - “Moons Abyss” Website Max Coppola - “Dreamcatcher” Website
Raymond Perez - “Trojans and Meteorites, 2009” Website
Barbara Krupp - “Magical Green” Website
52
Connie Pacheco - “High Country” ccpacheco@hotmail.com
Yvette Burton - “Summer Dance” Website
Carol Christie - “Let the Sunshine in” Website
53
Cheryl Rau - “Wild Dancing 59” Website
Charles Reyna - “Suspension 2” Website
Kelly Shi - “Natural Gallimaufry” kelterskelter33@yahoo.com
Margo Garces - “Orchid” Website
54
Doug Perry - “River of Autumn” dperryart@gmail.com
Adam Guzzo - “Cold Server” Website
Adam Guzzo - “Left Tense” Website
55
Kelly Zarembski - “Untitled 2” Website
Daniel Tackney-DiGrazia - “Untitled #3” Website
Peter Nardin - “Gargoyle” - kaanubis@kaanubis.com
56
Michael Grine - “Bug” Website Deivis Slavinskas - “The Chemistry of Thought” Website
Ms. Sarah Favorite - “Agitation” NoirWinds@yahoo.com J Lim - “Calendar” pomstar_be_good@yahoo.com.sg
57
Vintage Sound 15� x 18�
Robert Moran Photography robertmoran.com moran.photo@yahoo.com 207.479.5679 58
John Crider - “Russett Hollow” Website Lyubov Momot - “Immersion” Website
Linda Tribuli - “Inside the Box” Tweeti6095@aol.com Sassoon Kosian - “Expansion” Website
59
Alex Maslanka - “Serenity” Website
Sandra Segovia - “Leaves” segoviart@gmail.com
Kate Patsch - “ESP’ Website
Tiffany Davis-Rustam - “Upwards Through the Brambles” Website
60
Eric Nichols - “Blue Tang” Website
Richard Baker - “Fun Zone After Dark” bakerstudio@sbcglobal.net
Clark Medley - “Coral” inkwelltattoos71@gmail.com
Sarah Lapp - “Hot Night Dream” Website
61
Kathleen Kaller - “Abundance” - Website
Ione Citrin - “Cosmos” - Website Geoffrey Kieran - “Three Crosses” - Website
62
Peter Del Toro - “Letterblock Abstract IV” deltorodc@verizon.net
Steven Logan - “Return of the Broken Heart” Website
Charles Logan Jr. - “The Creation #3’ charles.logan54@gmail.com
Danielle Webb - “Water Drop” dwebb987@gmail.com
63
MyArtContest.com
If you would like to get your art seen and published in Artist Portfolio Magazine then enter one of our many ongoing art contests at MyArtContest.com 64