Innholdsfortegnelse for August - September 2018/ No.122 i International Artist

It’s all the rage now to offer painting workshops/excursions to popular painting spots around the world, such as Tuscany, the South of France or the Cornwall in England. However, did you know that International Artist magazine was not only one of the first businesses to offer these trips but we’ve been doing so now for over 25 years! Because of this, we are always looking for art material companies who have developed products that make it easier to travel with oil paints. In this issue, we’ve compiled a page discussing this topic and offering some wonderful solutions from companies such as Chroma Paints. Chroma Paints has some amazing products that have changed the way artists can travel with their materials. The world of artist materials fascinates us, especially today. There are so…

California, USA, Jimmy, oil, 48 x 36" Finalist My Inspiration I have known Jimmy for six years. He is a mason and has worked on several projects around our property. Jimmy considers himself an artist in stone. His word is his bond and a project is done “when it is done.” Probably because I work alone as an artist and Jimmy works alone we tend to talk at the end of the day about our projects or our lives a little more than some people might. One swelteringly hot day Jimmy was building me a flagstone patio and trying to make every joint perfect. He had turned red in the heat, every move he made was labored and slow. Just as he turned to pick up some tools I was struck…

FULL COLOR DIGITAL PRINT-OUTS Use the Official Entry Form over the page ONLINE Visit our website to upload digital files of the images you want to enter and pay for them using our secure server. www.internationalartist.com To upload your entries you need to prepare your image files to be at least 400 pixels at the shortest edge. Once you are in the Official Online Entry page simply select which challenge you wish to enter then follow the prompts and finally pay the entry fee via our secure server. There you can also see other entries received along with past winners of our competitions. Enter our Art Competitions from anywhere in the world HINTS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR ARTWORK • Set your camera to the highest quality available. • Shoot your paintings dead…

I received an email from Richard Rogers in 2009. Here is what he wrote: Thought I should let you know how I went with the Off the Beaten Track exhibition! » I read one of your programs about planning to have a sellout exhibition. » That was a completely new thought to me. » What a powerful idea! » Most artists plan exhibitions and hope they sell. » Very few would actually plan to have a sellout. I took your advice and that’s what I began to plan and work for. » I produced 20 paintings, domestic size, beautifully framed and priced for anyone to afford. » I had a beautiful catalogue printed. » I also did a lot of work making connections, building my database and promoting the…

The Portrait Society of America has three upcoming events and two upcoming competitions. We invite you to participate either by attending an event or sharing your work. Studio Incamminati Portrait Academy October 19-20, 2018 in Philadelphia, PA, featuring Jeffrey Hein, Ellen Cooper, Natalie Italiano and Ricky Mujica Townsend Atelier Portrait Academy November 2-3, 2018 in Chattanooga, TN, featuring Dawn Whitelaw, Marc Chatov, Tom Edgerton and Carol Baxter Kirby Members Only Competition - Entry Deadline: November 8, 2018 Recognizing Portrait Society members’ artwork in five categories: Commissioned Portrait, Non-Commissioned Portrait, Outside the Box, Still-life and Animals as the Subject International Portrait Competition - Entry Deadline: February 21, 2019 Showcasing the very best in fine art portraiture and figurative work 21st The Art of the Portrait Conference The annual portrait and figurative…

Anna Rose Bain, Westminster, CO, USA Silent Snowfall, oil on linen, 36 x 30" (91 x 76 cm) Sponsored by: Portrait Society of America, Haynes Galleries, Gamblin Artists Colors and Savoir-Faire Rick Casali, Galesville, MD, USA Helena Augusta, patinated plaster, 22 x 22 x 10" (56 x 56 x 25 cm) Sponsored by: Portrait Society of America, Haynes Galleries, Gamblin Artists Colors and Silver Brush Limited Marc Chatov, Buckhead, GA, USA Braids, oil, 40 x 30" (102 x 76 cm) Sponsored by: Portrait Society of America and Silver Brush Limited Yuan Dong, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China Listen, oil on linen, 60 x 80 cm (24 x 31") Sponsored by: Portrait Society of America and Fredericksburg Artists’ School Michelle Dunaway, Albuquerque, NM, USA Portrait of Richard Schmid, oil on linen,…

STAGE 1 This stage is all about placing in the major shapes; that’s why I like to simplify and only get the necessary shapes down first. STAGE 2 With this stage, I’m looking for ways to tie the three planes together: background, mid-distance and foreground. STAGE 3 The trickiest part of this painting is the posts and shapes in the right-hand foreground area. I like to try to incorporate triangular shapes into my painting if it’s possible; notice the shadow areas of the steps. STAGE 4 Final Painting Portsea Summer Australia, oil, 12 x 10" (30 x 25 cm) Most of the hard work has been done; I’m now able to judge which edge to soften or strengthen, and by doing this I’m able to direct the viewer to the most…

(including my best-kept secret!) I travel all over the world to conduct my workshops. If I knew I was going to have wet oil paintings on the way I most probably wouldn’t even leave the house. There’s nothing worse than having wet oil paintings when you are moving between destinations. The paint gets into places you wouldn’t believe possible. The key is to get your paintings to dry faster so this problem goes away completely. My best-kept secret is to use Chroma Paints’ Archival Odorless Lean Medium. It dries in 12 to 24 hours and releases you from all the stress. I’m surprised more artists don’t know about it. Chroma Paints (see www.chromaonline.com) are in a number of countries so you can get it if you try. For my Painting…

STAGE 1 SETTING THE STAGE At this stage, I have spread a turpenoid-thinned imprimatura of mixed burnt umber and cool grey over the part of the spray-fixed underdrawing I hope to paint in this session. My underdrawing grid is faintly visible here; each square is one square inch, and the entire canvas is 30 by 24 inches, so the face is well over life-size (about 14 inches tall). STAGE 2 COLOR NOTES I have begun my higher-chroma color layer, relying mainly on Naples yellow, Venetian red, blush tint and Caucasian flesh tone. At this point, I am simply laying in color notes corresponding with what I see as the dominant colors of each part of the face. The colors are much stronger and purer than they will appear in the final painting.…

As an experienced painter of watercolors and oils, I try to keep my work fresh by challenging myself with new visual content, processes and styles. Certainly, painting in heightened realism taught me to hone my drawing skills. It forced me to organize and plan, to deconstruct and reconstruct. It afforded me a chance to sell my work, which motivated me. After over 30 years of painting in this style, I find myself incorporating a stronger element of impressionism into my paintings. I am moving toward warmer colours, looser and more open brush strokes and less attention to small details over all. I have always used strong underpainting usually with four or five bright colours directly out of the tube to create vibrant colour and light in the finished work. In…

The themes of my works are stories that occur between the environment and people and are closely related to my life stage. Most of the time I live in Shenzhen, China, a young city that grew rapidly. During that time I am busy between the excitement and impact of reality and ideals. When I am in the back garden on the outskirts of Quebec, Canada, all the noises come to an abrupt end. The artificial things gradually disappeared, the time slowed down, and the fineness of nature flowed into my consciousness. As my eyes moved, I began to notice the obvious but eternal relationship and reexamined myself. The theme of this stage of the work shifts from the struggle of the heroine in the street fashion to self-reflection in the…

The following demonstration is of a Geelong boat repair yard. The painting won a major prize in Melbourne. I have shown a comprehensive stage-by-stage approach to producing a likeness of the original photo, not a direct copy. It is a studio painting 90 x 68cm (35 x 27") done in 90 minutes. STAGE 1 SKY The sky was painted using a large filbert brush with cerulean blue mixed with ultramarine blue. The paper was dampened in certain areas and parts were left unpainted for the white clouds. A grey (ultramarine blue plus cerulean blue plus sepia) thicker paint was added wet-in-wet under the clouds. STAGE 2 GROUND The basic platform, or ground area, was painted with a ½-inch hake brush using a mixture of Indian yellow and burnt sienna leaving…

Overglazing is a useful technique to “tighten up” and simplify a painting. Overglazes can be applied at any time during the painting process or as a final adjustment to increase color harmony and unity. Generally the process requires mixing a large puddle of clean, transparent pigment and applying it quickly and thoroughly (leaving no gaps) to a selected portion of the dry painting. As soon as the glaze has been applied, a clean, damp brush is used to soften and grade out any visible edges of the glaze. Overglazes can be a simple, single application or an overlapping series of layered glazes. An overglaze of blue/violet (mixed from phthalo blue and permanent rose) was painted across the water and half way up either side of this painting. This not only…

Part 11-Underpainting Technique Pastel is a very versatile medium. There are many ways of approaching a picture that will capture interest and provide both opportunities and challenges to you as the painter. Underpainting is one such approach. There are several different underpainting methods. I will first describe underpainting with pastel and water versus pastel and odourless solvent (also called odourless medium). The next part of this series will refer to underpainting with gouache, inks and watercolour. There are several reasons to underpaint, apart from the desire to try something different. One reason might be that you can’t decide what colour paper to use. Another, and this is my biggie, is when you are using a paper colour you don’t particularly like to work on. In my case this is white…

STAGE 1 On a piece of blue haze Colourfix paper, I have loosely blocked in the trees in the foreground and middle ground using a dark grey green. STAGE 2 Here I begin to paint over the blocked in pastel with a damp paintbrush and odourless solvent. STAGE 3 A close-up of the foreground area showing just how rough and loose the underpainting is. STAGE 4 The first layer of pastel around the underpainted area. STAGE 5 Another layer of pastel and some pastel added over the underpainted area. STAGE 6 Moonrise over Weston Park, Lake Burley Griffin, ACT, pastel on fresh grey Colourfix paper, 20½ x 61 cm (8 x 24") The completed work and the underpainted area working beautifully with only a little pastel over the top.…

STAGE 1 THE LINE DRAWING I started with line drawing without shading using pencil, and after that I use the technical pen in rendering the church that lies at the back of the woman. The ink was waterproof. STAGE 2 MASSING IN THE FIGURE I laid a thin wash of acrylic color yellow and raw umber over the church and started to paint the figure in acrylic raw umber and white. This stage was purely on massing in the figure. STAGE 3 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS The figure is worked with volume here and also with facial expression. I massed in the doves using acrylic black and white. STAGE 4 SURROUNDING DETAILS I have covered the lower part of the canvas with acrylic paint using the raw umber for…

The Making of an Artist Master the principles of painting that took Barry John Raybould from raw beginner to prize-winning professional in only five years. Barry's work is proof that mastering these key discoveries really works, it worked for him and it can work for you too. "In the process of becoming a professional painter, I have spent countless hours and tens of thousands of dollars gathering and organizing knowledge to help me personally grow as an artist. I have searched out key discoveries from a wide variety of sources including apprenticeships with several world-class contemporary artists, a personal library of over 100 contemporary and out-of-print historical textbooks on painting, and my own personal discoveries in color harmony. I have found that if you want to learn to paint well,…

Visit www.internationalartist.com and click on the Virtual Art Academy® button to access instant downloads needed to master the art of painting. www.internationalartist.com The Virtual Art Academy® Apprentice Program A structured four-year program of 192 lessons that will help you systematically build up your foundational skills from the ground up to help you master painting. A key element of this program is series of 350+ assignments specially structured to help you build your skills, and an Online Campus where you can meet other students from all over the world to share your artistic journey, and support you along the way. Each lesson includes an overview of the principle or technique, one or more short videos to demonstrate the skill you are learning, many examples of how to do it, and one…

What got me really going as an artist was learning and practicing the basics of art: perspective, tone, design, anatomy and shapes. Color eventually came but under the canopy of those necessary fundamentals. All the arts are driven similarly. Performance, music, writing and dance. I remember my writing classes at school; piano lessons starting with one note and then two, and eventually Chopin mazurkas. I once went to a ballroom dance class and was astounded at the difficult intricacies involved. The arts must be taken seriously, surrounded with the joy of doing. In my world, visual arts must go through the rigors of steady development of skills. What eventually emerged was myself. Note: we’ll not find ourselves without pressing ahead thoroughly and relentlessly with what we love. You and me—art.…

New South Wales, Australia, Cherished, acrylic, 38½ x 29½" Finalist My Inspiration The idea for this painting came about as a result of catching our neighbour’s wandering Labrador. Rose had gone out walking on her own and we knew she was a cherished member of the family and would be sadly missed so we brought her back to our house until we could contact her owner. I had already been exploring the interaction between humans and animals in other works and wanted to create a painting that captured the shared love between a dog and its human family. After her safe return, I asked if I could organise a time to paint Rose; I now had one of my models. My Design Strategy I use the combination of the “Rule of…

California, USA, Constance, oil, 80 x 64" Finalist My Inspiration To me, the purpose of art is to communicate. Through my large-scale portraits, I attempt to communicate hope, to rekindle the human spirit through a celebration of real people. Consequently, I am always watching for potential subjects that demonstrate character and humanness. Constance is the hostess in a restaurant near the Whitney in New York City. My wife and I were having a glass of wine at the bar after seeing the Toyin Ojih Odutola exhibit last November. I saw Constance across the room and was taken by her command, confidence and the wild hair that seemed to accentuate her bold presence. I approached her and asked if I could paint her. She readily agreed and subsequently posed for dozens of…

ENTER OUR NEW ART COMPETITION CHALLENGE No. 108 Landscapes See your work published in International Artist magazine and also receive a 4-page Editorial Feature in American Art Collector, the prestigious magazine read by collectors and galleries looking for new art work in the world’s biggest art market. Winners and Finalists in our competitions don’t just win awards to hang on their walls. The real value of entering and being one of the winners is that your work will not only be seen by hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide but also by leading galleries and collectors in America, the biggest art market of all. Our Grand Prize Winners receive a 2-page spread in International Artist magazine and a 4-page Editorial Feature in American Art Collector. Publicity at this level is…

My teacher, Henry Hensche has stated, “We cannot see anything except as it exists in the light in which it is seen.” Essentially, what we are painting then is not the objects or subject in front of us but the effect of light falling on those objects or subject. When we refer to the light key, we are referring to not only the light, but the collection of variables that modify the light falling on the subject, such as the time and type of day, the prevailing atmospheric conditions, nearby reflecting surfaces, etc. As I explain in my books and in my workshops, I try not to dwell on theories because relying on them is a surefire way to become a formula painter. Instead of teaching my students recipes, I…

I have written 11 articles for International Artist as part of a series explaining my “Five Steps to Watercolour” applied to tonal realism. Reiterating, the steps are: STEP 1 Composition This is vital when a serious effort is made to balance and set up the scene, omitting unnecessary clutter and re-composing certain areas to make it work. STEP 2 Colour Choose a reasonable colour scheme. As I am a tonalist my choices will be muted down colours as I see everything in terms of tone and light. (If you are a colourist you will see colour first and not tone and my Five Steps will not apply directly). STEP 3 Tone Try to use three tones—light, middle and dark—in building up the major areas of your work. These tones can be in the same colour,…

Look at this non-objective image. I want you to observe it with intensity. In fact, go over it bit by bit. Witness not a false line or shape within. Yes, I’m showing it here, describing it to you because it has me mesmerized. I go over and over it and see something new each time. You’re wondering what is going on with me. Have I become so taken by myself that I can do no wrong artistically? And if so, why would I burden you with such a towering ego? Well, it’s not what you think. I didn’t do this piece but have had it for quite some time. It’s a combination of manmade and Mother Nature. It was a park sign that I saw years ago. A sign that…

Florida, USA, Repose, oil, 24 x 20" Second Prize is a two-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine My Inspiration During the process of setting up a pose, I usually ask the model to be themselves and move naturally in and out of poses. It was during this process I knew something special was transpiring. Her poses felt natural and she conveyed an elegant, soulful beauty. I did two small studies from life to help me become familiar with the palette, models likeness and subtle emotional shifts that were constantly changing during each sitting. I knew if I could capture the emotions and inner beauty of this model on canvas, it would speak to people the same way it spoke to me while painting the portrait studies. My Design Strategy…

In each issue we examine some of the essential art materials available to practicing artists Raymar’s mission and passion is to make the finest quality painting panels for professional artists. A second-generation family business, Raymar has been dedicated to the craft of fine art for more than 20 years. As a company of artists, Raymar knows quality materials are essential to advance an artist’s work and their Oil Paper Panels are no exception. Raymar’s 58A Oil Paper Panels are specially formulated for oil painting. The 140lb cold press, mould made paper is ready to use with oil paint and oil pastels, with no need to size, gesso or prime. With a beautiful and unique pebbled surface, the paper is ideal for both for landscapes and portraits. Conveniently pre-mounted on a…

THREE INTERNATIONAL ENTRY POINTS For your convenience there are three International Entry Points. You can pay your Entry Fee by Visa or MasterCard. 1 USA / CANADA THE AMERICAS Send your entry and payment of US $9 per entry/picture to: International Artist magazine Challenge No. 108: Landscapes 7530 East Main Street, Suite 105 Scottsdale, AZ 85251, USA Enter your Credit Card details on the Entry Form below or include a Check/Money Order made payable to International Artist. (Checks must be in US Dollars and drawn on a US bank) 2 UNITED KINGDOM / EUROPE AFRICA Send your entry and payment of £5 (or _8) per entry/picture to: International Artist magazine Challenge No. 108: Landscapes 7530 East Main Street, Suite 105 Scottsdale, AZ 85251, USA Enter your Credit Card details on the Entry Form or…

STAGE 1 I want the broken streambed and the turbulent water to feature strongly in the foreground as a platform for the stampeding horses. It goes in first. Against most compositional standards, I lift the top of the platform to almost half-way up the canvas squeezing the horses and the background into the remaining and restricted 50 percent. This is really about water and horses so I hope to get away with it. All fan brush and wild strokes! STAGE 2 Since the Maroon Bells are over the hill in they go. The strong sawtooth skyline offsets the rock and water madness at the base so pushing the eye back to the middle. This relative zone of peace is where the story plays out. The sky needs to blend in…

I paint in a number of different modes depending on my goal with the painting in question. One of my frequent goals is the vivid depiction of the human figure. To meet the degree of specificity and detail I seek in this type of work, I need a lot of control. To establish that control, I have developed a very precise set of techniques. These techniques are not unique to me, but my own application of them illustrates their use in the creation of the kinds of figures I depict. In this article, I will illustrate the application of my techniques to painting an over-life-size portrait. Why do I want so much control and precision? Because the figure is so complex. What we directly see of the figure is the…

STAGE 1 DRAWING (BLOCK IN) I first do a simple, compositional drawing of the big masses, which in this case indicates perspective and where the foliage is. The surface is a white Ampersand Gessobord. STAGE 2 PLACING FIRST Before I even put a stroke down, I have tried to pre-visualize where all of the specific colors will be and a general idea of their relationships. I then, with a brush, place my first color note, then a color next to it, and move on from one adjacent color to another, quickly covering the canvas. I leave white spaces in between as it is easier to correct a color when they are not butted up against one another. I try not to repeat a color, but to paint the color differences…

It’s December in Cape Cod. There’s plenty of parking, no lines for lunch, the beaches are bare. At this moment, it’s just me and the Atlantic. I’ve lived all of my life in New England, a region of abundant subjects that I whole heatedly embrace. The White Mountains of New Hampshire, the forests of Vermont, the coastal rocks in Maine made famous by Winslow Homer, it’s all here. It’s all been painted before by artists far more accomplished than I. I am here now. Like no other subject the experience of painting at the ocean makes me feel heroic and at the same time incredibly small. It’s this experience that I’m trying to convey in this piece. In order to do so I’m going to need some reference materials. Oil…

PART 11 How to Paint a Prize-Winning Painting Looking back at my career as a professional artist, I find images of paintings I did as a raw beginner in 1978. They are needless to say quite surprisingly different from what I paint now. There are differences in the brushstrokes, paint thicknesses, colour choices, subject matter, looseness, detail and finish. Everybody, even da Vinci, was once a raw beginner. Not many painters execute a masterpiece at their first attempt. Of course there are flukes, quirks, lucky breaks, happy accidents, fortuitous good luck and the sheer unpredictability that watercolour has of offering up an opportunity for miracles, but generally it takes practice to consistently pull off work of a satisfying, mature and evolving nature. In golf a hole-in-one has a substantial combination…

» Watercolour is unpredictable at first but after many experiments, mistakes and failures it teaches you how it wants to be treated. » It can be treated with routine application like house painting and it will produce paintings of a calm, quiet and safe if somewhat boring quality. » I t can be treated with passion and excitement and it will produce energised, fascinating, memorable and advanced paintings. » I t can be treated with frustration, fear and irritability, and it will produce failures. » Water and its ability to dilute watercolour paint is the first law of painting in watercolour. Use water correctly in its combination with the paint in the right part of the painting and you are half way there. » Watercolour brushes are many and varied.…

Visiting Santiago, Puerto Montt, Castro Isla Chiloe, Punta Arenas, Chile; Ushuaia, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Stanley, Falkland Islands; Montevideo, Uruguay. This is a once-in-a-lifetime workshop like no other. South America and Antarctica is brimming with so much to see and paint. The workshop starts in Santiago before we board the luxury Holland America MS Zaandam. During the cruise you will see some of the most spectacular glaciers in the world. You will also sail through the Straits of Magellan as we make our way through the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago and around Cape Horn, the southern most tip of South America. We then cruise through the Palmer Archipelago and spend three days in the Antarctic with its spectacular scenery. The cruise finishes in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. During the…

» Use water-based/soluble mediums if possible. » Don’t get caught up in the detail. You are giving yourself a base to work from, not painting the whole picture. » Use water where you can. The lack of fumes is better for you and creates a work with less chemicals added. » If you use odourless solvent, please be aware that odourless is not vapourless and the fumes can be harmful. Use in a very well ventilated area. » Don’t lay down too much pastel before wetting it. You will fill up the tooth of the paper, making it difficult to add layers of dry pastel over the top. » You don’t need to paint the whole picture. Often you can get away with just underpainting one or two areas. »…

I was trained to do realism as a fine arts student, but our painting professor Martino Abellana was encouraging us to read more books on art because the length of time in the training that we were receiving was too short to have a proper education in painting. After school, I did exactly what he told us to do. I kept on painting and also read books on arts and philosophy, both Western and Oriental. Reading philosophy helped me understand not only art but also my life, particularly my role as an artist. I realized that ultimately the noble function of art is to nourish the soul. Thus, I have made it a point to be my goal. Around 25,000 to 30,000 years ago, our ancestors carried torches to light…

About Your Tutor Richard Robinson was a graphic designer until 2001 when he became a full-time artist. He’s best known for his idyllic New Zealand beach scenes. In the past few years he also has built a highly successful Internet business with his popular instructional painting videos on www.livepaintinglessons.com. Here’s a scene just down the road from my house in New Zealand, right on the main highway. Most people will speed past it without a second glance but to me this is a beautiful little scene just waiting to be painted. Follow me step by step as I show you the techniques I use to paint this rustic country scene—simplifying a subject, creating glowing light, using edge variety and much more are all demonstrated in the video on my website.…