Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2024 i Artists Magazine

THE ADVENTURE OF COLOR The business of color is complicated. Andrew Wyeth spoke of a near madness in his efforts. Similarly, Claude Monet famously referred to color as his “daylong obsession, joy and torment.” And yet, the adventure of color is often at the root of artistic excitement. Like most things in art, there’s a wide range of opinion and approach. Where the aforementioned artists clearly thrived on the pursuit of a certain “truth,” other artists take a more interpretative approach to their color choices, following the liberating advice offered by Paul Gauguin: “If you see a blue tree, then make it blue.” One thing is for certain; everyone has a lot to say on the subject, and parsing through various color philosophies can be overwhelming. Also, what resonates for…

Seeing Anew A viewfinder is a tool that allows you to home in on a subject by observing it through a “frame”—typically one that’s rectangular- or square-shaped. It crops any scene or subject—from landscape to still life to portrait—by eliminating the periphery, which then allows you to focus on compositional possibilities. • Viewfinders come in various forms, from the tried-and-true fingers-and-thumbs formation; physical versions usually made from board or plastic (make your own from a piece of cardboard and cut the desired viewfinder shape); and digital options available through cameras, and tablet and phone apps. • Some apps offer a grid overlay option as you pan with the built-in camera, while others can add a grid over your reference photo. In both instances, the grid lines are helpful when transferring…

From illuminated manuscripts to ships in bottles to dollhouses, people have been captivated for centuries by tiny things and the skill it takes to create something at a small scale. Today’s social media public is no different. Take artist Remington Robinson. His miniature oil paintings, which he paints on panels cut to fit on the inside lids of Altoids mint boxes, have attracted the attention of more than half a million followers on Instagram and TikTok. Robinson captures vistas near his home in Boulder, Colo., as well as scenes from world travels with his partner. His everyday slice-of-life scenes—from coffee shops to mountaintops—are rendered realistically and created en plein air with a painterly touch. He mixes his oils right in the box and leaves them there to dry when he’s…

Italian-born Renaissance artist Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475–1564)—like Picasso, Van Gogh and Rembrandt—has achieved iconic status and one-word brand-name recognition. In the context of art history, there’s only one Michelangelo. His achievements as a painter, poet, sculptor and architect are well documented and, like Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), his elder and competitor, he was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the greatest artists of his era. The final decades of Michelangelo’s life were his busiest as an artist, and it’s these years that The British Museum, in London, focuses on in its major exhibition, “Michelangelo: the last decades,” through July 28. Drawings, poetry, architectural renderings and other ephemera on paper are at the center of the museum’s collection of work by Michelangelo. As one of the largest museums…

“I was a student, living in San Francisco, when I painted Russian Hill in Blue more than a decade ago. This particular scene was a view I encountered on one of the familiar routes I took to my studio. I’ve always enjoyed painting night scenes, rainy days and reflections—and especially a twilight setting. In this particular case, I was fascinated by the cold, blue vibe and how it contrasted with the warm lights from the vehicles’ taillights and the windows of the buildings. Picking up on the many abstract elements there were to play with, I used expressive brushmarks and simple shapes to describe the mood of the city. I’ve been painting this city for more than 10 years now—a creative investigation that has led me to explore and paint…

A self-proclaimed “arty kid,” Joetta Maue fell in love with art-making in high school. She embraced drawing, painting and ceramics, but her first hard crush came the moment her eyes fell upon a developing silver halide photographic print. From then on, she was thoroughly enamored with the light that could be captured and held through this chemical phenomenon. Bringing that pure love of photography to her undergraduate experience at The Ohio State University, she became entranced by the familiar, focusing her lens on framing, exposure and juxtaposition to make the ordinary new. “All through my undergraduate years, I was a pretty traditional color photographer,” she says. Upon graduation, in 2000, Maue began to feel borderline traumatized. Her collegiate work involved large-format camera color photographs—some as large as 40x60 inches. Finding…

Getting to paint on location in a beautiful setting is so inspiring, but it can be challenging, too. “There’s so much here—I don’t know how to choose what to paint.” These are words I frequently hear from students when we get into the field. Even as an experienced plein air painter, I sometimes think the same thing myself. Some locations just offer a wealth of possibilities. As frustrating as it is to have to choose, that’s what I have to do if I want to get anything accomplished. This is where my smartphone camera comes into play. By using it as a cropping tool, I can focus on what interests me and eliminate everything else. (A viewfinder or homemade tool also works for this.) First I zoom in so the…

Jessica Masters has always been fascinated by fluidity—the movement of water and the passage of time, in particular. These interests are evident in her expressive, nostalgia-inducing paintings of figures in water—whether at the beach, lake or pool—that connect viewers to remembrances of childhood summers, family vacations and personal histories. “I want my work to make people stop and reflect, slow down and take stock,” the Ontario, Canada-based artist says. “I want them to use my work to connect to their own memories.” WATER “BABIES” “My painting subjects always involve water,” Masters says. “After vacation trips, I make use of the many photographs I’ve taken to create a series of paintings.” These works always feature figures as well, usually members of her own family. “I’ve used my family members as my…

If you’re always performing, you’re never practicing,” a teacher once said at a lecture I attended. Imagine, for instance, if a professional basketball player only played in games but never practiced with the team. The player probably wouldn’t hold on to their position for long, much less continue to advance their athleticism. As artists, we need to practice continuously. If we’re only relying on tried-and-true techniques that we’ve developed and honed, we aren’t experimenting and learning new techniques to help us grow. With this in mind, I’ve developed an exercise challenge that has encouraged me and many of my students to practice on a regular basis. I call it “10-Minute Apples” based on the subject matter, but you can choose any subject you’d like. THE CHALLENGE The instructions are simple:…

My full travel palette holds more than 20 pigments, but on most sketching days, I’ll dip into just three or four. That’s really all I need, because a limited palette provides nearly unlimited chromatic and expressive possibilities. Since I often return to the same places again and again when I’m urban sketching, narrowing my palette is a great way to experiment with color combinations that create mood and atmosphere. The same scene will look markedly different depending on the time of day, the season and the weather—and will look just as different depending on the color triad I choose. The added benefit of a limited palette is, of course, enhanced color harmony. True, these colors may not always reflect exactly what I’m seeing but, then, I’m not taking photos. Instead,…

Painting largely near his home in central Virginia, Ron Boehmer’s paintings bring us a lush vision of the state’s rolling meadows, gloriously wooded hills and, above all, the shimmering warmth of its light. They’re pictures that steer clear of melodrama and theatrical gestures in favor of a deep and quiet consideration of the visual world. And yet, like a sports car sculpted to a cleanly minimal shape—when we lift the hood—we find an intensely dynamic world. Boehmer has a deep and broad knowledge of the history of painting, as well as admirable technical command, but he’s quick to describe his endeavor in much broader cultural terms. “Being a painter is a way of being in the world,” he says. “It’s not about the usual focus on materials and techniques, or…