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Art and Art Deadlines.com

Tag: Shane Watt

ARTIST TO LOVE: Shane Watt!

Peek-a-Boo, I See You

Say “Hello” to our newest Artist to Love, Shane Watt!

Shane Watt
Cartography & Illustration
SeahorseCshellcity Detail, Cartography by Shane Watt
SeahorseCshellcity (detail)
Cartography
WATT makes street maps of fictional cities, encrypted with stories & secrets. They are often based on all the wonderful places he has been and the wonderful places he hopes to go. He wants to explore both the real and imaginary and the links between them. Watt's city maps take on organic forms, much like a bloodstream, clotted with city blocks.

Watt has exhibited internationally, and his work has been featured in online and print publications.

FAVORITE FOOD:Marshmallows

Are you an Artist to Love? Be sure to let us know!

FEATURED: $2 Art Contest

First...I am not a big fan of online exhibits.What is the $2 Art Contest?

First…Please know that I am not a big fan of online exhibits.  I enter one occasionally, but usually they just seem like scams to get my entry fee.  Now, how is it that I am supposed to not be a “starving artist” when I am throwing $35 after $50 toward meaningless shows with no history, no academic recognition, and no shot of selling my work? 

Show me tangible benefits please.

Second...I made the decision to remove Google Ads from this site.Second…ArtAndArtDeadlines.com has always been intended to be a FREE resource, and that isn’t changing.  But, I made the decision to remove Google Ads from this site by our one-year anniversary (September 2010) and replace them with well-placed, aesthetically pleasing, non-flash ads for artists and art resources that my readers will find helpful and valuable to them. 

Yes…I’m coming to the point…

Third…I receive a good number of submissions to be a FEATURED ARTIST on ArtAndArtDeadlines.comThird…I receive a good number of submissions to be a FEATURED ARTIST on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, and I usually write a feature post every couple of months.  Take a look at our Recently Featured Artists Catherine Roach, Celine Eimann, Shane Watt, and Kris Wlodarski.  These posts do really well for MONTHS after they are posted because people want to see good art.

Best of Show...Each month I will feature an artist from submissions received the previous month.Finally…
Best of Show…

All of the meandering above was leading to this point… 

Each month I will feature an artist of the month from submissions received the previous month. 

There will be a fee of $2 to enter–payable by PayPal to submitart@artandartdeadlines.com

You can’t buy your way onto ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, but here are the tangible benefits to you for your $2 if you are chosen for a feature post.

Benefits of Entering the $2 Art Contest:

  • The distinct honor of being a FEATURED ARTIST of the MONTH on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com .   🙂
  • A permanent inbound link from the post to multiple pages on your website (if you have one) from this site which has a Google Page Rank of 4 (as of 07/01/2010) which helps your website’s visibility on the web.
  • Additional permanent inbound links from a new Featured Artist page to your website (if you have one) from this site which has a Google Page Rank of 4 (as of 07/01/2010) which helps your website’s visibility on the web.
  • A 300×300 pixel ad (created by me) for occasional use in other blog posts throughout the month in which you are featured (and beyond–at my discretion)

I hope you agree…It could be the best $2 you ever spend.

Why $2?  I’m not trying to get rich off the artwork of my readers by producing ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, but it would be nice to pay the hosting fees and software occasionally.  $2 is a ridiculously low fee FOR ANYTHING.  You see a benefit, and ArtAndArtDeadlines.com gets to promote great art and great artists.  Simple.

The $2 Art Contest Guidelines are easy:

Follow the Rules to win the Crown!FEE:  Send $2 to submitart@artandartdeadlines.com via PayPal.com and record the transaction # when you’re finished.  Don’t worry…it is part of the confirmation email they send you.

SUBMISSION:  Email me the PayPal transaction #, a handful of pics, a bio and whatever you think I need to form an accurate opinion of your work.  If all of the information I need is on your website, just send me the link to the site.  There are no restrictions…You can win EVERY month, so just keep entering.

DEADLINE:  The deadline is the last day of each month.  The artist chosen will be notified by the 7th of each month, and the FEATURED ARTIST of the MONTH blog will be posted by the 15th of each month.

DISCLAIMERS:  ArtAndArtDeadlines.com reserves the right to publish work of artists whose work we love–entry fee or not; however, a winner will be chosen each month from paid entries.  Additional posts are at my discretion. P.S.  Don’t expect to get a ribbon in the mail.

The permanent $2 Art Contest Page is accessible through the top and side navigation areas so that you can find it again and again.

Email me if you have any questions.

FEATURED ARTIST: Shane Watt

Click here to Subscribe to this Blog by Email!I am very rarely surprised by artists.
It is not meant as an insult…

I often feel like I have witnessed every take on every media imaginable.  Cracked every nut.  But, of course, I haven’t.  And, I delight every time I am taken by surprise.

Shane WattShane Watt
is a delightful surprise.

Watt considers himself a  semi-fictional mapmaker.  He is self-taught and based in Montreal Quebec Canada inspired most by the drawing of his father.

Watt has been exhibiting his cartographic work over the past 4 years and producing commissions for the past 7 years.

Watt uses objects, numbers, real places and photographs to create city maps, which convey stories and insights into his own personal experience of a particular time and place. 

Many loyal readers know that I send a quiz, of sorts, to artists I want to feature, and the questions vary depending on my gut reaction to their work. 

In fairness, I usually answer the questions first baring my own truths and embarassments. 

Waites Rounde by Shane WattWhen I asked Watt about his artistic influences, he claimed his father as his biggest inspiration.  Sweet. 

Then once again, he delightfully surprised me.  As a second influence, Watt claims Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart).  Wow, I didn’t see that one coming.  On a humorous note, when Don Van Vliet was asked the same question, he answered “I just paint like I paint and that’s enough influence.”  Funny.

Click to see a larger version of Bloodshotville by Shane Watt!I won’t reveal the art he finds creepy, and I’ll leave it to you to figure out his favorite snack foods…yes, I do ask. I’m a nosey foodie, and it IS a food-themed art blog.

In his upcoming exhibit at Galarie Rye in Montreal, Watt will showcase a recent collection of works including a multi-dimensional map, which can be viewed from various perspectives revealing clues of an overall narrative and an interactive puzzle map.

Illustration by Shane WattI think most of us can accept map making as an art form, and a few of us always think of maps as art.  But in an age of GPS systems, only an artist would think of whimsical, semi-fictional maps as a specialty media.  How perfect.  I love a niche market. 

Even more–I love the idea of something being representational, but not. 

I appreciate Watt’s refusal to dumb down work to mere aesthetics but make it beautiful nonetheless.  I revel in Watt’s assumption of the best in all people–curiousity, determination and the yearning to understand.

Visit ShaneWatt.com!When asked if he includes puzzles and secrets in all of his work–even the commissions, he simply states, “The maps always contain at least four elements, the primary narrative, the muse, references to me and, of course, the secrets of the city. Whenever I create a commission I’m always very clear about the fact that the cities all inter-connect into the larger context of my fictitious country Loyala and need to have the four elements present….so far no one has really minded.”

Thank you Shane Watt

I look forward to searching out the hidden gems in my own life’s map very soon.

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