Part 1 - Prehistoric Art

Long before the now famous cave paintings were discovered in the caves of France and northern Spain, the Old Stone Age of man existed. There was little time for creation of art of quality and sophistication; survival, alone, required all the energy of man. Simple, crude tools were about the extent of his art during this period that lasted roughly four thousand years.

In 1879, a local resident and non-expert who was researching the origin of man accidentally discovered paintings in caves of northern Spain, where he had already found carved bone and flint pieces. Because of the fear that the drawings were not authentic, it wasn't until the early years of the 20th century that the drawings were deemed authentic by the experts. This was possible by the discovery of similar drawings in France by a recognized archeologist. Both caves gave us a glimpse of the intelligence, imagination, and creative power of these early humans. In these now famous drawings, early man allowed us to see back into his time. We see the animals and scenes that share his experiences, the continuing process of survival and existence. It is estimated that the drawings were created over 15,000 to 10,000 years B.C.

Two boys playing in a field discovered more caves in France as late as 1941. Their dog, following a ball, disappeared into a hole, and the boys followed the barking. They ended up in caves where, by match light, they first viewed what are today considered the most outstanding of all prehistoric art--images of cattle (with distinct shapes and horns up) and horses running alongside, all life-size.

With this art, man made a crucial breakthrough and became truly human. Through the recognition and creation of these simple images and symbols, human intellectual and imaginative processes started to function. Because the paintings were situated deep within the caves and not easily accessible, it is thought that their very location suggests strongly that these drawings were magical to the prehistoric hunter/artist. For instance, the paintings are never found in parts of the caves that were inhabited or near daylight, which rules out any decorative purposes of the work. The remoteness and difficulty of access to the sites suggest that they appear to have been used for centuries by different hunters and that early man attached mystical significance to the paintings. Because of the extreme likeness to the actual creatures this ancient hunter stalked, it is thought that the paintings also represented his control over his prey: life-sized, realistic animals.

Another element of the works is the hunter/artist's use of natural irregularities in the surface of the cave walls to create projections, recessions, and the illusion of real life in his forms. A swelling outward could better define the bulk of a beast's body. Natural rock shapes of clouds or foliage, the profile of a mountain or shapes of eroded earth, it is thought, were used to help the artist create the shapes of man, animals, and objects. These illusions of shapes helped to further the magical connection between artist and scene painted.

The use of the outline of the hunter/artist's hands is also of extreme importance. It is the closest thing to a signature offered by anyone of that time, and very few visions of man were ever included - only hand shadows. The animals were of extreme importance to early man, at least to the hunter/artist, because any drawings of man were crude, stick-like figures, compared to the life-like renderings of the animals.

Centuries after the cave paintings were created, this same reverence for secret and mystical places became a familiar part of religious architecture. Thousands of years following the paintings in the deep recesses of those French and Spanish caves, cave-like spaces were the sanctuary where the most sacred and hidden mysteries were kept and where the god dwells in silence. These features of the sacred environment were already present in the architecture of the caves, and the central theme has never been lost despite all of its variations.

It is also significant that the miracle of abstraction - the creation of images and symbols - should have taken place in just such a secretive cave. For abstraction is representation, a human device, by which not only art but also science comes into existence. Both art and science are methods for the control of human experience and power over the environment. And that, too, was the end purpose of the hunter/artist - to control the world of the beasts he hunted. Making the image itself was a form of magic, for the hunter/artist fixed and controlled the animal within an outline. From this, all the rest would follow. These drawings were also believed to enhance the hunter's luck.

Even though in his paintings Paleolithic man avoided nearly all self-involvement and always disguised himself, his art should always be thought of as art. It is not simply that he made images, but that he made them skillfully and beautifully. The art in the caves of France and Spain is extraordinary art. From the splendid horses and cattle to the bison and deer, each image is full of strength and remarkable grace.

(Look for Part 2 -- Egyptian Art in a future issue of ARTtalk.)

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

Create-A-Kit: Art On The Go

Have you ever been in a scenic setting where nature is bursting with color - clear blue water and perfect clouds, or perhaps snowfall on spruce trees that looks like a scene from a greeting card? But you find yourself with no means of recording it! Take some tips from fellow artists and create a carry along art materials pack, ready for use anytime, anywhere.

Watercolorists may choose from a number of brands of fine quality paint that come ready-to-travel in small metal or plastic palette boxes. Most of these compact boxes have a partitioned lid that is a ready-made palette for mixing, and a few sets contain small water flasks. Travel shampoo bottles make great water flasks for water media. If you prefer a specific palette, pack small tubes of color into a lidded travel soapbox. The lids of these boxes close securely and can hold a fair number of tubes. Acrylic artists have the option of buying tiny "start-up" sets of basic colors. These, too, can be packed into a snap-lid traveling soap caddy. To this you can add a few brushes and you are ready to go.

Paper, rag board, canvas paper, gesso panels and other materials (even canvas boards) can be cut to fit within the confines of a gallon size plastic zip-close bag. This will insure the materials stay clean in virtually any traveling conditions, and the dry paintings can be stored in the bag without fear of damage caused by accidental contact with moisture during the trip. A layer of paper toweling between each sheet/board/panel gives you a ready supply of blotting cloths so you are never without that essential of painting.

A travel toothbrush caddy is great for short handled brushes, regardless of medium. If you wish, you can trim the length off a couple brushes so that they will fit in your new traveling brush caddy. You can also wrap a couple of your favorite brushes in a washcloth or small rag if that better suits your needs. Either the caddy or the bundle will slip into your zip-close bag for easy travel and material organization.

After you create your kit, keep it ready to go. It doesn't have to be the perfect painting set-up. This kit simply gives you the opportunity to do quick works and value studies and record life as it is happening. It can be fun to create and you can personalize it to suit your style, needs and budget. You never know when you might get an opportunity to use it, so be prepared!

New Colors from Jacquard

Projector Update from Gagne

As part of their ongoing overall design efforts to continually improve their lightboxes, light tables, and opaque projectors, Gagne (Porta~Trace) has announced a change in the color of the TraceMaster and the TraceMaster Deluxe opaque projectors from black to white. In addition to giving the products a snappy new look, this change significantly enhances the projection by much more efficient use of available light and allows each of the models to run that much cooler than competitive models. See Gagne's line of products at www.gagneinc.com.

New Products from Strathmore

The back-to-school season is quickly approaching, and students should see their retailer for several new products from Strathmore. The 300 Series Mega Newsprint Pads for practicing sketching or preliminary drawings have 20% more paper--FREE. Tape bound with a rough finish, the pads measure 18"x24" and are available with either 60 or 120 sheets. A long-time staple for charcoal and pastel artists, the 500 Series Charcoal Pads are now available with all black sheets of 100% cotton fiber paper with a traditional laid finish that provides precise shading control. These are spiral bound and available in three sizes with 12 sheets per pad. The new Field Drawing Book with heavyweight 80 lb. cream drawing paper is available in two sizes, 50 sheets per book, while the new Black Field Drawing Book, with all black paper that is excellent for colored pencils and the popular gel pens, is also available in two sizes, 50 sheets per book. And the 400 Series Pastel, ideal for oil pastels and suitable for soft or hard pastel, is now available in sheet stock in Peach, Pink, Aqua, or Iris.

In the Spotlight: Fredrix^®

Desktop Inkjet Print Canvas

Fredrix^® is the oldest (1868) and largest manufacturer of artist canvas in America. For centuries, the artist painted the original on canvas, but the reproduction was always on paper. But now, with the development of specially coated Fredrix^® Desktop Inkjet Canvas, you can print on acid-free, richly textured canvas in much the same way you would print on fine paper.

Original Art--Whether you are an accomplished professional or a budding young artist, your computer-generated art will look better and have greater impact on canvas.

Photographs--Take a digital photo or scanned image and print directly on canvas for near perfect reproduction. Your photos will have a special visual appeal.

Internet Images--Choose from the unlimited resource of royalty-free Internet images and clip art to enhance your home or decorate your child's room. Modify images with your PC to add a special flavor or to personalize with your own message and then print the image on canvas.

• Desktop Inkjet Canvas is recommended for use on Hewlett Packard^®, Epson^®, Canon^®, and Lexmark^® printers. However, you should consult your printer's manual for specific instruction on making adjustments to printer settings to obtain optimum printer performance.
• Handle the canvas on the edges to avoid fingerprints. Test your image on paper. You may notice minor color shifts from paper to canvas, depending on the porosity and quality of your test paper sheet.
• Because canvas is heavier and thicker than paper, use single-sheet feeding for best results. It may be necessary to hand feed to assure that the printer starts the feed process properly.
• Drying time will depend on the inks used, the amount of ink applied, and environmental conditions such as humidity. Allow prints to dry before stacking or handling.
• The white coated side of the canvas has been coated with a special acid-free acrylic titanium priming and a final ink-receptive clear acrylic coating. Be sure to print on this side only!
• For best results, store package flat in a cool, dry place. Be sure edges are flat before feeding into the printer, as curling may cause a jam.

Care of Your Print: Fredrix^® Desktop Inkjet Canvas is made from a blend of Polyflax^® (polyester) and cotton and is primed with an acid-free acrylic titanium gesso to provide long-term archival quality. However, a majority of desktop inkjet inks are water-based and are produced with dyes (less permanent than pigments). Therefore, for added protection, you may want to finish off your print with a UV spray fixative readily available from your retailer.

Fine Art Papers

There has never been such selection and variety in fine quality art papers. The surface textures, weights/thickness, fiber content and colors offer artists the opportunity to match their style and painting methods with the very best in ground materials.

Fine quality papers might be divided into two groups: full sheet, loose papers and those that are bound into some sort of pad or block. There is more selection in the area of individual sheets and they are the most widely used by artists. Blocks and pads are usually selected for specific applications, often when a more spontaneous painting technique is selected.

Full sheets of paper--whether for watercolor, drawing, printmaking or pastel--are most often acid-free, many with a very high level of rag content. This means that during the paper-making process, the paper slurry is rich with natural cotton fiber. This gives the paper more strength, allowing the use of high levels of water with less concern about any loss of integrity. The best quality full sheets are formed individually by hand and maintain deckled edges (softly feathered edges) on all sides. Other quality machine papers are cut along two sides and deckled on the other two. Both machine and handmade papers are available with high rag content. This high percentage is the most desirable for long, quality life of artworks.

Papers that have surface texture designations of rough, cold press and hot press are usually associated with watercolor or other watermedia applications. These categories refer to the amount of texture on the surface and the degree of "hardness" of that surface. Hot press papers tend to be smoother and a bit more absorbent than cold press. Cold press tend to have a rougher finish and offer a higher degree of visible surface texture in the completed work. The newer "soft press" papers are more absorbent and are especially suited for printmaking applications, although they can be used for watercolor and excel in mixed media techniques.

Sizing can be an important issue with some artistic expressions. Most sizing compounds are natural substances and are used as internal sizing, meaning it is part of the slurry when the paper sheets are being formed. Internal sizing can be augmented by additional topical surface treatments for special applications. However, some special-use papers have little or no sizing at all. The element of a soft, fragile surface is part of their appeal for certain techniques such as printmaking.

Paper colors are useful to many artists. Pastel, conte, charcoal and colored pencil artists find the use of a soft base color helpful in setting certain "temperatures" or color balances in their work. Medium weight papers are now available in a variety of textures and colors with new emphasis on heather tones in all hues. These heathers offer the implication of texture without the loss of smoothness and evenness of surface. They give an overall underlying glow or tone without overpowering the materials used to create the artwork. For more expressionistic or contemporary works, rich earth tones, dynamic pastels and bright crayon colors are also available in high quality papers of low surface texture and great tooth. These are suitable for all types of dry art techniques. Some companies offer variety packs in which a variety of colors are offered within a specific style of paper. This gives the artist an opportunity to test and experiment with a variety of background colors without purchasing mass quantities.

Pads of acid-free paper are excellent for ink drawing, pencil sketching, conte crayon and some pastel works. These papers come in many sizes from pocketbook size to giant 24" x 30" and are bound with glue or spiral bindings. Pads are convenient for transporting works in progress as well as permanent storage of work. Some pads of watercolor paper are available and can be used successfully while in the pad if water quantity is limited.

Watercolor paper blocks are manufactured for use with a variety of watermedia techniques and can stand up to even the heaviest application of fluid. All edges of the block are bound with glue except one small area that allows the sheets to be gently separated with the edge of a palette knife or other thin blade. The one advantage to using a watercolor block for watercolor painting is that no taping or tacking of the paper is necessary because the glue binding holds the page flat. Sizes range from small sketch sizes to around 18" X 24".

Storage of paper is important. Excess moisture can promote mildew on paper since it is so absorbent. Paper is easily dented, bent, crushed or creased, and once these injuries occur, they are almost impossible to remove. One storage suggestion is to make folders from two full sheets of rag matting, taped along one long edge with acid-free artist's tape. Insert specialty papers, each labeled for future identification. Stand the file upright behind the sofa or against a wall, protected from household pets, children and accidental mishap.

Papers made for use by artists are often created by hand. Thus quality, along with the tactile and visual appeal, make art papers special. For many, there is nothing as beautiful as a pristine sheet of art paper awaiting some masterpiece.

Summer Fun: Sand Sculpting

Want a summer pastime that is fun, creative and inexpensive? Want a great group project, competition, or a contest? Sand sculpting fits the bill, and, although convenient, it needn't take place at the beach.

The materials you need to complete a sand sculpture are minimal: sand, water, and a few carving/design tools. Another item that is important is a camera to record your finished projects. What fun it will be next winter to leaf through your sand sculpting snapshots!

While there are many types of sand, the one that is best for sculpting is a medium grain size. It holds together very well when wet and can be shaped and carved with ease. If your sand is too coarse, try mixing some fine grain sand with it to create a better detail-holding material. If your sand is extra fine and packs too tightly, mix a bit of course sand in for volume and to help hold the designs in place once you have created them.

Tools for sculpting could include fancy clay sculpting tools if you have them, but you can create great designs by using items found around the house. Spoons can be used to deliver small rounded shapes to a form or to remove small wells in a shape. Flat sticks, spatulas or table knives can be used for sharp edges, angles, or flat shapes. Yogurt containers packed with sand create symmetrical flattened cones for the tops of towers or border designs. Paper cone cups are great for the roofs of turrets. Round bottom bowls create domes, plastic scrub brushes create texture, and chopsticks can be used to reinforce a tall slender shape. Tools are everywhere! Sifters can be helpful to remove any miscellaneous debris, especially for fine detail work. Don't forget found objects to decorate your creations. If you are at the beach, seaweed, shells and sand dollars make great add-ons.

Remember that the shape will be reduced as you carve, so start with a large amount of wet sand and begin cutting it away. You can add more wet sand, reshape areas, add or remove texture and add pillars or surface decorations. The sky is the limit. And when you are finished, you can simply re-wet the sand and create a new design.

Kits are available that contain a special type of sand that can be dampened, shaped and allowed to set. It stays firm once dry. But, when you are ready to create a new one, simply wet the material and begin again. It's recyclable!

Visit the web in the category of "sand sculpting" for books, tips and to see what the pros do with a pile of sand and a bit of water. Have fun!

Summer Workshop

A papermaking workshop for children 5 to 13 will be offered on August 19 at the Dieu Donne Papermill, 433 Broome St., New York, NY. Registration and a fee are required--(212) 226-0573. (Adult classes will be held on August 16.)

Airbrush 102

In Vol. 10, No. 3, we presented Airbrush 101, an introduction to airbrush technique. This primer was designed to introduce the novice to the airbrush, no matter what type of application (painting, sculpture, ceramics, etc.) or medium (acrylic, oil, watercolor, inks or dyes). (See this article online at www.arttalk.com/artv1003-7.htm.)

Assuming you can now spray dots without puddles of color, lines without barbells, and soft vignettes without lines, we will move on. As you can see when you look closely at the exercises you have done, the spray always appears to be blurry, a consequence of overspray. To achieve a hard or sharp edge, you must use stencil material such as frisket. (You can find lots of frisket information online at www.airbrushtalk.com/part5.htm.)

1. Draw a circle on a piece of paper with a #4H pencil. The paper should be durable enough to hold up to frisket film, which is self-adhering. Fifty percent rag paper that is at least 2-ply or 145 lb. weight is recommended.
2. After removing the backing paper to expose the adhesive surface, apply a sheet of frisket film over the top of this line drawing. Gently rub the film down with your hand to work out any air bubbles underneath.
3. With a sharp stencil knife (such as Proedge #1), cut around the circle. Now you have two pieces of frisket that can be removed--the background piece and then the circle.
4. In airbrush technique, you usually work from the background to the foreground, so the first piece of frisket to be removed is the background piece. Put a piece of drafting tape that will work as a registration hinge along the top edge of the background frisket. This will allow you to lift and replace the frisket without any shifting.
5. Lift the frisket out of the way and airbrush in a color, say blue for a sky, with overlapping sprays that create a vignette.
6. When the paint is dry (and this will happen quickly), replace the piece of frisket and then peel off the frisket covering the circle, exposing a clean, white surface. Make sure that the frisket edge is tight to the surface of the paper before spraying. Using a clean airbrush, spray black paint along the bottom edge of the circle, moving the airbrush back and forth in an arcing motion. Instantly in front of your eyes, the flat white circle will turn into a three-dimensional ball. This is the result of utilizing the overspray. As the sprayed dots of color drift out onto the white paper, they appear to be gray, creating a vignette that instantly reads as round, not flat.
7. You can add color over the black/white rendering of the ball simply by spraying a transparent color over top. (Be sure to clean the airbrush between color changes by flushing it out with airbrush cleaner.) This is called glazing, where the under-color will change the value of the color on top. You can add two or three to create other colors, but if you use too many, you will end up with mud! Remove all the frisket film from your exercise and it will appear to be a ball floating in space.

This simple exercise teaches much. You will learn about overspray, stenciling and frisket film, how to cut, and how to create shapes. You will also learn that in airbrush technique, many times "less is more" where paint is concerned. And, most importantly, you will build confidence in using the airbrush.

Finalists Selected--London's Tate Gallery has announced four finalists for the 2000 Turner Prize--two painters, an installation artist, and a photographer. The winner of this annual award of $32,000 given to a British artist under 50 will be announced in November.--And the Guggenheim Museum has announced the international finalists for the Hugo Boss Prize, a $50,000 award given every two years to an artist whose work represents a significant development in contemporary art. The winner will be announced in November with a show in February.

Comic Strip Retired--Cartoonist Jules Feiffer has retired his 24-year-old Sunday comic strip, "Feiffer," citing his age and the weekly schedule. The 71-year old icon continues to write plays, teach, illustrate children's books, and draw political cartoons for major publications.

Record Set--A record for a drawing by an old master was set recently at Christie's auction in London. Commissioned in 1514 for a church in Rome, the Michelangelo drawing sold for over $12 million.

Stamps Unveiled--Twenty baseball legends are now featured on postage stamps, the first produced by the U.S. Postal Service to honor a single sport. Now available nationwide, they were illustrated by Savannah artist Joseph Saffold.

Doubts are Cast--Cave drawings recently found in the Egyptian desert have been dismissed by some experts as poor imitations. Scientific tests are now being conducted to verify their age.

Chapel Reopens--The Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas, has reopened after an 18-month renovation costing $1.8 million. The artist's paintings have been restored in the commissioned chapel, which opened in 1971.

Musical Sculpture Featured--Visit the new Experience Music Project, a $240 million rock 'n' roll museum in Seattle, and you'll see a giant sound sculpture made of 600 guitars strung along the branches of a metal tree rising more than 30 feet into the air. It took Seattle sculptor/composer Trimpin five months to build his piece titled "If 6 Was 9."

Exhibitions:

Kansas City, MO -- The Architecture of Reassurance: Designing the Disney Theme Parks -- Nelson-Atkins Museum -- This exhibition explores the architecture of Disney's theme parks and their significance as cultural phenomena and architectural artifacts. Drawings, paintings, and models for the parks and their attractions reveal the multiple myths of the parks and trace the evolution of Disney's thematic environments from Adventure Land to Tomorrow Land and beyond. Through Sept. 3.

Philadelphia, PA -- Andy Warhol: Social Observer -- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - This exhibition, comprised of 85 paintings, prints, photos and one film, examines the depth and variety of Warhol's critical observations of American society and the ways in which his artistic strategies changed over the course of his career. Through Sept. 21.

Purchase, NY -- Welded! Sculpture of the Twentieth Century -- Neuberger Museum of Art -- Purchase College (SUNY) -- A survey of welded sculpture of the twentieth century, this exhibition begins with the work of Julio Gonzalez and continues through the accomplishments of others such as Nancy Graves and David Smith. Welding is shown in all of its variations as cut, bent, crushed and painted metal that is stable or that moves, that includes sound and water that is rigidly formalistic, figurative, humorous or playful, depending upon the individual artist's intention. Through Aug. 27.

Chicago, IL -- Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen -- The Art Institute of Chicago -- This exhibition makes the city of Amarna come alive for modern viewers with more than 250 objects--including surprisingly naturalistic representations of the royal family and private citizens, objects from daily life, architectural fragments, a large-scale model of the city, graphics, and a video presentation--as well as an interactive Web site program. Through Sept. 24. Travels to Boston, Los Angeles and The Netherlands.

Pasadena, CA -- Picasso: Graphic Magician-Prints from the Norton Simon Museum -- Norton Simon Museum -- This important exhibition of 120 prints by Picasso surveys the artist's long, prolific career as a printmaker and emphasizes his technical virtuosity and ingenuity as well as the multi-faceted nature of his imagery. Through Sept. 4.

Minneapolis, MN -- American Impression -- Minneapolis Institute of Arts -- This exhibition, featuring American Impressionist painters like William Merrit Chase, Mary Cassatt, and Maurice Prendergast, is one of several scheduled to tour the nation while the Smithsonian American Art Museum is closed for three years. Opens Aug. 20 through Oct. 29.

Blue Mountain Lake, NY -- Visions of Wildness -- The Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts -- This exhibition includes Adirondack landscape photography by Carl Heilman II, author and photographer of Adirondacks: Views of an American Wilderness. Through Oct. 15.

Baltimore, MD -- Art in a Day's Work: Prints From the WPA -- Baltimore Museum of Art -- Seventy prints by 57 artists employed by the Works Progress Administration and produced during the Depression years are included in this exhibition. Through Sept. 24.

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Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 10 No. 10 -- August 2000