Innholdsfortegnelse for August-September 2023/No. 152 i International Artist

Welcome to the August/September issue of International Artist magazine and our 25-year anniversary issue! (Notice the silver ink on our cover). First, Adolfo and I want to thank the more than 1,500 artists across the globe whose demonstrations have been featured in International Artist. If you are part of this elite group of artists, this issue is dedicated to you. Your contribution to the continuing education for artists is captured in time and in our magazine. Since issue #1, 25 years ago, every issue is a library of talent. It is no surprise that our back issues sell out constantly. In fact, we did not have issue #1 in print at our office. Robin Castillo, social media engagement manager, found issue #1 on eBay and we purchased it for $12.99.…

What an absolute joy it was to be in Washington, D.C. just a few weeks ago with over 800 artists from all around the world! This year’s The Art of the Portrait conference was a wonderful celebration of the Portrait Society of America’s 25th Anniversary. You could feel the camaraderie, encouragement and inspiration between artists throughout the entire weekend, and I couldn’t help but think of how pleased our founders would be to see this spirit of fellowship that they envisioned continuing today. The Portrait Society of America was founded in 1998 by Edward Jonas, Gordon Wetmore and Tom Donahue with the support of artists Bill Draper, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Daniel Greene, Burton Silverman and Stephen Doherty, along with our executive director Christine Egnoski. When Ed Jonas was in college,…

William F. Draper Grand Prize Winner Sponsored by: American Art Collector, Jack Richeson & Co., Portrait Society of America and Silver Brush Limited. Paul Newton, NSW, Australia Self-portrait in Lockdown, oil on linen, 34 x 33½" (86 x 85 cm) First Place Painting Sponsored by: American Art Collector, International Artist Magazine, Portrait Society of America and Silver Brush Limited. Alex Venezia, Virginia, USA Autumnal Hymn, oil, 37½ x 29" (95 x 73 cm) First Place Drawing Sponsored by: Airfloat Systems, American Art Collector, Artefex, Artwork Archive, Natural Pigments, Portrait Society of America, Portraits, Inc. and Silver Brush Limited. Shane Wolf, Missouri, USA Distanciation, charcoal, sanguine, chalk and pierre noire, 54.33 x 39" (137 x 99 cm) First Place Sculpture Sponsored by: American Art Collector, Jack Richeson & Co., Portrait Society of…

All the way back in 1998 when International Artist first launched, Uruguayan artist Alvaro Castagnet’s watercolor Vernazza Boats graced the magazine’s very first cover. Now, 25 years later, the award-winning artist, author and instructor shares what the experience was like for him. I am delighted to write about my experience as the inaugural cover artist of International Artist. Seeing my painting grace the cover was a moment filled with both excitement and pride. And to be honest there was a bit of anxiety as well, as I often can’t help but wonder, “could I have done better?” Sometimes as an artist, you simply can’t help feeling that way—even though Vernazza Boats was well-loved by many people. I guess this sentiment is not necessarily adverse or pessimistic, as it is also…

No artistic intention. I just love to paint. I started painting portraits with oils in 2021 after spending a few months in the home office and desperately wanted to start something new that had always been on my bucket list. I suspect that so many people in this world have found themselves in a similar situation and started something creative during the pandemic. My best advice about the process of learning to paint is this: get addicted to it. Paint as much as you can and progress is guaranteed. Practice makes progress, not perfect. And also find a community where you can show your work and talk about it with other artists. Of course Instagram is just awesome for that. It’s also okay to start with affordable materials as you…

When you look at my artwork now, I think it becomes very clear, very quickly, that I like to work in a style creating realistic wildlife art. But that hasn’t always been the case. Finding and developing my style as an artist has taken many years of experimentation with mediums, surfaces and styles. I feel like saying this might be a cliché, as I think many artists find this challenge all too real. I started off with a determination to create artwork that was far flung from realism, using an impasto technique with oil paint to create tactile art that allowed the viewer to not only see the artwork but feel it. However, what I found after each piece was a voice in my head, urging me to add “just…

Choosing a watercolor paper can be one of the most confusing aspects of watercolor painting. Each manufacturer offers a number of different textures, weights and sizes plus various paper qualities. Artist quality paper is expensive and needs to be properly treated, before and after use, to keep it in pristine condition. In this article we will look at how to choose a suitable paper and how to handle and preserve your paper. Paper Texture Watercolor paper comes in three main textures: smooth (called hot-pressed), medium (cold-pressed or CP) and rough. This photo shows the apparent change in tone due to the shading effect of the progressively heavy textures. Hot-pressed The smooth, flat surface of hot-pressed paper is most suited to fine, detailed work. The lack of texture gives the paper…

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? WHICH READER ARE YOU? PRINT AND DIGITAL DIGITAL ONLY 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 details 2. 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…

I can’t, nor ever, give details about this lady’s world. Let this image be enough to satisfy. One thing I can say is that I’ll not forget her. Nor would you. For some strange reason, I wanted to portray her profile as in a 1930s poster. How it went was that I spent only minutes with her profile. No corrections, just straight first glance. Like we might have with seeing someone just briefly—the person goes, the image stays. As with her portrayal, that background flew onto the paper as you see. I didn’t think anyone would see this but her and me. Yet here is Lady OvAlyssa as you greet her quickly before she leaves. I will have her image in my studio to reflect upon as someone who will…

Twenty-five years ago, International Artist Publishing founder Vincent Miller had a vision. Riding on the wave of success of his magazine Australian Artist for more than a decade, he wanted to bring art to people across the world. So somebody in the United States would have the opportunity to learn about artists in Australia; European artists could learn from artists in South America—and so on and so forth. What blossomed from that vision is a magazine centered on global connection. The very magazine you hold in your hands today. Quite a lot has changed in the last two and a half decades, and yet, many things have remained the same. Among these, of course, is our goal of sharing the techniques and artistic practices of artists on a global scale.…

ENTER OUR NEW ART COMPETITION CHALLENGE No. 138 Still Life 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…

SCOTTSDALE ARTISTS’ SCHOOL: Tell us about your artistic training. DANIEL BILMES: At the age of 8, I began studying art with my father, Semyon Bilmes, who had a small illustration school in southern Oregon. My father comes from a strong academic background. He was educated in the Soviet Art academies, before immigrating to the United States and attending Parsons in New York City. There he met my mother, Alla Bilmes. I was immersed in art and art education from a very early age, which was a key foundation for my artistic career. SAS: What is the difference between creating art and teaching art? DB: They go hand in hand. I grew up in an art school; it was the family business. I learned so much from teaching—especially since I started…

Monthly Wednesday Webinars Online monthly educational content offered live by faculty artists with question-and-answer sessions at the end of the evening. Members Only Competition Entry Deadline: November 2, 2023 Recognizing Portrait Society members’ artworks in five categories: Commissioned Portrait, Non-Commissioned Portrait, Outside the Box, Landscape and Animals as the Subject. International Portrait Competition Entry Deadline: February 5, 2024 Showcasing the very best in fine art portraiture and figurative work. Signature Status Entry Deadline: September 1, 2023 Signature Status recognizes those practicing and accomplished artists who are dedicated to the educational mission and high aesthetic standards of the Portrait Society of America. 26th Annual The Art of the Portrait Conference The annual portrait and figurative artists’ celebration in Atlanta, Georgia, from April 25 to 28, 2024. For more information, please visit…

Long-time International Artist contributors James Gurney, Harley Brown, John Lovett and Richard Robinson chat about the past, present and future How long have you been a contributor to International Artist and how did you first come aboard? James Gurney: The first article I wrote was in 2009 for issue 69. Editor/publisher Vincent Miller invited me to write an article about composition, based on my book Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist. That article became a series, and the series became the column Station Points. I’ve contributed an article to every issue since. I think that’s over 80 consecutive issues. I feel like the grandfather clock in the hallway, marking the minutes while decades roll by. John Lovett: I started writing articles for International Artist in issue 38, which…

For me, as an artist, the two most Fimportant things are composition and color. I’m always using the basic elements of art—line, shape and form—to design the composition of my paintings. I am creating a world within the canvas and inviting you into it. I want you to feel a sense of place, that there is more beyond the edges of the canvas. Color is also an important element of art and something that I choose to use in excess. Color is about feeling and emotion and not necessarily about what we see or what we think we see, but what we feel. Each composition starts with an image—somewhere I’ve been, something I’ve seen or a photo I have taken. In my mind I immediately start to break down the…

I paint with colored pencils, using them in a way that creates the visual depth of oil paints and emulates the color transition and vibrance of watercolors. I strive to instill these painterly qualities in my portrait drawings. When I began to experiment with colored pencils and different solvents, I was able to achieve those attributes. I found solvent to be the key to smooth color application and blending with colored pencils. This technique allows me to create portraits with greater depth, eliciting the inevitable “I can’t believe this is colored pencil!” My portraits often tell a surreal story of the subject with fanciful images and vivid, over-saturated colors. A flowering vine across a window, water lilies in a pond, even tangled Christmas lights add fuel to my imagination and…

I’ve never had any formal training in drawing or painting, but I have always had a strong attraction to the arts and the practice of painting. During my adolescence I practiced photography a lot, and I believe that photography sharpened my eye and helped it develop into an “artist’s eye.” However, photography left me unsatisfied as I felt I was missing the manual aspect of drawing and painting. Parallel to a career in international banking, including a few years in the United States, I developed my drawing and painting skills as best I could. My self-taught efforts have gone through copy sessions in museums, notably the Museum of Fine Arts in Strasbourg, France, and drawing sessions with live models. I have exhibited regularly since the age of 34 and have…

Brian LaSaga Newfoundland, Canada, Along The Beach, acrylic on Masonite wood panel, 20 x 30" (50 x 76 cm) Grand Prize is a four-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine Rugged Shores Painting out of his studio in his hometown of St. George’s, Newfoundland, acrylic painter Brian LaSaga is continuously inspired by the beauty of his home. An island on the easternmost part of Canada, Newfoundland is filled with rugged coastline, marshlands, rivers, ponds and forests, all teeming with wildlife as well. LaSaga describes his work as high realism, hoping to accurately render what he sees and feels in the landscape—and through that rendering, ignite a spark of inspiration in his viewers. “Capturing the essence and textures of my subject is very important and painting it in a realistic style…

The strategy for building a picture is typically to draw it out first and then paint over the drawing. Many artists work out all the details in pencil lines or pen lines at the beginning, and then put their dry media aside and shift to wet paint, adding colors either transparently or opaquely. But with watercolor or gouache you can flip that sequence, doing the painting first and then crafting a detailed drawing on top of the dry paint, because the matte surface is receptive to most drawing media. With this method, the early stages can be big, splashy, loose, or exploratory, followed by carefully considered lines and textures executed with dry media. Here are some examples of this quirky technique, which is sometimes called “overdrawing.” CREATING AN ANTIQUE PHOTO…

In 1997 I had been publishing Australian Artist magazine for 13 years. From its very first issue it immediately became the best-selling art magazine in the country available by subscription and on the newsstands. The existing magazines in Australia at the time were mostly low circulation journals focusing on art criticism, art history and museums—hardly a mention of the living artists creating great paintings in the here and now. And certainly nothing about the inspiration and technique artists used in making their work. Such was the success of Australian Artist, the magazine for artists by artists, that I got to thinking it might be a good idea to extend this winning concept to a wider audience. Today Australia, tomorrow the world! Looking at the artists’ magazines being published in other…

I have always been fascinated by the I impressionistic manner of painting, and I always want to achieve clean and bright colors in my work. While I was trying to master the art of painting wet-on-wet using a brush, I would tend to mix layers of wet paint and create what felt like “dirt.” It was only when I switched to a palette knife that I was able to create the clean colors that I’d always desired to achieve. At the same time, the palette knife allowed me to become more expressive and much looser. I started using a palette knife for the entire painting after I attended a workshop with Susan Sarback many years ago. It was a bit awkward at the beginning, but with practice, I became more…

When I moved from Toronto Wto a tiny community in Nova Scotia, I became fascinated by the ocean, its reflections and endlessly shifting patterns of color and light. I will often sit on our beach examining the architecture of water, how it moves, how it is affected by light, its transparency, or how a wave starts to rise, curl and fall. I find the mystery of this dynamic and ancient entity utterly compelling. My depictions are purely of water, without land, sky or scale. The paintings are inspired by multiple photographs I take at sunset when the waves are so luminous they could be lit from within. I paint the ocean as the mind understands it—not a precise recording nor the rendering of an impressionist’s flourish, but something between the…

For the last seven years, I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to concentrate on studying and making art. Of the several mediums I’ve explored, colored pencil has become my favorite. I work in a realistic style and colored pencils allow me to produce fine details as well as large areas of luminous color. Colored pencil can be drawn to look like other mediums such as oil paint, watercolors, pastels and photographs, prompting exclamations of “that’s colored pencil?!” My goals for a drawing are not uncommon. My hope is to capture a mood, or tell a story, or portray beauty, or something unusual—or all of these into one great picture! I’ve drawn still lifes, animals, portraits, landscapes and interiors. If I’ve concentrated more on one category than others, it would be interiors like…

Paradise, in New Zealand, is one of my favorite painting spots anywhere on the planet. It was a beautiful day when I worked on this painting. We headed up to Paradise and painted to our hearts content. My friend, artist John Crump, helped with a key comment close to the finish—I had a big green tree on the left that I’d been battling with (which looked like a party of sea sponges) and John asked me why I’d painted it. “Because it’s there!” I laughed, because I instantly realized I’d been sucked into replicating the scene—feeling obligated to paint what’s in front of me rather than using my artistic license. Great to have knowledgeable friends to give you pointers out there! Five minutes later the green “sponges” were gone and…

In my early years, I had to take Icare of what was happening in my mind; often going forward and then wandering off with uncertainty. It was then that a few of my art friends and I had the unbelievable good fortune of getting together with master artists who took the time to show us what they had carefully developed over their many years creating. We were ready and needed to expand into our own strong, personal approach. We gain so much from them, finding further unique importance in values, shapes, light, shadow, color and design, edging towards realization of significant artworks. For several weeks each year, we drew and painted with them in outdoor locations. These were absolute positive turning points for every one of us. Times together with…