Ric Hopwood

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T16:07:00.001Z

It's been a while since my last post. Moving house and all my Entirely Art work seem to have got in the way!

If you are ever stuck for updates from me you can always find me through my business updates on facebook, just 'like' the page www.facebook.com/artconsultants. You can also follow me on twitter @artconsultancy .

Anyway, to find out what i've been upto lately take a look at the following link to view the Entirely Art blog. It's a detailed run-down of our creative year!

Please click the link below to read the blog post.

http://entirelyartconsultants.blogspot.com/2011/12/so-this-is-christmas-and-what-have-we.html

Many Thanks.

Here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

The Friday Picture (Number 27)

2011-10-07T13:28:00.001+01:00

Photography Calendar: October

2011-10-01T11:07:00.000+01:00

Location: Horsey Windmill, Norfolk

The Friday Picture (Number 26)

2011-09-30T16:25:00.000+01:00

Hay in the fields in East Ardsley.

Ok this isn't bang up to date, but it's a nice shot and it shows the setting in which I live now!

The Friday Picture (Number 25)

2011-09-23T14:26:00.001+01:00

As it's autumn!....

The Friday Picture (Number 24) Bye bye Birstall :(

2011-09-16T13:18:00.002+01:00

As I'm leaving Birstall this weekend, I thought it might be nice to look back at a project I worked on during the re-generation of Birstall market place. Here's a black and white photo taken during the rennovation! When I have more time (after the move!) I'll upload all the pictures from that series for you to take a look at ;)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Moving house and then a mad dash round the HOST studio's!

2011-09-14T12:06:00.001+01:00

It's getting exciting! So much is changing so fast all of a sudden as me and Sarah finally take the plunge and move in together this weekend! We get the keys to our first home together, in the heart of East Ardsley, on Friday. Which means a majorly busy weekend of moving all our stuff in!

That also means my office will be moving with me, into a spare room at the new house which will then serve as Entirely Art HQ! We'll be based then pretty much central between Leeds and Wakefield, the two cities where our business clients are based. Plus we'll also just be a stones throw from the hub of creativity going on in Kirklee's.

Saturday looks like been taken up with moving, but on Sunday i'm really hoping to find the time to catch up with all the artists taking part in this years HOST open studio trail.

HOST is an annual event that see's artists from all over Kirklees open up their studio's for one weekend. This years open studio trail involves 30 venues and 74 artists all showcasing their work! So there's lots to get through! Visitors are invited to tour around the venues, meet local artists and admire their work.

I know alot of the artists taking part, some have been associated with Entirely Art in past projects. It's going to be great to catch up with a few old faces and I'm also looking forward to meeting some brand new creatives!

If you're in the area this weekend, why not drop in at a few of the venues? More information is available on the HOST website www.hoststudios.co.uk

The Friday Picture (Number 23)

2011-09-09T12:41:00.000+01:00

The Friday Picture (Number 22)

2011-09-02T11:39:00.000+01:00

Photography Calendar: September

2011-09-01T11:01:00.001+01:00

Location: Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk

The Friday Picture (Number 21)

2011-08-26T13:52:00.000+01:00

The Friday Picture (Number 20)

2011-08-19T15:17:00.000+01:00

Something a little groovy for your Friday....

Baby Portrait Photography: Capturing the Spontaneous and Natural

2011-08-16T11:25:00.001+01:00

I was recently asked about baby photography which immediately sent me looking for some examples of portraits I've taken. Since I took up photography I've photographed a variety of different subjects but none are as challenging as baby portraits!

I'm not a fan of really posed looking photo's though, so it's actually great fun trying to get that great photograph that shows the baby at his or her spontaneous best!

On this particular shoot, Harry was asleep when I arrived at his mothers house. I simply just sat in front of his baby bouncer and took a few shots until he decided to wake up!

We got all sorts of reactions out of him from crying to laughing to this 'blowing bubbles' pose!

Capturing the natural essence of a baby's unique character is the most important part of these first photographs of a child's life. They capture a unique innocent character that will change so quickly as the child grows up.

Captured forever, these unique memories will come back to haunt Harry on his 18th birthday!

I still offer photography services alongside my other work with Entirely Art, it's something that i'd never truly give up as it provides such rewarding results as these photo's.

The Friday Picture (Number 19)

2011-08-12T11:03:00.002+01:00

Baby Portraiture - Capturing a Natural Look

Here's a real gem of a photo, taken some time ago when I was heavily involved in taking Baby portraits.

Capturing the spontaneous and natural has always been my aim when it comes to photographing people. I have alot of photo's of crying babies and fed up grumpy ones too! But here's one from a more relaxed shoot when baby Harry here was happy to cuddle upto his teddy and pose! (at least for this shot anyway!!)

The Friday Picture (Number 18)

2011-08-05T13:08:00.000+01:00

A Whirlpool in Lime & Pink

Photography Calendar: August

2011-08-01T10:47:00.003+01:00

Location: Turgatreis, Turkey

The Friday Picture (Number 17)

2011-07-29T13:43:00.001+01:00

Another abstract canvas this week...what do you think?

The Friday Picture (Number 16)

2011-07-22T18:43:00.000+01:00

Abit of canvas art to show you this Friday....

A textured , abstract piece. Let me know what you think!

The Friday Picture (Number 15)

2011-07-16T15:18:00.000+01:00

Oh dear Friday Pictures a day late..sorry!

In my defence I was sidetracked with the Entirely Art blog!

One of my really simple to create yet really effective scanned art prints.

The Friday Picture (Number 14)

2011-07-08T11:32:00.000+01:00

Hello guys! I'm back from my holiday refreshed and inspired with the task of fueling my own creative talents and taking EntirelyArt onto the next level!

More on that later....

First up it's time for the latest in the series of my Friday Pictures!

As i'm still slightly in the holiday mood and i''m in the middle of looking through all the photo's i took..here's one taken from just outside our hotel in Es Cana, Ibiza.

What do you think?

The Friday Picture (Number 13)

2011-07-01T18:26:00.001+01:00

Taken on the beach in Bridlington

Photography Calendar: July

2011-07-01T11:32:00.001+01:00

Taken on the beach in Cromer, Norfolk

The Friday Picture (Number 12)

2011-06-24T11:20:00.001+01:00

This was taken looking up the flower bud of a foxglove!

Almost Holiday Time!

2011-06-21T11:18:00.001+01:00

Just a quick post today to say that I'll be on holiday from tomorrow for the next two weeks!

Me and my girlfriend, Sarah are heading to Ibiza (the quieter bit..not the clubbing part!) first thing in the morning.

So you probably won't hear as much out of me in the next two weeks. I'm scheduling a few of the regular features on this blog..such as the Friday Picture and the Photo Calendar, plus a few bits and pieces on the EntirelyArt blog, but apart from that i'll speak to you all when I return!

I've got a million jobs to do on the EntirelyArt website and then after all that..i've got to pack!

Speak to you all in two weeks!

The Friday Picture (Number 11)

2011-06-17T14:08:00.001+01:00

This hand-painted abstract artwork was the result of an experiment with bold colours and texture, combined with a loose, rustic, geometric design to create the 'latino' inspired look.

The Friday Picture (Number 10)

2011-06-10T14:03:00.004+01:00

A nice sunny scene photographed on the beach at Bridlington.

Happy Friday everyone!

The Friday Picture (Number 9)

2011-06-03T13:50:00.002+01:00

I splashed coffee around, used masking tape, torn bits of newspaper, inks and marker pens to create this collage which I then scanned onto the computer and played around with different effect in Photoshop!

Hope you like it!

Photography Calendar: June

2011-06-01T11:00:00.003+01:00

JUNE

This is the photo that features in June of my original photography calendar. Taken on the beach at Caister in Norfolk.

The Friday Picture (Number 8)

2011-05-27T13:41:00.000+01:00

This is a canvas I created a few years ago now. It was just something really quick and simple that gave me chance to experiment with texture and colour.

It was produced on 30x30 cm canvas in a variety of acrylic paints and spray paint, which gives a great splattered effect to the painting!

I'd love to have kept a better record of where this ended up, but it was early days for me, before I started Entirely Art. All I know is that it did get sold to a happy home-owner somewhere!

If you've seen it hanging anywhere, let me know!!

Fans Eye View of Yesterday's Wakefield v Castleford Challenge Cup Game.

2011-05-22T12:31:00.001+01:00

So we won't be going to Wembley this year :(

That's got to have been a great game for the TV camera's though right? I hope all the neutrals watching enjoyed it and helped to show Super League what they'd be missing without a Wakey - Cas derby in future years!

I don't often take my camera along to the game but I wanted to try it out at least one game this season, especially as its officially our last year playing at Belle Vue Stadium.

So here's my view of the game, from the balcony of the Trinity Bar.

The Friday Picture (Number 7)

2011-05-20T14:27:00.000+01:00

A bit of my photography for todays Friday Picture............enjoy!

Interesting Things To Know When Writing Adverts and Product Descriptions.

2011-05-15T13:22:00.002+01:00

Last Tuesday I was at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford for a workshop on 'The art and skill of writing promotional copy ...that sells.' The workshop was organised by Business Link Yorkshire and the speaker was Mike Kingston.

Basically, the event looked at the ways in which we write adverts and product descriptions. I have to say I came away with many fresh ideas on how to approach writing such adverts and descriptions in a way that can grab peoples attention.

I once heard a great quote that's always stuck with me since I set up my business.

"When I want to buy a drill, It's not because I want the drill. What I really want is the hole in the wall that the drill makes."

This workshop elaborated more on that theory. Basically, people aren't buying products they're buying solutions. The way we can engage customers is to make them aware of the solutions our products can give them.

We looked at examples of advertising and picked fault in them. It was agreed that too often when we're writing ads and promotional copy, we can fall into the trap of knowing our own products so well that we fail to tell people the basics. We forget that not everyone knows the product and they need to know in simple terms what it can offer them.

We talked about focusing our ads at one targeted audience. Basic things that work!

Chinese proverb: "A man who chases two rabbits at the same time, catches none"

I'm not going to go into major details at this point but it's great to increase my knowledge and I feel i've added another string to my bow, so to speak! So if anyone does want to know more, I'll be happy to talk you through it.

For now here's a few things to think about when writing your own promotional copy.

Talk to customers as human beings - Pretend you're holding an interesting conversation with someone you know. Write naturally - the way your reader usually talks. Use the reader's words, phrases and speech mannerisms. Don't try to write a perfect essay.

Use short sentences and short paragraphs - Listen to interesting public speakers. They use short phrases. Often incomplete. With breaks in-between. They say a little at a time. And leave time for you to reflect. They sometimes use single word as sentences. Powerful. Intriguing. Questioning.

Use simple, familiar words - Imagine you're reading your copy out loud to a typical customer. Take it a paragraph at a time and check they understand what you mean. And while you're at it, check if every paragraph makes them want to buy.

CAPITALS ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO READ - From the very first books we were reading as kids, we were taught to recognise word shapes created with lower case letters. Most people read several word shapes in sequence. When you write in capitals you force them to abandon word shapes and read character by character, word by word. IT'S TIRING AND UNCOMFORTABLE!

Hope you've found this useful!

Thanks for reading.

Ric

The Friday Picture (Number 6)

2011-05-13T16:05:00.001+01:00

Any thoughts?

The Friday Picture (Number 5 ...and it's my birthday! :-D )

2011-05-06T10:45:00.002+01:00

Photography Calendar: May

2011-05-01T09:37:00.003+01:00

This is the image for May on my official photography calendar for 2011. I took this shot on a day as sunny as it is today whilst out walking around the grounds of Temple Newsam in Leeds. I then decided to convert it to a black and white image to emphasise the brightness through the ranges of gray tones, producing this final photograph.

If you like the image, it's available as a canvas wrap in the EntirelyArt Shop
I've also got a few of the calendars left, so if you want to enjoy the rest of this years images for yourself, just let me know.

The Friday Picture (Number 4 - The Royal Wedding)

2011-04-29T10:01:00.001+01:00

Hope you're all feeling patriotic today.....

Looking Forward To Full A Day Of Painting!

2011-04-27T18:30:00.002+01:00

After tackling at least half of the mountain of paperwork, a bit of general website jiggery pokery and a whole load of tasks in the EntirelyArt office in the last week, I'm having a day in the studio tomorrow :-)

There are a few paintings to finish and a themed Friday Picture to create in time for the Royal Wedding! Hopefully the sun will be shining and I'll be able to throw open the studio doors and enjoy the sunny weather as i get messy with a major amount of paint!

Keep an eye on twitter, I may update you all with a photo or two.

See you all back here this Friday for The Friday Picture.....

The Friday Picture (Number 3)

2011-04-22T11:45:00.003+01:00

Here is a print taken from an original abstract canvas I created a while ago, I believe it ended up in a nice home in France...

The Friday Picture (Number 2)

2011-04-15T11:35:00.002+01:00

Hand-painted Abstract Canvas 'Choco Dream'

The Friday Picture

2011-04-08T15:45:00.000+01:00

Ok, lets start a trend....The Friday Picture

Every Friday I'll post a new picture, either a photograph I've taken, an abstract canvas I've painted or a print I've created.

Something that offers a little taster of the work I do and takes us nicely in the weekend....

Here we go with Friday Picture Number 1

You can find this image as an abstract art print or as a greetings card in the EntirelyArt Online Store.

Spring is here...

2011-04-01T16:23:00.000+01:00

Shades Of Red

2011-03-25T15:59:00.000Z

Mixed Media Hand-painted Abstract Art on Canvas

Welcome to my Blog!

2011-03-22T16:29:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

I'm Ric Hopwood, or if you prefer my 'sunday' name, Richard.

Basically, I'm an artist, photographer and an art consultant. I run my own business, an art consultancy called EntirelyArt. Through this business, I supply my skills in producing original abstract art as well as my skills in photography. I also commission other artists when the project suits someone else's skills other than my own.

You can read more about the work we do at EntirelyArt by clicking on the relevant tab at the top of this page, by clicking the logo in the right hand column or by visiting the following website: http://www.entirelyart.co.uk/ .

This blog however, isn't just about me plugging my business, it's a way to talk freely about the work I'm upto, both on a personal and professional level.

I aim to regularly upload images of my artwork, my phtography, projects i'm involved in, random scribblings, anything that tickles my fancy really!

I'll send you all regular updates as I post new content. In the meantime, speak to you all soon!

Ric Hopwood
Abstract Artist, Photographer and Art Consultant