Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2015 i Artists Magazine

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE the pleasure and satisfaction of creating a drawing on drafting film. If you’ve never worked on this unique material, you’re in for a pleasant surprise! Made of polyester, drafting film is flexible, durable, waterproof, impeccably smooth, colorless, semi-transparent and resistant to discoloration or rotting, making it a wise choice for a fine art surface. The best part of all is that the marks made on the film take on new characteristics; they are therefore easier to rework endlessly; you can lift and erase marks on drafting film more easily than marks made on pulp or rag papers. I choose to work on drafting film that’s frosted on both sides; this makes the film semitransparent and gives me the option of working on just one side or both.…

Given the quietness of Antonova’s paintings, it’s hardly surprising to learn that she admires the work of Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964) as well as that of the Jean-Siméon Chardin (1699–1779). Both these masters devoted themselves to still life painting, finding worlds of extraordinary richness and depth in the contemplation and depiction of common objects. Antonova also enjoys the work of Giovanni Battista Moroni (1520–1578), who created religious scenes and portraits with an unusual painterly command. Understandably, Antonova is an admirer of Willem Claeszoon Heda (1594–1680), one of the consummate still life painters of the golden age of Dutch painting. His work is both exquisite and dense as well as brilliantly organized. Of the 20th-/21st-century artists, she enjoys the work of still life painter Cristof Yvoré (1967–2013).…

I. Drawing: I began with a drawing on my Wacom tablet with a thin Photoshop brush, my focus mainly on composition, perspective and organizing all the elements. I inverted the drawing (white on black) to use as a reference point throughout the entire process. 2. Blocking: Using the lines of the drawing as a reference on a separate layer, I began a block-in. A layer is like a transparent paper you put on your image, but digital. I “paint” in Photoshop very fast and constantly make different artistic decisions to see what looks best. I picked colors from different references, photos or paintings; I changed the values, the hue, the saturation, etc. 3. Details: I refined everything before starting the more time-consuming stage: the details. I more precisely created every…

I’VE BEEN AN ARTIST FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. I sold my first art during summers growing up in Round Pond, Maine where I transformed shells into mice with pipe cleaners and googly eyes that were then sold in the local store. I BEGAN PEACEFUL NIGHT BY CREATING A BACKGROUND DRAWING, then tracing, cutting and gluing the collage pieces. I added several layers of acrylic paint for the noncollaged areas and outlined all the shapes with a small brush. I added three colors of tissue paper and used a process of twisting, braiding and gluing them together to form the tree and branch shapes and build up the tree so the image would seem three-dimensional. THE TREE TOOK THREE DAYS TO COMPLETE. I was…

IF THERE’S ONE THING we know about aging artists, it’s this: They’re adaptable, and far from stuck—in their ways or in their styles. Joan Jeffri, the director of the Research Center for Arts and Culture at THE LEGACY FUND at the Actors Fund did field research and more than 200 interviews to collect information from senior artists in the New York area. They’re collected in the report Above Ground: Information on Artists III: Special Focus New York City Aging Artists. (More information is available at artsandcultureresearch.org/ rcac.) “They (senior artists) have high self-esteem, tenacity, perseverance, put the good news and the bad news into their work and are models for society, often illustrating what the baby boomers seek—a life of meaningful engagement,” says Jeffri. “Seventy-seven percent communicate every day with…

Materials Surface: marble tile Preparation: clean sponge, 10-to-1 solution of Klean Strip muriatic acid and water, 320- and 400-grit sandpaper, water for rinsing, nitrile gloves Paint: oils (any brand) Medium: Any oil medium used for oil paintings done on commonly used surfaces can be used; I use Gamblin Gamsol (odorless mineral spirits), sometimes mixed with three or four parts of Natural Pigments Rublev Colours Sun-Thickened Walnut Oil. Varnishes: 1-to-2 solution of Gamblin Galkyd Lite and odorless mineral spirits as a retouch varnish for spot applications on duller areas, Gamblin Gamvar Picture Varnish as a final varnish Mounting: solid backing that can hold a screw, the appropriate glue to attach the backing to the marble tile; I use 1x2 strips of expanded PVC and Gorilla glue. ONE OF THE MOST ENJOYABLE…

RAYMAR, KNOWN FOR PRODUCING SURFACES of the highest quality, offers an extensive line of archival canvas and linen panels. The L64C Artfix Linen Panel is the company’s latest product. The portrait-grade panel features the elite, quadruple-oil-primed L64C Belgium linen created by the Narozni, a family who for four decades has been creating premium-grade linen in Provence, France, which has a climate ideal for slow and even drying of linen. This conservator-grade linen is then adhered to clean, oil-free 1/8 -inch MDF (medium-density fiberboard) using archival glue. The result is an elite museum-grade painting support. For the past several weeks I’ve had the pleasure of working on this beautiful surface. I was struck by the product’s fine-quality craftsmanship immediately after removing it from its custom plastic sleeve. The exquisite Artfix linen…

Materials Surfaces: cotton duck or linen canvas Oils: any high-quality brand; prefers Williamsburg Mediums: Utrecht Oil Painting Medium or a mixture of varnish, linseed oil and turpentine in equal parts Brushes: Utrecht bristle flats of various sizes Palette: Blick large paper palettes THE STILL LIFE PAINTINGS of Olga Antonova feature objects that have been loved, tended and cherished. Antique porcelain and china are painted with thoughtful delicacy to project a wistful, quiet and meditative atmosphere. The artist favors centrally focused compositions, and often a single object sits on a tabletop, placed close to the middle of the canvas. Antonova generally avoids perfect symmetry by positioning perhaps a handle or a spout to one side, but the centrality of the composition reinforces a sense of settled stillness. Symmetry and Space Even…

I use all kinds of palettes, from rectangular and oval wooden ones, to rectangular glass palettes, as well as gray and white disposable paper palettes. I favor a glass palette for its transparency, smoothness and ease of cleaning. I have a board underneath the glass that has a white and a gray side. When I’m working on a white ground, I use the white side; when I’m working on a toned surface, I switch to the gray. I do my initial mixtures on the large rectangular one laid flat on a taboret. During the painting session I’ll transfer the mixed paint to my oval palette, which I then hold in my hand to get closer to the painting, sometimes working at an angle. Occasionally, I’ll transfer the paint to my…