Happy Birthday Johan Faber

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art, illustration, pencils, sketching artwork

THE PENCIL KING!

What would we do without our pencils? We artists owe a lot of debt to the Godfather of pencil-making Johann Eberhard Faber. So brush up on your pencil history and start sketching out your tribute to Johann!

Johann Eberhard Faber was born on December 6, 1822 in the village of Stein, near the city of Nuremberg, in Bavaria. His father, George Leonard Faber, was a descendant of the famous Faber family, one of ancient lineage in Bavaria engaged in the profession of manufacturing lead pencils.

He did his primary schooling at a Volksschule and then enrolled to study law at the University of Heidelberg. But he left his studies mid-way to pursue a career in commerce in America.

He moved to the United States in 1848 and in 1849, opened a stationery store at No. 133 William Street, NYC. The store was later moved to Nos. 718-720 Broadway in 1877.

In 1852, he started to export red cedar logs to the Faber pencil factories in Stein, having realized that the red cedar available in America was ideal for lead pencils.

In 1861, he opened the first lead pencil factory along the East River, between 41st and 43rd Streets, New York City. The factory was established under the name of Eberhard Faber.

In 1872, a fire destroyed the factory in New York City, hence a new improved factory was built on a site on Kent and West streets in the Greenpoint district of Brooklyn.^[1] The new factory was designed for expansion and by the time Faber died his factory was the largest of its kind in United States and the Faber name was known all over the world.

Faber died on March 2, 1879 in New York City.^[2] Faber is interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Dog Sketch: Lolly

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animals, artist as brand, dogs, illustration, innovation, levinland, lon levin, sketching artwork, this week in digital media on blogtalk radio

My Journey To Earn More Money For My Art…

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artist as brand, digital painting, illustration, illustrators journal, innovation, levinland, lon levin, painter, sketching artwork, this week in digital media on blogtalk radio

Artwork by Lon Levin

I’m exploring every way I can to monetize my art. This is a challenge that I am prepared to take and one I welcome. I believe it’s an artist responsibility to do this. Not out of egotism but because we all feel we have something to offer and others may be inspired or benefit from our work.

So, this morning I discovered a post from 2010 from Escape From Illustration Island. It’s called 15 Places To Sell Your Work Online. I found it interesting so I’m passing it along before I explore all the information contained in the article. This is a good site with a lot of great information so I suggest you check it out. I’m going to spend some time reviewing the information and if there’s anything that jumps out at me I’ll report back. In the meantime, stay focused on your goals and I will too.

The link  http://escapefromillustrationisland.com/2010/02/12/15-places-to-sell-your-work-online/

Be Yourself…The Key to Cre8tivity

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abstract art, ceativity, illustration, imagination, innovation, levinland, lon levin, nude sketch, sketching artwork, technology, this week in digital media on blogtalk radio

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Here is artwork that reflects my unwound mind.

The computer scientist Jaron Lanier noted, almost in passing,“The people he knows don’t achieve creativity by trying to do something novel. They achieve it by being more themselves.”

It’s a simple concept but one most of us shy away from. The reason are as varied as people are;  We are afraid of being wrong, we don’t want to be criticized, we believe we need to conform to certain standards, no one will like what we create and on and on.

Further from  (Matthew Hutson in Psyched!) “In computational terms, one can see each person’s brain as a solution to a problem. (It could be called the problem of life.) Some aspects of the problem are common–object recognition, for example–and so everyone shares a similar solution. Your brain identifies a chair using processes similar to the ones mine has developed (and to some degree inherited). But some aspects of the problem are unique to each person’s situation–navigating to one’s school, relating to one’s parents, etc. And so we each have solutions–skill sets–different from everyone else’s. Get in touch with that skill set and you’ll be tapping into a font of useful originality.”

Personally, this is an ongoing battle for me. I feel compelled to work in certain ways that I believe are acceptable and will make an income. On the other hand I feel more comfortable doing what comes naturally to me but I have this nagging fear that no one will like it or understand. (sometimes I don’t understand it but I like the results) So I do both and perhaps one day they will merge into one and I will have actualized a longtime goal.

In an ideal world, you create what you think works and makes you feel good. The result is everyone praises you and pays you good money for your art.  In the real world that rarely happens, but you can feel good about the work and the feeling of accomplishment  Getting paid well or not at all shouldn’t govern whether you continue to explore and develop your talents.

Here’s an exercise I do to loosen myself from the constraints of wanting to please.

I starting scribbling shapes and lines onto a paper with a pencil, sometimes a soft pencil sometimes a hard one. This depends on my feelings at the time no other practical reason. Once I have enough marks on the page I start creating imagery from the shapes that have been created. These images are not thought our they just come out of the thought process as I look at the shapes. Soon the imagery takes a shape of some sort and I see something recognizable in it. I go with that and soon a picture is created in a way I could never preconceive. If it’s something no one else could’ve done but me then I know it’s working. It has nothing to do with rendering an arm or hand correctly or whether the lighting is right. It’s right because I like the result and that is the way it should be.

Try it sometime, you may be surprised with the result.

Lon’s sketch of the Day: As Promised

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artist Lon Levin, drawing, nude sketch, sketching artwork

Brunette Kneeling

As promise here’s one of my three sketches a week I will do for the next two weeks.