Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2022 i Artists Magazine

Portrait painting has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been consistently working to get better at it since my early 20s. I began these efforts as a student in Florence, Italy, where I studied traditional methods of drawing and painting that had been passed down to my teachers from genuine masters of the 19th century, and I continue to hone these skills today as a drawing and painting instructor. Alla Prima Studies Skill-building is a complex endeavor for artists. First, we need the right theories, and then we need to follow through with the right exercises. I’ve found there are two approaches best suited to the practice of painting: There are longer studies, made over the course of many days or weeks,…

“IF THE HUMAN EYE IS OBSERVING A WORK OF ART, IT'S LOGICAL IT WILL SEEK A HUMAN FIGURE IN THAT IMAGE TO MEASURE FORM.”—JOHN ROMAN I’ll never forget the words of my high school art teacher: “An artist is a person with a sketchbook attached.” In the age of digital imaging, the convenience of the mobile phone as a storehouse of personal observations and memories imperils the art of sketching and diminishes the artist’s relationship with this traditional, and vital, art practice. It need not be a case of sketching versus photographs, however; with a little planning, one can find benefits in both. Travel, in particular, provides an opportunity to combine the best of both media. Whenever I visit a new location, I’m busy taking photographs of things too fleeting…

The Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was a statue representing the sun-god Helios. Attributed to Chares of Lindos, it was erected on the Greek island/city of Rhodes in 220 B.C. to commemorate the city’s victory following a two-year siege. In 1883, Emma Lazarus wrote the sonnet “The New Colossus” to raise money for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The poem would later be inscribed on a bronze plaque inside the pedestal. In contrast to the Colossus of Rhodes, which celebrated keeping invaders out of Rhodes, Lazarus’ poem invites people from other lands into the United States, offering hope for a new and promising start in life. The New Colossus Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride…

Sarah Creasman (sarahcreasman.com and Instagram: @sarahcreasmanart) has been painting for as long as she can remember. She graduated with a BFA from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in 2009. Although she went on to become an attorney, she still makes art daily—both in the form of commissioned work and as a hobby. The artist’s personal work focuses on domestic interiors and domestic narratives. Her paintings have recently been featured in The World of Interiors magazine, Create! Magazine and The Scout Guide.…

Pen-and-ink doesn’t require much investment to get started. “It can be a relatively simple and inexpensive medium,” Dunn says. “You really only need pen and paper to get going. Of course, as with any medium, there are various options to expand your arsenal.” The following list details the artist’s preferred supplies: Pens: Sakura Pigma microns, Copic multi-liners, Bic ballpoints Brush Pens: Tombow hard and soft brush pens, Pentel brush pen Dip Pens: Tachikawa pen holder and custom-made pen holders used with the following nibs: Hunt 102 and 104, Speedball B6 and Zebra Comic G model Ink: Higgins pigmented ink and Dr. Ph. Martin’s India ink Pencils: HB/B medium-grade (“not too hard, not too soft”) Surface: Canson mixed-media paper, Strathmore mixed-media paper, cold-pressed and hot-pressed watercolor paper, Bristol board Erasers: kneaded,…

SURFACE: I stretch cotton duck canvas over wood stretcher bars. Once I have the tension I like, I size the surface with two coats of rabbitskin glue. Then I apply an oil painting ground, sometimes adding an oil ground color—usually Indian red. I prepare several surfaces at a time, so I always have a stack of prepared canvases. When I’m ready to begin a painting, I’ll decide on the shape and size of the canvas I want and square it up, using standard rectangles (2x3, 3x4 or 4x6 feet). Square canvases are the most difficult because they don’t have the directional tug of a rectangle to counter. If an old canvas is in good condition, I’ll paint over the top of the picture. PAINT: I’ve used Winsor & Newton Artists’…

The interdisciplinary multimedia artist, performer and musician Raúl de Nieves (Mexican, 1983–) is a bright light in the contemporary art world. His exultant work references the traditional culture of his Mexican roots, religious symbols, folklore and mythology. As an aspiring artist, de Nieves turned down his acceptance to the California College of the Arts because of its high tuition costs. He moved to New York City in 2007, and in 2014 he completed his first life-sized work, Day(ves) of Wonder, a sculpture of a toddler, meticulously constructed with colorful plastic beads. Three years later he was invited to participate in the 2017 Whitney Biennial, for which he created an installation enigmatically titled Beginning & the end neither & the otherwise betwixt & between the end is the beginning & the…

“ÉDOUARD VUILLARD'S BOLD, YET EXPRESSIVE AND SUBTLE USE OF COLOR INSPIRES ME TO LOOK HARDER AT WHAT I SEE IN REALITY AND EXPLORE THE MANY POSSIBILITIES.”—@JANE.CROSSFELLARTIST Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (French, 1796–1875) excelled as both a landscape and figure painter. Other artists have done this, but what’s fascinating about Corot is that he peaked at the two distinct genres at very different points in his life. Between 1825 and 1828, Corot left France to live in Italy, ostensibly to study the Old Masters. His true calling, it turned out, was to produce dozens of small plein air paintings in Rome and the nearby countryside. The modest perfection of Corot’s Italian landscapes has never been surpassed. The artist painted Sibylle 45 years later, near the end of his career. In his 70s, Corot…

1 My vantage point—looking through a round window—produced an interesting reference photo for this painting. I drew the composition in graphite pencil on Stonehenge paper. 2 I blocked in the copper roof with a mixture of Hooker’s green, ultramarine blue and white. Shadows were indicated with a mixture of alizarin crimson and ultramarine blue. 3 I continued filling in the walls and roof on the right with Naples yellow, gold ochre, lamp black and white. When painting on toned paper, I add a little bit of white to all color mixtures. The opacity of titanium white makes the colors stand out, lending them a bright and luminous quality. 4 I painted the clay chimneys with cadmium red and white. The arch of the window was painted with a mixture of…

Rick Shaefer studied at Duke University, in Durham, N.C., and the Art Center: College of Design, in Pasadena, Calif. Seeking richer educational opportunities, he interrupted those studies to immerse himself in the art worlds of London and New York City. He received a B.A. from the University of Maryland while living in Europe. Shaefer built a 12-year fashion-photography career in New York before going back to painting and drawing. He has twice received a Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant and has exhibited his work widely in the United States at venues that include the Drawing Center, in Manhatten; the Plattsburgh State Art Museum, SUNY Plattsburgh; the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, in Ridgefield, Conn.; the Bellamine Museum at Fairfield University Art Museum), Fairfield Conn.; and the Haggarty Museum of Art at Marquette University,…

It’s not every day that someone trained for the medical field decides instead to pursue fine art as a profession, but this was the unexpected path for Jamaica-born, New Jersey-based artist Alphonso Dunn. Today the artist is well known for his dynamic work in pen-and-ink, charcoal, watercolor and mixed-media, and the days when science and art competed for his singular focus are a distant memory. “For as long as I can remember, I was a kid who loved science and math—and loved to draw,” Dunn says. “Juggling all three felt as natural as walking, so I never thought I’d have to choose.” As he grew older, however, he realized he’d need to decide how he wanted to make his living—what to pursue as a full-time profession—so he entered college with…

Dunn suggests keeping two sketchbooks going at once. Use one for planned drawings—your drawings that are more polished and finished, like his Drawing of a Greater Kudu, below, done in ink in a 7x5½-inch Moleskine sketchbook. “Keep a second sketchbook for everything else—your doodles, notes and experiments,” he says. “The other sketchbook is not for ‘perfect;’ it’s for progress.” To see all seven of the artist’s tips for encouraging a daily drawing practice, visit: artistsnetwork.com/go/drawing-routine.…

Fascinated by the light and power of the oil sketches of John Constable (English, 1776–1837), Barthorpe keeps a small book of his outdoor studies in her studio. She’s also drawn to the everyday subject matter of Paul Cezanne (French, 1839–1906). “He had the ability to create wonderful drama with apples and a jug,” she says. Barthorpe also finds herself returning to works by Georges Braque (French, 1882–1963) again and again, especially his tabletop still lifes. “The reality he creates seems to hang together only by a thread but is intensely powerful,” she says.…

“Color is best seen outdoors in nature, for without light, there is no color. Joaquín Sorolla was a great outdoor painter, and his colors are full of light—rich, deep and luscious. He could paint white in 100 different ways.” ANTONIO MASI ARTIST AND PRESIDENT, AMERICAN WATERCOLOR SOCIETY “Helen Frankenthaler, sometimes described as a Color Field painter, deserves praise for her use of color, applied in thin but powerful veils of liquid paint against an unprimed canvas. Her organic images are reminiscent of the forces of nature and yet remain calm, lyrical and expansive. Her large-scale paintings appear translucent, as color seems to spontaneously seep into and bind with the canvas, whether washed on with oil or acrylic.” JAYNE YANTZ INSTRUCTOR OF ART HISTORY, PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS “David…

SUBSTRATES • vellum and synthetic vellum • drafting film • Tyvec • a wide assortment of papers MEDIA  Charcoal: Mostly I use General’s compressed charcoal in pencil form. Occasionally I use stick or vine charcoal, and very occasionally I use charcoal powder as toner for the background. I also use liquid charcoal. Darkening media: The fixing process often tones down the charcoal in the deep shadows. To give those areas a boost, I use one or more of the following media: • Stabilo Aquarellable black pencil (I now also use this for general drawing.) • Conté watercolor pencil • ink, brushed on or applied with a brush marker • oil or acrylic paint, brushed into deeper shadow areas Graphite: I use this occasionally for light passages.…

Alphonso Dunn, of New Jersey, was born in Jamaica and migrated to the United States at age 17. Although he initially set out to make a career in medicine, earning a degree in Applied Chemistry from William Paterson University, an enduring passion for drawing led him to the New York Academy of Art, where he earned an MFA. The award-winning artist is also a popular art instructor, widely known for his lessons on YouTube and two instructional books from Three Minds Press: Pen & Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide and Pen & Ink Drawing Workbook. VISIT THE ARTIST’S WEBSITE AT ALPHONSODUNN.COM AND WATCH HIS TUTORIALS ONLINE AT YOUTUBE.COM/ALPHONSODUNN.…

The artist-model relationship is often profound and always complex. Exploring these partnerships can yield surprising revelations about artists’ personal lives and creative motivations. In the case of American-born artist James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), there were two women who played dominant roles in his life and in his oeuvre. The first was Anna McNeill Whistler (1804–81), the artist’s mother and his model for the now iconic 1871 work, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, more commonly known as Whistler’s Mother (page 66). The other figure was the artist’s mistress and business partner, Joanna Hiffernan (1839–86). The striking, red-haired model—who became an enduring and reliable muse—was a subject of interest among artists and art critics throughout Whistler’s career, and she continues to inspire investigation. The fruits of their creative partnership is…

Workshops Bob Ross Make that dream finally come true, take a Bob Ross painting class with a certified instructor, even if you’ve never painted before. These classes are local, virtual, or at the Bob Ross Art Workshop in Florida. Visit bobross.com and click Take-a-Class or call 1-800-262-7677. Year round for your convenience. Coastal Maine Art Classes in Rockland and Belfast, Maine July 12–15, 2022, Frank Eber WC Plein Air Beyond Technique. Finding Individual Expression! All levels July 18–22, 2022, Susan Abbott Oils WC Studio/Plein air Exploring the Maine Landscape in Color! Int/Adv July 25–29, 2022, Joe Lombardo Oils/Acryl Plein Air Coastal Maine Plein Air! All levels August 8–12, 2022, Ann Larsen Oils/Acryl/PastStudio/Plein air Capturing the Moment All levels August 16–19, 2022, Tues-Fri Barbara Nechis WC Studio Watercolor from Within! All…