Masonry - Greg Mason Burns

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February 16, 2014

How to Run a Successful Kickstarter Campaign

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="261"] Una Vista de Ardales - oil on canvas[/caption] So I recently finished a successful Kickstarter campaing (see here). It was a small project to help raise money to buy frames for an exhibit, and it was my first ever fundraising campaign. Below are some lessons that I learned about how to run a successful Kickstarter campaign, and I hope that they help you in your Kickstarter, or other crowdfunding, campaign. Best of luck to you, and I hope that you more than exceed my success rate.Please note that these tips are only based on my experience, and...

February 2, 2014

Greg

Pieces of 2013: an exhibit of my 2013 paintings

[caption id="attachment_3948" align="alignleft" width="304"] Rua Dr Rafael Ribeiro Study IV - Oil on Paper (2013)[/caption] We hung the exhibit and it will begin on February 3, 2014. This is the exhibit that's linked to my Kickstarter Project: Operation Frame. Café Camões is open Mon-Fri until 7pm. It has the best apple pie in Curitiba. Here is the Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/637498719646236/ What to Look for in a Cafe Exhibiting in cafes is always a bit tricky, because people are there for the food and not for the art. However, they generate a lot of traffic with all different types of clients. Yes, some places...

January 23, 2014

Greg

Operation Frame on Kickstarter a Success…Thanks!

[caption id="attachment_3197" align="alignleft" width="300"] One of my rewards for Operation Frame[/caption] So recently my Kickstarter project, Operation Frame, finished. It was my first Kickstarter campaign, or any fundraising campaign for that matter, and it was a success. I was trying to raise $500 to help pay for frames for my exhibit in February, 2014. My purpose for raising the money was really because I didn't have enough money to frame the small paintings (all about 20 x 40 cm or slightly smaller) that I'd be exhibiting. If I didn't raise the money then I wouldn't have been able to exhibit the...

January 8, 2014

Greg

Mimicking is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

[caption id="attachment_3922" align="alignright" width="250"] Mimicking is the Sincerest Form of Flattery - Cidade à Noite by Greg Mason Burns[/caption] So I was recently mimicked for what I believe is the first time in my artistic career. At the very least I discovered someone mimicking me publicly for the first time, and I think this is a good thing. First of all, he gave me full credit (again, publicly) without me asking, so I'm grateful for that, too. Secondly, I'm honored by this.I first discovered Joseph Hawkin's piece in a contest on the website Fine Art America. I enter contests there just...

January 3, 2014

Greg

Nova Documentary on New Artists

[caption id="attachment_3923" align="alignright" width="252"] New Year Gift (2013)[/caption] I saw a recent documentary by Nova on some of today's young artists (New Art and the Young Artists behind it). The artists made some interesting comments about what it takes to be an artist in today's world. Tofer Chin said he thinks its about 50-50 quality of art to marketing. I agree with him, and it's not easy to be a marketer when you just want to focus on the art. I guess this is the world we live in, though. I've often thought about making murals. I've never really seen my work...

December 18, 2013

Greg

Kickstarter Project Launch

[caption id="attachment_3197" align="alignleft" width="300"] Barcelona Rooftops (available on Kickstarter)[/caption] A happy day today, as I begin my first ever Kickstarter project. The name of this project is Operation: Frame and its purpose is to help raise funds to frame paintings for my exhibit in February in Curitiba, Brasil. You can see the project here: What is Kickstarter? It's the world's largest crowd-funding website that helps creatives find the necessary funding to finish projects. I've supported three projects thus far (two movies and a book) and I'm sure I'll support more going forward. Why support a Kickstarter project? Simply put there lots of great...

November 10, 2013

Greg

Art and Medicine

[caption id="attachment_3469" align="alignright" width="300"] Untitled Abstract #2[/caption] Art and medicine are linked in ways we might not have expected. I'm excited to share this Dupont-Corian article because it could save everyone money. According to the research published by Upali Nanda, Director of Research, American Art Resources, one study pitted a Van Gogh painting, A Pollock painting, and a landscape photo. The article states, "When the patient's medication use was charted, it was found that in contrast to the control group, the patients consumed slightly more medication while looking at Pollock's abstract work, suggesting that the art had made them anxious." The article also...

October 13, 2013

Greg

Art Motivates and Can Help You Make Better Financial Decisions

Igreja da Sé de Olinda I live in Brasil and recently had to do a presentation in my Portuguese class. The assignment was to create an argument that would convince the rest of the class that my side was best. Since I'm an artist, I chose a topic regarding why art motivates and can help You make better financial decisions. There is a lot of research out there that shows why art is good for you, and it isn't just because it's beautiful or anything like that. It's because art sends messages to our subconscious that cause us to react. But it isn't...

September 10, 2013

Greg

Interview on Gazeta do Povo

English: I was recently interviewed on TV for eParaná´s program Cultura. Now I have an interview with Paraná´s largest newspaper, Gazeta do Povo. I´m happy with this interview, too. It was very well done. Both the journalist and cameraman were beyond professional and thorough. I hope you enjoy it. The video doesn't seem to be on the website anymore, unfortunately. However, the written interview on Gazeta do Povo is still there. The project I was working on at the time was oil-pastel-on-glass, and for this interview I did a quick drawing of castenholas, which was a part of a flamenco project...

August 30, 2013

Greg

Remembering your values

Remembering your values isn't always easy to do. Ever had a bad day as an artist? Ever wondered where the next commission will come from? The next sale? The next print sale? Ever wonder if it's worth sticking with it and heading back out to the "real" world? I've been on both sides, and being an artist is easily the best thing for me. I know this in my heart. But here's the thing, it's not always easy to do it. One needs to remember why one is doing it, and sometimes it's easy to forget. I had one of...

August 17, 2013

Greg

Ainda Vida – Uma exposição de natureza morta – Hacienda Cafe, Curitiba

[caption id="attachment_3972" align="alignleft" width="170"] The artist with "Artist's Delight" at the Ainda, Vida exhibit[/caption] Due to most of the attendees being Portuguese-only speakers, this post is in Portuguese. You can always translate it (albeit not that great) at http://translate.google.com.Quero agradecer a todos aqueles que participaram da minha mais recente exposição de pinturas de natureza morta. Fiquei muito feliz em ver aqueles que vieram, e eu aprecio o apoio que vocês deram. Um agradecimento especial a Arlete e Genésio. A exposição vai até o final de agosto. Hacienda está aberto de segunda a sexta-feira, das 12h as 22h (ou mais tarde). Back to English: one...

May 15, 2013

Greg

Painting is easy when you don’t know how…

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="392"] Zapatos de Flamenco - Oil Pastel on Glass[/caption] I decided on a new project to paint the streets of Curitiba, Brasil. I'm not choosing streets based on their fame or beauty, but more on their composition. I guess that's beauty in the end, and I'm not sure what it means that many of the streets I chose ended up being smack dab in the middle of the favelas here, but either way it says something about how I choose objects. For example, I have a long-term project to document flamenco, but I'm not interested in painting a...