Today's Making A Mark Awards are all about learning about art, how to be a successful artist and the art business.It also introduces a new award for the book with maximum added value written and/or produced by an art blogger and published in the last two years.
This is the area which focuses on our personal development - whether that's via:
- regular posts on a blog wholly focused on the development of artists
- a really good series of posts on a particular topic of major relevance to artists
- a new art instruction book
- a new book about the artist and the art business
You are invited to nominate for the awards summarised below. Instructions on how to nominate for these and other awards are also set out below.Want some context? You can see all the previous winners of the Making A Mark Awards here. This provides a summary of the reasons why each each winner won their prize and also gives you a link to the posts which include the full citations and highlight who else was considered for each of the awards to date.
Nominations sought for:
The FAQs and Answers Really Useful Medal
I value blogs which share good information about anything relating to art including what they have learned with others.Previous winners are:
- 2006 - Justin Clayton (Daily Paintings)
- 2007 - Charley Parker (Lines and Colours)
- 2008 - James Gurney (Gurney Journey)
- 2009 - nominations please
The Make Me Think Gong
Anybody who makes me think and offers insights which are transferable to the activity and business of being an artist is eligible for this award.
- 2006 - shared by: Alyson Stanfield (ArtBiz Blog) and Robert Genn (The Painters Keys)
- 2007 - shared by: Tracy Helgeson (Works by Tracy Helgeson) and Jeanette Jobson (Illustrated Life)
- 2008 - Seth Godin (Seth's Blog)
- 2009 - nominations please
NEW!!! The Best Book by an Art Blogger Blue Ribbon
This is a new award in 2009. It's for the book with maximum added value written and/or produced by an art bloggerThere are no previous winners as this is a new award - but you have a chance to nominate the first winner of this award:
- 2009 - nominations please
- The author MUST be somebody who blogs about art - but they don't have to be an artist.
- book MUST have been published in the previous two years ie after 1st January 2008 in the case of the award for 2009. This is to avoid any bias towards books published in the early part of this year which have had time to build a following.
At the beginning of the year it became very apparent in a series of posts I did in January 2009 (see links at the end of this post) that many of us are getting very tired of this. I'm certainly not the only one who is feeling very jaded by seeing art books in the shops which are both lean on content and padded out with the perennial sections on art materials and colour wheels at the beginning.
The conventional wisdom on this blog is that we want a LOT MORE from our art books - and this award is my way of creating a way in which we can signal to the art publishers what sort of books we like!
A "blue ribbon book" will have a structure, content and design which speaks of the passion and priorities of the artist blogger who has written it (ie "identikit books" will NOT win this award!). Given the ease with which artists authors can now pursue a self-publishing venture, the blue ribbon book may also have been produced and marketed by the artist blogger. However published, it emphatically MUST add value as opposed to being more of the 'same old, same old'. or just nice to look at.
I'm going to be writing reviews of a couple of books (on Making A Mark Reviews) I think are worth serious consideration before the 24th December.
So you'd like to nominate...........
Although I already have some blogs in mind as contenders for these awards I'm very interested to hear what you all think too.
What you need to do to nominate - it's very simple!That's it!
- Leave a comment on this blog - BEFORE 24th December
- Identify the title of the Making A Mark Award that you want your nominee to be considered for (this is very important!)
- Identify the name of the blog, its URL (eg The Art Blog http://theartblog.blogspot.com) and the name of the blogger
- Say why you think this blog should be considered for a Making A Mark Award (eg a specific series of blog posts)
I'll collate all your nominations and comments in relation to each award and consider alongside those blogs which I have in mind as being worthy of consideration.
The Making A Mark Awards will be announced on the 29th and 30th December.
See my Making A Mark website for a list of previous award winners and an outline of the reasons why they won
Tomorrow is the last post in this series of posts inviting nominations for the Making A Mark awards. Many thanks to all those who have already nominated for the awards already identified - it's getting VERY interesting! You can take a look at these by clicking any of the links below.
Links: The Making A Mark Awards 2010 for blogging about art - Making A Mark: End of Year Review
- Best artwork
- NEW!!! Nominate the Best Art (Place) on a Blog 2009
- NEW!!! Nominate the Best Art (Still Life) on a Blog 2009
- Nominate the Best Art (Portrait/Figures) on a Blog 2009
- Generating art
- Nominate - The Painting a Day Stickability Shield
- Nominate - The Best Art Blog Project Virtual Challenge Cup
- Getting out of the Studio
- Nominate - The Painting Plein Air Plus Prize
- Nominate The Travels with a Sketchbook Trophy
- Nominate - The Going Greener Gong
- Learning about art and the art business
- Nominate - The FAQs and Answers Really Useful Medal
- Nominate - The Make Me Think Gong
- NEW!!! Nominate The Best Book by an Art Blogger Blue Ribbon
- The Home Front
I nominate "Painting Perceptions for the "Make me think Gong": perhaps it doesn't exactly fit into the category but is a very good blog.
ReplyDeletehttp://paintingperceptions.com/
Larry Groff presents a diverse selection of painters and various interviews. Every time I see a new post I am sure it is going to be an interesting and pleasant discovery.
I'd like to nominate Lynne Chapman's blog 'An Illustrators Life for me' for The Really Made me think gong.
ReplyDeletehttp://lynnechapman.blogspot.com/
During this year Lynne took us on a fantastic journey as she created the artwork for 'The bears on the stairs'. Her posts gave a wonderful insight into the trial and triumphs of an illustrator's working life and certainly gave me plenty to think about.
For the Really Useful category I'd like to nominate Vivien Blackburn's blog 'Painting Prints and Stuff.
http://vivienb.blogspot.com/
This blog has been a real treasure trove of information, ideas and inspiration for me during 2009. Vivien's posts often preempt my questions with clear explanations of her creative processes and techniques. The student demos she shares and challenges she sets are also extremely helpful learning aids.
I nominate Creativity Journey http://myrnawacknov.blogspot.com/for the Make me Think Gong.
ReplyDeleteMyrna Wacknov's continual experimentation with techniques, media and supports makes me think, makes me say 'oh wow' out loud and makes me push myself as an artist into unknown territory.
I nominate Making a Mark for the 'FAQs and Answers Really Useful Medal'. It's always interesting, informative and stimulating. I can't think of a better recipient, sorry :)
ReplyDeleteI've only read one book by a blogger this year, 'Imaginative Realism' by James Gurney. It was excellent however and gets my nomination for 'The Best Book by an Art Blogger Blue Ribbon'.
I would like you to consider cowartandmore.blogspot.com The blog writes about the artists on the website www.cowartandmore.com and gives the "behind the scenes" perspective to their art. It also includes other art websites of interest and collector tips.
ReplyDeleteI would like to nominate Stanislav Prokopenko for his blog www.stanprokopenko.com/blog .
ReplyDeleteHe has a great series of tutorials on how to draw the head from any angle and details on drawing all the features.
He has helpful information on growth and resources for newer painters such as setting up a studio, choosing the right light bulb for your studio, and what makes good photo reference.
He continually shows his step by step progress on paintings and manages to teach his readers lessons and tips related to his painting.
His posts are always informative and I always learn something new.
I'd like to nominate Martin Stankewitz's How to Draw a Tree for the Best Book by an Art Blogger Blue Ribbon. Martin supports this book through his blog of the same name:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.draw-a-tree.com
I bought the book this year and saw an immediate improvement in my approach to trees. Martin has such a passion for his favourite subject and so generously shares his skills.