Innholdsfortegnelse for April-May 2022/ No. 144 i International Artist

Welcome to the April/May issue of International Artist! In every issue the team at International Artist Publishing puts a great deal of effort into bringing you incredible demonstrations to help guide you in your artist curiosity and interest. Recently we researched and asked the questions: Why is an artist is drawn to art and what satisfaction and stories do they enjoy on the journey? There are many reasons for sure. Some of the consistently compelling things drawing artists to create include: art increases cultural appreciation; art helps people learn about history; for the artist, painting boosts creativity; artists communicate emotion through their work; and it is said painting even increases blood flow to the brain. The benefits don’t stop there…they, in fact, just start there. All artists have a story.…

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. NEW 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 as…

Like most self-portraits, this painting is an intimate one, but I find that even my most personal paintings often arise from rather mundane circumstances. In this case, having reached the end of a roll of linen, I was left with a scrap that would allow for a 23-by-39-inch canvas. Eventually it occurred to me that this canvas could make for an unusually narrow portrait that, at roughly life size, would neatly fit a head at the top and hands at the bottom, highlighting both in an interesting way because of its narrow proportions. I took it as a welcome opportunity to paint a new self-portrait, which I always enjoy, both for the process of self-reflection and for the occasion to work from life. For the sake of the composition, I…

You could say that I’m obsessed with clouds and skies. Painting skies is something that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed most of my painting career. This obsession started long before becoming an artist. I grew up in Kansas on a farm where open space was common and looking up at the sky to consider the weather was an everyday occurrence. It is a thrill to capture the movement of clouds when I’m outside. I really get into the moment, feeling the direction of the wind, and watching clouds as they go by to find the most interesting shapes. I distinctly remember the moment I started to understand how to capture painting clouds in plein air. It was one of those really lovely autumn days. The air was crisp. The fall colors were…

For this painting, titled Human Consciousness, I wanted to create a composition that captured the viewer, with its “pyramid” structure, or a tall triangular composition in a more abstract sense. The human figures that became part of the composition merged and flowed together to create this triangular impression. Inspired by the human condition, I wanted to explore the different reactions of human beings when faced with calamity. Some rise above others and lift the consciousness of all, some look to others for inspiration, and some look within themselves for a source of strength. I wanted to create a composition that ascended to the focal point, the central female figure, where the values also got lighter. STAGE 1 BLOCKING IN MAJOR SHAPES This first step involves just blocking the idea down.…

STAGE 1 SKETCH First, I sketch with a line. It is important to think about the composition and determine what is in the foreground and what is in the background. STAGE 2 FIRST LAYER OF COLOR Since acrylic is transparent and I do not want the white canvas to show through, I paint the first layer with color. It can simply be any of your favorite colors or a tonal analysis of the future painting. STAGE 3 SECOND LAYER The third stage of work involves applying the second layer of color; usually this is the background. It should be either simple or unusual. In this painting, it’s the sky. I’ll take translucent and transparent colors (you can always see the transparency of acrylic on the label) and a no. 10…

Most of my subjects, whether animal, landscape or still life, are something I personally have seen and experienced. And many times, I will simplify the background in order to bring more attention to the main features of the subject, such as the eyes, the expression, the colors or textures. When I create these detailed art pieces in pastel, it is a way for me to remember, and experience again, the thrill of living and perceiving the environment around me. As in the zebra foal painting featured in this demonstration, I will take the sketches and photo references and manipulate the colors, values, composition, etc. using digital software. Sometimes the digital sketch will take several days. In going through this process, I find that I am able to bring my personal…

STAGE 1 MAJOR FORMS I start by sketching in the biggest shapes. The first lines were drawn with white and refined with dark brown and purple. The color is not important at this stage, but the contrast of lights and darks helps me more easily see the edits I’ve made. STAGE 2 ADDING GREEN TO THE WALLS The major change in this round is the watercolor green I’ve added to the walls. The early lines have created boundaries of positive and negative space, allowing me to “fill in“ the color of the wall. I’m also beginning to put shapes inside the carpet, though they aren’t a direct rending of the actual pattern. STAGE 3 WHITE ON WINDOWS I’ve added an opaque layer of white to the windows. This will make…

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International Artist magazine is built on the idea of artists sharing with other artists their techniques and strategies. These ideas and words from peers can be inspiring, helpful and allow for new viewpoints in your own artwork. Seeing artists working in different mediums or styles can also open the doors to new possibilities in your artwork. That’s why we are always aiming to have a wellrounded magazine with a variety of mediums, subjects and styles represented. In this issue we have the third and final installment of a series on plein air painting by Michael King, as well as a spotlight on artist Claudia Hartley who paints colorful landscapes, and a feature from Warren Chang about his latest artwork. We also have demonstrations from artists who work in mixed media,…

ENTER OUR NEW ART COMPETITION CHALLENGE No. 130 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…

SCOTTSDALE ARTISTS’ SCHOOL: What is your first memory of making art? CLAUDIA HARTLEY: My mother said it began when I could hold something in my hand. My childhood was spent drawing and coloring. The best present I ever received was a large box of Crayola crayons. My favorite colors were Prussian blue and turquoise. SAS: When did you begin to pursue art as a career? CH: My original goal was to be an art professor. I attended the University of Georgia and received a BFA in painting and drawing. In the ’60s it was the best art school in the South. Painting classes were experimental with lots of freedom. Realism was considered bad—everything was about being modern. I got married and started a family, so my graduate work was put…

Every year, The Portrait Society of America hosts an annual conference that brings together more than 800 artists from across the country for an unforgettable weekend of learning from our renowned faculty of over 30 artists. This year, we’re excited to hold our annual The Art of the Portrait conference in person again, April 21 to 24 in Atlanta, Georgia, with a nonstop schedule of demonstrations, lectures, drawing workshops, portfolio reviews and so much more! Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with six of our new and returning faculty artists: Jeff Hein, Ron Hicks, Mary Qian, Quang Ho, Gregory Mortenson, and Adrienne Stein. Each artist shared a few words of wisdom about their teaching methods, traditional techniques, as well as their vision for the future of portraiture. AZZARITO: For…

I would like to share with you my recent paintings completed over the last year or two in preparation for my solo exhibition titled Social Realism in California. The show was delayed due to the pandemic and rescheduled during what seemed like more promising times. Eventually the show was held from May 22 to August 29, 2021. These paintings, along with falling into the theme and subject of the show, I think reflect the times we all live in. The last painting, titled Invisible People, is a painting that has been in the making for many years. Leading up to this major work, I completed several scenes of farmworkers in preparation for my exhibition at the Triton Museum of Art. This is a subject I have been painting for 20…

Since I was a kid, I liked to draw and paint. I always knew that I would become an artist when I grew up. Therefore, in 2005, I attended the Florence Academy of Art in Italy to study the methods of the classical masters’ technique. I had an intensive training in several drawings and painting technique such as pencils, charcoal and oil. I always paint from observation—either directly or by means of photographs, which I take by myself. My gaze is directed at my immediate reality, capturing various interiors or exteriors. The subject matter of my artwork is classical, such as portraits, still life and landscape. The illusion of reality represented on canvas is indeed seductively beautiful and perfect, yet it is simultaneously revealed to carry a disturbing charge, which…

I’ve always loved animals, and this love was steadily growing, so my husband and I chose to travel to areas where you can find animals in their natural habitat. It was wonderful to see how they behaved and how they hunted. We went to South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, as well as Norway, Sweden, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Nature was the key focus of our trips. For the last few years, we have been returning to Bonaire, where the underwater world is amazing. Whenever we travel, I always take my camera. I love using my photography skills to capture the natural beauty and maybe to inspire my next drawing. When I have chosen my subject, I search for a good photo reference. Sometimes I take them myself to get…

Palettes for watercolor come in all shapes and sizes. There is no perfect palette–whatever you use you will eventually get used to, but some make the job of mixing and organizing paint easier than others. Let’s explore this often overlooked piece of equipment. Why Use a Palette An old china plate makes a great mixing surface, but colors will eventually run into one another and you will end up with a hard to control mess of pigment and water. A palette with seperated wells to hold colors and a number of independent mixing areas makes it much easier to keep things under control. Using your Palette The idea of a palette is to provide a number of wells to hold and separate colors squeezed from your tubes and to provide…

Throughout my art career I have always been drawn to the classical and traditional styles of drawing and painting. My inspiration has been heavily influenced by the human figure and portrait. The approach I take within my own work incorporates classical realistic drawing techniques. My final drawing destination is to pinpoint the essence of a moment in time, as if the viewer caught a quick snapshot of the image through my lens. In every work of art I have created thus far I have taken an individualistic approach for each set of obstacles that have come with it. I enjoy blending my techniques to optimize the outcome of each and every project. I thoroughly enjoy (or take much pride in) taking my own reference photos typically of my family and…

About Your Tutor Richard Robinson is one of New Zealand’s premier outdoor painters. You can view his extensive online lessons at www.mypaintingclub.com. Some of my earliest paintings were of friends’ dogs and cats, as I’m sure many artists can attest to. It’s an honor to be given the job of capturing their loved one on canvas, and so very rewarding to see the response (sometimes tearful) from a happy client, letting you know you’ve done a good job and that your care and attention to detail paid off. I’ve done a few portraits of people in my time too, but they are a lot trickier to get just right, because of course we all pay much more attention to the nuances of human faces. In that respect I prefer painting…

I’ve often thought that abstract art is a reflection of what the artist has observed in a lifetime. Shapes and colors, day after day from billions of visuals over the years. Trees, mountains, people, literally everything going into the inner mind. That grand mixing of shapes and colors artistically flow out the same way we talk without having to think of every word. This is how my mind works when I do an abstract. Here, I worked the colors and shapes with the purpose of showing specific real life translating into non-objective. Look at the right side of this abstract and you will see Uncle Ivan‘s profile. It’s both abstract and real life. Now a thought for you dear reader. Try the same approach with the profile of a friend.…

Grand Prize Darya Dolgareva Saint Petersburg, Russia, Self-portrait in a wide hat, oil on wood, 19½ x 15" (49½ x 39 cm) Grand Prize is a four-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine Visions of Beauty Inspired by the Dutch masters, Darya Dolgareva incorporates classical techniques into her contemporary portraiture and figurative art. And when it became difficult to find or purchase the necessary props to achieve her artistic vision, Dolgareva began creating her own costumes and accessories. “My creative work combines ideas of Old Masters and modern interpretations,” she says. “It takes me months to complete some works. The biggest of my projects contain not only the final painting, but also costumes, designed for particular effigies. These two elements contribute to rendering the general idea and transcend the…

These words of wisdom shared by some of our faculty on these pages is just a preview of the information and teachings that will be shared by 31 renowned artists. Whether you are a full-time professional artist or looking to take your art to the next level, join us April 21 to 24, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead where we’re providing the largest event in America today featured solely on portraiture and figurative work. For more information, visit www.portraitsociety.org.…

The beauty of great composition is that it captures you from a distance in its abstract beauty. I will be discussing my process of composition, best explained through this multi-figure composition I painted in my studio, seen in the demonstration in the pages to follow. Often when looking at Old Master works, viewers are drawn to the work just based on the interesting design of flat abstract values. It is only after having been past that point do the viewers move forward to see the true details within the artwork. I work in the medium of oil paint and use linen as my support. I paint from life, so I work with live models in my studio. The entire process of sketching an idea, in charcoal and paint, transfering the…

In general, many people are suspicious of acrylic, but I think it gives the artist freedom. Of course, the colors darken, which is a huge drawback, and it also dries quickly. So we will take all these disadvantages and turn them into advantages. Whenever beginning a new painting, I always advise artists to first admire what they want to portray. See what is closer, what is further, what is in the shadow and what is in the light. After that moment of “admiring,” you need to decide what will be in the foreground, mid- and background of your composition. We start simply with acrylic, without water, and if you need texture, you can add gel. It’s important not to paint blindly, but to truly experiment with every brushstroke. Use both…

For this demonstration I chose this particular picture because I was intrigued by the eyes of the puma and wanted to capture that feeling in my drawing. I cropped and changed it so that the main focus is on the eyes and his expression. Reference Photo STAGE 1 OUTLINE DRAWING On this occasion, I chose to put a lot of details into the outline drawing. I used my iMac to view the reference photo because I can zoom in and see all of the details more clearly. To draw the outline details, I used 2B and HB pencils. STAGE 2 BLOCKING IN MID-TONES DARKER VALUES Also named the ugly phase—I used the Rembrandt pastels to add many different types of browns, and I also used black and purple pastels. No…

The creation of a good watercolor means carefully working through various stages including the selection of the subject, deciding on the design, and confirming the style I want for the finished painting. The first step is to choose a subject that appeals to me—the colors, the composition and the light must draw me in. I often turn to the landscapes and villages around my home in the Portuguese countryside. With my subject chosen, I proceed to an initial sketch. Then I add in the details that will enrich my final composition, for example, human figures, streetlamps, birds or shadows. This is the moment I give free rein to my imagination. A carefully detailed drawing makes the painting stage much easier because I have already set out for myself the shapes,…

Since 2018, I’ve been making watercolor and acrylic paintings on unprimed MDF panel. Sometimes, the painting is allowed to dry in between layers, but I do switch between them while the painting is still wet. While I don’t typically mix watercolor and acrylic paint on the palette to achieve a particular color, I do mix the watercolors with acrylic mediums. The earliest paintings I made this way do not show any signs of deterioration, but this combination of materials has not been evaluated for its long-term stability. I have chosen to work on unprimed MDF panel because of its dynamic surface properties. Early dry-on-dry layers can be wiped away with a damp towel to reveal a pristine surface, but wet layers are so quickly absorbed that they do not have…

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? WHICH READER ARE YOU? FOR OUR BEST DEAL ON 6 ISSUES SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AND SAVE (ALL PRICES ARE IN US DOLLARS) 1. Register your subscription. Click on the subscription area and enter your details2. Your account. Once you have subscribed you’ll be able to revisit our site and look up the status of your subscription. MONEY BACK GUARANTEE If during the period of your subscription you change you mind about subscribing for any reason whatsoever, simply notify us and we’ll give you an instant refund on all unmailed copies – no questions asked. You can get 6 issues a year of the Digital Magazine with all the same amazing content as the printed version delivered to your inbox wherever you live in the world. For FASTER…

In all of history, there has never been two moments exactly alike. Just know to some extent, you’re being original. And even if you copy something, you can’t help but have yourself enter the work. Trust yourself more and more each day and with each artwork. During the middle of your creation, let your inner mind get involved. Your inner mind has much to visually say and can know where to take you with your work. Your outer mind knows this and will work with the inner. We use our inner mind with all the things we do; and so it is with our art. Which Leads To… Keeping that natural elevation we get when doing something with our talents. Much like reciting, “To be or not to be…” as…