AnhStudio Photo Blog

I absolutely think being a chef is being an artist. Most people that do not cook often or cook in a intense fashion really don't understand the science and how much of a special touch is involved. Cooking, like any other artwork, is an extension of your mood and expression. I feel that we tend to categorize things in the museum artwork and that is simply not true. It seems that Melissa has made her Instagram public since she spoke to us. I love that she is doing what she loves and able to make a living from it regardless of if she would ever be considered an artist. She just simple does what it takes to still do what she loves everyday.  There was one thing that really stood out to me from Melissa's presentation, she talked about during the winter and different times of the year she is restricted to certain ingredients that she could use to make her meals. I think sometimes when you have all the tools and freedom to you it could be really hard to start something. This ties to ...

Before today I actually have not heard of the Webb Gallery but it was really eye opening. I feel like the Webb Gallery has a different feel to it and the artwork really shows. It's not your typical art galleries that you would see in the city. Listening to how Julie and her Husband started the gallery was really refreshing. They do so much for the art community and the community around them.  I went on the Webb Gallery website to take a look at the current exhibition and there was 2 that really stood out to me, Carnival Banner and Powell St. John. Looking at the Carnival Banner gives me that nostalgic feeling so the old school traveling Carnival that I had the chance to go with as a kid. It's so rare to see carnival in this time. After reading about Rayward Powell St. John I was instantly interested. He talks about only making artwork from what he sees, especially when he is on Psychedelic drugs. There has been a history of artist making work based off of what they s...

After my first Linocut prints, I noticed that I needed to do more research to see how other artist are getting more consistent prints. Currently I am using regular water based paint from Michaels and photo paper. After watching these videos, I see that I should be using much more paint and not worry about wasting the amount that is applied onto the block. I also need to purchase a tool that can pub the ink onto the print paper itself. Being a photographer, my strengths was really never in drawing or painting. From the people that I have research and followed, most had a background of drawing with pen/pencil. For me, I am looking at something that is a little more design or photo based. After visiting the artist Instagram, I ran into some amazing artist that has a different style of artwork that I think can align more to what I can do.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dVtAn3mlOs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzaWc6m17J4 https://www.instagram.com/maarit.hanninen/ https://www....

  This was the first time printing with Linocuts. The print came out a lot better than I had expected but there are definitely things that I could do better. Need to be more generous with how much paint I apply. With this block, I wanted to test out different techniques and see how close I could get the lines next to each other before they started to overlap. I also learned that the deepness of the cut isn't as important as I might have thought. This series of photos was my first print from the photographs that I took. My vision was to expose the part of the image that was in focus and blackout the rest of the images. After printing, I realized that making small line cuts would not work. I would have to carve out big chunks of the linoleum so the image could show through the paint. I will be refining this technique and will be showing more of the image.

I came across Anna Curtius when I was researching the process of Linocuts. Anna Vimeo's account has a number of different videos showing her process and how she comes up with her works.  The next step for me is to print my Lino blocks and I will be following this Anna's guide. https://vimeo.com/annacurtius https://www.annacurtius.com/blog/how-to-make-a-linocut-print-at-home-without-a-press https://www.instagram.com/annacurtius/

The way I see the Linoleum process is that it is a more extreme version of my study of shadow which is either full black or white. Using this process will help me elevate what I am pursuing by bringing another element into my images. I got a chance to get my hands on all the tools required to do attempt my first Linocut project. I am falling in love with the process and have already started on the second piece.  After finishing this first piece, I got some feedback saying that the cut isn't deep enough for a clean transfer. I am currently working on 2 more pieces to test different techniques and explore more. My vision is to transfer these images into Linoleum prints on top of the printed images. Once I am done with these 3 pieces I will be transferring all 3 onto paper to get a final product and tweak my work from there. I did run into an accident where I positioned my hand horribly, and the tool slipped and cut my thumb badly. There was about a 1-2 inch cut that is fairly deep. I...

Listening to Dina Brodsky speak is truly inspirational. Visiting her Instagram page and hearing how Dina has transformed the platform to change and help all different types of artists is quite amazing. Even though she gave a short presentation, it was extremely informative and how as a beginning artist page, and elevate yourself to the next level. I never knew the platform had banned hashtags. Years ago when I was trying to build my Instagram following, I almost did the opposite of what Dina had recommended. I was putting as many tags as I could, and going after the popular ones.  Dina Brodsky's secondary Instagram, Thinking With Paper, is such a great community showcasing all different types of artists around the world. I got a little lost just clicking around seeing how talented everyone is. It got me thinking, since I am trying to learn and get into the world of Linoleum, maybe I could document my learning process on IG. From my photography process, printing, transferring my ima...

When I had heard that one of our guest speakers was a professional when it comes to NFTs I was instantly interested. To be honest, I did not expect Dr. Ryan to dive into how many people tried to sell NFTs and barely made any money. Knowing the market a little, I knew that you had to join the community and really grind your way to get noticed by the Whales (big crypto/nft holders).  Even though the chances are extremely slim to make a big sale in NFTs, it brings me back to our first guest speaker, Dina Brodsky. Dina told us that building up a community on IG isn't going to hurt us, it can only help us in so many ways. Similar to NFTs, the stronger your presence, the more exposure you give yourself by putting yourself out there. I think NFTs and Cryptocurrency is here to stay in the long run but will I be investing all my time and money into it? NFTs, probably not. With the community growing as quickly as it is, the top 1% will continue to grow and make money because a single Whale c...

Olesya Dzhuraeva- Born in Dushanbe, Ukraine. S he started off drawing in pastel, etched, and mixed collagraph techniques in 2004. After some years transitioned into different techniques of linocut. It is amazing that I came across a Ukrainian artist at this time. As an artist that is currently living in Ukraine, how is she dealing with everything that is going on? How will this affect Olesya? How will it change her art? My idea is to somehow overlay linocuts print on top of the same or a blurred-out version of the same image. " This linear work is what she now mostly practices to render the world that surrounds her and inhabits her.  Her hometown makes regular appearances in her prints, as does life indoors.  A quiet, somewhat frozen atmosphere permeates her esthetic, in which she technically gravitates towards patterns.  Fog, dusk, darkness, humidity, wood, metal or clouds, all are elements of Olesya’s reality which she relishes breaking down into line, dot, crosshatchin...

Goals for Spring 2022 Start and continue with new work (30+) solid pieces Set a schedule and stay on it Learn Linocut process. Incorporate with photography Take a workshop on Linocut with Paper Arts Dallas Schedule Monday &  Tuesday- Location and shoot (4:30 till dark) Wednesday &  Thursday - Class Friday- Night time shooting Saturday- Shooting if possible Sunday- Edit Brainstorm + editing when possible at work

Incorporate Linocut with photographs.   Play with Shallow Depth of Field and overlay with Linocut Print Layering Inkjet with Linocut or real materials? https://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/how-to/printmaking/how-to-turn-a-photo-into-a-linocut-print/ https://www.amazon.com/Speedball-Super-Value-Printing-Starter/dp/B000SKT0US https://www.facebook.com/paperartsdallas/ Look into Clay photo transfer??

Sharp image Clear object Layering with foreground/mid/background Nice clean print on a page Make sure there is a clear focus in drawing the audience in Using a quality camera that does what you want it to do Subject matter must be present Project Idea Take an image walking in a trail. Black and white harsh shadows. Remove the highlights or shadows and replace them with the item that you are taking a photograph of.

Get Your Shit Together: How to stop worrying about what you should do so you can finish what you need to do and start doing what you want to do is a self-help book written by Sara Knight. Throughout the work, she heavily relies on her personality through the use of tone and relatability to connect to the reader. I was drawn to the variety that she uses for her book, for example, there aren't just slabs of solid text but she includes boxes for specific ideas, comprehensible diagrams, list formatting, and blank spacing for readers to project themselves onto. Some of the advice that stood out to me was "The Art of Willpower", where she gives if, then statements that tie in motivation and execution, since I fall under the same line of thought when making decisions. Personally, I don't really like how she projects her personality onto the book too much, though it does make it stand out, it's just straight-up corny. Basically, her advice is pretty solid, while none of t...