Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Artists Magazine

“I could not paint at all if I had to paint slowly. Every effect is so transient, it must be rapidly painted.” — JOAQUIN SOROLLA If you want to find someone who knows the inner workings of ocean waves, either track down a surfer—or a seascape painter. A wave, they will tell you, is constantly on the move, and no two are alike. California artist Marcia Burtt (page 70) describes the challenge of trying to put down on canvas an impression of a wave in just a few seconds and then waiting for the next one to come along to provide another chance to revise the information and complete the effect. “You don’t realize how different the waves are until you wait for eight or 10 or 12 of them…

OBSERVING WATER AND WIND Blowing wind will affect the current in any body of water, which will, in turn, affect how you should paint its reflections. Unless water is running over a downslope, reflections will differ with changes in the wind. Still water is most often present when there’s no wind on small ponds and lakes. The reflections in these bodies are simple mirrors of the objects on dry land. Lazily moving water, on the other hand, has broken reflections, which make for an interesting subject. Wind might cause ripples, most common in rivers and streams, which distort the reflections so that they become barely distinguishable. Highly disturbed water, such as lakes and oceans on windy days, may completely distort reflections past the point of recognition. TIPS FOR PAINTING WATER…

Veteran New York artist Alex Katz is world famous for his highly styled paintings of people and landscapes. Now in his early 90s, he has authored a book, Looking at Art With Alex Katz, in which he talks about the work of some 90 artists and a handful of poets with the intimacy and candor you might expect when taking a walk through a museum with a friend. Opinions, observations and insights about artists from every age are delivered with an entertaining directness that makes for an engaging and illuminating experience. Like his paintings, the book offers readily accessible pleasures delivered with brevity and wit that are underpinned by a profound understanding of the ideas, techniques and possibilities in the world of art. KATZ ... ON KATZ Katz’s own contribution…

There’s a waterhole located about five hours from my home, and it has become one of my favorite painting locations. I like to reinterpret this subject by using the landscape as a springboard to create variations of paintings; four are seen below. I find that repainting the same scene—either on the same day or at different times of the year—facilitates greater creativity. Imagination and experimentation—and being brave—are the keys to unlocking creativity.…

The way Duncan starts each of her beach paintings instantly loosens her up and creates potential. “Without a lot of thought, I simply make as many marks as possible, splashing a wet brush on the surface or scribbling all over it with a graphite stick,” she says. After the first layer has dried, she comes at the surface again with at least two more layers, using different approaches, before rendering her subject over the layers. “As I continue to develop the painting, that initial layering will peek through in areas in unplanned ways,” the artist says. This adds liveliness to the scene, making it appear less flat.…

commissions are a sensitive business. Some artists consider them impositions on their artistic integrity. Others love the steady work but dread conversations with the client about the project. Yet others enthusiastically absorb clients’ suggestions and produce work on demand in a variety of styles. For most artists, commissions are a welcome source of income; however, they can be more than that. If you enjoy interacting with others, then working on commission can be a rewarding experience. THE CLIENT The most important aspect of accepting commissions is recognizing that the work will involve someone else’s suggestions and requirements. If you bristle at feedback, any commission you accept will become challenging, if not unpleasant. It helps to get to know the client in order to view him or her as an artistic…

BLICK ARTISTS’ WATERCOLORS Discover the perfect painting duo. Blick Artists’ Watercolors offer a wide selection of 63 richly pigmented colors to suit any scene. Pair the watercolors with Blick Premier Watercolor Blocks—the 100% cotton, acid-free paper is ideal for painting in watercolor, whether you’re in the studio or on location. DICKBLICK.COM HOME HOBBY BY 3L WATERCOLOR STUDIO KITS PLUS Learn how to paint in watercolor with award-winning artist Kristin Ranney as she guides you step-by-step in painting the Trio of Pears still life. Discover how to mix colors and show texture with watercolors. The kit contains a sketch and all the materials you need to create three paintings. HOMEHOBBY.COM FABER-CASTELL® ALBRECHT DÜRER® MAGNUS ARTISTS’ WATERCOLOR PENCILS Available as individual pencils or in assorted sets, these watercolor pencils come in 30…

Try this: Do four 10x12-inch paintings of the same scene, allowing yourself no more than 20 minutes for each. Use a fan brush for one, a palette knife for another, a square brush for the third and a round brush for the fourth. Each tool facilitates its own mark-making, and by experimenting with them, you’re developing your own artistic language, much like stringing together words in a poem. Consider how you want to express those “words,” or marks, and embrace them.…

Marcia Burtt creates bold contemporary landscapes in the plein air tradition, approaching her subject with a sense of adventure and discovery. As she describes her process, her voice conveys a thrill-seeking kind of energy—an energy that allows her to capture the fleeting, breathtaking moments that occur where light, land and water meet along the Pacific coast of California. Burtt is intrepid, trekking at any time of day, in all seasons, with her easel and paints to the numerous beaches, coves and islands that can be found a short distance from her central California home. “I live on a ranch, so there’s not much water directly around me,” she says, “but painting water is my favorite activity.” PAINTING WATER IN MOTION As long as she’s been an artist, Burtt has worked…

California SPECTACULAR MYSTERIES: RENAISSANCE DRAWINGS REVEALED J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM, GETTY CENTER • LOS ANGELES, CALIF.GETTY.EDU  • THROUGH APRIL 28 “Spectacular Mysteries: Renaissance Drawings Revealed” displays European drawings from the years between 1475 and 1600—the approximate dates considered to be the Renaissance period. These years were transformative for all sectors of cultural expression, but drawing, especially, became more sophisticated in execution and more integrated into the process of making two-dimensional art. According to the museum, “Today, Italian Renaissance drawings are considered some of the most spectacular products of the Western tradition. Yet, they often remain shrouded in mystery, their purpose, subjects and even their makers, unknown.” The exhibition will show rarely seen works from private collections, as well as drawings from the museum’s permanent collection. Museum Director Timothy Potts says,…

“Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935) was one of the leaders of American Impressionism. After studying in Paris, he returned to his native New England, where he often spent time at an artists’ colony on Duck Island, just off the New Hampshire coast. It’s there, where he enjoyed the sun-washed scenery, that he completed this canvas. Using swift, animated brushstrokes, he captured the sparkling summer light as it danced across the rocks, water and sky. The painting exemplifies Hassam’s concern with the play of light and color on surfaces.”MARTHA MACLEOD M.A., Curatorial Assistant, American Art Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas…

for much of his life, Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910) lived near water. The ocean became a central, if not dominant, theme in his work. It initially served as a setting for youthful recreation in paintings that celebrated children sailing, bathing or picking fruit by the sea. But by 1880, Homer had begun to withdraw from polite society, and the sunny mood of his early work evolved into something more serious. The dapper, cosmopolitan artist turned truculent, and his painting reflected the change. A summer trip to Gloucester, Mass., resulted in a series of radically expressive watercolors of the harbor. There followed what would prove to be a transitional 20-month stay in Cullercoats, on the coast of England. Handsome young fisherwomen populated these works, but they cut monumental figures, often set…

“The mollusk’s motto would be: One must live to build one’s house, and not build one’s house to live in,” wrote French philosopher Gaston Bachelard (1884–1962). As I caress nautilus and abalone shells, part of a collection I’ve acquired for painting and pleasure, I often muse about these sea dwellers’ unexpected ability to color the interior portions of their shells with iridescent rainbow hues. I find painting these colors diverting and challenging as I attempt to match the ability these mollusks have for creating vivid color inside their modest homes. IN VIVID, LIVING COLOR “Merely think, ‘Here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow,’ and paint it just as it looks to you.” — CLAUDE MONET The Society of Motion Picture…

IF YOU REMOVE THESE LINES IN THE PAINTING, THE COLORS ARE NO LONGER EFFECTIVE. —HENRI ROUSSEAU There’s a group of artists that fascinates me. They fall into a category known by a few labels, such as primitive, naïve, brut, or outsider. In essence, these artists are untrained but certainly not unskilled. They’re people who are motivated by their need to make art, even without the benefit of an instructor. Often these artists pull their materials from whatever is available, sometimes even resorting to making their own pigments. I think this drive to create is something many of us relate to. A number of years ago, I discovered a wonderful museum in Baltimore—the American Visionary Art Museum—which is devoted to telling the stories of outsider artists and their work. It’s certainly…

Soak It All In Keep a kitchen sponge on your palette to absorb water from your brush after you rinse it. You can also use the sponge to wipe off your palette after you’ve finished painting. Just make sure you rinse the sponge periodically, as trace amounts of paint are sure to accumulate. “Watercolor is the first and last thing an artist does.” —WILLEM DE KOONING Incredible Vanishing Lines Want to avoid those graphite sketch lines that sometimes show through a finished painting? Draw your compositional sketch in watercolor pencil instead. It’s best to have a good idea of your color palette before you start, as your line work will blend in once you introduce watercolors. Break an Egg! Channel your inner Botticelli and try working with egg tempera, a…

Pick any road in the Australian bush, and acclaimed artist Ken Knight has likely driven it. “I know most roads in Australia, I reckon,” he says. “I’m on the road three to four months a year. That’s where I get all my primary material. I’ll stay in a pub or hotel and travel in a different direction to paint each day.” Since his first exhibition in 1979, Knight has traveled the globe to paint and study—Amsterdam, Paris, Egypt, London, Iran, Alaska, Kashmir, to name just a few locations. Next year, he’ll embark on his most ambitious trip to date: to Antarctica to paint icebergs, glaciers and coastal mountains. ENDLESS PAINTING MATERIAL As stimulating as the international trips are, though, Knight has never tired of painting the quiet, rural landscapes of…

Watercolor is one of the most popular paint media—and for good reason. The medium is affordable, easy to transport and, oh, the creative possibilities it offers! Anyone can enjoy painting in watercolor, but to stand out among the crowd takes something special. The Splash book series presents the works of outstanding contemporary watercolorists from around the globe. This July Splash will unveil its 20th volume, featuring 125 works centered on the theme of creative composition. It’s another reason to be impatient for summer, but to make the wait a little easier, the following pages offer a sampling of what to expect. LORRAINE WATRY Colorado Springs, Colorado Splish Splash watercolor on paper, 15x29 “The white feathers and bright orange beak of the American white pelican against the dark water caught my…