Innholdsfortegnelse for October-November 2025/No. 165 i International Artist

Welcome to the October/November issue! International Artist lives and breathes the growth of artists through education and demonstration. And all great artists deserve a cultivated personal book library. Our founder Vincent Miller believed this, and in the early days, circa 1995 to 2005, he dedicated many of IA’s pages to artist CDs and North Light Books (which you may remember). We can say with conviction that books have always been an important part of International Artist from the beginning. In this issue we celebrate artists who are authors with our annual 2025 Art Book Guide. Starting on page 21, we have selected 12 top books that have been chosen with care and presented with purpose by our editor Alyssa Tidwell. Our artists include Jerry Jordan, whose book Together Always Our…

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…

There is something uniquely satisfying about holding a book in your hands—that papery earthy scent, the tactile experience of turning the pages, the weight of it—and for art books in particular, the harmonious collection of artworks laid out side by side. In a world of increasingly digital media, physical books are truly special. Whether it be an educational publication or simply a showcase of an artist’s best work, art books feel almost like miniature exhibitions we can hold in the palms of our hands. We hope you enjoy delving into International Artist’s 2025 Art Book Guide. Each entry provides all of the information you’ll need to begin (or continue building) your collection, including pricing, page counts and contact details. Start carving out some space on those bookshelves. Explore International Artist…

I have always been drawn to the human figure. It can be portrayed in endless ways to produce endless effects, from tightly realistic to wildly abstract. As I have never been one to settle, my artistic pursuits meander and wind through different styles to satisfy my curiosity while searching to create something alluringly beautiful. This work, June’s Captivation, is an example of the departure from my more grounded outdoor figurative work toward one of tantalizing abstraction and wild paint handling. Through planning, building, scraping and changing, I have a chance to respond to the painting as it is being born, coaxing it toward its final state. I always want the figures to say something—to offer insight into themselves or humanity. With this type of work, though, I desire more. When…

A few years ago I realized that I was at my best when simultaneously painting and teaching. When I’m forced to explain what I’m doing, while I’m doing it, all cylinders are clicking. Teaching requires me to articulate each decision, which causes me to paint with greater clarity, brevity and intent. This has helped me nail down my personal aesthetic. When starting on a new work, I break down complex compositions into a few large shapes. As more shapes are added, the picture begins to emerge. I prefer to imply detail, adding just enough information for the viewer to complete the picture in their mind. Before painting a landscape, I scout around, squinting at different views to see if the composition and center of interest are still clear. I also…

Wildflowers I—July, watercolor, 6¾ x 10¾" (17 x 27 cm) Over the years I have created many paintings like this, an homage to the ephemeral nature of the living things I discover during my walks through the fields. These are, to me, visual poems, capturing a moment in time. I do not draw the subjects but simply arrange them on a separate piece of watercolor paper in a pleasing way, and then paint them alla prima, shadows and all, one by one across the page. It is a good exercise in seeing and always teaches me something about shape, color and value, and about nature. There is magic in the act of creating a drawing or painting. Where there was nothing, now there is something—beauty has been manifested, an object…

My artistic process is less about constructing and more about uncovering, like excavating something ancient yet familiar. I work intuitively, allowing each piece to emerge as a portal, a transmission, a symbolic tablet remembered rather than created. My materials are natural collaborators: coffee, wine, earth pigments and vibrational water. They hold memory, resonance and an aliveness that invites a deeper listening. My work explores mysticism, the symbolic language of numbers and the energetic architecture of existence. I see numbers not as calculations, but as living glyphs—a sacred language through which the soul communicates. This numerical symbology, combined with the unpredictability of natural pigments, guides the unfolding of each piece. I rarely begin with a fixed image. Instead, I enter the studio as one might enter a temple, with reverence and…

Welcome to the Art Industry Insider, bringing you tips and tricks on how to run your art business, increase sales and boost productivity, with ideas for marketing, advertising and more. This month I will be discussing some exciting software applications to help you run your business, ultimately giving you more time at the easel. In the past, various assistants, graphic designers and writers may have needed to be hired to help manage your art business. These days there are extremely clever software programs and apps that you can learn, quite easily, to manage your own business. We have mentioned some of these apps before, but their new versions have made them even easier to incorporate into your business. Canva Launched in 2013, Canva is an online design and publishing tool…

Scan for larger reference image 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!…

Before sitting down to write, I had to stop and ponder more closely what I’ve been thinking about lately when it comes to art. (I’m always thinking about art, always admiring it, and always feeling inspired by what I see.) Autumn is waking up, and bringing with it a change of pace. I don’t know if it’s simply my imagination, but I seem to be seeing more and more artwork of forest scenes, fall foliage and woodland creatures. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I find these subjects so captivating, both in art and in life. They stir something in my soul. This morning (as I write this letter), the harshness of the summer gave us a bit of respite with a cloudy, drizzly day. Immediately, I felt compelled to go…

ENTER OUR NEW ART COMPETITION CHALLENGE No. 151 Cityscapes See your work published in International Artist magazine and also receive a 4-page Editorial Feature in American Art Collector, the prestigious magazine read by collectors and galleries looking for new art work in the world’s biggest art market. Winners and Finalists in our competitions don’t just win awards to hang on their walls. The real value of entering and being one of the winners is that your work will not only be seen by hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide but also by leading galleries and collectors in America, the biggest art market of all. Our Grand Prize Winners receive a 2-page spread in International Artist magazine and a 4-page Editorial Feature in American Art Collector. Publicity at this level is priceless…

Children in the Field began as a color study, an experiment rooted in curiosity. After encountering E. Phillips Fox’s Moonrise at the National Gallery of Victoria, I found myself drawn to the subtle richness of its cool palette. Inspired, I began incorporating cerulean and ultramarine into my own work, pushing the overall tone toward cooler, duskier blues. The subject itself, a quiet exchange between two girls dressed in crisp white, provided the perfect stage to explore a lighting effect that has long fascinated me: that brief, magical moment at dusk when opaque objects shimmer and glow. Technically, I aimed to make each brushstroke work as hard as possible, to say more with less, while still enjoying the physical act of painting. As a father to a young daughter, what truly…

As a classically-trained portrait artist, I often focus on faces. In this demonstration however, I chose to focus on the hands. Often overlooked, hands are a kind of portrait in their own right and can tell stories just as powerfully. I was drawn to the challenge of rendering them in a way that communicates a narrative without relying on facial expression. My style continues to evolve as I experiment with texture and expanded color palettes. I’m especially interested in how pushing nuances of color and texture can be used not only to model form, but to guide the viewer’s eye. This piece unfolded over the span of a year. It was worked on sporadically, shaped by trial, error and constant reflection. Initially, the concept was based on the myth of…

Looking back, it seems inevitable that my love for both art and nature would intertwine, leading me to become an animal artist. However, teaching was never part of my original plan. I simply documented my paintings and drawings for me to use as an aide as I taught myself, first through photographs and later through videos. As interest in my techniques grew, so did my passion for sharing knowledge. Now, 25 years later, I have created over 300 lesson videos, helping thousands of artists develop their skills. And I must admit, I find just as much, if not more, joy in seeing my students achieve things they once thought impossible than creating my own artwork. Many artists feel intimidated by the idea of drawing and painting animals. They may have…

During a recent workshop in Africa, we painted a 900-year-old baobab tree at one of the resorts we stayed in. Rather than trying to introduce too much color to what was an almost monochrome subject, I decided to use a neutral black mixture. To mix this black I used ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson to achieve a strong, dark purple, then little by little, reduced the purpleness with the addition of a strong transparent yellow (quinacridone gold). Being transparent, it didn’t lighten the value of the mixture, which worked well for the baobab. The slight variation in color with different mixtures kept the painting interesting without needing to introduce any obvious color variations. Although the painting shown here was done with an almost monochrome palette the slight variation in color…

Milford Sound is unbelievable—essentially the eighth wonder of the world. It’s one of those rare places on Earth that has arranged itself as a perfect painting subject, perfectly side- and back-lit. No alterations necessary. It’s also somewhere I’ve dreamed of painting since I was a child, since we had placemats of this scene that captivated me at each meal time and inspired my first ever landscape painting at the age of 12. This scene is all about grandeur and creating the illusion of depth. There are seven visual tools we can use to achieve depth in a painting: » Scale makes foreground objects larger and background ones smaller to suggest distance. » Atmospheric perspective makes distant objects hazier and cooler in tone, while foreground elements stay sharp and warm. »…

Words cannot express my joy when I was commissioned to paint this portrait of Anne Murray in the year 1971, those many years ago when I was at the beginning of my career. I was unknown and yet given the honor of creating this artwork for one of the greatest singers of our time. I was there with Anne, presenting this portrait to her on stage with Lorne Ball of CFAC radio at the Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary, Canada. I feel totally blessed in having this portrait now on the cover of her new album Here You Are. Anne Murray’s music has touched so many people around the globe. Dear reader, I can tell you that listening to her songs on this record will have you bursting with even more…

British painter Frances Bell has just taken home the top prize from the Portrait Society this year, and the art world is buzzing. Her win cements her spot as one of the most exciting figurative artists out there right now. Bell is known for her powerful, emotional portraits and her incredible technique—combining classical skill with a fresh, modern edge that really connects with people. As her award-winning piece continues to earn praise from critics and fans alike, we take a closer look at the artist herself, her path so far, and the creative vision that’s put her on the international stage. Kimberly Azzarito: Congratulations on winning the Portrait Society’s Draper Grand Prize. Can you share the story and inspiration behind the winning portrait? Frances Bell: The initial idea was a…

The compositional structure of a painting acts as its foundation. Everything gets built on top of that, just as with a house. You may not see the foundation, but a house won’t stand without it. Paintings are the same. They need a compositional structure, an armature, to tie your image to the rectangle of your image. Then you use a few simple value masses to drive our visual engagement. This holds true for still life, landscape or figures. I’d say for non-representational paintings as well. And that is why I say structure first, subject second. It’s easy to get distracted by the subject first, a barn, a pot, whatever, and then you can find yourself buried in details, overworking and losing your way, over and over. But thinking about composition…

My watercolor painting Floating Memories was created in tribute to my Nanna, who often had camellias from her garden floating in a crystal dish on the dining table. As a child, I’d gently swirl the flowers in the water and watch the light dance through the cut glass. That memory came rushing back to me years later when I noticed blooms on my own camellia tree and instinctively placed one in a bowl of water, just like she did. That simple act became the inspiration for this painting. My style is grounded in realism, and I strive to capture delicate transitions of tone and light while preserving the softness that watercolor does so beautifully. With this painting, I wanted to honor the fragility of the flower and the complexity of glass…

When I first handed my daughter Georgie a sketchbook at the age of 11, I had no idea it would spark a shared creative journey that would define both of us. What began as a simple way to explore something new together has since evolved into a deeply personal collaboration, one where we combine precision and emotion to bring animals to life on paper. Our latest body of work, Baby Paws, features sleeping baby animals in fetal positions, each drawn at around A0 scale, paired with a hyperrealistic pawprint drawn by Georgia. Every creature is placed with intention using Photoshop’s composition tools, guided by the Fibonacci sequence to create a natural visual rhythm. The work is minimalist, always on a white background, always a single subject and always grounded in…

$ 48 FOR 6 ISSUES! 20 % OFF NEWSSTANDS! 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…