Drawing

Colored Pencils

Being one of the oldest and most used writing—and, today, drawing—instruments, the pencil has endured since pre-historic times, when chalky rocks and charred sticks were used to illustrate such surfaces as cave walls and animal hides.  The Greeks and Romans used slender lead bars to create fine-line drawings on papyrus sheets, some of which are legible even after having been discovered in ancient tombs.

But colored pencils are a relatively new invention.  Although created in much the same way as graphite (traditional “lead”) writing instruments, colored “leads” are actually a complex compound of pigment and dyes plus binder formulated to give rich, bright color without smearing.  Their color remains colorfast after many years and is easy and fun to use.  Clay and gum are combined with colorants to create the long-lasting and rich colors.  Most often the color of the outside of the pencil is the same as the lead color.  That makes selection fast and easy.  See it – grab it and go!

Sketching with colored pencils is perfect for the artist on the go.  By carrying a small pocket of pencils and a pad of drawing paper, the artist is always ready to capture and record the world around him/her.  Most of the techniques used in colored pencil drawing are the same as for all pencil drawing.  General methods of color application include hatching, cross-hatching, color gradation, outlining and tonal overlay.

Hatching is a method of drawing in which the artist uses parallel lines to “fill” an area.  This is usually done for the appearance of subtlety rather than sharp contrasted areas.  The lines can be wide or thin, can be darkly applied or lightly applied.  But it is the method of line placement that gives this sketching term its name.

Cross-hatching is very similar to hatching and, in fact, begins in the very same way.  Lines are first drawn in one direction.  Then, perpendicular to those, crossing lines are placed over the first layer.  What is developed is a more intense contrast of color.  The more lines placed over one another add up to a darker and more defined area in the drawing.  Shadows and dark area detail are often accomplished with cross-hatching lines.

Color gradation means an area of color that progresses in an even tonal change from dark to light or light to dark.  This is accomplished by controlled pressure of repeated lines placed very close together – so close that they touch.  No space is left between the lines, but a feather-light touch renders an increasingly dark to light or light to dark area in the drawing.  Some practice is needed to perfect your technique with gradation, but it is one of the most useful drawing techniques.

Outlining is used for drama, as there is no time in a realistic scene when outlining is present.  Forms play one on the other; darks and lights contrast and are used in close proximity to indicate sharp contrast and strong values, but outlining is an artistic technique that many artists use for impact rather than to replicate reality.

If you build up too much color on the paper, two things happen.  You will not be able to add more color and the paper might be severely damaged.  Either way, a gentle and gradual tonal buildup is essential for the richest tones.

Magical things can be done while working with colored pencils if the colors are used in conjunction with some basic yet unusual materials.  Try Turpenoid to smooth and mix tones and create the most vivid colors.  Mineral spirits - even baby wipes - can be used for cool effects.  Gently rub any of these materials over the surface of a penciled area.   Exciting things happen.   Experiment and have some fun. 

Ask your retailer for General Pencil’s MultiChrome (available by the dozen in 31 colors and in sets of 12 and 24 assorted colors) and Color-Tex colored pencils (available by the dozen in 26 colors and sets of 12 and 24 assorted colors), as well as their other fine quality drawing materials:  drawing graphite, watercolor pencils, charcoal, multi-pastel chalks, several specialty drawing formulas, The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver, Factis erasers and sharpeners and more.  www.generalpencil.com.

Art Online

Gauguin:  Maker of Myth Video Podcasts, National Gallery of Art – Narrated by Willem Dafoe and with Alfred Molina as the voice of Paul Gauguin, this film was made in conjunction with the exhibition of the same title.  It explores the artist’s search for an authenticity he felt missing in Modern Europe.  Watch the film in four parts.  www.nga.gov/podcasts/index.shtm#gauguin.

Lectures - Society of Illustrators – Among eight new lectures available to view online are An Evening with Edel Rodriguez; The Folly, Flexibility and Fun of Five New Yorker Cartoonists; An Evening with Jules Feiffer; Illustrating Bedtime Books with Stephen Savage; and An Evening with Milton Glaser.  Lectures are free and available to view on the Society’s website.  Past lectures can be found in the Lecture Archive.  www.societyillustrators.org.

Connections, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC – This new online interactive highlights the perspectives and insights of Museum staff on works of art in the museum’s collection.  This will be presented as weekly four-minute episodes comprised of audio narration and slide shows of the works of art discussed, as well as links to contextual background.  Each episode explores a broad theme through the subjective and personal viewpoint of a Museum staff member, from curators to designers to technicians and more. www.metmuseum.org/connections.

The Art Marketplace

Ampersand – New Artist Panel – Smooth Finish

The new Artist Panel – Smooth Finish from Ampersand Art Supply is an excellent wood panel with a silky smooth surface.  Affordably priced, it gives students and beginners a smooth alternative for oils, acrylics and mixed media to contrast the canvas texture of the current Artist Panel surface.  Available in a 1/8 profile, you can choose from 13 sizes ranging from 4x4 to 18x24.  See your retailer and visit www.ampersandart.com.

Grumbacher – New Acrylic Sets

The Academy Acrylic line from Grumbacher is highly pigmented and has superior tinting strength at a single student price.  All 48 colors have an ASTM lightfast rating of “1”, Excellent.  New 75 and 200ml plastic tubes, as well as 90ml metal tubes, are available.  New sets include the Mixing Set-Acrylic with (5) 75ml plastic tubes in Ultramarine Blue, Process Cyan, Process Magenta, Grumbacher Red and Process Yellow; and the Basic Set-Acrylic with (5) 75ml plastic tubes, including Cad. Red Med. Hue, Ultramarine Blue, Cad. Yellow Med. Hue, Titanium White and Lamp Black.  See your retailer for these brilliant process colors and visit www.grumbacherart.com.

Iwata - New Beginner Airbrush Set

The new Beginner Airbrush Set from Iwata contains everything the beginner or fledgling airbrusher requires to start airbrushing now:

—The Studio Series Ninja Jet Compressor is great for the beginning airbrush artist doing general airbrush applications. 

—The NEO for Iwata CN Gravity-Feed Dual-Action Airbrush is the best airbrush for the first-time user.

—The Table-Top Cleaning Station makes cleaning your airbrush quick and easy, with no overspray.

—The book, Basic Airbrush Techniques:  A Complete Course by Robert Paschal, explains the fundamentals of airbrushing in a foolproof, easy and straightforward manner.

—The Basic Airbrush Techniques Exercise Kit contains all the materials you’ll need to complete the exercises in Robert’s book:   pre-printed exercises, Com-Art paints, Medea Airbrush Cleaner, Artool FrisketFilm and an Iwata Art Knife. 

This set will make a great graduation or birthday gift.  See your art materials retailer and visit www.iwata-medea.com.

Art Movements

Conceptual Art

Conceptual Art is a type of illustration where the main goal is to convey the representation of a design, an idea or a mood.  Not restricted to fine arts, the same “concepts” are used for film, animation, comic books and even video games.   But in the area of fine art, Conceptual Art got its start as a media that set out to purposefully evoke controversy.  By making the viewer re-evaluate his/her idea of what is a “known fact” of art, it creates emotion, argument and debate at every turn.  Or it did at the beginning of this movement.  By doing this, opinions and the purpose of spectators are refined and we are given a chance to consider alternatives. 

All of this seems deep and menacing, but in reality, it is meant to sharpen our knowledge and the way we feel about the visual beauty in our lives.  Artists often view things differently and this style of work conveys that well.

While there is no specific artist who is credited with the start of Conceptual Art, during the period of 1966 to 1972 several artists were categorized as Conceptual artists.  Joseph Kosuth, Robert Morris, Joseph Beuys and Mel Ramsden are part of that list.  Each did work that fell directly into the combined methods learned with the Dadaism, Surrealism, Suprematism, Abstract Expressionism and Fluxus groups.  Being free of the customary restrictions surrounding specific movements and schools, Conceptual Art strove to free art from the Modernist standard.  Art’s ultimate goal to create things that are beautiful and aesthetically pleasing was being transformed.  No longer was art restricted to the visual pleasure – art was supposed to make us think.

Joseph Kosuth (1945- American born) is one of the first Conceptual artists and was concerned with the mechanics of meaning in language, especially words used in various contexts. He has done installations with text, quotes, and definitions, sometimes combined with photographs and objects.  In his work, he attempted to convey the fact that philosophy was dead – that art was the way to replace it.

Robert Morris (1935- American born) is an American sculptor, conceptual artist and writer. He is regarded as one of the most prominent theorists of Minimalism, but he has also made important contributions to the development of other forms of creative work.  His original work attempted to convey his idea that art making was a record of a performance by the artist.  This led to his exploration of performance art, installation art and even soil/land art.

Joseph Beuys (1921-1986 – German born) is most famous for his unusual public performances and his enthusiastic belief of the healing potential of art and the power of a universal human creativity.  In his creative life he performed before many public audiences, wrote, sculpted and created 450 prints and thousands of drawings.  Most of this art was centered on his belief that art was a uniting and uplifting event.

Mel Ramsden (1944-  English born) is an artist and writer.  He may be best known for a quote where he called Conceptual Art “…modernism’s nervous breakdown.” After nearly forty years, critics and artists are still trying to specifically define conceptual art, even when it has been practiced by succeeding artists.  In both his writing and art, the controversy associated with Conceptual Art is present.  Everyday objects are presented in out-of-context situations and words and numbers are used as subject matter.

Even though Conceptual Art is segregated to a specific time period of six short years, it is still a viable art form today, largely because of the work and perspective brought by the earlier practitioners.  When artists paint what they feel, when their expressionism and/or surrealistic work is displayed, they are continuing the practice set forth by those who began the Conceptual Art “movement.”

Arts Surveys

The National Endowment for the Arts has released results of a new study that measures the value of the performing arts and other arts sectors through time use, organizational data and consumer spending.

Following are the key findings as they apply to arts/crafts only:

Value as expressed by time use

—Museums draw more than 500,000 per day.  Most visitors spend 2.4 hours and attendance peaks during lunch hour.

—On any given day, 2.6 million Americans spend 2.5 hours on arts and crafts activities.  This includes painting, sculpting, photography, scrapbooking, holiday decorations and costume-making and jewelry-making.  Thirty percent do these activities with other family members; and 19 percent with children.

Value as expressed by consumer spending

—The average U.S. household spent $139 annually on arts and crafts, a category that includes toys and (non-video) games.  This amount was roughly comparable to that spent on sports and exercise equipment ($130).

Download the NEA research note Time and Money in the Research section of www.arts.gov.

Art Competitions & Opportunities

Chicago Pastel Painters
Third Biennial National Juried Exhibition: Pastels Chicago 2011
Mayslake Peabody Estate, Oak Brook, IL
Sept. 15 – Oct. 28
Deadline:  July 1

U.S. artists 18 years and older are eligible.  All work must be original in concept and executed by the artist within the last three years, with at least 80% of the image area in soft pastel.  Awards Total:  $7,000.  http://www.chicagopastelpainters.org/.

National Watercolor Society
91^st Annual Exhibition
San Pedro, CA
Oct. 22-Dec. 3
Deadline:  July 9

The exhibition is open to all water media artists.  Artwork must be on a paper surface and unvarnished, and water media must be the dominant element.  No digital art, photography, prints or reproductions.  A traveling exhibition of 30 artworks will be chosen for a one-year national tour.  Awards:  $25,000 in purchase, cash and merchandise awards.  www.nationalwatercolorsociety.org.

81^st Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit
Greenwich Village, NYC
Sept. 3-5 and 10-11
Deadline:  July 11

This show takes place on the sidewalks of University Place from E. 12^th St. south along the side of Washington Square Park to 3^rd St.  Both veteran and up-and-coming artists and craft artisans are welcome.  The show awards thousands of dollars in prizes for various fine arts and fine craft categories.  Applications received after the deadline date will be considered as circumstances permit.  212.982.6255.  www.wsoae.org.  Note:  This event is also held each spring over Memorial Day Weekend and will continue June 4-5 this year.

Audubon Artists—69^th Annual Exhibition
Salmagundi Art Club Galleries, NYC
Sept. 12-30
Deadline:  July 23

Artists residing in the U.S. are eligible, including Associate members and non-members.  Media categories include aquamedia, collage and mixed media, oils and acrylics, graphics, pastels and sculpture.

Awards/Medals. http://www.audubonartists.org/.

Oak Park Art League – Carriage House
      Gallery National Juried Exhibition
Oak Park, IL
Oct. 7-Nov. 18
Deadline:  Aug. 1

Artists 18 and over are eligible.  The show is open to all mediums except photography and computer-generated artwork of any kind.  Hand-pulled prints in numbered editions are permitted.  $4,000 in cash and product awards.  708.386.9853.  www.opal-art.com.

Airbrush

Helpful Hints for the Airbrush Artist

Beginners—Use a Coloring Book Drawing for Reference

Many potential airbrushers stress over their inability to draw, thus preventing them from ever attempting to airbrush.  This is one reason why airbrush templates are so popular, but another easy way to develop interesting exercises is to utilize the drawings in a coloring book.  These are ideal line drawings for practice, but you must trace them onto paper appropriate for airbrushing.  This can be accomplished using carbon paper, a light table, copying the image through a projector or using the new Bernini Pencil-Line Transfer Spray.  This new art product creates a carbon-like paper by spraying the back of a drawing, print or photograph for easy transfer, leaving a very soft grey line. The airbrush artist requires a line drawing for reference only, since everything else is accomplished with spray (shadows, highlights, color, etc.).  The line drawings in coloring books can supply a limitless selection of images for painting with the airbrush.

Drain the Airbrush Compressor Storage Tank

Silentaire SA50-24

Most piston-operated compressors have a storage tank to hold the air prior to spraying with the airbrush.  This tank tends to collect condensation and/or oil, so it must be drained periodically.  At the bottom front of the storage tank there is usually a screw valve, which is unscrewed while there is air pressure in the tank to allow the moisture and excess oil to drain.  Once the tank is drained the valve is closed so the compressor can again build up pressure.   If the moisture is left in the storage tank too long, rusting can take place and excess moisture buildup can lead to moisture in the air line, neither of which is desirable.  Periodic draining will prevent both.

Airbrush a Straight Line

When spraying with the airbrush, point it directly at the work surface and move your entire arm when making a spray pass.  Beginning artists are sometimes inclined to move only their wrists when directing the spray, and this prevents them from getting even paint coverage.  Another problem can arise when spraying at an angle.  The spray is more likely to lift the edge of the stencil/frisket material, with paint drifting underneath.  Thus, a hard edge will not be obtained.

Use Care—Don’t Dent Your Air Cap

The tip of the airbrush, called the air cap, is extremely important in producing the perfect spray.  If this becomes damaged, the airbrush won’t spray properly.  Damage can be caused by mishandling, such as dropping the brush or knocking it against something.  It’s virtually impossible to repair a dented air cap, but it is easy to replace.  On the other hand, the needle that protrudes from the front of the airbrush can be straightened if bent—but not too many times.  It’s the alignment of the straight needle and the unmarred air cap that give you that round, soft spray that you expect from your airbrush.

ArtPourri

Prizes Awarded – The 2011 Calder Prize has been awarded to American artist Rachel Harrison.  The prize consists of $50,000, the opportunity to complete a six-month residency at the Atelier Calder in Sache, France, and the gifting of one of the artist’s defining works to a major public collection.

–Architecture’s highest honor, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, has been awarded for 2011 to Eduardo Souto de Moura, from Portugal.  The laureate will receive a $100,000 grant and a bronze medallion at a formal ceremony in Washington, D.C., this month.

—The 20^th annual Whitney Museum American Art Award honors Marissa Mayer of Google.   The award consists of an original artwork commissioned from an American artist and presented to the honoree at a gala dinner. 

Art Fair Scheduled – ART Santa Fe will celebrate 11 successful years when presented July 7-10.  This year’s fair will be hosted at the Convention Center in the heart of downtown Santa Fe, NM.  Featured will be contemporary galleries from all over the globe, cutting-edge art installations and emerging artists and dealers.  www.artsantafe.com.

Museum Space Sold – Because it’s a time of “considerable financial challenge,” the American Folk Art Museum building on West 53^rd St. in Manhattan, which opened at that location in 2001, is being sold to MoMA for $31.2 million.  This will allow for expansion of MoMA, and the folk art museum will re-establish their Lincoln Square space, which for more than 20 years served as a venue for their exhibitions and programs, as their home and primary base of operations.

Auction News – Sotheby’s:  Some highlights of spring sales include a new record for a piece of American Indian art at auction—an Oglala Sioux beaded and fringed hide war shirt that once belonged to the famous Sioux Chief Black Bird sold for $2.65 million;  George Bellows’ Dock Builders sold for $3.89 million;  Picasso’s Femmes lisant (Deux personages) achieved $21.3 million; Warhol’s Sixteen Jackies brought $20.2 million; and John Chamberlain’s Nutcracker sold for $4.7 million,  setting a new record for the artist at auction.

—Christies:  The two-week sales series saw 88 lots offered that surpassed the $1 million price threshold.  Warhol’s Self-Portrait, 1963-64 sold for $38.4 million; a rediscovered painting by Mark Rothko, Untitled No. 17, brought $33.6 million; and Roy Lichtenstein’s drawing Study for Kiss V—acquired for $10 in 1965 at a NYC Happening—brought over $2 million.

New Love Stamp Issued – The US Postal Service has issued the new Garden of Love—ten different first class stamps depicting a colorful mosaic of flora and fauna in a garden setting.  A continuation of the “Love” series, they are intended for use on occasions when love and affection are expressed.  Award-winning illustrator Jose Ortega of New York City and Toronto made a digital file of his original pencil and marker drawings.  Then he added color, improvising until the garden took shape.  Tapestries, textiles and mosaics influenced his choice of colors and patterns.

Scholars Named – The names of the 2011 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts have been announced.  This is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an artistically talented graduating high school senior.  This year’s scholars represent 13 states and eight artistic disciplines.  Winner in the Visual Arts category was Lee R. Heinemann from Pembroke High School, Kansas City, MO.  www.youngarts.org.

Milestone – Bill Gallo, who worked for the New York Daily News for seven decades, has died at the age of 88.  He started as a copy boy and became a cartoonist and columnist of renown for his depiction of major sports figures.

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Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 21, No. 8 — June 2011