Friday's Art article - DIY Frame for Posters and Art

If you're a bit crafty and have access to some power tools, you can make a unique, handcrafted frame for your two-dimensional art.

Friday's art article - Patching Holes in the Wall for Picture Hanging

So what happens when you decide to take a picture down and you're left a hole in your wall? This two minute video will show you how to patch the hole and repair it to match the surrounding area.

Friday's art article - How to Drill Holes into a Picture Frame

Have a picture frame that needs to have hanging hardware attached? No problem! This two minute video should help you hang your frame in no time!

Friday's art article - How to Hang a Picture - How to Hang Pictures with a Wire Hanger

Enjoy this two minute video on how to hang a wired picture or painting on your wall.

How to Stretch Fine Art Canvas Painting Gallery Wrap

Curious as to how canvas prints get stretched onto a frame and ready for hanging? This video shows you how to do it yourself, or at least, you can see how the canvas is stretched and placed on a frame before it gets to you.

Friday's art article - SELECTING ART MATS

Today's article of interest to art enthusiasts is on different considerations for selecting mats for an art purchase. While a frame is important to a piece of art, mats are just as important for helping to complement the piece. This article goes over some basic considerations in selecting the right mat for a piece.

Tips for buying art

1. Buy what you like.

2. Buy what you can afford.

3. Enjoy the art.

Today's art tip shared by watercolor painter Donna Greenstein.

What kind of art should I buy?

Buy what you love and don't ask others for their opinions...YOU will be living with it, not your friends. And whenever possible, buy originals. Save up for them; they are worth it!

Today's tip is shared by oil painter Deborah Grayson Lincoln

Save money on framing

I always try to pinch pennies by framing prints in standard size frames instead of having a custom size made. I also suggest this to my customers.

Tip contributed by pencil drawing artist Amanda Raithel

How to Hang Pictures on a Wall

Today's art article is actually a video I found on the Lowe's You Tube channel. It shows you how to hang artwork on various kinds of wall surfaces. It also shows the different hardware options and tools needed to complete a project.

Make the frame as unique as the art

My tip would be choosing a frame for your art. I use the Kentucky Barn Wood frames that are hand made by Owen Tomlin in Jacksonville, KY. The nice part about this is that it's another hand-made product along with the art, it's two-fold artistry! Owen even tears down the barns himself for the wood and he is 73 years old.

The barn wood can be stained to match your decor, brown, dark brown, black, barn red, or weathered natural gray. The nice thing about these frames is that they come with bumps and scratches and even nail holes, so if you nick or damage them, they are no worse for wear!

Today's tip provided by mixed media artist, Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson

How to make the art fit the room

A mistake I made early on with decorating with art was hanging the art to fit the center of the wall space, rather than the furniture or other items close to wall. For example:

• Art should hang at eye level! Don't place it above a bookcase just because you have the blank wall space.
• Hang it in relation to what's close to it. Place a large painting within a couple of inches of the sofa, not centered between the top of the sofa and the ceiling.
• White space can be a good thing. Every available open space doesn't have to have something on it.

Today's tips provided by jewelry artist Kathy McComb Swift

Help with your art and home decorating needs

We get A LOT of decorating questions from fans and customers. It can be a bit intimidating or overwhelming to frame, display, and care for your original art purchase. In lieu of a featured artist this month, Cow Art and More will instead be sharing art decorating tips on our blog. Our cow art artists will be sharing some of their best advice on how to get the most from your piece of cow art.

Normally, the month's featured artist has free shipping on their work. This month, we will rotate the pieces available for free shipping. Check our specials section frequently to see if your favorite artist has free shipping!

How to Hang Art

Hanging and displaying art can be a daunting task. Need some help? This three minute video will give you ideas on how to give your art collection the attention it deserves.

Friday's art article: Art Copyright laws

I have received several questions from customers pertaining to what they can do with the images displayed on Cow Art and More. These situations are specifically governed by copyright laws. I will go through a few of the situations here and explain what customers can and cannot do.

The moment someone creates anything "artful", the only person legally allowed to makes copies of that artwork is the original creating artist. If the artist decides to make copies (e.g. prints, multiple sculptures, etc.), he or she can. If anyone else does, without written permission from the creating artist, this is a copyright infringement. The artist has the legal right to take the offending party to court and sue for damages. In fact, copyright laws are so strong that family or legal heirs will still own the copyright to the artist's artwork until 70 years after his or her death.

Artists that display their work online or allow their art to be published in books or magazines often put a copyright symbol (letter c encased in a circle) next to the image. Just because the symbol isn't there doesn't mean you can copy the work; copyright is automatically implied when the art is created. The symbol is there as a reminder.

Art collectors should be aware that even after buying an original work of art, the artist still holds the copyright. This is what allows the artist to sell prints of the work. The buyer cannot make prints or sell copies of the art unless the artist has given express permission in writing. If you as the collector want to buy a piece of art, without giving the artist the right to make reproductions, please make this clear up front. If this is an artist that makes prints of their work, it is likely the artist will want to do so for that original piece. If you as the buyer want to also own the copyright, I would also suggest getting this fact in writing since the laws are written in the artist's favor.

There are three areas where I see art collectors fall into problems when it comes to copyrights and art work.

1. You cannot use an artist's image for anything without their explicit consent. This includes using an image of the artwork to represent your business or organization. This is still the case even if you have purchased a copy of the artwork.
2. You cannot download a copy of the artwork to use as a screen saver, t-shirt logo, avatar on your Facebook page, or other assorted activities without written consent from the artist. Even though you are using it for your own behalf, with no plans to resell, it is still considered "stealing" unless the artist has consented.
   
3. This next area is a bit more fuzzy, but you cannot post a copy of the artwork on your own website, blog, facebook page, etc. without consent of the artist. Generally, if the artwork is identified with the creating artist, copyright symbol, and even a title and date created, problems can be averted. But without that identification, problems usually arise. Many artists like to have the publicity, so an email is usually all it takes to avoid problems. Nowadays with social media sharing buttons, I would suggest using one of them to "share" the artwork with others.
   

In general, the few copyright problems we have had to deal with have not been malicious in any way. People were just unaware of the laws and were happy to comply with our request once we asked not to use it in the manner they were.

My advice: when in doubt, ask. If you've made a mistake, rectify it. If you're caught, be honest.

Friday's art article - Displaying and Grouping wall art

So just how can you pull several images together into one cohesive wall display? Check out this article on Displaying and Grouping Wall Art, which gives readers several ideas on how to bring different pieces of art together into one beautiful display.

Friday's art article - How to judge art

When many people are asked about whether or not they like a piece of art, they can give you a "yes or no", but not necessarily the why. The article How to judge art breaks down some of the simple reasons why people may find a piece of art to their liking. The review lists five areas and discusses them in detail about how people evaluate art.

Friday's art article - Art appraisals and art prices

Have a piece of art you are curious as to the value of? The art appraisal tool at Find Art Info allows users to find the value of your fine art by comparing it with recent auction prices of similar pieces. Visitors can find the latest hammer prices on art from auction houses worldwide, plus additional information about the artwork. Find Art info also compares user inputs to information on 2,255,350 pieces of art sold over the last couple of years. The database also currently contains 138,441 signatures and 1,137,223 photos of artwork.

Friday's art article: All About Picture Framing - How to Pick the Right Glass for a Picture Frame

There are so many considerations when deciding how to frame a piece of two dimensional art. One such thing to think about is what type of glass to use with your frame. This brief video gives examples of three glass choices and price estimates.

How to Choose the Right Picture Hangers or Wall Fasteners: Home Repair & Maintenance Tips | eHow.com

Today's art related article gives some examples of the different types of picture hangers available to hang artwork. This two minute video briefly explains and gives examples of different hangers and when they might be appropriate to use.


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