Innholdsfortegnelse for October-November 2023/No. 153 i International Artist

Welcome to the October/November issue! Adolfo, Alyssa and I just finished next year’s editorial calendar, and we are excited to share some new content with you. As a subscriber you get the sneak peek at what we have in store for 2024. In addition to seven-plus demonstrations in every issue from talented top artists, our celebrity artist columns and our focused features, we listen to you (our readers) and are adding even more. In the December/January issue, we are focused on art materials from the experts. Next up, we are working with art societies and associations to join across the world. There are so many excellent member-based societies (both genre and medium-oriented), and we will be introducing you to many of them. This leads us to providing you the directory…

Second Prize is a two-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine My Inspiration It was late winter when my niece came from Portugal to spend three weeks posing for me. The sunlight is very beautiful at my entryway in winter, when it enters through the glass of the door and “bathes” my whole entrance. I really wanted to paint that light! While I was painting, a Brazilian song came to my mind frequently, and I ended up painting part of it, which basically says, “if a hummingbird enters the door of your house to kiss you, it was me…if you miss me, write me a love letter.” My Design Strategy I paint through photos. I have models for photoshoots and shoot them as much as I can. After reviewing…

Finalist My Inspiration Charlie’s World was a commissioned still life painting for my former student’s 18th birthday. The objects in this painting reflect her personal interests, as well as illustrate a range of textures, hue saturations and values. Inspired by 17th-century Dutch still life painters, I used similar painting techniques such as chiaroscuro, glazing and impasto. My Design Strategy Before starting the design, I met with the client to discuss objects that best describe her as a person. Several objects were selected and a few objects were used symbolically. After receiving all of the items, I made multiple thumbnail drawings in order to find the right composition. I decided that the final arrangement needed to be viewed from above in order to capture the importance of each item. My Working…

Medium Any painting or drawing media Entries Close Last mail received on November 8, 2023 Entry Fee US $9 / £5 / €8 / AUS $10 (See overleaf) Send Entries To See page 20 of Offcial Entry Form Winners Featured Issue No. 155 February/March 2024 The winners and a selection of highly commended works will be published in our International Artist magazine Art Prize report. NOTE: The winners and finalists in Challenge No. 138 – Still Life will be featured in International Artist issue No. 154, which comes out in December/January 2024 Every winner and finalist will receive an Award Certificate authenticating their prize.…

SCOTTSDALE ARTISTS’ SCHOOL: When did your passion for painting begin? JULEE HUTCHISON: I discovered my passion for painting in second grade, thanks to my grandmother who was an artist. She taught me how to draw and paint, and our creative collaborations ignited my desire to pursue a life in the arts. SAS: How did you make the transition from student to instructor? JH: Living near the Scottsdale Artists’ School was a tremendous advantage for me. I learned from exceptional artists and instructors through various workshops, which greatly influenced my artistic growth. As I observed the instructors’ communication and leadership skills, I became inspired to share my knowledge. Eventually, an out-of-state organization recognized my abilities and invited me to teach one of their workshops. That experience reaffirmed my passion for teaching, leading…

I am a native of Nashville, a beautiful city on the Cumberland River in the heart of Middle Tennessee. Nashville has long been called the “Athens of the South” because of its many learning institutions. The citizens have embraced this identifier through its storied academic history and its architecture, reflected in the many examples of Greek Revival homes and public buildings. In Centennial Park, near downtown Nashville, stands the world’s only full-scale replica of Greece’s Parthenon. Constructed to celebrate the state’s centennial in 1876, the building opened to the public in 1877 and remains a beloved monument. Inside, you may be surprised to find a giant statue of Athena, goddess of war and patroness of the arts and industry, created by artist Alan LeQuire. Near the original Parthenon, a similar…

Before I embark on any painting, I always ask myself the fundamental question: Why? Why am I choosing this particular subject to paint? For me, it’s essential that I paint objects or people not merely because they exist but to paint my emotional response to the subject. What do I feel? I challenge myself to see beyond what others might perceive and focus on my personal perspective. Identifying what I want to communicate in the artwork becomes my guiding light, even in quick studies, resulting in a more fluid painting process and a greater appreciation for the final piece. For this painting, I chose to paint my daughter. I was captivated by her fully engaged gaze. This intensity became the focal point of my painting, guiding my entire creative process.…

My work has a heavy emphasis on expressing emotion and letting the painting process tell the story. In this demo, I want to share with you how I am able to capture these emotions on canvas and the steps I use to refine the expressive stage into a finished work of art. The key to doing this successfully is finding the right balance between intuition and craft. It might seem obvious that the best way to express emotion is with our intuition, but often as artists we are trained for so many years that we become a bit too technical. It was a pivotal moment in my career when I realized that letting go was the key to moving forward. You have to take all that knowledge and let it…

In this step-by-step demonstration show my typical process with a floral still life painted from life. The first step in this case is the composition/idea, which involves arranging what are fundamentally color shapes at a basic visual level. I try to get an interesting variety of light and dark shapes using an overhead LED panel light. This process can take many hours of rearranging the subject until I am happy with the composition. I work on oil-primed surfaces exclusively because the wet paint can be easily manipulated on the surface, allowing for a variety of interesting edges. STAGE 1 ROUGHING IN MAIN SHAPES I begin to draw in with paint the largest value shapes and contours. I have found that drawing shapes with straight lines initially to be more effective…

Oil pastel is a very specific material to paint with and is unlike almost any other medium (pastel artists usually call their works pastel paintings, not drawings). There is, however, a great reward in using them due to their dense, intense colors and vibrant surface textures. Unlike chalk pastels, which can be found in pencil form and sharpened to a fine point, oil pastel painting sticks become blunt very quickly when sharpened. This is due to their soft, lipstick-like consistency. Different artists overcome these characteristics in their own ways. Some use the pastels in combination with oil paints and melt the oil pastel with linseed oil. They can also be spread with a palette knife. Others simply work on a very large scale to overcome the detail problem and do…

STAGE 1 APPLYING PANPASTELS Apply PanPastel to your paper with an art sponge, using even strokes and medium pressure. Apply the lighter neutral gray pastel to the left side of your drawing, and then flip your sponge over to a clean side and apply the darker neutral gray to the right side of your drawing. Wipe your sponge on a paper towel to clean it off, and then gently blend the two tones together in the middle of your paper, adding more pastel as you blend if necessary. Use your eraser to “draw” out the lemons. Erase the pastel out entirely until the paper surface is relatively clean. STAGE 2 SHADOWS AND SOME HIGHLIGHTS Using dark phthalocyanine green, sketch in your shadows. Keep a light touch and make sure your…

Three Reds, a Yellow and a Blue Sometimes it pays to break old habits. I rarely use cadmium red, but on deciding to paint this rusting hulk on the coast of Ireland, my usual reds (permanent alizarin crimson and permanent rose) were not quiet saturated enough to do the job, so in crept some cadmium red. My palette for this painting was quinacridone gold, permanent rose, permanent alizarin crimson, cadmium red and French ultramarine blue. I used a goat hair Hake brush to smooth and control the washes, a ½” bristle brush to apply most of the main shapes, a #1 liner (or rigger) brush for all the fine lines and a ¼” Taklon one stroke brush for small geometric marks. I also used a dip-in pen and burnt sienna…

I paint with professional high quality acrylic paint on wooden stretcher canvases with brushes, palette knives and my fingers. My desire is to capture the sunlight of nature and paint it, so the moment is saved forever. My paintings invite viewers to savor the magic of the natural world. I find inspiration for new paintings during walks through nature, on my travels or in my garden, constantly taking photos to bring it to life later in my studio. The subject matter I focus on primarily are elements of nature, be it water, water lilies, flowers or trees—what I hope provides a source of strength, joy and serenity for the viewer. A painting is a secret doorway through which I can express my perspective as intimately as possible. While I paint,…

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 live in the world. For FASTER SERVICE subscribe online at www.internationalartist.com OR use the…

With your art, try not to alter areas so as to please the eventual viewers. Don’t think that certain things will make for more appreciation. Instead, continue with your own trusted inner self moving ahead with real spirit. If you need to redo parts, do them to make yourself happy. Yes, with all your art, you’ve earned that right as it passionately embraces your mind and body. That approach will keep you going for decades and decades. We Choose For many years, I was told what I should like in the art world and why I should fully appreciate it. I’ve never understood most of the contemporary art pieces nor their explanations. I soon decided what to like in art; in the same way I choose food and places to…

This lady came to sit for me, and I told her she could pose any way she wanted. She did so and as I was laying on the pastel strokes, she seemed distracted about something. Suddenly, she stood up, grabbed her jacket, said goodbye, and left my studio. I sat there stunned, having portrayed only her melancholy face. Several months later, she phoned and apologized for her departure. She said she had a personal problem; it was finally solved and she wanted me to complete the art piece. I was thrilled. She came back that afternoon. I decided not to do any more work with her face after that first sitting. So beneath her face, I began creating flat shapes and curves, in both the foreground and background. Then for…

Our (not so) new section, Creative Spark, has been running for about eight months now, and I just have to say, you all amaze me! Seeing all of your submissions month after month, taking the prompt and making it your own, putting your work out there for the world to see—it’s inspiring. When you share your work and your ideas, you never know who you might inspire to do the same. Perhaps someone from across the world. And for me, personally, it’s just been such a joy to explore your artwork. For everyone reading this letter, check out the hashtag #iacreativespark on Instagram to view all of the fantastic artwork from our readers. In this October/November issue, I’m excited for you to dive into the first of a three-part series…

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…

Vincent Miller, founder of International Artist magazine, is our Chief Judge for our challenges. He has judged art for more than 40 years worldwide, including in the USA, Singapore, Australia, Canada and the U.K., to name just a few countries. In addition, he is an artist and sculptor himself. Mr. Miller works with many of the greatest living artists and art schools. He supports great art by judging our challenge program. If your art is selected you are among the elite in the world to be selected by Vincent Miller. We welcome you to submit your entries for the next challenge judging. SUBMIT YOUR DIGITAL ENTRIES ONLINE; IT’S SO EASY!…

In this day and age, the artist is often not only an artist but must wear many hats in their own small business. One crucial aspect is marketing—getting the word out there that your work is available and telling the story of your work and life as an artist. It’s also important to notify the media and your clients about upcoming exhibitions and events. In order to do all this, you need to create a media kit. The media kit is made up primarily of two things: images of your work and/or the event space, and a press release. This is simply a page comprising a few paragraphs that give your clients and the media the information they need to attend or cover your event in their magazine or news…

"At the end of the day, you just can’t give up.” –Paul Newton, 2023 Portrait Society Draper Grand Prize Winner. This past May, a crowd of Portrait Society conference attendees rose to their feet to applaud artist Paul Newton as he took to the stage to accept the Draper Grand Prize for his outstanding painting, Self Portrait in Lockdown. Out of more than 3,000 submitted entries and 20 selected finalists, Newton’s expressive and soulful self-portrait was awarded the top prize, which this year came with a $50,000 cash prize, as part of the Society’s 25th Anniversary celebration. About the award-winning work, Portrait Society executive board member, Mary Whyte, who served as one of this year’s judges, remarked, “Paul Newton’s self-portrait checks off all the boxes of what makes a superior…

Developing a deep understanding of your materials is a crucial, tactile aspect of painting. Learning how to read a label and understand all the ingredients in a paint will empower you when buying and using paint. Each pigment comes with a set of properties that are important to know something about. Understanding the rich history of pigments will help you understand some of the attributes of each pigment. Also, categorizing each color—even blacks, browns and whites—into its hue family will help you when mixing paint. This, too, will empower you as you learn more about color. The Anatomy of a Paint Tube In its simplest form, oil paint is a combination of pigment and oil. Buying paint in an aluminum tube was not always an option. Before paint was sold…

I had a penchant for the classical paintings of the Old Masters since I was a kid. Learning the classical techniques since I was 13 and teaching students for more than 20 years now have instilled an even deeper passion in me and reinforced my desire to continue my artistic development in the direction of contemporary realism. I have always loved painting the portrait and the figure as I found them to be the most expressive subjects to paint, but in the past few years, I found myself being equally fascinated by how much emotion can be communicated in a landscape. Lately, I have been combining both. I find that picturing someone in their most natural environment helps me tell a richer story about them. It also allows for a…

STAGE 1 CHOOSING THE VIEW AND COLOR ROUGH I work on my references, distorting photos and sometimes cropping or extending them to get the perfect proportions and view that I want. The first stage of my work is to make a color rough, not worrying about drawing. MY DESIGN AND COMPOSITION TACTICS » I choose architectural subjects that have repetitive patterns in them—for example, roofs. This way, you can literally build the composition as an overall texture. » Ignore local color initially and concentrate on achieving a color harmony between cold and warm areas of the painting. I often cut skies out of my pastel paintings, and when I do include them, they can be silver or even green if it suits the subject. » Use common colors across the…

My watercolor practice has been fueled by over 50 years of hiking through the mountains, forests and deserts of the western United States. I grew up in Oregon, where as a kid, everything held wonders—from small rocks and tree roots along the trail to thundering waterfalls that suddenly materialized out of the mist up ahead. It was not until I took a watercolor class in college that I found a way to share the fullness of what I loved about the natural world with other people. I began to carry a small set of watercolors and some paper in my pack when leaving on a hike. The paints provided much more than the opportunity for “plein air snapshots” of my travels. Having them along changed something in my brain. Wherever…

Setting the pace with big, expressive marks from the outset of a painting is an important part of my practice in order to allow the energy to flow and get the painting “moving.” My style is loose, energetic and spontaneous. With large palette knives and brushes, I usually like to dive into a painting with fast-moving applications of wet-in-wet paint, sometimes using a retarding medium to slow down the drying time of the acrylic paint, thus allowing for more paint malleability. Once this is dry, I move towards more considered blocks of color, adjusting how the colors sit together. I look for pattern and design in the paint marks, which I then “tie together.” The paintings are built up in a series of layers, some in thicker, impasto paint and…

I was first captivated by the rich world of line and tone in graphic art. The shapes that emerge from the unique set of curves and straight lines, interspersed with soft dynamics, are still my favorite. It is no coincidence that many famous artists consider this technique the basis of all techniques. I love the simplicity, the broken structure, the “naked truth” of graphics. In my opinion, the basis for everything in art must be rock solid drawing skills. Here, the viewers’ eyes should not be distracted by bright colors and an almost kitschy cavalcade of colors. You have to have a good knowledge of anatomy, and of course, being able to draw is no disadvantage. Even today when I paint, I always draw as a form of relaxation. Then…

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 live in the world. For FASTER SERVICE subscribe online at www.internationalartist.com OR use the…

For artists, inspiration can strike anywhere at any time. In this section, we’ll present a different photo prompt in each issue for artists to use as inspiration for their next piece. Rather than a reference, this photo is meant to be interpretive. It’s a jumping off point—a means to spark creativity and get the imagination going. Capture the image exactly as you see it, or take elements of it to create something entirely new. Submissions can be fully completed artwork or rough sketches. Every approach is the right approach. In the following issue of International Artist, we’ll highlight several Editor’s favorites (including your Instagram username), along with the next photo prompt. Chosen submissions also receive a free six-month digital subscription to International Artist. Happy painting/drawing/sketching! Scan for larger reference image:…

Kristen Doty Washington, USA, Preparations, colored pencil, 21 x 16½" (53 x 41 cm) Grand Prize is a four-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine Shine On When Kristen Doty was very young, long before she knew she’d be an artist, she and her father would look at one of his art books, Behold My Glory. In particular, Doty was drawn toward two Georges de La Tour paintings: Saint Joseph the Carpenter and The Madeleine with the night light called La Madeleine Terff. “[My father] would point to the details and marvel at how someone could use paint to capture a flame, or the light falling on and coming through skin and fabric, or the folds of the fabric of Joseph’s shirt sleeves. This must have contributed to my…

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 At the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., there is a Mayan calendar statue in the entrance area. I was in Belize talking to a Mayan just a few months before the calendar cycled again. There were rumors going around that the world would end when the calendar restarted. It didn’t. Round and round we go, never ending, always in pursuit of something. My Design Strategy I strive to tell a story that evokes emotion in every painting I create. In this piece, my goal was to have people wonder at the stone and symbols and maybe…

Finalist My Inspiration American goldfinches are such bright, joyful little birds in their lemon-yellow summer plumage. They come to the sunflower and prairie fields around my house in late July and early August to nest and feed, flitting from sunflower to sunflower. I welcome hearing their song and watching their bouncy flight pattern. As a natural history artist, I painted many goldfinch bird models for museums, science and visitor centers, and was eager to paint them on canvas. My Design Strategy The American goldfinch birds love eating the seeds of the sunflower. This vision creates an interesting yellow on yellow image. Their vivid camouflage makes them hard to spot among the flowers. I wanted to convey that feeling of having to search the picture to find the birds. I drew…

A continuing series of art competitions designed to encourage the best talent working in the world today open to any painting or drawing medium. ENTER OUR NEW ART COMPETITION CHALLENGE No. 139 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.…

Mary Buckman Muse, hydrostone, 26 x 10" (66 x 25 cm) INSPIRATION Throughout my career, the concept of a muse has frequently emerged in my work. Whether it be in the form of a model capturing a pose, a beloved family member or the presence of nature, these instances often serve as my greatest sources of inspiration. It is during these moments that I am motivated to step outside of my comfort zone and create something unique. Whenever the urge to sculpt something new arises, there is invariably a muse in some shape or form, spurring me forward. PROCESS To start my sculpture process, I always begin with a solid block of clay. Initially, I sculpt the figure using wood tools and my hands. After finishing the sculpture, I proceed…

“Leap and the net will appear.” This has been the unofficial motto of Raymar, the well-known and loved art supply company, since its inception in 1998. This year has been a big one for quite a few organizations in the art world—International Artist magazine and the Portrait Society of America both celebrated their 25th anniversaries—and within that silver anniversary lineup is Raymar, one of the leading art panel suppliers in the country and the world. The best of the best artists of the day work closely with Raymar panels, from Jeremy Lipking to Michelle Dunaway to Daniel Keys. The Arizona-based company has humble beginnings, their story born out of a genuine love of art and human connection. It started when artist Catherine Dietrich enrolled in a workshop led by Ted…

As a representational oil painter, I primarily use the alla prima approach and often work from direct life study. My painting philosophy revolves around seeing and interpreting subject relationships. Learning to see these relationships is crucial and fundamental for artists to authentically depict aspects of the subject in paint. Learning to see is more than just looking, as it involves understanding. As my wife often reminds me, “Hearing is automatic, but listening is not.” I refer to the understanding of these relationships as the simplification of the visual hierarchy, which comprises objective and subjective aspects. As artists, we exert greater control over the objective elements, which I focus on when teaching my painting approach. The objective aspects encompass lines, drawing, shape, composition, color (divided into value, hue and chroma), edges…

This scene offers us a beautiful perspective and a horizon line suggesting distant trees and mountains. The long grass in the foreground, having been trampled, suggests the presence of Hercules the horse and Arthur and Palero, the donkeys, residents of the Heartroot community farm in the village of Audet, near Lac Mégantic in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. The techniques used are more direct and free than my figurative work. There is no precise architecture, nor human to proportion well. A super simple but precise drawing will serve as our guide for the direct application of the masses of colors. The details will be worked over this first layer in small touches and thicknesses. STAGE 1 SKETCH I start with a loose but accurate sketch. The medium tone paper will…

Over the course of the past several years I’ve become enamored with the look of fruits and flowers, and I’ve found almost all of my artistic inspiration in the garden. Organic subjects are visually stimulating, ever-changing, and the variety of colors and textures is seemingly endless. In my still life work I like to consider each fruit or flower in the same way I would consider a human face for a portrait. My goal is to see the subject as an individual and unique specimen. No two lemons are the same—some are oblong, some are fat and juicy looking, some have color variances and abnormalities, and others appear to be perfect. I try to convey that individuality by rendering each subject with a high level of detail, giving attention to…

STAGE 1 SKETCH I begin with a pencil sketch to plan a path of light into the painting to where the greatest difference in value draws the viewer’s eye. STAGE 2 BASIC SHAPES I soak my entire painting paper in water and tape it to a Masonite board using gummed paper tape. After this dries, I roughly indicate basic shapes with pencil and mask the sun spot. STAGE 3 EXPERIMENTING WITH COLOR On small test papers, I try out color combinations for my planned painting to see how colors blend and react to processes like splatter or lifting. I check options for darkening or lightening a color. STAGE 4 LAYING IN PAYNE’S GRAY Using a soft 2" flat brush I cover the top half of the prepared paper with clean…

STAGE 1 REFERENCE STUDIES AND COLOR SWATCHES Inspired by the North Yorkshire Moors, I rough out some ideas for the color scheme and the basic composition—a big, atmospheric sky over a sloping moorland beneath, painted in muted, dusky tones. The color swatches help me decide on colors I want to introduce. STAGE 2 FIRST LAYER Working on a wooden panel (which has been pre-sealed with GAC 100 and gessoed), I quickly apply heavy body acrylic in a warm terracotta using a 2" flat acrylic brush and large palette knife. STAGE 3 RAW UMBER AND SCRATCHING THROUGH WET PAINT Once this layer has dried, I work over the terracotta with raw umber acrylic, scratching through the wet paint to reveal the terracotta beneath. I also introduce some Payne’s gray and indanthrene…

Painting a still life is a great way to get to know your materials and just have fun with paint, because it’s not a very demanding subject matter—not like landscapes, especially not like painting outside where the light and weather change at a moment’s notice. You can really have fun with your materials, spend some quality time with your paint brushes in that creative space and simply see and paint, taking your time and enjoying the process. Simplicity doesn’t equate to dullness. It’s an opportunity to infuse our work with a sense of elegance and harmony. A humble teapot, bathed in single light, becomes a study in tranquility and stillness. We can explore all its nuances and subtleties, inviting viewers to pause and savor the moment with us. 1 Elena Sokolova…