Artist Daily

Attack of the Masses

Robert Stollar — Thu, 23 May 2013 03:14:00 GMT

I want to say a few things about massing. There are a few basic rules in figure drawing that will deliver results, but underlying them all is massing. If you cannot master massing, no matter how much you know of all the other elements of drawing, there will always be something missing. Somehow it just will not be quite right. So if you're not already versed in massing, give it your best and results will follow almost immediately. Drawings by Albrecht Durer. What is massing? To force images into...(read more)

Join the Controversial Conversation

MaureenSharon — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:43:00 GMT

The moment the June issue of The Artist's Magazine hit the newsstands we started to receive a deluge of letters of protest and of praise. The cause of controversy was an article I’d written on the work of social realist Max Ginsburg, whose beautiful Swing graces the cover. Ginsburg’s immediate subject is the city of New York but the incendiary work in question shows the horrors—both physical (on the enemy/victim) and moral (on the warrior/perpetrator)—of war.

I invite you to join the conversation, as our September issue will feature our readers’ letters and Max Ginsburg’s response. Also in the June issue are articles on nocturnes in pastel (Stan Sperlak), improvisations in acrylic (Robert Burridge) and still lifes in both oil and pastel (Claudia Seymour), plus answers to your questions on using water as a medium for acrylic, advice on entering art fairs, and, as always, much more.

--Maureen

Versions, Variations & Copies

SABennett — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:10:00 GMT

A Collector's Decision to Commission a Reinterpretation of an Existing Work of Art

Patricia Watwood has explored her decision to paint a second version of one of her most well received works, Pandora. She described her thinking about doing the second work as well as her discussions with the commissioning collector. As that collector, I had my own concerns.


The variations in the detritus around Pandora, both the 2011 and 2012 versions.

The starting place for any later version is, of course, the first work. When I saw Pandora on "Women Painting Women" (a great site), I could tell it was extraordinary. This led to a phone call with the disappointing news that Pandora had been sold. I now had a choice: walk away, pick another work, watch Patricia's inventory for something that appealed to my sensibilities, or commission a variant.

In our conversations, Patricia and I were both intrigued with the idea of a "second version" but, at the same time, wary of it. So, we talked about "variations." How many times did Pearlstein render the same scene or Munch paint The Scream? (Munch made four variants, none identical). In any case, we agreed that painting an idea for the first time is wholly different from painting it again.

In the end, we agreed to a reinterpretation: use the second time as an opportunity to see it anew, correct anything not liked, experiment with prior ideas not implemented. We also discussed ways in which the first painting could change: rearranged or different "junk" around the figure, different dimensions, a new model. Patricia rejected this suggestion as she had a rapport with the first model, so we agreed that she would work from life a second time. Everything else, esp. how closely to follow the original composition, was left to Patricia. I didn't need to see the work in progress nor did I ask for sketches. I wanted Patricia to follow her own instincts.


The variations in the feet of Pandora, both the 2011 and 2012 versions.

If you have read Patricia's comments, clearly painting the second work was a learning experience and a metaphysical journey. In the end, I was surprised at how much the two paintings resemble one another. Indeed, had Patricia asked me about tracing version one as a starting place for version two, I would have discouraged her. Nevertheless, for me as a collector, I found the result to be the gratifying outcome of a trusting collaboration that resulted in another extraordinary work of art.

Undoubtedly, viewers and artists will want to place the two variants side by side for comparison. For me, however, I think the two works stand alone and together quite nicely. I wouldn't change a thing.

--Steven

Seeing Double?

Patricia Watwood — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:34:00 GMT

I just finished a very interesting commission. I've shared my oil painting, Pandora, on Artist Daily before. It was one of the central paintings from my 2012 exhibit at Forbes Gallery. I got a lot of positive feedback on that painting--and then got an inquiry from a collector, "Is Pandora still available?" Happily I had already sold it, but the collector and I started talking about doing a second version, and the historic tradition of multiple versions of successful paintings. We both agreed that a commission of a second version would be a great project.


These two images are so similar, you could do a search and find for small details. I even have to look twice to figure out whether they are the same or different. Pandora by Patricia Watwood, 2011, oil on linen, 30 x 26.

I'd never done an autograph copy of a fine art oil painting before, and I did not want to just make a copy of the first painting. How could I make another one and create the same level of quality and freshness, rather than a technical repeat that wouldn't have the verve of the first? I think we've all seen 2^nd and 3^rd versions of famous works by artists in museum exhibits, and there's often a sense that the first is the best one and the others are derivative. So, my challenge was to make a second version that was every bit as "first rate" as the original.

The collector and I agreed upon some basic working strategies. For one thing, I would not copy the original oil painting, but re-create the painting from life--particularly by doing the figure work again from the live model. I would also re-set the "still-life" objects that create Pandora's seat--the pile of junk around her in the foreground. I recreated the set-up and placed the objects so that the composition would be an improvisation on a theme, rather than a rote repetition of the details. Lastly, I made the picture at a slightly different size--two inches larger in each direction.

To proceed, the first thing I did was make a full-size black and white copy of the original painting (from a photograph of the artwork), and transfer that to the new canvas. I rubbed soft pastel on the back of the paper copy, and scribed the lines on the front with a pencil to transfer the drawing. Next, I did my underpainting (in my usual limited palette) by copying the original painting. After that was mapped out on the new canvas, I set the original aside and began to finish the second painting on it's own, referring to the first only to check general color and value consistency and design.


		Pandora 2012 by Patricia Watwood, 2012, oil on linen, 32 x 28.

In the end, I was very pleased with both the process and the result of the second work. Repeating the composition caused me to reflect on how a personal visual language has been developing through this work, and others I'm making in this vein. I was no longer asking myself: "How should I do this?" and "Where should this hand go?" I could dwell on larger questions like: "What is personal and meaningful about these things I'm painting?" and "How can I give this more deftness and grace?" I'm learning that this is one of the great boons of working on a series--that you can dig deeper into the "why," and explore variations rather than building the machine from scratch each time. I made the figure just a bit bigger--and learned how just a small change in scale can change the impact and technical handling in the figure. There were a few passages that I kept almost exactly the same, and that gave me confidence that "Yes, I did like how I solved that problem last time." Like anything we repeat, practice makes perfect. The second painting went very smoothly, and I felt increased confidence in the execution and result.

I'll leave you with a word of praise for the art collectors out there, who play a crucial role in the development of an artist. I have been lucky enough to work with a few collectors who are deeply committed to cultivating art and talent. When you have a patron who is both setting a high expectation, and trusting you to be your best self, the outcome can be optimal for both parties. Collectors who buy the work of living artists get to go to "Art Heaven," and this direct support of artists makes the world a better place for all of us who strive for the continuance of excellence in the arts. So, thank you, dear collector.

--Patricia

Summer Wind Patterns

Robert Reynolds — Thu, 09 May 2013 03:43:00 GMT

As we all start getting ready to step outside our studios and paint outdoors or create studio landscape painting based on our experiences in nature, I wanted to explain the design elements that I put together for this particular painting, Summer Wind Patterns . Summer Wind Patterns by Robert Reynolds, transparent watercolor painting on rag paper. The location for the painting is the California High Sierra and the lake is known as Silver Lake. Over the years, I conducted many, many outdoor watercolor...(read more)

From Nature's Tinest Creatures to Her Broadest Feats

johnandann@theartistsroad — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:04:00 GMT

The patterns of nature inspire our artwork. One of the most fascinating recent discoveries is the intimate relationship between the patterns found in nature's tiniest creations to the patterns found in her broadest, most sweeping productions. The apparent chaos of nature can now be understood in terms of repeating patterns which can be mathematically described. There seems to be an interconnectedness in the patterns and rhythms of all of nature. A photograph of frost. Scientists have applied...(read more)

Painting the Brightness of Sunlit Snow

johnandann@theartistsroad — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 03:44:00 GMT

The large snow storms that graced our area this winter gave us opportunities to study the unique light, colors and shadows that only snow cover provides. Painting snow presents many challenges to the plein air painter--the least of which is the cold. The primary difficulty is the intense light reflected by the snow. This causes us to squint down, and in so doing we darken the entire scene before us somewhat. This is fine when painting the lights, but it gets very troublesome as we peer into the shadow...(read more)

A Passion for Gardens

johnandann@theartistsroad — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 03:19:00 GMT

We are not alone as artists in our passion for gardens. We follow in the footsteps of several rather impressive artists throughout history. Our personal gardens are designed for plein air painting and inspire us in every season. But this year, we have an opportunity to paint and teach in gardens that dwarf our own -- on the remarkable grounds of Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. These will be the first plein air painting workshops ever offered in Longwood Gardens. We will have the...(read more)

Adept in Every Genre

MaureenSharon — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:44:00 GMT

Discovering David Ligare's work was a great gift. Adept in every genre, he is master of composition, light, and color. With a classical sensibility and an ardent love of antique Greek and Roman culture, he is simply brilliant, and his work is beyond gorgeous. (One of his landscapes is on the cover.)

This May issue of The Artist's Magazine celebrates the range of media that contemporary artists are lucky enough to work with: in addition to oil painting (Ligare); we have colored pencil (Joseph Crone, John P. Smolko, Arlene Steinberg, and Shawn Falchetti experiment with different surfaces in order to attain odd and enthralling effects.); acrylic painting (Mark Mehaffey tests JKHolbein's new line of paints and Charles Gibbons infuses abstraction with an Eastern mysticism); finally, Stephen Quiller relates the history of an ancient medium, casein, and shows how it can make a splash in the present and future. We're very proud of the issue and we think you'll love it, too.

--Maureen

Editor, The Artist's Magazine

Serious Serendipity & More

MaureenSharon — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 03:29:00 GMT

So excited about the April issue of The Artist's Magazine!

We first saw the painting now on the cover of our April issue, Aine, Death Valley (oil painting, 20 x 30) when we were judging entries in The Artist's Magazine's 2011 Annual Art Competition. We loved Katie's work, even though she didn't (that year) win a prize (next year she did!). Our very own Christine McHugh (managing editor for The Artist's Magazine) had a lively chat with Katie and the result is "Serious Serendipity."

While Katie is as impulsive as she is talented, Argentine artist Alejandro Rosemberg is grounded in the classical tradition. Read about his measured approach in the April issue as well ("Classical Style in a Contemporary Context"). Finally, Cherie Haas and I took a trip to a local framer's studio to get the scoop on the newest and most archival ways to frame works on paper for "In The Frame." All this and more in the April issue, on sale now. Don't miss it.

--Maureen

Editor, The Artist Magazine

100 Reasons for Pastels

Anne Hevener — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:18:00 GMT

Every year, we invite pastel artists to enter their work into our annual Pastel 100 competition, now in its 14th year. And every year, we receive thousands of pastel paintings. I am always stunned by the fantastic variety of the work and the extraordinary level of talent. We celebrate the impeccable skill and infinite creativity of today's top talents with a selection of the "best 100." Pastel Journal Grand Prize: Miles to Go by Elaine Lierly Jones. This showcase of art can be seen...(read more)

Find That Dominant Sensation

Juliette Aristides — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 03:08:00 GMT

The Clubfoot Boy by Jusepe de Ribera, oil on canvas, 1642. Art...has the power to make any spot on earth the living center of the universe; and unlike science, which often gives us the illusion of understanding things we really do not understand, it helps us to know life in a way that still keeps before us the mystery of things. - William Steig, Author of Sylvester and the Magic Pebble The Vertical The vertical-horizontal framework remains inherent in visual composition, just as the measured beat...(read more)

Long Live the Explorer

johnandann@theartistsroad — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 03:46:00 GMT

The last two centuries, in particular, witnessed the final great explorations of the surface of the planet by scientists, geographers, and surveyors. In those pre-photography days, and for a while after, artists were an integral part of any expedition. Often these artists were also trained naturalists, or even doctors, performing double-duty as members of the team. Artists could render what words could not, and the men who funded these expeditions understood that the public responded with great interest...(read more)

The Emotional Bridge Between You and Your Viewer

Juliette Aristides — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 03:19:00 GMT

"A line is a path that can offer an interesting and varied journey, rhythmic and with occasional, pleasurable surprises. Thus is one tempted to take the journey again. " -Krome Barratt, Logic and Design: In Art, Science, and Mathematics Creating representational art is challenging; a satisfying visual event requires more from the artist than simply transcribing nature directly. With the many technical hurdles to be surmounted in order to get an image to look "right," artists often...(read more)

Stairways to Heaven

johnandann@theartistsroad — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 04:56:00 GMT

"Of the original phenomena, light is the most enthralling." - Leonardo da Vinci Crepuscular rays are those wonderful beams of light we see at the beginning or end of the day that appear to radiate from the single point of the sun and stream through gaps in the clouds or between other objects. Their name comes from the Latin word "crepusculum", meaning twilight, and refers to their most common occurrences during the hours around dawn and dusk. They have long been sources of inspiration...(read more)

Painting Fog and Mist

johnandann@theartistsroad — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 04:41:00 GMT

Recently, we received a good question from a reader about how to paint one of our favorite landscape subjects--fog and mist. To understand how to paint light effects, it can be helpful to have a basic understanding of why things work the way they do. Light starts with the sun. As it penetrates our thin shell of atmosphere, it is diffused, or broken into different wavelengths. We perceive the result of this diffusion as the general color of sunlight. The sky is not really a blue substance but sunlight...(read more)

Black and Blue and an Indigo Bunting

johnandann@theartistsroad — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 04:08:00 GMT

When is blue not blue? Ask any Indigo Bunting and they will tell you, "When it is black!" This is because the feathers of the diminutive Indigo Bunting are not actually blue, they are black, and only appear blue to us when they are in direct sunlight. Their feathers are structured of materials that refract, or bend sunlight in such a way that only the bright blue light spectrum is reflected back to our eyes. When the bird is in shadow or indirect light, we see the true feather color and...(read more)

Drawing Side by Side, But Never the Same

judith St. Ledger - Roty — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 04:12:00 GMT

The more I think about and experiment with drawing techniques, the more I understand the extraordinary range of opportunity that drawing offers the artist, whether the drawing is intended as a preliminary sketch to a painting or a drawing in its own right, or the opportunity to experiment with a new skill or practice an old one. The artist of this drawing also cropped the composition tighter, yet another difference between the two drawings seen here. What is also fascinating is seeing how artists...(read more)

Being Human, and All That

Carolyn Henderson — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 05:11:00 GMT

"You know, it's not a sin to make mistakes, fail to succeed on the first (or 45th) try, or generally show that we're imperfect. The unspoken strictures that some businesses, churches, schools, other establishments place upon their members or employees make following the 10 Commandments look pretty darn easy." --From Start Your Week with Steve, the free weekly e-mail newsletter of Steve Henderson Fine Art.

Painting materials aren't free and time is precious -- that being said, if more artists would worry less about creating the perfect painting and more about experimenting as a painting artist and getting better at what they do and the painting techniques they employ, then they would sooner reach a consistency of quality as a painting artist and create artworks with which they are delighted, time after time.


It's a great big world out there, and we're a part of it. Dream big and work hard in your painting art. The rewards will follow. Diaphanous by Steve Henderson of Steve Henderson Fine Art.

But if you skip that stage -- the one where you practice and try and say, "Oh, what the heck; if I don't like it, I'm out a little paint, the canvas, some time -- but I've gained in experience and wisdom" -- then you'll find that you're so worried about perfection, that you never achieve it.

There are enough people in our lives expecting unrealistic things of us that we don't have to be one of them. Falling down isn't failure. Trying and not getting it quite right isn't tragedy. Doing something completely different, just because, isn't a waste of time.

Go for it. Grab a different painting brush. Use a color you usually avoid. Shake around your subject matter. Play with your paint and see where it takes you on the next step of your journey.

--Carolyn

Ever Hear of the Purkinje Effect?

johnandann@theartistsroad — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 04:13:00 GMT

Have you ever noticed when you are plein air painting how the colors of objects look so radically different in the very low light just before dawn or twilight? Take a red rose, for instance. We know that the flower's petals are bright red against the green of the leaves in daylight. But, take a look at dusk and you will see that suddenly the contrast is reversed, with the red flower petals now appearing a dark red or dark warm gray, and the leaves appearing relatively bright. Moon Walk by John...(read more)

Power to the Pencil

johnandann@theartistsroad — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 04:10:00 GMT

With so much interest in plein air painting these days, it's easy to overlook how important drawing skills can be to the landscape painting artist. Fundamentally, drawing is both a way of seeing and a way of knowing a subject. If you can draw it, then you own it. It is in your visual library and can be recalled when needed. But the act and art of drawing goes much deeper than a mere recording process. For the artist, drawing is how we know the world. It is an expression of life and evidence of...(read more)

Dark Shadows

johnandann@theartistsroad — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 04:30:00 GMT

Why go to the trouble of painting from life when our cameras can take such great pictures? Digital cameras have gotten so good at taking properly exposed, beautiful photos that they can fool us into thinking that they are also accurate. To be sure, the technology packed into even an inexpensive camera is incredibly powerful, but that technology comes with a big bias toward the "pleasing" side of things. Pleasing the greatest number of people may be a good marketing strategy for camera makers...(read more)

Turning a "Glance" Sketch Into a "Stare" Drawing

judith St. Ledger - Roty — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 04:38:00 GMT

Recently I have been sketching on the train and in the train station. It took me quite a while to get up the courage to do it, and so far it is going well, though the process is different than when I am drawing in class. When I sketch in the train station at least, I just look around and see something that I am attracted to, like a blue suitcase with a weathered purse sitting on top of it, and I capture the object of my gaze in a few lines. Formal drawing is different--a more thoughtful process than...(read more)

Investing in Art

Carolyn Henderson — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 04:31:00 GMT

I love my Honda Fit. And while that may seem to have nothing to do with art, actually, it does.

You see, I drive my Honda Fit everywhere and in the process of its being used it gets dusty, the tires see wear, the interior windows next to where my Toddler sits get coated with whatever sticky stuff she's got on her hands and smears onto the glass. (I know. I don't want to know much more than that, either.)


Art pays off in happiness dividends. Instantly, a fine art painting or any other kind of art provides color, depth, and emotion to our life. Dancer by Steve Henderson of Steve Henderson Fine Art.

Honestly, if I kept my Honda Fit inside the garage and never drove it for, say, 10 years, it would look exactly the way it did the day I bought it and I could resell it -- maybe at a profit -- because it would be such a great investment!

But you know, people don't buy cars to keep as investments. They buy them to drive in them, and when it's the right car, like my cute, sassy, blazing barbecue orange Honda Fit, they enjoy the process.

If more people thought about making art this way, more people would own and enjoy painting art. But all of a sudden, when people look at a painting, they go into this "I Must Make a Profit on This" investment mode -- even if the artwork they're looking at is a limited edition print for $80. Somehow, they tell themselves, if they purchase this, they need to be able to resell it, ten years down the road, for $200, because that's what you do with art -- you buy it as an investment.

As an artist -- you've heard this before, haven't you?

What a sad, limited world view, one that keeps people from enhancing their aesthetic lives and their home's walls. The best reason to buy painting art-or any kind of art for that matter -- is because you like it, because when you see the oil painting or the print on your wall it makes you happy, because you want to have it in your life, because -- like my Honda Fit -- it's smart, sassy, sophisticated, and fun -- in short, that painting is You.

That's most likely what you want people to say about your own painting art, and that's why you buy the work of other artists yourself. Let's be bold about this and counteract this pervasive investment message and, one by one, we'll let people know that great art is a great investment because it pays off, instantly, in happiness dividends.

--Carolyn

Read Drawing Magazine? Take Our Survey & Tell Us What You Think!

Austin R. Williams — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 19:53:00 GMT

Our goal is to make every issue of Drawing magazine as informative and inspiring as possible. In order to achieve this, we need you to share your thoughts about the publication. Before February 28, please take our reader survey, where you can tell us what parts of Drawing are most useful for you and recommend artists to be featured in the magazine. Everyone who takes the survey will receive a discount on future purchases at the North Light Shop and will be entered for a chance to win a $100 gift...(read more)