The Artist's Magazine

Art and nature

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:51:14 GMT

I want to build an earthbag dome.

I've been working like mad today trying to put the finishing touches on the upcoming book, Naturescapes: Innovative Painting Techniques Using Acrylics, Sponges, Natural Materials and More, in which Terrence Lun Tse uses leaves, twigs and found objects for painting acrylic landscapes and nature. Then I thought I'd take a little break to look for more examples of organic art.

What I discovered was Earthen Hand Natural Building, a business started by artist Scott Howard. And now ... now I want to go to Africa and build an earthbag dome. It's a vacation, it's real, it's cool, it's art ... check it out. Have you found any out of the ordinary escapes? I'd love to hear about them!

—Mona Michael
Managing editor, North Light Books

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Interview with the revolutionary Lisa Cyr

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:58:32 GMT

The Creative Spirit Within by Lisa Cyr (mixed media, 17.5x22)

Lisa Cyr, author of the best-selling mixed-media instructional book Art Revolution, is busy at work on her latest North Light project, tentatively titled Experimental Painting and set for release in summer 2011. We caught up with Lisa recently to chat about the project and some of the things that have inspired her.

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
I grew up in a family that was very craft oriented. Both of my grandmothers, my mother and my aunt (basically all the adult females in my life at the time) could sew, knit, crochet and embroider really well. There was always extra fabric, thread and yarn around to play with. As a child, I made my own doll clothes and accessories. Early on, I think it was clear to me that something handmade was superior and special compared to anything you could find readymade in a store. Both my grandmothers have since passed but throughout my home, especially at holidays, I have many special things to look at, touch and use that they made for me with their talents. Each piece serves as a reminder of the importance of sharing one's special gifts with others and the impact it has on generations to come.

What’s your home life like?
After living in Manhattan for many years, I moved to the Pocono Mountain area, about an hour and 15 minutes outside the city. I feel like I have the best of both worlds: the richness and culture of the city nearby and the fresh air and comforts of having lots of space to work. I have two cats that I rescued from the streets when I was living in NYC. They are my little buddies, providing creative feedback when I need it. A good supportive purr is all you need sometimes to keep you going! I also have a daughter and she is the love of my life. She inspires me to continue to play and experiment, always seeking new ways to do things.

Any favorite quotes?
I like this quote by Goethe, "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic." I also have a quote of my own that I like to use often. "Create from the heart, innovate without boundaries, strive for greatness and speak to the culture in ways that inspire and motivate."

Favorite artists?
I think if I had to describe where my inspirations come from I would say J.W. Waterhouse and Adolphe-William Bouguereau meet Robert Rauschenberg with a twist of Gustav Klimt.

Favorite books?
I like when others share their life experience in insightful ways. Artists on Art (Pantheon Books), compiled and edited by Robert Goldwater and Marco Treves, is a collection of writings and letters by famous artists throughout the centuries. From the classical notations of Leonardo da Vinci to the inner workings of Pablo Picasso, the prose is quite uplifting and inspirational.

Give us a taste of your latest project.
Experimental Painting is my latest project with North Light Books. It will feature exciting, in-depth demonstrations that bring a project from conceptual ideation to final execution, showing all sorts of interesting techniques along the way! It will also have a chapter on the artist portfolio, which will divulge into innovative promotional strategies for the artist. In addition to the book, I am planning on doing a mini documentary, showing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this book. I think it will be a great teaching device as well as an interesting inside look into the project and its content.

You can check out a few of the reviews from fans of Art Revolution, and learn more about Lisa on her website.

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Get kids interested in drawing

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:07:42 GMT

Little kids are natural-born artists. If you provide them with the right materials, they'll draw anywhere—at restaurants, in the car, anywhere.

One of the best ways to get your kids interested in drawing is to show them how to draw something they love, such as their own favorite pet—it might be puppies and kittens, or other little critters such as ducklings and chicks, bunnies and mice, lambs and fawns.

All of these and more are included in Jane Maday's new book, Draw Baby Animals. While this isn't a drawing book specifically for children, it does have easy step-by-steps and simple diagrams adults can use to teach kids how to draw their favorite baby animals. And the materials are minimal—regular graphite pencils and an assortment of colored pencils are all you'll need.

Here's a great holiday gift idea for the kids in your life: Create your own drawing kit by combining the book and some pencils and paper to help your budding artist get inspired. They'll soon discover the sheer pleasure and fun of drawing their own beloved pets!

—Kathy K.
Editor, North Light Books

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What's new in art education

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:21:47 GMT

You know me as Jen from Jen's Picks, and as the new Online Education Manager here at Artists Network, my main goal is to give you what you need to grow artistically. Here's what's new in my world!

Our Artist's Network Online Seminars are a great way to learn about art from the comfort of your own home. Each seminar is presented by an expert in the field who guides you through an hour-long discussion of your favorite art topics. In our next seminar Nov. 3, The Artists Magazine's Maureen Bloomfield pairs up with Watercolor Artist's Kelly Kane to help you make a strong, positive impression on judges when entering art competitions. Learn more about Entering Art Competitions here.

ArtistsNetwork.TV's streaming, downloadable and DVD art classes are like having a one-on-one in-studio session with a professional artist. This month we filmed Sterling Edwards, and I am amazed at how just by watching him paint, right there in front of me, I now find luminous watercolors actually doable and fun. And, I've got to get my hands on some encaustic materials—once you watch our latest production, Encaustic Techniques with Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch, you'll be itching to melt wax, too.

—Jen Lepore
Online education manager

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What drawings can do that paintings can't

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:52:48 GMT

Last week, instead of spending time on my own drawing, I got to see the work of several talented artists while in Scottsdale, AZ. Among other things, I was there to attend the Scottsdale Gallery Association's monthly Art Walk. Art walks are a great way for the arts community and art lovers to come together by opening gallery doors for an evening, and I saw some amazing art.

One of the highlights of my trip was the 1st Annual Scottsdale Drawing Event. So many collectors focus on paintings that drawings are often an overlooked art form. Many of the drawings were completed in conjunction with oil paintings. It was astounding to see the same image, one in black and white, the other in full color; each a complete work on its own with a different intensity.

I found it fun to find the slight variations between the works as the composition was altered to best suit the artists' intention and medium. All the work was great, but sometimes I actually liked the drawings better. Drawing has a direct connection to the subject that's not always present in paintings. I think it's the mark-making that only dry media create—each line, hash-mark or smudge echoing the movement of the hand across the paper. You be the judge: Check out this gallery of drawings from the show.

Improve your own drawing skills with these books:

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Sketching children from life

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:55:52 GMT

Capturing the personality and inner life of a child in a portrait can be challenging, and sometimes reference photos just won't cut it. Read on for award-winning artist and author Victoria Lisi's tips for sketching from life:

If you have an opportunity to sketch the child, you can record details, impressions and characteristics that a camera would miss. There is a big difference between a photo and a living, breathing child! What sort of personality does she have? Shy? Bold? Impish? Artistic? These qualities will be more obvious as you sketch and interact and will add to your work.

One of my students brought his baby to class one day, and I took the opportunity to demonstrate drawing from life to my students. The baby hadn’t learned to crawl yet and was quite content to sit on a blanket gazing about, talking baby talk. I tried to capture his easy-going, happy personality in these quick sketches. A photograph could not have conveyed his disposition as well as these sketches based on life observation.

To learn more about drawing and painting children, check out Victoria's book Vibrant Children's Portraits: Painting Beautiful Hair and Skin Tones With Oils, available in January 2010.

—Mary Bostic
Associate editor, North Light Books

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Forget Bed, Bath and Beyond: Register for Art

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:49:12 GMT

Why register for toasters, towels and Tupperware when you can celebrate your wedding with an original piece of art? The nAscent gallery of New York has just created a registry service that allows couples to register for works of art showcased by the company. Friends and family of the lucky couple can either purchase the work outright or may make a contribution toward the purchase of the work, such as the above piece, Sugarcane Fields by artist Fernando Ferreira de Araujo.

If you’re more of a bookworm, Splash 10 or Strokes of Genius 2 are coffee table books filled with art that’s sure to impress your soon-to-be in-laws with your excellent taste.

—Kelly Messerly
Editor, North Light Books

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Warm and cool: Simple color mixing

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:14:44 GMT

I like to play with color in my drawings. There are a lot of great artists who capture realistic skin tone to create amazingly accurate drawings. This takes a lot skill and practice, which is certainly worth striving for. However, I prefer to be more experimental with my figure drawing and choose a subjective color palette. This gives me the latitude to select the hues and values I want to convey the mood I'm looking for.

When drawing the figure, I like to start with the basic shapes, defining the outline of the model. I make corrections as I go along until I get the shapes just right. I want to capture the posture of the pose, so that the mood and gesture of the model is reflected in my drawing. To me, that's more important than capturing the proportions perfectly. Once I've achieved the shapes I want, I add color.

The lines of the drawing capture the figure and mood of the pose while setting the groundwork for the entire composition. Blue becomes a natural shadow color; the value is darker, which adds depth and rounds out the form. Using the light yellow-green adds warmth to the skin, while providing contrast to the blue. Contrast is a great way to add interest to any drawing or painting, so I always try to add some strong contrast my work. The red hair provides a great final pop to top off the image. One other thing to notice is how the same colors are used in different places throughout the figure. This helps move the eye around the drawing and keeps any one color from garnering too much attention. The red behind the arm balances with the red in the hair; the blue in the hair, neck and arm brings the eye from top to bottom, then back up. The one thing I'd like to fix is the balance between the eyes; one is darker than the other. Next time I'll need to be more precise in my line making.

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We want your best watercolors

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:41:54 GMT

Our Splash: Best of Watercolor competitions are somewhat legendary here at North Light Books. It's always exciting to see the entries for each book as they roll in, and many of North Light's most popular authors were discovered in Splash (Soon Y. Warren, author of Painting Vibrant Watercolors: Discover the Magic of Light, Color and Contrast, comes to mind).

North Light's guru of things Splash-related is Sarah Laichas. Sarah recently drew on the talents of our ArtistsNetwork.tv crew to tell you all about the next Splash competition, Splash 12: The Best of Watercolor: Celebrating Artistic Vision. Watch the video below—and you'll learn the name of the artist who painted the cover of Splash 11, in stores next summer!

The deadline to enter the current Splash 12 competition is Dec. 15, 2009. You can submit your artwork here.

—Mona Michael
Managing editor, North Light Books

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How to set up a French easel

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:01:22 GMT

First-time North Light author George Durkee is back at home in Murphys, CA, after spending nine inspiring days at the Burning Man festival in the Black Rock desert of Nevada. (He got in 25 hours of life drawing in five days!) He's now gearing up for his book's release at the end of October.

In the beautiful Expressive Oil Painting: An Open-Air Approach to Creative Landscapes, George shares tricks of the trade to encourage you to paint inspired and engaging landscapes that capture your own unique impressions of the world around you. It covers nine in-depth painting demos, all of the fundamentals of oil painting, plus a diverse sampling of ideas and approaches for capturing mood, light, movement, painting en plein air and determining accurate reference values.

George's passion is painting outside in nature. Here he demonstrates how to set up a French easel, an important piece of equipment that helps artists paint efficiently en plein air.

1. Extend one of the side legs to full length and tighten the nut.

2. Bring the leg into position and fasten it in place.

3. Extend the other side leg.

4. Unfold the second leg and fasten it in place.

5. Unfold the center leg.

6. Stand the easel upright and arrange your materials.

You can pre-order Expressive Oil Painting at northlightshop.com, or look for it in stores Oct. 30!

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