Innholdsfortegnelse for December - January 2020/ No.130 i International Artist

One of the most enjoyable things about being an artist is the relationships you build with other artists. There is nothing better than having a few close friends you can call when you have a question regarding a particular technique or color choice or even which brush to use to complete your painting. It is this insight from fellow artists that helps us all and adds to the work that is created. We thought about this when we decided to move forward with our Art Workshop Guide. These workshops are invaluable experiences for artists around the world. Where else can you get such one-on-one advice from top artists around the world? Where else can you not only watch master artists create their own works but also have them watch you…

Finalist My Inspiration I am inspired whenever I see my favorite classical figure paintings in magazines, books and online but absolutely in awe when I see them in person at an art gallery or art museum. My Design Strategy I began with a concept of developing a themed series of nudes. Capella is the first in this series of allegorical figure paintings honoring all nude artists’ models. Each one will be named after a heavenly body in our universe and have an allegorical meaning representing one of the three stages of our lives: youth, adolescence and adulthood. Capella is named after one of the biggest, brightest, golden stars in our night sky. She allegorically represents the innocence of youth. Strategically designing these allegorical figures to convey the ideal beauty and…

Finalist My Inspiration My family is full of characters, and my father is probably the most colorful. Summer evenings of my childhood, he’d roam the garden, Cohiba in hand, ruminating on the day’s events. How I loved the earthy-sweet smell of his cigar! A formal dresser, with no fear of color, he’d wear bright pink bowties, crisply starched cotton shirts and three-piece linen suits. (Didn’t everyone’s father look like they stepped out of a Sargent painting?) My memory of these delightful evenings is the inspiration for My Father in the Garden. My Design Strategy The challenge was to capture the mood of those summer evenings. In the painting, I placed my father’s face in shadow and turned it slightly away to show that he is lost in thought. I wanted…

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…

“Every picture tells a story don’t it?” When you hear those lines, most of us think of Rod Stewart’s 1971 song and album by the same title, or at least I do as a longtime fan. It wouldn’t be unusual to hear it playing in my studio on days that I need a little pick-me-up. The song’s worldwide popularity has almost given him ownership of this common idiom. Idioms are simply common scenes that aren’t necessarily meant to be taken literally and can be comical or even absurd. But, let’s think, is there any truth in the saying? Well maybe…maybe not, but it does indicate that there is great potential, that we as artists often leave untapped. The importance of thinking about and deciding upon what you want your work…

I entered the art world as a blank canvas. I started my career in strategy marketing at a technology company. Prior to this, my experience learning how to draw and paint was intuitive, but the lack of a formal art school education led me to believe that I needed a “proper method” to be able to draw and paint. I have spent many years partly subscribing to that philosophy and partly following that inner intuitive voice. Lately, a deeper self-realization of the parallels between the art of living and creating art have opened the doors to a level and quality of freedom that I express through my work. This will explain why I paint the way I do. It may seem counterintuitive, but inner stillness can produce dynamic paintings that…

Throughout a long career, I have painted a varied range of subjects. Landscapes and seascapes constitute the main part, with wildlife a good second. But refusing to settle in a specific category, I have painted still lifes, portraits, railroads, fly-fishing, vintage airplanes, baroque gardens and so on… Whatever will tickle my fancy, really. Very early in the process of creating any painting I make two vital decisions: What is the main focal point of the painting and how do I best display and enhance it? The focal point will be the feature that caught my eye in the first place, that made me stop and sketch. Without a focal point, the viewer’s eyes have no place to rest. A painting with a lot of details everywhere will soon tire the…

I decided to attempt a complex painting of an antique shop. There is plentiful junk that needs simplifying and I will add a figure in the painting. I plan on using the shadow shapes to guide the eye back to the figure. The statue in the foreground with the pleasant countenance provides a silent and calm companion for the central figure. Photo Reference While poking about shops on antique row in Melbourne, I found this wonderfully cluttered back space crammed with potential. I had forgotten my sketchbook (!) so took just a few photos. STAGE 1 SIMPLIFICATION Since I prefer working from sketches and not photos, I worked up a drawing as if I was on site, simplifying items and constructing an appealing composition with a slightly off center focal…

There is something in today’s art world that I thought wouldn’t happen in my lifetime. We’re in a renaissance. A true renaissance in art that I discovered while roaming throughout the internet for the past while. There are artists who are reaching towards the best in history. It’s difficult to fully explain how totally inspiring some of the works I’ve been seeing…one after the other! I’d love to mention names but don’t want to write a list that excludes any. Just know that you, dear reader, are living in a period of time when magnificent art is being rediscovered. Stage 1 First thing I do is scribble pastel on the paper, then rub it in; let the paper “know who’s boss” as I always say. Before we go to the…

Donna Slade North Carolina, USA, Aborigines, colored pencil, 14 x 11" Grand Prize is a four-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine Depicting Reality Having a 30-year career in art direction, graphic design and illustration, Donna Slade has what she calls a “straightforward approach” to her contemporary realistic paintings. She observes her subjects closely, paying attention to all the details and aims to “capture and portray the ‘real’ and not the ‘ideal.’” Slade also studied architectural drafting, so her background in pen and ink easily translated to her passion for colored pencils. Painting with colored pencil is a very time-consuming process for Slade, with her larger paintings taking hundreds of hours. She works from her own photographs, often combining and cropping elements from multiple images. Once the composition is…

FINALISTS Each receives an Award Certificate and a one-year subscription to International Artist magazine PLUS having their work seen worldwide by international galleries looking for new talent. Finalist My Inspiration I am constantly inspired to represent the many psychological elements that make up human beings. As a result I love to observe people, whether in informal social settings, such as when travelling, walking, reading or talking, or within formal life drawing sessions. It’s often interesting and fun to guess what type of person they may be, or what they may be experiencing at that time. The challenge then is to represent this through the use of pencil of paint. I therefore, spend as much time as possible drawing and painting from life, whether formal life drawing sessions or more informal…

Finalist My Inspiration One of the most compelling stories for me to paint has always been that of suffering, in particular, the plight of the working class. Income inequality is at an all-time high in the U.S., with many middle class people working 60 to 70 hours a week, often at multiple jobs, to pay for their basic needs. These people work very hard but are never able to catch up, which makes me extremely sad. As an artist, people on the subway are much more interesting to me than static models because there is an active, spontaneous internal dialogue. I draw on my many years of painting from life to bring the stories of these subway subjects to life and record them for the history books. My Design Strategy…

Finalist My Inspiration I choose the things that I’m going to paint according to what inspires me—like the bathrobe and colors for Chinese bathrobe. I really liked the colors of the fabric and how they changed depending on the light source, and how the fabric was folding and creating deep shadows and shiny light areas. The beauty of the light hitting the bathrobe on the figure was my first inspiration. There were contrasts between light and shadow areas. The complex mixture of colors in the Chinese bathrobe was another inspiring thing. I love to challenge myself by painting complex color combinations. I wanted to capture the feeling of the moment and the slight sense of the movement in the model. Color is also very important for me; that’s why I…

ENTER OUR NEW ART COMPETITION CHALLENGE No. 116 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 priceless and could…

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;…

The recurrent theme in my recent works is the union of opposites. Years ago, I became familiar with German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s dialectic in which he simply states that an idea progresses from a thesis to an antithesis, and ultimately the two merge in synthesis, creating a new hybrid beast. This became a personal formula for creativity that, in my mind, is most effectively seen in the cross-pollination of ideas. I am a bas-relief sculptor. Over the centuries, painting has often been thought to be antithetical to sculpture. They are opposite in every way. Painting creates the illusion of form while sculpture is form and value. Sculpture relies on a light source while artists can manipulate paint to trick the viewer into perceiving highlights and shadows. Sculpture is…

The location for the painting is from Bar NI Ranch in southwestern Colorado with Middle Fork Purgatoire River going through it. It was a rainy and cold October day, but still there were very bright fall colors creating unique atmospheres. I’ve found it’s best to work out some type of plan before jumping into painting. I work up a value sketch that maps out the contours of my various objects, plus the pattern of lights and darks. Then I typically do a quick oil study of my scene. A study is the ideal process for planning the shape, placement of values and colors on site, where I can easily see the textures, local colors and shapes. It also loosens and relaxes my hand and arm. STAGE 1 COMPLETING THE STUDY…

SKETCH Almost impossible to photograph the entire scene from the chosen angle, but easily solved by sketching. Already at the sketch stage, I reduced the size of the background building. IN THE COCKPIT I set up the reference photos on the table, my sketch is on hand and on my large easel is a canvas with the final drawing penciled in. STAGE 1 THE SKY A simple, summery sky was quickly brushed in using cobalt-chrome blue, and the clouds were warmed by adding Naples yellow and alizarin crimson to the titanium white. STAGE 2 BLOCKING IN THE FARMHOUSES I established the weathered grey/brown color range of these old, tarred structures in quick strokes with large brushes using Payne’s grey, burnt umber, Van Dyck brown and titanium white. STAGE 3 STAGE…

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Second Prize is a two-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine My Inspiration Young adults today choose to live with their parents for longer than in previous generations because many are not ready to take on the responsibilities of adulthood. Middle-aged parents often find that emotional and financial support for these children exacerbates the problem rather than paving the way to a solution. My Design Process The symbolism and images were developed through many small studies and finalized in a larger, more highly developed drawing that was completed using numerous photographic references. It is important that the mother seems physically trapped in the composition, but that she also seems complicit. Cages are included as obvious symbols of entrapment, but also serve as a physical barrier between the figures and…

Finalist My Inspiration For as long as I can remember the summer crop of Silver Queen Corn has been a well-loved dish at my family dinner table in the summer. It has been a favorite for generations. I have fond memories of family gatherings with a grand spread of fresh cooked vegetables and lively conversation. Driving through rural areas in Georgia on a summer day one can see the rows and rows of sweet corn standing some 6 feet tall that when harvested makes its way to local produce stands and then to the dinner table. My Southern heritage and traditions were part of what led me to the painting’s message. I met the subject of my painting at a local working farm and was inspired by her simple and…

Finalist My Inspiration A few years ago, my friend and I went to the Altay region of Xinjiang to collect creative themes. I mainly felt and experienced the grand scene of the Kazakh herdsmen’s transition. On the way back, it was arranged for me to live in the home of the uncle Mai Maiti. Their family was very enthusiastic. Uncle Mai Maiti dressed in a white cap; his eyes were stunning and his thick beard was very tightly rolled into a big eight character. Uncle Mai Maiti gave me the impulse to create, and through my painting gave me the desire to express the simple folk customs and reflections on urban culture. My Design Strategy The pure and good character and appearance of the Xinjiang Uygur are reflected in the…

Finalist My Inspiration In my creation, I always want to express humanity’s perseverance and optimism. It happened to a trip of Tibet. An old Tibetan man walked unsteadily on the road of pilgrimage, step by step. Suddenly, from his pious expression and wrinkled face, I seemed to find the spirit, that was the power of faith. Even if there is a vicissitude life and unpredictable fate, as long as there is faith in the heart, we are with the light. My Design Strategy I choose the side bust, so that I can deeply describe the spiritual outlook of the old man. In color, I chose a gray-green background to set off the old man’s red and rough skin from the strong sunshine. The large area of white color from the…

I read an old car magazine (one of my other interests), and came across a story I thought might appeal to artists. The story, from the 1990 issue of Sports Driver, is about Alistair Brookman who makes model racing and sports cars for a living. Before he started he raced cars, and he was a mechanical draftsman too. His father was also model-maker, although not professionally, so Alistair had a good background. He knew the importance of workmanship, enthusiasm and dedication. Buthe made decisions before embarking on a model-making career. Hehad to decide which car to build, where to find buyers, and how much they were prepared to pay. Backin 1982 he started building two models. Hisstart was Ferrari racing cars because he was sure there’d be interest. Before picking…

At lunch the other day, my partner and I were discussing books. She mentioned her favorite Russian writer. “It is not about the story but all about his writing,” she said. I was thinking to myself, “That is how I think when I look at a painting.” The passages of pigment on a rough watercolor paper speaks to me the same way the carefully composed words in a sentence speaks to my partner. Often the subject matter of a painting is secondary to its content. If a well-designed picture captures my attention from across the room, then its subject often does not matter. If a painting grabs my attention from 10 feet away and then 10 inches away, well then that is something I quite appreciate. Subject matter is important…

I am an artist by default. Growing up my interest was creative writing. I watched my late mom paint, join a local art organization and enter exhibitions. Later I would witness my late brother attending art school in Boston before he relocated to California. It wasn’t until my mid-30s that I decided to try my hand at it. I am basically self-taught with intermittent instruction via local classes, workshops and much practice. My two favorite mediums are oil and pastel. My favorite genre is portraiture, whether it is human or animal. I prefer portraits because I find it challenging to capture a likeness and the presence of the subject. When painting an animal, I choose the medium of pastel. Why, you might ask? I prefer the effects I get using…