Innholdsfortegnelse for August - September 2019/ No.128 i International Artist

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. HINTS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR ARTWORK • Set your camera to the highest quality available. • Shoot your paintings dead square on and fill the frame as much…

Artists tend to focus on an individual painting, with the exhibition being a collection of those paintings. » However, what if the focus was shifted to the exhibition, and it was just one in a series of exhibitions? Then there’d be a different mindset. » How you approach exhibitions is an extension of this thinking. » Do you do that? A career can then be an ongoing stream of exhibitions. » Be proactive about generating this income stream if you know what to do. A successful artist should have this knowledge. » Can you identify the characteristics necessary for a sell-out exhibition? » Most artists do not even believe this is possible so they don’t think about it! But it shouldn’t matter what you paint for artwork doesn’t sell itself.…

On Saturday, April 27, the excitement in the Grand Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta could be felt by almost 700 artists gathered from all over the world as the top 10 winners of the 21st annual The International were announced. I recently interviewed these artists, asking them about the inspiration behind their award-winning works and their individual journeys in art. Grand Prize William F. Draper Grand Prize Winner Sponsored by: American Art Collector, Jack Richeson & Co., Inc. and Portrait Society of America Seth Haverkamp Norris, TN, USA Mars Rising, oil, 60 x 44" (152 x 112 cm) Inspiration: This is a portrait of my son, Caspian. The original concept started out as just wanting to do a life-size portrait, but as I began placing extra elements into the…

Spending time with nature has always been a huge source of inspiration, and the mountain environment holds a special fascination for me. I love scrambling up high to seek out rocky crags and elevated views of the valleys below. Painting outdoors is simply the best way to really immerse yourself in a landscape and connect with your subject. “Being there,” I find, is the most effective way to experience the natural colour, light and tonal values of a given landscape, as well as being able to witness the day as it evolves, capturing the true essence of the moment. I also find it much easier for me to get “in the zone” and totally focus on my painting. Mountainous areas have their own weather systems that can provide you with…

STAGE 1 DRAWINGS Individual drawings were made and moved around to determine the best composition. This one was unbalanced. The paint box’s new position required reverse direction, so I photocopied it to tracing paper, then photocopied that upside down to copy paper. STAGE 2 BACKGROUNDS All background areas were painted first so that foreground painted edges had precedence. STAGE 3 BACKGROUND REFERENCES The far distant background reference came for a number of Monet’s paintings. STAGE 4 LIGHTS THEN DARKS Way back in college, our art teacher said, “I like to paint the lightest and darkest areas first so I may balance each successive tone with accurate comparison.” STAGE 5 BEGINNING MY STAGES Various first stages commence: the “house” and awning, the oars’ concentric waves with reflections, and shadowing. I later…

My passion for painting was born when I was very young. I was 6 years old when I modeled for a professional artist to paint my portrait. That day, a dream was born to become an artist like that good man who painted my portrait. My artistic journey has been difficult, but in the end, I feel like I have reached my goal. When I was 20 years old, one of my paintings, a landscape, titled Fall in Manati, was shown in a group show at the National Art Gallery, alongside the works by some of the best artists in my country. This is the day when I became aware of the fact that I needed to focus on landscape painting. In fact, my diploma work at the Tirana Art…

STAGE 1 DRAWING THE COMPOSITION First draw the composition with a pencil, paying attention to the shape and the proportional relationships between the sky, the building, the ground and the trees. Differing heights and depths should be distinguished from one another, and the occlusion method should be used to differentiate the near and far levels of the painting for ease of adding colors afterward. The street light in front is very important as it helps to divide and apportion the picture. In addition, we must pay attention to the perspective. STAGE 2 THE SKY Start with painting the sky, first draw the color of the cloud with light yellow and then mix rose red and sky blue pigments with ample water to adjust the purple-gray hues. At this stage, you…

What is art? What is a painting? Why do artists paint? Such questions arose early while I was studying at the Academy of Fine Arts of Kiev, Ukraine. To me, painting means learning to focus and a yearning to understand. With time a painter improves his or her technique and tries to develop his or her own style, but subconsciously there always remains the quest for understanding. Essentially, my paintings are about visibility (making the invisible visible.) Invisibility is hard to grasp. Is everything we see real? If so, how do we express this emotionally? Whenever I decide to represent something on paper, I choose elements I care about. For my work, the real world is not significant but my thoughts surrounding this reality are real. Expressing thoughts is difficult…

STAGE 1 ESTABLISHING THE BASE With Prismacolor Pencil Stix, I scribble over the entire sheet of Grafix® DURA-LAR Drafting Film. The more coverage the darker the base layer will be. STAGE 2 ADDING TEXTURE With odorless turpenoid, spray a few drops over the entire sheet until the pigment turns into a solvent. With a wide brush, I work the solvent and pigment into the film, creating a textured base layer. You can use the back of a brush to add additional texture as well as various scraping tools. Use a hair dryer to ensure the pigment is completely dry. STAGE 3 TRANSFERRING THE PHOTO Here I am transferring the reference photo to film. I trace an outline of the image with a white colored pencil to the front side of…

The Ease of the Digital Magazine The Digital edition arrives directly in your email inbox. All you have to do is log on to our website, www.internationalartist.com, to read your copy of the magazine. The Digital edition reaches readers faster and earlier. The digital magazine arrives to readers before it hits newsstands, allowing you to receive the publication sooner. The Digital edition features the same content as the printed magazine. All of the articles included in the Print magazine are in the Digital edition, page after page, demo by demo. The Digital edition of the magazine is cost e_ ective. In the United States, subscribers can receive one year of Digital Only magazines (6 issues) for just $18, and two years of digital only copies (12 issues) for $34. To…

As publisher of International Artist my regular to trips to the Portrait Society of America’s annual conferences were always something I looked forward to. Traveling from Australia meant I could visit our offices in America and, while there, go on to the conference venue. The conference in 2000 was in Reston, just outside of Washington, D.C., and the weekend turned out to be one of the highlights of my life because it was on this particular visit that Everett Raymond Kinstler asked me to sit for him as the subject of his portrait demo in front of the audience assembled in the huge hall. Having one’s portrait painted by the artist who has painted so many presidential portraits and famous people is like winning the lottery. It is an experience…

ENTER OUR NEW ART COMPETITION CHALLENGE No. 114 People & Figures 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…

» Choose Your Tutor » Choose Your Medium » Choose Your Dates SPAIN / Painting on Holiday Las Orquideas is a fabulous art venue available for private hire. It’s ideal for tutors organizing their own workshops as well as available to book for art club groups and friends. Set packages are offered, or you can create your own itinerary. Accommodation, meals, art studio and equipment are provided. Our location allows for trips out to some fantastic painting locations. Paint in Valencia City, rural Spanish towns, villages and countrysides, and the Mediterranean coastal marinas. We offer complimentary transfers from Valencia or Alicante. As part of our services, we organise the schedule, taking care of all the boring but necessary background details, leaving you to relax and enjoy the company of your…

Gaylord Pickens Museum Portrait Academy October 4 and 5, 2019, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, featuring Rose Frantzen and Jeffrey Hein. Tri-State Exhibition and Competition A juried exhibition featuring the figure for artists residing in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas, from September 12 to November 21, 2019, at Gaylord Pickens Museum. Members Only Competition - Entry Deadline: November 7, 2019 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 12, 2020 Showcasing the very best in fine art portraiture and figurative work. The Art of the Portrait The 22nd annual portrait and figurative artists’ celebration in Orlando, Florida, from April 16 to 19, 2020.…

Survey even a small portfolio of my artwork and, while you would immediately recognize my compositional choices, palette and brushwork, you might find yourself hard pressed to categorize my work. Am I a landscape painter? Figurative? Architectural? And just when you think you have a handle on my oil paintings, I tend to mix things up even further by adding works in acrylic and the opaque form of water color, gouache. None of this happens by accident. I do not want to be pinned down to a specific subject matter or medium. I have the need to paint multiple subjects; it keeps me inspired. The thought of being strictly a landscape, figurative or portrait painter wouldn’t afford me the flexibility to keep work exciting for me. I like having the…

My style is inspired by postimpressionists, Australian artist Criss Canning and my former art instructor Carolyn Meyer. From a young age, I found impressionism particularly inspiring; the use of thick paint drew me in. Though I’ve always enjoyed looking at impressionist portraits and landscapes, it was the still life that peaked my interest. Over the years as I learned to paint and develop my own impasto style, I found that the palette knife gave me a better way to express what I saw. The vibrancy and thickness of the oil colour is a reflection of my feelings toward the subject and the paint itself. Most of my paintings are completed in a single sitting so that they remain fresh and immediate. I paint on cradled panels, which are lovingly handcrafted…

I studied graphic design at university and subsequently worked as an advertising art director, freelance designer and, most recently, as a graphic design teacher. But my first love has always been watercolor painting. I began painting in my early teens, exhibited for many years and then took a long break while my sons were growing up. I confess, it’s been a joy to rediscover what I fell in love with so many years ago. When you paint in watercolor, you’re always teetering on the edge of chaos, and that unpredictability is precisely what makes it so thrilling. I learn something every time I put my brush to paper. I was fortunate to learn from one of the great teachers of watercolor—Edgar A. Whitney—and I continue to use his design approach…

The sketch The sketch is particularly important in order to develop a concept for the picture. I must now think of the entire composition thoroughly and take time to analyze it. I also take into consideration an equilibrium between light and dark parts. I put the accent on the important elements and give sub-elements a minor role. The sketch also serves as a base when I deal with the development of colors. STAGE 1 SKETCHING THE COMPOSITION First I transfer the sketch I have prepared to my watercolor paper with a pencil and complete it with new elements. The objects that are to be used as accents later are now drawn with more details. STAGE 2 SELECTING COLORS IN HARMONY Let’s apply a first coat of colors that communicate character…

A carpet of freshly fallen leaves in the side yard of my family home was my initial inspiration. I took a few photographs before I returned to mowing the lawn. I was daunted by the complexity of patterns, the intricacy of shapes and the variety of colors in these photos. I wondered how I could transfer these impressions successfully to a canvas. I decided to paint on a dark background of burnt umber, slowly and meticulously building up each leaf from thin washes of color. _ e composition was an amalgam of multiple scenes stitched together to create a rich and vivid tapestry. _ e work was painstaking in its level of detail and I used a grid to progress inch by inch. _ ese early compositions taught me an…

I’m finally at that point in life when I don’t mind being thought of as narrow-minded: “Oh, my gosh, have you heard what Harley is saying about art; in particular contemporary art? I’m guessing it’s just that he’s getting older and less open-minded. I sure do recall his wisdom from the past. That’s the Harley I remember.” In earlier times, I had nothing but raves regarding art; heartfelt innovative works. The world wasn’t quite prepared for them when they first entered the art scene. But in time and with grand efforts of the art communities, they’re with us and bringing us to a new aesthetic. And now, I can finally say, “I DON’T GET IT!” It’s a secret I’ve kept from other people; actually a secret I’ve kept from myself.…

Lesley Thiel North Carolina, USA, Honey, oil, 36 x 25" (91 x 63½ cm) Grand Prize is a four-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine Natural Connections Self-taught painter Lesley Thiel has had a wide-reaching career in art, where she first began as an equine painter and turned to the more classical figurative works after eight years. Her paintings can be described as contemporary realism with elements of magical realism. Thiel says her style is realistic, but it cannot be identified as hyperrealism or photorealism. “My style is quite tight and I work with a relatively limited palette, which I find helps create color harmony,” she says. “I work with small sable brushes and sable blenders to create an almost brushstroke free surface, especially on the skin. The most…

With so much art around these days that I describe as smudges, splodges and smears taking up a lot of the art sales market, it is now a greater challenge to create appealing traditional works of art for patrons to hang on their walls. It is a great pleasure to work with long-proven art values, ideas and developing skills. Going back some years, all one had to do was paint a landscape competently and it would sell. That would be plein air or from photographs. Edgar Degas said, “Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.” The more challenging, the greater the satisfaction upon completion. During an opening night of an art show where I sold my entry, which was a large sailing yacht…

STAGE 1 TONING THE CANVAS I always try to tone my canvas in a bright (fine) gold or sunflower yellow acrylic tone. I love the effect it creates in the finished piece, almost as if it’s glowing from within. Next the initial drawing is put down, in this case, in oil. Sometimes it’s just a series of dots and lines to mark compositional and edge placement points, but every notation is important. With architectural paintings, I use a straight edge at this stage to keep my lines neat and exact. For more complex compositions, this “drawing” step may take more time than the paint application itself. STAGE 2 TRANSPARENT WASH OF DARKS During the second step, I lay in the darkest “darks” in a transparent wash. As I lay down…

The beauty of life can be found everywhere, but the most important thing is how to discover it. Even an ordinary scenery has its beauty, and this can be turned into a watercolor painting by artists with their brush. There are a number of techniques needed to express your inner feelings and create the poetic beauty of the picture with a paintbrush, such as composition, color, moisture, brushwork, choice, virtual reality, etc. Through the comprehensive application of these techniques, you will eventually get satisfactory results. How do you create the poetic beauty of the picture? I like using bright colors, easy brushstrokes and I refine the general shape to create a beautiful composition. Even though there are some natural sceneries on the earth, which are already beautiful enough, I prefer…

I began painting at age 40 and had painted for several years before realizing that to make meaningful paintings; I had to care deeply about my subject. It occurred to me I had been drawn to people and faces all my life—that I was a natural people watcher. Yet, it was even later that I became aware that I was not simply watching people. My observation was a much more sensory experience, one in which, once having been drawn in by a person’s outward facade, I was sometimes able to perceive a defining essence, a brief impression of their identity. However, this is not something I experience frequently. For instance, I can sit in a coffee shop for several hours, observe dozens of people coming and going and only experience…

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 or more assignments to assist you in assimilating the material. Lessons For All Skill Levels The Apprentice Program is designed for all…

This work is most unusual. Recently, I went through a very strange day, and got to bed early hoping things would calm down. When I finally fell asleep I had the most real, horrific dream of my life. Waking early the next morning, the dream image didn’t leave. I went to my studio thinking I’d be able to release it at the easel. So here you see my nightmare creature with eyes glaring at me while its shape kept moving and rearranging itself. The painting is actually a perfect vision of my dream. When finished, I took this photo. It shows you how we can reveal on canvas not only what surrounds us but also parts of our own, very personal, inner worlds. Personal and mind bending. I immediately put…