TUESDAY TIP #2

The most simple tip I can give to anybody is to use layers and layers of paint. If you have the patience and want a solid color, it is simply all about layers. Sounds obvious but people seem to question my solid colors all the time and that is all there is to it. If you paint and let it dry enough times over and over again, you could easily have solid clean colors in your paintings.

THE PAINTING THAT WAS NEVER FINISHED

At some point in 2009 I pursued the largest painting I have tried to date. The painting was an 8 by 6ft. painting titled "Death To Bad Music" and consisted of the famous Grateful Dead bears being killed by me in Grateful Dead Land. I spent about 180 hours working on the piece and then had to move on to something else for a month. When I came back a month later I sadly found out that somebody, who was obviously very upset at my portrayal of the beloved Grateful Dead bears, had decided to ruin the painting with graffiti. Needless to say, due to the damage, I never finished the painting that was 3/4 of the way done. All that is left are these 2 crappy photo booth images of me standing in front of painting before it was ruined.

R.I.P. giant "Death To Bad Music" painting

TUESDAY TIP #1

I have always wondered to myself, while looking at other artists work, "how do these artists produce this stuff?" "What material do they use?" "How can I find a better understanding on how to follow in such great artists footsteps?"...Well, I am now going to answer a lot of these questions I have wondered to myself for all of you in a weekly Tuesday blog called "Tuesday Tip". Every Tuesday I will reveal a simple tip explaining how I produce my art and hopefully anybody that would like to can learn a thing or two about the way I create...So here goes the first tip...

I get a lot of questions from people concerning how I can get such straight thick black lines in all of my paintings and the answer is simple...acrylic paint markers. These paint markers make it so easy to take a ruler and do exactly what I want, make perfect straight lines. Of coarse you need to be careful and keep a steady hand, but a ruler and black paint markers is exactly how I get such straight lines in all of my work. You can find these markers online and purchase them for very cheap. They last a long time and come in handy for every single painting I produce.

GET YOUR ART OUT THERE!!!

No matter what form of art you produce, whether it may be sculpture, photography, print making, or any other form, the best obvious advice I can give to you is GET YOUR ART OUT THERE! These photos are from an artists/vendors market that was held from 9am to 4pm on 9/11 at Eye Level Art in Charleston, SC. I am very serious about the way you display your art but in all seriousness sometimes you just need to show your talent and passion every single chance you can get. This market did not allow me to display my art the way it should've been displayed (on the walls, nicely lit, etc.) but I didn't give a shit. This wasn't MY art show and displaying my work in this untidy way still helped me out big time. Well over 100 people showed and took business cards from me. I also met and befriended all kinds of cool artists and vendors who I'd love to help and in return could help me (It's all about contacts). Show your art everywhere. Make it a business. Make stickers, key chains, etc...who cares! Just get it out there every single chance you get!

Scanning your paintings make a HUGE difference!

A definite MUST for all artists is finding a place with a large format scanner. Try googling blueprint companies in your area and most of them will get the job done right for a small fee (these cost around $30 a piece to scan). Look at the quality of these 3 paintings once they were scanned rather than the same paintings I photographed and put up on the blog in May. HUGE DIFFERENCE!!! Colors are almost dead on and there are no blurry spots. A great tip I wish I knew before I wasted so much time taking bad photographs is that if you plan on making prints of your work to sell, finding a scanner is a must!

ATTENTION!!! I DO COMMISSION PAINTINGS!!!

I am always asked if I commission paintings and the answer is YES! I will commission a stained glass themed painting for you or anybody you would like. I will paint anything you like in this form!!! Anything from your favorite celebrity, to your favorite Uncle. I will paint pets, children, family portraits, etc. ANYTHING YOU WANT!!!

Prices vary depending on size and theme. I am currently being commissioned $1,000 to paint a 2x3ft. stained glass painting of guitar legend Keith Richards.

Send all ideas and orders to linehamm@yahoo.com and we will talk!

(NEW) FULL HOUSE PAINTING!!!

For the past 3 months I have been working on a 4ft. x 4ft. painting of the cast of 90's TV show Full House. Over 200 hours later, the painting is finally finished and Thank God (Bob Saget). I was honestly sick of painting it after the first 100 hours and just wanted it to be done. The absurdity of painting a Full House Stained Glass themed painting was incredibly funny to me at first but after realizing I had spent the past 3 months working my ass off, day and night, on a painting that includes people like Jon Stamos, I can honestly say that the hilarity of such a strange idea wore off and I ended up wondering what the hell I was doing with my life...Anyway, finally, 3 months later. Here it is! Please comment and tell me what you think, but in the words of Uncle Jesse, "have mercy!"


PRINTS: $40
ORIGINAL UNFRAMED 4ft. x 4ft. PAINTING: $1,500
send all orders to linehamm@yahoo.com