Virtual Art Class

Silverpoint

2010-05-15T20:32:00.000-06:00

Drawing student Courtney Klingensmith is learning to draw with silverpoint, and we spent the morning yesterday preparing some papers with a traditional silverpoint ground. I thought this would be a good opportunity to write a little about this ancient drawing medium.

Silverpoint was the medium used to draw fine line drawings before graphite pencils were invented. Many Renaissance drawings were done in silverpoint or "metal point" on tinted papers, with some areas heightened with white tempera to strengthen the lights.

Here is an example by Filippino Lippi, from the collection of the British Museum.

Silverpoint is unsurpassed as a medium for fine delicate lines, used in a hatching technique. This drawing by Raphael is a beautiful example.

In order to draw in silverpoint you need a stylus, which is basically a silver wire or rod inserted in a holder of some kind. When I first started drawing in silverpoint, I used a cheap mechanical pencil into which I inserted a section of silver wire I purchased from a local jeweler. It was held in place with a little wad of kneaded eraser. Now one can buy very nice products from the people at the "Silverpoint Web." Here is a link to their online store if you want to take a look at their collection of silverpoint drawing tools.
http://www.silverpointweb.com/catalog.html

You also need to prepare your paper to "grab" the silver line. There are many ways to prepare your paper - the easiest is to buy some Golden silverpoint ground, available at art stores. It is an acrylic based ground, and it is what Courtney used for her first silverpoint drawing.

The Golden ground is quite aggressive - making nice dark lines with very little effort. It is not erasable, however, making the process a little intimidating.

I did this drawing of Dall Sheep on a traditional zinc white and rabbitskin glue ground using a recipe that creates a somewhat "soft" ground that allows you to sand out mistakes. (Sorry about the poor quality of the photo...)

Courtney and I spent the morning on Friday preparing some paper with this traditional ground, and she will be experimenting to see which she prefers.

Another beautiful feature of silverpoint drawings is that they "tarnish" over time and the lines turn a warm brownish color that is very mellow and lovely.

Class Schedule

2009-12-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

To all students of the Classical Art Academy:

Classes resume next week, be there or be square!

Monday January 4 6:00 p.m. to    8:30   p.m. Drawing Fundamentals
Tuesday January 5 9:00 a.m.  to 11:30 a.m.    Drawing Fundamentals
Tuesday January 5 12:00 noon to 2:30 p.m.    Exploring Painting
Tuesday January 5 3:00 p.m. to 5:00   p.m.  Anatomy - no model
Weds      January 6 9:00 a.m.  to 11:30 a.m.    Exploring Painting
Weds      January 6 1:00 p.m. to    4:00 p.m.   Advanced Oil Painting
Weds      January 6 6:30 p.m. to    9:30 p.m.   Portrait Practice with Model
Thurs      January 7 9:00 a.m. to 12: 00 p.m     Anatomy with model
Sun         January 17 all day 9 - 4                    Portrait workshop

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T10:03:00.000-07:00

The start of a new year is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.

-Mark Twain

Illustrated Letter Challenge

2009-12-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

I want to thank and congratulate Courtney Klingensmith for honoring me as the recipient for her illustrated letter. Inspired by the Charlie Russel show, Courtney wrote me a letter illustrated with a bison skull, drawing of the Denver Art Museum, sketch of a Beardsley painting, and a wonderful botanical illustration of some Johnny Jump-Ups.

Thank you Courtney - so charming!!!

New Year's Resolutions

2009-12-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

OMG is it that time again? The last day of 2009 is upon us, providing yet another opportunity to ponder deeply about art. (I know, you do it every day, but bear with me...)

I encourage everyone to come up with a one-year and a 5-year goal for their art, and to write it down. You may keep it to yourself, but we will take a few minutes in class for those willing to share their aspiration. It doesn't have to be anything grand, for example, my one year goal is to figure out how to produce archivally sound encaustic paintings that are larger than 12" x 16."

To inspire you, here are some snippets of "advice to young artists" from Southwest Art's 2008 "Legends of Fine Art" article:

David Leffel: Learn to love to learn to paint.

Clark Hulings: Stay in school and study as much drawing and basic painting as you can manage.

Howard Terpning: Learn the craft and don't worry about making a lot of money. If you do good work and work very very hard, success will follow.

G. Harvey: Being an artist is a one man business, and you have to dig deep and have that desire and passion to do your very best.

Fran Larsen: Fran's professor told her that the act of creativity is the application of the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.

Richard Schmid: Besides getting the best classical training possible, never compromise, and never listen to the critics!

Richard Greeves: Don't think you know how to do it too quickly. You need time in the harness.

John Asaro: Just pursue your dream. Do things that make you happy if you can afford to do it.

Alyce Frank: Just keep painting. Work, work, work.

James Bama: Get good training and learn to draw. It starts with drawing. Then work 17 hours a day.

Merill Mahaffy: Go to an art school as opposed to a college or university program. The difference is you are learning art theory at college, but when you go to an art school, you are learning how to draw.

Roy Anderson: Draw. And draw from life.

Kenneth Bunn: Draw continually, to teach your hand to do what your eye sees.

Phyllis Capp: Hear your own song.

Don Crowley: Never give up, and never put out anything that you don't think is your very best work; if it sells, you'll regret it.

Robert Daughters: Keep your nose to the grindstone and always try to do the next painting better. Really study and try to improve yourself constantly.

Kenneth Riley: There are no shortcuts. Learn to draw, draw, draw. Study the greats of art history, but be yourself; don't be an imitator.

Robert "Shoofly" Shufelt: Disciplined work habits make a career. Build upon strengths instead of resting on them. Don't get too comfortable. The goal is to keep talent developing throughout a long career.

Jim Reynolds: Take your time. Make sure you know your subject matter. Make a lot of quick sketches. Study light. Without it there is nothing to look at. Don't look for overnight success; work hard and earn it.

-----------------

So... give it some thought, dear students. What do you want the next year to look like?

Whose portrait is it anyway?

2009-12-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

Last night was the final portrait practice drawing session for the year. It was a freezing cold night, with snow and ice on the roads, so it was not surprising that half the group was missing. The few hardy souls who did show up to feed their addiction were treated to our wonderful model, Dan.

You may remember Dan as the model who can hold a Mona Lisa smile for 3 hours straight. He is a gentleman with manners from a bygone era. He always models in a camel colored sportcoat and bola tie, with an expression of poingnant "remembrance." I find it enchanting, and I wonder who he is and what his life has been like.

I have painted Dan at least 5 times, and last night I gave him one of the paintings as a gift. He was very surprised and pleased, and kept looking at the portrait during breaks. He finally said to me that there was something about it that reminded him of when he was about 10 years old. I must have channeled his life somehow ... what a mysterious connection there is between artist and model.

Here is a very poor black and white photo of last night's painting of Dan. I was trying to take a color photo of the painting this morning and managed to drop it between a wall and an unmoveable shelving unit. Never fear, though, I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought a "gopher" grabber wand. Rescue will be attempted tomorrow.

A new blue pigment has been synthesized

2009-11-30T17:25:00.002-07:00

Thanks to Amanda for alerting me about this wonderful new discovery - a stable high chroma blue has been created from manganese-containing oxide heated with white yttrium oxide and pale yellow indium oxide.

Hopefully the pigment will be produced for the fine art market in the near future. We can use all the blues we can get!

Click here for the full article from NYTimes.com

The article was not written for artists, so it didn't say wether it is a cool or a warm blue (imagine that...), so I am going to take this opportunity to talk about the blues we have:

-Ultramarine - a warm blue, useful for mixing violets;
-Phthalocyanine blue - (sometimes called GS for green shade) - cool, very powerful tinting strength, great for mixing greens and turquoises; when mixed with white it makes Cerulean "Hue"; There is a Phthalocynaine blue RS (red shade) that is more violet;
-Cobalt Blue - Primary blue, usually a little on the warm side;
-Prussian Blue - very similar to Phthalo - cool, sometimes turns "bronze;"
-Manganese blue - ice blue, unfortunately not available to artists anymore because the mining process is very polluting;
-Cerulean blue - a weak tinting strength light value cool blue. Very useful for flesh tones.
- Black is a blue;
-White is a blue;

What will the new blue be?

Creative Commons - find some photos

2009-11-29T17:30:00.001-07:00

When you don't have a reference photo or are simply bored with your own photos, where can you find an interesting image to work from? Artists must be careful not to work from copyrighted photos, but there are many people who are happy to share their photos with you - so long as you attribute the image to its creator. This is where the wonder of the Creative Commons License comes into your life.
Start by getting onto the search page:
http://search.creativecommons.org/

1. Type in your search word;

2.  Make sure you check the boxes that say "I want something I can use for commercial purposes" and "I  want something I can modify, adapt, or build upon;"

3.  Click the Flickr tab - a collection of photos will appear;

4. Choose a photo - click on it;

5. Look at the "additional info" notes in the column to the right of the photo - this will tell you what creative commons license is associated with the photo.

Find a photo with a  license that allows for copies and derivatives to be made from it (which a painting would be) and commercial use (which you'd be doing if you then sold the painting or exhibited it in a show) - all creative commons licenses require that you give credit to the photographer.

If you decide to use the photo in a painting, keep notes or print up the page you found it on so you can do the proper attribution when the time comes.

Lest I wander into that minefield of "giving legal advice" I am going to refer you to the The Creative Commons website to read up on how to handle attributions and also how to license your own images if you want to. http://creativecommons.org/

What a treasure trove!

Duke Beardsley show at Visions West Gallery in Denver

2009-11-28T11:47:00.002-07:00

It would be very interesting for you to see the Russell exhibit (described in previous post) and then drop in at Duke Beardsley's show at Visions West Gallery in Denver. The show is up until January 12.

The verbatim description of the collection, copied from the gallery website, is quoted below:

"Duke Beardsley is continuing to push the envelope with this incredible new body of work. He has taken the iconic image of the cowboy and pushed it into abstraction, much the way Jasper Johns did with the American flag. Duke centers many of his pieces from this new collection around the idea of appropriation. Using some of Charles Russell's classic imagery, Duke manages to produce a completely different narrative - one that is more raw and energized. His appropriations do not quarrel with Russell; they suggest an acknowledgment and a claim to individuality, which in the end might have been what Russell himself had set out for."

This seemingly straightforward statement actually pushes open a floodgate of artspeak and deep, philosophical artthought. The engine of "Appropriation" pulls along a heavy train - parody, fair use, transformative, derivative, etc.   Even if it gets up to speed, one is always in danger of being pushed off the rails by that big bully "copyright infringement."

As you all know, we learn by copying great paintings. I personally think appropriation is a force for good in the world of art, and should be allowed a liberal interpretation by our justice system. Whenever one of you copies an old master, I tell you that at some point in the copy, you have to let go and allow it to become yours, to allow the unique way you see the painting to emerge and to transform the work.   In my simple view of art (sorry, no pointy head here), this type of "appropriation" is the fundamental right of every art student.

By his own admission Duke Beardsley has taken the image of the cowboy (from whatever source... apparently Charlie Russell was an inspiration) and has appropriated it as a formal design element.    Whereas Russell was concerned with the full illusion - dust, sweat, sun, fear, story, and verisimilitude in his every detail; Beardsley gives us only enough information to say "Cowboy," or "Horse." This is easy because the iconic cowboy is recognizable to everyone even when just a silhouette. Several of Beardsley's pieces show the same lineup of horses and riders, with changes of background color, changes of spacial balance, changes of chromatic emphasis, and so on. I am fascinated by the way he has worked in series, and explored the image by changing one element at a time.

Those of you who have done enough copying to realize that it is not an end in itself should see these two shows (Charlie Russell and Duke Beardsley) and think about how Beardsley has pursued his own voice to present us with a contemporary take on what Russell started. In his own time, Russell was pushing the envelope to show his own vision as well. If you don't take huge liberties and risk ruining many paintings, you are unlikely to take the leap from copying (be it from life, from photos, or from other artists) to innovation.

Assignment:
See the work of Duke Beardsley at Visions West Gallery http://www.visionswestgallery.com/exhibit.php

Or on his website
http://www.dukebeardsleystudio.com/galleries/western

Charlie Russell show at the Denver Art Museum

2009-11-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

I went to see the "Masterworks of Charles M Russell: a retrospective of paintings and Sculpture" currently on exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. This fabulous show includes Russell's early work as well as his mature iconic style, so it gives art students a chance to see his progress and to meditate on what makes the later work better.

One can't help being impressed by the sheer drawing skill Russell had. He drew constantly, and apparently much of it was from his imagination. There are charming letters with tiny ink and watercolor sketches on them - in these days of e-mail, it makes me long to write some letters and draw on them. I challenge all of you (my dear students) to think of someone deserving some attention from you... write them an illustrated letter ala Russell. I will do it too. Here is an exmple:

Back to the show ...
Russell painted the same subject matter over and over - the high plains landscape peopled with Animals, Cowboys, Trappers, and most commonly, Native Americans. His work is narrative, each painting containing a lot of detail to tell a story. He often told these stories with a humorous bend, making fun especially of "poser" sportsmen.

I think that sticking to a theme and subject matter that you know and care deeply about is the key to ultimately settling into a consistent style and solving all the problems associated with it.  Looking at all these beautiful paintings together as a body of work shows this phenomenon to be true. Russell used the same color harmony over and over, with yellows, pinks and blues in the sky echoed throughout the lit areas of the composition, touches of turquoise, orange and fire engine red to jazz up the detailed areas, lovely muted dove and grey-green foregrounds.

He could paint dusty boots and hot dusty trails better than anyone I have ever seen. He could also paint palpable, painful cold as well. He could paint cattle, horses, and bison as individuals as well as a teeming, writhing mass of panic. He painted these scenes so many times, he probably had a huge collection of sketches and studies at his disposal so that he could insert various elements at will.

As a horsewoman, I was enchanted by his ability to draw horses in motion and from every possible position and vantage point. I wonder if he sculpted little horses in wax in order to accomplish this feat. He really understood horses and gave them expressions that often told the whole story. It is sad to see so many horses abused by harsh riders and violent situations, but that was a very different world in which horses were used, not coddled. (As I run to the barn to give my horses a reassuring pat and an apple...)

So, dear ones, this show is a must see.  Don't make the mistake of dismissing Russell as "just a cowboy artist." Charlie Russell was a master, and out here in Denver it is not always easy to see shows of this caliber.

Assignments:
1. Go see this show (before Jan 10)
2. Write someone an illustrated letter.

Michelle Philip figure drawing

2009-11-22T14:55:00.001-07:00

Michelle Philip figure drawing
Originally uploaded by Classical Art Academy

This is a drawing in red chalk on toned paper. This was a long pose of about 2 hours. (Long enough for the model to fall asleep.) One of the most difficult aspects of this type of lying down pose is to capture the sense of gravity - the weight of the model on the blanket. I have shown this by the flattening of the right breast and the way the belly sits on the thigh. The proximity shadows also help anchor the body to the ground. The unfinished foot is a common artifact of a drawing from life - one simply runs out of time...

Let's get started...

2009-11-22T14:47:00.001-07:00

I have been thinking about starting a blog for some time. I finally got a few days off and sat down at the computer to do the deed. Here it is, so far.

My vision for the blog is to direct student attention toward the art world beyond the classroom. There are shows and artists and books out there to inspire you. I also want to write about the topics we are working on in class. Perhaps this will be useful to students who have missed a class?

I am going to share more about the art I am working on personally ... hopefully you will forgive me for my feet of clay

Students should feel free to comment and also to ramble on about their art lives. This is the blog of the Classical Art Academy.

Michelle Philip figure drawing

2009-11-22T12:16:00.001-07:00

Michelle Philip figure drawing
Originally uploaded by Classical Art Academy

Testing upload from Flickr.