international_artist (1)

Pickadilly Hannah, oil, 24 x 24\" (60 x 60 cm) Circus Girl, oil, 24 x 18\" (60 x 45 cm) ABOUT THE ARTIST Art in the village of Bath. He is a member Contact at of the The Portrait Society of America (who [email protected] Craig Pursley started early in art, obtaining chose his portfolio as one of the top five in www.pursleyart.com professional commissions at 14. He 2015), and Oil Painters of America (where was chosen as Nebraska’s Outstanding he recently won second place in a national Represented by Young Artist at 17 and the following year competition). completed a large mural, which is still » Tilting at Windmills Gallery, Vermont, displayed in his high school. While in college His work has been featured in USA, www.tilting.com he worked as a composite artist for several International Artist and its sister publication law enforcement agencies including the FBI American Art Collector, and can be seen in » Art 3 Gallery, New Hampshire, USA, and continued doing so after becoming an the National Baseball Hall of Fame, The www.art3gallery.com art teacher in Colorado. Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site and The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and » Berkley Gallery, Virginia, USA, In 1983, Pursley moved to California Museum. His paintings are also in private www.berkleygallery.com where he began work as an illustrator for collections from coast to coast and in a major newspaper. During this time, he Europe. He has won many national awards » American Heritage Gallery, New also achieved considerable notoriety as a including two Best of Shows in 2015, and has Hampshire, USA sports artist for the California Angels, Topps two portraits on permanent display in the Baseball Card Co., and Upper Deck Baseball state house in Concord, New Hampshire. Card Co. In 2002, Pursley and his wife, Julie, moved to New Hampshire where he paints the beauty of New England in addition to running the American Heritage Gallery of Get the book Painting Hannah: 100 Works of a Single Subject by Craig Pursley The Muse 49

The hilltop village of Gordes in Provence, France. 50 www.InternationalArtist.com

Vanessa Rothe (right) with Julie Snyder. WVPAAHNINERGTEEODGH Students search for a place to paint at Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Five accomplished artists and Americans in Paris aims to introduce some of a handful of students traveled today’s leading fine artists in realism to exciting new overseas for a 10-day workshop subjects, often only discovered by traveling abroad, in Southern France as well as study group composition from the masters in some of the top museums in the world. It also A n exciting workshop took place this past encourages a rare comradery among living artists April and May in the South of France with today who are often alone in their studios to come five teachers and 24 students and patrons coming together to learn, grow and share. The group is together to paint in the land of the Van Gogh celebrating its sixth year of various exhibitions and landscapes. This fine art project, dubbed Americans events, including shows at New York City’s prestigious in Paris, was created in 2016 by artist, curator and Salmagundi Club, Arcadia Contemporary, pop-up gallery owner Vanessa Rothe of Vanessa Rothe shows in Paris and demonstrations at Laguna College Fine Art Gallery. The project comprises a group of of Art and Design. The fine art project is officially contemporary realist artists following in the footsteps sponsored by Raymar, Sennelier, Savoir Faire and of the historic masters who had traveled to Paris to Cerno Revelite, with a special thank you from Rothe be inspired by its culture, art and beauty. to the Salmagundi Club. 2022 marked the first year that Americans in Paris opened this academic workshop to the public, teaming up with Workshops in France, led by artist Julie Snyder. Throughout the following pages is a snapshot of that idyllic experience. 51

1 Everyone dining outside. 2 Childs paints from life. 3 Childs and Rothe enjoying the outdoors. 4 Sketching, taking notes and mixing colors. 5 Artists paint Guy Fallon, owner of Moulin de la Roque, Noves. 6 Krimon sketching with students. 7 In Conversation, plein air oil painting by Aldo Balding. 5 12 6 34 7 AMERICANS IN PARIS PAINT PROVENCE The 10-day creative retreat took place were able to partake in the experience of out. Dunaway, like Childs, starts with larger, simplified shapes and progresses from April 26 to May 5 at Moulin a fine art school condensed into a short to more detail. However, Dunaway is able to paint starting from just the de la Roque, Noves, a beautiful 13- term commitment. eyes, moving outward in relation to the initial shapes. acre estate in the heart of Provence, During the retreat, award-winning Childs, an award-winning portraitist, France. In attendance were five leading figurative artist Dunaway explained painted a portrait of a local man, breaking down the basics of laying in American artists: Casey Childs, the importance of the figure in the darks as well as the importance of shape making and proportions for the head, Michelle Dunaway, David Gray, Olga landscape and how to deal with light eyes and nose. Childs discussed specific topics like the nuances of human faces, Krimon and Rothe, accompanied sources in the open air. She explained noting that noses and ears are always a little more warm, and that these details by two dozen students and patrons. that the light, just like in the studio, can be added little by little. Divided into two groups, students took should be coming primarily from one Aldo Balding taught the first day classes and attended workshops and direction and that shadows cast on the demonstrations with each artist, gaining face from that main light source make it unique insights and information along easier to capture. The artist also painted the way. Each artist conducted live a female figure in blue by the water. demos, set up models on location or She spoke about the challenges of a ventured off to paint in plein air for the blue dress with a blue background of afternoon. Students and patrons alike water and how to make the figure stand 52 www.InternationalArtist.com

9 indoors, explaining his approach to 8 a triple figure composition of three women. The artist painted all three 10 figures simultaneously rather than 11 finishing one at a time, which helped with color and stroke harmony. He 12 also painted a couple sitting together at a table outside and discussed the 8 Models lying in the grass. 9 Sieste, plein air oil painting by Julie Snyder. 10 Krimon conducting a demo. importance of telling a story in your 11 Rothe paints figures in the grass. 12 Rothe’s oil Provincial Paysage on the easel. artwork. He arranged the figures interacting and talking, leaving clues and little details about their relationship or what they may be discussing up to the viewer. Fine artist Olga Krimon took a particularly fun approach to her teaching. She instructed her students to walk around the nearby village with the model each day, setting up different options and layouts, discussing composition, diagonals of lines coming into the figure for focus and more. Krimon’s students, sketchbooks in hand, learned how to set up the model and determine their backgrounds. Through demonstrations, she also delved into how she creates light and movement in her work. Krimon is known for creating interesting diagonal lines that draw the eye toward the figure. Rothe broke down the importance of atmospheric perspective in landscapes, discussing that foregrounds will have the greatest contrast and color (with warmer tones), while backgrounds will be more muted with cooler tones. She also discussed how the direction of one’s brushwork can help create perspective. Over the course of those ten days, the students gleaned a variety of other tips from the pros, and patrons were able to see their favorite artists in action. The teachers also had the opportunity to connect and draw inspiration from one another—all in beautiful France. Learn more about Americans in Paris and Workshops in France at www. workshopsinfrance.com. Where Van Gogh Painted 53

OIL NETHERLANDS DEMONSTRATION Ans Debije Bold as Brass Ans Debije uses blades to carve impactful, painterly still lifes in oil Metallic shine, oil painted with blade, 8 x 11\" (20 x 28 cm) Four of my favorite vases, warm and sparkling. I created soft transitions between objects and background and sharp edges to emphasize the shape in some places. My aim in painting is to take items so they stand out. painting. The values in a painting are things that we casually pass I almost always work with still life extremely important to make the object by every day, draw attention to stand out. I like to exaggerate that a bit. them, and see that their beauty is as my subject matter. I spend a lot of Especially with metal objects, very light recognized. Upgrading ordinary time setting up and lighting a still life. colors are right next to dark colors. objects by using contrasting darks The light falling on a still life or object and lights to create shine is my way helps me to see the shapes and the color I try to make an impression of the of emphasizing common, everyday values (dark and light) that are most object with as few brushstrokes as important to express the objects in my possible. At the moment I only paint 54 www.InternationalArtist.com

with oil paint on small sized MDF Carefree, oil painted with blade, 8 x 11\" (20 x 28 cm) panels, up to 12 by 16 inches. Do not think, just do. Apply paint bravely—you can always move it or remove it. I prefer to work with wide flat brushes and silicone blades. That forces me not to work too precisely but to get the paint on the wooden panel with great freedom. That doesn’t mean I just accidentally throw the paint on it. Especially with coarser brushstrokes you have to consciously put the right color/value in the right place. For that, you have to have an eye for the essence and material expression of the object to be painted. Recognizable from a distance, roughly painted up close. By not working too detailed, I create varied edges. Sometimes sharp, sometimes completely gone. An object Something borrowed, oil painted with blade, 6 x 6\" (15 x 15 cm) never needs a complete outline to be recognized. Your brain fills in the This painting features a bright yellow lemon as the centerpiece. Because it comes in a glass jar, I didn’t missing lines. have to stick to the shape. Glass distorts and reflects; sharp edges fade behind glass. What remains is a yellow spot, vaguely shaped like a lemon. All my paintings are painted alla prima, wet in wet, in one session. I start by coloring my panel (treated with gesso) with diluted oil paint, usually with Rembrandt oil paint in asphalt or burnt umber. With the same paint (slightly less diluted) I draw the object or still life to be painted in a few lines. I then indicate for myself where the dark, middle and light tones come by making areas darker or by simply wiping away the underlayer. When I’m satisfied with the sketch I apply colors to the object. Sometimes I add the dark (or most saturated) colors first, but often I’ll apply them in random order. I don’t mix all colors up front, as they are often created during the painting process. The color mixes that I use for the object I also use in the color of the background. A grayish background is always made up of a mix of many of the colors that are on my palette from that painting. As a result, object and background are connected. Oil Demonstration 55

My Art in the Making New Monkey Reference Photo STAGE 1 UNDERPAINTING I use a brush with diluted oil paint in asphalt to draw the picture I want to paint, quickly indicating light and dark. WHAT THE ARTIST USED Rembrandt Oils Additional Supplies » Asphalt » Princeton Catalyst silicone » Burnt umber blade, no. 1, 30 mm » Cadmium yellow deep » Titanium white » Princeton Catalyst mini blade, no. 2, scraper Gamblin Oils » AMI color shaper, no. 6 » Gold ochre » PANART 4601 craft brush » Green gold » Gamblin Gamsol odorless » Permanent orange » Ultramarine blue mineral spirit 56 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 2 My Design and MAJOR COLORS Composition I then add a mix of permanent Tactics orange, green gold, asphalt, gold ochre and ultramarine blue. » A handy tip is to take I apply the base colors to the photos of the still life bottle with a 3-centimeter-wide to determine what a Catalyst blade. For the label, I use nice composition is by asphalt, gold ochre, cadmium cropping the photo. yellow deep and titanium white. » Partly due to the small STAGE 3 size I work in, I often INTRODUCING only paint one or two MORE BLUES items in a composition. Around the bottle I use the earlier mix with some more ultramarine » Try to make long blue and asphalt. The colors of the strokes of paint with whiskey bottle are also mixed in the blades. It doesn’t the background color. Everything matter if you color is applied with the blade. “outside the lines.” You basically mold the contours of the item to be painted by applying and scraping paint until you find the right proportions. » I do not use a medium for painting with blades. The oil paint itself has the ideal thickness to process. Mixed with a medium it will become too thin and your blade will slip. » Use a transparent oil paint for the thinned surface of your canvas or panel. A bright opaque color will continue to bleed off when you paint over it and will affect all the colors in your painting. Continued Oil Demonstration 57

STAGE 4 BOTTLENECK The background color shines through the bottle (above the surface of the whiskey). For the neck of the bottle and the cap I use a mix of burnt umber and ultramarine blue. Because the neck and cap are too small for the blade, I use a brush. STAGE 5 WHITE HIGHLIGHT STAGE 6 BLUE HIGHLIGHT I apply the white highlight on the left side of the bottle with a I then apply a blue highlight to the right side of the bottle and lighter yellow narrower blade. This is applied from the top of the label upwards. tones in the background where light hits the floor. 58 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 7 FINISHED ARTWORK New Monkey, oil painted with blade, 6 x 6\" (15 x 15 cm) ABOUT THE ARTIST Ans Debije was born and raised in The Netherlands, and monotypes) before she began working with graduating from the Design Academy in Eindhoven oils. Although Debije has been painting all her life, as an interior and fashion fabric designer in 1984. she became a full-time artist in 2019 and has created Drawing and painting lessons were subjects that oil paintings on a daily basis since then. supported the design process and were not the most important elements in her growth as a painter. She Contact at taught herself skills in painting by observing art and trying out different techniques with mediums like www.ansdebije.nl/artwork watercolor, acrylic and printing techniques (etchings Find me on @ans_debije Oil Demonstration 59

OIL UNITED STATES DEMONSTRATION Catherine Bobkoski The Shape of Petals A thorough understanding of simplified shapes and values allows Catherine Bobkoski to capture the intricacy of her subjects Co-written by Perrin Weston Two Roses, oil on panel, 10 x 20\" (25 x 50 cm) Roses are demanding subjects to paint from life! I do not always like to present flowers in a vase, but it is necessary for them to have a water supply. Here, I used flower tubes filled with water to keep the roses fresh. Laying roses on their sides can squish the bloom, so I supported the stems with wooden blocks to preserve their shape but edited out the blocks in the painting. Arose is a rose is a rose. Or maybe The same concepts used in portraiture they are not alone. Skilled artists can not if you’re a frustrated painter can be applied to flowers: squint to see get flustered when faced with a dainty trying to paint one. Flowers are major shapes, edit excess information, flower, often resorting to tracing a fascinating, and I use them often in oil focus on creating and organizing simple reference. This eliminates the hassle compositions. Their delicacy, intricacy value masses. Whether your ambition of drawing all those petals, and it can and subtle colors are irresistible, but is to paint a single rose or an elaborate result in a nice technical painting these qualities make them challenging floral arrangement, mastering these where all that’s lacking is any spark to paint. So, how do you approach such three concepts can get you there. of life. But it doesn’t have to be so a rewarding yet tricky subject? complicated. By simplifying shapes and Novice painters get unnerved by values, you allow yourself to design I bring formal figure drawing the intricacy of flowers. They see a a composition where technique is in experience to my flower paintings. confounding forest, but no trees, and 60 www.InternationalArtist.com

service to the painting, rather than the A Cosmos, oil on linen, 12 x 9\" (30 x 22 cm) other way around. Studying flowers outdoors is a very important part of my process. Garden roses are more varied, more Designing is the early heavy lifting complex, and have more interesting stems and foliage compared to commercially grown flowers. I studied part of the painting process that allows and photographed this rose at a local botanical garden and then finished the painting at home. you to concentrate on the fun, more nuanced stuff later in the process such as compositions by limiting shapes. At first, it can feel counterintuitive or capturing subtle hues, temperature shifts Many students exaggerate and mechanical, but employing limited shape and the finishing touches. In my flower language will strengthen your paintings. painting, I use three strategies to make overstate the contours of their subject designing less complicated: squinting, using a random hodgepodge of strokes, Finally, a word about color. In organizing value relationships and lines and curves because they are not painting, value is critical to color. If your limited shape language. minding their mark making. What value organization is off, your colors will they’re missing is an appreciation for the be off, and another tube of paint won’t Squinting is a ridiculously simple game-changing beauty of making marks help. To get good at color, limit your yet underused skill. It helps prioritize with intent. Limited shape language values. To edit out white noise in your what’s important without getting mired helps. For flower paintings, I use precisely composition, squint. Then, use shape in irrelevant details and brings forward two shapes: straight lines and C-curves. language to bring it all together. what is necessary (and eliminates what is not). So, squint. Often. Your painting depends on it. Organizing values, or tones, takes a good deal more patience to master than squinting, but it keeps me honest while composing and painting. With flowers, the painter is faced with a nightmarish puzzle of values to sort through, so a blueprint for tackling them is essential. My strategy is to limit paintings to five values (black, white, and three even gray values in between). That’s it. When first composing, I hold my scale to the subject—say a yellow flower in a dark blue vase on a white cloth—and squint. No matter how many tones I think I see, I reduce them until they correspond to the scale’s five values. Your subject will almost always have more than five values, but this limitation allows you to simplify and organize what you see. “Shape language” is a design term used in animation, but it has applications to fine art. When I’m painting a flower (or anything) my goal is not to render every observable thorn, leaf and petal. That works for nature but not for painting. Painting is about deciding what to put in and what to leave out. In addition to limiting values and palette colors, you can gain control and vastly improve your Oil Demonstration 61

My Art in the Making The Garden Rose Ilove to make charcoal studies before starting an oil painting. Charcoal is great because it is a painterly medium that creates soft, gauzy edges like oil paint, and it forces me to think in simple terms of shape and value before getting caught up in color. The drawing and the photo were taken several days apart. Though they are of the same rose, the flower wilted by the time I was ready to paint it. Just one of the many challenges of painting flowers from life, though I often prefer the shape of a flower that is several days old to one that is fresh. Reference Photo STAGE 1 CHARCOAL STUDY Charcoal studies help me keep my values organized and simplify the subject. While the study is valuable, the problems of the painting are not solved yet. There is plenty of time to change the composition. STAGE 2 UNDERPAINTING First, I stain the whole surface with a mixture of transparent red oxide and ultramarine blue. I like to “draw” my subject by wiping away the paint, which helps to keep the drawing simple. WHAT THE ARTIST USED Oils » Permanent red medium Brushes » Plastic eraser » Permanent rose » Paper towels » Titanium white » Transparent red oxide » Synthetic flats, sizes 2, 4 and 6 » Blending stump » Cremnitz white » Yellow ochre » Mongoose flats, sizes 2, 4, 6 » Lead tin yellow » Transparent yellow oxide Additional Supplies » Cadmium lemon yellow » Brilliant pink and 8 » Cadmium yellow deep » Royal blue » Hogs’ hair flats, sizes 4, 8 and 12 » Wooden palette » Viridian » Palette knife » Cerulean blue Surface Charcoal Supplies » Safflower oil (for cleaning » Cobalt blue » Oil-primed linen panel, 8 x 10\" » Ultramarine blue » Willow charcoal brushes) » Size 4 hogs’ hair brush » Kneaded eraser 62 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 3 BLOCKING IN SHADOWS I squint to see the shadow shapes and block them in with color, checking the value against my scale. If they appear too dark, I lighten the value with cremnitz white or lead tin yellow. STAGE 4 LIGHT AND LEAVES I begin the light side of the flower with clear, simple marks. The dark background and shadow help me judge the accuracy of this value. The stem and leaves were painted with a palette knife. Continued Oil Demonstration 63

STAGE 5 DEVELOPING LIGHT AND VALUE The shadow values have not changed, however, they look more “settled” now. Value is relative, so it is hard to judge the accuracy until more of the surface is covered. A value scale really helps! STAGE 6 COLOR MIXING I use mixtures of permanent rose, titanium white and yellow ochre for blush-colored flowers. Yellow ochre is wonderful for painting flowers. Stronger yellows, like cadmium, are often too saturated and high tinting for delicate colors. STAGE 7 LET IT DRY At this point I let the painting dry. When I returned to it, I had fresh eyes and new ideas for how to resolve it. I oiled out the surface lightly before painting again. 64 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 8 My Design and BACKGROUND Composition Tactics VALUES The background values Focus on Simple Value Shapes are very important It is incredibly important to squint to to the composition. simplify what I see into light shapes and dark I like to keep the shapes. Keep the shadow shapes unified and highest contrast with connected for a greater sense of dimension. the background on the side where the Make a Charcoal Study or flower is brightest, and Thumbnail less contrast on the Painting is hard enough already, so I try to shadow side. save myself time and struggle by creating value thumbnails or charcoal studies before STAGE 9 beginning the painting. These are simple CHANGES TO tools that allow me to figure out some of the STEM AND challenges of the painting before starting LEAVES the finished work. Always keep your studies After studying some close at hand while you paint so you can refer roses at a botanical back to them. garden, I decided to change the stem and Draw with Shape, not with Line leaves in my painting. Instead of drawing linearly, I draw the flower Garden roses usually by wiping out the shape with a paper towel have more interesting in the first stage of my painting. I prefer this shapes in their stems and method because it keeps my focus on the leaves than commercially overall shape and mass of the flower instead grown flowers. of the details. Temperature Describes Light Pay attention to the temperature of the light on your subject. Is it warm or cool? Remember that warm light yields cool shadows and vice versa. Besides value, temperature is the most critical quality of color for describing the light and the sense of form in your subject. It is important to understand the temperatures of your paints in order to achieve this sense of form with your color mixtures. For example, titanium white is a cold color, but lead or cremnitz white is warm. Study from Life Flowers lose a lot of their subtlety when they are photographed. To really understand the nuances of flowers, I find it necessary to paint them from life as much as possible. I visit botanical gardens to paint flowers whenever I get the chance because garden varieties are very different from commercially grown flowers. Take the time to get to know your subject! Oil Demonstration 65

STAGE 10 SCRAPE OUT LEAVES I painted in some dark green leaves and then quickly scraped them back out with a palette knife. This is the improvisational nature of painting. I don’t want the leaves to demand too much attention. STAGE 11 ADJUSTING TEMPERATURES It is easier to resolve the painting when the drawing and value structure are already planned. Instead of blending, I prefer to mix and paint minute value steps in between the shadow and light shapes. 66 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 12 FINISHED ARTWORK The Garden Rose, oil, 10 x 8\" (25 x 20 cm) I resolved the background and the leaves. Impasto highlights create a greater sense of dimension. The simple value statement allows me to experiment with color and texture without the painting getting too out of control. ABOUT THE ARTIST the world, most notably with New Masters Academy. Students Catherine Bobkoski is a still life and figurative artist describe Bobkoski’s teaching style as whose work celebrates the quiet beauty of ordinary generous, thorough and joyful. She things. Her delicate paintings of flowers and still life especially loves teaching painting scenes are exhibited nationally, including at the Oil and drawing basics to students in Painters of America 2021 National Juried Exhibition. She a clear, concise way that is easy to began studying drawing and painting at The Watts understand. Atelier in Encinitas, California, and later at Grand Central Academy and New York University in New York City. Contact at Bobkoski enjoys sharing her knowledge and love of [email protected] painting with others. She is a sought-after painting www.catherinebobkoski.com instructor and teaches private classes and workshops online and at many art schools throughout Southern Find me on California, including Creative Arts Group in Sierra Madre, California, and The Art Studio in Westminster, @cbobkoski California. She teaches online to students around Oil Demonstration 67

OIL UNITED STATES DEMONSTRATION Cheri Christensen In the Best Light Cheri Christensen concentrates on value, temperature and color relationships in her animal art My paintings, no matter the subject on my life and my artwork. No matter own experience into the painting. matter, are about color and the the subject matter, I try to find the path The play of warm and cool colors path of light. Most people know me of light, to lead the viewer into my for my backlit animal paintings. My paintings and into my world. I believe on the form excites me. I want the grandfather was a cattle rancher, and the artist’s job is to simplify the subject viewer to be dazzled by this. Not only I grew up in a small town surrounded matter so the viewer can see what we seeing the path of light, but having it by dairy farms. Both had a big influence are experiencing and perhaps bring their play against the warm and cool colors in the shadows too. I like to create the Odin’s Messengers, oil on board, 30 x 30\" (76 x 76 cm) Graceful Elegance, oil on board, 24 x 18\" (60 x 45 cm) The inspiration for this painting came from a trip to London I took years ago to The Graceful Elegance was inspired by a friend’s photo of a swan. It is Tower of London. In Norse mythology a pair of ravens fly all over the world and bring painted both in brush and palette knife. I’ve used the brush for the information to the god Odin. Because of the mythology associated with the ravens, swan and a palette knife and brush for the water. I did some dry I wanted this painting to be more mystical. The ravens being black don’t reflect light brush dragging in the water too, to help it read. I used the grass to the same way white does. I used the background to bring the light in; losing edges the right to lead your eye into the swan and the path of light. My and having the ravens immersed in the light helped make this painting a little more eye goes up its neck to the head, which is the focal point. Then the expressionist. To create this painting, I used a brush on the ravens and a palette knife eye travels down the swan to the water and back around. I’ve used everywhere else. I loved using layers and layers of paint to create depth and texture. the elements of the light and reflection on the water to keep the viewers’ attention in the painting. 68 www.InternationalArtist.com

Caught by the Light, oil on board, 24 x 20\" (60 x 50 cm) My inspiration for Caught in the Light is a rooster I photographed backlit in the grass. I love painting roosters with a palette knife. I believe it adds to the motion of the bird. Roosters are always moving, and the palette knife works effectively to capture this. I’ve played with edges here too. Dragging the lights up into the background. I’ve added some calligraphy too at the end using cad red light to break things up and add more energy to the painting. drama of the painting with the shadows, I’ll stand back and make sure nothing into being. How when up close, it’s just having more shadow than light. That pops out of the shadows and into the brushstrokes or spots of paint, but when way when I place the path of light on light or vice versa. If I’m satisfied, I’ll you step back it becomes a painting. the form, it dances across it, leading you move on to modeling the form. When I accomplish this by stepping back a lot in. Some artists overlook shadows, or modeling the form, I like to do as little when I’m painting, making sure that they see them as gray, when there really modeling as possible. Less is more for what I’m doing up close reads when you is a lot of color happening there. I don’t me. I like the viewer to take part in step back. It’s a little dance. want to miss it! the painting, letting their eyes fill in whatever is left out. My style is to use big At the end of the painting, I’ll put To achieve this in my paintings brushstrokes or a palette knife, leaving it dark accents on and highlights, and then I concentrate on value and the color on there without a lot of blending. if it needs any more, I’ll add calligraphy relationships in my subject matter. I want the viewer to see that what they’re to pull it together. Usually that’s done What is the value of the color, on a looking at is a painting. I want them with dark accents or occasionally I’ll add black and white scale? Is it my darkest to see the texture and to step up close little flecks of cadmium red light. This shadow or a middle shadow or lightest and wonder how this painting came works well with the Venetian red gesso shadow? When you are comparing for that I let show through at times. color, what local color is it closest to— red, green, blue, purple, yellow, orange or a mix? Is it a warm or cool color? Is the color intense or grayed out? It’s all about color relationships. I’m doing this with every stroke I place, comparing it to what is already on my canvas. If I make a change, it’s not really a mistake but part of the process. You must put something down before you can refine it. In order to simplify this process, after my rough sketch, I start the painting with the shadow shapes. That way I’m only focusing on that part of the painting and making sure everything falls into my shadow value range. Once I have this completed and refined, I can start on the light areas of the painting. When I say lights, I mean everywhere the sun hits or whatever your light source is. I go through the same steps as with the shadow shapes. What is the value, the local color, the temperature of the color and the intensity of the color? After I have all my big shapes refined, Oil Demonstration 69

My Art in the Making Duck Gangs II © Streamline Publishing, Inc. I mainly do my own photography because I believe REFERENCE PHOTOS this brings me closer to my subject matter. I like to I used the main duck from the top photo along with the two on the photograph on the same level as my subject matter. You left. Then I used the far right duck on the bottom photo along with the might see me lying in the grass surrounded by ducks to duck to the left of it behind the bigger duck. get the kind of shot I want. I’ve kind of trained some of them to run at me for treats! In this demonstration I will be showing you how to do a larger in-studio oil painting from your own photographs—from layout and composition to value and the use of warm and cool colors to create form. I will be using hog bristle brushes for this painting because I want my brushstrokes to be seen. A limited palette will help keep the painting harmonious and swimming in the same color tones. And it forces you to learn how to mix colors. So let’s get started! WHAT THE ARTIST USED Gamblin Oils » Cadmium red light » Ivory black » Palette knife » Alizarin permanent » Venetian red gesso » Quick dry white » Phthalo green Additional Supplies » Ampersand Gessobord » Cadmium yellow deep » Ultramarine blue » Silver Grand Prix Filbert hog » Gamsol » Cadmium yellow light » Phthalo blue » Paper towels » Yellow ochre bristle brushes, sizes 2-12 70 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 1 ROUGH Stage 1 COMPOSITIONAL SKETCH After I’ve chosen my reference photos, Stage 2 I’ll do a rough sketch on board. I use the Ampersand gessobord primed with a I start with the area of color I can see let’s start with the lower planes; it’s lighter, Venetian red gesso. I’m using alizarin clearest, the darker blue/green in the warmer and redder than the other shadows permanent to do the rough sketch. I keep background. Then it turns more purple behind we’ve discussed. It gets lighter as it travels up it rough because I will lose the drawing as I the ducks. Next, I see the cast shadow is the ducks. It’s still warm though, and I don’t go forward, so it’s really for the layout and purple/blue in some areas and more of a add white to make it lighter. Instead I’ve used composition. Regarding composition—in a green/blue in other areas. The shadow on cadmium yellow deep, with cadmium red group painting like this I like to think of it the ducks is lighter than the background light and a touch of phthalo blue. When I need like a movie. You have your main actor—for shadows and the cast shadows. On the ducks, the yellow darker, I add yellow ochre. me it’s the middle duck—best supporting actor goes to the duck on the far right, and STAGE 3 EDGES Continued the others are extras. That way the duck to I’ve kept the edges loose so I can decide at the far right brings your eye into the painting the end which edges to harden to bring the towards the main character, then onto the eye into my focus area. Paint outside the other ducks. My eye stops at the lead duck, lines! Shadow areas are good areas to lose but the extras will bring your eye back edges. I don’t like to have hard edges in the around. I picture this painting on a wall at shadow areas because you can lose form if eye level, so it really pops at you. I love being all your edges are hard edged, and it will at duck level and in their world! look cut out. You need to remember you are painting light and shadow, not painting STAGE 2 BLOCKING IN separate items. Keep your edges soft in the SHADOWS WITH WARM AND shadows. You can then use tighter edges COOL NOTES between light and shadow at the end of the When I’m blocking in the shadow shapes, painting to help direct your viewer’s eye I’m thinking about four things: value, color, where you’d like to lead it. intensity and temperature. Let’s take a closer look at the warm and cool notes on the ducks in shadow. I love painting white subjects because white in shadow reflects the colors around it, and this was a great opportunity to take advantage of that. The blue reflecting down from the sky and the warmth from the ground reflecting up at the ducks. It also helps give the ducks form without their values popping into light value territory. Stage 3 Oil Demonstration 71

Stage 4 Stage 6 Duck Gangs II, oil, 18 x 36\" (45 x 91 cm) Stage 5 72 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 4 STAGE 5 STAGE 6 BLOCKING IN THE LIGHTS MODELING FORM LIGHTEST LIGHTS AND This stage is a lot like stage 2, but I’m AND DETAILS DARK ACCENTS comparing values in the lights. I’m going to When modeling the form, you can model Duck Gangs II, oil, 18 x 36\" (45 x 91 cm) compare the lights by value, color, intensity as little or as much as you’d like. I like to This stage is the lightest lights. You want and temperature. As you can see the lights in keep it simple and let the viewer fill in the to save the lightest lights/highlights and the foreground are lighter and more intense spaces. In other words, you don’t have to dark accents until the end. Here you can see than the lights in the background. Some tell everything. Here on the closeup you how the ducks really pop out at you with areas are greener, and some areas are more can see that I’ve indicated where the eyes the lightest lights added. My leading actor yellow. Some areas are redder and some are, making a slightly darker area to set is taking center stage! I like it, it’s fun and more towards orange. I’ve still left room to the eye in, then adding the eye. I’ve also not a viewpoint most people think of when pop the lightest lights on the ducks towards formed the duck’s bill using reflected light they think of ducks. The dark accents around the end, meaning I’m not at the top of the and dark accents. the legs and feet help ground them, and the value scale. other accents help define their features. I’m calling this one done! ABOUT THE ARTIST Cheri Christensen grew up in Enumclaw, Washington, a small rural town of horse, dairy and cattle ranches at the foot of Mt. Rainier. Christensen’s grandfather was a cattle rancher there, and he was a big influence on her choice of subject matter today. She attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and graduated with a BA from the University of Washington. She studied oil painting and drawing intensely for three years with Ron Lukas, a protege of Sergei Bongart, who taught in the tradition of the Russian impressionists. Christensen concentrates on seeing and conveying the effects of color and light on form. The first painting she submitted to a competition was included in a prestigious exhibition at the Charles Emma Frye Art Museum in Seattle, Washington, and the first painting to include farm animals received the Beatrice Jackson Memorial award for Best Traditional Landscape in the Allied Artists of America 1995 show. Christensen has been featured in several magazines, including International Artist sister publications American Art Collector and Western Art Collector. Christensen is represented by McLarry Fine Art in New Mexico, InSight Gallery and Jack Meier Gallery in Texas, and Eisenhauer Gallery in Massachusetts. She has an upcoming exhibition at McLarry Fine Art, Keeping it Light, opening July 29. See her Liliedahl instructional videos at www.painttube.tv and search “Cheri Christensen.” Contact at [email protected] www.cherichristensen.com Find me on /cherichristensenart @cherichristensenart Oil Demonstration 73

OIL UNITED STATES MASTER PAINTERS OF THE WORLD Frank Soenke Haseloff A life of their own It was back in 2017, while I was matter of these stylish machines, and the process. I was resisting my desire to experiencing a long artist block that more importantly, I allowed myself to get into more detail. After I completed had been going on for about two years, go with my natural desire to do more my first car painting 49 Road master, that I had gone to a local classic car detailed work. Up until then I was I knew I was onto something. A short show. It was there that the lights finally trying to be more of an impressionist time later, I came across the term came on for me. I loved the subject painter but wasn’t feeling satisfied by “photorealism,” and I said, “yes, that’s Edsel, oil on canvas, 24 x 40\" (60 x 101 cm) I was really taken by the strong bug-like features of this classic car. It’s an iconic car for all the wrong reasons. 74 www.InternationalArtist.com

Box of Hammers, oil on canvas, 28 x 22\" (71 x 55 cm) This piece shows off how each object has its unique wear and tear marks, dents and scratches. I liked how the handles are randomly jutting out of the tool box. I was attracted to the rhythm and flow of the objects as a group. Master Painters of the World 75

Breakfast at Norm’s Place, oil on canvas, 30 x 24\" (76 x 60 cm) The dappled light in this piece really set off the green emerald-like quality of the truck. The scene as a whole feels like a nice time out with your faithful dog (ie., the truck) sitting next to you. 76 www.InternationalArtist.com

Kitchen Craft, oil on canvas, 22 x 28\" (55 x 71 cm) I love these old cast iron meat and vegetable grinders. I wanted to emphasize the beauty of the metals juxtaposed with the warmth of the wood handles. me!” I’m a photorealist painter because to include antique objects like toys and believe these old objects have a history— it best expresses how my mind sees and tools. My aim has always been to bring they have a story to tell about who used interprets the world around me. My the viewer in and take a closer look them, which gives them a kind of life of subjects have expanded from classic cars to see the story that’s in the details. I their own. ABOUT THE ARTIST Frank Soenke Haseloff grew up on a dairy farm in magazines. He is also a member of the International central Pennsylvania. It wasn’t until he went to Guild of Realism, National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ community college in 1984 that he took his first art Society, Oil Painters of America and American Artists class and was hooked. He moved to San Francisco in Professional League. 1988 to study art at San Francisco State University. After college he and his wife Laura bought a house in Represented by Concord, California. He put art aside to focus on running his massage practice and being a father and a husband. » Valley Art Gallery, California, USA, It wasn’t until the early 2000s when he was coloring www.valleyartgallery.org with his kids that he realized how much he missed art. Since then, Haseloff has taken numerous workshops Contact at and watched countless hours of instructional videos and read many books on art theory and practice. He www.soenkefineart.com is now winning awards in national and international art competitions and has been featured in multiple Find me on /soenkefineart @fshaseloff Master Painters of the World 77

ACRYLIC UNITED KINGDOM DEMONSTRATION David Brammeld Treescapes Working with loose washes, palette knives and sponges, David Brammeld creates expressive nature scenes Iam fascinated by landscape, but group of trees or it can be a single tree, call these works “treescapes.” more specifically, the character of but it is about capturing something of I am primarily a studio painter and trees within the landscape. Sometimes the beauty and energy in nature that I it can be the interaction between a discover on walks in the countryside. I love experimenting and exploring new ways to make marks and to apply paint Edge of the Wood, acrylic on board, 12 x 15½\" (30 x 40 cm) This is typical of the scene I love to paint. I blocked in a flat featureless sky to allow the trees to work with the textured undergrowth. I kept the trees fairly light so I could show more marks and color. The undergrowth was built up using many layers and colors, working light on dark and dark to light with different brushes and a painting knife to create a variety of marks, suggesting rich dense undergrowth. 78 www.InternationalArtist.com

Quiet Place, acrylic on board, 15½ x 12\" Late Spring Landscape, acrylic on board, 12½ x 19\" (32 x 49 cm) (40 x 30 cm) A cold spring day with bright blue sky and strong sun picked out bright yellows and vibrant greens leaving I view each painting as a challenge but also a dark shadows. The compositional device of a path leading into the picture introduced more color. This learning process, and with this picture I wanted picture marked a change in direction: brighter colors and less literal mark making. I mixed vivid yellows the feeling of ambience above accurate detail. and greens that had previously been ‘off the scale’ for me. The path was difficult to paint. I tried to find different ways to apply the paint, combining spatter with brushwork then using a rigger for fine branch work but keeping other elements vague by under-painting and suggestion rather than overstating detail. The limited color palette adds to the effect of solitude I think. to a surface. Working intuitively and other times with washes of color. Throughout the painting it is important moving from painting to painting is My acrylic tree paintings are currently to maintain balance, so I will try not when I am happiest, playing one picture to get too carried away at this stage and against another and resting a picture a smaller format, 30 by 40 centimeters may move down to the undergrowth when I’m not sure of the next step. It or similar, painted on tinted gesso to create a little solidity, variety and is not in my character to work on one panels (although I have plans to work texture. I am not averse to using acrylic picture from beginning to end. I get larger). For some time I have felt inks in the painting if appropriate. a lot of energy and excitement when frustrated by the limitations of brushes starting a new picture; the possibilities to apply the paint: flats and rounds, Although I work from images, I am are endless, and it’s nice sometimes to be synthetic or bristle, big or small, long or not interested in simply recreating a “led” by the picture. short handled. Of course you can get a photo in the painting. So I am not too range of effects with brushes, but I crave concerned if the painting is not exactly a I work in various media—graphite, other ways (painting knives, sponge or copy of the image—it is made with paint charcoal and watercolor mixed media— flicking) with which to apply paint and after all so it should look like a painting. but I find pastels or acrylic allow me manipulate the surface. two distinctly different ways to explore One thing that remains constant in my subject. Both mediums allow the I often start with loose “washes” of my work is the importance of drawing. use of layering which is an important color for sky and foreground so there Above all, I would say this is the key process in the construction of the is something on which to build, freely element, and the thing that is apparent picture. The elements of a layer are often introducing a variety of different colors in every picture I make. A painting completely or partially obscured during to create a particular “feel.” I might then might start with a drawing (doesn’t have the painting process, which adds extra do some drawing to establish the main to, of course) but during the painting interest. And I enjoy inverting layers, elements (trees) so that I can check that process the drawing invariably gets lost, sometimes starting with a drawing, the composition and proportions work, so has to be found again. This is the followed by tentative blocking in of the part I enjoy in painting: the losing and trunks and main branches of the trees. finding again of the drawing. Acrylic Demonstration 79

My Art in the Making Autumn Colour STAGE 1 PREPARATIONS Reference Photo The board was prepped with three coats of gesso lightly tinted with The original inspiration photo taken on an autumn walk: lots of acrylic. A bluish gray was washed in for the sky and some mid-green for intertwining trees, a variety of color in the undergrowth and a the foreground. I’ve kept the brushwork quite loose. flat sky. STAGE 2 WARM TONES AND TREE BRANCHES After intuitively scrubbing more solid and varied colors (introducing yellows and reddy browns) into the foreground, I penciled in a few of the main trees to establish relationships in the composition. WHAT THE ARTIST USED » White » No. 6 bristle round » Hooker’s green » No. 0 rigger Acrylics » Sap green » No. 1 rigger » Yellow ochre » Raw sienna Mediums Additional Materials » Cadmium yellow » Matte medium » Naples yellow » Painting knife » Lemon yellow Brushes » Sponge » Raw umber » Half inch synthetic flat » Old toothbrush » Burnt umber » No. 4 synthetic flat » 2B pencil » Burnt sienna » No. 12 synthetic flat » Palette » French ultramarine » No. 10 bristle round » MDF, gesso primed on both sides » Coeruleum blue 80 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 3 BUILDING UP THE COLOR Mixing a dark brown using ultramarine with burnt sienna and burnt umber, I used a rigger to reinforce the pencil drawing and added some shadows and more color in the undergrowth. STAGE 4 DEVELOPING THE UNDERGROWTH Continued I’ve added more trees and branches and, using a variety of brushes, developed the undergrowth to suggest more depth and solidity where the trees emerge from the ground. Acrylic Demonstration 81

STAGE 5 FINER BRANCHES Trying to keep a balance, I’ve painted some finer branches and then experimented with different ways to apply the paint, using a painting knife to drag some different colors across the surface. STAGE 6 CREATING DEPTH There needed to be a sense of distance to the horizon line, which meant painting through some of the trees. Using an old toothbrush I spattered some paint onto the “knifed” surface to create texture. 82 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 7 ENHANCEMENTS The textures and colors are starting to work in the undergrowth. The trees needed more work to vary thicknesses and add more small branches. I mixed matte medium with paint to knock back intensity. STAGE 8 SENSE OF DISTANCE I’m now happy with the texture and color in the undergrowth. I’ve also tried to create a foreground, some middle distance and some far distance. I’ve also done a lot more work on the trees. Acrylic Demonstration 83

STAGE 9 BRANCH WORK Here I’m using a rigger for some of the branch work. The paint has to be thinned down with water and medium to get the right consistency or it won’t work. ABOUT THE ARTIST While today David Brammeld is an international In 2021, as well as showing in the UK, Contact at artist, growing up in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Brammeld exhibited with Red Rock Pastel UK, has undoubtedly informed the artist he’s Society, Nevada; the 20th International www.davidbrammeld.com become. Trying to understand the complex Festival du Pastel in Feytiat, Limoges, France; post-industrial landscape around him, scarred by The Pastel Society of Russia in Penza Gallery, the demise of coal, ceramic and steel industries, Moscow; and the Pastel Society of South Brammeld would draw the decaying factory Korea. His work is shown at Trent Art Gallery buildings, houses, empty shops and the huge in Newcastle-under-Lyme (www.trent- obsolete coal mine pit head gear, initially creating art.co.uk) and society exhibitions at Mall large expressive works in charcoal and pastel on Galleries in London (www.mallgalleries.org. paper, then later in acrylic, oil and mixed media. uk). He also has a studio gallery at Josselin in Brittany, France. Publications by Brammeld The natural landscape is never far away from include Creative Drawing Techniques Stoke though, and would become a welcome published by Crowood Press, and For the antidote for the artist, developing into another Love of Trees and Potteries Collection, both key subject through which to explore character, self-published. texture and identity. He started exhibiting in open art exhibitions which led to being elected Find me on a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists in 2009, The Royal Society of British Artists David Brammeld Art in 2014, The Pastel Society UK in 2016, Société des Pastellistes de France in 2016 and the Manchester @davidbrammeld Academy of Fine Arts in 2019. Brammeld also takes part in society group shows on an annual basis. @davidbrammeld 84 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 10 KNIFE WORK Now I’m using a painting knife to drag small amounts of different colors across the surface to create texture and different marks. Obviously it isn’t a precise way to apply paint, so you have to make further adjustments. STAGE 11 FINISHED ARTWORK Autumn Colour, acrylic on board, 12 x 15½\" (30 x 40 cm) I’ve tidied a lot of the trees and branches, adding highlights here and there, and also more color to the undergrowth. The picture is more balanced now. I will rest for a while before reassessing. Acrylic Demonstration 85

COLORED UNITED KINGDOM PENCIL DEMONSTRATION Becca Barron Up Close and Personal Wildlife artist Becca Barron achieves realistic portraits through a delicate drawing style and precise layers I’m a professional wildlife artist Wild Love, colored pencil on Pastelmat, 19 x 16\" (48 x 40 cm) based in Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom. I bring my love for animals This large-scale drawing focuses on the personal emotional connection between a mother tiger and and art together by creating the highest her cub, focusing on their soft affectionate traits in comparison with their wild side, which tigers are quality realistic colored pencil drawings predominantly known for. of wildlife, capturing the character and beauty of each animal. In my original wildlife portraiture, I like to work from carefully selected photographs, which often capture a close-up, intimate moment of the subject in a strong light. This enables me to achieve an exceptional amount of detail in each of my pieces, which often portray an emotional encounter. I choose to create my authentic portraits in colored pencils, as they allow for accuracy and depth through an incredible control of detail. I enjoy the timely process of building up layers to recreate fur textures through every delicately placed pencil stroke. I strive to bring the subject to life on the paper, through intricate techniques, patience and precision. My wildlife drawings are created using a mixture of Faber- Castell Polychromos and Caran D’Ache Luminance colored pencils, which complement each other brilliantly. Polychromos are predominantly oil based, so they are a much harder pencil with a far richer pigment. The luminance pencils are predominantly oil based, so are perfect for blending and building up tonal value. I consider my work to be a balance between photorealism and a classic delicate drawing style. It’s important to me that my work holds an element of photorealism, but can still be recognized 86 www.InternationalArtist.com

Contemplating, colored pencil on Pastelmat, 19 x 16\" (48 x 40 cm) Sunset in the Savanna, colored pencil on hot-pressed Fabriano Artistico paper, 12 x 14\" (30 x 35 cm) This artwork shows an up close and personal moment of a leopard. I focused primarily on color for this piece, using the contrasting In my most recent wildlife piece of this cheetah I further experimented with PanPastels, colors of orange and blue to add a realistic sense of depth to the using them to create a soft, blurred out background, so the sole focus remains on drawing, making the leopard noticeably emerge. the intricate details making up the cheetah. The warm colors and strong light source remind me of a sunset, hence the name Sunset in the Savanna. as a colored pencil drawing. More however its transparency means fur, the craft knife slice tool has now recently I have been experimenting with I can layer behind it and it’ll still show become a necessity in my art studio, softer mediums, like PanPastels, which through. I can also draw on the reverse alongside my colored pencils. can complement the fine lined nature side of the drafting film to increase the of colored pencils, offering a contrast of level of depth. For example, my demonstration piece looser and tighter textures. of the orangutans, Close Connection, Throughout all my wildlife pieces, still holds an element of realism by In terms of choosing the right I refine the details with the craft keeping my drawing style really tight materials to complement my techniques, knife slice tool, which enables me use and detailed for the majority of the I predominantly work on Fabriano the removal technique to pull out piece. Layered behind the drafting film, Artistico paper, drafting film or highlights in the fur, whiskers and fine is a softer blended mix of PanPastels Pastelmat, all of which are complete details in the eye (portraying the light on Fabriano Artistico paper. I chose opposite surfaces to work on but can reflections), that I wouldn’t be able to to focus solely on the intimate and result in slightly different outcomes. achieve just by using colored pencils emotional connection between mother The fine tooth of the Fabriano Artistico alone. The craft knife slice tool can be and baby, cropping down the original paper allows for a multitude of layers held like a pencil for maximum control. reference to something that more suited with colored pencils, adding to the The small ceramic blade at the end my style. The subtle blurred edges of depth and vibrancy of my work, whereas removes those top layers of pigment to the orangutans gives the viewer an drafting film has a completely smooth reveal the paper underneath, resulting obvious focal point wrapped up in the surface, allowing for the finer detail. in fine, etched-out marks that add to detail, inviting them into that captured Due to the surface being completely the realistic level of intricacy in every personal moment, allowing the beauty of smooth, it doesn’t hold many layers, piece. Particularly when drawing the animals to be deeply appreciated. Colored Pencil Demonstration 87

My Art in the Making Close Connection In this demonstration, I will show you my step-by-step process for achieving this realistic orangutan drawing in colored pencils. This artwork is made up of a multitude of layers, colors and techniques, combined with a delicate drawing style and an eye for detail. Reference Photo Credit: Edwin Butter STAGE 1 INITIAL OUTLINE AND SET-UP The initial outline has been drawn onto the Fabriano Artistico paper, and the drafting film has been layered over it and secured with masking tape. Drafting film is transparent, meaning the outlines can be seen clearly underneath. WHAT THE ARTIST USED PanPastels » Warm gray lll » Terracotta Additional Materials » Warm gray lV » Venetian red » Raw umber tint » Dark sepia » Drafting film laid on top of extra » Metallic bronze » Black » Caran D’Ache Luminance: white hot-pressed Fabriano » Burnt sienna tint » Sky blue » Olive brown 10% Artistico paper » Raw umber tint » Walnut brown » Brown ochre » Burnt umber » Raw umber 10% » Pencil sharpener Colored Pencils » Burnt sienna » Buff titanium » Craft knife slice tool » Van Dyke brown » Pink white » White fine tip pen » Faber-Castell Polychromos: » Purple violet » Silver gray » Dry, soft medium brush » Cold gray l » Salmon » French gray 30% » Sponge » Cold gray ll » Ivory » Dark flesh 40% » Sofft Knife and covers: No. 3 » Dark Indigo » Carput mortuum Oval (to apply PanPastels) » Warm gray ll » Eraser 88 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 2 BASE LAYERS With my palest colors, I’m lightly shading in the basic shapes, outlines and shadows, which make up the orangutans’ faces. I’m drawing in small circular motions, using the bluntest part of the tip of my pencil to keep the lines soft and achieve an even coverage. Continued Colored Pencil Demonstration 89

STAGE 3 UNDERTONES Adding layers of vibrant colors while applying a light pressure provides subtle undertones, which show through additional layers. STAGE 4 TONAL VALUE The main body of work is building up tonal value through a vast array of light, medium and dark tones. Capturing the lighting can place focus on different parts of the composition, which can develop the realistic aspect of the drawing. 90 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 5 CONTRAST Having a clear contrast creates more depth in the drawing. I pull out highlights and really darken those darkest areas. Contrasting colors can also add to the realistic element of the piece—for example, the rich orange fur against the blue tones in the face. STAGE 6 CRAFT KNIFE SLICE TOOL Using the removal technique to lightly scrape away those top layers with the ceramic blade of the craft knife slice tool can create fine highlights and details, adding to the realistic textures of the orangutans—for example, the fine wispy hairs and the bumpy textured skin. Colored Pencil Demonstration 91

STAGE 7 PANPASTELS Now the drawing is almost finished, I have removed the drafting film (with the drawing on it), to reveal the faint initial outlines on the Fabriano paper underneath. I then use warm pink/orange toned PanPastels to add a soft looser feel to the edges of the orangutans, applying the pigments with a soft knife cover and sponge, before adding the drafting film back over the top. 92 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 8 REFINEMENTS AND FINISHING TOUCHES Close Connection, colored pencil on drafting film, 15 x 11\" (38 x 27 cm) After seeing the entire piece come together after adding the subtle PanPastels in the background, I can now pick out any final alterations, and add those really intricate touches of detail to enhance that realistic element further. You can brush away any loose pigment with a soft clean brush. ABOUT THE ARTIST Contact at www.beccabarronart.com After studying at Leeds Arts University in Leeds, England, Find me on Becca Barron obtained a fine art degree. She now shares her knowledge and passion with others through online /beccabarronfineartist teaching platforms, like Patreon and YouTube, offering a @beccabarronart range of tutorials and creative business guidance. Barron Becca Barron Art takes commissions while simultaneously working on her own original colored pencil wildlife drawings. Her work was /beccabarronart recently exhibited at the 2022 Wild Art Exhibition in Didsbury, Manchester, United Kingdom. Colored Pencil Demonstration 93

WATER- INDIA COLOR DEMONSTRATION Amit Kapoor Hustle and Bustle Watercolorist Amit Kapoor captures movement and action in his city scenes using purposeful, sweeping brushstrokes Painting for me is meditation, and paintings. Earlier I used to paint train painted a top view of the beautiful city painting with watercolors is one of engines, and my engine paintings of Kolkata, India, and the Howrah my greatest delights. It has now become received many awards. But slowly when Bridge, which earned me a Silver Star an addiction too. I would describe I started traveling all around the world, Award from the National Watercolor myself as more of an impressionist busy streets and cityscapes attracted Society. This gave me new perspective artist. I love to paint busy scenes like me a great deal, and I started painting and energy in my painting, and then I streets, markets and figures in my cityscapes and more boats. In 2015, I started capturing more aerial views. Streets of Paris, watercolor, 11 x 15\" (27 x 38 cm) This is a view of Paris. I love to paint top views so I attempted this one. The blue color on the top of the buildings was beautiful, and the light falling on the top of the building created lovely shadows on the opposite sides, making this view more dynamic. I did my best to capture the unique light and shadow of this scene. 94 www.InternationalArtist.com

Afternoon in Madrid, watercolor, 14 x 21\" (36 x 53½ cm) I painted the Metropolis Building in Madrid many times at different times of day. This piece I painted in the afternoon, and the colors were totally different at this time of day, with far more warm colors. I tried to captured the beautiful light and shadow of the Metropolis Building falling on the other building. I always love to capture the hustle and View of Italy, watercolor, 21½ x 29½\" (55 x 75 cm) bustle in my paintings, capturing more movement and action by showing more This is a lovely view of Monopoli, Italy. I tried to capture beautiful afternoon light in this painting, figures in my work. In my college days I though I always love to play with light and shadow. I love the reflections and color of the water. The was more focusing on the medium of oil, combination of warm and cool colors always looks more attractive so I tried to capture that in this but when I started traveling more I found painting. that we have to work fast and just have to capture the mood and atmosphere in the painting while doing plein air works. That changed my mind and I started doing more watercolors, and I found more freshness and magic in my painting. For me, a painting should look like a painting—not a picture— as we have a very good option for that, the camera. We just have to capture the mood of the particular location. Because I work in impressionism, you will find less details in my painting as I love to paint more bold strokes. I love to use more blues in my painting, and I love to work with a limited palette as it creates harmony in the painting. I make my own greens in my paintings and use different shades of blues as well. I hope to continue working with watercolors in the future and, eventually, paint every part of the world. Watercolor Demonstration 95

My Art in the Making Boats of Italy STAGE 1 SKETCH I always try to capture light and shadow, as well as perspective in my painting. For me, drawing is a very important part of the painting. If your drawing is not correct, then the colors will never support your painting. To begin, I will start with a light sketch, focusing more on shapes. STAGE 2 BLOCKING IN MAJOR COLORS I always go from top to bottom, starting with the sky and leaving the white shapes/spots for the highlights. I start with the background wash and then come to the middle ground and foreground. 96 www.InternationalArtist.com

STAGE 3 ADDITIONAL DETAILS IN BUILDING Continued I have added more details in the building. I am squinting at the scene and determining the correct values, then adding them in. WHAT THE ARTIST USED » Red brown Escoda Brushes » Van Dyke brown » Rigger brush, no.1 Mijello Mission Gold » Vermillion red » Round brush, no. 10, 16, 18 Water Colors » Permanent yellow deep » Ultramarine blue » Yellow orange Paper » Lavender » Raw umber » Arches 300 gsm rough paper » Cobalt blue » Cerulean blue » LanaAquarelle 300 gsm rough paper » Horizon blue » Blue gray » Cobalt green » Persian green Watercolor Demonstration 97

STAGE 4 COLORING THE WATER In this stage I have added the color of the water, which is cobalt green and horizon blue. Later I painted the boats, carefully leaving the paper white for the highlights. Streets of Madrid, watercolor, 15 x 29½\" (38 x 55 cm) Usually I paint top down view of the Metropolis Building, but this time I painted it from the street. It was evening time, and I tried to capture the long shadows. The contrast of this painting makes it even more attractive. 98 www.InternationalArtist.com