Sue Gill Online

Exciting New Female Pop Music Artists – Where to Find Them First

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:24:47 +0000

Although we should be seeing great new male artists popping up here and there, and boyband fans will always remain boyband fans, from where I’m looking, female music artists are destined for both topping charts and pushing the boundaries of pop music this year!

Take a look at the scene for female music artists right now – the likes of Taylor swift, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga, all solo females, completely eclipsing any group or male act, and delivering some of the edgiest and punchiest new pop music around.

But who to watch for hot new songs?

A queue of other talented female pop music artists are ready to take the stage in 2010 – you will have heard vibrant and fun tracks from Ke$ha, whilst the well known first ladies of pop are dominating peoples playlists once again.

Can anyone honestly tell me they didn’t like Beyonce’s completely new image, and the way feisty alter-ego Sasha Fierce really came through in her music?

Madonna has once again taken the pop world by storm, increasing the attention on female pop music artists by pairing forces with the infamous Britney – who is said to be releasing some new material this March!

So – you’ve been watching and listening to the proof for a little while now – female pop music artists are the ones to keep your eye on if you want to be the first to hear brand new pop music.

But if you’re a real pop lover, and want to support the ladies in climbing up the music charts, why not go a little bit further to make sure you’re the first person in the know about who the next female music artists at the top will be before they even get there – use what is infront of you, the internet!

How do I get my hands on their albums first?

A simple Google search for new female pop music artists, or a browse around Myspace is all that’s required for you to discover, listen to – and even contact – exciting new up and coming talent in the pop industry.

This is a great way to do it, and my personal favourite – purely because when your friends are listening to their songs on the radio, you will have already had a few personal chats with the new favourite female. Trust me, it’s a good feeling!

There’s one tricky side to this – because there is such a vast amount to look through, and so many tracks to listen to, it can be quite hard to stumble on some real, quality stuff from new female music artists you instantly fall in love with without spending quite a bit of time trawling through the rest. But once you know where you should be clicking, it’s worth it.

The great thing is, a lot of newer less well known new female artists are more than happy to share their songs with you and even talk to you direct about the latest goings on, gigs, and release dates.

Plus, you can more often than not get your hands on some free prerelease material in the form of a track sent in an email, or downloadable through most new female music artists’ personal sites!

That’s right, they personally give you exclusive prerelease material just for being nice.

Questions to Ask a Tattoo Artist Before Getting a Tattoo

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:02:31 +0000

If you are thinking of getting a tattoo, take the time to talk with your tattoo artist. During the conversation, make sure to have a list of questions that you would like answered prior to moving forward with your decision. Below are a few questions that you should consider asking:

How long have you been in business? This is important in determining how professional the work will be and what type of reputation the business has. If the tattoo studio is a member of the Better Business Bureau, check out their record to see about any complaints that have been initiated within the previous 36 months.

What are your qualifications? Before you see a doctor, isn’t it important to know that they are qualified? Absolutely. The same is true with a tattoo artist. Even though the two professions are completely different, there are similarities in that both involve the use of needles and both professionals must be knowledgeable in their approach at sterilizing their equipment. An individual’s qualifications and training history will tell you a lot about what to expect.

Do you guarantee your work? If the final image isn’t exactly as you had hoped for, will it be fixed at no charge or what is the process if you are unhappy with the tattoo? Is there any type of refund policy? These are all important in determining service after the sale.

Can I see samples of your work or do you have references? If you want to know about the quality of work, you should always ask for references in any business.

How much will this cost? Before agreeing to a specific tattoo design, you will want to know the full cost involved. Large tattoos can be very costly, but even the smallest design can be expensive if you are on a budget. Do yourself a favor and avoid any surprises – ask about the costs upfront.

How many tattoos have you done? This will give you a good indication of the experience level and how much design work the artist has done.

What is the likelihood of an infection and how may I prevent one from occurring? Every good tattoo artist can provide this information. He/she should be able to tell you what to do to lessen the likelihood of an infection and what to do if you suspect that one may be developing.

Is there anyone who should not get a tattoo, such as someone with certain medical conditions? This is important, especially if you are asking because you have a condition that concerns you. Individuals with thin blood, for instance, may be more cautious about anything that involves breaking the skin or needles. The same is true of individuals with other conditions, which should be addressed prior to agreeing to be tattooed.

If I have a fear of needles, is there any way to help me through the process of getting a tattoo? Don’t feel bad if this is you. A lot of people have a fear of needles, which is a device used in creating tattoos. If you are afraid, it never hurts to explain this to the tattoo artist beforehand so that he/she can try to take extra steps to make you feel at ease or to make the experience a less painful one for you.

How long will the tattooing process take? This is important, especially if you are getting a tattoo on your lunch break. All kidding aside, you will want to know how long to expect the process to take so that you can plan the rest of your day accordingly.

This article is to be used for informational purposes only. The information contained herein is not intended to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice. Before deciding on getting a tattoo or having one removed, the patient must consult a licensed medical doctor for medical advice and/or to determine the best course of action for his/her individual healthcare needs.

Artists’ Colourmen – That’s Where All That Paint Comes From

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:37:29 +0000

I spotted a painting in the auction and got the urge to make it my own. It was a seascape – a beach scene with a boat pulled up past the waterline on the shingle and gentle waves lapping the shore. But it was the sky that caught my eye.

Rolling in from the ocean was what looked set to be the mother and father of storms, portended by ominous black and grey clouds highlighted in gold from the dying light of a setting sun. Sublime, glorious and at £1,500-2,000, worth a punt, I thought.

The fact that it was in a sale down South wasn’t a problem. Internet bidding now makes the geographic location of an auction meaningless. No, the problem was that my painting had caught the eye of folk with deeper pockets than my own. Come the bidding and the price – like a tsunami – surged further and further away from my reach. It sold for £10,200 and was purchased by a London gallery. I shudder to imagine what they will retail it at.

But like the storm clouds, there is a silver lining to the tale. The oil on canvas was by the London artist Algernon Newton (1880-1967) and I resolved to learn more about him. He specialised in sombre naturalistic views and apparently his studies of inland waterways earned him the nickname “the Canaletto of the canals”. But the story is even more fascinating: Algernon was the grandson of one of the founders of Winsor and Newton, a firm of artists’ colourmen, founded in 1832 and still going strong. I’d never heard the phrase before, much less given a thought to where the paint comes from for all the millions of pictures in the world, but now I know.

Painting was started by prehistoric cavemen and they mixed their own colours from the basic materials around them: yellow and red earth (Ochre); white chalk and soot from their fires.

The Dutch Old Masters did the same, but by the 1650s, they needed the skills of a physician and a chemical engineer to meet their exacting requirements. Both professions used the same materials: mercury, oils ivory and so on, purchased from apothecary shops and mixed by the artist, or his apprentices, in his studio before he could start to paint.

In 1704, a German colour maker named Diesbach was manufacturing red pigments, which required the use of potash as an alkali. He ran out of his supply and used some which was contaminated with animal oil. Instead of getting red, he got purple and then blue, the first chemically synthesised colour, Prussian Blue, had been made. Prussian Blue remains popular to this day and is also known for its novel ability to fade in daylight yet recover in darkness.

By then oil paints became so complex that professional paint mixers – colour men – established a niche market for themselves which allowed artists to get on with what they were best at, that is painting masterpieces. Pre-mixed paints were supplied first in pig’s bladders and later in syringes, like grease-guns. Oil paint in metal tubes first appeared in about 1800. Water colours, meanwhile, came in oblong cakes that had to be rubbed down with water on a surface such as ground glass before the colour could be used.

William Winsor and Henry Newton built their business on this marriage of art and science and were able to offer artists the widest choice of colours with the greatest permanence. In 1832, both men were in their late twenties and they shared an interest in painting. Newton was the more artistically gifted of the two, whereas Winsor, who also painted, contributed the scientific knowledge that was to be so important.

They established the firm at 38 Rathbone Place, London, Newton’s home, which was then part of an artists’ quarter. A number of eminent painters, including Constable, had studios there, and other colourmen were already established.

A number of new pigments had been introduced in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, making a wide selection available. Competition among the colourmen was fierce, but the two men were among the first to use the moisture-retaining properties of a recently discovered material, glycerine, to manufacture liquid water colours that quickly gained popularity.

Their next innovation was the introduction in 1837 of Chinese White, a particularly opaque and durable form of zinc white which until then had been lacking. Next, Winsor’s inventiveness led him to patent glass syringes for oil colours but with the invention of collapsible metal tubes by James Goff Rand for artists’ colours in 1841, Winsor embarked on perfecting tubes to his own design. His tin tubes were quickly accepted as containers for oil colours and a few years later Winsor and Newton were able to uniquely offer moist water colours in tubes.

The firm moved to larger premises at Blackfriars and then King’s Cross, but in 1844, they opened a specially built, steam-powered factory in Kentish Town known as the North London Colour Works. By then the firm had been appointed artists’ colourmen to Queen Victoria and at the Great Exhibition of 1851 Winsor and Newton won the only prize medal awarded to competitors for artists’ colours.

William Winsor died 1865 and his share of the firm was inherited by his son Benyon on whose death in 1879 Henry Newton purchased his late partner’s share. A few months before his own death in 1882, Newton sold the business to the newly incorporated firm of Winsor & Newton Ltd., which included members of both families among the shareholders, with Newtons employed until the late 1970s.

The firm was acquired subsequently by Reckitt & Colman who had recently bought the firms of Reeves and Dryad and in 1990, ownership of Winsor & Newton passed to A. B. Wilhelm Becker with an artists’ materials division which now includes Contè, Lefranc & Bourgeois and Liquitex. Today they are brand leaders in both the UK and USA and in fine art colours, they supply almost a quarter of the world’s needs.

See an image of the Newton seascape here.