Art Now and Then: Art Resources

Ain't it the truth!

I don't know how many other writers follow my ruminations at this venue but I presume that there are at least maybe a dozen or so. Others may find the reference cites here informative, amusing, or simply archival, stored away either as a sort of art database index or simply memorable in case the need ever arises to pursue virtually any artist or art related topic for whatever reason. Some of these I rely on a great deal as I ponder what to write. Others are used to fill in the blanks as to facts not adequately covered from primary or secondary sources. These are not major sources such as Google, Bing, Wikipedia, Britannica, or Pinterest (the latter of which I'm starting to detest more and more each day). I've listed the various sites in no particular rank order due to the fact that each is so different as to be incomparable. Having said that, It goes without saying, though, that some of the sources below are better than others. Moreover, each has certain strengths and weaknesses which I shall try to highlight in each case. Some I dearly love...others I use and merely tolerate.

UGALLERY is a place to buy original paintings and photographs by top emerging artists. If you are an artist still have not earned much fame, this would be a good place to start. If you're not an artist, it's handy for looking up the work of young artists in virtually any style or area of content. Beyond that UGALLERY is useful in providing quick and easy access to a broad realm of art related topics. The horizontal menu bar at the top makes navigating the site quite friendly. It's like window shopping in New York's SoHo or Chelsey.

FREAKING NEWS is a website featuring Photoshop news and contest (see the bottom of this page). Its a virtual community of over 17,000 digital artists and members featuring free, daily, Photoshop contests fueled by global news and events. If you're a fan of digital editing, or even if you're not, check this site out at least once. Keep in mind these artist are basically 21st-century cartoonist, and while their methods may be non-traditional, and their humor sometimes irreverent, it is never irrelevant.

ARTDAILY is an Internet-based media company founded in 1996. Its website is presented as an online newspaper, with rich content updated each day of the week. Although it covers art from an international perspective, the emphasis is on American art news and especially that of New York City.

ARTBABBLE is a cloud based video hosting service for art content. It has been called the “YouTube of the arts”. The site is indexed as to Themes, Medium, Periods & Style, Location, People, Video type, and Language. In some ways it's better than YouTube.

DEVIANTART is the largest art website on the Internet. It aims to provide a place for any artist to exhibit and discuss art works. Though most offerings are digital, works cover a comprehensive list of categories including photography, digital art, traditional art, literature, Flash, filmmaking, skins for applications, and others. I really love this site though it can take some getting used to. It's also quite addictive. The navigation is a bit quirky, but then, so is its art. It is heavily oriented toward Millennials. The best advice is to be prepared for anything so you'll be shocked at nothing. Yes, it does have an age-sensitive adult art section as well.

CULTURED is another favorite site, though sometimes its image offering is a bit sparse. You must open a (free) account to get downloads or much else in the way of satisfaction, however. It is indexed as to List of painters, List of Popular painters, List of Famous Artists and Authors, List of Cultures (with thumbnail images), as well as a list of writers. Photos are captioned with titles, artists, and sometimes dates.

HUMANITIESWEB is a rather elderly website dealing with art, history, literature, music, philosophies, and artists' biographies. I don't use this source very often in that several hundred of my old ArtyFact items are still lodged here from some fifteen years ago. I try to avoid quoting myself.

BLUEBOY'S JOURNEY WITH ART is dedicated mostly to visual arts and mostly classical paintings. Most of the material/images used here are taken from free internet research and are in current possession of museums, galleries, auction houses and private collections as; indicated. Inasmuch as Blueboy (until 2007) was a gay men's magazine, there is a predilection toward nude art so some of the material here may be offensive to some viewers and not suitable for preteen children.

MARK HARDEN'S ARCHIVE is a general purpose art image site funded by poster sales. Though the site has a rather "stale" look, its really a virtual art museum loaded with facts and details. There's even a 3D art gallery to guide you through some of the special exhibits. There's nothing fancy here, just a very practical source for art history and images.

ARTODYSSEY is loaded with artistic nudity. Most (but not all) are in relatively good taste. In researching living artists, I often begin looking for them here. The images are all high quality with some artists having a considerable number of their works displayed. The site is horribly frustrating for me, though, inasmuch as it seldom lists titles for the works or dates. Information on each artist is uneven, with some having extensive biographies, even artist's statements, while others have almost nothing. There's a great deal of breadth here, but usually not much in the way of depth.

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ILLUSTRA-TION welcomes those wishing to explore a selection of the over 150 illustrators in their collection. While it is not a comprehensive listing of all their artists represented, nor all of their artworks in the collection, the website strives to give a sense of depth as to their illustrators' quality and importance to our American heritage. The artists and the artworks currently on display at the NMAI change with each exhibition.

DESENHA, PORRA! (Design, Damn It!) or (Stop screwing around and get out your pencil!). As you might have guessed by the site name this is probably the weirdest site of the lot. First of all, it's a Portuguese language blog featuring both contemporary artists and those from the past. (Keep your Google AND Bing translators handy.) It is indexed, but also scrolls through over a hundred pages of art like a blog. It is frustratingly devoid of much in the way of titles and dates and uneven as to biographical data on each artist. It's a fun site to explore but you wouldn't want to live there.

The Persistence of Lithium, Azwoodbox, from
Freaking News.

This is by no means a definitive list, and I'm sure there are several better and more useful sites hanging around out there in the "cloud" like angels. These are, however, the ones I've stumbled over and sometimes peruse when I'm stumped for an artist or topic. Only one or two are what anyone would deem "authoritative." Some are quite amateurish; but that's not to say they're not fun to "poke around" in from time to time.