Carnival 2019 in Trinidad & Tobago

Hi guys…..I’ve written about this before but that time has come around again. It’s CARNIVAL IN TRINIDAD!!!!!! Yes people partying for weeks with 3 or more parties happening everyday and then there will be the parade of carnival costumes in the streets on the last two main Carnival days. I wanted to do everything this year…that means going to at least 4 all inclusive fetes, doing Jouvert, going Panorama and also playing Mass but the finances just weren’t holding up so I had to pick and choose which events I could go to.

Just to explain…in Trinidad we have 2 days where different Carnival Bands dance through the streets in their fantastic costumes on Carnival Monday 4th March and Tuesday 5th March. Carnival bands are organized groups made up of participants who pay for costumes fashioned by a designer and assembled by teams of volunteers. The costumed participants dance through the streets to the sounds of a steel band, a soca band or a d.j.

Carnival Costumes in Trinidad & Tobago

Note: Historians say they believe the first "modern" Caribbean Carnival originated inTrinidad and Tobago in the late 18th century when a flood of French settlers brought the Fat Tuesday masquerade party tradition with them to the island, although Fat Tuesday celebrations were almost certainly taking place at least a century.

The 2 or 3 weeks before those two days there are hundreds of events like Steelpan Competitions (know as Panorama), Calypso Competitions (Groovy, Power, Chutney, Calypso and Ex Tempo), All Inclusive fetes, Cooler fetes, and more. All Inclusive fetes are parties you pay around $150USD and you get as much food as you want, drinks of all kinds – cocktails, champaign, mixed drinks – live calypso or Groovey singers….only the best of the best Trini Kaiso and Soca entertainers.

A fête, or fete, is an elaborate festival, party or celebration. In Britain, fêtes are traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments.

Note: Steelpan- a percussion instrument originating in Trinidad, made out of an oil drum with one end beaten down and divided by grooves into sections to give different notes.

You dance, jump and “wine” from 3:00pm until midnight. It’s the best EVER!!!!. “Wine” or “wining” is the name given to the dance of Trinidad and Tobago.Talk about a great stress reliever, that is what Carnival is for many. There are people who go from one party to the next then go straight to work, e.g. my daughter’s friend went to a Fete on Tuesday from 2pm to 11pm then straight from that Fete to another one starting from 11pm to 9am the next day and from that she went straight to work for 9am.

Playing Jouvert 4th march 2019 with friends in the Duck Crew

We live for Carnival, the fun, the excitement , the meeting up of friends you haven’t seen in a long time and family from abroad comes just for the Carnival “bacchanal”.Our Festival is AMAZING, FUN, LOVE BETWEEN PEOPLE and everyone gets along with everyone. So in the end I did two fetes although we paid to go to three. My husband was just too tired that day so we didn’t go the Vale Fete. We attended Holy Name Convent’s Cooler Fete. Many of the schools have parties as a means of raising funds for the School. Schools like QRC, Fatima, the University, Bishops have been having All Inclusive Fetes for years. The newcomers are CIC and Holy Name.

We live for Carnival, the fun, the excitement , the meeting up of friends you haven’t seen in a long time and family from abroad comes just for the Carnival “bacchanal”. Our Festival is AMAZING, FUN, LOVE BETWEEN PEOPLE and everyone gets along with everyone. So in the end I did two fetes although we paid to go to three. My husband was just too tired that day so we didn’t go the Vale Fete. We attended Holy Name Convent’s Cooler Fete. Many of the schools have parties as a means of raising funds for the School. Schools like QRC, Fatima, the University, Bishops have been having All Inclusive Fetes for years. The newcomers are CIC and Holy Name.

Even St. Joseph Covent who I know the Nuns said they would never allow a fete on the grounds had to give in to the school partnering with 2 other schools. Fatima and St. Francois to host a Cooler fete because the funds helps the schools build computer rooms, put in new computers, fix areas that are run down and pay for whatever issues the school maybe experiencing. They are normally organized by the Past Students, which removes the headache and stress of organizing an event to them versus the teachers etc. Some of these High Schools are so great at running these events that their tickets are prime.

Ok to continue….I attended my daughter’s high school cooler fete at Holy Name and a Fete called Farmhouse which was hosted in Chaguaramas Prominade…I was WONDERFUL!!! I had a ball. I went with my husband, my girlfriend and we organized to meet 3 other couples there. I “bounced up” so many people I haven’t seen in a long while as well as some of my clients that I call friends.

Me at the Holy Name cooler Fete.

So 2 out of 3 fetes attended. I couldn’t play mass as the costumes were a bit over my budget…that is why some people take loans for Carnival…with the cost of the Carnival costumes, all the fetes, Panorama and more you end up spending a minimum of  $2500.USD, an amount I can’t spend right now. So the 3 Fetes.......one we got the tickets free (Holy Name) and the other 2 combined cost me  USD $250 and then there is JOUVERT!!!!  That’s where different bands of people (which could total 1000’s) in casual t-Shirts and shorts or less get covered in paint or mud, or chocolate, or powder or clay and we dance through the streets following Music trucks and breakfast is provided as well as drinks…soft and alcoholic because this parade starts at 4am in the morning.

Yes people I got up at 1am to get ready to collect a friend, went to the meeting point in my paid for T-shirt (that you can cut up into all kinds of stiles), cup, hat, beads provided for our portrayal. When you arrive you get a drink, listen and dance to music while you wait for when the trucks move unto the road where we follow, dancing and prancing in the streets behind them. OH I forgot to mention that as we are waiting we each go to get paint smeared all overs…on our clothes, hair, legs..…anywhere the skin is showing.

Jouvert in Trinidad & Tobago

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Once the truck leaves the compound then we follow. It drives around the town with us following-dancing behind it, along the way we encounter other bands and we let them pass or we dance with them, but I’m talking about bands with hundreds of people so it only sounds simple. We dance all morning from 4am until 8 or 9am. WONDERFUL FUN!!!.

Inspite of all that prancing I’m not tired, I guess working out in the gym at 5am then walking the hills of Chancellor in the afternoon has built up my stamina. But I will feel it a little later in the day, but for now I;\”m watching the Parade of the bands on TV while I recoup from Jouvert.

I hope one day one of you m readers can come visit Trinidad to experience our Carnival…none of the carnivals in the other countries like Brazil or even Mardi Gras in New Orleans comes close and I’ve experienced Mardi Gras.

Me and my friends at Jouvert 2019

Hi! I’m Gafra

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God is Good and Art is Alive

Hi Everyone, i remembered this post recently and it rejuvenated my feelings about my art and my efforts to build my Art Business. Lately I've been rather slow in getting back into my art. I set myself a challenge to paint a watercolor landscape every day for 30 days and to date I've managed to stick at it. My focus lately has been to build up both of my blogs, set up my Online Course, sell my printables and lastly, set up my Etsy Store.

I've been a little disappointed that no one has bought a single printable or any of my printable watercolour paintings but I guess its because I haven't pushed enough "traffic" to my blogs and to an extent that is correct but I don't want to go the route of writing blogs only to sell an item because I want to continue sharing on topics that interest me. I will continue to offer my art for sale and I hope some begin to love my style, which I have to say I am still figuring out. Art is like introspection. Its looking within and seeing who you are. It's about letting out the energy and power within that dwells within but has a strong urge to be released and that is what I try to do. Let out my inner being.

So this is the blog post from way back when that gave me back my faith in my Art and my painting abilities.

"I've been soooo busy, yes like a crazy person as usual. I've been on a drive to get my art out there and I've been...as you know...doing allot of acrylic abstracts but now I'm doing allot of miniature acrylic abstracts. They have been so much fun, so I'm totally enjoying myself. The only challenge is time. I've been feeling extremely rushed and anxious because when I want to be painting I'm at my other job. But that pays the bills and my art doesn't, at least not yet, so I can't push it aside. Anyway, let me tell you about the great thing that happened.

I say God is good because although I had a weird week of accidents, I visited my favourite art supply store again....yes again and who happens to be there? One of Trinidad and Tobago's most amazing artist Jackie  Hinkson. I love his work and I kinda got star struck. He taught one of my art classes way way back, so I didn't think he would remember me. I was oh so polite to him but he did catch me drooling...so embarrassing. I built up the courage to go talk to him and reminded him of where we met and he remembered the class. (BIG SMILE).

The best part was, when he was leaving, he asked if I still painted and I said yes, but I'm doing some acrylics and less watercolour. However I intended to restart on the watercolours. He said yes watercolours are difficult but keep trying. He also offered to critique my work. Well people, I'm not one to waste or lose an opportunity. I definitely GRABBED that one. The same afternoon as soon as I returned home I sent him an email and 3 of my pieces to critique.

Do you know he really responded  and his feedback was so great and made me feel sooooo resolved to continue my painting and to know that I wasn't on the wrong track. It confirmed me and now I'm off and running. The great thing is, we continue to correspond as I've sent him another watercolour and an abstract to hear his thoughts about them. He encouraged me to do Plein Air, which I know I need to do more often but I tend to avoid it. Plein Air is hard, especially as the paint dries so quickly as you're painting. Below is the Plein Air I attempted once and didn't like, but I will take his advice and do one that is simple and see how that one turns out. Its a painting of the Haynes Manor by the savannah. See what I mean?

Since that painting I've done many more architectural pieces but none Plein air, why because I just don't want to go through packing all the required tools to set up to do a plein air painting. But I have been doing a lot of landscapes to help build up my looseness. See 2 below that were done just last week.

Hi I’m GaFra

Please continue to read my blogs and send me your comments and feedback. I really want to hear from you.

Stages of Female & Male Menopause

Hi everyone, I'm finally going to talk about a topic that isn't really brought up very often. No one warns us women of what we will have to go through when we reach the AGE. It wasn't a very nice experience and it is still happening todate. I wasn't informed by my mother, by friends, no one not until I was going through it myself and I had to go do my research. Eventually I had the conversation with my girlfriends and that was when we brought out all the effects or some of us warned the others of what to expect and what we can do to ease the effect.

For me there weren't many things I could use that helped. I had to ride it out as best as I could, which wasn't much of a help. The hot flashes, the mood swings, the lack of sexual urges and worst the feeling of as if life was a confused ball of nothing. I did my research and although I tried Evening Primrose....that didn't help me. None of the medication recommended worked for me, so as I said, I had to ride it out. Fortunately for me, the hot flashes which would start from my lower areas then move upwards like a flaming fire in my body, changed from flaming heat to just periods of "feeling warm", and that is still happening.

Look at the information I've gathered for you:

Menopause is a normal condition that all women experience as they age. The term "menopause" can describe any of the changes a woman goes through either just before or after she stops menstruating,marking the end of her reproductive period.

What Causes Menopause?

A woman is born with a finite number of eggs, which are stored in the ovaries. The ovaries also make the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which control menstruation and ovulation. Menopause happens when the ovaries no longer release an egg every month and menstruation stops.

Menopause is considered a normal part of aging when it happens after the age of 40. But some women can go through menopause early, either as a result of surgery, such as hysterectomy, or damage to the ovaries, such as from chemotherapy. Menopause that happens before 40, regardless of the cause, is called premature menopause.

Perimenopause or menopause transition, begins several years before menopause. It's the time when the ovaries gradually begin to make less estrogen. It usually starts in a woman's 40s, but can start in her 30s or even earlier.

Perimenopause lasts up until menopause, the point when the ovaries stop releasing eggs. In the last 1 to 2 years of perimenopause, this drop in estrogen speeds up. At this stage, many women have menopause symptoms.

How Long Does Perimenopause Last?

The average length of perimenopause is 4 years, but for some women this stage may last only a few months or continue for 10 years. Perimenopause ends when a woman has gone 12 months without having her period.

Women in perimenopause have at least some these symptoms:

• · Hot flashes.

• · Breast tenderness.

• · Worse premenstrual syndrome.

• · Lower sex drive.

• · Fatigue.

• · Irregular periods.

• · Vaginal dryness; discomfort during sex.

• · Urine leakage when coughing or sneezing.

Some common, normal signs include irregular periods, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, sleep disturbances, and mood swings—all results of unevenly changing levels of ovarian hormones (estrogen) in your body. Read more about how you'll know you're near menopause.

Other common symptoms around the time of menopause include:

• · Irregular or skipped periods.

• · Insomnia.

• · Mood swings.

• · Fatigue.

• · Depression.

• · Irritability.

• · Racing heart.

• · Headaches.

Symptoms of menopause

• · Hot flashes. These cause you to feel a sudden rush of warmth in your face and upper body. ...

• · Night sweats. Hot flashes during sleep can result in night sweats. ...

• · Cold flashes. ...

• · Vaginal changes. ...

• · Emotional changes. ...

• · Trouble sleeping.

The age you experience it can vary, but it typically occurs in your late 40s or early 50s. Menopause can cause many changes in your body. The symptoms are the result of a decreased production of estrogen and progesterone in your ovaries. ...You may find that getting through menopause requires little medical attention.

Do the symptoms ever go away?

Most symptoms of menopause are permanent, unless the woman takes hormones or other medications. Hot flashes usually last about two years, but for 15%-20% of women, they never go away. Insomnia or sleep disturbances also can continue to be a problem.

What is the Last Stage of Menopause?

The 3-5 year period before menopause when your estrogen and hormone levels begin to drop is called perimenopause. You typically enter into perimenopause in your late 40's and could begin to experience irregular menstrual cycles and symptoms such as: Hot flashes. Sleep disturbances-insomnia.

Handling the Menopause Weight Gain

Exercise More Often, More Intensely to Counter Midlife Weight Gain. Start with a mix of moderate and vigorous exercise to burn off menopausal weight gain. Your routine should include aerobic exercises, like swimming, walking, bicycling, and running, as well as resistance or strength training.

Weight distribution changes as you hit menopause, with the added pounds accumulating right around your belly Before, during, and after menopause, your estrogen levels begin to wane and your metabolism slows, making it more difficult for you to lose weight, particularly around your middle. And belly fat isn’t just annoying — it’s also unhealthy. Studies show it increases your risk for heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and perhaps even early death. Here, 10 ways to successfully fight the battle of the bulge:

Start with a mix of moderate and vigorous exercise to burn off menopausal weight gain. Your routine should include aerobic exercises, like swimming, walking, bicycling, and running, as well as resistance or strength training

Women may not be the only ones who suffer the effects of changing hormones. Some doctors are noticing that men are reporting some of the same symptoms that women experience in perimenopause and menopause.

The medical community is debating whether or not men really do go through a well-defined menopause. Doctors say that men receiving hormone therapy with testosterone have reported relief of some of the symptoms associated with so-called male menopause.

What Is Male Menopause?

Because men do not go through a well-defined period referred to as menopause, some doctors refer to this problem as androgen (testosterone) decline in the aging male -- or what some people call low testosterone. Men do experience a decline in the production of the male hormone testosterone with aging, but this also occurs with conditions such as diabetes.

Along with the decline in testosterone, some men experience symptoms that include:

• Fatigue

• Weakness

• Depression

• Sexual problems

The relationship of these symptoms to decreased testosterone levels is still controversial.

Unlike menopause in women, when hormone production stops completely, testosterone decline in men is a slower process. The testes, unlike the ovaries, do not run out of the substance it needs to make testosterone. A healthy manmay be able to make sperm well into his 80s or later.

References:

1. webMD – Menopause Basics

2. webMD – perimenopause symptoms

3. Healthline – How long do symptoms of menopause last.

4. Healthline - 11 things women should know about menopause

5. Menopause.org – How will I know I’m in Menopause

6. Everydayhealth.com – How can I lose the menopause belly

Hi I’m GaFra

Visit my new Etsy Store “teaprint” right

HERE.

What Squarespace Can Do?

Hi Guys...I know I did an ebtire blog on Squarespace versus Wordpress but now I'm doing a photo blog of what Squarespace can do. It's going to be a bit different...almost like a picture book...lol. Hope its understandable. I really like Squarespace, it's made blogging easy for me and I still struggle with Wordpress for a lot of things. so lets get started:

Squarespace is a website builder designed to help creatives build their own websites and showcase their work, no matter their technical ability.

Without any coding knowledge, you can put together your own beautiful website in a matter of hours. All you need to do is create an account, choose a template, and then edit it to create a totally unique and professional looking website.

What Does It Cost?

Get your printer to print your poster and WHALA!!!

What Does Squarespace Offer?

What I needed was easy blogging features, complete with images, videos, galleries, audio that can be easily placed on a blog or any other page without one having to get/buy a plug in.

Place your family photos in frames, inexpensive deorating.

All of these features are also very easy to add to a page or any blog. You can add texts, images, buttons, blogs, a store and more quite easily.

What Can You Get?

What is Easily Available?

Use a soothing colour.www.gafra.org

What Do You Get?

• Free Unlimited hosting

• Fast Content Delivery

• Superior Uptime and Reliability

• Comes with Free SSL

Is Help Easily Available?

Easy customer Engagement for any challenges you may have. There are also tons of tutorials by Squarespace and many Youtube Videos also explaining how to use Squarespace but it is so user friendly that you can easily figure out how it works.

How Can You Track Your Website?

Squarespace has a great analytics App that you can download on your phone. You can track views, amount of views, their geographic locations and more.

There is all that you need to know easily available on the Squarespace site. Check it out yourself, as I said before I really love this platform and it has made blogging so much more fun for me. 

Check you guys next week and have a great one...

ABOUT ME

Hi guys, I’m Gail Francis better known as “GaFra”

Welcome! This is just one of my 3 sites, I also have: gafraihairu.com and triniartstudio.org.

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Squarespace vs. Wordpress

Hi guys,…how is everyone? Great? Very good to hear that. I’m doing this post because one of my followers mentioned that she was a beginner on Wordpress so I mentioned that I found Squarespace is much easier to use but she didn’t know what Squarespace was. I told her I would do a post on it so she could find out more. So shout outs to Treana…hope this is helpful.

So what is Squarespace?

Squarespace is a website builder designed to help creatives build their own websites and showcase their work, no matter their technical ability.

Without any coding knowledge, you can put together your own beautiful website in a matter of hours. All you need to do is create an account, choose a template, and then edit it to create a totally unique and professional looking website.

Squarespace doesn't offer hundreds of templates like some of its rivals (there are just over 60, compared with more than 500 from Wix), but Squarespace goes for quality over quantity. ... Squarespace has made sure its small but perfectly-formed collection covers a good range of industries.

What is the cost?

Squarespace Pricing and Packages. Although Squarespace does not offer you a free plan, they do have a 14-day risk-free trial for you to thoroughly test out their website builder before you make your decision. ... So the ongoing cost for Squarespace ranges from $144 per year (Personal plan) to $480 per year (Advanced plan).

Squarespace is fairly new compared to WordPress, so there is still room for it to grow and improve. Squarespace can be a good choice for small sites on a budget that need limited functionality and ease of use when writing posts. Apart from that, WordPress outperforms Squarespace when it comes to functionality and SEO.

I started with Wordpress but Wordpress is limiting when you want to do more with your site than simply write blogs. If you want to start expanding what you can do with your site, like set up a shop, or send out a mass email, or even simple things like put in a button anywhere, or put in a product for sale anywhere, or set up a new page where a password is required to get in or link to a mailing platform or any other type of platform…all these things can be very easily done with Squarespace whereas with Wordpress you have to buy a plug-in to be able to do some simple things and it’s not user friendly for me.

I’ve always found Wordpress a bit frustrating to do some simple things and the cost starts to stack up when you have to get some plug-ins to do some simple things. They have a variety of themes/templates that you can change easily. They also have a guide for everything and there are tons of Youtubers who can help you on any aspect of squarespace, not that you will need it as their help area is the best. These are comments from a more technical person who is comparing them from that standpoint.

Who are Squarespace and Wordpress aimed at?

It’s probably fair to say that Squarespace’s core audience is comprised of users without web development skills. The key idea behind Squarespace is that anyone can use the platform to make their own website, without needing to code at all.

This leads to a ‘walled garden’ approach, where everything is very tightly locked down in order to:

• create a user-friendly interface

• avoid scenarios where Squarespace users manage to ‘break’ an aspect of their site

• preserve the quality of the templates.

Like Squarespace, Wordpress can also cater for users without web development skills — it is certainly possible to create and maintain a Wordpress site without resorting to coding.

However in many cases, more configuration of Wordpress is needed before you can publish a website; and setting up a Wordpress site involves a steeper learning curve.

Due to its open-source nature, Wordpress is also geared towards another audience: users who wish to use the platform to create an extensively-customised website with significantly more functionality that is available from Squarespace.

Interface / ease-of-use

The Squarespace drag and drop interface is extremely intuitive; and its style editor makes it pretty straightforward to change basic template design elements - font colours, heading sizes and so on.

You just point at the design elements you want to change, and click some controls to change them. (Frustratingly, the extent to which you can tweak a template's design very much depends on the template you pick, however).

Once a Wordpress site is set up, it's by no means difficult to maintain either. Depending on what hosting provider you plump for, setup and configuration can be a bit fiddly, but once you’re up and running you’ll find that the Wordpress content management system (CMS) is easy-to-use and very responsive.

The main difference between the Squarespace and Wordpress approaches to content management is to do with on-page editing.

With Squarespace, you can just go to the page you’d like to tweak and click on a bit of content to edit it: you’ll then see your edits in context on the page, as you make them.

In Wordpress you have to edit the page in the back end and preview / publish it before you see your changes.

But as with much else in Wordpress, if you're prepared to put a little bit of time and research into configuration, it's possible to tweak things to suit your workflow: there are quite a lot of front end ‘visual editor’ plugins / tools available that you can make use of to add a more 'Squarespacey' approach to content management.

On balance its said that most website editing newbies will feel more at home more quickly with Squarespace, but the Wordpress CMS is extremely usable too.

Squarespace vs Wordpress: the conclusions

Most developers and webmasters would be comfortable in saying that Wordpress is a vastly more powerful and flexible tool than Squarespace, and I’d agree with them.

However, that’s not to say that Wordpress is the right choice for all users.

I would argue that in many ways Squarespace meets the needs of individuals and small businesses better than Wordpress, because

(1) it’s easier to set up a Squarespace site than a Wordpress one and
(2) once your site is set up you don’t have to worry about maintenance or security issues — other than remembering to update your site with interesting content periodically, and staying on top of basic SEO techniques, using Squarespace is a sort of ‘set and forget’ scenario.

Squarespace is a great solution for the likes of photographers, bands and small business owners, who just want a simple website quickly and with a minimum of fuss (and down the line, if your needs do become more sophisticated, you could consider hiring a Squarespace developer to enhance your site through custom coding).

However, if you have advanced e-commerce or blogging requirements, or envisage a scenario where you are operating a business in multiple locations, most would be inclined to go with Wordpress - for the simple reason that they can pretty much build anything with it and make use of a vast number of plugins and themes.

Wordpress is also a much more scalable solution, thanks to the multilingual and multisite options that are available. A Squarespace site is fine for a business that knows it's only ever going to operate in one location and in one language - but if your plan is to grow that business and open premises in a variety of locations, then Wordpress is an option that is much better suited for the long-term.

If you are going down the Wordpress route, its suggested that rather than trying to use it on the cheap - by doing everything yourself - it makes more sense to work with an experienced developer or agency, and to keep them involved in maintaining your site on an ongoing basis.

Not only will this give you a more polished, bespoke website, you’ll also get more peace of mind, as you won’t have to worry about security or maintenance. You will need to budget properly for this, but if you work with the right individual or team you’ll get a good product.

One way of deciding on Squarespace vs Wordpress for a website build is by asking yourself 3 questions:

(1) "Do I have a large budget?"
(2) "Do I have time?"
(3) "Do I have complex requirements for my site?"

If your budget is tight, you could consider building a Squarespace site yourself, or by contrast, if you are not particularly limited by budget, then go with Wordpress.

If you are short on time and technical skills, and absolutely intent on building your website yourself, I'd be inclined to plump for Squarespace over Wordpress.

And finally if you have complex requirements for your site you will probably need to use Wordpress, as it's a significantly more flexible platform from a functionality point of view.

Below is a summary of some of the key reasons why you might use either Squarespace or Wordpress over the other.

Reasons to use Squarespace over Wordpress

Squarespace is easier to set up and use than Wordpress — you shouldn’t face much of a learning curve.

A lot of features which you have to source separately in Wordpress using plugins are available ‘out of the box’ if you’re using Squarespace — e-commerce, data capture forms, themes etc.

Hosting and domain names are included with the product (note that domain names are available on annual plans only); with Wordpress, you have to sort these out separately.

With Squarespace you don’t have to worry about the technical aspects of maintaining your site; if you use Wordpress, you need to keep on top of this or your site will become vulnerable to being hacked.

Squarespace is largely responsible for the security of your website — if you use Wordpress, security depends on how diligent you are in updating your software and theme.

24/7 support is available for Squarespace (email and live chat). By contrast, whether or not you can avail of support for a Wordpress site depends largely on whether you have commissioned a developer or agency to provide it.

Squarespace is arguably a better option than Wordpress for users who require an elegant but simple website delivered quickly.

The new email campaigns functionality, which allows you to create and send e-newsletters from within the Squarespace environment, may appeal to some users.

Reasons to use Wordpress over Squarespace

You can build any type of site with Wordpress; it’s a much more flexible platform than Squarespace.

A significantly wider range of templates is available in Wordpress than in Squarespace.

Wordpress comes with a more sophisticated content management system which, unlike Squarespace, facilitates content versioning.

You can use Wordpress to create sites with deep levels of navigation — this is not really the case with Squarespace (without custom coding anyway),

A vast range of plugins — paid-for and free — is available to help you add functionality to your Wordpress website. Although you can add functionality to Squarespace sites via widgets and custom code blocks, you can’t use click-to-install plugins.

You have a much broader range of options when it comes to e-commerce in Squarespace than in Wordpress.

Data capture options are more extensive in Wordpress than in Squarespace (so long as the correct forms plugin is used).

Wordpress sites can be optimised for search engines much more easily and comprehensively than Squarespace ones.

You can add rich snippets much more easily to Wordpress sites.

On a Wordpress site, you have more control over your content — with Squarespace, you’ll have to adhere to an ‘acceptable use’ policy and you may have trouble exporting some of your site content (especially where e-commerce-related content is concerned).

Wordpress is a much better option than Squarespace for creating multilingual or ‘multisite’ projects.

Therefore for me, who does not feel comfortable with the backoffice html side of things I feel more comfortable with Squarespace and like I’ve said i have difficulty handling Wordpress sometimes but I don’t have that problem with Squarespace. Hope this helps you.

Reference:

• Squarespave vs. Wordpress (2019) - which is the bet website builder? By Chris Singleton

Hi! I’m Gafra

Enjoy my blog. Learn more about me.

The Joys of Art

Hi Everyone, I'm on a major joy ride lately because I'm trying to build up all of my blogs and my art store. It's been an interesting journey as I do all my relevant research, which entails, googling info on web sites and web hosting. Reading books about starting your online business and trying to figure out how to set up all the different sites. Being on social media is also a first for me, but quite exciting. I've tried the entire process where the youtubers indicate that you need to be enrolled on twitter, facebook, instagram, wixsite, Etsy, Artpal, Big Cartel, Redbubble, Tictail, Fineartamerica and Wordpress etc. OK yes I went a little overboard but when you're in a testing/figuring out phase, you hear about all these different options, you register then BAM!!... you find about another one, you register and then BAM!!...you know how that ends.

But a year later, I've started filtering and making decisions as to which ones to keep and which to cancel. Its easy to decide as you go with the ones that fulfil your requirements and are....wait for it......the ones that are FREE!!!!. I must say there are some extremely wonderful sites that are so easy to use and also fun to try to figure out. There are also those that are very frustrating to use. Arhhhhh!!! But I've found some great ones to. What I do dislike though, is the way they advertise one price but you have to pay for the year or they indicate one discounted price but it goes back to the full price after a year. That is just annoying, but I guess everything is to make money... so capitalism lives.

So people I'm having soooo much fun...sigh...life is good and although I started with Wordpress, and I still have one of my sites there. I've registered my other 2 sites on Squarespace because it is way easier to use and has everything you need. Wordpress can be a bit frustrating as you have to purchase Plugins every time you want to do something new or different. I've kept the free plan because it's just to annoying with all the plug ins. My old site was one where I paid for all the plugins and I still wasn't pleased with the end results.

I have to recommend one book that was amazing for me. It was "Show Your Work" by Austin Kleon. I just loved that book. Have to read it again. I bought his second book "Steal Like An Artist" and that was just as great. I really love how he writes. I read "Art inc." by Lisa Congdon. This book is a great guide to understand all you need to do to start your Art business and it has been a really great read. Well that's it for now, see everyone next week. Love to you all!!!

Ohhhh I almost forgot: Of course I must feature one of my art pieces for you to see my work. This is a charcoal piece.

GET YOUR FREE ARTIST SUPPLIES CHECKLIST FOR BEGINNERS HERE

Pan Practice in the Pan Yard. Trinidad at Carnival Time by gafra.org

If you weren't aware, Trinidad is known for its steel pan/drum. We have an entire festival with bands of steel pan groups playing featured music pieces or songs in a competition called Panorama, where the prize is a million dollars. This is a charcoal piece showing a small sized band practicing in a Pan Yard for an upcoming Panorama Competition.

Going back to the reading material, I have for you a list of the books I've read since starting up my sites. I still need to do a review for each one but that will come later, for now get the free reading list and learn as much as you can. Hope its helpful.

I've reached a point now where I stopped using certain sites and I've kept to a set few, so based on what was listed above I am still functioning or using the following sites:

• Redbubble

• Society6

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Wordpress

• Squarespace

and recently:

• Teachable

• Canva

• Udemy

• SmallPDF

• PDF Escape

• ClickBank

Hope you got something out of this post. See you soon and have a great one.

ABOUT ME

Hi guys, I’m Gail Francis better known as “GaFra”

Welcome! I’m a Business Owner, Blogger, Artist, mother of 4, friend to many and a Development Coach.

Learn more about me, visit my other blogs as well.

Buy My Art

JOIN MY LIST

Get your FREE DAILY PRINTABLE PLANNER here at gafra.org and many other Printables.

Keep following my different posts and Let me help you start your art journey. Get your FREE ART SUPPLIES CHECKLIST FOR BEGINNERS HERE.

Get your FREE DOWNLOAD: An EASY GUIDE on “How to Paint an Abstract” OR my LOOK-BOOK

Get your personal copy of this ebook HERE!!

Referrences:

• 8 Famous Artists Who Were Self-Taught by Jon Mann, May 25, 2018

• BBC - Can A SeLF taught Artist Make it in the Art World?

How To Make It As An Artist?

Hi Everyone, below is a post I sent out a few years back and in looking back at it I realised so much. This is the post:

“I didn't mention this, but I'm doing an online course on how to market your business. As with every course, you get homework and we were given homework this weekend to approach 3 people to talk about our product (my art) and get them interested. Well I didn't even try doing that because, firstly I couldn't think of who I could approach that I didn't know and then having to tell them about what I do!!!!! Urrrrr!!!! Please note I'm not shy and it's not that I'm anti-social. I just didn't want to approach a friend. But low and behold I happened to go into one of our popular art supply stores "Arnim", with my daughter and as we purchased our item, a gentleman who came to collect some paintings (they also do framing and matting ), as we were leaving he called out to me. I was a bit wary as I didn't know him and wondered OK what was he up to. He asked if I painted? I said yes. Then he suggested that I become a member of a group called "Women in Art". Well I was thrown, because my art teacher moved to Canada, the art group disintegrated., so I had no other artists to bond with.

I was looking for a group to join so I could learn and join in the activities that are so enjoyable in this art world. This gentleman, out of nowhere, suddenly answered my need. He gave me all the details of who to contact and I thanked him profusely. What timing...Ha Ha HaHaHa...so of course I called immediately, arranged to pay and become a member and was invited to submit 5 pieces for an exhibition they were having in Tobago. Yea!!!!! You must understand....the more your work is out there, the more people will recognise you and you build a client base. So I immediately went through my work to pull out 5 pieces that fit the criteria and wrapped them up and they will be on their way to the exhibition on Monday. I can't wait to get feedback from the gentleman......get this....... who happened to be the Gallery Owner that was hosting the exhibition. Huh!! Just Amazing!!!! I don't meet gallery owners or other artists, so this was blow mind for me. Soooo excited. Even if none of my pieces sell at least they were on display and all of this is a great learning experience for me.

These are the pieces I submitted. Hope you like them as well. So I'll tell you more next week. Hope I have good things to share.”

ONE YEAR LATER

Yes, one year later and I can say that that went nowhere. I joined the group but you’re surrounded by so many artist that are just as good as you or better and you feel like your work just doesn’t get seen. The group was a bit disorganised and even though I submitted work for that event nothing sold and nothing sold for the 3 other events I sent submissions. Then at the last event I got soooo pissed with them…I may have done a blog on how I felt, that I decided that I wouldn’t be staying as a member, it just wasn’t working out for me. What made it worst was that it was a group for women…See what I mean? Remember my post on whether Women really help each other or not?...I rest my case.

So I asked myself the question…outside of my Development Business where I made my living, was I making or could I make a living from my Art? And the answer is NO!!! NOT YET. Yes there is the point that I wasn’t putting 100% into my Art as a business but I was putting at least 50% of my time. What helped me make money with my art were the following:

• The Upmarkets – I was able to sell small pieces but not enough to be able to have lived comfortably monthly.

• My Own Exhibition – this helped me make more money but the cost to set it up varied. The first time I did an exhibition I made a nice change of about $15K. My second exhibition was smaller and more of a POP-UP shop and I partnered with my cousin and a friend and I stood the venue cost. Here I broke even.

• Selling through Social Media – I hired my daughter to deal with Social Media for me and although I et a lot of followers (mainly local Trinis) I don’t get a lot if international followers and I’ve never gotten a sale straight off of Instagram or Facebook.

• Converting My Office into A Gallery – Great idea as I can let my clients see my work as they come for their sessions but I’ve only gotten one client sale from the Gallery and several friend sales from the gallery. One of my great friends is my biggest fan and she buys quite a few of my pieces. Gotta love her. And I do. Will always be grateful.

• Selling PRINTABLES on my sites – this too I’ve received nothing and despite following all the advice from the successful youtubers I am still to see any results, but I enjoy blogging and creating freebies and creating PRINTABLES SO I will continue despite the lack of income.

What all of this says to me is that to make a living from my ART I need to continue with the following:

• Do Exhibitions

• Continue to create new pieces

• Continue with the printables and blogging

• Continue with the Upmarkets but choose the times wisely

Now I’ve put together the different thoughts from individuals online on this topic.

Is it possible, in the current economic climate, for someone working in the creative arts to make a living from it? Unless you have the good fortune to be a Damien Hirst or a JK Rowling, the answer increasingly seems to be no. For artists who are already faced with low job security and the absence of company benefits such as pensions or paid holidays, the impact of the global financial crisis has been keenly felt.

The statistics make for uncomfortable reading. Almost a third of visual and applied artists earn less than £5,000 a year from their creative work, according to a survey conducted last year by Artists’ Interaction and Representation (AIR); 57% of the 1,457 respondents said that less than a quarter of their total income was generated by their art practices and only 16% of them paid into a private pension fund, raising questions about how professional artists will support themselves once they reach retirement age.

In other countries, there are different approaches. In Denmark, selected artists are awarded life-long annual stipends. In Sweden, the government offers five- and 10-year arts scholarships. Interestingly, however, the majority of people I spoke to in the UK prefer to maintain their artistic independence rather than taking money from the state.

WHAT TO DO TO SUCCEED AS AN ARTIST

If you want to become a successful artist, there is one thing you need to understand first: You need to understand you’re building a business. And like any other business, you have to be focused and put some effort into it. It also includes marketing yourself, putting yourself out there, and generally doing all the boring stuff that doesn’t happen magically.

HOW TO MAKE MONEY AS AN ARTIST

If you want to learn how to make money as an artist, there are two paths you can go down:

Step #1: Find an idea

First, decide what you want to specialize in.This could depend on your training and education (perhaps you took a class in graphic design or minored in photography) or simply your passion and hobbies (maybe you love animating in your free time). But for now, here are some great freelance commercial artist jobs with plenty of gigs out there:

• Illustrator. This entails taking ideas and concepts from managers and turning them into fleshed out illustrated images.

• Graphic designer. This role encompasses a variety of roles including website and logo design, product packaging, and brand production.

• Photographer. Freelance photogs can find work snapping shots for magazines, media organizations, companies, or even weddings.

• Video editor. With platforms such as Vimeo and YouTube, many companies are beginning to embrace video as a means to get across their message. They need someone to shoot, edit, and produce those videos. Could that be you?

ARTIST AS YOUR CHOICE

If you want to go into fine art, you should already have an idea of what your medium is, whether it’s painting, sculpting, photography, whatever.

No matter what your hustle idea is, you need to remember one important tenet: Do good work.

It might seem obvious but people sometimes forget this when they jump into a creative pursuit.

From Antrese

“It seems so obvious but you have to spend time developing your craft and creating work that you’re proud of,” Antrese says. “You need to be super proud of it. You can’t just put crap out into the world and expect people to like it.”

This is the “If you build it, they will come” idea of creating a side hustle. If you create good, high-quality work, people will come to you. It doesn’t matter what your artistic medium is. You should always be in the pursuit of doing good work. “It’s great for the mind-set too,” she says. “If you’re doing work you’re excited about, you’re going to be motivated to keep on doing it.”

I don’t care if you’re a freelance programmer or if you’re selling your paintings on the side: everyone gets confused at pricing their products when they start out.

“I think artists who are just starting out and aren’t familiar with the market yet tend to either price their pieces too low or too high,” Antrese says.

And while you can arbitrarily price your work until you hit on something that sticks, Antrese has a good framework that can help any beginner out: Brutal honesty.

“The simplest way to do it is to be brutally honest with yourself and evaluate your own work,” she says. “For me, I know who paints like I do, who has a similar skill set, where they’re showing, what kind of galleries they’re in, and then you go and look where they’re showing their work and how much they’re selling it for.”

This way of pricing is also known as the “Do what the other guy does” technique. By looking at yourself and others in a similar situation as you, and seeing how they price their products, you can come up with an educated guess as to how you should be pricing your work.

Step #2: Don’t quit your day job (yet)

While it might be tempting to march into your boss’s office and put in your two weeks’ notice the day after you sell your first painting or get into a gallery, you should be judicious at first.

From Antrese:

“When they start selling their work, it is tempting to quit. They think ‘If I can sell X with a full time job, I could 10X that if I just had more time to paint. I need to quit my job.’ Sounds logical enough.

What they don’t understand is what happens in their heads when they no longer have a steady paycheck. Even if they were smart and put cushion money aside, the mindset inevitably shifts from ‘I’ll create the best painting I can, if it doesn’t sell right away, it doesn’t really matter’ to ‘I worked hard for that savings and every day I don’t sell, I’m a day closer to losing it all. This painting HAS to sell.’

That’s a lot of pressure and the perfect environment for creative paralysis. Instead, Antrese suggests you resist temptation and keep your job — at least, until you can feasibly sustain yourself on your craft.

“Keep your job,” she says. “Take a ‘pay cut’ and live only off the profits from your art. Can you pay all your bills? Are you comfortable?

Step #3: Think of Different Ways to Monetize Your Art

It’s critical to think of different ways to monetize your art in order to achieve both creative and financial success. Before just diving in, you’ll want to evaluate your skill sets and what makes you most comfortable.

Whatever it is you decide to try, remember that everything is an extension of your brand as an artist and you need to ask yourself if the path you’re on will lead you toward your bigger goals. So, get ready to think outside of the box and diversify your revenue streams with some creative ways to monetize your art.

8 Alternative Ways to Earn Money from Your Creativity

Sell Prints of Your Work. The obvious way to make money is to sell your artwork itself, but it can also be very lucrative to sell prints of your work to earn a little passive income.

• Take it to the Streets. Upmarkets.

• Teach an Online Course.

• Create a Membership Site.

• Write a Book. Ebook, How To Book etc.

• Write a Blog.

• Do an Art Exhibition

• Private Commissions

According to a survey in Art Business Today, these were the top 10 best-selling subjects for paintings in the UK:

• Modern or semi-abstract landscapes.

• Figure studies (excluding nudes)

• Seascapes, harbour, and beach scenes.

• Impressionistic landscapes.

8 Best Places to Buy and Sell Art Online

1 Amazon.

2 eBay.

3 Etsy.

4 deviantART.

5 500px.

6 Zazzle.

7 CafePress.

8 Redbubble.

Referrences:

• Can you make any kind of living as an artist? By Elizabeth Day

• Rockstar.com

• 8 Innovative Ways to Make Money From Your Art by Jessica Stewart

Hi, I’m GaFra

Welcome! Hope you enjoy my blog, thank you for visiting. Come learn more about me, there is much more to read and FREEBIES for you.

Also visit my other blogs at triniartstudio.org and gafraihairu.com.

GET YOUR FREE GIFT

Get your FREE DAILY PRINTABLE PLANNER here at gafra.org and many other Printables.

Keep following my different posts and Let me help you start your art journey. Get your FREE ART SUPPLIES CHECKLIST FOR BEGINNERS HERE.

Get your FREE DOWNLOAD: An EASY GUIDE on “How to Paint an Abstract” OR my LOOK-BOOK

Read This

Love has no bounds.

JOIN MY LIST

Can You Be A Successful Self Taught Artist?

Hi Guys…although I have been an artist for about 8 years or more and I strated via very simple classes then on my own I pursued other instructors to learn more I now realise that I am now self taught. I do a lot of research as you know and most of my learning more about Art was through the internet. Yes you guessed it…YOUTUBE…I found so many wonderful artist on you tube and via their demo’s O was able to improve certain aspects of my techniques that i was having some problems with.

So yes you can be great and be self taught. in fact some the best artist were self taught and while all artists are self-taught to a degree, self-taught artists are those who don't go to art school or receive formal training. While they tend to create outside the stereotypical ideas of what makes art "art," they can get support from museums and foundations that support self-taught artists.

Self-taught typically means someone learning without a formal teacher or program, but access to teaching materials was fair game. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines self-taught as, “having knowledge or skills acquired by one's own efforts without formal instruction.” I have a bit of formal instruction from at least 3 art teachers but after that I was on my own, but was I at a level where I no longer needed an instructor so I could be labeled an Artist or did I still need further coaching to hone my skills to even better than I was and therefore reach my full potential.

Well I’ll never know unless I decide to pursue a formal degree in Art or some such certification, but although I did consider it I decided to stay with the freedom and spontaneity of learning via the web. Now you maybe considering becoming an Artist or thinking of starting to paint but you know absolutely nothing of the techniques or rules and you don’t even know where to start? The web is your teacher, simply google, research and find an artist that whose work you love and then follow them online.

The same could be said for blogging. When I wanted to start blogging I knew absolutely nothing about blogging but via surfing the net I found all that I needed and now I’m on my way to moving to another level in blogging. the same goes for your Art. Start small and slowly then keep looking for the next step in your journey via a question. So as a beginner Artist your first question would be …How do I start? What do I need to Begin? What Material and tools do I need. You can find that on the web or better yet get my free checklist below.

GET YOUR FREE ARTIST SUPPLIES CHECKLIST FOR BEGINNERS HERE

Now humans have been making art since the dawn of time, often with little education in materials, techniques, or theory, yet the notion of the “self-taught artist” is a relatively new phenomenon. There are many artist who are quite famous and they were self taught. Who are these individuals?

HENRI ROUSSEAU

Henri Rouseau, a self taught Artist.

An artist who grew up in the era of the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, Henri Rousseau lacked those artists’ formal training. He only began to paint in earnest in 1884, at age 40. For most of his adult life, he worked as a clerk, earning the nickname “Le Douanier” (“the customs officer”) from critics who sought to discredit the naïve, unschooled painter. Yet it is rumoured that the undemanding nature of Rousseau’s job (he never actually made it to the ranking of customs officer) is precisely what gave him the time to teach himself painting; when he wasn’t moving paper, he made trips to the Louvre to sketch from its collection.

Rousseau developed a following, particularly among artists, for what his advocates saw as the directness and lack of pretension in his work, qualities that broke the mold of academic standards. Best known for his vivid, exotic landscapes, Rousseau created dreamlike scenes defined by crystal-clear outlines, The 20th-century avant-garde recognized Rousseau’s value. By the end of his life, he was exhibiting alongside van Gogh and Paul Gauguin; Henri Matisse and André Derain—and his work was collected by Pablo Picasso, who later bequeathed several of Rousseau’s paintings to the Louvre.

VINCENT VAN GOGH

Vincent Van Gogh, a Self Taught Artist.

One of the most influential artists of the modern era, Vincent van Gogh was almost entirely self-taught. A complicated, taciturn character, van Gogh did not have an appetite for the classroom. Afetr a few failed stints at academic educational institutions, even trying to become a pastor in a seminary, when his brother, Theo, eyed some of his sketches of his impoverished peasant congregation, he implored Vincent to pursue art, resulting in an extremely short attempt at Brussels’s Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in 1880.

For the rest of his tragically short life, van Gogh focused almost solely on painting, looking to examples of Japanese woodblock printmaking and the formal innovations of his colleagues, among other influences. But he ultimately developed an intensely personal style that fuelled a large body of work. While van Gogh fans are quick to point to his emotional turmoil as the analog to his idiosyncratic style, his swirling, energetic brushstrokes and bold, expressive tones are also the hallmarks of a fiercely independent style forged through self-education.

FRIDA KAHLO

Frida Kahlo’s father, a German photographer, recognized his daughter’s artistic promise when she was a young girl, teaching her photography and recruiting his friend, a printmaker, to give her informal instruction in the graphic arts. When she exceeded the local artist’s expectations, he went so far as to give her a paid position as his engraving apprentice. The young Kahlo, however, had her sights set on medical school. Tragically, both her apprenticeship and her education were cut short when she fell victim to a near-fatal automobile accident at the age of 18.

During her time convalescing, the pragmatic Kahlo considered a career as a medical illustrator that would turn her artistic hobby into something more. She had an easel custom made with a mirror so she could watch herself paint despite her limited mobility, which led to self-portraits and the observation of her own anatomy. Fittingly, as she developed her style, Kahlo found herself drawn not to methods of illustration, but of personal expression. She began to fuse modern formal devices with Mexican folk traditions and the sort of vernacular Catholic imagery produced by untrained artists.

BILL TRAYLOR

9. Using Canva by gafra.org. You now have to decide if you want it as an image (jpeg) or a printable (PDF). We want printable so PDF is your choice.

Bill Traylor’s talent surfaced suddenly in 1939 when he was 85 and had 10 years to live.” Born into slavery on an Alabama plantation in 1854, Traylor didn’t receive a formal education in anything, let alone an embrace from an art world he was never expected to inhabit. Even after being emancipated at the end of the Civil War, he was forced to remain a sharecropper in the Jim Crow South. He only moved to another farm in 1935 because, as he put it, “My white folks had died, and my children had scattered.”

Forced into retirement by rheumatoid arthritis, Traylor wound up homeless and sleeping in the back room of a funeral parlor by the 1930s. Lacking the means to support himself, he began creating small drawings and paintings with whatever materials he was able to scrounge. When a young artist named Charles Shannon came upon Traylor’s work by chance in 1939, he supplied him with fresh materials, appreciation, and encouragement—fuel for Traylor, who became incredibly prolific, filling image after image with simplified figures of people, places, and other symbols connected to his personal experiences. The body of work he would create in a limited time with extremely limited means is celebrated for its innovative, untutored aesthetic, as well as the artistic window it created into the strictures of black life in the South during the Reconstruction era.

GRANDMA MOSES

10. Using Canva by gafra.org. Canva even suggests which download to choose for best quality.

Discovered at the age of 78, Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses made art throughout her life, though she received no formal education. A small-town housekeeper-turned-homemaker, she was, according to her New York Times obituary from 1961, “a self-taught ‘primitive,’ who in childhood began painting what she called ‘lambscapes’ by squeezing out grape juice or lemon juice to get colors.” In her young adulthood, she copied scenes from images produced by the American printmaking firm Currier and Ives. As her family developed, Moses’s art grew more domestic, or at least what one might call decorative: a painted scene on her family’s fireboard; embroidered images made from yarn; large quilts; dolls for her granddaughters.

She produced over 1,500 works representing the simplicities of a bygone era in direct, bright, and realistic imagery. Her rise to fame occurred when an art collector found a handful of her works in a drugstore window, playing the unassuming backdrop for baked goods and jams that she also made for sale.

The following year, in 1939, three of those paintings were included in the Museum of Modern Art’s “Contemporary Unknown American Painters” exhibition, and just one year after that, Moses had her own successful solo show. By the time of her death in 1961, she had become the self-taught grandmother of American folk art and was awarded two honorary doctoral degrees, including (ironically enough) one from a college of art and design.

YOKO ONO

11. Using Canva by gafra.org. It will download based on your choice. All you do now is save it to a file on your computer.

Enrolling in John Cage’s experimental composition course at the New School for Social Research, Ono discovered that her musical background was more than enough to recommend her to the avant-garde community there, which included composer-poet La Monte Young, Conceptual artist George Brecht, and performance artist Allan Kaprow.

It was an environment in which Ono thrived. Despite (or, perhaps, because of) her lack of a formal art education, Ono’s work nimbly synthesizes a wide array of visual components and theoretical ideas, most notably in her performances. And while her art and music career certainly received a signal boost from marrying one of the world’s most famous musicians in 1969, Ono never required his assistance any more than she required formal training in an art academy to become a groundbreaking and world-renowned self-taught artist.

Jack Vettriano

Jack Vettriano's paintings have captured the public's imagination but have been sneered at by art critics.

Vettriano is a former mining engineer. His success story began when he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy’s summer exhibition, an annual competition open to all artists. Both sold on the first day. Prints of his often erotic paintings are widely available and he has achieved great commercial success. While Vettriano has been described as “the Jeffrey Archer of the art world” and his work as “badly conceived soft porn“, he remains hugely popular. In 2004 his most famous painting, The Singing Butler, sold for £775,000.

Beryl Cook

Another financially successful artist adored by the public is former Plymouth landlady Beryl Cook. Her talent was spotted by a friend who sold some paintings on her behalf. She exhibited locally and then nationally, finding a large audience for her work. Her paintings of plump and bawdy characters became widely available and could be found on stamps, posters and greetings cards. However, critics were famously disdainful of her work and Time Out magazine refused to include her exhibitions in their listings. Following her death in 2008 one of her original oil paintings sold at auction for £69,000.

Acceptance by the establishment

The numerous routes now available for artists to sell their work are making the art world more democratic and less elite than it has ever been.

Self-taught artist Jonathan Yeo rose to prominence with his portraits of celebrities and political leaders. But support from large galleries and figures from the art world can be career-changing.

There is hope for us all but it takes persistence and as I know well, it maybe a case of you have no choice because the Art lives within you and it needs to get out, so let it out no matter what anyone says to you.

Nature or nurture?

Presented by Lachlan Goudie Artist and broadcaster

Being able to paint or draw is one of life’s pleasures. However often only those who believe they are artistic actually pursue this as a pastime. The British artist Damien Hirst once said, “That's the great thing about art. Anybody can do it if you just believe. With practice you can make great paintings."

But many would disagree and believe that, like musical ability, art is a gift - you either have it or you don't. Is this true? Do you have to be born with natural ability or, with the right help, can we all be artists? Well I believe there is an artist in all of us it just manifests i different ways. I hope you enjoyed the little history lesson on some very interesting Artist who were self taught. See you soon and you beginners don’t forget to get your free checklist. I went overboard when I first started painting. Don’t overspend, get what you need at first then later you can go after the brand name items.

GET YOUR FREE ARTIST SUPPLY CHECKLIST FOR BEGINNERS HERE

ABOUT ME

Hi guys, I’m Gail Francis better known as “GaFra”

Welcome! This is just one of my 3 sites, I also have: gafraihairu.com and triniartstudio.org. I’m a Business Owner, Blogger, Artist, mother of 4, friend to many and a Development Coach.

Learn more about me, visit my other blogs as well.

Buy My Art

Get your FREE DAILY PRINTABLE PLANNER here at gafra.org and many other Printables.

Keep following my different posts and Let me help you start your art journey. Get your FREE ART SUPPLIES CHECKLIST FOR BEGINNERS HERE.

Get your FREE DOWNLOAD: An EASY GUIDE on “How to Paint an Abstract” OR my LOOK-BOOK

Get your personal copy of this ebook HERE!!

JOIN MY LIST

Referrences:

• 8 Famous Artists Who Were Self-Taught by Jon Mann, May 25, 2018

• BBC - Can A SeLF taught Artist Make it in the Art World?

How To Use PRINTABLES To Decorate Your Space

Hi guys…I’ve been reading up on what you should consider when you want to help others understand how to use your products and I realize that I didn’t really give ideas on how to use PRINTABLES, POSTERS, ABSTRACTS OR WATERCOLOUR ART in our spaces. There are so many ways to decorate one’s home, office or personal space. I decided to attempt at helping you decide how to decorate your space with some of the art I offer as a starting point. I will go through the process based on you liking a piece of Art but not being sure how to incorporate it into your home.

Get your printer to print your poster and WHALA!!!

There's nothing more depressing or empty looking than a blank wall. But decorating with art can be scary, so you might never even begin. Displaying artwork is a great way to spruce up your walls, create conversation pieces and create a flow to the decor of your home. No matter the budget, no matter the taste, you can decorate your home with art and paintings to add character and panache.

Sometimes, I know one can barely afford groceries, much less fork out big bucks for wall art. Even if you don’t have a dime to spare, you don’t need to live with blank walls. It’s easy to decorate your space using links to my inexpensive or free wall art printables and using totally inexpensive wall art ideas you can make a major impact in your home, or personal space:

By following some simple guidelines, you can hang art and paintings around your house without it being overwhelming or distracting. Artwork doesn't have to dominate your rooms; it should enhance them.

As I mentioned you may like some of my pieces or printables, or a piece of Art you saw somewhere, so lets check out these quick artwork do's and don'ts that'll save you time and effort and hopefully help you get over any fears you may have.

DOs and DONTs

DON'T think that art has to be expensive. You can hang gallery walls of family photographs or mount prints or posters that are very inexpensive, the only cost might be getting your Printer to print them a particular size for you and buying the art hook to mount them. If you want to spend a little more then buy some inexpensive frames and place the print in that to make look more glamorous. The room on the left ate some framed prints, drawings, and small photos.

Place your family photos in frames, inexpensive deorating.

Hanging your Family Photos all over your walls with a plan. www.gafra.org

DO use your walls as a showcase for your own photographs. Have your photos blown up and then use a spray adhesive to mount them on a piece of foam core. Or you can place double sided tape at the back and stick them on the wall as is.

DON'T hang artwork too high. The center point of either a single picture or a grouping of works should be at eye level.

DO hang art in every room in the house. Don't forget about the dining room, bathroom and even the mudroom.

DON'T hang a tiny piece on a big wall. If you have a small piece you want to hang put it in a frame that has a large mat or if you have a few small prints, place them in a set of three vertically one on top of the other (2” or 3” space between) or horizontally with the same spacing as mentioned.

DO use picture-hanging hooks rather than nails or screws. They can take a large amount of weight (up to 100 pounds for some sizes). Use two hooks per piece because it helps it remain level.

DON'T try to hang art by yourself. It's always better to have at least two people so one can hold it in place and the other can step back and make sure the placement is correct.

DO treat several pieces as one unit during the hanging process.

Let your Art cover the walls but stay 2-3 ins apart. www.gafra.org

Don’t hang your paintings low, must be at eye level. www.gafra.org

DON'T hang pieces too far apart from each other. Approximately two inches (sometimes less) on either side and below and above is enough space.

DO plan out a photo wall in advance. Place them on the ground in front of the wall and play around with the arrangement until you find one that satisfies you.

DON'T forget about balance. Don't hang all the large pieces in one area and all the small ones in another. The same goes for similar frames. Mix things around until you feel they're visually balanced.

DO lean artwork against a wall in some areas. Guess what? You don't actually have to hang your art. It's 2019—feel free to lean that bad boy against a wall. A piece sitting on a console table or mantle leaning against the wall can look very stylish. Layer a few pieces together for a striking display.

DO Hang Low (Or Don't Hang at All!)

But if you do want to hang the work, let's get down to basics. The bottom of the work (or its frame) should only be 8-16 inches above your sofa or table. That's right, hang low. You want to position the work so that the heart of the piece is at eye level, and unless you're Michael Jordan, you're going to have to lower your hanging expectations.

If you're planning to hang multiple smaller artworks in columns and/or rows, stick to the same guideline: start the lowest row only 8-16 inches above your piece of furniture. This will help create a unified design statement.

Look at Me artwork for your wall. Pop art that can look great on your wall. www.gafra.org

ADDITIONAL TIPS

Scale

An important factor when decorating your home with artwork or paintings is the scale of the item in relation to the room. Wherever you decide to place the art, it needs to fit into the relative scale of the rest of the room or area so it doesn't distract or get hidden by other items. For example, when hanging artwork over a couch or other piece of furniture, a good rule is to find a painting or piece of art that is roughly the same size as the piece below it or next to it, creating a sense of balance and harmony. You can also combine smaller pieces to scale. Whether using three-dimensional pieces or hanging art, you can use the "Rule of Three" to fill in space on the wall and give a sense of scale. For example, for space over a couch or other piece of furniture, use three pieces of art that are roughly the same size, such as three portraits, paintings or hanging sculptures. Arrange them so that they work together and fill the space that a single, larger print might have covered, while being in scale with the piece of furniture they counterbalance.

Spacing

While having artwork and paintings in your home is good, over-crowding them is bad. Leave plenty of space between pieces and give them room to stand on their own without being out of context. Unless pieces are intimately connected by subject matter, it's best to keep them separate. For example, if you have 20 pieces of art hanging on a wall, your room loses focus and the art itself becomes a blur rather than a focus. Artwork should serve as an accent to the room as a whole.

Motifs

Selecting a motif, or pattern of style, is a good way to decide what type or art to put in one room or area. For example, in the kitchen you could have a food motif, where all the art displayed has something to do with food. This way, you have a theme that connects via the art and the function of the room itself. Your motif could even stretch through the whole home, if you so desire.

Matching

While you should never buy a painting just because it matches your couch, you should take into consideration the materials and dominating colors of the artwork you display before hanging it or placing it. Try to correlate color patterns or other styles with existing elements in the room. For example, in a red room with a lot of red and brown accent pieces, a painting of red and brown chickens or a tapestry with those colors stand alone as art and complement the rest of the room.

Use a soothing colour.www.gafra.org

Check the colours in the room and link the print with the same colours or lighter versions.

A Colour for Every Mood

Choose colors based on the mood you want to set in each room. For example, gray is calming, so consider basing your bedroom design or theme on different gradients of gray. Yellow sets a welcoming, cheerful mood, so a piece of artwork that has a bright yellow hue is perfect for the living room. And works that scream with red or orange are amazing in the dining room, and will spark lively discussions between dinner guests.

Lastly, we all remember from science class that white is the presence of all colors, but that doesn't mean white will bring personality to a room. Quite the opposite! There's a reason gallery spaces have white walls—to make you ignore the walls and focus on the artwork. So if you buy white art, make sure the wall it hangs on is colorful.

Design a Room Around a Piece of Art

To begin, find your focal point: Walk into the room and identify where your eyes land first; this is the perfect place for a piece of statement artwork, and you can base the rest of the room's design on it. It’s important that the painting be hung at eye level (when standing) to ensure that the viewer’s gaze falls on it effortlessly.You can easily pick out one of the colors in your central piece of artwork and stream it throughout the room—an accent pillow here, a lampshade there. The theme doesn't have to take over the design, but it will help the eye connect all the pieces in the room, and create a unifying statement in your design.

Remember, you can always use your art to mimic the life of the room. Put simply: If the artwork is of food, hang it in the kitchen, if it's of a group of friends laughing, hang it in the living room.

Don't Forget the Bathroom!

Think of your bathroom as a gallery—the perfect place to hang your quirkiest art pieces. Get a little crazy and show your personality. Some of the best art can be a bit uncomfortable at first glance, but once you really see it, you won't be able to stop admiring it. The added bonus here is that your guests will get a kick out of the works in a private setting (and they can stare for as long as they want!).

Placing Art Prints or Posters behind your Sofa is a great look.www.gafra.org

SUMMARY

How Do You Put ART in your House

1. 2. Make sure your art fits your particular space. ...

2. Go for a gallery wall. ...

3. Hang art in a straight line or a grid. ...

4. Hang art at eye level. ...

5. Turn your wall into your child's personal art gallery. ...

6. Incorporate functional elements into your art wall. ...

7. Consider using lighting as art. ...

8. Consider your background.

Selecting Wall Art by Colour

1. Your most significant piece of artwork should have a background colour that matches your wall colour.

2. Reference the colour wheel when selecting complementary shades.

3. Use the same colour but in different shades. ...

4. Only choose wall art if that exact shade is already in your room.

Basics of this style include:

1. Your most significant piece of artwork should have a background colour that matches your wall colour.

2. Reference the colour wheel when selecting complementary shades.

3. Use the same colour but in different shades. ...

4. Only choose wall art if that exact shade is already in your room.

9 Ways to Personalize Your Bedroom

1. Display Your Photos. Pictures of family, friends, pets or just scenes you like belong on your walls and dressing tables. ...

2. Choose a Theme. ...

3. Add an Area Rug. ...

4. Hang Artwork. ...

5. Include Scents. ...

6. Stick With Soothing Colors. ...

7. Put Your Signature on Wall Treatments. ...

8. Keep Furniture to a Minimum.

ABOUT ME

Hi guys, I’m Gail Francis better known as “GaFra”

Welcome! This is just one of my 3 sites, I also have: gafraihairu.com and triniartstudio.org. I’m a Business Owner, Blogger, Artist, mother of 4, friend to many and a Development Coach.

Learn more about me, visit my other blogs as well.

Buy My Art

Get this PRINTABLES HERE It will look amazing in your Living Room behind your couch, all 3 pieces.

This PRINTABLE IS WONDERFUL FOR A BABY’S ROOM. ADD SOME COLOUR. SEE IT HERE.

Place this “See Me” Printable on your wall.

GET IT HERE

Get your FREE DOWNLOAD: An EASY GUIDE on “How to Paint an Abstract” OR my LOOK-BOOK

Get your FREE DAILY PRINTABLE PLANNER here at gafra.org and many other Printables.

Get your personal copy of this ebook HERE!!

JOIN MY LIST

Have some Mandalas printed and have your Living Room look Amazing.

References:

1. ELLE by Cristina Salmastrelli

2. WIKI how

3. PRO.COM

4. The Spruce.com

What are PRINTABLES? PART 2

Hi guys... I haven’t painted in a while because i've been busy designing and organising my e-course that I mentioned. I launched it this weekend....😖😫😫....it was reallllly difficult.....not developing the course itself, that was fun but there are many parts to a course, then comes all the exercises that go along with each lesson so the participant does an activity that will help them get clarity and link all the parts they're doing.

What was also very difficult was understanding how to set it up as an automation on Mailchimp. I developed it on Teachable, which I must say was easy. I really like the platform, even though there were some aspects that were a bit confusing. One Such aspect was, once the course was completed how do you post it on your site? How do you link it so that people get into it? But you know me, when I start or get into something new I get distracted away from EVERYTHING even my normal watercolour painting. I get carried away with the new thing in town, which brings me back to what I really wanted to talk about today and that is what has been the latest distraction? PRINTABLES and E-courses, but i'm talking about the PRINTABLES in this post....yes people I am into printables now.

First of all they are sooooo much fun to create in Canva and I am trying to build my site and I read that this is the way to go. I started with planners then moved to wall art then posters. Yes....as usual I get a bit carried away. But as with everything I do I learned that I enjoy creating anything artistic and printables fall in there somewhere. So what are Printables? They are for digitally created decorative pages that you can download then print yourself or get printed at a printers. They can be created to be printed on normal letter size pages which are normally 8.5insX11ins.or they can be poster size which you will have to send to your printers to print.

This means when you buy it you can download it onto your computer then print as many as you want on your printer. They can be Wall Art with quotes that you print then place in an inexpensive frame or they can be Calendar pages nicely decorated that you print from your printer and you use them to do all your planning of your activities. 

The planners can also have sheets already laid out to make scheduling easy. You can get printable grocery lists that you can print a few so that every time you go to the grocery instead of trying to remember what you have to buy, you tick off on your printable grocery list, keep it in your car or purse so when you do arrive at the grocery you have your list and you can keep it for the next grocery store visit or do a new list. 

There are printable To Do Lists, Grocery Lists, Budget Sheets, Wedding Planning Sheets, Journals, Games and much more. I have to say that since I created my printables only one person has taken my freebie planner : ( but I hope they liked it. I will create some more freebie planners as the Planners that take a lot more effort to create I charge 2-3 dollars.

You can create these printables easily on Canva or Picmonkey. I haven't tried pic monkey as there is a fee but Canva is free unless you want to do more complex designs, which I don't need. Sign up for Canva and you can pick the size or dimensions of the item you want to create from the button on the top right side of the site (custom dimensions). The choices are inches, pixels  centimetres etc. Stick to inches. Or in the middle of the site they show you examples of different items, like cards, posters, etc and you simply hover your cursor over one and it shows the size. Once you’ve inputted the size then a blank version based on that size appears and there are sample items with designs to choose from on the left side of the page. Easy peasy. See the pics below: 

1. Using Canva by gafra.org. This is what the site looks like

2. Using Canva by gafra.org. Click on the custom dimensions button to input the size of the printable or hover over the samples below to see if any has the size you want or simply choose a type of document.

3. Using Canva by gafra.or. Here after inputting your size a blank version pops up. Now to start designing.

4. Using Canva by gafra.org. Here you can change the text by choosing the font from the samples on the left.

ABOUT ME

Hi guys, I’m GaFra Welcome! This is just one of my 3 sites, I also have: gafraihairu.com and triniartstudio.org. I’m a Business Owner, Blogger, Artist, mother of 4, friend to many and a Development Coach.

Learn more about me, visit my other blogs as well and….

Buy My Art

Get your FREE DAILY PRINTABLE PLANNER here at gafra.org and many other Printables.

Keep following my different posts and get my Free Planner below or check out my more advanced planners on my Shop page. There are a few FREEBIES there. 

Get your FREE DOWNLOAD: An EASY GUIDE on “How to Paint an Abstract” OR my Look-Book

Get your personal copy of this ebook HERE!!

JOIN MY LIST

5. Using Canva by gafra.org. On the left type in flowers in the search area and place different flower designs on your printable.

6. Using Canva by gafra.org to create printables. You can choose the design or look from the samples o the left.

7. Using Canva by gafra.org. You can change the colours of the document, flowers text etc via the drop down colour palette.

8. Using Canva by gafra.org. Once your printable looks the way you want it, time to download, simply click on publish or the download arrow

9. Using Canva by gafra.org. You now have to decide if you want it as an image (jpeg) or a printable (PDF). We want printable so PDF is your choice.

10. Using Canva by gafra.org. Canva even suggests which download to choose for best quality.

So I hope my Pic lesson on Canva was fairly good enough to help you understand Canva at least a little. Go try creating your own PRINTABLES and if not , then let me know what type of printables you would like me to create for you and I would love to. Email me at gfrancistt@gmail.com or leave a comment down below.

Subscribe to get more and don’t forget, write AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO DESIGN FOR YOU.

11. Using Canva by gafra.org. It will download based on your choice. All you do now is save it to a file on your computer.

THE HISTORY OF ART

View fullsize

Art history is the study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts; that is genre, design, format, and style. The study includes painting, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, furniture, and other decorative objects. ... This history of cultures is shown in their art work in different forms.

I’ve always wondered about the History of Art, where did it come from? How did it begin? Where did it begin? Our culture here in Trindad is quite a mixture. We have a combination of African, Chinese, Portuguese, East Indian, The culture of Trinidad and Tobago reflects the influence of Indian, European, Spanish (Hispanic or Latino), Jewish, Arab, and African cultures. The histories of Trinidad and Tobago are different. There are differences in the cultural influences which have shaped each island. This is why we look so different or we have very different looks in this country.

 WHERE DID ART COME FROM?

 Origins of art. The revelation that art was being made on opposite sides of the world during the Ice Age suggests that symbolic painting could have originated independently — or perhaps art-making originated much earlier, in Africa, where humans evolved before marching out to other continents about 100,000 years ago.

 INDONESIAN CAVE ART

 Archaeologists say they have discovered 40,000-year-old cave art in Indonesia, suggesting that Europe was not necessarily the birthplace of human prehistoric art.

"It was previously thought that Western Europe was the centerpiece of a 'symbolic explosion' in early human artistic activity, such as cave paintings and other forms of image making, including figurative art, around 40,000 years ago," said study leader Maxime Aubert, an archaeologist and geochemist at Australia's Griffith University. "However, our findings show that cave art was made at opposite ends of the Pleistocene Eurasian world at about the same time, suggesting these practices have deeper origins — perhaps in Africa before our species left this continent and spread across the globe." 

Stylistically, some of the paintings resemble those found in Europe. There are hand stencils that would have been created as a person spit or sprayed red pigment over his or her hand to leave the outline of a handprint. These look quite similar to the hand stencils found in the El Castillo cave in Spain, estimated to be 37,300 years old. (At 40,800 years old, a red disk on the wall of El Castillo cave was proclaimed to be the oldest reliably dated wall painting ever in a 2012 study in the journal Science.)

This history indicates that art goes back a very long way. It appears to have been started in Africa but also at different ends of the world – east, west, and north at the same time.

ORIGINS OF ART

The revelation that art was being made on opposite sides of the world during the Ice Age suggests that symbolic painting could have originated independently — or perhaps art-making originated much earlier, in Africa, where humans evolved before marching out to other continents about 100,000 years ago.

"But what is clear is that those who continue to try to place Europe at the center of the human story hold an untenable position," Smith wrote in an email. He thinks scientists studying the origins of art and symbolic thought should instead shift their attention to Africa, Asia and Oceania.

HOW LONG HAS ART BEEN AROUND?

It is clear that such workmanship existed by 40,000 years ago in the Upper Paleolithic era, although it is quite possible that it began earlier.

Art is something that stimulates an individual's thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or ideas through the senses. Works of art can be explicitly made for this purpose or interpreted on the basis of images or objects. However, even fine art often has goals beyond pure creativity and self-expression.

Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artifacts (artworks), expressing the author's imaginative, conceptual ideas, or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. In their most general form these activities include the production of works of art, the criticism of art, the study of the history of art, and the aesthetic dissemination of art.

Yes Art has been around a long time and it really does stimulate something within us, whether we paint, write, sculpt, cook, garden or craft, as long as it is an expression of our internal feelings. As I said to someone recently “if it is you draw, colour, whatever it is you do, we all need to find that action/task that re-energises us. It brings us such great satisfaction that our energy is renewed. Everyone has that within them but they simply need to access it and let it out and let it live.

WHAT ARE THE 3 BRANCHES OF ART?

The three classical branches of art are painting, sculpture and architecture. Music, theatre, film, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature and other media such as interactive media, are included in a broader definition of the arts. Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences. In modern usage after the 17th century, where aesthetic considerations are paramount, the fine arts are separated and distinguished from acquired skills in general, such as the decorative or applied arts.

Though the definition of what constitutes art is disputed and has changed over time, general descriptions mention an idea of imaginative or technical skill stemming from human agency and creation.The nature of art and related concepts, such as creativity and interpretation, are explored in a branch of philosophy known as asthetics. This is a topic for another time, back to Art History.

In the perspective of the history of art, artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind: from early pre-historic art to contemporary art; however, some theories restrict the concept of "artistic works" to modern Western societies.One early sense of the definition of art is closely related to the older Latin meaning, which roughly translates to "skill" or "craft," as associated with words such as "artisan." English words derived from this meaning include artifact, artificial, artifice, medical arts, and military arts.

The second, and more recent, sense of the word art as an abbreviation for creative art or fine art emerged in the early 17th century. Fine art refers to a skill used to express the artist's creativity, or to engage the audience's aesthetic sensibilities, or to draw the audience towards consideration of more refined or finer work of art.

The second, and more recent, sense of the word art as an abbreviation for creative art or fine art emerged in the early 17th century. Fine art refers to a skill used to express the artist's creativity, or to engage the audience's aesthetic sensibilities, or to draw the audience towards consideration of more refined or finer work of art.

Often, if the skill is being used in a common or practical way, people will consider it a craft instead of art. Likewise, if the skill is being used in a commercial or industrial way, it may be considered commercial art instead of fine art. On the other hand, crafts and design are sometimes considered applied art. Some art followers have argued that the difference between fine art and applied art has more to do with value judgments made about the art than any clear definitional difference.

However, even fine art often has goals beyond pure creativity and self-expression. The purpose of works of art may be to communicate ideas, such as in politically, spiritually, or philosophically motivated art; to create a sense of beauty; to explore the nature of perception; for pleasure; or to generate strong emotions. The purpose may also be seemingly nonexistent.

Art history is the study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts; that is genre, design, format, and style. The study includes painting, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, furniture, and other decorative objects. ... This history of cultures is shown in their art work in different forms.

THE 10 GREATEST WORKS OF ART EVER

· Caravaggio – The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608) ...

· Rembrandt – Self-Portrait with Two Circles (c 1665-9) ...

· Chauvet cave paintings (c 30, 000 years ago) ...

· Jackson Pollock – One: Number 31, 1950 (1950) ...

· Velázquez – Las Meninas (c 1656) ...

· Picasso – Guernica (1937) ...

· Michelangelo – Prisoners (c 1519-34)

SEVEN DIFFERENT FORMS OF ART:

· The traditional subdivision of the Arts, being:

• Architecture,

• Sculpture,

• Painting,

• Literature,

• Music,

• Performing and

• Film.

· The Seven Liberal Arts, being:

• grammar,

• logic,

• rhetoric,

• arithmetic,

• geometry,

• music and

• astronomy.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT STYLES OF ART?

FINE ART BY MOVEMENT.

• Contemporary.

• Pop Art.

• Abstract Expressionism.

• Cubism.

• Art Deco.

• Art Nouveau.

• Post-Impressionism.

• Modern Art

• 19th Century Art

• Renaissance Art

• Abstract Art

• Cubism

• Surrealism

The purpose of works of art may be to communicate ideas, such as in politically, spiritually, or philosophically motivated art; to create a sense of beauty (see aesthetics); to explore the nature of perception; for pleasure; or to generate strong emotions. The purpose may also be seemingly nonexistent.

With the art that we are surrounded by, whether it's a painting, music or even videos can have a huge impact on our mood and emotions. ... All kinds of art can affect our mood in a positive way, making us feel happier, calmer, or even inspired to do something. Everywhere you go art is evident.

there is so much more to art than what you see displayed in galleries. The truth is, without being aware of it, we are surrounded by art and use it on a continual basis. Most people don’t realize how much of a role art plays in our lives and just how much we rely on art in all of its forms in our everyday lives. Chances are you will have some form of art in your home. if you look around! Art is not purely for looking at and admiring, a lot of it is functional too.

You may be wondering why all of these things are so important to our daily lives and that you could probably survive just fine with essential items that were non-artistic. That is just the reason why art is so valuable! While art may not be vital to fulfill our basic needs, it does make life joyful. When you look at a painting or poster you’ve chosen to hang on your living room wall, you feel happy. The sculpture or figurines on the kitchen windowsill create a sense of joy. Inspirational art, such as posters are often found in work spaces to encourage employees to continue being productive. There is now an increasing amount of companies using art in their offices, a

Art is everywhere, influencing us on a daily basis, whether we realize it or not. With the art that we are surrounded by, whether it’s a painting, music or even videos can have a huge impact on our mood and emotions. Of course some art is very dark and can cause disturbing emotions, anger or even depression but we can choose what kind of art we want to be surrounded by in our own environment at home to make you feel good. All kinds of art can affect our mood in a positive way, making us feel happier, calmer, or even inspired to do something.

Everywhere you go art is evident.

So with this post of excerpts from different articles and comments as per the references, I’ve come to realise my style of art (Abstract Expressionism, Abstract & a bit of Post Impressionism) as well as its importance and why I and many others are compelled to create. It’s because as humans we need art as a sanctuary for our feelings and emotions. So its not something that will end. I only wish everyone understood the importance art plays in all of our lives and without it life would be very dark.

ART IS VALUABLE AND WORTH IT. IT IS NOT A LUXURY.

References:

• Where does art come from? Indonesian cave paintings deepen mystery by Megan Gannon, Live Science

• Art History Wikipedia

• History of Art, Wikipedia

• Art.com

• The Importance of Art in Daily Life by monteadmin | Apr 15, 2015 | Business/Corporate Decor, Healthcare Decor, Interior Design, Residential Decor 

Hi! I’m GaFra.

Hope you enjoyed this short Art history, and get my FREE LOOK-BOOK HERE.

A PRINTABLE POSTER for your little ballerina. Surprise her now. www.gafra.org

Get you pretty Daily Planner. For you Girly, Girls. It’s just the cutest. www.gafra.org

GET YOU FREEBIE PRINTABLES - PLANNERS, POSTERS, JOURNALS, LOOK-BOOK

The purpose of works of art may be to communicate ideas, such as in politically, spiritually, or philosophically motivated art; to create a sense of beauty (see aesthetics); to explore the nature of perception; for pleasure; or to generate strong emotions. The purpose may also be seemingly nonexistent.

With the art that we are surrounded by, whether it's a painting, music or even videos can have a huge impact on our mood and emotions. ... All kinds of art can affect our mood in a positive way, making us feel happier, calmer, or even inspired to dosomething. Everywhere you go art is evident.

there is so much more to art than what you see displayed in galleries. The truth is, without being aware of it, we are surrounded by art and use it on a continual basis. Most people don’t realize how much of a role art plays in our lives and just how much we rely on art in all of its forms in our everyday lives. Chances are you will have some form of art in your home. if you look around! Art is not purely for looking at and admiring, a lot of it is functional too.

You may be wondering why all of these things are so important to our daily lives and that you could probably survive just fine with essential items that were non-artistic. That is just the reason why art is so valuable! While art may not be vital to fulfill our basic needs, it does make life joyful. When you look at a painting or poster you’ve chosen to hang on your living room wall, you feel happy. The sculpture or figurines on the kitchen windowsill create a sense of joy. Inspirational art, such as posters are often found in work spaces to encourage employees to continue being productive. There is now an increasing amount of companies using art in their offices, a

Art is everywhere, influencing us on a daily basis, whether we realize it or not. With the art that we are surrounded by, whether it’s a painting, music or even videos can have a huge impact on our mood and emotions. Of course some art is very dark and can cause disturbing emotions, anger or even depression but we can choose what kind of art we want to be surrounded by in our own environment at home to make you feel good. All kinds of art can affect our mood in a positive way, making us feel happier, calmer, or even inspired to do something.

Everywhere you go art is evident. 

So with this post of excerpts from different articles and comments as per the referrences, I’ve come to realise my style of art as well as its importance and why I and many others are complelled to create. It’s because as humans we need art as a santuary for our feelings and emotions. So its not something that will end. I only wish everyone understood the importance art plays in all of our lives and without it life would be very dark.

ART IS VALUABLE AND WORTH IT. IT IS NOT A LUXURY.

CONTEMPORARY ART

POP ART

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

CUBANISM

ART DECO

ART NOUVEAU

POST IMPRESSIONISM

MODERN ART

19TH CENTURY

RENAISSANCE

ABSTRACT

CUBANISM

SURREALISM

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“HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT”

Who is GaFra? Part 4

Hi everyone…. I want to talk a little bit more about who I am and what I do. I loved school and after High School I completed my Degree in Social Science and I returned to the Banking. After being the Business Instructor at the Bank’s School for School Leavers I was placed in the Bank’s Training Division. There I designed and delivered any program the Bank sold to its external customers, because the Bank expanded its Training Division to customers like Trinidad’s Utility Ministries, A Beer Company and others.

I enjoyed this because now I trained not just the Bank staff but individuals from different companies throughout Trinidad. I did that for a few years then I was asked to Co-ordinate the Degree program for Teachers. Around that time my husband was offered a job in Curacao and we decided to take up the opportunity. While there I set up a Training Business with another Successful Business Owner who always wanted to have a Training Arm added to his Company. I designed, created and delivered Computer Training to companies in Curacao. That was fun. Here I was teaching Word, Excel, Powerpoint to staffers who spoke Dutch and I didn’t. Yes…I had a translator and they also spoke English.

The business did well and i also set up a training program for Children learning computing programs but in a fun way for children. For this I hired someone and it was wonderful to see these children learn and have fun. We returned to Trinidad because my husband missed Trinidad and we didn’t receive some of the things promised. When we returned I was called by the Bank once again, then I left the bank because I didn’t like creating programs like a production line, not following up or ensuring a change in behaviour with my participants. I encountered a different type of coaching that blew my mind and i learned the process, went to a conference where I loved all that I heard and I returned, bought my License to practice the process and I’ve been coaching in Leadership since 2000.

I love my participants but I use Art as the means to rejuvenate myself. Coaching can be very draining and you have to find a way to get back that energy and spirit. I do that via my Art….painting releases the psychological toxins that I injest when in contact with individuals who carry around a lot of hurts. My role is to help others be better at what they do…manage staff as well as help them have a better life by becoming the best them or going after what they need and want.

Hi! I’m Gafra

Enjoy my blog. Learn more about me.

Who is GaFra? Part 3

Hi Everyone..... so I talked about when I was young and I grew up around dobermans and I explained how we celebrate Jouvert and Carnival. In this post I’ll talk about my time at the Bank where I worked. After getting my degree I returned as a Teller to the Branch in Arima but my supervisor told me to let the Manager of the Bank know that my qualifications had changed. So in her office I informed her that I now had my degree, she immediately called the HR manager and told them to place me in a higher position immediately and by the end of the week I was moved to their IBCT program where they prepared young people for the world of work and they would hire them straight into the bank based on their performance and the Teacher’s recommendations (mine) .

I taught all the business areas. it was great I always remember one student in particular, Randal. He would sit at my desk and just relax while I did my work then Trevor and dean would join him and there would be laughter and “kicks”. Very good days. It’s always great when I meet some of these students today and they are either married with their own families, or have their own businesses or just doing very well. They tend to remember some of the things I said to them and it would be funny when they mimic me

After the IBCT program i was moved to Roytec and there I discovered my ability to design and deliver any program that was required by the Bank. I taught from Strategic Planning, Customer Service, and much more. You never know you true abilities until you are sometimes pushed to pull those abilities out of you. Those were great days and I had some amazing students.

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Having coconut water around the savannah. gafra.org

Lets talk about what I do with my free time. I tend to lime with my husband around the savannah and as seen in the photo i love a cold coconut water and then ate the jelly after. l also walk the savannah and Chancellor as well as exercise is necessary and I try to stay fit.

I’ve also started doing some kettlebell exercises because as you get older and as a woman it’s very hard to lose weight, it keeps adding on and no matter what you do the weight comes on but this exercise using the kettlebell is the only one that has helped me to lose 7-8 pounds within a 2 week period. If you want to know more check out my post about this at my Health and Wellness post at my www.triniartstudio.org site. I wrote a whole post on some of the exercises I’ve done and people they work.

OK this post will be short I have to hustle to go help my mom so I will post later this week on Thursday. Have a great week everyone, talk soon.

Hi! I’m Gafra

Hi, I'm Gail known as Gafra. Learn more about me. I'm an Artist, Business Owner, coach, blogger, wife, mother to 4, and a friend to many.

Below is the link to my PRINTABLES at my Art site...www.Gafra.org I create Printable Planners and Wall Art. go see what I create and BUY ONE OR TWO. ENJOY!!!

Who is GaFra? Part 2

Hi Everyone..... so I talked about when I was young and I grew up around dobermans and I explained how we celebrate Jouvert and Carnival. I said I would do this like an album, let look at the new photo. when I was in my teens I "limed" a lot at my cousin's house. My uncle had eight kids so it was really fun to be there. One time they decided to have a tea party and fashion show at the house. They asked me to take part and I did. They got outfits from a boutique and I had a lot of fun. Later on when I attended High School. I attended St. Joseph Convent then did 6th form at St. Francois Girls.

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To raise funds the school decided to have a show and fashion show. It was fun but a reporter who was present to help promote the school's event wrote a really bad article and made the school look. She took photos that misrepresented the event and made it look like we were walking around naked while changing  but there were 3 professional models with us and due to their experience they walked around boldly. They weren't self conscious at all but we were. It was unfortunate.

I loved school, I enjoyed learning and I still do. I did well at O'level and A'levels, then I decided to go University but I wanted to work first. I applied everywhere but I got a job at Royal Bank. After being there 2 years I left to do my Degree in Social Science. In life people tend to be very negative, they told me I wouldn't get into University as I didn't have the grades. That is why you have to at least try, if you don't succeed then try something else you go another route, versus never having tried at all. I went ahead and applied and I got in. WHALA!!! I got my degree after 4 years, while there I joined the University's Catholic Prayer group and I met my husband to be.

We were married after University and I was pregnant every year for 4 years. I have a boy and three girls. It wasn't easy, they kept me very busy and I know I received a blessing with each child, God is always so good. Having kids is a lot of work but they can bring you plenty of joy as well. My kids are all now in their 20s with their Degrees and working at making their way in life.

At one point in my life we packed up the entire family and moved to Curacao. We lived there for about 2 and half years. My husband got an opportunity to work there, when he asked if I would consider it (we had just bought a new car and house) I said yes immediately. So we packed up everything, sold the car, rented the house. My husband went ahead to organise where we would stay and I followed a few weeks later with the kids.

I have to say travelling with 4 babies was the worst thing ever.!!! During the flight, three of the kids were restless and the baby had an ear ache crying incessantly. Thank God for the great flight attendants. One found a remedy for the ear ache so the baby stopped crying and the other 2 kids settled down finally. It was hard for me as I get car sick easily, so I was sick for the entire flight but I had to suck it up.

Despite everything Curacao was a lovely place and I enjoyed living there. I couldn't work at first so I was house bound, which made me stir crazy, but eventually, I started a training business with a business owner in Curacao and I was really enjoying it. The kids went from a public school that taught and spoke papiamento to a semi private where they learned Dutch, which to me was amazing.

They were becoming by lingual and kids don't even realise that they know another language. For example, while at a park my son was playing and talking in dutch to the other boys, later on when I asked to say something in dutch for me he said he didn't know that. That was funny, but i didn't push further. I had some great experiences there, my family even visited us for Christmas. The best part of christmas was having a real Pine tree as a Christmas tree and it made the entire house smell divine. We don't have that in Trinidad. Everyone or most use fake trees, but in Curacao they sell the real trees like they do in America. That was really nice...loved how they smelled.

But as time passed my husband, was missing home and there were many things that the company who brought us there, promised that we didn't receive, so he was a bit disappointed and wanted to return home, which we did. It was disappointing to leave as I was enjoying it but it was for the best. Luckily we hadn't sold our house as we had considered doing at one point. We had our home to go back to. 

I miss Curacao, it was a great place to live, despite it's size. Lots of beautiful beaches, I loved the capital and they had a lot of historical buildings. Cruise ships were docked close to the buildings, the restaurants had amazing food especially the Indonesian food and the shopping was the BAWM!!! 

But life changed and we returned, at least it was a great experience, not just for me but for the entire family. 

I will share more soon, hope you enjoyed the short sharing. LATER PEOPLE!!!

Hi! I’m Gafra

Hi, I'm Gail known as Gafra. Learn more about me. I'm an Artist, Business Owner, coach, blogger, wife, mother to 4, and a friend to many.

Below is the link to my PRINTABLES at my Art site...www.Gafra.org I create Printable Planners and Wall Art. go see what I create and BUY ONE OR TWO. ENJOY!!!

Who is GaFra?

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Hi guys.....in this post I’m going to talk about me. Yes…..I know you’ve been curious as to who is this GaFra person whose real name is G ail Francis. Yep…I know my “About page” doesn’t say enough so why should you even buy from me…well this may help. I’ll tell you more about me and where my head is at.

I will do this as if it’s a photo album, as every photo has a story to it and this is how you will learn who I am.

This is me when I was 5 years old. I lived in Curepe and my father was a labour officer and my mother a secretary with one of the Utility Ministries. One thing I remember more than anything was that my father bred doberman pinchers and he trained them. I remember a time when my father bred his pincher with another high bred doberman.

Trinidad and Tobago Map

The Flag of Trinidad & Tobago

That was a thing then where high bred dogs were mated to improve the line. These dogs were very expensive, so after the female was mated she had quite a few puppies. I remember daddy putting about 4-5 boxes with pups around my bed so that they could stay warm and I would hang over the side of the bed and stick my finger in the box so that the puppies can suck my finger. That was so cool and cute.

I was comfortable around dobermans, we had one called Devil and I would ride his back, play with him. He was extremely smart, even young as I was if I was rough with him he never bit me. My father would train the dogs to follow commands and were taught to never harm me or my brother. one day one of the dobermans, can’t remember which, while my brother was playing with him he got too rough and hit the dog and the doberman started to growl and snapped at my brother. He only nipped him but my father went ballistic. He dragged the dog to the back and via punishment told hi to never do that again. He never did.

There was one doberman we had that was extremely stupid, he did the dumbest things and my father got fed up of his behaviour and that was also the first time my father got a dog other than a doberman. he bought an albino German Sheppard. My father decided to sell both dogs. I was very upset as I really liked him. Daddy sold them both to a Security Firm. Later on I found out that the German Sheppard ran away and they were never able to find him, he must have been trying to get home but never did. The security firm after a few months asked if they could test Trouble the doberman we sold them. They wanted to make sure that he wasn’t still friendly and playful towards his former owners.

So my father and I went to a grocery and there was Trouble tied to the front with a man standing next to him. Trouble looked like a soldier, not moving, starring straight ahead, not making a sound. They asked me to approach him slowly to see how he would react. As I approached his eyes started to focus and he started to growl so I stepped back. He didn’t know me, he was no longer our dog.

Port of Spain, the Capital of Trinidad & Tobago

This is a photo of the Capital of Trinidad and a beach in Tobago. Trinidad is the business and party island while Tobago is the rest and relaxation island with the beaches. We have sunny weather 80% of the time with a rainy season around May and June.

Carnival Queen Costume from Trinidad & Tobago.

Carnival Band in their costumes.

Trinidad is known for the best Carnival in the World. Or Carnival takes place in March and lasts for 2-3 weeks with the main days being the Carinval Monday and Tuesday where the bands dance and covort through the streets in their specific bands as they head towards the main stage at the Queens Park Savannah where each band is judged for the Carnival Band of the Year Competition. I’ve played mas once with Peter Minshall, aCarnival Band designer and well known Artistic Designer. It was great fun and I have to do it one more time.

My favourite part of Carnival was Jouvert. It occurs the day before Carnival Monday, starting at 3:00am in the morning until 9-10:00am Carnival Monday. Every band wears simple shorts and T-shirt and is either covered by chocolate, mud, or paint, depending on the band you’re in.

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Jouvert in Trinidad & Tobago.

My Jouvert band called “The Duck Crew” covers us with paint. I used to play with a band called “Coco Devils” that covered us with chocolate, That felt really nice and you smelt wonderful after you washed off the dried chocolate.

Whichever band you’re with it’s amazing fun and helps you release the year’s tension. That felt really nice, smooth skin and you smelt wonderful after you washed off the dried chocolate. That’s what Jouvert is all about. I’ll tell you more in my next post.

ABOUT ME

Hi guys, I’m Gail Francis better known as “GaFra”

Welcome! This is just one of my 3 sites, I also have: gafra.org and triniartsudio.org. I’m a business woman, mother of 4, Artist, friend to many and a Leadership Management Coach with LMI.

Learn more about me, visit my other blogs as well.

Buy My Art

Get your FREE DAILY PRINTABLE PLANNER here at gafra.org and many other Printables.

Get your FREE DOWNLOAD: An EASY GUIDE on “How to Paint an Abstract”

Get your personal copy of this ebook HERE!!

FROM MARTIN WITH LOVE

What are PRINTABLES?

Hi guys... I haven’t painted in a while because i've been busy designing and organising my e-course that I mentioned. I launched it this weekend....😖😫😫....it was reallllly difficult.....not developing the course itself, that was fun but there are many parts to a course, then comes all the exercises that go along with each lesson so the participant does an activity that will help them get clarity and link all the parts they're doing.

What was also very difficult was understanding how to set it up as an automation on Mailchimp. I developed it on Teachable, which I must say was easy. I really like the platform, even though there were some aspects that were a bit confusing. One Such aspect was, once the course was completed how do you post it on your site? How do you link it so that people get into it? But you know me, when I start or get into something new I get distracted away from EVERYTHING even my normal watercolour painting. I get carried away with the new thing in town, which brings me back to what I really wanted to talk about today and that is what has been the latest distraction? PRINTABLES and E-courses, but i'm talking about the PRINTABLES in this post....yes people I am into printables now.

First of all they are sooooo much fun to create in Canva and I am trying to build my site and I read that this is the way to go. I started with planners then moved to wall art then posters. Yes....as usual I get a bit carried away. But as with everything I do I learned that I enjoy creating anything artistic and printables fall in there somewhere. So what are Printables? They are for digitally created decorative pages that you can download then print yourself or get printed at a printers. They can be created to be printed on normal letter size pages which are normally 8.5insX11ins.or they can be poster size which you will have to send to your printers to print.

This means when you buy it you can download it onto your computer then print as many as you want on your printer. They can be Wall Art with quotes that you print then place in an inexpensive frame or they can be Calendar pages nicely decorated that you print from your printer and you use them to do all your planning of your activities. 

The planners can also have sheets already laid out to make scheduling easy. You can get printable grocery lists that you can print a few so that every time you go to the grocery instead of trying to remember what you have to buy, you tick off on your printable grocery list, keep it in your car or purse so when you do arrive at the grocery you have your list and you can keep it for the next grocery store visit or do a new list. 

There are printable To Do Lists, Grocery Lists, Budget Sheets, Wedding Planning Sheets, Journals, Games and much more. I have to say that since I created my printables only one person has taken my freebie planner : ( but I hope they liked it. I will create some more freebie planners as the Planners that take a lot more effort to create I charge 2-3 dollars.

You can create these printables easily on Canva or Picmonkey. I haven't tried pic monkey as there is a fee but Canva is free unless you want to do more complex designs, which I don't need. Sign up for Canva and you can pick the size or dimensions of the item you want to create from the button on the top right side of the site (custom dimensions). The choices are inches, pixels  centimetres etc. Stick to inches. Or in the middle of the site they show you examples of different items, like cards, posters, etc and you simply hover your cursor over one and it shows the size. Once you’ve inputted the size then a blank version based on that size appears and there are sample items with designs to choose from on the left side of the page. Easy peasy. See the pics below: 

1. Using Canva by gafra.org. This is what the site looks like

2. Using Canva by gafra.org. Click on the custom dimensions button to input the size of the printable or hover over the samples below to see if any has the size you want or simply choose a type of document.

3. Using Canva by gafra.or. Here after inputting your size a blank version pops up. Now to start designing.

4. Using Canva by gafra.org. Here you can change the text by choosing the font from the samples on the left.

ABOUT ME

Hi guys, I’m Gail Francis better known as “GaFra”

Welcome! This is just one of my 3 sites, I also have: gafraihairu.com and triniartstudio.org. I’m a Business Owner, Blogger, Artist, mother of 4, friend to many and a Development Coach.

Learn more about me, visit my other blogs as well.

Buy My Art

Get your FREE DAILY PRINTABLE PLANNER here at gafra.org and many other Printables.

Keep following my different posts and get my Free Planner below or check out my more advanced planners on my Shop page. There are a few FREEBIES there. 

Get your FREE DOWNLOAD: An EASY GUIDE on “How to Paint an Abstract” OR my LOOK-BOOK

Get your personal copy of this ebook HERE!!

JOIN MY LIST

5. Using Canva by gafra.org. On the left type in flowers in the search area and place different flower designs on your printable.

6. Using Canva by gafra.org to create printables. You can choose the design or look from the samples o the left.

7. Using Canva by gafra.org. You can change the colours of the document, flowers text etc via the drop down colour palette.

8. Using Canva by gafra.org. Once your printable looks the way you want it, time to download, simply click on publish or the download arrow

9. Using Canva by gafra.org. You now have to decide if you want it as an image (jpeg) or a printable (PDF). We want printable so PDF is your choice.

10. Using Canva by gafra.org. Canva even suggests which download to choose for best quality.

So I hope my Pic lesson on Canva was fairly good enough to help you understand Canva at least a little. Go try creating your own PRINTABLES and if not , then let me know what type of printables you would like me to create for you and I would love to. Email me at gfrancistt@gmail.com or leave a comment down below.

Subscribe to get more and don’t forget, write AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO DESIGN FOR YOU.

11. Using Canva by gafra.org. It will download based on your choice. All you do now is save it to a file on your computer.

Merry Christmas!!!

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Hello everyone, Merry Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year. Today is Christmas!!!....  the family and I had breakfast then as is tradition we moved into the living room and the Christmas gifts are distributed and everyone opens up their presents. My kids are all in their 20s but I still insist on gift giving, so my husband set up a family chat on Whatsapp and we all put our Christmas list there. That avoids anyone getting gifts they hate or will never use. It works like a charm.

Christmas in Trinidad is great, especially in the country areas. Christmas is a very social time in Trinidad and Tobago with most people having parties. Both children and adults go from house to house between neighbours and relatives for food and drink. A special Trinidadian music, Parang is also played as well as other Christmas songs. There would be Parang groups moving from house to house, singing Parang songs, similar to Caroling in the USA. Then there would be lots of eating, drinking and just plain having fun. In the suburbs it's a little quieter in that after breakfast, family may visit and again it's a time for relaxing, talking, drinking and just catching up on “ole talk”.

What is Parang?…its where a group of people form a band using instruments that were locally made and they sing Spanish Christmas songs. The term Parang is derived from the Spanish word parranda, which means a spree or a fête. ... There are two theories about the origins of Trinidad parang. The first is that the custom was brought to the island by the Spanish colonists who ruled Trinidad from 1498-1797, the other is that Parang is a popular folk music originating from Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. It was brought to Trinidad and Tobago by Venezuelan and Colombian migrants who were primarily of Amerindian, Spanish, Mestizo, Pardo, Cocoa panyol, and African heritage, something which is strongly reflected in the music itself.

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Parang is an upbeat Venezuelan-Trinidad Parang is an upbeat Venezulean-Trinidad hydrid music normally sung in Spanish. Now there’s also “soca parang” where songs are sung in English. In the evenings around Christmas, many people like to be “Parranderos”

Parang music includes a "core" instrumentation of the following:

• Cuatro

• Guitar

• Violin

• Mandolin

• Bandolin

• Box bass or string bass (and more currently, electric bass)

• Maracas (or "chac-chac")

• Wood block (or "toc-toc")

Trinidad has a multitude of races, that have a distinct cultural influence on Trinidad. These distinct cultures that have a major influence on the culture of Trinidad and Tobago are Indian, African, Portuguese, Amerindian, Spanish, Chinese, and others. The country's links with the United Kingdom have left a major impact on its culture, and English is widely spoken across the nation. Which guides us and we tend to follow a tradition on how we celebrate Christmas.

In Trinidad and Tobago, it is customary to not only thoroughly clean out your home in preparation for Christmas but to renovate and redecorate it. New curtains, furnishings, household appliances, and more are shopped for and put in place. This is also the time of year to re-paint your house’s exterior and every single room.

People also traditionally re-varnish old furniture for Christmas and re-stain hardwood flooring. This gives the house a new shine for the Yuletide,

Most go to church the night before then in the next day is all about relaxing and family. Because before Christmas after most people have painted, made repairs to their houses, hung new curtains and decorations (especially lights) it's then time for most families to spend Christmas Day at home with friends and family members.

The Christmas day meal is usually prepared throughout mid-December, and into the New Year! The traditional Trinbagonians Christmas meal include apples and grapes, pastilles (a version of tamales), homemade bread, ham, turkey, wild meat (iguana, agouti, etc) and the Christmas drinks are ginger beer, sorrel, Ponche-de-crème (a version of egg nog), local wine.

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Ham and Ponche-de-Creme. Best at Christmas.

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Ginger beer, the Christmas drink in Trinidad.

Trinidad Christmas fruitcake is the traditional desert and is eaten in most homes (the fruits such as raisins and sultanas in the cake are usually soaked in cherry wine, sherry and rum for several months before Christmas). These foods are delicious and were all passed down from the generations before. It is washed down with the Christmas drink Sorrel made from sorrel where the seed is removed and the skin boiled in water, strained, sweetened and made into the sorrel drink.

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The great food also comes along with the Putting up of a beautiful Christmas Tree and many family members come home for the holidays.

Trini Christmas Traditions

So if you’re a local, or a visitor lucky enough to experience Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago, you’ll know that there is nothing quite like a true “Trini Christmas”. The food, the atmosphere and the traditions that have evolved over the years make Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago truly unique. I hope you get an opportunity to visit our fair twin island.

HOSPITALITY
Visitors to the average household during the Christmas season are normally treated royally to local food, drinks and music. Invitations from friends and neighbours are normally accepted in the period between Christmas and New Year's Day.

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LEARNING ABOUT ART – Techniques for Drawing, Painting, Calligraphy and More

Hi Guys…..I want to share the confusion I went through when I first got into painting. I just painted t enjoy and experience what t was like to paint. Then as I learned the different rules that go with painting I realized it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I love to learn so I understood the rules quickly but I couldn’t seem to find out my style. I knew I could easily copy most pieces done by others but I eventually wanted to be able to recognize my style or my “voice” as Tara Leaver talks about.

I have recently begun to recognize my style and maybe even my voice. I have a minimalistic abstract style when it comes to acrylic abstracts. With watercolours I seem to be slightly detailed but fairly loose. I love painting road scenes, old historical houses, and simple scenes as are familiar to Trinidad. It took 6-8 years of painting and  trying different  techniques to reach this point.

I want you to be open to learning or finding different outlets to learn the different techniques needed to be good or even a great artist. There are downloadable E-books that can help you and I have read many as is this one called “Real Art Lessons, Downloadable E-books By Artist Delmus Phelps. He shows you step-by-step using techniques of old that makes painting easy. He allows and teaches you to be able to make realistic paintings if that is the style you want. If that is not want you’re looking to learn and you want to do portraits then another way is via Benneclli’s Popular Art Lessons on how to paint portraits or do calligraphy.

 GET YOUR FREE ARTIST LOOK-BOOK HERE

The other mediums I’ve tried are pastels, charcoals, pen & Ink with watercolours. Once you understand the different rules for the basics of paining then you can transfer what you learn using any medium that calls to you or brings out a level of emotion from you. Another medium is Pastels and they can be quite freeing. As with the different available methods to learn you can learn about pastels through Pastel Piainting Secrets which is a Guide to Painting with Pastels. You can CLICK HERE to learn more. Art has this power over the artist. We have an inner need to let out something inside of us and although we’re not sure what it is that needs to be free we do know that there is a driving need to try whatever we can to get to the core of the internal energy that allows us to release it.

So lets talk all about the different aspects and definitions of Art. Th characteristics of art is how an artist creates emotion in their artwork. This includes shape, line, value, colour, space, size, smell, etc... properties can be described as how sensory properties are organized to create unity, balance, imbalance, movement, dominance, etc. There are also elements to art, these are:

These elements are:

·       Line.

·       Color.

·       Shape.

·       Form.

·       Value.

·       Space.

·       Texture.

The seven elements in art are colour, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value. The ten common principles of art are balance, emphasis, harmony, movement, pattern, proportion, repetition, rhythm, unity, and variety. It is how the Elements of Art and Design - line, shape, colour, value, texture, form, and space - are organized or composed according to the Principles of Art and Design to give the painting structure and convey feeling. The elements of art are sort of like atoms in that both serve as building blocks. You know that atoms combine and form other things. ... Carbon etc, in art you have got line, shape, form, space, texture, value and colour and they combine to form artistic scenes, abstracts etc via different mediums. This is when you start to develop your style.

In the visual arts, style is a "...distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories" or "...any distinctive, and therefore recognisable, way in which an act is performed or an artefact made or ought to be performed and made".

Often, these types are misrepresented or more often, misunderstood. Whether the work is three dimensional sculpture or two dimensional, it will still fall under one these three main types. These types are representational, abstract, or non-objective.

Art Styles

·       Fine Art By Movement.

·       Contemporary.

·       Pop Art.

·       Abstract Expressionism.

·       Cubism.

·       Art Deco.

·       Art Nouveau.

·       Post-Impressionism.

Then you begin to realise the importance of composition. What is composition? In the visual arts, composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or 'ingredients' in a work of art, as distinct from the subject. It can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art. OK. That’s the dictionary type definition. Composition is the placement of shapes and the use of colour, lines …all the elements to draw the viewers attention and keep their attention. The composition is what grabs the viewer.

Other important aspects of Art are as follows:

 The most necessary skills for a fine artist:

1.    Realistic drawing. ...

2.    Constructive drawing. ...

3.    Ability to draw from life. ...

4.    Drawing from memory and imagination. ...

5.    Knowledge of art materials and their skilful use. ...

6.    Knowledge of the rules of perspective. ...

7.    Knowledge of golden proportions. ...

8.    Composition skills.

The Five Basic Skills of Drawing

·       The Perception of Edges.

·       The Perception of Spaces.

·       The Perception of Relationships.

·       The Perception of Light & Shadow.

·       The Perception of the Whole or Gestalt.

Once you’ve reached a certain level in your art skills , part of that process is keeping a scrap book or artists sketchbook where you experiment with ideas and collect drawings of your environment. Top artists have often used their sketchbooks to explore themes and make compositional studies until they find the right idea and subject for a larger painting on canvas. Keeping up a sketchbook is a great way to keep your drawing skills sharp. Maintaining that skill is important since sketching out ideas is a major part of your design process. ... It also comes in handy when you're trying to communicate ideas to others.

Hi! I’m Gail (GaFra)

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