ArikiArt Online Gallery Noticeboard

Online Art Gallery for Free

2008-04-07T17:18:00.000-07:00

Free Web Hosting for Artists
If you are an artist looking for a place online where you can host your online art gallery, welcome to Ariki Art!

An online art gallery hosted by Ariki Art brings you many advantages in marketing your artwork:

Your online art gallery is always open for business
Your online art gallery is global
Your online gallery at Ariki Art promotes you tirelessly 24/7
You can use your online art gallery as a promotional tool
List your Ariki Art web address on your business cards
Create postcards and other promotional materials with your Ariki Art web address
Give your Ariki Art web address to friends, family, and people you meet
Use your Ariki Art web address in your email signature

How Web-hosting at ArikiArt Works

We create for you a blog using Google's Blogger.com and host it at ArikiArt. Your art blog will have a web address that starts with www.arikiart.com/ followed by your name. For example http://www.arikiart.com/max-emadi/. Once you send us your artist's biography and a photo, we will set up your blog for you at Blogger.com and complete all the necessary setup to customize it and host it at arikiart.com. We will create the first post for your blog using your bio and photo. (For a sample, visit the biography page for Andrea Beech). You will then get an email from blogger.com inviting you to join the blog. From then on you are in control of posting your artworks to your blog. We will send you easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions on how to create posts to your blog, including simply just sending an email to a specified email address that will post immediately to your blog.

Your artist's biography page and your blog will be linked to from the Artists link found at the top of every page at arikiart.com.

ArikiArt has been online since the beginning of 2003 and we rank well in web search results.

How much does it cost?

Other than an initial low setup fee of $US75 it's completely free. That's right: nada, zilch after the initial fee!

How can we do this when we have to pay the on-going cost of running our website? Think of Ariki Art as something like an online art magazine. We're your publisher and we make our money from advertising. Yes, because we run ads on all of our online galleries, you can host your online gallery with ArikiArt for free after that one-time only setup fee of $75.

No matter where you live in the world, you can join ArikiArt online galleries.We will post contact information on your blog that will enable people interested in your artwork to contact you. You will deal directly with any inquiries and transact any sales yourself. We do not collect any commission on your sales.

Get featured on the the homepage of ArikiArt.com!
We have a special deal for regular posters to their blogs at ArikiArt. Once you establish yourself as a member who posts regularly to your blog (a minimum of 2 times a month), we will place your most recent post on the homepage of ArikiArt giving you even more visibility and traffic to your online art blog. You won't even have to let us know - our system will automatically update our homepage with your new post not long after you publish it. How cool is that!

Don't Delay - Apply Now for this Great Deal!
Contact us now expressing your interest in hosting your art at ArikiArt online gallery. We will reply with an email address to which you can send us a sample of your work. After reviewing your work we will let you know one way or the other if you have been accepted to join ArikiArt Online Galleries. If you are accepted, we will bill you the $75 setup fee and ask you to send us your artist's biography and photo which we will use to create the first post to your blog. Soon after that, you will receive an email from us inviting you to join your blog, and you take it from there. Apply now for web hosting of your online gallery at Ariki Art.

Appraised Amounts for Art Deduction Widely Exaggerated

2008-03-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

The LA Times lead a story from page one today on the wide-spread abuse of the deduction available for the charitable donation of art allowed under the current tax code (Link). Analysis of IRS data by the Times found that of the taxpayers who were audited for this deduction more than 52% had their appraisals rejected by the IRS, and almost 96% of appraisal errors favored the taxpayer.

The rules around the deduction make the deduction wide open to abuse if you can find a "sympathetic" appraiser or approved charity or non-profit organization willing to overpay for some quid-pro-quo in the background, which the LA Times in fact hints at in the article.

The chances of being audited, though, appear very slim. The article points out that in a broader decline in the number of overall audits, only 7 taxpayers out of 108,554 who claimed the deduction for charitable donations of art were audited in 2004! With numbers like that, the odds are obviously stacked in favor of those willing to be "aggressive" in their use of the deduction.

Rules for the claiming a tax deduction for the donation of art.

If Only Hillary Would Pick Up the Phone We Could All Sleep Soundly

2008-03-01T09:33:00.001-08:00

It's 3am. A phone is ringing in the White House. Meanwhile a mother frets as she looks over her child who is sleeping soundly. However, she just knows in her gut that "something is happening". But there is no need to worry as the phone is being picked up right this moment by the Commander In Chief who never sleeps. Yes, it's 3am and she's dressed and ready for action, her Rolodex of all the right people within focus of her bifocal lenses.

The Hillary Clinton campaign ad featuring the 3am phone call while a mother frets over her sleeping children reminded me of Makan Emadi's work of George Bush sleeping soundly. This clever little piece even includes a ceramic head of the restful Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush made by the hands of the multi-talented artist Makan Emadi.

When I first saw the ad replayed on PBS's "Bill Moyer's Journal" last night with analysis by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, it actually made me laugh. Oh, my god, something’s happening! Be scared, be very scared! But don’t worry, mother, your little children can keep on sleeping soundly, as Commander-in-Chief Clinton is picking up the phone and knows just whom to call to make it all better. In the morning you’ll still be able to go to the mall.

But it struck some fear into me too; isn’t this the very same tactic used by the Bush campaign in 2004? Recall the references to "the smoking gun being a mushroom cloud" and "uranium yellow-cake sales from Nigeria to Iraq" that made a lot of mall-shoppers vote for George Bush? Hopefully tactics like this remind people how this is more of the "same old, same old".

Hopefully Makan Emadi won't be laying a bomb-splattered doll of Hillary Clinton next to George Bush in the near future. Come to think of it, perhaps he should be busy making dolls of worried mothers and sleeping children to lay beside Hillary Clinton under the blood-splattered bed-covers.

So what do you think? Your comments are welcome.

Makan Emadi Interviewed by Canadian Broadcasting about his Islamic Erotica Series

2008-02-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

Makan (Max) Emadi is still on a roll with all the attention his series of paintings "Islamic Erotica" is getting. He was interviewed yesterday by CBC Radio One's Jian Ghomeshi on the "Q: Your daily dose of arts, culture and entertainment" broadcast.

You can listen to the interview online by going to Podcast Makan Emadi interview CBC Radio One: Q.

What do you think about Max Emadi's series of paintings representing Islamic women in the classic pin-up style? View Makan Emadi's "Islamic erotica" and "Femme Fatale" paintings and post your comments.

Study Fine Arts at The Arts Institute

2008-02-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

At this time of year many young people, and some not-so-young, are making applications to universities and schools for studies beginning in the fall.

Are you considering studying for a fine arts degree? The Art Institutes (often abbreviated as Ai) is a collection of private, for-profit educational institutions for career preparation in the visual, creative, and applied arts, including design, media, fashion, and culinary programs. There are 34 Art Institutes located in major cities across North America.

The Art Institute Online, a division of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, also has online courses available. The Art Institutes awards master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, associate’s degrees, and non-degree programs. Ai is headquartered in Pittsburgh, a division of Education Management Corporation (EDMC).

Go here for a full listing of the Art Institutes schools and links to their websites.

Max Emadi's Femme Fatale Series

2008-01-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

In a journey that continues to explore his Islamic roots and the role of women in the Muslim world, Makan (Max) Emadi has started another series of paintings that focuses on the Islamic dress code for women (hijab). As compared to his prior "Calendar Girl Series", the Femme Fatale series so far has focused totally on the eyes and head of the subject.

I'm sure Iranian-born Makan (Max) Emadi is well-aware of his intentions in naming the series "Femme Fatale". As the Wikipedia posting for femme fatale states:

A femme fatale is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetypal character of literature and art.

The phrase is French for "fatal (or "deadly") woman." A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, and sexual allure. Typically, she is exceptionally well-endowed with these qualities. In some situations, she uses lying or coercion rather than charm...

In social life, the femme fatale tortures her lover in an asymmetrical relationship, denying confirmation of her affection. She usually drives him to the point of obsession and exhaustion so that he is incapable of making rational decisions.

femme fatale Wikipedia

As with all of Max's series of paintings, it will be interesting to observe over time how it evolves and where it will eventually lead him. Who will lead who in this dance with the siren?

Donate Art, Save Taxes

2007-12-20T22:02:00.000-08:00

Donate Art to Charity and Potentially Deduct More Than Your Cost Basis

It might be several weeks yet till the 2007 tax year filing deadline in mid-April, but if you intend to donate art to charity and claim a deduction for charitable giving, you only have a few days left to act. Your art donation must be made by the end of the calendar year, so act now!

This is a charitable donation that can help not only the beneficiary charity, but yourself too. The actual cost basis of the artwork has no relationship to your deduction; you can deduct the fair market value of the artwork that you donate to and IRS-approved charity.

So if you bought the artwork some time ago and it has appreciated in value, you get to deduct the appreciated value from your taxable income, not what you paid for it (your cost basis).

Or if you can acquire art at a cost that is less than the appraised fair market value (FMV), then you can deduct more than you are out of pocket.

One significant catch that you need to be aware of, however, is that you must have owned the artwork for a minimum of 12 months to qualify for the deduction.

Continue reading for more detail concerning the charitable donation of art ...

Juan Coronado Undertakes Commission for Miller Children's Hospital

2007-12-18T22:36:00.000-08:00

Ariki Art member artist, Juan Coronado, will be painting a large triptych as a donation for Millers Children's Hospital in Long Beach, California. To be completed by the end of next year, the work will be auctioned off in a charity auction for the hospital.

Another exciting development for Juan recently is that we were contacted to provide a sample giclee print of his work "Lava Flow" for a business in Lebanon that supplies prints of original artworks to western hotel chains throughout the Middle East. The original work is a mere 8x10 inches, but the sample print was enlarged 7 times! The print will be exhibited in a mock up room, and if the work is chosen by any of the hotel chains for their rooms, it will be printed in a limited edition of 150.

If you are interested in giclee reproductions of Juan Coronado's artwork, or those of any other of our artists, contact us and we will work with you and the artist. Not all artists are willing to supply prints, but most are. After all, they have to eat and pay the bills too.

South African Artist Daniele van Eck Joins ArikiArt

2007-12-12T22:58:00.001-08:00

Our latest member of ArikiArt Online Galleries is a young artist from the Johannesburg area of South Africa. Daniele van Eck paints primarily in acrylics and her works are typically abstract paintings and nudes.

Thank you for joining ArikiArt, Daniele, and we look forward to seeing your art. We have had a sneak preview of her talent, and know you will all be very impressed.

Welcome aboard, and every success in your career as an artist.

Artist Daniele van Eck's art blog

Tax Deduction for Fine Art Donations to Charity

2007-12-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

It's December and you need to make charitable contributions before the end of the year to be able to deduct them against income on your 2007 tax return.

Don't forget that the 1995 Tax Act allows you to donate artwork to any IRS-approved charity at its fair market value, not at its cost basis.

In addition, this deduction falls outside of the alternative minimum tax clawback if you fall within the AMT.

Read our article on all the rules surrounding the deduction of charitable donations of art.

Max Emadi to be featured in Russian Magazine

2007-12-08T23:25:00.000-08:00

California-based artist Max Emadi is hoping that his recent interview with Khooligan will actually one day see the watery light of day on Moscow's newsstands. If it does so, the publishers of the art, fashion, and trends magazine will be braver than Radio Free Europe which recently dropped its intended airing of an interview with Max because they decided he was too hot to handle. The problem and the attraction is Max Emadi's Islamic erotica series that features veiled Islamic women in provocative poses. So perhaps the glossy Russian magazine will shame Radio Free Europe and show them what freedom of speech is all about

Max shared with us the transcript of the interview and asked that we publish it here on Ariki Art. If you read Russian and can get your hands on the edition of Khooligan that will feature Max, then all power to you, but if you can't read Russian, or just can't wait for the Russian version to come out, you can read Khooligan magazine's interview with Max Emadi here.

Kalibaru - Gourd Art by McKenzie Birnie

2007-12-03T23:30:00.000-08:00

ArikArt member McKenzie Birnie continues to demonstrate her wide artistic flair with her paintings and gourd art. Over the last few weeks she exhibited a selection of her gourd art at the recently opened "Packing House" in downtown Claremont, CA as part of the "Gypsy Sisters" exhibition. The focal point of the exhibition was her work "Kalibaru".

This magnificent work of gourd art by McKenzie represents a village in East Java at which she and her brother stayed during a trip to Indonesia to visit the land of their Dutch grandfather and Indonesian grandmother. McKenzie recalls the simple life of the village as representing "perfection" in its simplicity of lifestyle. The idyllic village even has a small hammock. Complete with small containers of rice and basic staples, the work becomes a shrine to simplicity and subsistence, and McKenzie comments that the artwork expresses her desire to pare back the attachments of life.

McKenzie uses a pyrographic etching tool to burn the pattern into the surface of the gourd and leather dies to apply color. The work is finished off with a UV-resistant varnish.

The work is offered for sale at $750. Use our contact link if you are interested in this work.

Slideshow of gourd artwork "Kalibaru" by McKenzie Birnie

Art-Inspired Poetry

2007-11-26T13:01:00.000-08:00

When San Diego-based poet Dale Driscoll was given one of Raymond Neher's fanciful "Cadatonia" monoprints as a gift from a friend, he was inspired to write a poem upon each of the prints.

We have published each of the poems here at Ariki Art for your enjoyment and inspiration. Thank you, Dale, for giving us permission to publish your works

Dale Driscoll's poems inspired by Raymond Neher's Monoprints

Dali: Painting and FIlm at the LACMA

2007-11-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

Something that is perhaps not a well-known fact about Salvador Dali is that he was deeply involved with film. He even cooperated with Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, and Luis Buñuel in their movies. The current exhibition running at the L.A. County Museum of Art "Painting and Film" features Dali's works relating to film in the media of paintings, film, photography, text, and sculpture. The collection was organized by London's Tate Modern, but Los Angeles features large in the exhibition

Running through January 6th, 2008 in the Art of the Americas' Building.

Sara Cochran, assistant curator of modern art at LACMA, gives her thoughts on Dalí: Painting & Film; she and Ilene Fort, curator of American art, were co-curators at LACMA for the exhibition.

Aritst Max Emadi Making Headlines

2007-11-17T11:14:00.000-08:00

ArikiArt member Max (Makan) Emadi has sure been making headlines for himself lately with his controversial series of paintings that features Islamic women.

When a Russian newspaper ran a story about Max recently, that was quickly followed by an email for Radio Free Europe requesting an interview with Max. Now the senior editor of a glossy magazine from Russia called "Khooligan" has contacted Max about running a story on Max in the magazine.

The price of fame has been some "interesting" email for Max, for example an email from Tajikistan that begins:

"Each moslem having seen such your scoffy work about muslim women first coming to mind to kill you..."

Max's piece of George Bush stripped bare as the fabled emperor does seem to get the writer's approval we presume when he writes near the end of his email

"You painted helly George Bush beautifully but our moslems????"

Wim Griffith artists' reception and exhibition at Christy's in Long Beach

2007-11-01T17:31:00.001-07:00

"NOIR - Men in Suits"

Featuring exciting new work by WIM GRIFFITH

O c t o b e r 1 – N o v e m b e r 1 7, 2 0 0 7

Artist Reception: Thursday, November 8, 7-9pm at Christy's Restaurant, Long Beach, CA

ON THE TRAIL 24" x 30" Oil on canvas

GUN 28" x 22" Oil on canvas

gpromotion and Christy's is pleased to present the latest work of Wim Griffith.

The intense and precise detail of Griffiths' work in this series transcends craft or technique. Each painting connects the audience to the characters. You reach to touch them and expect to feel the warmth of their body, it's so real.

With robust colors, finite details and shadowy patterning, Wim's canvas evokes the stylish Hollywood film noir classic period. His work captures the attitudes of the crime drama genre emphasizing moral ambiguity and sexual intrigue. This series of Men in Suits is sure to leave you wondering, "Which one is the bad guy? "

"NOIR" will run from October 1, 2007 to November 17, 2007.

An artists recpetion will be held Thursday November 8, 2007 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Come and enjoy Christy's famously delicious appetizer and wine reception.

Christy's Ristorante
3937 East Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90803
Contact: Patti Miller
866.919.5774
Web site, http://www.christysristorante.com

Ristorante hours, dinner nightly 5PM – 10PM

Zagat and Wine Spectator rated

About the Artist

Wim is a multi disciplined artist. His professional background is as a scenic artist for television and film, and his work has been widely exhibited in galleries throughout his native Southern California and the rest of the US. He has also executed prestigious commissions, including several bronze busts for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame and is currently working on a bust of the legendary Dinah Shore.

Wim Griffith

For sales information and information on this exhibit and upcoming exhibits, please contact at gpromotion@gmail.com

West Hollywood Halloween Street Party

2007-10-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

For all you Halloween freaks out there - and I know there are a lot of you! - if you live in or will be in the LA area this Halloween, consider visiting the Halloween street party in West Hollywood. It's the biggest Halloween event in the U.S. with as many as 400,000 people showing up, mostly to gawk at, well...Halloween Freaks. A long section of Santa Monica Blvd is blocked off for the party, but having been there myself, if you're not into crowds, this won't be your thing. With the event taking part in the gay neighborhood of West Hollywood, you can expect to see some of the most imaginative and provocative costumes of your life.

More specific details here for the West Hollywood Halloween Street Party here at ExperienceLA.com

And...if you're still looking to rent a costume for Halloween, check out Carin Jacob's costume rentals, or if you're more the type who wants to buy your costume, visit our Halloween costume store.

Gift Idea: Print Your Photos on Canvas

2007-10-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

Great Christmas Gift Idea

Turn your photos into works of art with giclee prints

Canvas On Demand transforms your pictures, digital photo enlargements, traditional photo enlargements, family portraits, senior portraits and pet portraits into beautiful giclee style canvas prints. (What is a giclee print?) Choose from our Photorealistic or Light Brush Strokes techniques as well as various levels of retouching. With regular and express shipping, a photo on canvas makes for a unique birthday gift, anniversary gift, Christmas gift, Valentines Day gift, Mothers Day gift or Fathers Day gift.

Read how It Works at the CanvasonDemand.com website.

Meantime, take advatange of this special offer for the holidays of $20 off orders $200 and above

Halloween Dog Costumes

2007-09-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

Probably you've had this email by now with the pictures of peoples dogs dressed in Halloween costume. I just got it again recently, and I've seen it in previous years too, so it's been around a while. For some Halloween fun I made a collage with the photos. (Click for larger image) I'm willing to give attribution to anyone who took the photos all those milennia ago.

My friend and costume designer Carin Jacobs is based in Long Beach, CA. She has a warehouse with thousands of costumes available for rent at any time, so consider Carin this Halloween.

Here's a link to the history of Halloween and some more fun Halloween stuff on the web

Hairspray Costume Rental

2007-07-30T00:15:00.000-07:00

"Hairspray" Costume Rental

Ariki Art friend and professional costume designer Carin Jacobs is all set to provide you with your "Hairspray" costume rental. The popular remake of the movie "Hairspray" is running currently, and it just so happens that Carin was the costume designer for a stage production of "Hairspray" so has costumes for the entire cast of characters in stock in her costume warehouse. So if "Hairspray" is your thing for this Halloween, rent from Seal Beach, CA constume designer, Carin Jacobs.

About costume designer Carin Jacobs, including how to contact her regarding costume rentals

Watercolor Artist Abhilasha Singh Joins ArikiArt

2007-07-09T19:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome Abhilasha Singh!

We would like to welcome aboard watercolor artist, Abhilasha Singh, as the latest artist to exhibit at ArikiArt Online Gallery.

Abhilasha lives in the Indian state of Gudjurat. She paints in bright and vivid color and has done many figurative pieces featuring women. She also enjoys creating paintings with a contemporary art deco feel to them.

Abhilasha has had quite some success for such a young artist, and currently has an exhibition of her works running in London.

We invite you to take the time to read more about watercolor artist Abhilasha Singh and view her watercolor paintings here at ArikiArt.

Christ the Redeemer Statue a Wonder

2007-07-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

The results of an Internet poll of what people think should be the Seven Wonders of the Modern World were announced on Saturday, which happened to be the date 07/07/07. The results of this "unscientific" poll were:

The Great Wall of China
The ancient city of Petra in Jordan
The statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro
Machu Picchu in Peru
The Maya ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico
The Colosseum in Rome
The Taj Mahal in India

The Statue of Christ the Redeemer has always been a "wonder" to me since my late-friend Raymond Neher painted the statue after his trip to Brazil and it just happened to be the painting he was working on when I first met him in San Francisco in 1987.

Before his death from lung cancer in 2004, Raymond asked me which painting I would like to have after his death, and it was this painting that I chose because of my memory of meeting him in front of his easel working on the statue of Christ.

See more cityscape paintings by Raymond Neher