Signed Art
Signed Art
Blackboard Menus & Chalk Art Signs….are They Right for Your Business?
Blackboard Menus & Chalk Art Signs….are they right for your business? If you have walk in customers, then the answer is yes.
Why?
- Bright, enticing and entertaining, blackboard signs can draw your customers in. My artwork is a combination of chalk, paint, pencil and pastel, creating deep, rich graphics and headings.
- Graphics can direct your customers eyes to read the whole menu or sign. Most people will spend a very short time to read your menu and then, only remember the first few items. Artwork can lure the eyes to the very end of your menu.
- Consider a chalk art feature board, to compliment your cuisine and decor.
- Counter top and table top blackboards can be placed at eye level. They are small, light weight and a great solution for establishments with little space.
- They can be customised to include your logo and or mascot. Having formal qualifications in the visual arts and illustration, helps greatly when designing or recreating emblems, logos and characters for blackboard menus and signs.
- Colours, themes and decor can be incorporated into your sign or menu. Keep your ambience consistent throughout your business. Use it to it’s fullest potential on your menu or sign.
- Prices or products written in chalk on blackboard menus or signs can be changed regularly. Giving you the freedom to review and change the content, without having to purchase a totally new menu board.
- The artwork and headings are sealed and smudge proof, making them easy to clean.
- Every blackboard menu or sign is completely unique and individual to your business. No reproductions (like the others) or vinyl lettering, so you will not see your blackboard in another establishment.
For ideas and examples, please visit my website http://www.blackboardartworx.com.au
About the Author
Blackboard Artist and Illustrator.
Soaring Prices in Europe’s Contemporary Fine Art Market – Prompts Top Prices for South African Artists Work
The South African fine art community of collectors and investors may be a distant hemisphere away from the elite of Europe’s summer worldwide tour that began in Venice Biennale this year. However, analysts predict that the steady upward curve in the world’s fine art market that began in 2002 will continue to push prices through the roof. One of Europe most elite social scenes began their quest from Venice, where fleets of private jets took collectors to the Basel Art exhibitions, following onto Documenta in Kassel and finishing their pursuit by raiding Sothebys in London.
Sale of contemporary art works reached unprecedented heights at auction. The event saw Francis Bacon’s self portrait sell for a record $40m, twice its reserve price. Later Claude Monet’s Nympheas went for a staggering $37m and one of the artist’s Waterloo Bridge paintings which was expected to sale at auction for $14m fetched an astounding $34m.
Upward market trends in the southern hemisphere?
The intensifying upward trend in the world’s fine art market has also been felt in the now not so distant southern hemisphere. Australia’s contemporary art market which is considered comparable with South Africa’s has also seen record sales at public exhibitions and auction events. Fine art works by modern Australian artists are snapped up for around $3.5m, whereas the highest price fetched by a South African Artist is around $1m. That was for JH Pierneef’s Dar es Salaam that changed hands at Bernardi’s sale in Pretoria. However experts predict that there is no reason why South African Artists can’t sell their fine artwork for comparable prices.
South Africa’s Masters have topped records in domestic SA auctions
Some of South Africa’s Masters have topped records in domestic SA auctions. An oil by Maggie Laubser, Sailing Boat on Lake Guarda, signed and dated 1921, sold for R220,000 (USD31,000), topping values for her works of that period. The highest price at the Fine Arts Auction was paid for a Sekoto, Home Coming, signed and dated 1974, which was knocked down for R820,000 (USD117,000). This was followed by the R680,000 (USD97,000) paid for an oil by Laubser, The Slopes of Table Mountain verso Portrait of a Hiker. An oil by George Pemba, Musicians, signed and dated 1990, sold for R200,000 (USD28,000), and an oil by JEA Volschenk, The Giants of the Zwaartberg Range, signed and dated 1920, attained a hammer price of R125,000 (USD18,000). More was paid for oil by Adriaan Boshoff, Cattle and Herdboy, which fetched R300,000 (USD43,000).
A director of the auction house says “Art market trends tend to follow the property market which is currently very buoyant. The public have the resources and more wealth, and hence more money is available for investment in art, which has shown better returns than the stock exchange in the past three years”
Contemporary South African Fine Artworks Gain International Respect
South Africans’ cultural heritage and art has gained international respect recently because of recognition received by artists like Zwelethu Mthethwa, William Kentridge, Marlene Dumas. Galleries and museums have developed a distinct, strongly-growing market locally and around the world. Northern Europeans often are surprised when they find out that the bright colour abstract paintings were created by an African artist. In general art collectors and gallery owners still associate African art with wooden statues and masks. Few people appreciate that African artists finish art school and have a growing impact and are represented throughout the international art circuit. An interesting observation is that prices for Aboriginal art are rising steeply, as is the case for works by black artists in South Africa.
About the Author
This topical article on the subject of fine art in South Africa was written by Deri Jenkins (BETEC, BA, BSc) on behalf South African Artists. Visit South African Artists fine art gallery to view a wide range of original art available to buy at affordable prices.