.com...the link between you, the visual artist, and the manufacturer of art materials.
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Abstraction is all about self-expression. It is the essence of what some artists look upon as the creative process. Leonard Brooks, author of Painting and Understanding Abstract Art says, "Abstract art has come into being as a necessary expression of the feelings and thoughts of our age; it has added new dimensions to creative painting; it is part of the constant change and vital searching that energizes every true art."
While many misunderstand it, an artist with an experimental nature will discover that this style can present interesting contrasts. Abstraction can stimulate the inner artist to go far past his/her present creative expressions while, at the same time, that very result can be calming and relaxing. There is a freedom of expression that is possible in abstraction, regardless of the media.
Realism is a "what you see is what you get" style that is greatly appreciated, easily recognized and understood. Abstraction is quite simply a distillation of the same practices and methods refined into a more personal result.
Some simple exercises can transport any artist, any expression and any materials into an abstract painting style that could transform even the most avid proponent. Follow these easy steps and learn to see a new dimension in your work. Even if abstraction proves not to be your cup of tea, its study will help you in your chosen discipline.
Begin with a subject matter of your choice. For the sake of this example, a landscape will be used. Examine the landscape for elements that are visually stimulating. It might be the opposing lines of horizontal land and vertical trees. Or perhaps it is the repetition of trees in a densely packed woodland area. How these shapes interact with one another, how light and dark work to produce depth and dimension and the tones with which one might render them would be the groundwork for realism. In abstraction, these same elements are used to stimulate the inner eye to formulate a completely new design, which may or may not resemble the landscape that made it all possible.
Using your landscape as a basis, there are four initial steps to creating an abstract work. Once one is accustomed to working in the abstract style, some trimming of prep time is possible. Eventually the experienced abstractionist can view a scene and go past the first two steps (perhaps all three initial steps) directly into the actual artwork.
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Step 1 is a detailed sketch of the view. This drawing could be done in pencil or other media. What Step 1 helps you recognize is the detail, shapes, shadows and light areas that make the view interesting. While you are doing this first step, you are recognizing the elements of this "set-up" and how they interact with one another.
Step 2 creates a "softened reality" of the drawing in Step 1. Fine details are eliminated and unnecessary shapes begin to meld with others nearby. The goal is a stylized work with a result that is still recognizable and has many similarities to the original detailed drawing.
Step 3 is where the true nature of abstraction begins to take shape. Steps 1 and 2 have helped you see the subject. Step 2 helped you begin to refine (distill) the image into less formal areas of color and texture. In Step 3, further simplification takes place, and all semblance of recognition is eliminated. The predominant shapes take command and the lesser shapes and elements dissolve. In some situations, this could be the last step in the process, but it could still yield a more individual and expressive design.
Step 4 is a full-blown personal interpretation of the elements of your design/scene/subject. The three steps previous to this final artwork help you learn ways to trim unnecessary details and clutter, to begin to express personal emotions based on the drawn designs. The freedom that is afforded the abstract artist can be very liberating and rewarding. Eventually, you will be able to bypass Steps 1 through 3, perhaps doing only one quick study to lay out the design and visualize the end result. Think: examine, distill, express!
Abstraction can also be a playful and relaxing way to energize your brain. Using the first two steps in this exercise can break a painter's block. Skipping the detailed drawing and going right into step 2 after a slow visual study of the scene gets you going in a fast-track revitalization. This clears the mind and rejuvenates your thinking.
Everyone has heard someone say, "Oh, my three-year-old could do that painting. It is just lines of paint and splashes of color!" To the contrary, abstraction is not a mishap; it is not the paint flinging of an unskilled person. It is a careful study and application of all the "rules" of painting that are simply applied in different ways.
For a truly expressive and personal way of painting, explore the possibilities of abstraction. It has changed many artists' styles and influenced their lives forever. It is fun, relaxing and encourages further exploration of materials, methods, and applications.
TIP: Keep the studies that you do for each of the steps prior to formal artwork execution. They will help you keep a record of the changes in style and the growth in expression. When matted, they also make great art sale items, greeting cards or gifts.
Art MaterialsAvailable now from General Pencil is the instructional video "Learn to Paint and Draw with Watercolor Pencils," featuring Kathi Hanson. Using General's Kimberly Watercolor Pencils, the artist demonstrates more than 10 painting techniques, guiding viewers through step-by-step projects. See www.generalpencil.com.
By Bev Harcus and Patricia Jaster
Following is a very basic guide for mixing colors using cyan, magenta and yellow:
Mixing Colors
First, let's take a look at what happens when we overlap the three primary colors of pigment. Using a format similar to Diagram A at www.colorwheelco.com, we can mix "equal" parts of any two of these primary colors to produce an opposite result. Diagram B at Color Wheel-Process Color Selector Wheel; Pocket Guide; Gray Scale and Value Finder; The Web Wheel; illustrates the results of blending (mixing) equal parts of any two primary colors of pigment. Because pigments reflect and absorb light, their resulting mixtures are not as pure as light. Some pigments tend to be more intense than others, so an "equal" mixture is relative to the intensity of the pigment. This is why a color wheel is very useful as a guide to color matching.
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This black is rarely a pure black, as some light is still being reflected. Okay, so now we have our three primary colors. How can we produce so many other colors from just these three? Actually color is quite mathematical. Just as you can add 1 and 1 to make 2, or 0.5 and 0.5 to make 1, you can mix colors in a similar manner. Let's start with yellow and magenta. If you mix these two colors together, you produce red. What would happen if you then mix yellow and red? Here you have twice as much yellow as magenta, and the resulting color is orange. Diagram C at Color Wheel-Process Color Selector Wheel; Pocket Guide; Gray Scale and Value Finder; The Web Wheel; shows how colors can be incrementally mixed to produce a vast array of "in-between colors."
But what if you want to produce a beautiful, rich brown, a maroon, or a subtle grayish-blue? This is where placing colors around a wheel is an excellent way to illustrate color mixtures. The colors we have looked at so far are produced in a "linear" fashion, by mixing any two colors equally, then varying the amount of each of the two primary colors. If we look at colors arranged in a circle, we will see that colors can also be mixed across the circle. So far, we have mixed only around the outside of the circle.
Creating Tones
"Breaking colors" across the wheel, or creating tones, is achieved by mixing varying amounts of colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. For instance, if you mix equal parts of red and cyan (opposite colors or complements), the result will be a dark grayish-black color. (Opposite colors neutralize each other.) If you mix a small part of cyan to red, the result will be a red-brown color. If you mix more cyan, the result will be a bit grayer, etc. When creating tones, you are actually lowering the saturation, or intensity, of the original pure colors.
Creating Tints
When you add white to a color, you are creating a tint of that color. The more white you add, the lighter the color becomes.
Creating Shades
When you add black to a color, you are creating a shade of that color. The more black you add, the deeper the color becomes.
Start Mixing
Now you have the basics of mixing colors from the three primary colors--cyan, magenta and yellow. If you have a color wheel, it will be easier to practice mixing, as you can look at the wheel and have an actual color to match. Practice mixing colors around the wheel, and when you are happy with the results, try mixing across the wheel, then creating tints and shades by adding white or black to any of your colors. Happy painting!
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The tactile experience of dealing with fabrics and threads has long been a favorite hobby. Even in pioneer days, women recycled fabric scraps into blankets and quilts, never wasting a morsel. As recently as the 1930's and 1940's, fabric dyeing at home became a way to re-energize faded and worn garments. Colors were limited and the results were not long-lived, but the dyeing did extend the usefulness of clothing.
In the 1970's the craze of tie-dyeing became very popular. The simplicity of tie-dye is still enjoyed by many, but the methods, materials and applications are more contemporary. But we have, in actuality, the accidental discovery of synthetic dyes in 1856 by an 18-year-old, William Perkin, to thank for a rush of experimentation that has netted us a treasure trove of modern materials. In 1956 fiber reactive (synthetic and very permanent) dyes were derived from the petrochemical industry. Today, there are many brands of fiber reactive dyes manufactured. Each has a unique formulation, and while they all work essentially the same, brands should not be mixed.
Dyeing fabrics, in concept, is very simple. Basically, one submerges fabric in a vat of dye, waits, and then removes the finished cloth. Usually the richest colors are obtained by longer immersion times. The colors are often set with a dunk in another fluid or may be set with steam for permanence. But there is so much more to the dyeing process than "dip and go." Learning to manipulate the color application can enhance fabric coloration and take it to a higher plane.
Contemporary artists learn the basics of fabric dyeing and then apply those guidelines to create very personal cloth or stitchery threads. The first lesson might be the matching of fabric to dye. The user-friendliest colorants and the most available are fiber reactive dyes. They work with natural fibers such as cotton, viscose rayon (made from wood pulp), linen and silk. Wool, however, will not accept a fiber reactive dye. (It requires a special pre-treatment with mordants to "open" the fibers and make them receptive to dyeing. Wool lends itself to natural dyeing where additional chemicals are used in the dye pot.)
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Both fabrics and threads may be dyed with fiber reactive dyes, but all need to be washed prior to dyeing. Even silk can be washed in a washing machine, but you should wash and rinse only. Spin drying sets wrinkles that might affect the dyeing. After washing, all fabrics should be pressed prior to manipulation and dyeing. Silk can either be pressed when very wet or rolled in a towel to absorb excess moisture and then pressed dry. Storage of prepared fabrics is a consideration as well. If you do not intend to dye the fabric right away, roll it onto a tube rather than folding. This allows the fabric to stay smooth and wrinkle-free, ready whenever you are.
When the time is ready, read the instructions that accompany the brand of dye you have selected. Most will instruct you to mix the dry dye powder with distilled water in a large non-reactive pot (enamel or stainless steel) and then add the fabric or threads. The heated dye bath is now ready for the fabric. NOTE: Do not use chlorinated water, as it may adversely affect results because of chemical interaction.
There are many ways to manipulate fabric to form interesting patterns and designs. One of the simplest ways is to use a running stitch with a needle and thread. Where you tighten the thread, the fabric is bunched tightly and will resist the dye colorant. It is possible to stitch specific patterns or to use a random bunching of the fabric by binding with string, thread or rubber bands. You may also bind and dye, dry, unbind, then re-bind in a new pattern and dye with another color. This over-dyeing will yield very interesting patterns and colors. Many quilters have used this bunch/dye/re-bunch/re-dye method for their original fabrics and quilt designs. With a bit of practice, you can develop a personal method that will create designer fabrics that can be used in any original fabric project.
For practice and exploration, use one-yard lengths of the fabric of your choice. This size is easy to work with and can help you learn the patterns and designs you prefer for a given project. With the addition of stamped designs (either commercial stamps or handmade ones) you can create fabrics that will wow everyone. Use these practice yards to learn ways of dyeing and decorating, and if they are too small for other projects, consider making pillow fronts or tote bags or cut and hem into four coordinated luncheon napkins; or this could even become the beginning of a unique quilt design.
In very little time, you will be able to predetermine the results you want. Imagine making a vest or jacket from fabric that you have dyed and surface-embellished. If you take it a step further and add trinkets, decorative buttons or charms, you will have created a one-of-a-kind original that will be the envy of everyone.
Go to the store and search for books on dyeing. One of particular interest is Transforming Fabric by Carolyn Dahl (American Quilter's Society). It is not only a great reference, but is also loaded with charm and shared experiences. In addition, hop on the web and explore a wide range of dyes and products by Jacquard at www.jacquardproducts.com. There is a world of fun, excitement and enjoyment waiting for you and your fabric.
Kids' KornerFall is a season of harvest and plenty and a precursor of the delights of the holiday season. And to kick off all the excitement is Halloween. Decorations and yard art are a vital part of this wonderful time of year, so following are a couple of fun projects that are easy to do.
Project: Ghosts Aplenty
These ghosts will float from the branches of trees and are a delight to watch dance on the air.
Materials:
(For each ghost) 1 square of very lightweight, white fabric; a tight ball of white paper about 5" in diameter; one white twist tie; permanent black marker; a small safety pin; a length of clear fishing line (for hanging).
Begin by forming the ball of white paper into a tight round shape. Place it in the center of the fabric and use the twist tie to hold it tightly. Use the permanent marker to add eyes and a ghoulish smile. Attach the clear fishing line to the top center of the head with a safety pin. Your ghost is now ready to hang beneath a tree and float on the breeze; or you can create a moving ghost. Do this by attaching a very long length of fishing line to the top of the ghost and then thread the line through an eyehook screwed into the ceiling where you want him to rise and fall. Thread the line through another eyehook five feet inside a doorway and parallel to the position of the open door. With the door closed, simply tie the line to the doorknob. Now each time the door opens the ghost will drop; when the door closes the ghost will rise. What fun!
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Project: Window Stenciling
Temporary designs are stenciled onto glass for the season. They are easily removed with a damp cloth.
Materials:
Old-fashioned Glass Wax; red and yellow food coloring; Halloween motif stencils; stencil pouncing tool or small cosmetic sponge.
Select the shapes you want to stencil onto any glass surface. Pour a small amount of Glass Wax into a shallow dish and add 4 drops of red and 3 drops of yellow food coloring. Stir to blend well. Dip the pouncing tool or cosmetic sponge into the "paint," and then blot to remove excess. With stencil in place, carefully pounce the color over the open areas of the stencil. Repeat with additional designs. Voila! Clean up first with a dry, soft cloth and then a damp one to remove any remaining residue.
For the Christmas season, use the Glass Wax in its plain, white color to frost windowpanes or decorate with holiday motif stencils. It is easy, old-fashioned fun and gives you sparkling clean windows when everything is over.
"Learning to Look: Color" is a special exhibition for children and families at the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA, through January 6. It addresses the role of color as a descriptive, symbolic, and emotional vehicle in painting. Seven works by artists as diverse as Fra Angelico, Matisse and Albers are featured, and a Family Guide offers activities for further exploration of color in the galleries.
The Denver Art Museum presents "Art, Community & Identity" through November 24. Featured are photography, beadwork, and paintings by 13- to 18-year-old Denver area American Indian youth taught by instructors both local and from the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe.
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Competitions
Parkside National Small Print Exhibition -- U. of Wisconsin -- All original print mediums, including monoprints are acceptable, with maximum 18" height, width and depth. Juror: Wayne Kimball. For a prospectus, call 262.595.2581 or e-mail: devinny@uwp.edu. Deadline: November 8."Pastels USA 2003" - 17th Annual International Open Exhibition -- Pastel Society of the West Coast, Sacramento, CA. Soft pastel only. Send business SASE to: PSWC "Pastels USA," c/o Kathryn Higley, 828 Mikkelsen Dr., Auburn, CA 95603. Deadline: January 20.
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Artists' workspaces are as individual as the works they create. And when furnishing a studio for airbrush technique, several factors will influence the selection. One is the type of artwork that will be produced, e.g., 2D, 3D, large, or small; and the size of the workspace and the proposed budget are major considerations as well. Following is a general overview of what's available to outfit the airbrush studio:
Work Surface--If you airbrush on stretched canvas, an easel is essential, and the scale of the artwork will determine the type and size required. Some of the features to look for are adjustability, so that you can raise or lower the painting as you work on it, and sturdiness. One problem encountered when airbrushing large paintings on a freestanding easel is the easel may tend to rock slightly from being accidentally bumped (or even movement caused from air pressure). This movement will prevent you from getting the desired spray effect. A large easel that is attached to the wall is a good solution, and a tray attached to the easel is handy for storing paint, tools, brushes, etc. Smaller easels, such as tabletop easels, are useful for the person working on small paintings, fabric, or illustration board. These are inexpensive and sit on a table, which should have enough room to place objects on it without interfering with the painting process. A drawer for storage purposes is helpful, and there may be space underneath for a compressor, wastepaper basket, etc.A drafting table is useful for the person working on paper or illustration board or doing photo retouching. This large table has an adjustable work surface and allows you to work at a variety of angles or flat, as some photo retouchers do. Most drafting tables come with a storage drawer located underneath to hold rulers, knives, templates, tape, etc. They are also equipped with a straightedge attached by a pulley system, which is handy when drawing straight lines and helps to make everything square.
Drawing tables are smaller than drafting tables and are generally less expensive. They also have an adjustable work surface and may come with a storage drawer. On both drafting and drawing tables, it's good to have a vinyl covering to protect the wood and provide a smooth drawing surface. Magnetized vinyl coverings are available for this purpose, and these provide a useful surface for the airbrush artist to secure non-self-adhering stencils by placing metal strips onto the stencil. (There is then no need for adhesive.)
If you work in the round, a sculpture stand is something to investigate. This adjusts in height and will spin around 360 degrees so that all sides can be worked on conveniently. This is also a must for the ceramist, the person painting motorcycle tanks, or the hobbyist who is doing garage kits.
Seating--Whether you work on an easel or a drafting table, you surely desire comfortable seating. You spend a lot of time in the studio, and a good chair is a necessity. It should be easily adjustable in height, maybe have arms and an adjustable back, a soft-cushion seat that is possibly washable and wheels for portability when scooting around. In other cases, you may prefer a stool with or without a back, although stools are usually of a standard height and usually don't come with wheels or arms.
Then there is always the "thinking" chair, the place where you sit to view your artwork, contemplate what you are doing, decide your next move, or maybe take a rejuvenating nap. A good, over-stuffed armchair is ideally suited for this essential contemplation.
Work Table--This could be any type of table where you will cut stencils, mix paint, cut mats, frame paintings and perform all those tasks that you want to do away from your painting area. The larger the table, the better--preferably with a smooth, washable surface. Maybe it has built-in storage drawers or possibly it is homemade of plywood and sawhorses or it could be a workbench designed for the carpentry shop. Whichever, this is a necessity in any airbrush studio.
Taboret--This is a very convenient piece of furniture built for the artist--always with a nice, smooth top and many storage compartments for keeping brushes, tools and supplies. Some are designed specially for the airbrush artist and have a space for a compressor as well as a built-in airbrush holder. Taborets are available in wood, steel, and melamine. Wheels for portability provide ease in moving your work equipment from easel to table without having to again set up.
Storage--No matter if working two- or three-dimensional, a flat file will always come in handy for storing paper, illustration board, vinyl, Mylar, and stencils, as well as finished artwork. This insures that your surfaces, whether painted or not, remain clean and safe from accidents (paint spillage, dust, insects/pests, etc.). Flat files are also available in melamine, steel and wood. The more expensive museum-quality flat files are constructed with special paint coatings that are neutral pH to protect the surfaces and artworks that are stored. A closet is another handy storage space, particularly for those working in the round, to keep dust and overspray at bay.
Ventilation--Good ventilation is recommended for all art studios, no matter what processes are used. But, in airbrushing, it is essential. Ventilation can range from a simple exhaust in a window near the airbrushing area to what is called a batch booth, in which the artist works. These are available in many sizes for the automotive to the craft painter and are probably the most efficient way to remove overspray from the work area. Good ventilation helps remove overspray from the environment so that it neither contaminates artwork nor jeopardizes health and safety.
Whether a fine artist, illustrator, photo-retoucher, fabric painter, ceramist, crafter, model maker or automotive painter, each has specific needs and should investigate available products and prices. Picasso never dusted his studio or cleaned it, for that matter. When one became undesirable, he would just get another. Not too many artists have that luxury!
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Film Scheduled--The film "Frida," based on the life of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, opened the Venice International Film Festival and opens in New York and Los Angeles on October 25. Starring and produced by Salma Hayek, it also features Geoffrey Rush, Edward Norton, Ashley Judd and Antonio Banderas.
Restoration Planned--Michelangelo's "David" is set to get a 7-month-long "scrubbing" to the tune of $150,000. Visitors can view the process at the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, Italy.
Mural Unveiled--"Roy Lichtenstein: Times Square Mural" has been installed at the Times Square station in New York City. Commissioned by the Metropolitan Transit Authority Arts for Transit program, the porcelain on enamel work is six feet high and 53 feet long.
Museum to Expand--The Indianapolis Museum of Art plans a $74-million construction project that will add 164,000 square feet to the museum and renovate 90,000 square feet of existing space. An Oval Entry Pavilion, Gallery Pavilion and Garden Pavilion, as well as below-ground parking garage and restaurants, are planned for completion in 2005.
New President-Elect Appointed--The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has named prize-winning poet and scholar Edward Hirsch as president-elect of the foundation. The foundation offers year-long fellowships to artists, scholars and scientists through a yearly competition.
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Exhibitions:
Cleveland Museum of Art, OH -- Raphael and His Age: Drawings From the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille includes about 20 drawings by Raphael on loan from Lille and 20 other Renaissance drawings, including major sheets by Botticelli, Filippino Lippi, and Fra Bartolomeo. Through Nov. 3.Milwaukee Art Museum, WI -- Leonardo de Vinci and the Splendor of Poland presents the story of Poland's most important public and private museum collections for the first time anywhere outside of Europe. The centerpiece of the collection of 77 paintings representing French, Italian, Dutch and German artists is da Vinci's "Lady with an Ermine." Through Nov. 24.
High Museum, Atlanta, GA -- The Mystique of Magritte: Five Surrealist Paintings from The Menil Collection, Houston offers a brief glimpse at highlights from nearly four decades of the artist's career, on loan from one of the great repositories of his work. Through Dec. 1.
Kimbell Art Museum, Ft. Worth, TX -- Mondrian 1892-1914--The Path to Abstraction features over 100 paintings and drawings and shows the "pure" abstraction of his well-known grid compositions, with their squares and rectangles of primary color, as a progressive refinement of imagery contained in his early, representational paintings. Through Dec. 8.
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ARTtalk.com Gallery at the Square Box 900 • 18 East Main St. Presents ARTtalk Workshops "Basic Airbrush
Techniques" Saturday, November 2 Instructor: Robert Paschal, MFA |
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The Art Institute Online is looking for graphic designers interested in learning additional skills, or in getting their bachelor's or associate's degree in graphic design. Make yourself more marketable in the graphic design industry. Click here to find out more. (http://quinst.com/clk/kittedatoukumushiigyo) |
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| • ARTtalk's Manufacturer Art Materials/Product Info. Center • |
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Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 12 No. 12 -- October 2002