Innholdsfortegnelse for April-May 2024/No. 156 i International Artist

Welcome to the April/May issue of International Artist magazine! Our 2024 commitment is to bring you more demonstrations from across the globe, more opportunities to be part of juried events, and more fairs and shows to sell your art. We hope you find IA your artists’ tool to the art world from concept, to show, and finally to the collector. We will jump right into our demonstrations this month and the unique artists that bring our pages to life. For oil demonstrations we have Polish artist Kesja Tabaczuk who currently resides in Norway (her work is on the cover of this issue). Next, we have Todd M. Casey and Hillary Scott, both from the USA, providing comprehensive oil techniques in their demonstrations. We also have two talented watercolor artists featured…

Second Prize is a two-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine My Inspiration To me birds are one of nature’s gifts. I have always been fascinated by them. It’s not just their sheer beauty, but their personalities and freedom that I love. Rainbow lorikeets are stunningly colorful birds, extremely social, raucous and the providers of entertainment. When I saw David C. Simon’s beautiful photograph of this pair sharing the nectar of a waratah flower, I just had to paint it. I named the piece after the state floral emblem of New South Wales (Australia), the waratah flower. This image captures the sociability and playfulness of these beautiful birds. My Design Strategy Through my paintings I endeavor to capture the unique characteristics and magnificence of my chosen subjects. My goal…

Finalist My Inspiration The inspiration for Pink Myrtles was childhood memories of our bird feeder and the beauty and fragrance of lilacs in spring. I know the myrtles aren’t the same, but they’re the next best thing. I love blue jays; every morning they greet me by landing on the shepherds hook just outside my door. I was never able to capture them both at the right time in a photo so I decided to paint the scene to recreate a memory. My Design Strategy The goal of all of my paintings is to create a flow within. I believe that a painting should be a place to linger, to be enjoyed and make a connection with the viewer like sharing a memory. My Working Process I liked the position…

Finalist My Inspiration The most beautiful part of my work is giving people joy and eliciting emotion—to see how people change, how their eyes glow when they see the artwork. The beauty of wildlife is what inspires me the most. Since I can’t be close to them, I get inspiration in photos my fans and followers send to me. Their favorite photos of nature become my subject matter. My painting then brings the photo to life on silk. My Design Strategy My silk art has an environmental message. It’s one that inspires the heart to change, rather than add guilt. I want people to see the beauty worth protecting in this world and genuinely feel the need to preserve it. My work celebrates the animals that exist now, as they…

Medium Any painting or drawing media Entries Close Last mail received on May 8, 2024 Entry Fee US $9 / £5 / €8 / AUS $10 (See overleaf) Send Entries To See page 20 of Official Entry Form Winners Featured Issue No. 158 August/September 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. 141 – Landscapes will be featured in International Artist issue No. 157, which comes out in June/July 2024 Every winner and finalist will receive an Award Certificate authenticating their prize.…

SCOTTSDALE ARTISTS’ SCHOOL: Have you always been passionate about becoming an artist or did your journey into the art world unfold organically over time? ROBERT LEMLER: Art has been a lifelong passion of mine. My journey began with a significant milestone—I secured a victory in a statewide Scholastic Art Scholarship competition during my senior year of high school. This accomplishment fueled my interest in the arts, inspiring me to pursue further education. At a state university, I studied fine art and art history, embracing the opportunity to deepen my understanding and refine my skills. SAS: When observers engage with your artwork, what specific elements or messages do you aim for them to perceive or experience? RL: My artistic approach leans towards representation, seeking to interpret motifs in a way that captivates…

Mary Chiaramonte Carroll Housebound, acrylic, 30 x 24" (76 x 60 cm) INSPIRATION I live in a haunted house. If you aren’t already a believer, our home may make you one. When we started renovating in 2019, it had been abandoned for ten years. Countless unexplained events occurred over the many months that we worked. I began researching our home’s past occupants and found Mary. She had died mysteriously in the house in 1946 on her husband’s 50th birthday. I wanted to commemorate her within a series of paintings that considered her life in rural Virginia in the 1940s, as well as the many decades she has spent here as an earthbound spirit. PROCESS I put together a crude cardboard model of our house for use in the composition as…

Subscribe today to get the most comprehensive magazine filled with demonstrations, workshops and creative inspiration from the best international artists working today. International Artist is the only educational magazine by artists for artists devoted to sharing voices from across the world, along with special features, columns and more. In every issue, you’ll find: » 6 issues a year, each one featuring a diverse range of work from artists around the globe! » 8+ artist demonstrations and workshops, featuring mediums, styles and subject matter that will inspire you. » Special features that dive deeper into the world of art and the artists. » Regular columns from famous artists such as James Gurney and Harley Brown. » Enjoy features from esteemed organizations including the Portrait Society of America every month. Join our…

Art fairs and events are one of the greatest aspects of the art world. These gatherings—both large and small, in-person and online—are an opportunity to see dozens to hundreds of artists’ work all at once. It’s a place for sharing your work and making direct connections with fellow artists and collectors. Of course, to participate in an art fair or competition, artists must first enter their work for consideration. Some fairs are members-only, but many have application processes completely open to the public—and they’re happening across the world, from Arizona to Paris, not to mention all of the virtual shows out there as well. And whether you’re a seasoned art show veteran or entering your work for the first time, it takes guts to put your work out there on…

My greatest desire when I paint is to create landscape stories that evoke wonder and emotion—that connect the viewer to our natural world and unlock cherished memories. Often the paintings where I find the most success in reaching this intention are those in which “story” is created by building energy and depth through many layers. My painting journey began with acrylics, but I struggled to mix colors that pleased my eye and I was frustrated that the values darkened when the paint was no longer wet. The fast drying time was also a challenge. Once I discovered transparent pigments, I developed a new understanding of how paint could be used. Ultimately oil paint became my preferred medium, but I still incorporate acrylics and these lessons in my early stages of…

Birds are the spirits born from Mother Nature, full of spirituality and vitality. They roam the mountains and fly over waters, adorned with colorful feathers. They soar, sing, drink and peck, each displaying different postures. Whether in the mountains, treetops, thickets or by the water’s edge, these creatures transform these scenes into something truly picturesque. As an artist, inspiration comes from everyday life. When a Chinese blackbird with black feathers and a yellow beak searches for earthworms in a flower bed, or when a small sparrow jumps among the rose bushes, creative emotions are instinctively evoked within me, and ideas naturally begin to take shape in the mind. Currently, my series Little Reunion represents my established style. It is inspired by the saying in Jieziyuan Huazhuan (a painting manual of…

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! A SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT…

As I’m writing this letter, the morning sunlight is pouring through the trees surrounding my home in the Pacific Northwest—golden beams shining through massive sequoia and mossy branches of boxelder maples. Even though it’s winter here in the United States, there’s beauty everywhere, from the way the sun feels on a cold morning to the way the moss grows in deep green, abundant swaths nearly everywhere you turn. I eagerly await spring, just around the corner, when flowers will be in bloom everywhere—in bursts of wildflowers, on cherry blossom trees, in the hydrangeas, rhododendrons and rose bushes. The changing of the seasons is always wondrous, and as artists, you’re even more tuned-in to these snapshots of beauty. The lens through which you see and capture the world around you is…

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 fill…

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!…

I once heard artist John Howard Sanden say that one of the most important qualities of any successful artist is to be a “self-starter.” He stressed that creatives had to have the discipline and self-motivation to get to their studios, dig in and push their work to the next level. Although each of us creates work because we know we must, there are times when we like to share and compare our work to others. Often art competitions give us an exciting avenue for growth. Art competitions have existed for centuries. As far back as the early 1400s, churches held competitions for artists who they sought out to decorate their places of worship. In France in the mid 1600s, the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture created the Prix de…

Earlier last year I approached John Symond AM, a giant in the Australian finance industry, to ask if he would sit for a portrait for the 2023 Archibald Prize. Like most Australians, I was aware of his public persona, Aussie John, who famously shook up the Australian home loan market in the 1990s by bringing competition to the industry. Now also known for his philanthropy and his passion for collecting art, I thought he would make a great Archibald subject. I found John to be a very private man who, though initially reluctant to be the subject of a portrait, slowly warmed to the idea and, towards the end, really embraced the experience. Keen to convey his passion for art, I included one of John’s favorite works in the background,…

Many of us within the intimate yet vast circle of the art world have heard of Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt and Steven Alan Bennett. The former is a lifelong educator with a passion for helping those in need, and the latter is a philanthropist and corporate attorney. But within our worldly little sphere of art, the couple is likely best known for their monumental art collection. About 15 years ago, they started collecting art but with a caveat. All of the pieces in their collection must fall under the realm of figurative realism, and all of it must be paintings of women by women. What has now grown into the illustrious Bennett Collection, it features paintings from across the world as far back as the 16th century with the first…

Welcome to this month’s Art Industry Insider, where we bring you tips and tricks within the art world and how to run your business as a creative artist. This issue I’m going to focus on the exciting topic of entering your work into various juried art shows. Whether you’re a beginning artist ready to show your work for the first time or a seasoned fine art professional, entering art shows, both online and live, are an important part of being an artist. There are so many great opportunities to exhibit and sell your work to collectors from around the world. So, you’ve created some great art that you are excited about, and you are ready to show it! Let’s get you started with some important information on what you need…

Arecurrent theme in my work is a sense of space and light, so I have chosen to show how I achieve these effects in my recent painting, Morning Mist. My inspiration for this scene came about one foggy autumn morning. The sun was trying to burn through the fog, which created the perfect opportunity for me to convey two of my favorite themes: atmospheric perspective and backlit trees. I witnessed the scene for several minutes, taking in the overall mood and feeling, which is difficult to get from a photo. I used a combination of photographic references, memory and imagination to execute this painting. There was no shimmer on the water in the original scene, but I moved some elements around to create this point of interest. I always start…

My drawing style is based on the techniques of classical drawings of the Old Masters, using elements of expressionism and impressionism. I never try to copy nature exactly. Instead, I always try to add some elements from myself to make the composition more expressive, because whether it’s a big multi-figure painting or a small sketch of a head, your artwork should always be based on good composition. Technique is limited, but ideas and concepts are not. Compositional techniques are diverse, and each of them is intended to be a means of expressing a certain idea. The ability to build a drawing follows from the ability to see nature. To compose means to express one’s attitude towards an object. The artist always manifests himself as an appraiser of the phenomena of…

I love to paint with watercolors, and my main techniques are wet-on-wet and lifting colors. These techniques allow me to create smooth layers and give my artwork a soft look. They are essential to watercolors, and they are the key to creating realistic looking paintings. I prefer a more natural look to my paintings, and while some parts are detailed and realistic, other areas are much looser. I like to say that my artwork is detailed and somewhat realistic, with a loose spin. When I first started painting with watercolors, I used to do everything wet-on-dry, but over time I have learned how to properly wet the paper and what ratios should be used at certain stages of the painting process. This is also the key to applying the colors…

My understanding of art began at a single digit age when my father showed me how to do simple sketches. During school years, learning from him about shapes, highlights, shadows and so much more. All that time, I just never understood math, chemistry, physics, languages, history, you name it. And I’ve always been relieved knowing that everything else is taken care of by dedicated individuals in medicine, education, builders, businesses, pilots, farmers, etc. I was continually obsessed: The day after art college, I got a peddler’s license and started going up and down residential streets to sell my art. After 35 doors, I made my first sale—one dollar for a profile sketch. My first “professional payment.” I also made money doing sketches in fairgrounds and saloons. I was committed and…

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 The Center for Great Apes is a non-profit rescue center providing permanent sanctuary to dozens of chimpanzees and orangutans retired from the entertainment industry, research and exotic pet trade. I’m one of several artists who have worked to help support the center. I’ve been painting portraits of the apes for about a decade. On one visit, Stryker’s outgoing personality caught my attention. My Design Strategy I try to convey each ape’s personality in his or her portrait. Generally, this requires exacting attention to the ape’s eyes and expression. My Working Process Unfortunately, I live many hours from the center, so…

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. 142 Florals & Gardens 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.…

For your convenience there are three International Entry Points. You can pay your Entry Fee by Visa or MasterCard. 1 USA / CANADA THE AMERICAS Send your entry and payment of US $9 per entry/picture to: International Artist magazine Challenge No. 142: Florals & Gardens 3260 N. Hayden Rd. Suites 201-203 Scottsdale, AZ 85251, USA Enter your Credit Card details on the Entry Form below or include a Check/Money Order made payable to International Artist. (Checks must be in US Dollars and drawn on a US bank) 2 UNITED KINGDOM / EUROPE AFRICA Send your entry and payment of £5 (or €8) per entry/picture to: International Artist magazine Challenge No. 142: Florals & Gardens 3260 N. Hayden Rd. Suites 201-203 Scottsdale, AZ 85251, USA Enter your Credit Card details on…

This year, the Portrait Society of America looks forward to celebrating another exciting year of portraiture during our 26th annual Art of the Portrait conference in Atlanta, Georgia, from April 25 to 28. Many new and returning faculty artists will be participating in crowd-favorite events such as the opening night Face-Off demonstration, Portfolio Critique sessions, Open Drawing Studios and the 6x9 Mystery Painting Sale. The top 20 finalists of The International, the world’s premier portrait competition, will exhibit their outstanding works in hopes of winning the Draper Grand Prize and over $150,000 in cash and awards. In preparation for our grand event, I had an opportunity to speak with a few of our new and returning faculty artists to discuss a range of subjects from technology and art to new…

Artistic inspiration can be triggered by the most unexpected of circumstances. Those of us living in New York remember vividly the spring of 2020, when the pandemic shuttered the entire city. That spring, ironically, was one of the most beautiful in terms of the weather, with long stretches of clear sunshine all of May and June. It was then that I rediscovered my deep love of Central Park, that 843-acre oasis that Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux created for all New Yorkers to share and enjoy. Drained of tourists, school and camp groups, cyclists, runners and motorized traffic, the greatness of the design was allowed to shine. My love affair with the park goes back to my childhood, to my teenage years playing frisbee by Bethesda Fountain, later taking…

In my painting world, I love realism. I would like my paintings to give the impression of photorealism, but as you get closer, you begin to see brushstrokes and abstract forms that give them a unique character. Someone once called my style “impressionistic realism,” and I agree with that term. Although my works may seem accurate from a distance, I paint them with few details, avoiding the precise rendering of each hair or eyelash. Oil paint is my constant artistic companion, allowing me to manipulate the paint on the canvas and blend it for a long time, which I love. As for the support, I always choose smooth linen canvas because I prefer to see the brushstrokes rather than the canvas texture. In my artwork, people play a crucial role.…

After a lifetime of painting, I want to take a moment to pause and reflect on the pure joy of a creative pathway. What a privilege it has been to be a professional artist and a teacher of the principles of painting across the globe. I cannot imagine anything more satisfying even with the bumps and lumps included. Each difficulty needed to be used as a time to reassess and perhaps change direction. I have had the absolute privilege of spending time under the guidance of some of the world’s leading artists—Daniel E. Greene, Judith Carducci and Tony Ryder to name a few. Listening to and working with those who have trod the path is invaluable and incredibly inspiring. It urges us onwards and clarifies our vision, and in my…

STAGE 1 BASIC SHAPE First of all, I try to find the most important spots. I usually use softer, wider pencils or charcoal sticks. To soften the strokes, I use paper shading. STAGE 2 SKETCHES OF FACE At the next stage, I make primary sketches of parts of the face. So that the white background does not distract, I apply the tone with a pencil and soften with a shading stick. STAGE 3 DETAILS OF FACE AND VOLUME IN HAIR At this stage I’m working on the details of the face and also adding volume to the hair with a graphite pencil and charcoal. STAGE 4 THE HEAD If I draw a portrait with hands I always try to complete the head first because it helps me to draw the…

I paint landscapes, waterscapes and I cityscapes in a style I call “raw, real and reimagined.” They are original compositions of “real” subjects that combine the influences of the “raw,” expressive paint style of the Bay Area Figurative Movement with the hyper colorful effects of the Northern California painters. After finding an interesting and unique composition, I “reimagine” the scene to discover the essence of a subject by first reducing all of the unnecessary information to its basic and essential shapes. To push beyond the familiar world, I create luscious planes of uniform color and highlight its linear structure to strengthen the composition. I experiment using colorful lines to separate shapes, create halo effects and enhance shadows. Unlike traditional landscape paintings that were painted in a horizontal format, I prefer…

When I started painting, making a better painting was very much a hit and miss affair. It wasn’t until I started painting in series, (in the fashion of Monet and many others) that I really started to improve. It’s called iterative painting—gradual improvements over several paintings. These days I use a mix of traditional and digital media for the sake of efficiency. I’m going to discuss one I did recently based on a trip I took to Tapotupotu in the magical north of New Zealand where we camped for two days. Great surf! I took loads of photos as resources for paintings, editing the color on my phone camera while on the spot in order to get the color as close to the scene as possible. I was hugely impressed…

This young lady sat for me a number of times, and with each visit there was something quite mystical about her. She didn’t talk much, but the slight changes in her features seemed to reveal perceptive notions flowing through her mind: a slight smile, a look of concern, a questioning moment. What she has surrounding her is a colorful universe of thoughts dynamically waiting to enter her mind or be released. Here she is like a fantasy for you to experience with me. Perhaps you can sense what her expression conveys.…