Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2016 i Artists Magazine

THIS ISSUE CELEBRATES NEW YORK, but not every featured artist hails from that great city. Susan Adamé has her studio in a town between Berkeley and San Francisco (“Speaking to the Spirit,” page 54); Juliette Aristides lives and teaches in the Northwest (Drawing Board, page 14), and Michael Chesley Johnson treks between New England and the Canadian Maritimes (Brushing Up, page 20). Like a lot of New Yorkers, Alexandra Pacula, whose glorious pictures are on our cover and above, was born somewhere else: Kraków, Poland. Coming from a Communist country, then “seeing the grandeur and glow of Manhattan was breathtaking to my 14-year-old mind,” she says. The city in paint: a fine celebration.…

“If someone tells you there is an absolute rule for making a painting, make sure that you break it immediately.” John A. ParksRead more of John A. Parks’s entertaining tips in his feature article, pages 44-53 . Gil Batle’s carved eggs tell stories from his incarceration, when he served time for fraud and forgery. The brutality he witnessed behind bars is often depicted in graphic detail across the shells’ surfaces, as it is in Abscond: Letters from Jonathan (above; carved ostrich eggshell, 6½x5x5), exposing the viewer to the hard truth of prison life—fragile and complicated, like the eggshells themselves.…

“Absolute black doesn’t in fact occur. Like white, however, it’s present in almost every colour and forms the endless variety of grays—distinct in tone and strength.” Vincent van Gogh MANY OIL PAINTERS are taught to avoid black because it deadens color. Instead, they’re told to use colorful darks, which give a painting more life. Yet historically, artists used black and black’s close relatives, the grays, for a variety of reasons: to darken colors, to create shadow and model form, to create a grisaille or monochromatic underpainting, and to create contrast for high-chroma colors. Today, we tend to use complements for some of these tasks. Even so, blacks and grays are still useful. DIFFERENTIATING BLACKS Most blacks, when examined straight from the tube, look black, but mixing them with a light…

“Van Dyck: The Anatomy of Portraiture” is on view at the Frick Collection in New York City from March 2 through June 5. ONE OF THE GREATEST ARTISTS OF THE 17TH CENTURY, Anthony van Dyck was a sensational draftsman, colorist and composer. A master whose paintings project absolute self-confidence, he was the quintessential cosmopolitan portraitist. His depictions of the court of King Charles I—in all its restless elegance—are not only the definitive imagery of the British monarchy in that era, but also stand as archetypal portrayals of aristocracy in general. Two hundred years after his death, van Dyck’s conception of portraiture was decisive to British painting and, even later, provided a prototype for the swagger portraits of Sargent and his contemporaries. Van Dyck’s skill and style are the subject of…

THE BUSTLING CITY LIFE AND NEON LIGHTS are calling, and we blame artist Casey Baugh. His latest series “Nocturnus” features nighttime cityscapes, dramatic lighting and mysterious leading ladies — an homage to the city’s siren call and somewhat dark allure. See Baugh’s new works at Arcadia Contemporary in Soho, New York City, and see more of his work at caseybaugh.com or on his Instagram @caseybaugh. GO TO ARTISTSNETWORK.COM/LEARNMORE2016  TO SEE BAUGH’S PREVIOUS FEATURE.…

TONED PAPER HAS MANY ADVANTAGES over white paper. The draftsman’s ability to utilize a broad palette of values with toned paper encourages a painterly approach. Plus, the combination of toned paper, charcoal, and white chalk creates a shorthand to the complex forms of the model, which becomes an easier way to create volume. FACTORS IN CHOOSING PAPER The paper best suited for charcoal requires a textured surface, or tooth. You can always touch the surface or visually inspect the paper to check its texture. There are pads of laid paper (characterized by fine lines), such as those made by Strathmore, and many options in single sheets. Some papers are soft, like Hahnemühle, making it easier to manipulate the charcoal while turning the form; however, soft papers can be ruined with…

RICHESON CASEIN Milled in Kimberly, Wisconsin, Richeson Casein is a quick-drying, aqueous medium using a milk-based binding agent. Known for their versatility and array of capabilities, caseins can be used to create a variety of effects—from rich opaques like oils to thin watercolor-like washes. In a mixed media application, the quick-drying nature of casein allows for immediate workability. Casein dries to a matte finish but can be buffed to a satin sheen. With age, caseins become impervious to moisture and can last longer than oils. For more information, visit RichesonArt.com . UTRECHT Have you tried Utrecht Artists’ Acrylics? While quantities last, get a free four-color sampler when you buy $25 worth of Blick® Studio Cotton Canvas! Handcrafted in Brooklyn, New York, Utrecht Artists’ Acrylics are prized by…

MG: How did you come by this opportunity? NS: Collaborating with Erin Benzakein of Floret Flower Farm was amazing. We were connected through a mutual friend and began a conversation about her vision; Erin wanted to create packets beautiful enough to keep. We decided it was a good fit for both of us. I have a piece of colorfully scribbled-on paper labeled “Nina’s First Drawing, April 1985,” when I was 1½ years old. Drawing is meditation for me—a place to turn off my mind and just flow. MG: What aesthetic did you feel best represented Floret Flower Farm? NS: My goal was to fulfill Erin’s vision. She wanted the drawings to be botanically accurate in a harmonized composition and with just a touch of magic. I focused on accuracy, with…

Parks has been teaching at the School of Visual Arts in New York since the early 1980s. Below is a sampling of tips he shares with his students: Most important!: Technique is the last thing you should worry about. In representational painting the most important thing to focus on is learning how to judge relative color and tonal values. You can do this only through the experience of painting while observing—continually measuring one value or hue against another and making corrections. It’s perceptual training, not the acquiring of a manual skill. Break rules: If someone tells you there is an absolute rule for making a painting, make sure that you break it immediately. Helpful tidbits: Having said that, here are some useful suggestions: Always mix plenty of paint. Always hold…

I HAVE BEEN FASCINATED with ink drawings by the old masters, especially Rembrandt’s, for some time now. I began trying to copy these effects in my own work but found that the black inks I had available were not achieving those profoundly subtle, beautifully tonal passages. I had read that artists of the past used organic materials such as walnuts and acorns to achieve those warm transparent browns. Following a recipe in a book, I tried without much success to make an acorn ink. Eventually I came across Tom Norton Walnut Drawing Ink (water soluble and available in two sizes of bottles). Although Tom Norton Walnut Drawing Ink can be used with fountain pens, I found that my best results were achieved with watercolor brushes of various sizes. Real walnut…