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Paint

Alkyd Paint

Alkyd paint is made of synthetic oil-modified resin that binds the pigments and additives together.  The alkyds are actually the binder in the paint – what makes it adhere and hold to a surface.  This binder is most often vegetable oil and creates paint that comes in a variety of decorator finishes.  These choices make alkyd ideal for multiple projects.  In the case of decorating paints, alkyds are very resistant to wear and tear and will hold up well in “high traffic” areas.  For artists, alkyds mean a versatile and responsive medium that can be used in a number of different and exciting ways.

One way alkyds are beneficial is that they are soluble in mineral spirits or turpentine.  High grade artists’ colors are available from a number of manufacturers.  Alkyds are formulated to be low odor, an increasing concern to many artists.  Several brands are created with much higher percentages of pigment and offer a greater value and thicker, stronger colors.

The consistency and application of alkyds is very much like working with dense oil paints.  They are compatible with other oil paints, can be thinned, often dry slower (allowing longer “open” time for work and additions to work) and come from the tube somewhat firmer than conventional oil paints.  This means that less paint is squeezed out and provides more coverage than traditional oils.  This firmer texture is especially well suited to palette knife work.

The real exciting feature of alkyds is their ease in creating glazes.  Once painted, the glaze dries quickly and can then be reworked sooner than conventional oil paints.  This ability to be used as glazing makes the overlaying of transparent colors, one over the other, a technique artists might use to create signature tones and luminescence in their works.  The hours this ability saves the artist who enjoys working with glazed surfaces is obvious.  Rather than days, hours are needed to create similar overlays.

When compared to conventional oils, alkyds are similar in the use of solvents and mediums to those used by oil painters.  The one clear advantage to alkyds is their drying time.  Artists can complete paintings in much less time, as alkyds dry much faster than oil but slower than acrylic paints.  In contrast to acrylics, alkyds usually dry with a luster that acrylics do not match.  Alkyds dry with a vivid, semi-gloss surface, while acrylics have a flatter finish.

The consistency of alkyds is smooth and buttery, though often thicker than conventional oils.   Alkyds do not yellow over time, nor do they become dull when dry.  Brilliant colors stay brilliant and their semi-gloss finish does not change over time.

In summary, alkyds can be mixed with other oil-based paints but should not be painted over oils. Only when painted over oils do alkyds have any chance of cracking – because the oil dries slower than the alkyds painted over top.   Alkyds are thicker, but can be thinned easily and will dry to a lustrous and lasting finish.  Pigment concentrations are very similar to conventional oil paints, although this was not always so. Alkyds can be used to create luscious glazes.  Layering is easy because the drying time is so short.

Alkyds offer a variety of exciting options and opportunities.  If you already paint in oils, you can continue to use the same mediums and solvents.  Colors and vibrancy are legendary and the results are dramatic.

Competitions/Grants

Photography – Photographer’s Forum magazine and Canon present the 29^th Annual Spring Photography Contest.  It’s open to all amateur photographers in the U.S., Canada and worldwide.  Winning photos will be published in the November 2009 issue and $4,000 plus two Canon camera/lens systems will be awarded.  Visit www.pfmagazine.com. Deadline:  April 20 for early entry; May 11 for regular entry.

Arts Writers Grant – The Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant Program is designed to support writers whose work addresses contemporary visual art through project-based grants issued directly to individual authors.  It issues awards for books, articles, short-form writing and blogs/new and alternative media projects and aims to support the broad spectrum of writing on contemporary visual art, from general-audience criticism to academic scholarship.  Online application submission opens April 27 with a deadline of June 8. See additional info at www.artswriters.org/guidelines.php.

Various Media – The Artist’s Magazine has issued a call for entries for the 26^th Annual Art Competition.  Artists from around the world may submit original artwork to compete in five categories:  Portrait/Figure, Still Life/Floral, Landscape/Interior, Abstract/Experimental and Animal/Wildlife.  More than $25,000 will be awarded in cash prizes.  Deadline:  May 1.  For complete guidelines and to enter online, visit https://secure.fwpublications.com/competitions/artistsmagazine/annual/annual_details.asp.

Various Media – The AARP Foundation invites members to enter its 2010 Calendar Contest.  Contestants must be amateurs and original paintings must be in pastels, oils, acrylics or watercolor.  The theme is “There’s Nowhere I’d Rather Be” and 14 paintings will be selected and exhibited at AARP’s Life@50+ National Event and Expo in Las Vegas from Oct. 22-24, 2009.  Deadline:  June 6.  www.aarp.org/foundation. Call toll free:  1.888.687.2277.

The Artist’s Marketplace

Strathmore – New Inkjet Packaging

Strathmore Inkjet Cards have a new box style of packaging with updated graphics.  They come in a traditional greeting card size—no more oversize half-fold or undersize quarter-fold cards, but a standard 5” x 7” card, just like the store-bought version.  These acid-free cards have been specially coated for beautiful color reproduction and include:  Canvas, with a subtle canvas texture; Pearl, with an elegant pearlescent surface; Glossy, with a non-glare, smooth surface for beautiful reproductive color for your photos; Textured, with a lightly textured surface; and Watercolor, specially coated on both sides to produce rich, vibrant colors in any inkjet printer.  Textured and Watercolor come in cards/envelopes of 8 each, while the rest come in cards/envelopes of 10 each. 

Painting Terms/Techniques

—Broken color is the use of brushstrokes or a particular pattern to set the mood or feeling of a painting.  Artists who practice this method say they “taste the painting with their eyes.”  This is a pretty bizarre description, but they are attempting to capture their subject with color relationships and value that are meant to be viewed from a distance.  From that vantage point, the subject should be fresh and lively.  It’s a contemporary technique in which simple lines on a canvas—rather than mixed, mingled, intersecting strokes—yield a subject.

—Lifting refers to the removal of paint or drawing material from the surface of artwork.  This can be done, depending on the material/medium, with an eraser, tissue, damp/stiff brush, cloth or sponge and by scraping, sanding, blotting or any other procedure in which the end result is the removal of the medium.  This technique is usually associated with watercolor and gouache.  These paints can be reconstituted with water and lifted (blotted), with the intent to remove the paint and expose the white of the paper to create a highlights.

—Dry brush painting is a more immediate style of watermedia painting and is at the opposite end of the painting scope from wet-in-wet.  Dry paper is contacted by a charged brush.  This brush is not dripping wet but barely pre-moistened. Since it holds a minimum of water when it goes into the pigment, it charges with stronger color.  The purpose of this is to create a method by which strong detail, control and precision can be achieved.  The artist builds up or mixes colors with short precise touches of the brush that blend, avoiding the appearance of pointillism.  Artists like Andrew Wyeth were famous for this method—clear, clean, near-photographic images.

—Impasto is the term used when paint is applied in a thick manner, usually with either a paint brush or a palette knife.  In some instances the artist will squeeze paint onto the surface directly from the tube.  The thick paint that is created by these applications is meant to be readily apparent and a deliberate part of the painting.  This technique is normally used to create bold textures in both oil and alkyd paints and acrylic artists’ colors.

—Grisaille is a painting technique that is done in several shades of a single color.  Often the single color is gray and used as an underpainting to be glazed over with different colors to develop a full-color effect.  In other cases, grisaille refers to an entire painting that is done with different values of a single color, e.g., light, medium and dark reds.

Kids’ Korner

Cray-Pas Contest Winners Announced

Close to 4,000 entries were received from U.S. and Canadian students for the 14^th Annual Wonderful, Colorful World of Cray-Pas 2009 Contest sponsored by Sakura of America.  The artworks of 150 finalists, highlighting nine winners and honorable mentions, have been selected and are posted online in the Contest Gallery at the Oil Pastel Society will host the winner’s artwork on its web site:  www.oilpastelsociety.com. In addition, the World Awareness Children’s Museum in Glens Falls, NY, will select 300 to 500 pieces from the remaining entries for its annual International Youth Art Exchange Program.

Judging Level: Kindergarten - 2nd Grade: First Place: David Monahan, Mary Help of Christians School, Laredo, TX	Judging Level: 3rd Grade - 5th Grade: First Place: Anderson Jenkins, Westminster Schools of Augusta, Augusta, GA	Judging Level: 6th Grade -  8th Grade: First: Joshua Jang, Da Vinci Art Studio, Irvine, CA

Earth Day Celebration

Climate Day for Kids will be held at the Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park, PACCAR Pavilion, on April 18 from Noon – 3 p.m.  Learn about climate change and what actions your family can take to reduce your carbon footprint.  Create green art using recycled materials and explore games and exhibits from SAM partners.  The event will be held indoors in the event of inclement weather and is free and open to the public.

Spring Vacation Activities

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston will celebrate April School Vacation Week April 21-24, with a week of fun for all ages.  Museum staff will be on hand to answer questions and spark lively discussions on specific works of art.  Free with admission.  On April 22, enjoy Fun for Families Day with free museum admission and a full day of storytelling, gallery activities, art-making and more.  NOTE:  New this year, the Gardner will open its doors FREE to all on his or her birthday as a “Happy Birthday” gift from Isabella Gardner to you.  Admission is always FREE to all under the age of 18 and, in honor of the museum’s founder, all named Isabella.  And members enjoy FREE admission year-round.

National Gallery of Art-Hunt for Treasures

Five new scavenger hunts—designed for ages 5 and under through ages 17 and up, respectively—may now be downloaded from the National Gallery’s Web site. The treasure hunts encourage art lovers of all ages to seek out masterpieces in the Gallery and then solve riddles, match details and unscramble clues about them. www.nga.gov/education/classroom/pdf/hunt.ages5under.pdf (ages 5 and under)
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/pdf/hunt.ages6to8.pdf (ages 6 to 8)
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/pdf/hunt.ages9to12.pdf (ages 9 to 12)
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/pdf/hunt.ages13to16.pdf (ages 13 to 16)
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/pdf/hunt.ages17up.pdf (ages 17 and up)

Storybook Exhibition

The Bill Peet Storybook Menagerie is at The Art Institute of Chicago through May 24.  After a 27-year career working as Walt Disney’s principal animator and main “storyman,” Bill Peet devoted himself full-time to writing and illustrating children’s books.  Along with sketches and storyboards from his Disney days, this exhibition features original works of art from 14 of Peet’s 34 published books, including The Caboose Who Got Loose, Cowardly Clyde, and Kermit the Hermit, among others.

Airbrush

Photographic Retouching

There has been a resurgence of interest in airbrush photo retouching as a fine art rather than commercial art application.  Nearly 100% of commercial photo retouching for advertising, etc., is now done digitally on a computer.  But some artists who use photography in their art are interested in the tactile application of airbrushing color onto the surface of their photos. 

Enhancing a photo can be done on both black/white and color photographs.  Photographic prints that can be manipulated and enhanced with the airbrush can be either traditional or digital photos with surfaces from high gloss to mat. To prepare a print for airbrushing: 

—Mount the photo on a backing board, either dry mount or glued on with replaceable spray adhesive.  Burnish the photo to the edges for total adhesion and to eliminate bubbles.  It’s important to use a stiff backing board to keep the photo from buckling when paint is applied.  This also provides a strong surface against which to cut stencils and frisket.

—Thoroughly clean a glossy photograph. This will eliminate fingerprints, oils or dirt resulting from handling.  Bestene Rubber Cement Remover is a good product for this cleaning purpose.  If not thoroughly cleaned, fingerprints or dirt specs will be evident after you have airbrushed. 

Once the photo is mounted and cleaned, the rest of the process is straightforward as in any airbrush application.  

When photo retouching was a mainstay for airbrush commercial artists, the photos were painted lying flat on a surface.  Stencils were made from 5 mil acetate. With this material you do not cut completely through to make a stencil; just score the surface with a knife and the acetate will pop out.  This lessens the chance of damaging the photo with the stencil knife.  Acetate stencils were held in place by gravity and small weights, which could be washers, coins, soldering lead, etc.

Once airbrushing is complete, the end product can be coated with a protective clear—gloss, mat or somewhere in between.  Clear coating protects the finished product and also gives it a consistent sheen.

FREE New Airbrush Newsletter

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Art Events/Exhibitions

Event:

—Learning & Product Expo:  ART! will be held July 10-12 at Chicagoland Western Suburbs, Hickory Ridge Marriott Conference Hotel, Lisle, IL.  Here you can immerse yourself in a unique experience for artists where you can choose from 200 art classes taught by some of the most popular instructors in the country and visit an exhibit hall packed with art material manufacturers to view free demonstrations, learn about art supplies and see new materials.  Registration begins May 1 and classes begin July 9.  Visit http://www.learningproductexpo.com/chi/home.cfm for more info.

Exhibitions:

—Becoming Edvard Munch:  Influence, Anxiety and Myth is at The Art Institute of Chicago through April 26.  This rich exhibition brings together approximately 150 works, including 75 paintings and 75 works on paper by Munch and his peers, many rarely seen in the U.S.  It is organized around the following themes:  loneliness and solitude, the street, anxiety, love and sexuality, death and dying, the bather, and nature.

—Toulouse-Lautrec and Paris is at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, through April 26.  The exhibition of over 80 remarkable oil paintings, posters, photographs, drawings and lithographs marks the first time in over 15 years that the Clark will show nearly its entire collection of works by the great French painter and printmaker.  Also displayed are related works by contemporaries including Degas, Bonnard and others.

—Pride of Place – Dutch Cityscapes of the Golden Age is at the National Gallery of Art through May 3.  Included are some 48 paintings, as well as 23 maps, atlases, illustrated books and prints that offer a comprehensive survey of the Dutch cityscape.  Joining Jacob van Ruisdael’s celebrated Haarlem with the Bleaching Fields are works by some 40 Dutch masters.  This exhibition coincides with the 400^th anniversary of the Dutch exploration and settlement of the Hudson River Valley.

—Cezanne and Beyond is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through May 17.  This is the only venue for this major exhibition exploring Cezanne’s impact on artists of succeeding generations.  Included are more than 150 works, including a large group of paintings, watercolors and drawings by Cezanne, along with those of 18 later artists such as Ellsworth Kelly, Jasper Johns, Brice Marden and Sherrie Levine, among others.

—Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, at the Dallas Museum of Art through May 17, provides insight into the life of Tutankhamun and other royals of the 18^th Dynasty, and all of the treasures included are between 3,300 and 3,500 years old.  On display are 50 of the boy king’s burial objects, including his royal diadem, and more than 70 additional objects from tombs of 18^th Dynasty royals and several non-royal individuals.  Tickets required. http://dallasmuseumofart.org/Dallas_Museum_of_Art/View/Tut/ID_198988.  Travels to the de Young Museum, San Francisco, June 27 to March 28, 2010.  For info/tickets, visit http://www.famsf.org/deyoung/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?exhibitionkey=1015.

—Warhol Live, at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, through May 17, presents the first comprehensive exploration of Warhol’s work as seen through the lens of music.  This exhibition brings together a wide variety of works depicting pop music royalty.  Major silkscreen paintings, album covers, illustrations and photographs inspired by music and the performing arts, along with films and sound recordings, will provide a visual and aural score to Warhol’s extraordinary work and life.

—Louise Bourgeois, at The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., through May 17, presents a major survey of the works of Louise Bourgeois.  Included are early drawings and paintings followed by the sculptural series of “Personages”—works that encompass a startling array of images and materials.  The highlight of the exhibition is a stellar array of her rarely seen masterpieces:  the large structured environments known as the “Cell” series.

—Paper:  Pressed, Stained, Slashed, Folded on view at MoMA, NYC, through June 22, focuses on works on paper, including prints, illustrated books and selected drawings that explore and manipulate the materiality of paper itself.  Many of the featured artists emerged during the 1960’s and 1970’s—Ed Ruscha, Lucio Fontana and Dorothea Rockburne, among others; and there are works by artists from more recent years as well—Ellen Gallagher, Martin Creed, and others.

ArtPourri

Venice Biennale News – Bruce Nauman:  Topological Gardens, the official U.S. representation at the 53^rd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia – will explore thematically the work of one of the most influential living American artists.  Organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the exhibition will underscore recurrent themes in the artist’s extraordinary 40-year career with works shown across three prominent locations in Venice.

Gift for the Met – The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC) has accepted the promised gift of 250 exceptional examples of American art pottery from the collector Robert A. Ellison Jr.  The collection, which spans the years 1876 through 1956 and represents all regions of the nation, ranks among the foremost of its kind. It will be unveiled on the mezzanine level of the Museum’s Charles Engelhard Court when the second phase of the newly renovated American Wing opens on May 19.

NEA News – The Arts Endowment has announced the appointment of Patrice Walker Powell as the agency’s acting chairman. — On its 10^th anniversary this year, Save America’s Treasures grants totaling $10.52 million have been awarded to 40 organizations and agencies to conserve significant U.S. cultural and historic treasures. — Barbara Ernst Prey, a visual artist who specializes in watercolor, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the National Council on the Arts. — A new NEA research note shows that women are making gains in traditionally male artist occupations, but still earn less than male artists; they make up just under half of all artists nationwide; are under-represented in many artist professions; have achieved a greater presence in some artist occupations; are as likely to be married as female workers in general, but are less likely to have children; and cluster in low-population states.  Women Artists:  1990-2005 is available at www.arts.gov/research/ResearchNotes_chrono.html.

USPS News – The sacrifices of 12 civil rights pioneers have been immortalized on postage with the “Civil Rights Pioneers” stamp sheet, bearing six 42-cent first class commemorative stamps.  Art Director Ethel Kessler and stamp designer Greg Berger chose to approach this project through photographic montage, and pairing two pioneers in each stamp was a way of intensifying the montage effect. The selvage image is an illustration by Greg Berger showing participants in a march.

Support the Whitney – The Whitney Museum of American Art has partnered with internationally celebrated artist Jenny Holzer to commission a limited-edition “members only” T-shirt featuring one of her signature Truisms:  “Good Deeds Eventually are Rewarded.”  This is your gift when you sign up to become a Whitney member at the $75 level or higher during the run of Jenny Holzer:  PROTECT PROTECT, on view through May 31.  Current members may extend or upgrade their memberships to qualify for this special opportunity.  The shirts are available only while supplies last.

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Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 19 No. 6 — April 2009