Framing

Framing Trends for Today’s Decor

No matter what style of art you like and want to have around you in your home or at the office, there are trends that can elevate your art from ordinary to extraordinary!  With all the choices available today, it is easy to select a personal style that is leading edge and décor forward and still easy to accomplish.  One visit to a framing center will give you tons of ideas from which to select.

The elements of framing start with the art.  The style of the painting or print and the subject make all the difference in the selection of framing materials.  Everything revolves around the image:  style, color, and texture.  Add to these your personal preferences and you have the start of a very individualized end result.

Realistic imagery tends to lean towards more traditional styles of matting and framing.  Your choices are personal, but the materials selected are usually more mainstream.  Hip, modern, and abstract can offer greater latitude in personally expressive style.  Or they can be very understated.  You choose.  Photography, which is currently one of the hottest décor selections, can go either way—traditional or contemporary.  Your selection of mat/frame combinations controls the overall finished result.

Matting is a subject about which volumes could be written.  There are hundreds of selections that can enhance any image.  With the number of mat colors and textures available the possible combinations are staggering.  But there is usually a specific color that enhances the image, brings out a certain emotion and is perfect with your existing décor.  Matting widths most often selected at this time are wider than in previous years.  For decades, narrow mats were used; but with today’s styles they appear dated as do inappropriate color selections.

Framing styles today lean toward wider widths, too.  What might have been considered a “heavy” or “massive” frame in the early 90’s is not viewed in that light today.  A slow progression toward larger frames and wider mats gives you a chance to create very visible art statements with every item you frame.  No longer is a painting or print just something to “put up on the wall.”  Each becomes an asset to the overall cohesiveness and balance in a room or home.

Glazing choices are no longer restricted to clear or non-glare glass.  With the availability of conservation grade glass in both clear and non-glare and at prices that are better than ever, protection of your fine art collection is now easy.  Selection of conservation glass affords up to 98% UV protection.  That will help safeguard your art for decades while you are able to enjoy it every day.

Mounting techniques are improving all the time.  Many conservation methods are available.  The value of originals and limited editions can be protected with proper handling during the mounting segment of framing.  No glue or other adhesive should contact a fine quality art or heirloom item.  Nor should a non-acid-free backing be used behind fine art. 

As an informed consumer you can protect your art items and heirloom collectables just by making wise choices.

The Artist’s Marketplace

New Packaging and Work Station from Iwata

—Iwata-Medea has announced the new Iwata Custom Micron Series Case for the Custom Micron airbrush.  This new red case, constructed of tempered aluminum, provides a sturdy enclosure for the most professional airbrush available.  Your Micron is held securely in place with high-density constructed foam for ultimate protection of this precision instrument.  Also included with the newly-packaged Micron is an Iwata Pistol Grip Filter, the last and essential defense against moisture.

—The new Air-Port Airbrush Work Station, measuring 9"w. x 5"d. x 2.5"h., provides a simple and convenient way to keep three airbrushes and related accessories/supplies organized.  Two models are available—one with magnets for mounting on metal surfaces and one that can be bolted permanently to a desired location. Made of 18-gauge steel construction with a powder-coated finish, it will last, guaranteed!  The new Air-Port Airbrush Work Station, by Karajen Corp., is distributed exclusively by Iwata-Medea. See your retailer and visit www.iwata-medea.com.

New Intro and Pin-Up Templates from Artool

—Artool Products Co. has announced the new Intro Series Freehand Airbrush Template sheet designed by Robert Paschal.  Consisting of seven shapes, the Intro Series comes attached together by tiny tabs in one convenient sheet.  Each template shape has a variety of edge configurations:  large and small sawtooths, wavy edges, half-round scallops, fish-scale shapes, square-edge teeth, plus seven circle sizes.  Although primarily designed for entry level airbrushing, the Intro Series Template is useful for all levels of airbrush applications from illustration, fine art and hobbies to custom automotive painting applications and more.

—The new Artool Signature Series Pirate Girlies Freehand Airbrush Templates Set by Deborah Mahan is the third series in her Pin-Up Girlies lineup, which is also available in the Pirate Girlies Mini Series.  All of these can be interfaced with each other to create any combination desired.  Included in the new set are Pirate Girlie, Shanhaied, Girlie Chest, Girlie Girl and Mermaid Girlie.  See your retailer and visit www.ArtoolProducts.com.

New Calder Book/Exhibition

Edited by Alexander S. C. Rower and Holton Rower, Calder Jewelry features around 300 pieces of jewelry of the same linear yet three-dimensional quality as Alexander Calder’s famous mobiles.  The parts that comprise each piece are hammered, shaped and composed in a fashion that echoes the artist’s creation of his sculptures.  288 pages, Yale Press.

The exhibition Calder Jewelry opens at the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL on Feb. 23 and runs through June 15.  Travels to Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Kids’ Korner

Seed Shapes:  Recycling and Gardening in One

With spring just around the corner, it might be a good time to think about neat inside projects that will tie to the outdoors later in the year.  Crafts are such fun and the items you make can be wonderful presents for your family and friends.  Imagine being able to create gifts from readily available recycled materials.  Well, following is one idea that not only recycles old newspaper but creates items that encourage spring gardening:  Seed Shapes.

What you’ll need:  two buckets to hold water and wet paper; newspaper (not colored sheets, and only newsprint, not magazine pages); food coloring if you want to color the paper; a slotted spoon; flower seeds; open-top style cookie cutters to form fancy shapes; a scrap of window screening; rags to absorb excess water.

NOTE:  Although newspaper is recommended (with the exceptions noted above), all paper can be used, even paper that has been shredded.  Soaking of firmer papers might take longer, but it will eventually mush.

Begin by tearing the newspaper into small pieces, roughly 2" square.  Soak the shreds in enough water to cover them completely.  This will create a “pulp” of fiber and water.  Start with about six full newspaper pages torn into shreds.  That will make several shapes and give you a chance to test your own ideas for shapes, colors and additions.

After the paper has soaked for several hours or overnight, take a big handful of paper mush and put it into another bucket.  Add lots of water and swish your hand in the slurry.  Continue to swish until you create a lump-free soup of fiber and water. 

Set an open-topped cookie cutter on the scrap of screening, with a rag under the screen.  Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the fiber from the water.  Let some of the water drip back into the bucket, and then place the fiber into the cookie mold.  If you want to color your shapes put the scoop of pulp into a small bowl, add several drops of food coloring and mix. Then put it into the cookie cutter shape.

Be sure the fiber is at least ¼" thick.  Push the pulp into all the corners and curves of the shape.  Use a rag to squeeze most of the water out of the pulp.  Sprinkle a pinch of flower or veggie seed onto the mold on top of the paper pulp.  Add a little more wet pulp to help hold the seed in place, and then squeeze as much water as possible out of the shape.

Carefully remove the cookie cutter and lift the shape away from the screen.  Set it aside and let it dry completely. (Foam plates are great “drying” trays.) If you want to make ornaments and special occasion decorations, be sure to create a hanging hole at the top while the shape is still soft.  Hang with a strip of ribbon.

If you create the shapes as gifts and ornaments, include instructions for planting:  Plant under ¼ inch of soil in your spring garden.  Water well, and then keep moist.  Enjoy the flowers (or veggies)!

For bird treats, use a lot of seed and very little pulp.  The birds will love the seeds this time of year.  A mix of seeds is perfect; include sunflower seeds, flax seeds, coneflower seeds and others you might have gathered during the fall.  You can use prepared bird seed and packaged seeds, too.

This project not only recycles newspaper, but also is a great indoor, winter-day project.  With a bit of imagination you can make unusual shapes and designs.  Sometimes using “mystery” seed is fun.  When you don’t know what plant the seed is for, planting it and seeing what grows becomes part of the excitement.

Scholastic Art Exhibition

The Miami Art Museum, FL, will host the 2008 Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition in collaboration with the Miami-Dade Public Schools through Feb. 17.  More than 200 works will be on display representing all media.  The Scholastic Art Awards is the largest student art awards competition in the U.S., and these middle and high school art students consistently rank among the top winners at the national level. For more information on this awards program, visit www.scholastic.com.

Medals Awarded

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.  And the 2008 Medal goes to The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.  Honor Books include Henry’s Freedom Box:  A True Story from the Underground Railroad; First the Egg; The Wall:  Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain; and Knuffle Bunny Too:  A Case of Mistaken Identity.  And the ALSC’s Theodor Seuss Geisel Award goes to There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems, with runners-up First the Egg; Hello, Bumblebee Bat; Jazz Baby; and Vulture View.

New Interactives Online

The National Gallery of Art Web site NGAkids includes two new additions:  BRUSHter and Still Life.  BRUSHter is an abstract painting machine for all ages that contains more than 40 brushes and textures, many with customizable size, transparency and stroke options.  A full palette of colors and special effects are among the options offered; or you can click the AUTO buttons and the computer will generate screen designs for you!

The new Still Life interactive encourages young artists to explore the world around them by arranging artistic elements and everyday objects into multi-dimensional works that mirror those of the old masters. Experiment with spatial arrangements, size variables and perspective angles; then switch modes and add layers of textured “brushstrokes” to create a more painterly, abstract image.  This, too, is suitable for all ages.

Visit www.nga.gov/kids.

Drawing

Drawing the Figure

Learning some simple tips of proportion and design is a great way to start the exploration of figure drawing.  Human bodies have many dimensions in common, regardless of their actual shape or size.

Quick drawings will get you started.  Capturing quick poses and movement in figures is a great warm-up exercise.  These drawings will loosen your hand and mind.  Figure drawing requires accurate observation and can easily become stiff and awkward, but you can bring energy to your work by carrying the bold, purposeful marks in these exercises into longer poses.  The drawings can be done in 30 seconds or so.  Not much time you say?  Well, that is time enough to train your eye to see the “big picture” and get your mind thinking of the planes, shapes and contours of the body.  This style of drawing is called gesture drawing.

It sounds bizarre to do a sketch that fast, but the sense of urgency it creates adds energy to your work.  You have no time to think about any extemporaneous details. 

First look at the main axis of the body. From the top of the head to the tailbone try to indicate with a single stroke the flow of the spine. Note with quick strokes the plane of the shoulders and hips.  You might place an imaginary line through the knees and feet to facilitate portions.

Experiment with using charcoal in different ways – a broad sweep using the side of the stick or a linear fashion. Draw with your whole arm, standing comfortably back from the easel. If working small, use as much arm and hand movement as possible.

There are two main approaches to abbreviated form - internal and external. Take the internal approach by 'seeing' the skeleton first—just directional lines showing the direction of the spine and limbs, and indicating the tilt of ribs and pelvis, will be sufficient to capture the pose. Depict external forms by using minimal lines to indicate the main contours—keep them loose and flowing.

When drawing heads is your interest, first become familiar with the basic proportions. Traditional rules of proportion show the face divided into six equal squares, two (wide) by three (high). The upper horizontal division is roughly at the 'third eye' level mid-forehead, the lower at the base of the nose. The eyes sit on the horizontal center, the mouth on the center of the lower third.

If you are skeptical of such simple methods, try it out on some photos in magazines; it works!  While this is an idea which does not account for individual variations, observing these basic proportions gives you a starting point to measure against.  By ensuring your basic proportions are correct to begin with, you will avoid major mishap at a later stage of the drawing.

The tools you use will greatly affect the results.  Charcoal, graphite stick, conte crayon and the like are great for studies and practice work (visit www.generalpencil.com and www.savoirfaire.com).  Their cost is insignificant.  The paper you use can be of any quality you like, but many students use newsprint until they are working on a more serious project.  If, however, you become fond of the quick studies, you may want to use a better grade of paper because such drawings are very salable. (visit www.bordenandriley.com and www.strathmoreartist.com). 

You might be surprised at the response to your study work.  Ink drawings of the figure are very popular and are considered collectibles by many art lovers.  Once matted and framed, they become charming and elegant additions to any collection.

Exhibition:  Lucian Freud:  The Painter’s Etchings is at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, through March 10.  One of the foremost figurative artists working today, Freud has redefined portraiture and the nude through his scrutiny of the human form.  Although best known as a painter, etching has become integral to his practice.  The exhibition presents the full scope of Freud’s achievements in etching, including some 75 examples.

Airbrush

Airbrush Applications—Unlimited!

When the airbrush was originally invented in 1878, it had a singular purpose or application—to enhance photographs, i.e., photographic retouching.  Today, 130 years later, the airbrush has more applications than most people might imagine.  Following is a discussion of a variety of usages compiled from an unscientific survey of basic students in workshops conducted around the U.S.

The airbrush is still used for retouching photos, but now it is also used for reworking computer printouts, altering, adding or deleting elements of the print.  Then the reworked image may be scanned back into the computer and possibly utilized online or in a brochure or printed again, perhaps for exhibition in a gallery.

Some artists use the airbrush to paint over giclee prints.  After developing a composition on a computer, it is printed on canvas in grey scale.  This image is then used as an underpainting over which acrylic color is airbrushed.

The airbrush is certainly still utilized in the fields of fine and commercial arts—working with acrylics or oils on canvas, watercolor or gouache on paper or illustration board, and inks, dyes and pre-reduced airbrush colors on paper surfaces. Prior to the introduction of personal computers, many illustrators specialized in airbrush technique. Commercial illustrators did work for books and magazines, album covers, etc.; and medical illustrators and technical illustrators did cutaway renderings of the human body and equipment and machinery, respectively.  These applications are again gaining interest where the client wishes a completely unique quality that only the hand-rendered illustration can provide.  Many students interested in these realms are attending basic airbrush workshops because it is no longer taught in graphic design schools or to medical illustrators as in the past.

With airbrushing falling out of favor in some areas, custom automotive painting has more than picked up the slack with the painting of murals on vans or designs on motorcycle tanks and fenders, helmets and jackets.  Artists are also working on surfboards, snowboards and skateboards and murals are painted on aircraft.  Artists with an expertise in utilizing solvent-based paints that are ideal for metal and plastic surfaces are customizing objects such as refrigerators and other household appliances, computer housings/monitor frames, musical instruments and cell phones, etc.

In the beauty industry the airbrush is commonly used to apply makeup and temporary tattoos as well as spray on instant tans (as seen on a popular celebrity dance competition).  With the development of high definition TV, the airbrush is used extensively by makeup artists to eliminate blemishes and imperfections.  In the fashion industry, clothing, hats and sneakers are all painted using heat-set fabric paints.  On the Food Network the airbrush is utilized by pastry chefs to decorate cakes or sculptures during design competitions.  Surf on to another channel and you may see the airbrush being used to stencil a wall, furniture or other items in home decoration.

You can find a use for the airbrush in virtually any craft from ceramics to scrapbooking to woodcarving.  Some students are professional taxidermists and use the airbrush to render objects—such as that prized swordfish caught on vacation—realistically. 

Yes, students take classes in basic airbrush technique for many reasons, one being cadaver restoration in mortuaries.  There is a specific airbrush kit manufactured for this purpose that includes an assortment of colors, airbrush and compressor as well as a set of stencils. As you can see, airbrush applications are endless!

Airbrush Workshops Scheduled

Here’s an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of airbrush technique, a necessity no matter what your application may be.  A Basic Airbrush Techniques workshop with Robert Paschal will be held Sat., April 12, in Beacon, NY.  Tuition includes all supplies and the use of equipment.  Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be one of only 16 students!  For further information, visit www.arttalk.com/workshop/workshop.htm.

New FREE Newsletter

Visit www.airbrushtalk.com to read the Jan./Feb. issue of AirbrushTalk and sign up for your FREE subscription.  Included are Decorative Computer Screen Surround by Janean S. Thompson; Triple the Action! Getting a Grip on Iwata’s New Triple Action Handle by Thomas Adams; and Automotive/Motorcycle Airbrush Stenciling Choices by Donn Shanteau.

ArtPourri

New Black Heritage Stamp Issued – The U.S. Postal Service honors Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932) with the 31^st stamp in its Black Heritage series.  Chesnutt was a pioneering writer recognized today as a major innovator and singular voice among turn-of-the-century literary realists who probed the color line in American life. The portrait, painted by stamp artist Kazuhiko Sano of Mill Valley, CA, was based on a 1908 photograph from the collection of Fisk University.

Short List Announced – The Guggenheim Museum has announced the shortlist for the Hugo Boss Prize 2008:  Christoph Buchel, Patty Chang, Sam Durant, Emily Jacir, Joachim Koester and Roman Signer.  The prize recognizes significant achievement in contemporary art and carries with it an award of $100,000.  The winner will be announced next fall, followed by an exhibition to be presented in spring 2009.

Auction News – Sotheby’s Winter 2007 sales of 20^th Century Design totaled $16.3 million.  Sale highlights of the four auctions included a screen by Piero Fornasetti, a tea infuser by Marianne Brandt, Louis Majorelle’s Table Aux Nenuphars (c. 1902), a Gustav Stickley bookcase, animalier bronzes by Rembrandt Bugatti and The John M. Fowler Collection of important Tiffany lamps.

NEA News – President Bush has signed an omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2008 that includes $144.7 million for the NEA—an increase of $20.1 million over 2007 funding.  This will allow the agency to devote more funds to direct grants to arts organizations and to extend the reach of the National Initiatives that support touring and arts education. – New guidelines for Grants for Arts Projects, the Endowment’s major support categories for organizations, are now available.  Visit www.nea.gov/grants/apply/index.html for more information and deadlines.

Museum Celebrates – The Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA, presents 10 Years of Drawings:  What, How and Why through May 4.  This exhibition celebrates the growth of the collection during the decade and places an emphasis on showing how and why works are selected for acquisition.  Among the highlights are an important transfer-drawing by Paul Gauguin and rare examples from the early German school.

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Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 18 No. 4 — February 2008