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 Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Keep up with all of us on Twitter
By Grace Dobush | News
9/30/2009 9:53:58 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
How to set up a French easel
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!
Advice | By Sarah Laichas | North Light Books
9/29/2009 1:01:22 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Amazing backlit sand drawings
By Grace Dobush | Videos
9/29/2009 11:12:23 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, September 28, 2009
Georgia O'Keeffe: In Her Own Words
A blockbuster exhibit, Georgia O’Keeffe: Abstraction, has opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art this month, and with it the first-time publication of steamy love letters between O'Keeffe and her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, the well-known photographer. The letters had been sealed for 20 years, but now the catalogue accompanying the show includes 22 of the emotional treatises, along with images of O'Keeffe's sensuous, often joyous depictions of flowers. Excerpts from 10 of O'Keeffe's letters were also posted on The Daily Beast a few days ago. The letters date from 1916 to the 1940s, when the artist wrote to Stieglitz in New York City from her permanent home in Abiquiu, New Mexico. For anyone who thought the recent biopic Georgia O'Keeffe, which aired on Lifetime Sept. 19, seemed a bit superficial and overwrought, the letters shed additional light on the artist and her complicated relationship with Stieglitz. He was portrayed in the  biopic as a self-absorbed, cruel philanderer, but also as the artist's biggest promoter. We often think of O'Keeffe as a leathery skinned, stoic, independent woman of the West, not the willing participant in a relationship of "enraged intimacy," as one critic dubbed the duo's stormy union. Nor do we think of this art icon as a mushy school girl smitten with a man twice her age. But in a 1916 letter, O'Keeffe wrote to Stieglitz: "I don't know if its woman or little girl—I am mostly both. I want to put my arms round you—kiss you—let you kiss me." (Punctuation and spelling are O'Keeffe's.) By 1934 the letters turn bleaker, with painful references to his affairs. The correspondence coupled with the exhibition should offer O'Keeffe aficionados a deeper look into the personal life of the legendary painter—a key figure in 20th century art and the only American female artist with a museum dedicated to her work. Show schedule:
Dispatches from the West | Exhibits | News | Notable Artists
9/28/2009 9:21:50 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, September 25, 2009
Exercise your eye: Learn to draw
 Ahhh, autumn! For many people, that means back to school, and for me it's no different, even though I've been working for 20 years. As the publisher of The Artist’s Magazine and North Light Books, I know a lot about art. Actually, I've been painting for years, and I decided to exercise my eyes and hands by taking part in a local figure-drawing group. The first session was Sept. 12, and I’ve decided to share my thoughts about drawing and making art and some of the conversations that come up during the critiques in our blog. Although this was the first group session, I've been drawing with some of these people for years. We were lucky to have a veteran model with us, so I was able to quickly get into a strong rhythm. We drew for about an hour with quick, two- to five-minute poses, then another hour with 15-minute poses. I draw pretty fast, so this approach works well for me. It's always good to know your objectives before starting any work of art. I have some very simple goals for my drawings: 1. Exercise my eye-hand coordination.
2. Engage with the model to capture him on paper.
3. Practice my compositional skills.
4. Record what I see in a quick, simplistic manner.
I'm not too worried about accuracy; these are really just experiments and a chance to draw. Notice the figures in my finished drawing (top) are of the same pose from different perspectives. I like this approach because it challenges me to incorporate the figures without making them repetitive. By including two figures, the composition becomes more complex and establishes a dialogue between them. I went back into the drawing the next day to create the setting, which connects the figures and makes the drawing less of a study and more of a finished work. This drawing was created on paper taken from an old book doomed to the recycling bin. The printed words added texture to the paper and were a challenge to integrate into the work. I liked the way the text interacted with the figures and decided I didn’t want to use traditional shading or modeling to create forms. Instead I opted to leave the figures unshaded and focused on using color and value to create contrast within the piece. I think it was successful overall and a good start to the fall drawing season. The drawing sessions will be going on for three months, and I’ll be posting here every Friday. If you have questions or comments, post them below. You can also friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Advice | Random Thoughts | By Jamie Markle
9/25/2009 9:02:27 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tip file: Universal design principles
From Robert Reynolds with Patrick Seslar in the January 1990 issue of The Artist's Magazine: While the specifics of a successful design vary, a few principles are fairly universal and can be used to strengthen any design:
- use asymmetrical divisions of space
- soften geometric corners
- build tension between shapes
- and create emphasis with contrast.
Learn more:
By Grace Dobush | Tips
9/24/2009 10:10:02 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
September Artists Network News
By Grace Dobush | News | Videos
9/23/2009 1:48:13 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Four artists among MacArthur geniuses
 The 2009 class of MacArthur Foundation fellows was just announced, and four artists are among the 24 recipients of no-strings-attached $500,000 grants. - Timothy Barrett is a master papermaker who founded the University of Iowa Center for the Book, the only program in the
US that focuses on making Western- and Japanese-style paper
by hand.
- Mark Bradford is a mixed-media artist who uses ephemera found in urban environments, often from his own neighborhood of South Central, Los Angeles. You can see a video of him talking about his work here.
- Rackstraw Downes is an oil painter who moved from abstracts to highly detailed landscapes in the 1960s. He sometimes spends months completing just one piece.
- Camille Utterback is a digital artist whose works focus on text and interaction with the viewer. You can watch an interview with her here.
Congratulations to all the lucky recipients! What would you do with a $500,000 "genius grant"?
By Grace Dobush | News | Notable Artists
9/22/2009 3:48:32 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, September 21, 2009
Report: Fall Arts Festival in Jackson, WY
 At 9:29 a.m. last Saturday, Amy Poor, John Potter, and Julie Chapman were standing in front of their easels in the Jackson Hole, WY, town square, eagerly awaiting the signal to pick up their brushes and start painting. They were three of about 20 artists participating in the Quick Draw, in which they had an hour to create a painting. (If it were reality TV, this would be the quickfire challenge on Bravo's Top Chef.) "It's masochistic and tough," says William Smith, who practiced beforehand to shave minutes off his time. A few minutes later, a five-piece orchestra on hand for the event struck up the theme from Mission: Impossible. The Quick Draw is part of the annual Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival. The night before some of the artists were also ensconced at the nearby National Museum of Wildlife Art, where their works were on display at an annual miniature show. This year California watercolor painter Thomas Quinn received the Artist’s Choice award for his elegant piece depicting a quail foraging for prey. Meanwhile in the museum lobby, collectors dined on treats such as mashed potatoes in champagne glasses.  Shadow of the Sixth (oil, 60x120) by Tom GilleonGallery owners participated in the festival with show openings and receptions for the artists. Paintings at some venues like Trailside Galleries sported an array of red dots—good news for the art market. Another piece of good news out of Jackson Hole is the opening of Altamira Fine Art, an exciting new gallery just off the town square. The space has an uncluttered, contemporary feel and represents artists such as Tom Gilleon (above), the festival's featured artist. —Bonnie Gangelhoff
Learn more about Western art:
Dispatches from the West | Shows and Events
9/21/2009 1:28:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, September 18, 2009
Painting Portraits: Chris Saper's New Videos
Last month Chris Saper, well known for her vibrant heirloom
and corporate portraits, flew into Cincinnati in order to film two ArtistsNetwork.TV videos. It was lovely to meet her and mesmerizing to watch
her as she gave two distinct lessons in painting from life. For the first video, she restricted her palette to black, white, and gray; the resulting grisaille portrait is breathtaking. For the second video, filmed right after,
the indefatigable Chris worked with a different model and a full palette. Throughout both videos, Chris dispenses specific lessons and helpful tips in achieving a likeness and painting skin tones in oil. On screen and in life, she is a
wonderfully companionable presence; she makes learning fun. Eric Camper, director of ArtistsNetwork.TV, and I certainly enjoyed being with her; I predict you will, too. Check out these two previews.
And you can find Chris’s Painting Beautiful Skin Tones with Color and
Light (North Light Books, 2008) at www.northlightshop.com.
By Maureen Bloomfield | Free Stuff | Notable Artists | Videos
9/18/2009 1:23:32 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tip file: Break your composition down into shapes
From Marilyn Henry, in the May 1988 issue of The Artist's Magazine: To break away from painting or drawing the outlines of objects, I concentrate on breaking the entire composition into tones and shapes. This way, the foreground and background participate in the overall value pattern.
Learn more:
By Grace Dobush | Tips
9/17/2009 9:40:25 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Chroma to dole out $12K to student artists
Art material manufacturer Chroma is seeking entries for its Student Art Competition, the grand prize of which is a hefty $5,000. There are three rounds of competition, from which 30 semifinalists will emerge. The first deadline is Dec. 31, and the last chance deadline is July 31, 2010. If you're at least 17 years old and enrolled in a post-high-school art program, you can enter a 2-D work made with Atelier Interactive Professional Artists’ Acrylics, Archival Professional Artists’ Oils or A2 Art Students’ Acrylics. Click here to learn more. Another opportunity for young artists: NASA is seeking art on the theme "Life and Work on
the Moon." High school and college students are eligible; entries—which can be 2-D, 3-D, digital, video or literature—are due April 15, 2010. The top prize for college winners is $1,000.
By Grace Dobush | News | Projects
9/16/2009 12:54:20 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, September 14, 2009
LA state of mind
 Ol' Blue (oil, 11x14) by Jennifer McChristianPalm trees. Earthquakes. Freeways. And 263 days of sunshine a year. The sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles is like no other landscape. In Southwest Art’s October issue, due on the newsstands soon, we spotlight an artist and two collectors who offer a counterpoint of sorts to my recent blog about California artists painting seasonal wildfires. 
In the October issue, we feature a story about Jennifer McChristian, a Los Angeles painter who paints the city's neighborhoods and deserted streets where not much is happening at all—no fires, no acts of God (or arson), no stunning Thomas Kinkade scenes of the coastline. "I like mundane-ness," Jennifer says. For example, in Ol' Blue (above) she depicts a beat-up pick-up truck nesting in a yard. In another piece, she features a simple green space between two houses where a discarded charcoal grill and pieces of gutter greet viewers. A beggar on the street corner, utility poles, ribbons of concrete and traffic cones are among Jennifer's subjects of choice. Or she might focus on her own peaceful slice of LA life—her studio and haven in the Los Feliz neighborhood. It's difficult to protect paintings from the threat of fire, but we also have a story about Los Angeles area collectors Chris and Beverly Jones, who have done rigorous research on how to protect their California Impressionist paintings from earthquakes and the intense Southern California sunshine. The couple offers tips on an earthquake-proof gizmo that fastens paintings to the wall, a special film that blocks 99.9 percent of ultraviolent light, and a shatterproof laminated glass to protect watercolor works. —Bonnie Gangelhoff
Dispatches from the West
9/14/2009 11:15:36 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, September 11, 2009 Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tip file: Make composite sketches
From Joan Rothel, in the March 1990 issue of The Artist's Magazine: Instead of making numerous compositional sketches, simply draw your subject once, then make several photocopies. Then cut out the individual elements, place them on a sheet that's the same size as your working surface will be, and move them around until you find a composition you like.
Learn more:
By Grace Dobush | Tips
9/10/2009 10:08:51 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Art lust: Squam Art Workshops
I'm fighting off a cold and can barely string together a sentence at the moment, but I had to share this: Squam Art Workshops, a four-day art retreat in the-middle-of-nowhere New Hampshire. The next one is next weekend. If only...
By Grace Dobush | Cool Web sites | Random Thoughts
9/9/2009 3:23:26 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Artists tackle wildfires
 Two Fires #2 (oil, 18x18) by Carol PierceA blanket of haze settled over Boulder, CO, for a few days last week. The drifting smoke is a constant reminder for us in the Rocky Mountains that there's a massive blaze raging hundreds of miles away in Los Angeles.  By all accounts, there haven't been any gallery or museum shows dedicated specifically to imagery of California wildfires, but more and more the state’s artists are offering us portrayals of the red hot flames licking the sky. Northern California painter Carole Pierce (above) has been painting the sky and land all her life, she says. For the past few years, fire imagery has emerged in her abstract, Turneresque landscapes in part because she is intrigued by fire's paradoxical quality. "Fire is both dangerous and amazingly beautiful," she says. "It can devastate an area in seconds. But in many cultures fire is also about transformation, rebirth, regeneration, and spiritual awakening." Pierce's paintings are on view at Sue Greenwood Fine Art in Laguna Beach in November. Los Angeles-based painter Marina Moevs is inspired by fire and other natural disasters that she reads about. (Her painting Fire IV [oil, 78x48] is above right.) She often creates imagined scenarios which, however, are all too real for Angelenos—buildings going up in flames and rooms engulfed in smoke.  Another Los Angeles artist, Alex Schaefer (who I mentioned in my last dispatch), says his recent depiction of a suburban house with a backyard consumed by fire is a mash-up of Edward Hopper, a photo from Dwell magazine, a Google map street view of a house in Santa Clarita and fire photos. ( Fire 2 [oil, 40x30] is at right.) "It's also a bit my feeling of the state of the things in the world," he says. But for Pierce, her fire works are more concerned with the question, "What is it like to live with fire?" —Bonnie Gangelhoff
Dispatches from the West
9/8/2009 11:15:27 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, September 04, 2009
Get Ahead in Your Career
Competition is stiff; gallery
directors are busy; artists are sometimes conflicted—finding a good gallery is
a difficult task. As part of our continuing series of online seminars, Kristin
Hoerth, editor-in-chief of Southwest Art, will guide you toward making good
choices and good impressions. Join her (and Jennifer Lepore and me) next week
on Tuesday, at 1:00 EST, for an online seminar, Guide to Professional Etiquette
for Artists: finding and landing a gallery.
In this seminar you’ll learn:
• How to choose the right galleries to approach
• What kinds of materials galleries like to receive
• The proper format for submitting your work
• Whether you should visit a gallery in person
• How and when to follow up with a gallery
Class size is limited,
because these online seminars are interactive, so sign up now for Guide to Professional Etiquette for Artists.
Advice | By Maureen Bloomfield | News | Shows and Events
9/4/2009 8:50:58 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, September 03, 2009
Tip file: Shadows and values
From Camille Przewodek, in the August 1998 issue of The Artist's Magazine: No matter how dark a color is, if it's in direct sunlight, it always stays in the light value range. Because of this—and in spite of the face that it defies logic—the shadowed part of a white object will appear to be darker than the sunlit plane of a black object.
Learn more:
Advice | By Grace Dobush | Tips
9/3/2009 9:35:07 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Art contests from Sharpie, Strathmore and Cray-Pas
Must be something in the water these days—lots of art material manufacturer contests are going on right now: - Sharpie's Project Backpack contest challenges you to decorate a backpack you buy at Office Depot with the two free Sharpie markers that come with it. (Or you can download a printable template to decorate.) The winner gets $5,000 and his or her design will be sold in stores next year. First- and second-place winners get cash prizes, too. The contest is open to US residents 5 and older. Deadline: Sept. 19
- Strathmore's illustration contest asks "how do you see green?" Just create a piece of work that expresses the environmental theme using dry mediums on Strathmore paper, and your work could be one of four to be featured on the covers of recycled drawing paper pads. The contest is open to artists older than 18. Deadline: Nov. 30
- Cray-Pas is seeking student artwork made with oil pastel. The 15th annual Wonderful, Colorful World Contest is open to US and Canadian students in grades K through 8. The winners get savings bonds and T-shirts. Deadline: Dec. 11
Our own competitions have some deadlines coming up, too: - The Pastel Journal Pastel 100: the deadline is today!
- The Artist's Magazine Over 60 Contest: Oct. 1
- The Artist's Magazine All-Media Online Competition: Nov. 2
- Splash 12: Dec. 15
Click here to see all the details on our art competitions.
By Grace Dobush | News
9/1/2009 1:03:05 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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