Artist to Artist Handbook

The Artist to Artist Handbook, an e-book by Maud Guilfoyle, is full of advice and tips for living an artful life. This gathering of information for all levels, beginner to advanced, is drawn from her years of creating and teaching art. Much of this knowledge is gained from her experience growing up in a household of artists, and from hours spent in the studio. Written in a conversational tone, like that found in her art classes, Maud shares freely what she has learned encouraging beginners as well as experienced artists to discover the joys and satisfactions of the daily practice of art. There is valuable information here for all artists, including children, students, recreational artists, and teachers. Sections of the book include setting up a studio, developing a personal style and portfolio, self promotion, digital and social media, overcoming artist’s block, and financial tips specifically for artists on making and saving money. Teachers and parents will find the advice on making art with children helpful and thought provoking. Adult art students learning to draw and paint for the first time will find many practical gems to support their new-found interest. While this is not a step by step how-to book, there are numerous illustrated examples on such topics as keeping artist journals, making color charts, and composition in still life and landscape painting. The recommended book list includes titles with brief descriptions and covers topics in painting, artists’ journals, the business of being an artist, color, portrait painting and individual artists. The artist’s guide to the internet has over 250 internet artist’s websites, articles and art related resources. There are videos of artists painting, video interviews of writers, online art suppliers, and many websites with innovative ideas on promoting your artwork. This wide ranging, practical, and visually wonderful artist resource guide is illustrated with 80 original art works and photographs.

The Artist to Artist Handbook, an e-book by Maud Guilfoyle, is full of advice and tips for living an artful life. This gathering of information for all levels, beginner to advanced, is drawn from her years of creating and teaching art. Much of this knowledge is gained from her experience growing up in a household of artists, and from hours spent in the studio. Written in a conversational tone, like that found in her art classes, Maud shares freely what she has learned encouraging beginners as well as experienced artists to discover the joys and satisfactions of the daily practice of art. There is valuable information here for all artists, including children, students, recreational artists, and teachers. This book includes information on setting up a studio (whether it is in a corner of your living space or a separate room), developing a personal style and portfolio, self promotion, digital and social media, overcoming artist’s block, and financial tips specifically for artists on making and saving money. Teachers and parents will find the advice on making art with children helpful and thought provoking. Adult art students learning to draw and paint for the first time will find many practical gems to support their new-found interest. While this is not a step by step how-to book, there are numerous illustrated examples on such topics as keeping artist journals, making color charts, and composition in still life and landscape painting. Some other topics covered are organization, storage, images, photographing your work, elder artists, self care and artist’s block. There are suggestions for protecting your work on the internet, organizing and storing your artwork, along with all of the associated documentation. The section Images of Your Work has a list of tips for photographing your work with suggestions for accomplishing this without expensive equipment. Also mentioned are the formats and sizes of images needed to document a work in progress, choosing low resolution jpgs for posting on the internet and using higher quality images for printing greeting cards, prints and posters. Learn how to encourage elder artists to continue making their art and to enjoy the art of others. In Self Care find some simple daily habits that will enhance your overall health and boost your ability to create art all your days. The suggestions for eye care are especially important for artists. Every artist faces the blank canvas and gets stuck at some time. Learn innovative ways to overcome this in the section on artists’ block from an artist who has been there and understands the creative struggle first hand. The Artists and Money section covers unique challenges facing artists. There are two tip lists that follow. One deals with ways to save money whether it is purchasing materials, bartering or studio practices. The other list explores different sources of income using your artistic talent and complementary skills you may have learned that support your work, such as photography, writing or computer skills. The information is useful for both recreational and career artists. The book list includes titles with brief descriptions and covers topics in painting, artists’ journals, the business of being an artist, color, portraits and individual artists. The section on the internet is packed with linked references. Included are over 250 internet artist’s websites, articles and art related resources. There are videos of artists painting, interviews of writers, online art suppliers, and many websites with innovative ideas on promoting your artwork. This wide ranging, practical, and visually wonderful artist resource guide is illustrated with 80 original art works and photographs.

Maud Guilfoyle, biography; As a child, Maud spent summers by the sea on Fire Island and in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Her mother was an artist and took Maud to museums, gallery openings and artist’s studios. One of her earliest memories is sitting in front of a large painting by Monet of water lilies at the Museum of Modern Art and getting lost in the color and light. In her twenties she lived in the Southwest and painted the incredible vistas of sky with dusty pink-colored mountains and silver rivers running through the landscape. She accompanied her husband, an archaeologist, as he traveled through New Mexico and Arizona visiting ancient ruins. The light and colors of the sky and earth were brilliant and required color palettes very different than those used for the gardens, waters, and countryside of the Northeast. At present, Maud Guilfoyle has a studio near the Hudson River and teaches at The Art School at Old Church in Demarest, New Jersey. The quality of light in the Hudson Valley is soft, at times luminescent. Nature and the delicate balance of human interface with the environment are threaded throughout her art.