Pastel Panels on Matting

For decades, designers have used watercolor, ink lining and decorative strips of marbled papers to decorate matting around the windows that display artwork. Probably the most widely decorated forms of art are botanical prints and other florals, fruit and bird prints. The colors and patterns chosen for the decorative panels or strips often jazz up the prints and transform them from a simple, elegant presentation into an exciting and eye-catching combination of elements.

One material readily available, yet seldom used for these decorative touches, is pastel. Fine artists' quality materials can be purchased in individual stick form and offer a wide range of colors, ready to mix and match to emphasize the tones used in the art. One professional tip: for application of the powdered pastel colors, rub the stick onto the tip of your finger. Then rub the finger against the matting in the place where you want the tone to appear. The tandem friction of rubbing the powder onto the mat and the warmth of that rubbing action bond the powder to the surface permanently. Once the area of coloration is completed, simply rub the area with a clean cotton ball to remove any excess and set the surface. No fixative is needed.

To confine the pastel powder to a specific area on the face of the mat, use strips of Scotch Removable Magic Tape. If applied carefully, you can create a stripe or channel into which the pastel dust can be rubbed and you can easily maintain clean edges and sharp corners. Should a mishap occur, and a bit of the pastel dust accidentally finds its way to the clean mat, simply erase it gently with a MagicRub eraser. Pull away the removable tape carefully and you will find your color-coordinated presentation.

Another tip is to apply the colors in defined areas along the channel you create with the tape. This will help you maintain strong, pure tones. However, if you desire a blended tone of many shades, simply rub the finished applications of powder with cotton balls. Keep the cotton clean so the colors will remain fresh.

When combined with fine ink lines around the mat window, pastel panels can be used to enhance the look of almost any artwork. Rather than use multiple layers of matting, simply adorn the surface of a single mat, and the resulting colors will be as alluring as any multiple mat. Those subjects that look best with the linear and pastel panel applications include florals, botanicals, aviary subjects, portraiture and the new trend in fruit and vegetable prints. If chosen and applied ingeniously, animal prints seem to come to life with the addition of a simple pastel panel and a few carefully drawn lines.

New from AMACO

American Art Clay Co. has added several new Genesis® products to the Genesis® Artist Colors line. This unique artist medium offers all the qualities of traditional oil colors with the innovative "dry on demand" feature--paints stay wet indefinitely until heated. With the addition of five new colors--Mars Black, Genesis® Yellow, Raw Sienna, Genesis® Metallic Silver and Genesis® Metallic Gold--a total of 83 colors are available.

The new Genesis® Palette Keeper is convenient, ultra-lightweight, reusable and disposable. It can be used to archive color palettes, organize palettes from multiple painting projects in progress, and to layout and store individual student palettes for class. It measures 11-1/2" x 8" and comes two per package.

The Genesis® Paint Jar Organizer is a compact, lightweight, and economical way to organize 35 one-ounce jars of Genesis® Artist Colors and mediums; and the Jar Lid Labels are pre-printed, self-adhesive labels that help you organize and identify removed jar caps. One sheet includes all current colors, plus extra labels for titanium white and the three mediums. Blank labels are also included.

The Genesis® Color Creator is the best way to illustrate basic color hue and value. The Genesis®/True-Color System Paint Chart features hand-painted swatches of all 83 colors on a circular disk along with their TCS numbers.

The recently introduced Large Studio Drying Oven and Adjustable Studio Drying Cart are designed to use for drying paintings created with Genesis® Artist Colors. The Oven has an industrial-quality temperature controller that regulates the temperature from 0 to 300 degrees, an insulated brushed aluminum exterior, a silicone heating pad affixed to the interior bottom, and a solid state electronic circuit board with a light indicator. The Cart has a rigid frame that will not vibrate or loosen during use and a shelf that can be raised and lowered. The legs are adjustable in height with castors for easy movement. See the Genesis® line of products online at www.genesisartistcolors.com.

New from Speedball®

Speedball® Art Products has announced the introduction of the new Speedball® Acrylics. Proudly manufactured in the USA, Speedball® 's Hue Based Acrylics have a high concentration of pigment and are cadmium- and cobalt-free. Speedball® Acrylics are archival with excellent lightfast ratings. The collection is available in 24 brilliant hue-based colors in clear 2.5-ounce tubes. The BASIC Acrylic Set is packaged in a colorful, attractive box with six 2.5-ounce tubes.

Speedball® has reintroduced Printmaster Paper, a respected and sought after block printing paper, that is now available in 9"x12", 12"x18" and 18"x24" sheets.

Speedball® manufactures a full line of unique products, including Speedball® Brayers, Pens, Lettering and Drawing Inks, Calligraphy Pens, Screen Printing and Block Printing Inks and Supplies, Acrylic Paints, Elegant Writer® Calligraphy Markers, Lettershop® Calligraphy Project Kits, Panache® Calligraphy Fountain Pens and the new exciting Speedy Kids™ collection of products (see Kids' Korner). See Speedball® online at www.speedballart.com.

New Book for the Decorative Painter

In Color for the Decorative Painter, author Sandra Aubuchon begins with the basic color wheel that shows decorative painters how colors relate and react to one another and then shows readers how to achieve the effects they want, from the quiet serenity of a landscape to the vibrant beauty of freshly cut flowers. Ten step-by-step acrylic projects illustrate color principles in action. North Light Books. 127pp.

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

Metal Sculpture

An artist could always choose to drill and bolt slabs of metal together, but why not consider a more advanced approach such as cutting and joining with torches or cutters, using tanks of fuel or electricity. The speed of such operations is well worth the research and experimentation with materials available. And metal sculpture is one of the most popular media available for artists. Materials are bountiful and some of the best works are from recycled goods.

In order to understand the use of metal in such advanced fabrication applications, we should first understand metals themselves and how they might be cut, formed and finished.

Metal is either pure or it is an alloy, two or more metals combined to create a metal with new properties. Some pure metals are iron, copper, lead and aluminum. Ordinarily, the alloys of these pure metals are less flexible and harder but give the new compounds new properties and make them easier to work with, e.g., they may be easier to weld. Alloys are either ferrous (containing iron) or nonferrous (no iron). One old rule for testing a metal's ferrous nature is to use a magnet; only ferrous metals are magnetic.

Cutting metal is accomplished in many ways. Thin metals can be cut with snips, shears and handsaws of a variety of types. Heavier metals can be cut with grinders, cut-off saws (similar to hand circular saws used in wood cutting) and the like. A hand hacksaw can be used, for instance, for small precision cutting. A blade with at least 24 teeth to the inch is capable of cutting thin metals. Blades with fewer teeth are used for thicker metals. Snips can be used for cutting small works of very thin metal. Pneumatic and electric shears are useful in some projects but have limited application on large-scale works. Handsaws outfitted with metal cutting blades and saber saws are excellent tools for odd cuts. Electric hand-held grinders are invaluable in cleaning surfaces after joins are performed. Grinding discs and brush heads offer versatility in finishes.

Cutting with oxyacetylene (torches) involves heating a metal to the molten state and then adding a fast stream of oxygen to ignite the metal and blow it away as slag (waste), leaving a slit in the metal or cutting designs and shapes from the mother sheet. This is done by the precise mixing of oxygen and acetylene. Both cutting and joining are possible with this type of equipment.

Only ferrous metals can be cut with a torch, but all ferrous metals do not cut the same. Mild steel is the most common metal used with oxyacetylene cutting torches, since it is the easiest to master and offers the tightest learning curve.

The best oxyacetylene equipment consists of one oxygen cylinder, one acetylene cylinder, and regulator for each tank; hoses, a torch, a lighter, and safety equipment--goggles, masks, gloves, tip cleaners, apron, proper shoes. (All long hair should be held up and away from any sparks, heat or flame.) Small home units offer a start-up opportunity but are not designed for long and heavy use. Limited cutting and joining are possible with this type of set-up, primarily thin metals and craft-type materials. Great small-scale sculptures are very possible with this equipment as are wonderful cut wire sculptural pieces. Larger, professional set-up includes equipment that can create a cutting/joining heat source of approximately 6,000 degrees F. Welder's supply centers are valuable resources.

Welding employs the use of differing degrees of heat and some sort of fusion reaction. The three common types of fusion are the use of a filler rod, brazing and soldering. Filler rod method is the use of an accessory rod placed in the pool of molten material where two surfaces have been torched. Brazing is the actual melting of a filler rod with the heat, rather than melting the two surfaces that are to be joined; the molten rod is the "glue." Soldering is essentially the same as brazing with an extreme decrease in temperatures. Soldering is used to join two metals of a high melting point, most often when these metal pieces are too thin to join in other ways. Solder has a high tin and lead mixture with a melting point of slightly over 400 degrees F. The solder used has an inner core of resin and must be augmented with a flux (flow enhancer) to insure an even and complete join.

Arc welding is perhaps the granddaddy of them all in that it achieves joins by the use of an extremely strong current of electricity. The electricity passes through a metal electrode (rod or wire with flux covering), and when the electrode touches the metal, an arc is created of such high intensity that the metal is easily melted and fused together. It is actually a controlled short circuit. Professionals often refer to arc welding units as "cracker boxes" because of the crackling and popping sounds and bright arc illumination. They offer a speedy weld, deep weld penetration and far less metal distortion since heat is so strong and quick. Extra care should be used because the spark is so much brighter than any other type of welding. Heavier gloves, usually a shirt with leather sleeves, a heavy leather apron with feet guards and a special helmet are needed because of the infrared rays. Severe damage to skin, eyes and all body parts can occur in nanoseconds. (NEVER look at an arc without proper welding shades!)

CAUTION: Remember that safety is paramount. There aren't too many second chances with heat of these intensities!

Calder Featured

Visitors to the Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, NY, will see 18 monumentally scaled sculptures by Alexander Calder rise from the fields and hillsides in the exhibition Grand Intuitions: Calder's Monumental Sculpture. In addition, six more Calder sculptures, along with 24 preparatory models and panels of archival photographs, have been installed inside the museum building. The Center's permanent collection includes works by David Smith, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Alice Aycock, Mark diSuvero, and others. Hours are daily from 11a.m. 5:30p.m. through October 27 and until 5 p.m. from October 28 to November 15. In addition, the Center will be open until 8p.m. on Saturdays and also on Sundays of holiday weekends to Labor Day. Call 845-534-3115.

Teas Scheduled at Chesterwood

For the third year, "At-Home Teas" will be held every Friday in July and August at Chesterwood in Stockbridge, MA. Actresses playing the daughter and a servant of Daniel Chester French, sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, will recreate a 1920 afternoon tea at the family's country estate and garden. The second segment, "Breaking the Mold: Portrait of a Lady Sculptor," will be presented every Thursday in July and August. It features actress Anne Undeland portraying Evelyn Beatrice Longman, French's sculpture assistant, and will reveal the artistic and social life of a woman sculptor working in the 1920's. Call 413-298-3579, Ext. 218, for information and reservations.

Marisol Exhibited

The Neuberger Museum of Art, located on the campus of Purchase College in Purchase, N.Y., is presenting the retrospective exhibition Marisol through September 2. More than 20 sculptures highlight the artist's major works, some of which have been viewed fleetingly in this country or not at all.

Biennale Exhibit

"Robert Gober, the United States Pavilion, 49th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy" is on view through November 4. Co-organized by the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Art Institute of Chicago, this site-specific installation of all new work by American artist Robert Gober constitutes the Nation's official entry for the 49th Venice Biennale. Presented in Venice's Castello Giardini, the Gober show is seen only in that city.

Summer Fun

Everyone is ready for a break. The new school year is weeks away, and there is a new energy and excitement centered on the time away from organized learning and studying. But why not use this time to study what you love? How about art! It can be an enriching, life-long pastime (and perhaps it could eventually provide your income as well).

There is no better time to start your studies than right now. A new selection of video study programs (and how-to books) has entered the market this summer. That means that you can actually watch a professional artist create art while he or she teaches you how to do your own art. As has always been the case with video instructional tapes, you progress at any pace you wish. If you want to race through the tapes and glean bits and pieces, you can. If you want to study and explore every little piece of the processes shown, go for it!

The newest videos include instructions on several popular subjects. Cartooning and caricatures of people, animals and objects have been popular, and the newest twist is illustration on how to do cartooning or how to create original drawings that unite your favorite comic book heroes in actions and situations of your choosing. Video kits usually come complete with instructional video, sketchpad, pencil and eraser (and perhaps a cartooning pen, overlays to facilitate duplicates of any shape or character and a pencil sharpener) - all the trimmings. Purchase the kit and you are ready to go! You could even carry it on vacation to record what you see or places you go.

No art library would be complete without basic drawing tips, and there are many beginning instructional videotapes available, along with tapes on how to turn your doodles into cartoons or ways to create your own cartoon strip.Life offers us many chances to capture funny scenes, and these videos will help you document your ideas. Visual jokes are popular in all walks of life and can help us learn valuable lessons at the same time we are having fun creating images.

Books can give support and direction through instruction. Animation and cartooning can be a stepping stone to more fine art drawing interests, and any sketching or drawing will improve your skill level. Another source of great ideas is clip art books and collections. Those shapes and images found in computer clip-art files are varied and great beginnings for use in cartooning and drawing.

Start your summer art program with a trip to your library or local art supplier. Explore the videos and books available and choose what appeals most to you. Learning can be easy when you are having fun. So get out there and find your subject, start drawing and enjoy!

New Children's Line from Speedball®

Speedball® Art Products has announced the addition of an exciting new line of children's products. Speedy Kids is a collection of creative products that will encourage creativity, imagination and education in an extraordinary packaging concept. Speedball® 's mission with this collection is to introduce children of all ages to the enjoyment of art. They will be encouraged to explore their own creativity and imagination through the use of kits and product collections.

The first Speedy Kids collection is the extraordinary Washable Finger Paint. Available in nine vibrant colors, this finger paint has fantastic mixing capabilities and is suitable for brush painting and screen-printing as well. "Speedy Pete" will be featured as the mascot for the new line.

Drawing Products from Cretacolor

Savoir-Faire now presents two of the most distinctive and fun products from Cretacolor's Junior line. Adults and young artists alike can enjoy the giant four-color Quattro pencils and the bright water-soluble Junior crayons, each made to the same standards of quality and craftsmanship Cretacolor is known for around the world.

Junior Crayons This ingenious water-soluble crayon comes in a protective plastic casing in the same color as the crayon and is ideal for drawing and watercolor painting. The tip can be easily sharpened with a pencil sharpener. A plastic scraper is also included for this purpose. Quattro Junior Pencils This giant four-color pencil comes in a uniquely marbled, colorful wood casing. The red, yellow, blue and green lead is water-soluble to add even more possibilities to this versatile pencil.

Creative Paradise - Part 2

From Vermont to California and Canada to Florida, almost every region has an artists' retreat or artists' colony, and each offers a variety of amenities. One overriding element with most, however, is their desire to offer the artist/writer/musician an opportunity to create in an unfettered, relaxed environment where deep concentration and emersion are encouraged.

The Roswell Artist In Residence in Roswell, New Mexico, was established in 1967 to provide the professional studio artist with the pleasurable experience of concentrating on his work in a supportive communal environment. These residencies are set for six months to one year. It is what they call their "gift of time" and allows artists to work without distraction in an effort to break new ground and focus on individual goals. The one-year residencies include not only work and lodging space, but a living allowance as well. The Roswell Artist In Residence has helped to educate in and introduce modern art to an area known for representational work. Application deadline is September 30, 2001, for the summer and fall of 2002. Contact by website: www.astepabove.com or by mail at P. O. Box 1, Roswell, NM 88202.

The Three Arts Club of Chicago is chartered to "provide a home and club for young women engaged in the practice or study of the arts in the city of Chicago." For over 85 years since its founding, Three Arts has done just that. Hundreds of women annually from throughout the United States and abroad have enjoyed a "room of one's own" in this culturally diverse environment, with security and comfort.Residencies fall into two categories--temporary, consisting of stays of three months or less, and permanent, which is a stay of four months or longer. Amenities include 92 rooms, a gallery, large common rooms, and performance area. Contact them by telephone at 312-944-6250 or at their website: www.threearts.org.

The Djerassi Residency Artists Program is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, an easy distance from San Francisco. Great views, great climate, delightful accommodations and an outstanding program offer a most rewarding experience. Residency applications are reviewed by a panel of arts professionals in the categories of choreography, literature, music, visual arts and media arts. Those selected are offered living and studio space for four to five week sessions during the season, which runs from late March to mid-November.Some meals are provided as well as some transportation. Application deadline is in February for the following year. See www.djerassi.org--or write Djerassi Resident Artists Program, 2325 Bear Gulch Road, Woodside CA, 94062-4405.

The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, located in Skowhegan, Maine, has a nine-week summer residency that offers 65 visual artists an inspirational rural environment in which to work. The 300-acre lake property in central Maine was established by artists in 1946 and has operated continuously since then. Less a retreat and more an intense creativity and interaction setting, participants work in an open relationship with one another. Ages and experience levels vary, but most artists are graduate level. Provided are lodging, work space and board. Contact at www.skowheganart.org.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts - There would be a strong inadequacy in any listing of retreats and residencies if one failed to include this school. Located nearly in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, it is renowned for the caliber of art and craft workshops taught there. Well-equipped studios and fine lodging are available, and the level of instruction is unparalleled. Scholarships and tuition reduction is available through an application process. Men and women of all ages are welcome and minimum age is 18. For more information and a catalog of offerings, contact Arrowmont at www.arrowmont.org.

Note: A comprehensive directory of over 79 different retreats/residencies can be obtained from the Alliance of Artists' Communities, www.artistcommunities.org, or write the Alliance at 2311 E. Burnside, Portland, OR 97214.

The Evolution of Frisket Film

Frisket Film, originally called frisket paper, is the transparent, flexible, and self-adhesive material used in airbrush and paintbrush technique for making stencils. Over the last century, the process of using frisket film has evolved from messy and time-consuming to clean and quick.

From the beginning of airbrushing to the 1970's, the artist or illustrator using the airbrush prepared his own frisket film. At that time, there was a paper specially designed for this purpose simply called "frisket paper." He applies a diluted solution of rubber cement with the viscosity of water to one side of the paper. After coating, the paper was left to dry, as the frisket was never used when the rubber cement was still wet. The artist usually made several sheets at one time. The sheet of paper was then laid over the line drawing on the work surface (illustration board, paper, etc.) and was applied by starting at the center and working out to the edges. Then a hand or plastic triangle was used to flatten the film from the center to the edges. At this point, work would begin.

As you can see, this was a time-consuming process, but there was one more aspect that made it even more laborious. When the frisket film was removed after being cut with a stencil knife, the rubber cement residue on the surface had to be removed, either with rubber cement remover or a homemade remover made of a ball of dried rubber cement, similar to an eraser. In addition, the frisket paper had a short shelf life because the acid content caused it to turn yellow and become too brittle for use.

In the 1970's, prepared vinyl frisket film for ready use was introduced and is that used today with some refinement over the years. It is now available in sheets and rolls, with rolls being the most economical and easy to store. Gloss and matte finishes are available, but matte is preferred because the artist can draw on it. Frisket is made of clear vinyl-type material that is coated with a low-tack adhesive on one side; and the adhesive is then covered with a sheet of protective paper that is peeled off before application. When this film is removed from artwork, there is no residue left to clean off.

Needless to say, this material has certainly simplified the airbrush process. A few tips follow regarding its use:

--Don't leave it on the artwork too long (more than 24 hours) because the adhesive may become tackier over a period of time or be adversely affected by the room temperature and become difficult or impossible to remove.

--Plastic burnishers, e.g. inexpensive plastic putty knives, are ideal for smoothing out the frisket film to eliminate air bubbles.

--Use a sharp blade, preferably steel and not stainless steel, to cut the frisket and be sure to change the blades often. Remember, it's just the tip that is used and this is what becomes dull.

--Save the peeled-off backing paper. Place cut pieces of frisket on it to retain their tack and you will be able to reuse them.

--When you lay a full sheet of frisket film on the artwork's surface, peel back the protective paper only an inch or two. Apply the film to the surface and slowly pull off the protective paper. As you do, you can press the frisket film down onto the surface so that it lies flat. If you first remove the entire sheet of backing paper from a full sheet of frisket film, the film tends (because of static electricity) to cling to itself. Once this occurs, it is difficult to return the sheet to a perfectly flat shape.For more information on the use of frisket film, see http://www.arttalk.com/frisket_tips_page.htm.

New Exhibition Scheduled--ARTtalk.Com has announced a new exhibition at the Gallery at the Square, 18 East Main St., Beacon, N.Y., beginning July 14. Contemporary American Airbrush Illustrators will feature the works of renowned artists/illustrators Scott Angle (CA), Michael Cacy (OR), Debbie Eastlack (NJ), Jerry LoFaro (NH), and Eddie Young (CA). The public is invited to an opening reception on July 14 from 4 7 p.m. Through August 24.

Cows and More Come Home--Chicago's "Cows" exhibition in 1999 inspired many cities worldwide to present like exhibitions. On display this summer at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo are more than 50 "critters" representative of these exhibitions--corn on the cob from Bloomington, IL, dancing pigs from Cincinnati, OH, redfish from New Orleans, LA, moose from Whitefish, MT, Mr. Potato Head from Providence, RI, and more.

Awards Given--The Smithsonian American Art Museum has announced that Jorge Pardo, an installation artist, is the inaugural winner of the Lucelia Artist Award. The $25,000 award was established this year to recognize annually an American artist under the age of 50 who has produced a significant body of artwork that demonstrates exceptional creativity. The American Academy of Arts and Letters has awarded Richard Serra its Gold Medal for Sculpture. Awards in Art went to eight artists, and five artists were inducted into the academy.

"Puppy" Replaced--It may not appeal to those individuals with arachnophobia, but an 18,000 pound bronze spider, "Maman" by Louise Bourgeois, has replaced last year's "Puppy" of flowering plants by Jeff Koons at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Two smaller spiders complete the installation, which may be viewed through Labor Day.

Treasures Discovered--Over 1,000 years ago, the Egyptian port city of Herakleion was sent tumbling into the ocean by an earthquake. Treasures recently recovered include huge statues and revealing tablets. It is estimated that 20,000 pieces remain on the ocean floor for recovery.

Reward Offered--The day after a cocktail reception at the Jewish Museum in N.Y.C., an oil painting in an exhibit of early works by Marc Chagall was discovered missing. The 8"x10" "Study for 'Over Vitebsk,'" is valued at one million dollars. A $25,000 reward is being offered by the museum for information leading to recovery of the work.

June Birthdays:

  3    John Singleton Copley

12    Amedeo Modigliani

        Andrew Wyeth

17    Berenice Abbott

22    Alexander Calder

29    Eastman Johnson

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Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 11 No. 9 -- July 2001