Creating Texture and Depth

Watercolor is one of the most popular art forms practiced today. It is used by every age and level of expertise and is enjoyed by all. Versatility is one strong reason for watercolor's continued growth in popularity. Virtually any subject can be captured with this medium and in any style and application. Read on as we explore one of the many reasons why watercolor challenges and motivates artists.

In a previous article, the excitement of creating and/or recapturing whites was explored. Now we will look at a near opposite: Rather than whites and open areas, we will explore ways to create depth and textures by employing simple and effective techniques of layering.

One very direct way to create specific shapes, control shadows and thereby create depth is by the use of stencils. Shapes are allowed to come forward by remaining clear and unobstructed while backgrounds recede into the scene with subsequent layers of color. Almost anything can be used as stencil material. Experimentation will allow you to match your painting style with the proper stencil material.

If you use a painting surface wet with lots of fluid and brushes that are charged with fluid color, you will want to choose a stencil material that is less likely to absorb water. Suggestions include: commercial stencil sheets (available at all art and craft supply stores) and special stencil board or sign maker's stencil paper (heavy wax-permeated card stock), both of which are available at art supply stores. Transparency sheets used with computer printers make excellent stencil material as do recycled meat trays and milk carton sections.

If you work with less moisture, even thinner papers such as conventional office quality card stock can be used. For one-use stencils for quick blocking out of general shapes, copy paper or recycled newsprint do a very good job. Each will absorb moisture and begin to deteriorate quickly, but for instant applications, they cut/shape/tear easily and are excellent for creating unique edges and shapes for special purposes. In each of these cases, the use would be momentary and the result spontaneous.

Other uses for any weight of stencil material, rather than direct painting over the open areas of the stencil, include spattering and stippling of paint. With spattering, tiny droplets are broadcast over a specific area of a painting. If your stencil or block-out material is in place when this action is taken, a shadowy and soft image is implied. With subsequent applications of spatters, a rich and finite depth can be produced. Create droplets by charging an old toothbrush with paint and rubbing across the bristles or using an old stiff paintbrush the same way. Spattering is especially valuable to the watercolorist, as it never removes color in the process of adding new tones. All existing color stays put while the new spatters of tone are applied over the existing layers.

Stippling is best accomplished with a dry brush, lightly tip-charged with color (or with an airbrush). Drive the brush tips against the surface of the paper within the open areas of the stencil. Add more texture and color for more drama or apply the color very lightly for a soft and delicate look. Dry brush paint application of stencil designs is a fast and accurate way to duplicate important details such as fabric prints, wallpaper patterns and other repetitious designs in your work. Remember, too, that by flipping the stencil to the back side, you automatically double your patterns and the uses of the stencil designs.

For more sophisticated or intricate patterns, it will be necessary for you to cut a design from your chosen stencil material. Begin by carefully drawing the design onto the stencil paper. Use a cutting instrument of some sort (stencil or frisket knives or other razor-sharp blades) to carefully cut along the lines you have drawn. What you will create in this cutting process is actually two stencils: the positive and the negative of the same image. Both are very valuable and can be used from both the front and the back sides, resulting in actually four stencil images.

Tear sheets of newsprint into random strips to create very simple images and textures. One very good use of torn stencils is to create a landscape scene with multiple "hillside" or mountain shapes, each fading into the next layer. The strips can be used first from the front and then from the back to create double images. Note: Care should be taken with any wet surfaces. Allow the strips to dry between uses or create several strips for your landscape recession.

Masking fluids, those used to protect paper surfaces and thereby retain bright whites, can be used as brush-on stencil material, too. Remember to brush the masking fluid onto dry painted surfaces so that it will adhere and do the job you intended.

Even found objects can create dynamic textures and depth. Consider all types of screening, webbing, and netting--virtually any item with tiny holes or openings. Each can be used in repeated layers to impart exceptional texture and give unique style to your work.

Graphic Chemical & Ink Co. Printmaking, etching, blockprinting litho supplies. Silkscreen Trade Names: Perfection, Easy Wipe, Graphic, Sureset, Universal, Graphinx.

New Publications

While closed for a three-year restoration, The Smithsonian American Art Museum has a program to bring the art to the people via several exhibitions scheduled to tour the nation through 2002. Watson-Guptill is publishing companion volumes to serve as the official catalogs for the exhibits that will travel to more than 60 museums. Young America by Amy Pastan traces the transformation of the colonies into nationhood from 1760 to the decade after the Civil War. American Impressionism by Elizabeth Prelinger features the work of turn-of-the-century painters such as Twachtman, Cassatt, Hassam, and Prendergast. 112 pp, 60 color illustrations. Look for the next two books in the series in July.

The current exhibition schedule:

• Young America: June 21-August 13--Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE
• American Impressionism: June 17-July 30--Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY

In the Spotlight: Gagne, Inc.
Lightboxes

• Simple tracing.
• Slide and negative sorting and viewing (Most artists take slides of their work.)
• Dry embossing.
• As an aid in calligraphy.
• Stained glass layout and color matching.
• Quilting and other fabric arts (tracing patterns, double cutting material).

For simple tracing applications, standard lamps are acceptable. But for applications where correct color rendering is important, 5000K lamps (a Kodak standard) are essential. Products having color-corrected lighting are clearly marked as such.

There is a wide range of lightboxes available from many manufacturers. It is generally agreed that the amount and evenness (and sometimes the color correctness) of light are the most important features to evaluate. Most low-end lightboxes simply do not have sufficient light to show through even medium weight watercolor paper. Gagne's Porta-Trace is internationally renowned for meeting this requirement.

In addition, the work surface of the lightbox should be rigid stable enough on which to work with little or no "flexing" of the Plexiglas. And, thirdly, the frame should be durable enough to withstand the rigors of years of use and even "passive" storage without cracking or splitting.Gagne's Porta-Trace includes a complete line to meet the needs of everyone from professional to hobbyist: stainless steel frame units, portable solid oak frame units, table-mounted units, and the new ThinLite Negative and Transparency Viewer. Visit www.gagneinc.com.

Ellsworth Kelly (1923-    )

Born in 1923 in Newburgh, New York, Ellsworth Kelly is one of the leading American artists of the late twentieth century. A painter and sculptor, his paintings could be considered a link between Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism, although his work came after the Abstract Expressionist period.

Kelly's work is neither Pop nor Expressionistic but is instead hailed as modern Formalist and Constructivist work where the "subject" of the painting is considered its form, and nothing else is more powerfully stressed. It is nearly the reverse of the whole traditional process of "seeing" a picture. Pop Art also challenges the tradition of the "fine arts" and promotes the philosophy that this art is less a pure art form and more a celebration of mass art media--advertising, photography, and film. Abstract Expressionism is a near opposite of Pop Art and is much closer to the work of Kelly.

Ellsworth Kelly's work is referred to as "color field" painting and that also describes the work. Radical simplicity and purity of shape and color are terms used to define his work: pure color for its own sake and knife-edge sharpness in the contours that contain that color. In Kelly's works, large controlled areas of color exude a formal atmosphere and the canvas itself becomes the perceptual object. This challenges the viewer to participate in the work far more than traditional representation.

Kelly's formal art studies began at Pratt Institute in New York, and he later attended the Boston Museum School. After a period in the armed services during World War II, he moved to Paris (1948) and was one of the last American artists of his generation to seek inspiration and instruction in what was still the recognized capital of the art world at that period in history. It was while in Paris that Kelly met Dada artist Jean Arp (1950), and this was to have continued and strong impact on his work.

Following Arp's example, Kelly began to explore the laws of "chance and random selection" in his own work. Kelly used a cooler, more detached, near lyrical form of large-scale abstract painting, allowing this chance selection of color and pattern to bring life to his paintings. The formal composition, at that time, was created on a predetermined grid structure.

When Kelly returned to the United States in 1954, he moved to New York where he became one of the chief proponents of hard-edged abstraction. As early as 1950, Kelly had made sculptural relief works, but it was not until the end of that decade that his free-standing compositions were created. As he became celebrated for his large-scale monochromatic canvases, Kelly continued to pursue sculptural projects over the following years. One of the most well known of Kelly's works is Red Blue Green painted in 1963. In this work, the canvas is divided, not evenly but balanced, into three clearly defined sections. The tones of red and blue are deeper in intensity than the green, but the green shape extends between and under both the red and blue. By using color in smooth, sharply defined areas and in geometric balance, Kelly created a formal and scrupulous presentation of tone, shape and proportion. Another work that used these same tones is Green Blue Red (1964), which can be seen at the Whitney Museum in New York City. Blue Red Green (1962) can be viewed at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In 1986 Kelly created a sight-specific sculpture for the Cullen Sculpture Garden, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas. He conceived a triptych in sheet bronze, one of his first in that media. These three images, variations on the arc and the triangle, appear to float unanchored on the wall and cast constantly changing shadows across the mural surface. The placement on the wall suggests a random spinning of form, and the monumental bronzes seem to have been scattered across the surface in much the same way that Kelly's old friend Jean Arp used in his Dada compositions. Although the pattern seems random, it is known that much thoughtful interaction between the sculpture and the surroundings was used by Kelly.

Kelly's art, while observing the greatest possible purity of color, line and form, is always based on his perceptions of the real world around him. These perceptions come from both urban and natural landscape environments. Paintings may be based on careful observation of shadow play, from the curve of a bridge or hillside, the shape of a doorway, or the pattern of windowpanes. But it will always be Kelly's interplay of color and form that is a joy to view.

Purity, simplicity, color, balance. Whatever influence was imparted by previous abstract artists by the elements of earlier art and architecture, Ellsworth Kelly is recorded as one of the most important American artists. His sculpture works exude the same style and characteristic economy. Among other locales, works by Kelly can be seen at the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) the Tate Museum (London), Oklahoma Museum of Art (Oklahoma City), and The Art Institute (Chicago).

New Scholarships

Wendell M. Upchurch, Manager of Education and Technical Services for Winsor & Newton and a friend to many in the art materials industry, passed away in March. In a fitting tribute to this longtime dedicated and well-respected employee, Winsor & Newton will offer Wendell M. Upchurch Memorial Scholarships to entering college freshmen or currently enrolled upperclassmen. The scholarships are open to students pursuing combined studies in the visual arts and sciences, requiring that the student pursue course work in both disciplines. For further information, contact Winsor & Newton at (800) 445-4278, Ext. 7215.

Summer Arts Institute

In order to accommodate people's needs, The Women's Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY, is offering instruction through a series of weekend workshops and opening the studios up for rental during the weekdays for participants who wish to stay on to explore individual projects and ideas. The Summer Arts Institute 2000, running from June 24th through September 17^th, features workshops on various techniques of printmaking, book arts, papermaking, photography, clay, and pastel painting as well as magic books and paper toys, the presentation of creative proposals, and much more. Small classes insure a productive workshop experience, and early registration is recommended. And, yes, men are encouraged to attend and are welcome. Call (914) 658-9133 for further info; www.wsworkshop.org.

Etch Your Sketch

Printmaking is a very ancient art, used in the beginning by book illustrators and document specialists. Most of the methods used by those early printmakers can be duplicated today, but it is also possible to streamline the process considerably.

In the form of a simplified definition, an etching is a print created by detailed drawing that is etched, or scribed, onto a metal plate. The plate is then pressed against paper to reveal a mirror image of the scribed lines on the master plate. Both in ancient times and today, this definition is still correct, although the contemporary application can have many nuances.

A plate made of zinc can be scribed with any number of sharp implements to create a well-defined line. (These plates can be found at any art materials store.) The line created by the scribe acts as a channel into which the ink is rubbed, and then the ink is coaxed off the plate and onto the printing paper. These lines, if viewed microscopically, have tiny burrs along both sides, created by the act of eroding the surface of the plate with the scribe.

Much of the character and charm of etchings is due to the look created by printing a well-inked plate of lines (and burrs). The resulting print contains a spontaneous style, even though well thought through and well developed, and is unlike any other type of "drawing." Varying degrees of ink application can create entirely different moods when the print is created. More ink left on the master plate will yield a darker, richer toned etching. If scant ink is left on the plate, a softer, more demure effect is achieved.

Special scribes, available at art supply stores, are designed for comfort during the "scratching" and "gouging" that one does to create the image on the plate surface. These scribes can be created by using found objects as well, although the hard steel used for commercial scribes works best on zinc plates.

Inks vary greatly, but most are permanent and have an even consistency--qualities that are vital to the printmaker. Permanent ink allows color washes to be added as desired, creating a hand-colored etching. Even consistency is vital to an even ink application on the plate. Excess ink is first applied to the plate and then most of it is removed. Evenness is insured by rubbing the remaining ink into the surface of the plate with a smooth cloth. This cloth lifts the final ink excess from the plate and forces the ink into the lines and against the burrs. Once completed, the plate is ready to print.

Printing is best achieved with the use of a special etching press. This press consists of an adjustable roller, containing lots of pressure and a bed or base onto which the plate is placed. When the plate is passed between the roller and the bed of the press, the dampened paper is squeezed against the plate. The result is an even, perfect rendition of whatever image was scribed and inked onto the plate.

Another option includes the use of hand burnishing the image from the plate to the paper. All preparation and inking is the same, but rather than using a press, the artist presses and rubs the image from the plate to the paper using man-made pressure from the back side of the paper. A smooth spoon or stone can be used to press (burnish) the surface and to draw the ink from the scribed, inked lines on the plate. Either way, the end result is an exact mirror image of the design on the plate.

Contemporary techniques sometimes bypass the zinc plate in favor of a piece of acrylic sheeting (Plexiglas). Using acrylic sheeting means that the scribing can be done with virtually any sharp implement. Anything from pushpins, to darning needles, to nails to the same scribes used for metal plates can be used. Etching artists often scavenge for offbeat scribing tools. Some even employ the use of electronic rotary tools to scribe and gouge and etch the plastic surface. Inking is done in exactly the same way as with metal, as is printing.

The paper used for etching can be one of many. Copperplate paper, although designed primarily as an engraving paper, is often used because it has two great qualities useful to the printmaker. The first quality is its "stretchable" strength. It has great give, and this is important when printing over the edges of thick plates or when any topical relief is used on the master plate. The second quality is smoothness. Copperplate paper is very smooth, and any paper with a smooth surface is a good choice.

Papers with texture will struggle with the fine lines of your design and may cause some loss of detail. A soft paper might be a better choice than a hard one, depending on the situation, because soft papers yield easier and will reach into the scribed lines to pull out the ink. Although white, cream, beige and soft gray papers are most prevalently chosen for printmaking, colored papers in coordination with colored inks can create dynamic looks.

If you are ready for a new discovery, try etching. There is little cost involved to experiment: A piece of acrylic sheeting, a sharp implement for scribing, ink, paper, a smooth spoon and you are set to go. You'll soon want to investigate further and progress to traditional tools and materials!

Handling and Care of the Airbrush

To most artists, airbrush maintenance basically means keeping the airbrush clean so that paint flow is uninterrupted. But another aspect of maintaining the airbrush deals with proper handling and care to prevent damaging the components of this highly sensitive tool. This can occur when the airbrush is dropped, mishandled, or sometimes lent to a friend. Let's look at the parts of the airbrush and how they apply to its proper performance.

1. Airbrush Needle All internal mix airbrushes have needles that run through the body to control the flow of paint. These are honed to an extremely sharp elongated tip that, if bent, will result in an undesirable spray pattern. The harder the material of which the needle is made, the harder it is to bend the tip. (The most durable needles are made of stainless steel.) Damage can occur to the needle during the cleaning process when it is removed from the airbrush. Upon replacement, it can accidentally press against metal parts, thereby "hooking" the very fine tip. This may be remedied by rolling it between two flat metal objects, gently twisting the needle to straighten it. Be aware that if straightened too many times, the result will be tip breakage and replacement will be necessary.
2. Head Assembly/Tip If this part--which controls the atomization of the spray--becomes dented, the performance of the airbrush will be compromised. This can occur if dropped onto a hard surface (and this will bend the needle, too). If dented, it must be replaced, and the parts are readily available at art supply stores. When the head assembly is replaced, it must be seated properly and tightly. Years ago airbrush tips were sealed with beeswax, and then they were sealed with metal "O" rings and after that with PTFE "O" rings; and today there are self-seating tips and head assemblies. No matter which type is being replaced, it must be seated tightly so that there is no air leak; otherwise, the airbrush will have a pulsating spray. However, be careful not to over-tighten a head assembly or the threads might break off inside the body of the airbrush. This would necessitate the tool being sent back to the manufacturer for repair.
3. Trigger/Back Lever On some airbrush models, when the needle is removed for cleaning, the trigger is susceptible to falling out of the body, and the small spring-loaded return mechanism located behind the trigger can fall out or drop down into the body of the airbrush. This can be a real nuisance, but everyone who has ever owned an airbrush has been faced with this problem and been successful in replacing the parts. Once the mechanism is back in place and the needle is reinserted, be sure that the trigger and back lever are aligned properly so that the needle can slide through without the tip being bent.
4. Threads/Cross-Threads Anywhere objects are threaded together on the airbrush you must be cautious of cross threading, e.g., where the air hose attaches to the airbrush and where the head assembly screws into the body of the airbrush. Otherwise, an air leak may occur.
5. Handle There are a number of types of airbrush handles, and in many instances artists work with the handles removed. These were designed to cover and protect the needle and the inner-workings of the airbrush. If you work with one of the new handles in which the needle can be removed from the back of the handle or if you work with the handle removed, there is a strong possibility that at some point you will hit the back of the needle against something and either wedge the needle or split the airbrush tip. Because of this, it is best to work with handles that cover the needle completely.

The airbrush is a durable, precision instrument. But, as with any precision instrument, it is susceptible to damage if handled improperly, so handle with care.

Expo Planned

Airbrush Expo International will be held the weekend of June 24-25 at the new Atlantic City Convention Center. Airbrush enthusiasts can meet manufacturers, see new products, view demonstrations, meet top airbrush professionals, learn hot tips and tricks, and take advantage of show specials. FREE admission. Call 1-800-876-2472 for further information.

Winners Announced

Six individuals will be inducted into the airbrush "Hall of Fame" as winners of the 2000 Vargas Award from Airbrush Action. Robert Anderson, Guy Billout, Peter Lloyd, Tom Nikosey, Peter Palombi, and Kim Whitesides will receive their awards at Resorts International, Atlantic City, on June 23^rd at the 15^th anniversary dinner.

News:

Auction Results Reported - At Christie's auction of impressionist and post-impressionist art, $20.9 million won the bid for Monet's Nypheas, part of his water lily series. A record was set for Caillebotte's L'homme au balcon, boulevard Haussmann, at $14.3 million. At the 20^th Century art auction, Picasso's Nature morte au tulipes, a portrait of his mistress, fetched the tenth highest price for any piece of art ever sold at $28.6 million. A record was set for Matisse' drawing Study for Pink Nude at $2.6 mil. Meanwhile, at Sotheby's sale of impressionist and modern art, 42 of 50 lots were sold for an impressive total of $140.3 million.

Memorials Dedicated - The Ronald Reagan Peace Garden, which commemorates the end of the cold war, has been dedicated at Eureka College in Illinois. The former President was a 1932 graduate of the college.

--The Oklahoma City National Memorial was recently dedicated in Oklahoma City. Visitors pass through a bronze gate to a field below with 168 stone chairs, each engraved with the name of a victim of the bombing of the federal office building. The husband and wife team of architects are Torrey and Hans-Ekkehard Butzer.

New Program Founded - The Ford Foundation has established a program called New Directions/New Donors that will provide $40 million in one-time challenge grants to 28 arts institutions that have creative new programs. Included in the visual arts realm are the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, and SITE Santa Fe.

Wax Sculptures Coming Your Way - You'll soon be able to see your favorite celebrities and public figures in wax. Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum is under construction in New York at 234 West 42^nd Street and is tentatively scheduled to open in October. Artisans who take 250 intricate measurements of body proportions and create the sculptures from visual observation and photographic analysis will create the likenesses of the 200 figures. The company expects 1.8 million visitors a year to view these incredibly accurate images.

Prize Winners Announced - The winners of the annual Rome Prize Competition have been announced by the American Academy in Rome. Among the various categories, Visual Arts winners are Dara Friedman, Lyle Ashton Harris, Gary Hill, and Donald Lipski; and History of Art winners include Jennifer R. Bethke, Charles M. Rosenberg, and Stefanie Walker.--The Whitney Museum of American Art announced that its first Bucksbaum Award goes to Paul Pfeiffer, a New York artist who will receive a $100,00 stipend and a residency.

Exhibitions:

San Francisco, CA--Legion of Honor--Wayne Thiebaud: A Paintings Retrospective--This first major retrospective in nearly two decades brings together 100 of the artist's major oil paintings, watercolors and pastels drawn from numerous public and private collections. Opening June 10 through Sept. 3. Travels to Fort Worth, Washington, D.C., and New York City.

New Orleans, LA--Museum of Art--Half-Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks--Opening June 3 through August 27; and The Golden Years of Faberge: Objects and Drawings by Henrik Wigstrom--Opening June 17 through August 20.

Stockbridge, MA - Chesterwood - The 2000 season offers an exciting menu of events, tours and programs that are made to order for lovers of American history and art.

• The c.1820 barn has been renovated to accommodate the installation of a major new exhibition, Daniel Chester French: Transforming a Nation Through Sculpture.
• The 19^th Annual Chesterwood Flower Show, June 25 and 26, Summer's Compliments, features floral arrangements in the historic rooms and porches of the residence and studio.
• Contemporary Sculpture at Chesterwood '00, opening July 1^st through October 13^th, allows visitors to compare diverse styles and materials, both past and present. Guest curator is art critic Donald Kuspit, who has assembled a group show of work by members of the Sculptors Guild, a national association of professional sculptors.
• Andrew DeVries Sculptor-in-Residence Program: Demonstrations, Exhibition and Lectures, July 1--September 3, will feature the noted sculptor in a presentation of bronze casting demos and an exhibit of his works, as well as demos and lectures by other sculptors and artisans on such topics as marble carving, enlarging sculpture and mold-making.

For info on these and other programs and events, call (413) 298-3579, Ext. 215; www.chesterwood.org.

Chicago - The Public Art Program was established to implement the city's Percent for Art Ordinance, enacted in 1978.

• Riverwalk Murals: A series of ceramic murals by artist Ellen Lanyon installed on the SE end of the Riverwalk consist of 16 narrative panels and 12 decorative panels installed along parallel walls of the Riverwalk Gateway. They trace the history of the Chicago River from the explorations of Marquette and Joliet to the modern day.
• City Gallery in the Historic Water Tower: Through August 2000, City 2000 features a continually changing exhibition of photographs taken to document Chicago In The Year (CITY) 2000. About 100 photographers are creating a visual diary of the year, focusing on all of the city's 176 neighborhoods.
• Adler Planetarium: Featured outside is America's Courtyard by Brazilian artists Denise Milan and Ary Perez. This symbolizes a harmonious partnership of the Americas and consists of a 30-foot-wide area of four concentric circles of hand-cut granite with white marble centers.

Mountainville, NY - Storm King Art Center - Joining the impressive collection of works at this outdoor sculpture garden is a special exhibition by Andy Goldsworthy through November 15. Developed from three years of the artist's experiences in the Center's landscape, the monumental commissioned sculpture Wall That Went for a Walk (Storm King Wall) at 2,278 feet long and comprised of 1,579 tons of field stones--is accompanied by photos, drawings, and ephemeral works. www.stormkingartcenter.org.

June Birthdays:

  6    Diego Velasquez
11    John Constable
        Julia Margaret Cameron
13    Christo
17    Charles Eames
28    Peter Paul Rubens

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Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 10 No. 8 -- June 2000