Innholdsfortegnelse for October/November 2019/ No.129 i International Artist

Look at the cover of this issue and tell me what you see. What word stands out to you the most? Well, when we do this, let me tell you what stands out to us: one word, international. You see, there are plenty of art magazines out there. Plenty of magazines where you can see work created by artists in their studios. But ours is the only magazine being published today that takes in the entire world, that visits studios not just in the United States but also on every continent. Take this issue for example. Open it up and start thumbing through the pages. What will you see? Articles from artists living in Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. And, remember, that’s just…

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. CHALLENGE ENTRY FORM SCHEDULE AND CLOSING DATES HINTS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR ARTWORK Set your camera to the highest quality available. Shoot your paintings dead square on and…

I have always considered drawing to be one of the greatest vessels to study painting. Not bound by the same potentially inhibiting chemical processes, and free of the danger of making muddy colors, it allows one more easily to tackle portraiture with bravura. Because of this, I used drawing to help me develop my aesthetic for paintings, leading many people to say my drawings look a great deal like monochromatic paintings. This process that I developed allowed me to work quickly and loosely, which meant I could practice portraiture and design repeatedly, and for a fraction of the time and cost of painting. With each step requiring between five to 20 minutes (depending on the level of refinement I choose), a drawing of this type takes me between 30 minutes…

Richard Halstead has focused primarily on portrait art in both commissioned work and personal expression for the past 35 years. He founded the Halstead School of Portrait and Figure Art after teaching at the Ontario College of Art and the American Academy of Art. His paintings are in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, the Illinois State Capitol, the Indiana State Museum, the Chicago Bar Association, Ryerson/Inland Steel, the Episcopal Diocese of New York as well as several universities including Yale, Purdue, Indiana, Toronto and Melbourne (Australia). His studio and school are located in Evanston, Illinois. Contact at www.halsteadportraits.com During my 40 years of teaching portrait painting, I have often heard students ask, “How do I get rich color in my paintings?” They complain that their colors are muddy…

Ever since I started painting, my primary goal has been to depict the figure as a living, breathing human being. I built up my anatomy and rendering, so I could make the figure coherent, cohesive and convincing. I wanted the solid, dynamic figure to serve in the painting as the body does in real life: as the vessel of a unique person. I struggled, refined, corrected and progressed for years, and then, suddenly, I did it. And I had absolutely no idea what to do next. I have found a rule in my work as an artist: Once I master something, I am not allowed to do it anymore. All the life goes out of it. So it was with the pure, isolated figure in painting. I puttered around for…

For my demonstration, the choice of the subject matter is very important. There are views that look nice but do not make good pictures, hold your interest and have elements that make a good subject. My interest is about the feeling and deep relationship in the scene. In this demonstration, I organized elements of the scene to lead the viewer’s eye into the painting, first with the direction of zigzag mountains and snow patterns to move the eye up the mountain. Second are the old man and fire perspectives. I made certain that subdivisions of the mountain cliffs were asymmetrical. Finally, the whole perspective creates several planes, the mountain range and gives the sense of the cold weather in north Pakistan. STAGE 1 COMPOSITION I used an HB pencil to…

I was once asked how could I put in 40 years to the watercolor painting and have never thought to change my mind. I told them that watercolor is not only a carrier of artistic expression, but also a medium for me to learn about the world and establish a relationship with it. My Understanding of the Lotus Ten years ago, I began to use this Western medium to express the classic Oriental symbol, the lotus, which was both accidental and inevitable. At that time, it was a little risky in the eyes of my friends because it was hard for them to imagine the combination. In the eyes of Chinese people, the lotus is regarded as a symbol of elegance and innocence. Zhou Dunyi, a scholar of the Northern…

www.internationalartist.com Visit www.internationalartist.com and click on the Virtual Art Academy® button to access instant downloads needed to master the art of painting. 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…

DIAMOND DONOR • $5,000 Colored Pencil Society of America GOLD DONORS • $1,000 Creative Art Materials, Ltd. / Caran d’Ache Derwent / MacPherson’s Faber-Castell USA Legion Paper Lyra / Canson Stabilo / MacPherson’s SILVER DONORS • $500 Jerry’s Artarama Royal Talens / Bruynzeel CPSA District Chapters: Chicago, IL—DC 103 Los Angeles, CA—DC 214 Metro Washington D.C.—DC 109 Portland, OR—DC 201 Seattle, WA—DC 207 BRONZE DONORS • $300 Strathmore Artist Papers UART Premium Sanded Papers CPSA District Chapters: Atlanta, GA—DC 107 Detroit, MI—DC 104 Gainesville, FL—DC 113 Greater Cincinnati, OH—DC 119 Raleigh/Durham, NC—DC 114 San Jose, CA—DC 210 St. Augustine, FL—DC 117 We also thank our many Friends of CPSA donors up to $300…

This past April, artist Seth Haverkamp was awarded the Draper Grand Prize for his painting, Mars Rising, at the 21st annual The Art of the Portrait Conference in Atlanta. The award-winning work is an intimate portrait of his son, Caspian, standing confidently within a fantastical setting. It was an emotional night for many to watch Seth, a frequent competition finalist and conference faculty member, take the stage to accept his award. The Tennessee-based artist has established himself as a leader in the figurative art world and is best known for his enigmatic and imaginative portraits of his wife and children. Like many artists, Seth knew from a young age that art was his life’s calling and he briefly considered a career as an illustrator, with a special interest in fantasy…

Photo Reference This is a photograph I took of the fennec foxes at the Bronx Zoo, revised and composed in Photoshop. I’ve extended the height of the foreground at the bottom of the composition, placed a gradient over the image to darken the upper region, and moved the fox on the left. When you paint from photographs, it is important to remember that even what is “true” in a photograph is less important than what is right in your mind. In other words—edit reality to suit your imagination. How it looks on the oversized monitor in my studio—the photograph is now gridded so that I can make a precise underdrawing on the canvas. STAGE 1 UNDERDRAWING The underdrawing on the canvas is done lightly in 2H pencil. I use a…

I would describe my style as contemporary realism. It is representational art. I paint the world around me. I am inspired by light, shadow, color and shapes. I get bored painting the same subject matter so you will find that my work is varied. I love painting animals, interiors, figures, seascapes and more. I work in oil and acrylic, but my primary medium is acrylics because I live and paint on our boat. They make for easy clean up and are less harmful to my air quality. Periodically, I paint from life or plein air, but mostly I paint from photographic references. The rules I have learned from painting from life are part of my inner dialogue. Painting from life teaches me that shadows are not black and highlights are…

People will often ask me, “Why do you only draw animals?” The answer is simple—because I love them! My art is inspired by my love and passion of wildlife and animals. The animals speak to me in a very special way and because of that I try to help them speak to you through my art. I strive to portray the velvet touch of their fur, the sound of their roar or the plight they are living to exist. I have been drawing animals since I was a very young girl. It’s exciting to me as they evolve on the paper. I enjoy examining the texture, colors, shapes, drama of light and energy found in nature. Another one of the questions I’m often asked is “Why colored pencils?” I appreciate…

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, there are at least 700…

Introducing the Raymar panel designed for watercolor artists. Raymar’s new watercolor panels are crafted with Fabriano Artistico mould-made paper, currently available in cold press, extra white. The paper is mounted on Raymar’s 2mm ACM (aluminum composite material) panels with a conservator’s grade pH neutral adhesive for the ultimate rigid, archival support. Fabriano has been famous for its Fine art papers since 1264 and was the choice of Michaelangelo. This exceptional Italian paper, with its beautiful pebbled surface, grabs the paint while colors remain rich and vibrant. The surface is ideal for watercolor as well as tempera, gouache, acrylic, ink, charcoal, graphite and drawing. Mounting watercolor art can be a difficult and time-consuming process. With Raymar’s new watercolor panels, artists have more time for painting. And with more sizes available than…

There are many people who specialize in helping people understand art better. You can choose whether to become involved in teaching our not. UK artist John Hill says it’s difficult to paint and teach without compromise. John says successful teaching requires creativity and hard work. Often this can be to the detriment of the teacher’s own art. Student needs can influence technique, style, palette and subject matter of a teacher. Some established artists also teach, based on their personal painting skills. Whether to specialize or not, is a choice for artists. Teacherscan do the same. Thebeginning artist tends to try all ideas, media, subjects and so forth. Abeginning teacher often does this too to find out what they like best.s Some artists even do this for a very long period.…

The airport can be a fascinating place to draw or paint. If you like sketching people, you’ll find passengers waiting in various poses. There are poignant moments of human drama: families heading off on adventures, and lovers parting. Most people are preoccupied with their phones, so they probably won’t even notice you sketching them. If they do, just smile and show them what you’re doing. If you’re interested in capturing the gleaming surfaces of the airliners, you can sit in front of the picture windows as they’re being serviced. Here’s a tip: the international terminals have bigger wide-body aircraft, and therefore larger waiting areas. The planes also come and go less frequently, which allows you a longer time to study them. How do you get paints through the TSA inspection…

Mary Qian Chicago, oil, 40 x 30" (102 x 76 cm) INSPIRATION Mary Qian’s painting Chicago was inspired by her desire to create a painting that would give the viewer the feeling of the bleak, chilling winter wind and atmosphere of Chicago. To humanize the painting, she asked her friend and fellow artist, James to pose for her right outside her studio. ARTISTIC JOURNEY Like many artists, Qian grew up fascinated by art. Her dad, a chemist and abstract painter, has been one of her greatest supporters. Drawn to traditional art, she started studying the Old Masters in museums and then began painting from life. After atending Brigham Young University, she landed a job in Chicago in the animation field. It was in Chicago where she discovered Palette & Chisel;…

John Hulsey is a nationally recognized artist and accomplished master painter in watercolor, oil and pastel. A sought-after teacher who has been teaching painting for more than 35 years, Hulsey maintains an active studio practice along with his international and domestic teaching commitments. The recipient of numerous art awards and art grants, his work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in galleries across the United States, from New York to California. During the 10 years Hulsey worked in New York, his paintings were featured on the cover of Time magazine and most of the major book and magazine publishers. His paintings are included in a number of private collections. He has been awarded residencies by the National Park Service at Glacier National Park, Montana; Yosemite National Park, California;…

Landscape is one of my favorite subjects to paint. During my childhood when I saw landscapes or art books with painted landscapes I tried to replicate the work and create my own imaginary world. It takes me to this make-believe idea of capturing moments on canvas forever. To begin with, I initially sort out colors to make a range so that I can easily identify my color palette. My reference comes from nature and I am continuously in the habit of taking photos that I then redraw on canvas. When I visit a place I take multiple photographs from various angles—at that point they are just random pictures captured by a tourist. After that I sit and analyze those pictures based on their color balancing and composition depending on the…

My pieces are small because an intimate scale encourages maximum intuition, freedom and experimentation. Each piece is completed in one sitting lasting no more than two to three hours. The work is both abstract and figurative, with no inherent contradiction between these sensibilities; one inclination supports the other. I live in the rolling countryside of the Oak Ridges Moraine, an ancient landform located just north of Lake Ontario. The paintings are made on a daily basis and are emotive impressions of my wanderings around home base, a range of about 50 miles in any direction. I work primarily in acrylics in a quick authoritative manner, always trying to keep the process fluid and the touch lively. Suggestion is valued more than elaborate description. My aim is to keep the process…

For me, the two-dimensional arena of the painted world has always been a place of wonder and thrills. On the flat surface, the transformation of form appears magical. In watercolour, the medium for which I am best known, blank paper is the field, its surface the light, its edges the boundaries and in this space something that did not previously exist becomes a new reality. While I am engaged in the act of painting, the result never overrules the process. I spend a lot of time in the palette and a lot of time watching paint dry. I am intensely aware of the “well-being” of the pigment particles as they are laid on the paper. I really want them to be happy. I watch them move, I watch them settle…

Photo Reference This reference photo was taken while at a sanctuary in Montana. I had the opportunity to photograph a pack of wolves. I took several of the alpha pair of the pack. STAGE 1 LINE DRAWING I start with a line drawing that I create using a grid, on a separate piece of paper, I then transfer it to the Pastelmat Card. This can be done using a waxless graphite transfer paper or by simply taping the line drawing on a window (on a sunny day) with the Pastelmat on top and tracing it to your surface. I then start working on the background in the upper left corner. STAGE 2 BACKGROUND I always start with my background first. I have a couple of reasons why I do this.…

I used the key discovery of complementary hues here. The red color of the roses was the perfect complement to the soft blue-grays of the hazy mountains in the distance. Because I knew this was going to be the key to making the painting work, I used the key discovery of creating a color map. This is a technique I use to work out color harmonies in advance of actually doing a final painting. I use a small, 24-sheet, 4-by-6-inch drawing pad for doing these color maps. In my color maps, you can see me working out color harmonies for different compositional ideas. When I find one I like, I turn it into a painting. Using this method, I can explore a lot more compositions in a shorter amount of…

One of the basics of my early, shy days was the ecstasy of having art become my best friend. It was something I could relate with—bringing life onto a piece of paper. In drawing I had the confidence I could do something so real, creative, fulfilling. While others were eagerly learning math, chemistry and history, playing on football fields and going to dances, there I was with my pad and paper as happy as a lark. My teachers quite understood me and that in itself is an amazing story I should tell someday. (I’d like to add that a few of those football players and chemists are still my friends to this day.) But here’s the upshot. It seemed that there were others doing this same thing. Others who loved…

My young days living in a distant land, I recall once a year visiting Alexey who lived in a cabin miles from the nearest town. Once a year I’d knock on his door; he’d open it, we’d shake hands. He told me all was okay, we’d talk for a few minutes and then I’d be on my way. I had decided to move to another country and wanted to see him one more time and tell him he wouldn’t be forgotten. I went to his door and knocked. There was no answer, I knocked a couple more times wondering what was the matter? Where could he be? I turned the knob, opened the door. I walked in and there he was, sitting by a window on the other side of…