Acrylics, Mediums, Papers: the Joy of Collage!

30
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ANNIVERSARY
19 8 4 2 014

Women
Painting Women
April 2014
www.artistsmagazine.com
US $6.99

04

Paint Background Patterns

With Condence 0 74808 02306 6
Display until March 31, 2014

Primavera (detail; oil, 24x24) by Terry Strickland

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 contents
APRIL 2014 VOLUME 31 NUMBER 3

42
features
34 Women Painting Women:
(R)evolution
Sadie J. Valeri, Alia El-Bermani, and Diane
Feissel start an ever-widening movement
with a blog calling for portraits of women by
women. BY LOUISE B. HAFESH

42 A Contemporary Mirror
Situating her subjects in contexts that mirror
the conict between motherhood and
career, Mary Sauer addresses choices and
consequences. BY JUDITH FAIRLY

50 Practice Makes Perfect

Trained as a physicist, Qiang Huang honed
his painterly craft by painting every day.
BY ROBERT K. CARSTEN

58 Piecing It Together
Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson, Cathy M.
Woo, and Laura Lein-Svencner work magic
in mixed media and collage.
BY MAUREEN BLOOMFIELD

34
 One of my credos as an artist is this: whatever works, works. The idea is pretty
30
YEARS
simpleforget whatever it is you should or shouldnt do and just paint ... .
EDITOR IN CHIEF MICHAEL WARD FROM OUR JULY 1990 ISSUE

50 58 80

columns
7 From the Editor 70 Master Class
Norman Rockwell portrayed
8 The Artists Life Ruby Bridgess historic walk
An artist raises awareness by to rst grade in 1960 in New
painting portraits of dogs in Orleans. BY JERRY N. WEISS
shelters, and more.
BY MCKENZIE GRAHAM 72 Business

22 Ask the Experts

Rsums, artists statements, on the cover
and portfolios: create them with
Art competitions: rules and
Acrylics, Mediums, Papers!
care! BY PAUL DORRELL
14, 58
recommendations.
BY MAUREEN BLOOMFIELD 80 Competition Spotlight Women Painting Women
A house and barn are cast in 7, 34, 42
26 Brushing Up radiance. BY ALINE E. ORDMAN Paint Background Patterns 26
Painting patterns behind a still
life is easy if you follow a plan. The Artists Magazines COVER: Primavera (detail; oil, 24x24)
BY JANE JONES Annual Art Competition by Terry Strickland
(inside the back cover)
66 Road Test
An artist tries Gamblins solvent-
The Artists Magazine (ISSN 0741-3351) is published 10
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April 2014 5
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letter FROM THE EDITOR
WIN A TRIP
TO PARIS
or $3,500 cash equivalent

Spring To Fall
Plus 25 Other Prizes
to celebrate 25 Years of art instruction

EACH APRIL WE CELEBRATE the art of portraiture, which refects not

only a particular presence but the tenor of a time. Tis April we are fortu-
nate to have Judith Fairlys article on Mary Sauer, whose portraits investi-
gate womens choices
and conf icts (A
Contemporary Mirror,
page 42), and Louise
B. Hafeshs account of
the Women Painting
Women phenomenon
(page 34). Te model
for Terry Stricklands
Primavera, on our cover,
is Keisha Pitt, a doctor
of chiropractic medi-
cine; Primavera records
the Edenic lushness
of youth, and Ellen Enter at: www.lilipubs.com
Coopers Defance of
Erebus (at left) records a
beauty thats enhanced
and rendered more com- Art Instruction at its Best! TM

plex by time. Cooper

encountered Jennifer
Merin, a f lm journalist,
during a walking tour
in Manhattan. She was
striking and luminous
in the dif used gray
light, says Cooper. At
the height of her powers,
she lives within a cul-
ture that values youth Scott L. Christensen
and speed. Trough her Three Landscape Studies
ABOVE: Deance of Erebus, A Portrait of Jennifer
Merin, (oil, 62x36)) by Ellen Cooper
I heard the voice of my
mother observing that
people no longer notice you as you age, or value what you have to say; that
you become invisible. Tere go I, I thought, and all of us. And there is a reso-
nance in the fall leaves that are pulled from their branches by natural forces
as they blaze in color, at their peak.

Correction: In the article on the Naifang Hu, whose Clouds (oil,

student winners of our 2013 Annual
Art Competition (Stars on the
Rise, January/February) we mis-
identifed the gender of the artist
12x16) won frst place in the land- David A. Leffel
scape category. She is female. We The Art of Painting
apologize for the error.
To order, call: 877-867-0324
or visit www.lilipubs.com
April 2014 7
 the
t artists life BY MCKENZIE GRAHAM

The Most Loyal Subject

One artist is taking his sorrow for abandoned animals to canvas, teaching
compassion one portrait at a time.

IF THERES A UNIVERSAL RULE

for creating a grade school history
textbook, it must be to pepper each
chapter with royal family portraits

4 LIKE THIS IMAGE? Download it as desktop wallpaper at www.artistsnetwork.com/ne-art-wallpapers

from the 16th century, giving faces
to the long gone (and long obsolete
in the minds of most young read-
ers). One common and interesting
presence in these portraits is that
of family pets, mostly dogs. While
this was, more often than not, less a
sign of their owners afection than
a symbol of mans dominance over
beasts, the shared experience of pet
ownership in our time would have it
the other way around. After all, here
we are hundreds of years later, still
making portraits not only with dogs
but also of them exclusively. In fact,
one artist in Louisville, Kentucky, is
making 5,500 of them.
Mark Barone lost his canine
companion, Santina, after 21 years
of friendship. When his partner,
Marina Dervan, began looking for
another dog to adopt, she was struck
with the startling reality of animal
shelters and the millions of ani- is signifcant because its the one he ABOVE: SitaDeemed Too Shy
mals euthanized each year, mainly and Dervan came to upon investi- and Unadoptable (oil, 12x12) by Mark Baron
because of space restrictions and gating how many dogs must be put
lack of funding. Marina kept send- to sleep every day. I have to connect
ing me graphic images and statistics with these animals in a very deep CEO and president Ed Sayres
until I decided to really let them in, way and try to express the individual deemed Oreo too aggressive to reha-
says Barone. Tus started an intense souls that were needlessly killed, bilitate and, sadly, she was killed.
dialogue between us about solutions, says Barone. Ive always been very Tere was a great deal of public
and within two days I awoke to a connected to animals, and I draw on outcry at the decision, and Barone
vision of the way I could use art for that as I relate to each dog. Tere are sites examples of successful rehabili-
social change and bring attention to days when the task seems daunting, tations, including all but two of the
the problem and the no-kill solution. and it afects me emotionally and surviving dogs from infamous foot-
From that conversation Barone spiritually. ball player and dog fghting ring-
and Dervan began An Act of Barone recounts the story of leader Michael Vick. Most of them
Dog, a nonproft awareness cam- Oreo, a pit bull famously thrown are now working as service dogs.
paign for which Barone is creating of a six-story building in Brooklyn. Barone believes in this cause
5,500 portraits of the animals that After a miraculous physical recovery and is eager to donate his talent,
didnt make the cut. Tat number with help from the ASPCA, former as he has for the past two years,

8 www.artistsmagazine.com
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 the artists life
but hes had to donate more than
that. I had to cash in my retire-
ment savings for this project, he
says. Tankfully, he and Dervan
have also had some help along the
way. Golden Artist Colors has
donated the gesso for all 5,500
portraits, and the artists have been
using subsidized studios and living
spaces, courtesy of John Clark, the
owner of Mellwood Art Center in
Louisville, Kentucky. Once they
realized they would have to move
10 www.artistsmagazine.com
(their hometown, Santa Fe, was the
only one of 32 cities that didnt ofer
to subsidize a production space),
Clark ofered his help and they
took it. Teir next step is to f nd a
philanthropic partner to house the
paintings in a kind of permanent
memorial museum. Were looking
for the right partner to help us, so
we can create what will be the f rst
memorial museum of its kind in
the world, says Barone. Its been
a very long journey so far, but I feel
ABOVE: Barone in his Louisville studio paint-
ing Oreo, the dog that helped inspire him and
Dervan to begin An Act of Dog.
the project, once completed, will be
powerful and inspire change.
Visit www.anactofdog.org for
updates on the project.
MCKENZIE GRAHAM is the associate editor
of The Artists Magazine and a graduate of
Miami University (Oxford, Ohio).
 the artists life

Taking Art to New Heights From Our Readers:

Flying is a dream shared by most of humanity, and
closely following is a fascination with all things cosmic.
Te International Fiber Collaborative ofered a unique
opportunity to submit work that will decorate the Saturn
V rocket, once used in Apollo missions. In response, the
Collaborative received drawings from participants around
the world, including individuals, groups, and schools
from 17 countries, 46 states, and 363 communities. Te
decorated rocket will be displayed at the U.S. Space and
Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for an exhibition
in 2015. Visit www.thedreamrocket.com to read more
and fnd updates on the project.
LEFT: The Saturn V rocket
is displayed inside the U.S.
Space & Rocket Center.
ABOVE: One In our November issue, we posed this
Way Ticket to question to our readers: If you could
Wonderland ask any ctional character from your
(pastel, 16x22) by childhood to sit for a portrait, whom
Yael Maimon
would you ask and why? As expected,
we got some clever responses. (Look for
our next question in the May issue.)

ART I was surprised with this question

because its exactly what Ive been
DVDs working on. My series is called Once
Upon a Time, and its a series of
fgures inspired by fables, fairytales,
Technique & Information for YOUR artistic journey and childrens literature. (Two of
these paintings were fnalists in Te
Artists Magazines 30th Annual Art
Competition.) My favorite character
has always been Alice from Alices
Adventures in Wonderland. I tried
to capture her emotional state in a
chaotic reality. I love her spirit, trying
to make or fnd her way in a strange,
half-mad world.Yael Maimon

Capturing the Beauty of Roses - $55

Tulip and Iris DVDs Also Available
Other Instructional DVDs, Workshop Schedule and Newsletter Sign-up at:

www.janejonesartist.com
303.940.8481 Order 10-9 MT
12 www.artistsmagazine.com
 the artists life
Pster Hotel Artist-in-Residence: Stephanie Barenz
Already famous for its prestigious
collection of Victorian art, the
Pfster Hotel in Milwaukee also
hosts a world-renowned artist-in-
residence program. Stephanie Barenz
is the current resident, and here she
talks to Te Artists Magazine about
the experience, and more.
TAM: Who or what has inuenced
your work?
SB: My work is borne from the phys-
ical act of moving from one point to
another, whether its a daily walk, a
lifes journey, or a commute to work.
I explore various modes of experi-
encing place, strolling, orsojourning.
Te traditional uses of Western
perspective systems melded with
the Eastern tradition of stacking
space suggest the mysterious, almost
religious bonds that we form to our
physical surroundings. My interest
in Eastern art comes from my expe-
rience living in China and studying
Chinese ink painting, both of which
have greatly infuenced my work.
TAM: Whats your process?
SB: I use a mixed media process
14 www.artistsmagazine.com
that merges drafting, drawing, and
painting. I keep an extensive image
library from my travels and every-
day life and use it for inspiration
when I begin a painting. I use any-
where between 25 and 100 images,
depending on the size of the piece.
Once Ive established what I
want to do compositionally, I begin
putting images together. For exam-
ple, an image of a roof ine may tran-
sition nicely into a railroad track or
an alleyway. In a way, its like a jig-
saw puzzle that has many solutions.
For my frst layer, I use an
uncontrolled process of throwing
down sumi ink and thinned-down
acrylic paint onto a primed wood
panel. Tis provides an organic
framework on top of which I can
draw and insert my imagery. Ten,
I go back and forth, layering paint
with pencil and ink. Te end product
is a hybrid of drawing and painting.
TAM: Tell me about your stay at the
Pster.
SB: Its been a huge blessing. I always
tell people it wouldve taken me 10
years and thousands of dollars to
ABOVE: Golden (mixed media, 39x72) by
Stephanie Barenz
market my work the way the Pfster
has. Not only do I have my own
gallery for a year, I have a built-in
audience. Over 2 million people visit
the Pfster lobby each year, and this
audience, from all over the world, is
comprised of government ofcials,
dignitaries, movie stars, dedicated
Milwaukee locals, business travel-
ers, and many more. Not all stop
in my gallery but they walk by my
work every day. Ive met many, and
Ive been fortunate enough to learn
their stories, which have, in turn,
inspired my body of work this year. I
produced a series called Te Carriers,
which illustrates these stories and
my experiences at the hotel. Im cur-
rently collaborating with the Pfster
storyteller and local journalist and
author, Molly Snyder. Shes writing a
whimsical story that will accompany
images of my work in a book to be
released at the end of my residency.
Learn more at www.stephanie
barenz.com.


Cody Seekins Lisa Manes Hak Chul Kim

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 the artists life

The Sheboygan Project

If you want to see what Sheboygan,
Wisconsin, has to ofer in art, take
a deep breath and step outside.
Wooster Collective founders Marc
and Sara Schiller have worked
with street artists, local denizens,
organizations, and businesses in
Sheboygan and the John Michael
Kohler Arts Center to present street
art sites around the city since 2012.
Te project was created to connect
local artists with their community
in a more tangible way and to con-
tinue the tradition of Sheboygan
as an art destination. Check out
www.thesheboyganproject.org to
fnd updates and see more art.
RIGHT: This is artist Troy Lovegatess mural
in End Park in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Loveg-
ates is inspired by the people he meets
throughout his travels.

16 www.artistsmagazine.com
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 ask the experts
Do Competitions Bar Works
Already Sold?
Q. If I enter a competition through
the submission of an image of
my artwork, do I also have to
be in possession of the original
artwork? My paintings are moving
fairly well at a gallery, and Id hate
to miss the opportunity for a sale
as I wait for competition winners
to be announced.
Kathi Blinn, Stillwater, NY
A. Te answer depends on the con-
test and on whether the outcome
of the contest is an exhibition.
Competitions run by societies (for
example, the American Watercolor
Society or the Pastel Society of
America) and juried shows run
by museums, galleries, or schools
require, if your work has been
accepted, that you either ship the
work or drop it of in person for
the show. Te juror of awards typi-
cally chooses best of show and other
prizes after the show has been hung.
Te works in such a show are often
on sale; hence, you shouldnt enter
an image of a work that you no
longer own.
Contests that culminate in
publication in a magazine (such
as Te Artists Magazines Annual
Art Competition or International
Artist genre competitions) or a book
(Splash, Strokes of Genius, and so
forth), in efect, are virtual rather
than actual shows; they dont
require that you have ownership of
the work; you can enter any work
A lot of people are afraid of entering shows and being rejected. The key is to remember that
30
YEARS
if you get rejected, no one will know about it. Then again, if you win, you have to make sure
everybody knows.
ARTIST KEVIN MACPHERSON IN PATHS TO SUCCESS BY JENNY SULLIVAN FROM OUR JANUARY 2004 ISSUE
22 www.artistsmagazine.com
BY MAUREEN BLOOMFIELD
youve created for which you have
high-resolution images (assuming
you havent sold the copyright to the
work).
In either case, whats essential
is that you have a high-resolution
image of any work you intend to
sell, publish, or enter into a contest.
Once a work leaves your hands,
youll have to get permission from
the collector if it becomes necessary
to reshoot a photograph of the work.
Make it a practice, by building it
into your schedule, to photograph
every successful work you create;
keep good records of sales and
contests entered, as well, so youll
be ready for any opportunity that
arises.
WHY ENTER COMPETITIONS?
Q. Even though I feel my artwork
is of high quality, I hesitate
to enter some reputable
competitions because there
are so many gifted entrants
and so few winners. Given the
odds, wouldnt I be better off
channeling my time, energy, and
money toward gaining gallery
representation or developing a
website?
A. It depends on where you are
(physicallyin a big city or small
town) and at what stage you are in
your career. If youre in a city with at
least fve good galleries, I can under-
stand the temptation to devote a
year to creating a body of work thats
united thematically in the hope that
a gallery director would want to give
you a show. Te danger is that you
cant intuit what a gallery director is
looking for. Te better option would
be to submit the work you have on
hand to a gallery; if the director is
interested, you can discuss with him
or her dates for a show, and you can
then work with a purpose.
If youve already accumulated
a body of work thats thematically
integrated, evinces mastery of tech-
nique, and exhibits a signature style,
the way forward is to gain recogni-
tion for your work. Tere are three
ways to do that:
1. A beautiful, sophisticated website:
today its absolutely necessary for
artists to have a Web presence. Te
fact remains, however, that you
have to receive some kind of press/
recognition so that people will
want to look up your work on your
beautiful website.
2. A show at a good gallery, accom-
panied by a print catalogue and a
review by a respected art writer:
these goals are more easily accom-
plished if you already have a list of
collectors and a number of contest
prizes on your rsum.
3. Winning a major art competition:
having your work appear in print or
onlinein a catalogue, magazine,
book, or advertisement for a show
is the quickest, most reliable way to
gain recognition.
 ask the experts

Lets take society and maga-
zine contests for examples. Te
advantages of entering a contest are
manifold: you can submit single
or unrelated works rather than the
series that a gallery would expect
and, if you gain entry to a show or
win a magazine contest, your work
will be published in the accompany-
ing catalogue or in a feature on the
award winners. You can then multi-
ply that good press by broadcasting
the news on your website and on
social media sites; you can send out
press releases to local media outlets,
and you can mention the honor in
your rsum.
Te benefts of print extend even
further. If you win a magazine con-
test that results in publication, your
in the print publication as well as in
digital formats and will be eternally
available on the Web and on the CD
that compiles the years issues of the
magazine.
I hesitate to make too strong a
case for entering magazine contests
lest I seem self-serving, but the truth
is this: when you enter a magazine
contest, you show your work to edi-
tors who are responsible for creating
the lineups for the magazineand
to distinguished artists who can
put in a good word for you at a
gallery, at another magazine, at a
school looking for instructors, and
so forth. Finally, if you win a prize
and have your work published, you
become part of a community of
artistsartists who have also won
your presence known to collectors
who may start following your career.
Tese big and ever-expanding com-
munities can ofer you, over the long
haul, not only recognition, but also
friendship and support as you strive
to create art in the sometimes dis-
couraging isolation of your studio.
MAUREEN BLOOMFIELD is the editor in
chief of The Artists Magazine. She has
served as the juror of awards for the National
Watercolor Society, the Pastel Society
of America, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art
Museum Birds In Art show, the Pastel 100
Competition, as well as for many shows in
regional galleries.
Connect With Us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/artistsnetwork

painting will reach a vast national prizes; artists who started as win-
and international audience. Te ners and then became jurors; artists
award-winning picture will appear who love your work. You also make

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April 2014 23
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AT HOME IN BROOKLYN:
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Having joined the Blick Art Materials family, Utrecht looks to the future:
a talk with CEO Robert Buchsbaum.
In 1949 two brothers, Norman and Harold Gulamerian,
began importing unprimed linen from Europe to sell as
artists canvas. How did Utrecht Linens Inc. become
Utrecht Art Supplies?
The name change was a natural evolution over time. Within
eight years of their success in the canvas trade, the brothers
developed and introduced a revolutionary acrylic gesso primer
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quality paints soon followed. As Utrechts stable of products
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products sourced from other manufacturerschanging the
company name to Utrecht Art Supplies made good sense.
In April 2013, Utrecht joined the Blick Art Materials
family. What advantages followed from that union?
The most important advantage is that, thanks fo the nancial
support that comes along with the Blick partnership, artists can
be assured that the Utrecht paints they love will continue to be
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Which product is your sentimental favorite?
I would have to say Utrecht Artists Acrylics. You know, Utrecht
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playing a small part in that revolution.
What are you most proud of as a company?
Im very proud that Utrecht paints are still made right here at
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The Utrecht website has a Learning Center that
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 brushing up BY JANE JONES
Goof-Proof Patterns
Learn two test methods that will help you paint background patterns with condence.
A PATTERNED BACKGROUND not
only adds visual interest to a painting
but also assists in setting the mood,
either enlivening a composition or
contributing to a more relaxed feel-
ing. You can base your pattern on
an existing design, altering it to suit
what you want the painting to com-
municate and whether you want the
pattern to help emphasize an area of
the work or settle back into a more
subordinate role.
Deciding on and painting a
background pattern, however, may
present you with unusual challenges
that leave you wondering how to
proceed. When youre uncertain how
to address part of a painting, doing
some preparatory experiments can
ease the stress. You can draw or
paint something, erase the drawing
or wipe of the paint if you need to,
and try again. Once youve worked
through the challenge, you can con-
tinue working on your painting with
more confdence.
1 2
26 www.artistsmagazine.com
Te following demonstration
explains how I made the patterned
background work for me in my
painting Cascade (page 32).
1. Assess Pattern and Set Up
When I purchased the fabric upon
which the background for Cascade
(page 32) is based, I knew its pat-
terned design was just a starting
point. My aesthetic leans toward
simplicity, and since the pattern
in my painting was to be in the
background, which is defnitely a
subordinate area, I would need to
modify the scrollwork seen in the
reference photo of my setup. Te
spirals, which repeat the spiral
movement in the calla lilies as well
as the roundness of the vase, create
a pleasing dynamism, but to subdue
the energy level and keep the mood
calm, I decided that I would paint
the spiraled pattern with minimal
value contrast.
2. Drawing Test: Adjust Pattern
I created this compositional draw-
ing in three steps. First I drew the
fowers and vase (notice that the
calla lilies in my drawing are larger
than those in the reference photo). I
also drew in lines that indicate the
changing planes and folds of the
drapery so that Id have reference
points for the pattern.
I then put another piece of trac-
ing paper on top of the frst drawing
so I could work out and edit the
pattern without having to worry
about erasing around the vase and
fowers. Te pattern behind the vase
is distorted, capturing the illusion of
looking through glass. In this draw-
ing, the pattern looks busy because
the contrast between the pencil
lines and the white paper make
the pattern prominent; however, if
you compare the drawing to the
reference photo (image 1, bottom
left), youll see that I simplifed the
pattern of the fabric quite a bit.
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 brushing up

4
to make the value of the toning color to begin softening as I laid down the

3
Once Id worked out the pattern,
I traced it onto the drawing of the
objects, giving me a complete com-
positional drawing.
3. Tone Surface
On my surface I applied a toning
layer of raw sienna, mixed with a lot
of Liquin, and let it dry. My goal was
close to what the value would be in
the fnished painting. I also wanted
a toning color that would add inter-
est in areas that might show through
once the painting was completed.
4. Mix the Colors of the
Background and Pattern
Te next step would be to paint the
background layer, but I knew Id
want to paint the design on the
background wet into wet, which
would allow the edges of the pattern
paint. For this reason, premixing all
the background and pattern colors
made sense. I frst created a mixture
of Winsor & Newton cadmium yel-
low pale, quinacridone magenta, and
ultramarine blue, and then created
lighter values of that mixture by
adding Old Holland titanium white.
5. Painting Test: Prepare Test
Surface
I was unsure about how to paint the
pattern, so I experimented with a

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28 www.artistsmagazine.com
 brushing up
test surface on which Id applied
the toning and, after that dried, the
background color.
6. Painting Test: Reproduce
Pattern
I traced a part of the pattern from
the drawing and then laid the trac-
ing on top of the still-wet back-
ground layer of the test surface (you
can see the smudges where the paint
stuck to the back of the paper).
5 variations of color within each spiral
6
7 8
30 www.artistsmagazine.com
7. Painting Test: Transfer
Pattern
I then transferred the drawing onto
the wet background layer by draw-
ing over the tracing with a stylus
(a sharp pencil or pen will also do
the job). Te resulting lines on the
test surface are the color of the ton-
ing layer beneath the background
layer. Te tracing paper had also
lifted paint in some unintended
areas, which I smoothed with a
mop brush.
8. Painting Test: Experiment
As Id planned, painting the pattern
wet into wet allowed me to soften
the edges as I laid down the paint;
the liability to this method was that
the pattern color would pick up some
of the background color. To com-
pensate, I used a pattern color that
was a bit lighter than I wanted the
scrollwork ultimately to be. I knew
would add interest.
I chose a fat brush that was the
same width as the pattern, loaded
both sides of the brush with paint
(no Liquin) and dived in. All the
preparation paid of ! I just painted
between the lines of the pattern,
picking up new paint when I needed
it. Hand and arm movements are
most steady when brushstrokes
are pulled toward the body, so as I
continued, I rotated the test paint-
ing so that my hand and wrist were
always in the most comfortable and
efective position.
TIP: Paint Quality
Matters!
When adding a pattern on a wet back-
ground, use densely pigmented paint.
The paint quality must be good or the
background will eat up the pattern.
I use artist-grade oil paint in general
plus a very good brand of titanium
white, such as Rembrandt or Old
Holland.
I laid the paint down thinly
so the design would be part of the
background, not sit on top of it.
When Id completed a scroll or two,
I used a small mop brush to do some
soft blending and edge softening. I
was careful to smooth out any ridges
formed by the paint squeezing out
from the side of the brush. A light
touch was all that was needed. After
I softened the edges of the pattern
into the background, I whispered a
large fuf y mop brush over the top
of the paint to meld the background
and pattern and further soften the
pattern edges.
9. Return to Painting
With the technique fgured out, I
was ready to go to work on my paint-
ing. Because the surface was large
(37x37), I painted the patterned areas
over the course of two days (10 hours
each!). I spent the frst day painting
the background and pattern of the
drapery against the wall. Ten I put
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 brushing up
10
the canvas in a cool place (my garage
in November) for the night to keep
the paint from drying; I needed the
paint at the bottom edge of my previ-
ous painting session to be wet on day
two so I could blend it into the edge
of the tabletop. During these painting
sessions, I used just enough Liquin to
help the paint move and blend with-
out tacking up throughout the day.
I made the area behind the vase
much lighter than it would have
32 www.artistsmagazine.com
been in reality, which would allow
the color of the vase (blue) to show
up. When I painted the fowers, the
pattern proved subtle enough to stay
behind them, yet the spirals added
dynamism to the image.
10. Finish With Pattern
Reections
Once the surface dried, I painted
the vase. In the fnished painting,
Cascade (above), the pattern shows
ABOVE: Cascade (oil, 37x37)
dimly behind the glass. Also impor-
tant are the refections of the pattern
on the sides of the lower half of
the vase.
JANE JONES is the author of Classic Still Life
Painting (Watson-Guptill, 2004) and a popular
teacher in workshops and on DVDs. Learn
more at www.janejonesartist.com.
 Complete Website
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 From a trio of artists/bloggers arises an international
community of women painters exploring the realms of
female identity in life and art.

Women Painting Women:

(R)evolution BY LOUISE B. HAFESH

W WHILE THE FEMININE MUSE has long been

a source of inspiration for works created by
painters of both genders, traditionally (espe-
cially from a male perspective) women have
been represented as passive subjects, sexual
props, or mere objects of beauty. Today, that
mindset is changing as an increasing number
of women artists redefne their dual roles as
creators and models. Tese artists not only
embrace the female viewpoint, but also thrust
it into an arena wherein it has long been
overlooked. As a result, women are painting
womenregionally, nationally, and interna-
tionallyand thanks to the eforts of three
artists/bloggers, the art world is taking notice.
An Idea Whose Time Has Come
In 2009, artists Sadie J. Valeri, Alia
El-Bermani, and Diane Feissel started a blog
as a way of highlighting underrepresented
women artists actively portraying female
subjects in the fgurative tradition. Recalling
the groups humble beginnings, co-founder
El-Bermani explains, I had begun to
read Sadie Valeris personal blog, where I
soon found a post about her dismay over a
Sothebys auction entitled Women, in which
not a single female artist had been included;
women were merely the subject. From there,
a discussion progressed both in the com-
ments section of the blog and privately; soon
thereafter, Sadie reserved the domain www.
womenpaintingwomen.blogspot.com, and
RIGHT: Year at Sea (oil, 68x46) by Alexandra Tyng
appeared in the 2013 Woman Painting Women:
(R)evolution exhibition at Principle Gallery in Alexandria,
Virginia. Tyng saw the subject, a personal friend, as a
well-grounded woman who, after her mothers death,
was able to navigate the difcult waters of charged
feelings and changing priorities.

34 www.artistsmagazine.com
 fellow artist Diane Feissel and I came on
board as co-founders and contributors.
Te resulting Women Painting Women
(WPW) blog quickly became an international
hit. Featuring work by female fgurative paint-
ers from around the world, it boasts 1,400
followers and more than 8,800 Facebook fans.
Te WPW blog is the spearhead of a move-
ment thats garnered serious media buzz and
spawned eight major exhibitionsand thats
just the beginning.
Tere are some wonderful painters
out there, says Feissel, who, along with her
counterparts, is overjoyed with the role that
the WPW blog has played in raising aware-
ness about the vast collective of female talent.
36 www.artistsmagazine.com
ABOVE: Primavera (oil, 24x24) by Terry Strickland
appeared in the 2013 exhibition Women Painting Women
at the Richard J. Demato Fine Arts Gallery in Sag Harbor,
New York. Over the past few years, Strickland has noticed
within her work the recurring imagery of birds and ight.
In this painting, says Strickland, Mother Earth takes to
the air herself as she experiences an aesthetic moment
an image appropriate to the unleashing of spirit that the
Women Painting Women movement encourages.
Some artists are known and some lesser
known, and it makes us happy to be able to
provide a venue where their work can be seen
and shared.
Toward that goal, the founders had
posted a call to contemporary female artists,
TOP RIGHT: thoughts going out the window (oil,
12x16), by Diane Feissel appeared in the 2012 Women
Painting Women: The Expedition and Beyond at Principle
Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. The subject is Susan Lyons,
another Women Painting Women artist. Feissel says, The
piece addresses the moment of inspiration an artist feels
when stimulated by physical surroundings.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Self-Portrait at 41 in the Studio

(With Dog) (oil, 41x31) by Sadie J. Valeri appeared in the
2013 Women Painting Women: (R)evolution exhibition at
Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. Valeri, who gener-
ally paints still lifes, spends most of her days alone in her
studio with her dog, who sleeps near her in the chair, all
day, every day. She set up the bookcase behind her with
objects that appear in her still lifes and painted the scene
from life with the help of a large mirror.

encouraging them to submit images of their

work for inclusion on the blog. Te quantity
and quality of the paintings sent in proved
energizing. I honestly dont think any of us
thought we were forming a movement, says
El-Bermani. We were trying to create an
online resource, a collection of incredible
fgurative paintings that just happened to be
painted by women. It wasnt until a year later,
when Robert Lange Studios in Charleston,
South Carolina, contacted us about a potential
exhibition, that we realized just how many
people had been following our little blog.
Te bloggers put out a call for participants in
a brick-and-mortar gallery show, and thus,
serendipitously ushered in the next phase of
the WPW phenomenon.

The Movement Gains Momentum

Tat frst show, Women Painting Women,
held in November 2010, was structured as
partially juried, partially invitational, says
Feissel. We encouraged painters whose work
wed posted on the blog to send submissions
for consideration. In the end, more than 50
accomplished contemporary artists, responding
from across North America and Europe and
representing a wide range of ages and career
stages, exhibited their work!
At the same time, as friendships formed took place in 2012 at the Principle Gallery in
within the group, 12 of the painters involved Alexandria, Virginia.
in that show rented a house near Charleston Following on the heels of the two success-
and organized a weeklong painting retreat. ful WPW showswhich grossed $137,000 in
Subsequently, work completed during and art salesthe nationwide group planned a third
inspired by that experience became the basis show, which opened on September 20, 2013,
for a second show entitled Women Painting again at Principle Gallery. Tis time, the gallery
Women: Te Expedition and Beyond, which gave WPW the freedom to choose the theme or

April 2014 37
 ABOVE: The image for Sail (oil, 54x72) came to Zoey Frank
out of an experience with prolonged health issues. The
Women Painting Women 2013 woman, says Frank, reminds me of a sailboat displaced
on the shore, unable to move forward, in spite of the
Concurrent Exhibitions strong wind at her back. Other works by Frank appeared
in the 2013 Woman Painting Women: (R)evolution)
Women Painting Women: (R)evolution; Principle Gallery, exhibition at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia.
Alexandria, Virginia

Women Painting Women: A Room of Ones Own; Haynes Gallery,

Nashville, Tennesse
unifying idea, which became Women Painting
Women Painting Women: (R)evolution 2013; Townsend Atelier,
Women: (R)evolution. As El-Bermani explains,
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Te artists from the frst Principle Gallery
Women Painting Women UK: Art Exposure Gallery, Glasgow, exhibition wanted to go back to the original
Scotland idea and serve more women artists than just
Women Painting Women; Richard J. Demato Fine Arts Gallery, our small group. We therefore decided to each
Sag Harbor, New York invite one artist, in a sense paying forward our
good fortune and multiplying the power and
Women Painting Women NJ: A Universal Alliance; Gallery U
Boutique, Westeld, New Jersey
vision of the group twofold. Expanding on
that thought, Feissel says: Above all, the hope
was to show variety and to continue to build
community and visibility for women artists.

38 www.artistsmagazine.com
 Timing couldnt have been more oppor- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in
tune for such a quest. As Valeri points out: 2013reveal a growing appetite for the work
In recent years, fgurative art has enjoyed a and point of view of women artists in a number
renewed interest within the art community of media.
and beyond. Te Robert Lange and Principle
Gallery showsas well as many similar ones Call for Concurrent Exhibitions
across the country, from the Cecilia Beaux With a receptive climate and increasing
Forum (www.ceciliabeauxforum.blogspot. momentum, the founders launched a call to
com)Inspiring Figurestriennial exhibition,
LEFT: The sub-
whose frst showing was at the Butler Institute ject of Mercedes
of American Art in September 2010, to the (pastel, 11x8)
exhibitionMirror Images: Women Portraying struck me as rmly
Womenat the North Carolina Museum of resolute in her opin-
Art in 2011 and Te Female Gazeat the ions and interests,
says Ellen Eagle. I
worked on a small
BELOW: Rising Tide (oil, 34x54) by Alia El-Bermani scale to express my
appeared in the 2013 Woman Painting Women: sympathy for her
(R)evolution exhibition at Principle Gallery in Alexan- inevitable vulner-
dria, Virginia. A detail of the painting graces the cover ability, which we
of the exhibition catalogue. The painting was inspired all share. Eagles
by a friend going through a serious depression, says work has appeared
El-Bermani. The subject clutches a red cloth hanging in three Women
down from an unknown, benevolent source. Will she pull Painting Women
herself out or let the water consume her? El-Bermani exhibitions.
also had in mind the aphorism A rising tide raises all
boats. She explains: As our efforts continue to raise
awareness for great gurative female painters, I hope
were approaching that peak tide where all artists enjoy
the same level of opportunity.

April 2014 39
 action on the WPW blog, challenging galler-
ies to host Women Painting Women exhibi-
tions concurrently with the 2013 Women
Painting Women: (R)evolution show at
Principle Gallery. Quickly, fve other ven-
ues joined the ranks. Some galleries hosted
international juried exhibitions; some chose
to put together a show of works of their own
BELOW: Rest (oil, 36x48) by Lauren Tilden appeared
in the 2013 exhibition Year of the Woman: Paintings
of Women by Women at Artists House Gallery in
Philadelphia. As a new mother, says Tilden, I found
adjusting to the needs of my infant daughter difcult,
but the more I gave of myself, the more purposeful I felt
my life to be. On another level, the two gures could be
viewed as the same woman, representing the passing
stages of life as described in the hymn by Keith Getty and
Stuart Townend: from lifes rst cry to nal breath. as individual WPW members consistently
40 www.artistsmagazine.com
artists. Alternatively, some artists banded
together, determined to fnd a suitable venue in
their state, as was the case in New Jersey. (See
Women Painting Women 2013 Concurrent
Exhibitions, page 38.)
Asked about the response to these shows,
Valeri comments proudly: Te reaction to
every Women Painting Women event has been
overwhelmingly positive. Work in these exhi-
bitions has been praised as museum-worthy,
and the sheer quantity of high-quality work
by women fgurative artists warrants a wider
audience.
What does the future hold for this
dynamic movement? Valeri responds: Te
next natural step for this initiative is to have
even more visibility for even more women
artists. Tat task is already being addressed
 LEFT: Bear the
Light (oil, 28x33) by
Candice Bohannon
appeared in the
2013 exhibition
Women Painting
Women: A Room
of Ones Own at
Haynes Gallery
in Nashville,
Tennessee.
Bohannon describes
the light on the
subjects shoulders
as a challenge:
the subject must
choose what path
and attitude toward
life shell take. The
fur is symbolic of the
subjects untamed
nature as well as an
element of protec-
tion for her fragile
inner world.

challenge each other technically and intel-

lectually, share business and artistic practices
and, most importantly, bring new ideas to the
table to expand the groups outreach. At some
point, says El-Bermani, I think it would be
natural to coordinate a curated museum exhi-
bition or (my pie-in-the-sky dream) concurrent
museum exhibitions!
Summing up the WPW experience thus
far, Feissel says: Weve learned that theres
a great deal of interest and positive energy
around female fgurative painters and that
venues (and collectors) are defnitely interested
in seeing more work. For my part, I went into
this project with the simple intention of show-
casing some amazing, talented, and sometimes
underexposed female artists of the fgure from
around the world. I see our eforts as an act of
celebration and hope that artists of all genders
look to a future where all painters are judged
on the basis of merit alone.
Artist and writer LOUISE B. HAFESH is a contributing
editor for The Artists Magazine. You can see examples
of her work at www.louisebhafesh.com and www.
paintersportal.blogspot.com.
Meet the Founders
(LEFT TO RIGHT) Alia El-Bermani,
Diane Feissel, and Sadie J.
Valeri; founders of the Women
Painting Women blog (www.
womenpaintingwomen.blogspot.
com)
ALIA EL-BERMANI (www.alia-
neart.com) studied art and
dance at Roger Williams University
(Bristol, Rhode Island) and then,
under a scholarship for Excellence in Fine Arts, transferred to Laguna College
of Art and Design (Laguna Beach, California), where she received a bach-
elor of ne arts degree. Since then, El-Bermani has participated in solo and
group exhibitions in both galleries and museums across the country. Haynes
Galleries in Nashville, Tennessee, and Thomaston, Maine, represent her work.
DIANE FEISSEL (www.dianeandjohn.com/indexdf.htm) studied painting at
Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and later took painting classes at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Fleisher Art Memorial, both
in Philadelphia, as well as the Studio Escalier in Argenton-Chateau, France.
She has shown her work in juried exhibitions in the United States and also in
France. Haynes Galleries in Nashville, Tennessee, and Thomaston, Maine, and
Artists House Gallery in Philadelphia represent her work.
SADIE J. VALERI is the director of Sadie Valeri Atelier (www.sadievaleri.com), a
traditional art school in San Francisco. She holds a bachelor of ne arts degree
in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence, and has
studied with several masters of realism, including Juliette Aristides, Jacob
Collins, Michael Grimaldi, Ted Seth Jacobs, Timothy Stotz, and Michelle Tully.

April 2014 41
 Mary Sauers revealing portraits build a
narrative through a synthesis of traditional
painting methods and modern technology.

A Contemporary
BY JUDITH FAIRLY

Mirror
A AMONG THE MYRIAD ISSUES that nettle
the fne art community, the enduring debate
about the capacity of representational art to
convey meaning is perhaps the most inescap-
able. How does an artist who has mastered
realistic techniques transcend the superfcial
limitations and formal characteristics of the
style to communicate an idea? For Mary Sauer,
whose portraits are inspired by 19th-century
artists such as Cecilia Beaux, John Singer
Sargent, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler,
as well as the rich dramatic narratives of John
William Waterhouse and the Pre-Raphaelites,
the answer is a painterly approach infused with
emotion that utilizes modern technology while
remaining faithful to traditional, old masters
methods.
Meaning and Identity
Sauer believes that the new generation of
fgurative artists has an opportunity to say
something about their work through their
technique. It doesnt have to be a big idea, omies in the subjects life.
she says. Perhaps its just an idea of how they
feel about themselves. In her own paintings,
Sauer explores the role of social expectations in
the way we present ourselves to the world. In
order to be seen by others, she says, we have
to put our best face forward. We present a pic-
ture of ourselves that conveys an idea to others
of who we are. Her current work examines the
decisions about childbearing and career that
a contemporary woman faces and the emo-
tional complexities surrounding her choices.
Like the characters in the Victorian literature
Sauer favors, the subjects of these portraits are
feminine and resilient, forging their identities
within and in contravention of social norms.
Victorian narrative paintings have so much
emotion and drama, says Sauer. Im a roman-
ticbut Im also crazy about contemporary
RIGHT: In Lauren (oil, 40x30), Sauer restricts the colors
to black, brown, and white and counters the rectilinear
les with the ornate (empty) frame to suggest the dichot-

42 www.artistsmagazine.com
April 2014 43
 artists like Jenny Saville for her paint quality
and Jef Koons for his integration of digital
technology in creating his representational
paintings.
Before landing a job as an assistant in the
Chelsea (New York City) studio of sculptor
and photorealist Jef Koons, Sauer attended
Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah,
with the intention of studying music, but her
discomfort in performing before an audience
persuaded her to change her major to fne
art. Te studio art programs emphasis on
expressionism rather than the traditional skills
she wanted to develop led her to illustration,
where she studied with fgurative artist Robert
T. Barrett and acquired a sound foundation
in drawing and narrative painting. For two
44 www.artistsmagazine.com
years, she apprenticed with master painter
William Whitaker (a 2012 winner of Te
Artists Magazines Over 60 Competition), then
embarked upon an intense study of fgurative
art at the Art Students League of New York.
A Continuing Education
For almost three years, Sauer worked along-
side dozens of other artistsmany with
graduate degrees and large student loan
billsin Koonss gymnasium-sized produc-
tion studio. At any given time, there were as
many as eight to 12 large-scale paintings in
progress in the cavernous white atelier, with
perhaps half a dozen artists on scafolds at
work on each one. At the color-mixing table,
10 to 15 people would be engaged in a compli-
cated process of mixing pig-
ments with a palette knife
to match swatches printed
out from Photoshop and
then cataloguing and label-
ing the colors to maintain
a consistent palette. Tats
where I fnally learned what
paint was all about, says
Sauer.
As a painting assis-
tant, Sauer spent her time
re-creating the fne details
of Koonss original con-
cept. Te illusion that one
is viewing a photograph
persists at any distance
in Koonss photorealistic
style to the point that
brushstrokes are invisible
even on close inspection;
Sauer once spent a full day
covering a two-inch square
of canvas with thin paint,
using a No. 1 synthetic
LEFT: The subject of Lace in Her
Studio (oil, 30x24) is currently
studying cognition as she pursues
a doctorate in neuroscience, but
previously, as an art student in the
masters program, she drew the
series of moons depicted in the
backgroundrepresenting men-
tal maps of memory. The chaos
of the clutter around her suggests
the intensity and breadth of her
interests.
Materials
Surfaces: preprimed, cotton duck stretched can-
vas; oil-primed canvas; preprimed panels mounted
on Gatorboard, built by artist Casey Childs; linen
mounted on New Traditions Dibond panels

Brushes: All Rosemary & Co. brushes, but espe-

cially the No. 2 Ivory Egbert synthetic; Winsor &
Newton Series 7 No. 1 kolinsky sable for small
details; Silver Brush or Trekell large lbert bristle
brushes for block-ins; Trekell William Whitaker
Signature Series sables, Escoda sables, Da Vinci
synthetics, and Manet brushes

Paint: All colorsOld Holland, Vasari, and

Schmincke Mussini, plus Holbein Vernt Superior
artists oil colors for pigments that pack a
punch; particular colorsGamblin asphaltum
and terre verte (the latter as a glaze for knocking
back too-pink facial tones); Winsor & Newton
titanium white; Holbein alizarin crimson; Natural
Pigments Rublev lead white No. 2 (The walnut-oil
base dries more slowly than linseed oil, resulting
in a longer open painting time.)

Palette: white, lemon yellow, cadmium yellow

medium, cadmium orange, cadmium red, napthol
scarlet, alizarin crimson, dioxazine purple, ultra-
marine, cobalt blue, sap green, burnt sienna, raw
umber, black

Mediums: Natural Pigments Rublev Oleogel,

Gamblin Gamsol, pure linseed oil

Palette knife: RGM Black Line Series

Digital tools: Nikon D700 DSLR camera, Sigma

50 mm f/1.4 HSM lens (most closely approximates
the perspective of the human eye); Sigma 85 mm
f/1.4 HSM lens (The short telephoto lens is good
for head shots; the large aperture of the 1.4 f-stop
has a shallow depth of eld thats useful for isolat-
ing the subject from the background.); Apple iMac
monitor, color-calibrated to simulate natural light

round brush. Her representational style and

the manner in which she handles paint may
bear only a tangential resemblance to Koonss
contemporary take on realism, but the work
Sauer did in service to his conceptual vision
within a highly successful studio/gallery/
showcase environment made her a better
painter. New York City, with its burgeon-
ing multitude of galleries and museums and
art venues, f lled in another chunk of her
education where the formal instruction and
apprenticeships left of.
Old Masters and New Technology
In the solitude of her own studio, Sauer falls
ABOVE: The subject of Mary Sinner II (oil, 48x24) is a fel-
low artist in Sauers master of ne arts program; the sub-
ject chose to have a baby, though her peers perceived her
choice as the end of her career. The bright colors around
her mirror the colors in the picture behind her and suggest
her optimism and condence.
back on her early musical training to decon-
struct a painting in much the same way that
a musician analyzes a score and works out
technique in order to perform a composition.

April 2014 45
 Working With a Color Study
BY MARY SAUER

ABOVE: Erin Color Study (oil, 6x4)

Whenever I can, I like to paint a color study to

help me understand my process before I go
on to create a larger-scale painting. The stud-
ies help me with color decisions and edge-
quality choices; they free me to experiment
on a piece that requires a relatively small
amount of time and energy, thus helping me
to avoid the preciousness that sometimes
accompanies the more time-consuming,
larger works. I do, however, consider my color
ABOVE: Erin (oil; 40x30)
studies to be nished paintings, and I show
them in galleries.

Even though my painting techniques are tradi-
tional, she says, I use a lot of new technology
in preparing my compositions. It amazes me
that so many artists are adamantly against the
use of photography. I think thats mostly due
to a lack of knowledge and skill in the use of
quality equipment.
Digital photography is a useful tool for
working out the composition and design in the
early stages of painting. I usually photograph
my setup and then design the space digitally
to get the best composition and light pattern-
ing, says Sauer. If Im painting from life, Ill
reposition the setup based on those digital
calculations, but if my photo reference is of
good quality, I may paint the entire piece from
my iMac screen, which has been color-cali-
brated to simulate natural light. As she paints,
Sauer defers to a variety of platforms and digi-
tal devices to evaluate her progress: a thumb-
nail is a useful size for evaluating the composi-
tion; a blowup allows her to assess line quality
and edge detail, and the site-sized image on
an iPhone enables her to identify major correc-
tions. Shes mindful of the fact that an image,
even with color calibration, looks diferent on
every digital display. You cant expect accu-
rate colors from a low-quality monitor or color

46 www.artistsmagazine.com
 Photography
Tips
BY MARY SAUER

You cant expect a

good quality refer-
ence photo from
anything less than
a professional cam-
era and portrait
lens. My under-
graduate professor
Richard Hull once
told my class that
the best portrait
painters are also
the best portrait
photographers; you
can only go as far
as your reference.

The three cam-

era settings that
contribute to the
correct exposure
in a photograph
are shutter speed,
f-stop (aperture
size), and ISO (the
cameras sensitivity
to light).

In photography,
learning the cor-
rect distance from
the subject is as
important as using
the correct camera
settings. Having the
camera too close
to the subject cre-
ates distortion; too
far away, and the
camera cant read
details.

print, says Sauer. If you want to paint from
photographs but arent using good photos and
good equipment, then youre setting yourself
up to fail before you even begin.
Working From Life
To keep her work from growing stale and
looking lifeless, Sauer regularly paints from a
model. I cant stress enough the importance
of working from life so that you know what
to correct if youre working from a photo
reference, says Sauer. Ive spent a lot of time
ABOVE: Inspired by Agnes Martin and James Abbott
McNeill Whistler, Sauer worked primarily with white
and its variations for Anna II (oil, 40x30). The antiseptic
grid of shelves, each containing a single object, and the
unmanageable stack of books at her bare feet suggest the
conicted compartmentalization of her life.
learning how to make the camera act as my eye
would, overcoming problems with distortion,
value contrast, color intensity, and atmospheric
perspective.
When she works from life, Sauer tones

April 2014 47
 her canvas with a mixture of raw umber and
ultramarine blue thinned with Gamblin
Gamsol. When that dries, she mixes a warm,
dark valueburnt sienna with a little black
and cadmium orangewith turpentine
to establish large areas of light and dark
48 www.artistsmagazine.com
in a grisaille (a monochromatic painting).
Once shes satisfed with the overall composi-
tion, Sauer wipes paint from the light areas.
As she begins to paint, Sauer uses a
mother color, mixing it at a slightly high
saturation level at frst, then slowly pulling
 Meet Mary Sauer
Mary Sauer has a bachelor of ne arts degree in illustration from Brigham
Young University (Provo, Utah) and is currently a master of ne arts student at
the University of Utah (Salt Lake City), where she also teaches. Shes a 2014
recipient of an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant. Sauer has exhibited
her work in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States. Her paint-
ing Anna won the
Best in Show award
at the 2012 Portrait
Society of America
International Portrait
Competition, and her
work has appeared
in International
Artist, Southwest
Art, and on the
cover of American
Art Collector. Sloane
Merrill Gallery, in
Boston, represents
her work. Sauer lives
near Salt Lake City
ABOVE: Lily (oil,14x11) is a 15-hour life study Sauer built with her husband,
up from a grisaille painted with a mixture of burnt sienna David, an operatic
and ultramarine blue. To create depth in the shadow areas, tenor, and her
she varied the degree of paint opacity, leaving the original dachshund, Cocoa.
semitransparent grisaille to form much of the shadow. Visit her website at
www.marysauerart.
LEFT: Sauer painted Megan (oil, 40x30) in a somewhat com.
direct style, without glazing or working over a section
after the rst coat of paint had dried. Sometimes, says
Sauer, I prefer seeing this initial reaction to the subject.

piles of the color to either the warmer, cooler,
lighter, or darker tones as she goes. She paints
wet into wet, laying down the facets from dark
to light rather than blending values together.
Her goal is to get the right color and value
the frst time. Tats the freshest way for me
to achieve color and buttery brushstrokes,
she says. Getting it wrong and going back
to change something often results in muddy
colors and messes up the quality of the brush-
strokes, so I wipe of and repaint a whole sec-
tion rather than noodling one area till it gets
worked to death.
Learning To Simplify
Sauer works form to form in the models face,
beginning with the forehead and progress-
ing to the light-most facing plane (the area
on the form with the lightest value), moving
from warm shadow to neutral core shadow
to a more saturated light value. She thinks
about the form sculpturally, imagining the
way it moves back and forth in space, deter-
mining which edges disappear and which
advance. Im continually learning to edit
information from what I see in order to Mother color: a
simplify my technique, says Sauer. I think color one uses in
Sargent was a real master at this. He knew every mixed color
what could be painted loosely and how to do it in a painting to
create harmony
with the fewest brushstrokes imaginableto
and to lend unity
make something seem tightly rendered when
to the color and
viewed from a step back.
composition
Even as Sauers work evolves, as she contin-
ues to refne her themes, updating the narrative
on her historical infuences and tethering tradi-
tional techniques to modern technology, there
remains one constant: the need to spend time in
the studio. I think that the practice of paint-
ingand making it a rigorous routine in your
lifeis the best way to improve your work, she
says. I might have a spurt of enlightenment the
day after something genius seemed to happen in
my painting, then nothing for several months.
My work might not look incredibly difer-
ent between those few months, but the way I
understand what Im doing will change.
JUDITH FAIRLY writes about the visual arts and is a
frequent contributor to The Artists Magazine.

April 2014 49
 Once a physicist in the eld of optical
engineering, Qiang Huang found a second
career by applying methods of scientic inquiry
to his artistic processand painting every day.

practice
makes perfect
BY ROBERT K. CARSTEN

T THROUGHOUT HIS CHILDHOOD

China, Qiang Huang (pronounced chong
in Beijing,

wong) loved art and was inspired by his uncle,

Hong-En Huang, a professional painter and
educator. Despite this interest, Huang wasnt
able to study art in art institutions; instead he
pursued science and technology.
Immigrating to the United States in
1985, Huang obtained a doctorate degree in
A Master of the Brush
Tis description of Huangs status began to
change markedly when in 2007 a fellow artist
introduced him to the daily painting process
and helped him set up a blog. (See A Daily
Dose of Painting, page 53.) It was Huangs
intent to use this painting-a-day idea to
improve his skillswhich he, without a doubt,
succeeded in doing. In 2011, because of his
physics from the University of Alabama and disciplined practice and inherent talent, he
began working as an engineer in the feld of was able to resign his engineering position to
optics and later in the more specialized feld of become a professional painter and art instruc-
holography, creating three-dimensional images. tor. His fresh and energetic still lifes are never
I considered this a good match, explains overworked, demonstrating a brilliant facility
Huang, utilizing my scientifc background
with my interest in lightthe visual part of
the electromagnetic feldand my love of art. RIGHT: In his award-winning, relatively large painting,

I worked in that feld for several companies
before settling in Austin, Texas, where I joined
a start-up company.
All the while, Huang endeavored to con-
tinue his art education with life drawing and
painting workshops, typically painting for
his own pleasure on weekends and evenings.
I was a full-time engineer and a part-time
amateur artist, he recalls.
Awakening (oil, 24x18), Huang painted objects reminis-
cent of Buddhist shrines, many smoky with incense, in
his native China. People sometimes have small shrines,
like spiritual still lifes, in their homes, where they leave
offerings, Huang explains. I wanted to create a paint-
ing in the Western tradition but using objects and ideas
from Eastern culture. I chose the Chinese character
which means awakening to symbolize the essence of
Asian philosophy. The Buddha is a symbol of wisdom and
awakening, so I depicted the statue in glowing light.

50 www.artistsmagazine.com
April 2014 51
 MATERIALS

Surface: most
often Centurion
Deluxe oil-primed,
stretched linen
canvas, RayMar
linen panels, and
Ampersand
Gessobord panels
(Huang generally
prefers smooth,
less absorbent
surfaces.)

Oil paint:
Rembrandt pre-
ferred, but some-
times other brands
such as Winsor &
Newton

Palette: Naples
yellow, yellow
ochre, cadmium
yellow, cadmium
orange, cadmium
red light, alizarin
crimson, transpar-
ent red oxide or
burnt sienna, ultra-
marine blue deep,
phthalo blue, and
titanium white

Medium: none
except for Gamblin
Gamsol when
Huang wants the
paint to dry faster

Brushes: bristle with an economy of brush and painting-knife
and synthetic bris- strokes to aptly render form.
tle atsRobert Huang describes his style as representa-
Simmons Signet or tional but impressionistic. Some artists create
Winsor & Newton
superrealistic paintings with intricate detail, he
in Nos.10, 4, and
says. I admire their skill level, but I dont get
2; Creative Mark
excited about their work. On the other hand, I
Qualita Golden
think artists who work abstractly or nonrepre-
Taklon synthetics in
-inch and smaller-
sentationallyperhaps just showing energetic
size ats
brushwork or beautiful colorsreally struggle
to get across what they want to communicate.
Other: painting Huang is enthusiastic about artists between
knives
these two poles, like John Singer Sargent,
Joaqun Sorolla (featured in our March 2014
issue), Anders Zorn, and Nicolai Fechin. Teir
paintings are representational in that we recog-
nize subjects, he says, but the manipulation of
the paint can be as abstract as possible.
In his own work, Huang seeks a bal-
ancesomething neither purely realistic nor
ABOVE: In his stunning Song of Silence (oil, 20x16),
Huang rst used cadmium orange with ultramarine blue
deep to make a dark, greenish gray for the background.
He then added some transparent red oxide to neutral-
ize some of the green and added some Naples yellow
where he wanted the color lighter. Rather than use white,
which he says gives a more chalky effect, Huang likes to
lighten darks with either Naples yellow, yellow ochre, or
cadmium orange.
completely abstract. He likes to experiment
and doesnt want a clichd style. I have one
guiding principle, he says. Art is a form of
communication. I want my concepts to be
understandable so they can be shared with and
appreciated by a majority of people. Tis is the
reason I choose a representational style. Also,
the objects I use in my paintings are familiar
to nearly everyone, so they serve as a good
foundation for communication.

52 www.artistsmagazine.com
An Avid, Lifelong Learner
In order to enrich his knowledge and fuel his
imagination, Huang visits museums and gal-
leries at every opportunity, studying paintings
that he fnds inspiring. He uses two diferent
approaches to learning, the frst being analyti-
cal. When I really like someones work, he
says, I study it and speculate, asking myself,
Why do I fnd this exciting? Why does this
painting attract me more than others? Ten I
ask, How does the artist do that? What types
of warm or cool colors does the artist use?
Perhaps the artist uses thin layers and allows
them to bleed through top layers, achieving
interesting color efects.
Huang then tries to generate some theo-
retical models. He may open a digital image of
a painting in Photoshop, using the eye-dropper
tool to pick up some of the colors to analyze
the artists habitual approach. In a detailed
Photoshop color space, he can determine the
quantity and distribution of warm and cool
colors, and then summarize and understand
the artists working methods.
Sometimes though, Huang is perplexed
by a painting style and then resorts to an
alternate manner of study. I just cannot use
a left-brained, analytical approach with some
paintings, he says. What they give me is pure
impression, and no vocabulary can describe
whats going on. In these cases he tries to
duplicate the style or technique by mimicking
the efects in whatever way he can. Tis pro-
cess is more experiential, more experimental,
he explains. Even though I dont have the
guidance of a theory, by attempting to repli-
cate the efectoften several times and per-
haps blindly at frstI eventually fgure it out.
Ten, to whatever extent I desire, I can transfer
this technique onto my own.
Small Works, Powerful Results
Huang sets up his still lifes to help him
achieve his light efects, employing a plywood
backboard hinged to a side board for suspend-
ing a drape and blocking out peripheral light.
Using his optical engineering background,
he discovered a simple lighting system that
roughly duplicates north light. He uses a
halogen Par 16 or 20 food light bulb (avail-
able at Home Depot or Lowes) in a refector,
to which he clips one or two color-correcting,
blue transparency f lters (available directly
from Huang through his website at www.
qhart.com/Q _and_A/north_light_f lter.htm).
Preferring smoother, less absorbent sur-
faces to paint on, before he begins, Huang
sometimes wets down the canvas using a paper
towel to apply a very thin coat of linseed oil.
Tis prevents the canvas from absorbing too
Text continued on page 56
A Daily Dose of Painting
In 2007 a fellow artist introduced Huang to the daily painting process
and helped him set up a blog. It was his intent to use this painting-
a-day idea simply to improve his skills. He never dreamed that the
blog would eventually link him to thousands of artists and art lov-
ers who regularly express genuine interest in his work and actively
communicate with him.
Huang put his daily paintings on Daily Paintworks (DPWwww.dai-
lypaintworks.com) auctions, linking the DPW auction page to his blog
so anyone interested could check his site, follow his progress, and bid
on nished paintings. Noting the quantity and regularity of his sales,
galleries began buying directly from the artist and reselling his work
and later extended gallery representation. With so much activity and
interest, it wasnt long before Huang was asked to teach workshops,
rst locally, then regionally, and now nationally.
I didnt expect that people would take such interest in my work,
Huang says. I lacked condence in my painting, and I didnt think
it had much monetary value. But sharing my experiences and tech-
niques and establishing two-way communication on my blog, plus
teaching and selling my art, have changed all that.
After resigning his position as an engineer, he found that, for
him, the keys to being a successful, focused artist are daily painting
and maintaining his blog. Huang concludes, Creating and nish-
ing a painting nearly every day keeps me painting regularly with
the impetus that I feel an ongoing responsibility to share my daily
struggles, revelations, and accomplishments on my blog.
LEFT: Although bathed
in a softer light than
Putney Roses (page 56),
Captains Roses (oil,
8x6)one of Huangs
daily paintingsequally
exhibits facility of brush
and painting-knife strokes.
In this piece, Huang intro-
duces a subtle balance by
harmonizing the warm,
saturated colors of the
roses with adjacent warm
darks, while the satu-
rated, cooler colors of the
leaves are placed against
the cool, dull color of the
table and darker parts of
the background.
April 2014 53
 Seven Steps to a Painterly Still Life
BY QIANG HUANG

I place the setups for 3: Value and Opacity: I start to introduce opacity. I mix
my works at almost eye grays, cover the light area, and keep the dark area transparent.
level. The center of focus Im still ignoring color and am now paying attention only to
in the arrangement for value and opacity.
Delicate Porcelain (oil,
9x12) is the orange and 4. Color Temperature and Relationships: I observe the
the lighter part of the color temperature and place color patches to indicate the
white porcelain pot. The color distribution and the temperature variation. I pay atten-
dark bottle enhances tion only to color relationships, not to the detail of the shapes.
the contrast in the central area. The entire composition has a I make sure the color values dont deviate widely from my
linear reading path starting from the small cup on the left and early value design.
ending at the lime on the right.
5: Modeling Individual Elements: After I lay out the basic
1: Drawing: Using simple strokes with a brush, I indicate the color designs, I begin working on each object to make it look
size and location of each object. At this stage I dont draw more solid and three-dimensional. This image shows how I
details and I ignore value and color. modeled the dark bottle.

2. Underpainting: I determine the basic value design. I mix 6: Edges and Details: After modeling the porcelain pot, I
transparent red oxide and ultramarine blue for darks and manipulated the edges and put in detailed handles and design
show general shapes of the dark, light, and midtones in a patterns. In this stage, I allow myself to temporarily ignore the
transparent underpainting. integrity of the painting and just focus on individual objects.

1 2

3 4

54 www.artistsmagazine.com
7. Consolidation and Finessing: After I get enough details
and edge work on the individual objects, I start to give my
attention to the entire painting, working on the relationships
between objects and linking them together. At this stage I even
add a sufcient number of objects to the painting to make the
design more dramaticI added the grapes, stems, and leaves
to Delicate Porcelain (below; oil, 9x12). In this nishing step, I
make parts of the painting more realistic and other parts more
abstract. I also emphasize the center of focus and soften areas
where I dont want the viewer to pay as much attention.

5 6

April 2014 55
 Text continued from page 53 From the start, Huangs primary concern
much oil from the paint, resulting in dry marks. is to show energy and power, so he may apply
He starts by painting large areas frst, thinning high-chroma colors directly out of the tube.
the paint with Gamsol for quick drying. Tis In the meantime, he also considers how to
BELOW: To accom- allows him to apply more layers right away, harmonize the pure colors with duller areas,
plish the brilliant
usually without any medium, to fnish the working with the way the duller background
light captured in
painting in his painterly style in one session. colors lead the eye to the pure color in the
Putney Roses
When he teaches, Huang typically works center of focus. I like to have a muted back-
(9x12), Huang rst
painted the form
small (9x12 or smaller) in order to complete ground, says Huang, and thats why I can put
shadows of the ow- the painting for the demonstration, which a lot of pure color in my center of interest. Te
ers with saturated, usually takes between two and three hours. muted color enhances the pieces of pure color
transparent yellows Afterward, he resists any urge to do further so those colors can sing.
and reds. Later, work on a painting, preferring the fresh look Huangs marvelously atmospheric back-
separately mixing and experience of alla prima (wet-into-wet) grounds are designed to complement his sub-
cadmium yellow and painting. jects but are never so jumpy as to interfere
cadmium red, each with his foreground subjects. For background
with a large quantity
Dramatic Light, Sensational Color color he typically applies a mixture of trans-
of titanium white, he
Essentials to the drama in this artists paint- parent red oxide with ultramarine blue deep.
created bleached-
ings are very strong light and painterly efects. By changing the ratio of these two colors, he
out colors, which he
applied with a paint-
To highlight particular edges or details with can tune the temperature cooler with more
ing knife to describe dazzling light, Huang uses a very gentle blue or warmer with more red. To make areas
the shapes of light touch with a painting knife to apply the warmer yet, he sometimes mixes in alizarin
on the edges of the paint thickly, carefully, and expressively. (See crimson.
petals. Putney Roses, below). Mostly, Huang prefers paintings in which

56 www.artistsmagazine.com
 LEFT: The shad-
ows in Limes and
Grapes (oil, 6x6)
dont contain
much of the local
color because of
the reections, so
Huang had oppor-
tunities to play with
the more abstract
nature of color. For
example, note the
amount of warm
color on the limes.
I also wanted atmo-
spheric, dreamlike
effects, says Huang,
so I softened edges
of some forms,
especially of the
pot, in order to
push it toward the
background. In turn,
I emphasized the
grapes with sharper
edges to pull them
forward.

most of the color happens in the light, so he

most commonly uses the lighter areas as the
About Qiang Huang
focal points. In variance, for Limes and Grapes A signature member of Oil
(above), the artist organized the lighting to Painters of America (OPA),
bleach out the lighter parts on the objects, Qiang Huang received the
choosing instead to enhance the colors in the Still Life Honorable Mention
shadows and refections. Award at the 20th OPA
National and the Still Life
Te remarkable contrasts Huang regularly
Award of Excellence at the
achievesby utilizing to great advantage thick
22nd OPA National. Huang
paint against thin, subtly tinted whites against attended the graduate
saturated color, glowing light against sophisti- school of the Academy
cated darks, and soft, atmospheric edges with of Art University in San
sharply defned onesall contribute toward Francisco, studying with
building dramatic light, sensational color, and well-known gurative artist
sterling spontaneity: the hallmarks of this Zhaoming Wu. Additionally,
artists work. he attended workshops
taught by David Leffel,
ROBERT K. CARSTEN, artist, instructor, arts juror, and Sherrie McGraw, Scott
writer, had the good fortune to cross paths with Qiang Burdick, and Carolyn Anderson. His work is represented by InSight Gallery,
Huang at InView Workshops, Landgrove, Vermont, Fredericksburg; Capital Fine Art Gallery, Austin; and Marta Stafford Fine Art
where they were both teaching. Visit Carstens website, Gallery, Marble Fallsall in Texas. To learn more, visit his website, www.qhart.
www.robertcarsten.com. com, and his blog, www.qiang-huang.blogspot.com.

April 2014 57
 Piecing It
Together
Mixing media
acrylic, wax crayons,
colored pencils,
and inks, plus
rice and salvaged
papers, three artists
construct dynamic
designs that embrace
both image and text.
BY MAUREEN BLOOMFIELD

RIGHT: Koi 3 (acrylic, collage, 20x24)

by Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson

58 www.artistsmagazine.com
April 2014
4 LIKE THIS IMAGE? Download it as desktop wallpaper at www.artistsnetwork.com/ne-art-wallpapers

59
 Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson
Painting & Shredding Paper

MATERIALS

Paper: found
papers; per-
sonal ephemera;
Japanese washi
and torn Unryu rice
papers

Paints: Golden
Artist Colors uid
and tube acrylics
to paint the papers
that become col-
lage pieces and the
acrylic underlayer

Panels: American
Easel wood paint-
ing panels

Brushes:
Princeton Catalyst
- and 1-inch l-
berts for applying
gel medium and
painting the under- On American Easel panels that she primes ABOVE: Koi 2
painting with several coats of acrylic gesso, Elizabeth (acrylic, collage,
St. Hilaire Nelson draws an outline of an intri- 20x24)
Medium: Liquitex
cate design. She then paints the separate seg-
gloss gel medium RIGHT: Koi 7
for gluing the
ments of the design with fuid acrylics. On top
(acrylic, collage,
pieces of collage are shreds of paper that she has meticulously
20x24)
torn and either already painted or painted
Varnish: Golden
and retrieved in a process that includes weav-
Artist Colors
ing, layering, and pushing and pulling colors,
polymer UVLS
values, and patterns" that, she says, makes
(ultraviolet light sta-
blilization) varnish
collage like music. Te result is a riotously
colored, highly textured surface that's a
palimpsest, with traces of words that move in
and out of the viewers focus.
Given the diverse range of efects evident
in her work, its clear that the artist has a num-
ber of techniques at her command. One of the
most unusual resulted in the spots visible on
the koi in the series shown here, which started
as studies for a public art contest, ArtPrize,
in Grand Rapids, Michigan. To create the
organic spots on the koi, says St. Hilaire
Nelson, I put black gesso or deep brown fuid
acrylic paint on my toes and walk all over rice
paper. Any time you see dark spots on the koi,
they are, in fact, my toe prints that I then tore
out of the paper and glued down." As a result,
she says, "A little bit of me is in every fsh!

60 www.artistsmagazine.com
April 2014 61
 Cathy M. Woo
Scraping with Spatulas

MATERIALS Cathy M. Woo describes her process as entirely she lets each layer dry. Simultaneously, she lay-
improvisational: "I like my pictures to have ers torn pieces of paper: Japanese rice papers or
Surface: Philippine
energy; theyre not carefully made. Teres no old watercolor paintings she has cut up. Te
mahogany 8-inch
preplanning, which means that the process is collage pieces are the mixed media compo-
boards, sealed and
primed
fun and also scary. Selecting a primed and nent in my work, she says, but Ill also apply
sealed Philippine mahogany board, she puts out graphite, colored pencil, watercolor pencil, wax
Papers: Japanese jars of acrylic paint and unfolds a large piece crayon, and water-soluble crayon to the collage
rice papers and
of propylene as a palette. Her tools of choice elements and sometimes to the board."
fragments of water-
are plastic scraper spatulas in a number of sizes. In Stir Fry (below), for instance, the
color paintings
Sometimes I mix the colors on the plastic pal- polygonal shapes around the green pieces are
Paints: Golden, ette and sometimes I mix them on the board, made with crayons. Te whole thing is pretty
Liquitex, Daniel says Woo. Usually I put out big blobs of pig- scribbly, Woo says. In Citrus Salad (at right),
Smith, and ment and smear them. Te frst layer estab- she dropped the dots of paint from a brush
Utrecht acrylics
lishes the color theme, although not a lot of and then took a wet paper towel and blotted
Tools: scraper that color will show through in the fnal piece. them. Te wet paper towel takes of the top
spatulas from the Te process extends over several days, as layer that hasnt dried and leaves the rest, she
hardware store

RIGHT: Stir Fry

(acrylic, mixed
media, collage,
36x36)

62 www.artistsmagazine.com
explains. And at diferent points in the process, ABOVE: Citrus
she plugs in an electric sander and sands the Salad (acrylic,
surface down! mixed media,
While Woo was working on Stir Fry, Citrus collage, 36x36)

Salad, and other pictures in this series, she was

practicing Buddhist meditation on afrmation.
In the upper left of Stir Fry and Citrus Salad,
you can see a message. I try to make it subtle,
Woo says. Some see it; some dont.

April 2014 63
 RIGHT: Poke Salad
Annie (acrylic,
mixed media,
collage, 36x36)

Laura Lein-Svencner
Preparing A Palette (of Papers)

MATERIALS Preliminary to creating a mixed media work, Te colors for Poke Salad Annie (above)
Laura Lein-Svencner spends weeks staining came from the pokeweed plant and the imag-
Papers: pages
tissue papers and sanding and altering pages ery, from hearing Poke Salad Annie by Tony
from old books; tis-
from magazines. She also uses maps as the Joe White, what she calls my husbands music
sue papers stained
with acrylic; kraft
surface for linoleum prints; she applies gesso heard from the garage. Te paper letters are
paper textured and acrylic to pages of engineering plans and sandwiched between stained tissue papers
with gesso blueprints, too. Tat's the fun part, she says. and drawing papers that have been painted
Sometimes I know what I want to create and and printed on. Te artist used Caran d'Ache
Paints: Golden
other times I dont, so the making of collage Neocolor II wax crayons and acrylics, as well
Artist Colors uid
papers is a time for me to loosen up and play. as the transferred image letters.
acrylics, glazing
mediums, polymer
To prepare the collage pieces, she coats In Relationships (at right), some of the
gloss medium, them evenly on both sides with acrylic polymer, papers were sewn together and then fused
gesso which she also uses to coat the canvas that will to the surfacea process that illustrates the
become the surface for the collage. Te layer pieces meaning. I was thinking of all the
Other: Caran
of polymer is what melts and fuses the papers diferent relationships I encounter in my life,
d'Ache Neocolor II
wax crayons and a
when I use a tacking iron to adhere them, says says Lein-Svencner, from the sturdy to the
tacking iron Lein-Svencner, so no wet glue or medium is momentary. And I forced myself to take a risk,
needed. using purple, which is not in my palette.

64 www.artistsmagazine.com
About the Artists
ELIZABETH ST. HILAIRE NELSON (www.nelson
creative.com/gallery) started working with collage as a
way to give an extended life to memorable documents.
She won a 1st place in our All Media Contest in 2010.
CATHY M. WOO (www.cathymwoo.com) has been
painting and teaching for over 25 years; she is a
signature member of the National Watercolor Society,
which awarded her its highest award in 2000. She
served as a judge for our 2010 Annual Competition.
LAURA LEIN-SVENCNER (www.lauralein-svencner.
com) has had a lifelong love of paper. Her award-
winning work has appeared in Watercolor Artist, Incite I
BELOW: Relation-
and Incite II (published by North Light Books), and other
ship (acrylic, mixed
publications.
media, collage,
36x36)

April 2014 65
 road test BY CHRIS SAPER

Gel Medium Goes Green

An artist tries Gamblin Solvent-Free Gel Medium in the studio and en plein air.

AS A COMMISSION portrait painter,

there are two qualities I look for in a
medium: frst, the ability to control
impasto (thick, heavy application of
paint) in the early, ever-changing
layers as a contour takes shape, and
second, the ability to unify the vis-
cosity of a variety of paints out of the
tube, unmatched in their ages and
manufacturers. Yet, as a relatively
new plein air painter, I look for dif-
ferent things: the ability to create
impasto quickly and to easily trans-
port and manage a medium on site.
I was thrilled when Te Artists
Magazine asked me to try Gamblins
Solvent-Free gel medium because I
was already a huge fan of Gamblin
products. Now that Ive started work-
ing outside (plein air landscapes) as
well as in the studio (portraiture), I
could try Gamblin Solvent-Free gel
medium in both settings.

Flat & Impasto Both

While there are some commission
portrait artists who get it right, right
of the bat, Im not one of them. It
takes me many layers to nudge and
make minute adjustments to the
drawing, color, and values in order to
meet the expectations of my clients.
As a result, I need to keep my work-
ing surface very fat, devoid of ridges
or impasto that will later impede
my ability to make seamless modi- paint, mixed with enough gel (not ABOVE: Kirk Larsen: American Artist (oil,
fcations to a dried surface. I found exceeding the recommended 1:4 28x22)
that the Gamblin Solvent-Free Gel maximum ratio) to allow my brush-
medium gives me the control I want, work to show up and remain in place. addition to my daily paint setup.
from very smooth underlayers to very In summary, I was able to (See the demonstrations on the
lively impasto in the fnal layers. experiment with Gamblin Solvent- following pages.)
Free gel medium in both studio and
Manifest Brushstrokes feld settings and in situations that CHRIS SAPER is a member of the Portrait

During a workshop excursion to
Sedona, Arizona, I experimented
with Gamblin Solvent-Free gel
medium in creating large piles of
required diferent ways of handling Society of America and Portrait Artists of
Arizona. Her many books and videos are
the medium. Im happy to say the
available at bookstores, art stores, and at
solvent-free gel medium performed
www.northlightshop.com.
beautifully in both; its now a regular

66 www.artistsmagazine.com
 road test

Hair Takes Shape In the Studio

1 2
Step One: Wet Into Wet
When I paint hair, I work wet into wet.
Even if the surface is dry, Ill remix the
base color to permit owing color and
easy value transitions. I photographed
this early stage of my portrait of Max in
raking sunlight so you can see that the
dark rst layer of the hair is very thin,
allowing the weave of the linen to show,
in contrast to the backgrounds impasto.
In the center of the hair, I placed a dab
of the Solvent-Free gel medium so you
can see its cast shadow.

Step Two: Thicker Paint

By adding just a few strokes of thicker
paint, mixed with the Gamblin Solvent-
Free gel medium, Ive been able to paint
more thickly and gain opacity in the
paint layers that will comprise the nal
layer of paint.

Step Three: Final Coat

For the nal coat of paint in Max (oil,
20x16), Ive left the impasto in the sub-
jects hair and added additional impasto
effects to the shirt, as I like to manage
the nal surface quality in much the
same way as I manage edges: creating a
visual path for my viewers eye.
3

April 2014 67
 road test

Gamblin Gel Medium En Plein Air

1. Here is my easel set in the landscape of Sedona. I set out the
paints on New Waves Grey Pad, a disposable paper palette.

2. I thinned a blend of earth-colored pigments to give me

enough uidity so that I could quickly draw the major shapes.

3. In this photo, the clear gel is holding its shape after being
squeezed out of the tube. At the lower left, the gels thixo-
tropic property (tendency to liquefy when moved) is evident,
and you can see that the mixture can be attened.

4. Using Gamblin Solvent-Free gel medium and ultramarine

blue and cerulean blue in different proportions with titanium
white, I prepared the sky mixture.

5. Applying sky color to the linen board, I found I could main-

tain the impasto in the brushwork, due to the gel mediums
full-bodied properties.

6. Gamblin makes the claim that you can use its Solvent-Free
gel medium to clean brushes in the eld. Not only did the
medium clean my brushes, it cleaned and moisturized my
hands, too!
1

2 3 4

5 6

68 www.artistsmagazine.com
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 master class BY JERRY N. WEISS

Norman Rockwells
Social Statement
In The Problem We All Live With, Americas favorite illustrator took on
an emotionally fraught subject with extraordinary force.

Norman Rockwell Family Agency, all rights reserved; Norman Rockwell Museum Collection

NORMAN ROCKWELL helped put me
through art school, and for that Im
grateful. My father owned a couple
of Rockwells illustrations, and when
he sold them in the 1970s and early
1980s, the profts helped, in part, to
support my aesthetic habits. Tat was
before Hollywood moguls started
purchasing Rockwells canvases. Had
we held onto the paintingsone was
a prime cover for Te (old) Saturday
Evening Post that my dad bought
directly from Rockwell in the 1950s
their auction value today would be
astronomical. Instead of writing this
column, Id be sampling esoteric
ales on European river excursions.
Whats done is done, and although
Rockwell played a part in setting me
on this path, Im still dubious about
his work. Talk about biting the hand.
For Rockwell, the exigencies of
commercial illustration dovetailed
with a sentimentality that suited his
natural temperament. He willingly
forsook nuance to paint broader char-
acterizations; magazine covers and
advertisements were not the places to
indulge in psychological complexities.
Rockwell made some fne paintings
illustrating Dickens and Twain, and
you can feel him wanting to describe
ABOVE: The Problem We All Live With
(1964; illustration for Look; oil on canvas,
36x58) by Norman Rockwell (18941978)
20th-century mid-America in
similarly literary terms.
Rockwells immense popular-
ity has always coexisted uneasily
with critical disapproval, and I think
both sides are right. He painted an
idealized version of America, and
he bolstered the illusion with a solid
academic technique and composi-
tional skillhe was far and away the
most technically competent, if not

70 www.artistsmagazine.com

the most exciting, illustrator weve
had. Rockwells brand of realism,
predicated on an unrealistic vision of
national innocence, sold many prod-
ucts.
And yet, his strongest suit was
a genuine afection for all the per-
sonalities in his mosaic. In a century
that brought us two world wars and
untold other crimes against our-
selves, that kind of unconditional
love for ones fellow men and women
was, and still is, exceptional.
Late in his career, Rockwell was
moved to address social inequity.
When he was nearly 70, he ended a
long relationship with Te Post and
moved to Look magazine because
it agreed to publish works like Te
Problem We All Live With. Te paint-
ing shows an actual event, when
a little girl named Ruby Bridges
required the protection of federal
marshals to walk to school in New
Orleans, as she desegregated a pre-
viously all-white school. Rockwell
hit the obligatory unsubtle notes:
Ruby, dressed all in white, stands out
against a dismal environment. Teres
a thrown tomatoits red spatter
suggesting the blood shed on behalf
of civil rightsand that abhorrent
grafti on the wall. Rubys conspicu-
ously out of step with the marshals,
who all lead with their left feet. Tis
is vintage Rockwell, giving the neces-
sary cues to induce a reaction, though
the intended efect of outrage was
not what his fans were used to. Te
Problem We All Live With is brilliant
propaganda against our countrys
most egregious moral cancer, the
caste of skin color. Im not sure if its
a great painting, but its as harsh a
window on the world as Rockwell
allowed, and its indelible.
PO Box 414, Windsor, NJ 08561
609-443-4900 Fax 609-443-4888
Paintings by watercolor artist Soon Y. Warren, Ft. Worth, TX
master class
The Problem We All Live With is
part of the exhibition American
Chronicles: The Art of Norman
Rockwell, at the Newark Museum
(New Jersey) until May 26.
Te Problem We All Live With
shows a 6-year-old girl girding her-
self against the violent ignorance
of bigotry. Tis is a long way from
Rockwells idyllic America, but he
couldnt ignore the story, and he
found a young hero at its epicenter.
For his humanitarianism alone, he
earned a place in the museums.
JERRY N. WEISS is a contributing editor to
The Artists Magazine. An artist and instruc-
tor, as well as an author, he teaches at the Art
Students League of New York. To see more of
his work, visit www.jerrynweiss.com.
April 2014 71
 business BY PAUL DORRELL
Rsums, Portfolios,
and BiosOh, My!
Gallery owner and artist advocate Paul Dorrell gives frank advice on rsums,
bios, artists statements, portfolios, and more.
SO YOU HAVE A body of work youd
like to show to a gallery representative
or a potential client? Remember you
have one shot to make a slam-dunk
frst impression, so you must present
and promote yourself in the best way
possible. In this article Ill explain the
fundamental tools you need.
Rsum
A succinct, well-written rsum is, of
course, an essential document. Arlie
Regier Rsum (at
right) is a typical one.
Some of the achieve-
ments Ive listed for
this sculptor, who
works in stainless
steel, are substantial,
some not. I list them
all regardless, since
as a whole they seem
more impressive than
they do individually.
Tis rsum fts
onto one page and
reads quickly. Do I
mention that Arlie
nearly gave away his
frst commission? No.
RIGHT: Make your rsum
professional, well-written
with no spelling mistakes,
and succinct. List only your
successes and, especially
when youre starting out,
list each achievement in-
dividually. (Find a link to a
PDF of this rsum at www.
artistsnetwork.com/learn
more2014.)
72 www.artistsmagazine.com
Nor, when I was building up his of successes, not failures, until the
career, did I ever discuss how many failures are behind you.
rejections he received in the early When the Beatles, largely
days. Te only thing I discussed was unknown in 1962, were prepar-
what an exceptional sculptor he was ing to leave Liverpool for a gig in
and the incredible future he was fac- Germany, their manager printed
ing. Once he began to achieve his posters promoting a concert they
successes, I was willing to discuss were to give prior to departing for
his difcult years with clients, since their European tour. Tat tour
its a great story and inspires admira- was a long-term engagement in a
tion. In the same way, I advise that Hamburg nightclub, where they
you only discuss your work in terms slept in a dank backroom and played
eight hours a night for
pfennigs. Did this type
Arlie Regier Rsum
of promotion detract
www.regiersculpture.com
from their following? To
(other contact information)
the contrary, it helped
Education 1955
1962
Degree in sculpture design, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO
Studied sculpture under Richard Stankiewicz, New York, NY
establish them. Within
Juried 2010 Group Show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, MO
two years they were on
Exhibitions 2009 Two-Person Show, Adieb Khadoure Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2008 One-Man Show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, MO the Ed Sullivan Show,
2007 Boston Museum of Fine Art
2006
2005
One-Man Show, Adieb Khadoure Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
One-Man Show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, MO
and the music world was
2004
2003
One-Man Show, Khadoure Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
One-Man Show, Khadoure Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM changed foreverif not
2002 Sculpture in the Park, Loveland, CO
2002
2001
One-Man Show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, MO
One-Man Show, Khadoure Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
certain aspects of the
2000
2000
Sculpture in the Park, Loveland, CO
Two-Person Show, Khadoure Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
world itself.
1999
1999
Sculpture in the Park, Loveland, CO
One-Man Show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, MO If your work has sub-
1998 Two-Person Show, Shidoni Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1993-97 Sculpture in the Park, Loveland, CO
1993 Laumeirer Contemporary Craft Show, St. Louis, MO
stance, these mild exag-
1992 Sculpture in the Park, Loveland, CO
gerations do no harm. Its
Galleries
Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Adieb Khadoure Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM the work that counts; the
Vail Fine Art, Vail, CO
Select 2010 Abacus, BKD, LLP. Kansas City, MO
promotion merely helps
Commissions 2009
2008
Deep Sphere, Warner Brothers (for the lm Watchmen), Los Angeles, CA
Hemisphere, BKD, LLP. Springeld, MO
you get the publics atten-
2007 Five Rings, University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, KS
2006 Sphere, H&R Block, Kansas City, MO tion so they can assess
2005 Horizon Interrupted, Loveland Sculpture Garden, Loveland, CO
2004 Stellar Outpost, Private Collection, San Diego, CA it for themselves. So f ll
2003 Giving More Than You Take, Osborne Plaza, Olathe, KS
2002 Design & Innovation, Overland Park Convention Center, Overland Park, KS
out the rsum, exag-
2001 Picassos Eye, Private Collection, Boston, MA
2000 Floating Sphere, Private Collection, San Diego, CA
1999 Ripened Grain, Debruce Grain, Kansas City, MO gerating if you must, but
1998 Hemisphere in Steel, Douglas Adams (author), London, U.K.
1997 Pathnder, Private Collection, Santa Fe, NM
never lying. As the years
1996 Elevators, Wheat, Kansas City Board of Trade, Kansas City, MO
1996
1996
The Journey, Private Collection, Las Vegas, NV
Westward, Private Collection, Miami, FL go by, youll achieve
1994 Monolith in Steel, Private Collection, Denver, CO
Media Kansas City Star
things of greater signif-
Shy Boy, She Devil, and Isis (exhibition), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Not By Bread Alone (paperback book)
cance, making moot the
Southwest Art Magazine
Kansas City Star Magazine need to exaggerate. Of
course, it would be great
if you never had to do
 business

this, but rarely will you meet a suc- you have behind you. Otherwise, just topic of websites is another article on
cessful artist who didnt have to in let the images of your work speak for its own). But still I fnd the physi-
the beginning. Very rarely. themselves. cal portfolio an irreplaceable tool.
Your philosophies, inspirations, Yes, its a hassle to assemble, but if
Bio and ideas? Tese are important you look on the portfolio as a work
If you havent accomplished enough refections of what drives you. You of art itself, utilizing a presentation
yet to make for an impressive rsum, can detail them if you wantbut thats stunning, it wont seem such a
you can write a biography that sums again, be brief. Te people viewing bore. Spend the necessary money on
up your education, philosophies, your work, for the most part, arent it, and on the photography, to make
exhibitions, etc. Just make sure it has as interested in these intangibles as it look strong. For those of you who
real substance. See Jennifer Boe Bio they are in the work itself. We live in have no interest in selling your work,
(page 74), which we currently use. an age where everyone is bombarded create the portfolio in whatever way
Tis is a brief bio for a young daily with too much information. you wish. Make it sleek, make it jag-
artist. Naturally, bios for established Teres not much point in adding to ged, make it out of duct tape if you
artists are longer. If you can glean that when your work is supposed to like, so long as the fnished product
any ideas from this one on how to provide relief, shock, or contrast to accurately represents your art.
write your own, be my guest. those very elements in our lives. Id recommend you use a port-
folio of any of the larger sizes, such
Artists Statement Portfolio/Presentation Folder as 20x26, and photos at 8x10 or
Keep your statement brief and, if A portfolio isnt as essential as it 5x7. Also include your rsum or
possible, keep it to one page. Include once was because many artists now bio, an artists statement, and press
your educational background and just e-mail links to their websites, clippings if you have them.
any relevant experience or shows that which serve as online portfolios (the Lay out the photos two or four

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April 2014 73
 business
to a page, depending on the portfo-
lio size. My preference is two 8x10s
per page because they create the
strongest visual impressionand
that frst impression is the most
important one youll make. Please
never forget this, since you wont get
a second shot at it.
After youve laid out the photos,
put the rsum and artists statement
at the end. Never put these at the
beginning, because you want the
viewer to be knocked out by your
artwork frst. Once thats happened,
hell be happy to read about you.
CD and Business Card
Youll also need a photo page that
shows the works in the portfolio
in the form of large thumbnails.
Along with that sheet, youll need
a CD that contains f les of each
image in the portfolio, as well as of
your rsum, contact information,
Jennifer Boe Bio
Jennifer is a graduate of the Kansas
City Art Institute and has been
working in ber since 1998. She
creates works in needlepoint, inter-
preting different aspects of contem-
porary society: junk food, tobacco
products, and everyday retail items.
The fact that she takes a demanding
craftbest known as the pursuit
of women from another eraand
interprets contemporary culture
with it provides an ironic commen-
tary that requires no explanation.
Jennifer considers her work a com-
bination of aesthetics and artistic
philosophy.
Private collectors nationwide
own her work. Other collectors
include the Nerman Museum of
Contemporary Art, H&R Block, and
the University of Kansas Hospital.
She was recently featured in Bust
Magazine.
74 www.artistsmagazine.com
and other works. It would be cool
if youd take the time to make a
cover label for the CD, utilizing one
of your images, with your contact
information printed on the label.
Always have several copies of the
CD in the portfolio so you can leave
one behind with a prospect.
Anytime you show your port-
folio, try to have an original with
you, since the work itself will always
read better than a photo. If a gal-
lery director or collector likes the
portfolio, you can reinforce this by
casually showing him the original
jewel you have at hand. Note the
use of the word casually. Contrary
to general misconceptions, the art
business doesnt function at its best
in a mode of tension and pretension.
Rather, it works best when everyone
is relaxedartist, dealer, and col-
lector. Relaxation leads to trust, and
trust leads to sales, as well as lasting
relationships.
If you cant aford a portfolio or
dont like lugging one around, then
use a presentation folder. You can
fnd these in any ofce supply store.
I prefer the ones that are made of
recycled paper, with two pockets
inside. Teyre the size of a notebook
and can make an impressive visual
statementalthough not as impres-
sive as a portfolio. One advantage
to the presentation folder, however,
is that you can make up several to
leave with or mail to various pros-
pects. You should design a label for
the front with whatever design you
prefer, unless you can aford to have
it embossed. A business card should
go inside.
Along with the photos and
rsum, youll need to include any
press clippings you might have gar-
nered over the years, and a select list
of clients if youre at that stage of the
game.
PowerPoint Presentation
Finally, on your laptop you should
always have an updated PowerPoint
presentation that serves the same
purpose as a portfolio. In fact some
people prefer these to a physical
portfolio. I use both. But when Im
having cofee with a prospective cli-
ent for the frst time, opening a huge
portfolio doesnt exactly work, and
it also limits me to the number of
images I can show rapidly. So in this
case a PowerPoint is preferable. I can
also e-mail a presentation to clients
and cover any given project or artist
comprehensively.
You can do the same, but because
youll only be showing your own
work, and not that of 30 other artists,
a physical portfolio can make a grand
impression. Furthermore, you can
leave a PowerPoint disk in the pre-
sentation folder that covers the same
territory so the client can review it
after youve gone. As the digital age
advances, many people prefer this
approach. I do in certain instances.
Otherwise, for me, nothing
quite makes the impact of a physical
portfolio. Teres something time-
honored and beautiful about clients
turning those enormous pages, and
staring at your work in wonder. And,
while I do use PowerPoint presenta-
tions the majority of the time, Ill
always fall back on portfolios when
the situation calls for it.
PAUL DORRELLs clients at Leopold Gallery
include Warner Bros., H&R Block, the Mayo
Clinic, and thousands of private collectors.
He has written for numerous art maga-
zines and spoken at venues such as the
Rhode Island School of Design and the Art
Students League of
New York. Learn more
at www.leopold
gallery.com and www.
artistsnetwork.com/
paul-dorrell.
This article has
been excerpted
from Dorrells book,
Living the Artists Life
(Updated & Revised): A Guide to Growing,
Persevering and Succeeding in the Art World.
Purchase it at www.northlightshop.com.
 Carol Lake carol.lake@fwmedia.com 385/414-1439
artists marketplace Mary McLane mary.mclane@fwmedia.com 970/290-6065

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April 2014 77
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$35 for 3 images, $5 each additional image,
maximum 6 images www.bowerygallery.org
DEADLINE: APRIL 15, 2014
The Woodson Art Museum is accepting
submissions for the annual juried Birds in Art
exhibition, September 6 - November 30, 2014.
All works must interpret birds and related
subject matter. Processing fee: $50 for one
entry; $60 for two entries. Postmark and
online submission deadline for entry form
and processing fee April 15, 2014. For
prospectus/entry form, visit www.lywam.org
call 715/845-7010; fax 715/845-7103; email
museum@lywam.org or write 700 N 12th St.,
Wausau, WI 54403-5007.
DEADLINE: APRIL 18, 2014
All Cape Cod open juried exhibition/sale at
Cape Cod Art Association May 22 - June 16,
2014. Submit entry digitally through
https://client.smarterentry.com/capecodart
before April 18 deadline. Accepted work
received by May 20. Reception: May 23.
Over $1,500 cash awards.
www.CapeCodArtAssoc.org
DEADLINE: MAY 30, 2014
The National open juried exhibition/sale at
Cape Cod Art Association July 17 -
August 18. Submit entry digitally through
https://client.smarterentry.com/capecodart
before May 30 deadline. Accepted work
received by July 15. Reception: July 18.
Over $2,000 cash awards.
www.CapeCodArtAssoc.org
Carol Lake carol.lake@fwmedia.com 385/414-1439
Mary McLane mary.mclane@fwmedia.com 970/290-6065
VAN HASSELT, AWS
WATERCOLOR WORKSHOPS
Mar: Victorian Fernandina, Florida
May: Paint under the Tuscan Sun
Jun: Visit Villages of the Provence
July: Belfast harbor subjects, ME
800-248-6449
vanhasseltworkshops.com
DEADLINE: JUNE 2, 2014
St. Augustine, Florida: Call for Art.
The St. Augustine Art Association presents
the 5th Annual Nature & Wildlife Exhibition,
July 26 - August 31, 2014. This ne art juried
exhibit features 2D & 3D original works of art
depicting the beauty and diversity of nature,
including landscapes, plants, birds, wildlife,
etc. All media; No giclees. $5,000 in awards;
$2,000 top prize. Digital images due June 2.
Contact 904/824-2310. Download prospectus
and/or apply online www.staaa.org
DEADLINE: JUNE 12, 2014
Stockton, California: The 58th Juried
Exhibition at The Haggin Museum sponsored
by Stockton Art League. August 7 - September
28, 2014. Cash awards over $5,000. Open to
all US artists. No photography or computer
art. Smarter Entry deadline June 12, 2014.
Website: https://client.smarterentry.com/sal.
Click on Haggin Museum 58th Juried
Exhibition. It is under the heading Available
Shows. Prospectus: www.stocktonartleague.org
Juror: Dale Laitinen. Inquiries:
58thhagginshow@comcast.net
DEADLINE: JUNE 16, 2014
Pastel Society of Oregon 19th Biennial
National Juried Show. September 2-27, 2014.
Emerald Art Center, Springeld, Oregon 97477.
$5,000 in cash and merchandise awards.
Juror/Judge/Workshop Instructor:
Barbara Courtney Jaenicke PSA. Workshop
September 10-12. Prospectus/Entry Form
www.pastelsocietyoforegon.com
block.lora@gmail.com or connie@renoah.com
DEADLINE: JUNE 16, 2014
The 42nd Annual Open Juried Exhibition:
Enduring Brilliance at the National Arts Club,
New York City, September 2-21, 2014.
Soft pastels only. Over $25,000 in awards.
Online digital entries only. Download
prospectus after February 1st at
www.pastelsocietyofamerica.org or send
SASE (#10) to The Pastel Society of America,
15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY 10003.
Info 212/533-6931 or
psaofce@pastelsocietyofamerica.org
DEADLINE: JUNE 20, 2014
3rd Square Foot Exhibit, August 5-29, 2014.
Oil, watercolor, acrylic, or mixed media.
Canvases supplied by BAGA registration.
Registration & Entry Fee: $20 for 1 entry,
$25 for 2 entries. Prospectus online at
www.bismarck-art.org or contact BAGA at
701/223-5986.
DEADLINE: JUNE 21, 2014
The Breckenridge Fine Arts Centers 23rd
Annual Juried Art Show and Competition.
Entry Fee: $25. Accepting 2D and 3D original
artwork no older than 3 years, no photography
or computer generated art. $5,400 in
awards. For hard copy prospectus send SASE
to Breckenridge Fine Arts Center, 207 N
Breckenridge Ave, Breckenridge, TX 76424 or
email: info@breckenridgeneart.org
www.breckenridgeneart.org 254/559-6602.
DEADLINE: JUNE 30, 2014
Kentucky Watercolor Societys 37th Annual
National Show AQUEOUS USA 2014 will be
held at Actors Theatre Gallery in Louisville, KY
this fall. $9,000 in awards presented in 2013.
Frederick C. Graff, AWS & TWSA is the juror
& will present his Creative Approaches
TheBrushGuys.com
to Watercolor workshop in Louisville, KY
September 23-26. Download prospectus at
www.kentuckywatercolorsociety.org or send
SASE to KWS, P.O. Box 7125, Louisville, KY
40257-0125.
DEADLINE: AUGUST 6, 2014
Connecticut Pastel Society 21st Annual
National Exhibition Renaissance in Pastels
at the Slater Museum in Norwich, Connecticut.
October 8 - November 9, 2014. Soft Pastels
Only. Online Submissions. Over $10,000 in
awards. Jurors: Liz Haywood-Sullivan and
Janet Cook. For Prospectus please send
SASE #10 to: Diane Stone, 89 South Main St.,
Marlborough, CT 06447 or download from
www.ctpastelsociety.org after February 2014.
Workshops
ALABAMA
Huntsville Museum of Art
4/7-4/11/14, Huntsville. Charles Reid,
Watercolor: Still Life, Landscapes & Figures.
5/1-5/4/14, Huntsville. Robert K. Carsten,
Creating Excitement, Drama and Content in
Pastel Painting.
5/5-5/9/14, Huntsville. Brian Bomeisler,
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
9/11-9/14/14, Huntsville. Lian Quan Zhen,
East Meets West: Chinese & Watercolor
Painting.
Contact: Laura E. Smith, Director of Education/
Museum Academy, 256/535-4350 x222
lsmith@hsvmuseum.org or
www.hsvmuseum.org/museum-academy/
master-artist-workshop
HAWAII
Sketchbook Tour
Honolulu. Artists Sketching Tours. Planning
a vacation in Hawaii? Join Sketchbook Tour
for an engaging, informative, and fun day tour
sketching our tropical paradise, learning local
culture, and making new friends.
Contact: Carol, sketchbooktour@hawaii.rr.com
or www.SketchbookTour.com
NORTH CAROLINA
Louis Brady
5/5-5/9/14 and 5/19-5/23/14, Franklinville.
9-5 pm. At artists studio in rural setting.
Up to 10 people per class in watercolor,
pen and pencil.
Contact: 336/824-8718 for a packet of info by
regular mail. Visit www.louisbrady.com for
work sample & email
louisb2@embarqmail.com
INTERNATIONAL
MEXICO
Mindful Painting
9/28-10/2/14, San Miguel de Allende.
Mindful Painting: A Retreat of Creating,
Meditating & Relating. Bringing Mindful
Attention into the creative process invites
deep attunement, fearless expression &
profound connection. Combining studio
painting, meditation practice, cultural
exploration & mindful walk-abouts to inspire
& cultivate awareness & creativity.
Contact: www.mindfulpainting.com
April 2014 79
 competition spotlight

2 013
The Art
ists M
ANNUA agaz ines

Aline E. Ordman A RT C O M
Finalis
PETITIO
t
LN

White River Junction, Vermont www.alineordman.com

I HAVE A LITTLE CAMP in Peacham, down the overall intensity so that took an illustration class at a com-
Vermont, and its my refuge. Te the white house and red barn would munity college, and a designer who
house and barn pictured here are really stand out. I also chose to keep saw my work encouraged me to take
about one hour away from where I things pretty dark behind the houses some art classes. I did, and I discov-
live, and I pass them every time Im and used that darkness to carve their ered how little I knew! I would tell
heading home. Sometimes theres shapes. I like to work loosely but at any aspiring artist to draw from the
corn in the feld and its almost the same time be very clear with my model as much as you can and to
impossible to see the house, but in shapes. I like for a painting to have a also realize that hard work is more
fall the colors are startlingly lovely. hero, and in this case it was an easy important than raw talent. As a
On this day, the light was low and choicethe white house. teacher, I know this to be true.
infused the landscape with warmth. Before I attended the Academy
I fell in love with the yellow-white of Art College in San Francisco, I BELOW: Heading Down the Road (oil, 18x18)
that hit the side of the
house and the bright
reds of the barn. For me,
they screamed out to be
painted, and there was
never a moment when I
didnt love the process.
I painted this scene
both on location and from
photos. I began with burnt
umber and sketched in
my design. I then moved
on to the color felds
and always tried to keep
working the whole paint-
ing rather than focus on
just one area. I mixed my
warms and cools of like
values together to knock

Learn More
ONLINE
Competition Spotlight
artists are chosen
from competition
nalists. Visit www.
artistsnetwork.com/
learnmore2014 to view
winning entries from The
Artists Magazines 2013
Annual Art Competition.

4 LIKE THIS IMAGE? Download it as desktop wallpaper at www.artistsnetwork.com/ne-art-wallpapers

80 www.artistsmagazine.com
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EARLY-BIRD DEADLINE: April 1, 2014
Compete and Win in 5 Categories!
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5 First Place Awards: $2,500 FBDI 5 First Place Awards: $150 FBDI
5 Second Place Awards: $1,250 FBDI 5 Second Place Awards: $75 FBDI
5 Third Place Awards: $750 FBDI 5 Third Place Awards: $50 FBDI
15 Honorable Mentions: $100 FBDI
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